Choosing Devices

We don’t always have the luxury of picking the perfect mobile device. Perhaps only some devices are on sale in our region–or some prove to be prohibitively expensive. Still, when picking devices, we can keep to the following key principles:

• Ideally, prior to buying a device, research the manufacturer a little bit and figure out what their policies on software updates are. After an Android software update is out, manufacturers need a little time to send it to their devices. The faster the manufacturer gets the update to their devices, the better. Different manufacturers also support devices for different periods of time–some might only offer updates for two years after the model was first released, while others can offer five years worth of updates. It’s best to always pick devices which offer software updates for the longest possible time.

• If you buy a used device, make sure to conduct a full factory reset prior to using it. Different manufacturers will have different ways of doing such a full reset, check out links to manufacturer sites here. After the full reset is complete, make sure that the software on the device is up to date. Start using your device only after you have completed those two steps.