Oct 30, 2009 10:53 am US/Pacific
Tech Minute: Saving With A Smartphone
By BRIAN COOLEY, CNET Editor At Large
SAN FRANCISCO (CNET) ―
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3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are three connections you need to think about when you shopping for a smartphone.
CBS
Smartphones are more expensive than regular mobile phones, but they can actually save you hundreds of dollars and lighten the load in your pocket.
Smartphones have media players good for browsing music, looking at photos or playing a video. With their big screen and lots of capacity, smartphones offer savings of more than $150 over the costs of purchasing an MP3 player with these functions, like an iPod Nano.
You can do GPS navigation on a smartphone. This version is a service that costs $3 a day or $10 a month, but if you're the typical occasional user of GPS, that's cheaper than buying a GPS device. You can ballpark those savings at $100.
Finally, today's smartphones often have real cameras, many good enough for an 8x10 print. Some also captures video, so you won't need one of those flash video cameras. Consider those savings as $150 over a good low-priced digital camera, another $100 on a flash video camera.
Based on these estimates, you potential savings is about $500. That amount pays for your smartphone, leaves a couple hundred dollars in your pocket while taking a bunch of separate devices out of it.
Not that with a smartphone you'll typically take one a monthly data plan at $40 to $60 a month, but justify that against the Web, e-mail and streaming media in addition to the features listed here.
If you like the idea of fewer devices to carry, charge -- and lose -- a smartphone might just be a money saver for you.
MORE: CNET Smartphone Resource Guide
MORE: CNET Editors' Top Smartphones
MORE: Ringtone And Accessories
MORE: Smartphone Tips & Tricks
MORE: CNET Smartphone Reviews
MORE: Brian Cooley @ CNET.com
Brian Cooley joined CNET in 1995 to launch CNET Radio. Today as Editor at large, he offers commentary about technology on television and radio from the CNET p.o.v. as well as contributing videos to CNET Car Tech and CNET TV.
(© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.)
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