Time for a Public service announcement. I recently spoke about how smaller companies were changing the Android ecosystem and making really powerful phones available for much less. This time around I’m putting the shoe on the other foot. We are going to take a look why these smaller companies might not always be a good idea.
There are a lot of smaller reputable companies making great phones this is not about them. This is about those companies that cut every corner and sell a device. These usually result in cheap and what looks like a high end device for a fraction of the cost. I have no problem with that, the problem lies with their ability to not do the tasks they advertise.
In the mobile world like most worlds there are standards to follow, these standards are to make sure that everyone has a great experience. In some case manufacturers find that dodging a standard makes their device look more powerful than one that does. For example: Let’s say you find a shortcut to work that cuts maybe 10 minutes off a 40 minute journey. You start using that road daily but since the road is not looked after you get a flat. You shake it off and use the road again but this time around you hit a rock and your suspension gets damaged. In this example the shortcut was a bypass of the standards to accomplish the same task in less time while the car was your work to be done. The point is dodging standards may help short term but in the long run a device that follows standards perfectly will cause you minimal problems. That’s why standards exist, to ensure what needs to happen happens.
Some problems faced by devices that don’t follow standards are as follows:
- Sub par performance
- data loss
- short life spans
- Missed input
- Incorrect data storage
- Inability to do very basic apps
The above problems hamper the ability to perform tasks correctly. For example let’s say you ask your friend to join you for drinks, the problem is that your friend has the same first letter as your boss so the phone sends it to him instead… you can imagine the rest. Even your most basic device from Samsung, Moto and the rest won’t cause this.
So how do you identify a mobile device that might be dodging standards and is not worth looking at? Just look for the following:
- Google the company: If you can’t find the company web page you probably want nothing from them
- Check the OS: If the OS is iOS but not from Apple, there will be a problem.
- Read the box: If the English is completely broken you might want to re-look (small things are fine, everyone makes mistakes).
- Know the best: If someone is advertising more than the top devices can do then it can probably do half what the top do.
- Talk to them: Try reaching customer support and see if they actually know the device.
Do your best to avoid these devices for the sole reason that after a month it probably won’t be worth it.
