If you want GSM cell phones, get only one that will really be useful to you. Yes, this sounds obvious, doesn’t it, but it’s surprising how so many shoppers actually get stuff that they don’t really find useful. Ironically enough, the wide proliferation of GSM cell phones available on the market today seems to exacerbate the situation: called embarass de riches by Francophones. That is, giving people too many choices actually hampers their decision-making.
Researchers of consumer psychology can attest to this finding. From GSM cell phones to just about anything else, folks simply have a tough time dealing with too many options, feeling anxious and ever more confused. But while that may seem strange, it actually makes a certain sense, in the final analysis. After all, about half the population — those typically called “guys” — don’t like shopping. And why’s that? They want instant gratification. They want to “get it over with.” This is the predominant feeling even if the purchase to be made is a simple affair, no matter if it’s as innocuous as getting toiletries or running out for sundry supplies. So just think how much more aggravating it is when something as complex as electronics is involved!
Now, of course, most guys like electronic gadgets — because guys like toys in general. Guys like objects; they like controlling things. Yet modern technology offers a bewildering array of capabilities, with feature-sets that no one but true geeks and nerds would really like to spend time studying…and few people of either sex really want to spend so much time over what is basically a common everyday object, which most consumer electronics are.
Yes, then there are the ladies, the female half of the human race. Ladies who typically enjoy shopping — except for when it comes to electronics and the like.
Thus many if not most cell phone buyers couldn’t really care any less about the plethora of competing features available on the market today. No wonder, isn’t it, that marketing hype is resorted to in order to hasten the purchase? Thus, not knowing the latest from the greatest, they sometimes wind up with gear they not only don’t need, but which may actually hamper their daily mobile communications!
This means that a bit of self-awareness is important when looking to buy a cell phone. Just what is it that you wish to do with a handset in the first place? Do you need to send audio-visual material? Must you have an on-board radio? Are games that important? Will you need WiFi capabilities as well, or would the data stream of your carrier’s cellular network suffice?