Prepaid International Calling Cards – 10 Money Saving Tips!

Posted on 27.11.2015 by trycards

When buying international prepaid calling cards, make sure you understand all the key facts and “sometimes hidden” costs, before you buy. Reading this article will help you understand all that’s required to buy a cheap and reliable prepaid phone cards with confidence.

International calling cards – The Key facts and figures:

  1. Rate per minute – The most important figure to consider when buying prepaid phone cards. This is calculated by the originating country and the call destination country.
  2. Minute rounding – Sometimes referred to as “billing increment”. This denotes the unit a call will be rounded to per call. For example, a calling card with 3 minute rounding will bill you in 3 minute increments, regardless of call duration. A call lasting between 0 and 3 minutes will cost you 3 minutes, a call between 3 and 6 minutes will be billed as 6 minutes and so on.
  3. Connection fees – Every time a connection is made, the stated connection fee will be charged against your international calling card. A connection fee is usually charged at the point the call recipient answers your call. This applies to answering machines, wrong numbers or in some cases if the recipients phone rings more than ten times.
  4. Communications fees – Communication fees apply to each call made with your international calling card. Not all cards charge this fee; so shop around. The stated communication fee, if applied, will be deducted automatically from your call card balance. For example, a 20 minute call made using a card with a 10% communication fee will be billed as 22 minutes (20 minutes + 10% of 20 minutes).
  5. Maintenance fees – Maintenance fees are charged by the international calling card provider to maintain call quality. Maintenance fees will be deducted from your cards balance at the stated interval (weekly, monthly, etc.), although not all calling card providers apply this fee.
  6. Access number – Access number(s) will be provided when you buy international call cards. This is the number you call to access your calling card before you make your international calls. This access number may be a local number or toll-free number within the country you are in.
  7. Denominations – The denomination is the value of the phone card. Most cards come in denominations of 10 ($10 credit, $20 credit, $30 credit for example). This value, divided by the rate per minute, works out the maximum number of minutes talk time offered by this card.
  8. Payphone Surcharge – A payphone surcharge will be deducted from your calling card balance every time you connect to a call using a payphone.
  9. Recharge / Auto-Recharge – A phone card is rechargeable if more value can be added to it after the initial value has been used. If you buy your international call card online, you may have an automatic recharge option. This is an optional service and can usually be implemented though your online account for free. You can configure your account to automatically add more minutes to your international calling card when your balance reaches a certain level. For example, you can set your account to automatically add $30 credit to your card when your remaining balance reaches $5.
  10. Expiration – Most calling cards have an expiry date and any call credit left on them will not be refunded.

Conclusion

We suggest shopping around and comparing these key metrics before you buy. Ultimately, you want to buy an international phone card which gives you the most minutes of talk time for your money. Follow our tips below and you should not go far wrong:

  • Work out how many minutes you get by dividing the card denomination by the rate per minute.
  • 1 minute rounding, or less (the lower the better).
  • Low or NO connection fees, communication fees and maintenance fees.
  • Toll-free numbers to access your card.
  • Long expiration date.
  • It may sound strange but “watching the clock” and terminating calls as near to the “rounding” as possible will ensure you do not waste minutes.

Our new independent comparison service allows you to simply select your travel destination and call termination country and review the most reliable cards online. Our unique results not only display the call rate per minute but 5 other key metrics you need to be aware of. Follow our simple process and secure the best international call rates online today.

Compare international prepaid calling cards today and secure the most reliable prepaid calling cards online.

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How to Call Germany from the U.S.

Posted on 14.05.2015 by trycards

Feel drawn to Germany’s sylvan valleys and pristine alpine peaks? Does Beethoven’s music beckon you? Do you swoon over by Germany’s grandiose architecture and enchanting art and culture? Or do you just yearn for a taste of the country that brews the best beer in the world.

Now, connecting with Germany, and making calls to friends and family is quick and extremely cheap. Amongst a population of an estimated 81,338,000 people, German is the standard language of communication and has several slight variations in regional dialects. With education being compulsory till the age of 18, Germany has an astounding literacy rate of 99%.

Simple Steps to Call Germany:

  1. Dial the international access code – 011.
  2. Dial Germany’s country code – 49.
  3. Then the area code 2–5 digits (‘0’ at the start of the city code does not need to be dialed)
  4. Dial the remaining 3-9 digits the phone number.

For example dial from the U.S. is 011 + 49 + 21 XXXX XXXX

Guten Tag (pronounced goo ten tahk) is the phrase normally used for greeting for ‘hello’ or ‘good day’ in general German parlance. However, when you call to Germany, it is the norm for Germans to answer the phone with their last names first.

Over the years, rates to Germany have declined steadily. Offers between 1 cent per minute to 4 cents per minute to call Germany are now very common among long distance providers and phone card companies. What is the catch? Again, have you heard of connection fees, monthly charges and maintenance fees? These can add up big time and can easily double the rates as promised by these phone companies. And one more thing, while Germany’s phone system is one of the most advanced in the world, be aware that there are cheap long distance carriers that can actually make the connections frustrating to consumers.

No matter your reason for calling, personal, business, or leisure call to Germany. Find a long distance telecom service provider that offers a flexible prepaid calling plan that is hassle-free and requires no switching over phone companies, cumbersome PIN dialing or paying unnecessary, hidden costs generally associated with most phone cards. With these in mind, you should be able to call Germany – and don’t bother about how you call, when you call or how much you talk

Situated in the center of Europe, at the border of the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, Germany may seem quite a distance away, but a cheaper and reliable long distance calls should bridge the gap in a matter of seconds.

 

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Call Philippines as Clear as the Pearl of the Orient Seas

Posted on 01.05.2015 by trycards

Most Filipinos would love to hear from their relatives or friends from the US. Who won’t? There’s just so much to tell and burning the lines would be one helluvah understatement if you are to make an international call to the Philippines. This is because the Philippines is one of the most eventful places in the world right now. See the news to prove this.

Placing an international call could be a very wallet-pinching endeavor. But this should not always be the case. There are numerous ways to make a long distance call, especially if the destination of your call is the Pearl of the Orient, the Philippines.

Here is a rundown of suggestions on how to make that international call to the Philippines without shelling out much of your hard-earned dollars.

1. Be careful when buying call cards.

Several prepaid phone cards have hidden charges. There could be a connection fee that could be almost tantamount to getting ripped off especially when the card buyer makes a call and either the call is routed to a voice mailbox or to an answering machine. Connection fee deduction is automatically done even when the caller did not say anything yet.

Other phone card hidden charges include service fee, maintenance fee, access number and long talking fee. The expiration date should also be checked.

2. Know what type of phone will receive your call.

It won’t be advisable to make a long distance call to any mobile device. This is because most of overseas carriers implement the “calling party pays” system. The tariff rate of an international wireless phone could be a lot higher compared to a call made to a land-line in the same country.

3. Say no to a telephone operator.

When you choose to be assisted by a telephone operator when placing an international call, you choose to pay considerably more. Whenever possible opt to use a dial-around service or dial direct.

4. Sign up to a prepaid long distance plan.

Various carriers offer this kind of service to those who frequently place long distance calls. Opt for those with flexible programs. These plans work like phone cards but do not have fees and charges associated with prepaid phone cards. They usually have very low domestic and international rates 24/7 and call quality is usually excellent. One more thing about these prepaid plans is the convenience of being able to use them when placing calls from any telephones be it cell phones or public phones.

5. Calling during non-business days or off-peak time will help you save.

Make the most out of these privileges by checking on what your carrier offers. Just make sure that it won’t be too much of an inconvenience to the recipient of your call.

6. Bad connections should be noted.

Bad connections happen and the Philippines is not an exception to this nuisance. When this happens, take note of the time and the number you called. Prepaid calling cards rarely gives you credit for bad connections. But if you made an international call using a standard long distance carrier, or prepaid long distance plans, better check if you could be given credit for that call. They always do.

It would help if you print this info to be always reminded of the Do’s and Don’t’s when it comes to making an international call.

With these simple tips, you don’t have to worry when your phone bill arrives.

Finally, here’s the step-by-step process in calling the Philippines:

  1. Dial the international access code – 011.
  2. Then, key in the Philippines’ country code, which is – 63.
  3. Now, dial the city area code, where your your wife and kids are, 1–4 digits.
  4. And finally the phone number – 5–7 digits.

Here are the major cities in the Philippines with their respective city area codes:

Angeles Luzon – 455

Bacolod – 34

Baguio – 74

Cebu – 32

Clarkfield, Pampanga – 45

Dagupan, Pangasinan – 75

Davao – 82

Iloilo – 33

Laguna Province – 49562

Lucena, Luzon – 42

Makati, Luzon – 2

Manila – 2

Ozamiz City – 88

San Fernando, Pampanga – 45

San Fernando, La Union – 72

San Pablo – 49

Subic, Zambales – 47

Tarlac – 452

Tarlac Province – 45

Zamboanga – 62

d. Finally, dial the remaining digits.

Also, don’t forget to greet your Filipino friend using her native lingo. “Kumusta”, pronounced as “cooh-moose-TAH” surely will never fail to make her smile.

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Simple Steps to Call China

Posted on 25.04.2015 by trycards

China is the most populous nation and the third largest country with an area of 9.6 million sq, kms and connecting with China should be quick and convenient. You can make calls to friends and family in China at extremely cheap rates. However, before placing a call to China, consider what the current time is for the recipient of your call. China is thirteen hours ahead of EST in the United States, i.e. eight hours ahead of the GMT.

Simple Steps to Call China:

  1. Dial the international access code – 011.
  2. Dial China’s country code – 86.
  3. Dial the city code 2-4 digits of the place you want to connect with. (e.g.: Beijing city code is 10, Guangzhou city code is 20 and Shanghai city code is 21.)
  4. Dial the remaining 6-8 digits (phone number).

The rapidly booming Chinese economy also creates opportunities for investors.
Today more than ever, there are more western investors that are invested in China. More and more United States businesses that do call China on a regular basis are actively seeking for ways to save money on all their long distance calls. Even though phone cards to call China is available in almost everywhere there are grocery stores, people are continuously looking for the so called “best China phone cards”. Well, this is not an easy find. Most phone cards do carry connection fees, weekly maintenance fees, and the ever popular three minutes or more increments. Again the word is “be careful and be informed”.

Prepaid long distance makes calling to China more affordable than ever. What makes prepaid long distance unique is the “No PIN” dialing and the convenience of being able to call from any phone including cell phones without worrying about connection fees and other fees that maybe associated with phone cards. You only pay for “talk time” plus of course clear quality connections.

Ni hao, (pronounced nee how) is the normal greeting for ‘hello’ or ‘good day’ in Chinese. While Mandarin Chinese is the official language, English is catching up with most business people, though it is not widely spoken. So carrying a phrase book to identify key phrases written in Chinese characters would be helpful on a visit to the country. The Chinese respond with their last names first followed by the given name. For instance Wang Cheow is actually Mr. Wang.

So the next time you want to call China without any confusion, use prepaid long distance and don’t bother about how you call, when you call and how much you talk. With prepaid long distance calling China is as easy and as cheap as it can get.

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Make Free International Calls With VOIP

Posted on 14.04.2015 by trycards

Earlier, people avoid international calling because of its high cost but these days international calling becomes much cheaper. Thanks to technology that it has made it possible. To survive in the tough competition in telecommunication industry many service providers are coming up with their new cheap plans and schemes that offer users a facility to make international calls at reduce rates. The mobile industry has seen an extreme change in a short period of time and thus it is successful in giving people an additional benefit of making cheap calls all over the world. The people can enjoy talking to their friends and close ones without taking pain of long phone bills.

Service providers are trying their hard to offers their best possible plans to their users. They offers special monthly plans for their users that offer them free international calls. There are many different kinds of calling plans that gives special rates for selected countries. For instance, under a special plan, the service provider offers free international calls to France and Germany then people can enjoy talking to their dear ones in both the countries without any disconnect. Even some times, to promote the products and services, many of the service providers offers free bonus minutes to their users. With this advantage, one can easily make international calls without any hassle and stay connected to each other. However, you can also take the advantage of PC to phone calling by switching over to VOIP technology that allow you to make cheap calls from your computer at any corner of the world. With the help of a computer along with a internet connection, one can access VOIP services.

The access VOIP service, you just need to register yourself there and can enjoy free calling along with additional features of voice mail, sending files, call conference, caller id and many more. With the introduction of PC, the mode of calling becomes much easier. With the help of technology along with the contribution of PC, now people can enjoy free international calls.

VOIP offers its many different services like Lingo, Skype and many more with their individual benefits. It is the most convenient method that allow people to make calls from PC to phone anywhere and at any time. Even the users can also opt for various calling plans and search them on internet. You can go through different websites and opt for the plan that fulfill your requirements. So in order to enjoy international calling plans within your budget,just switch over to various cheap calling plans or VOIP technology that give you a chance to stay connected.

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Procuring Calling Cards Online – Save Money and Avoid Bad Deals

Posted on 03.04.2015 by trycards

There are many outlets offering calling cards for making domestic as well as international cards. One could buy such cards online or from one of the retail stores.

It is desirable and often suggested to buy such cards through a reputed online source, rather than buying the same from retail stores. However, sometimes it may not be possible, for instance, when you are traveling. In case you can plan your requirements beforehand, you’ll certainly get better value for your money and eliminate the possibility of getting scammed.

If you are wondering why it is recommended to buy online, here are the major reasons for that:

– You can compare the offers of different online vendors.
– The company’s reputation can be checked easily by going through the complaints posted by other buyers.
– Shady companies find it difficult to conceal rates and fees of the calling cards.
– Apart from the prices of various cards, you can also know their special features.
– Advanced features such as speed dialing and PIN-less dialing makes things easier.

Ultimately, you conveniently can get the best deals for calling cards as per your specific requirements, if you patronize online shopping.

Bad calling cards deals are more likely in stores

Well, there may be some bad on-line providers of cards, but it has been realized that most bad card deals are associated with new or unpopular brands of calling cards, and these are mostly sold through convenience or retail stores. Cards with renowned brand name,s whether sold through online or physical stores, are less likely to be involved in scams.

An important contributory factor in this regard is the packaging. Cards that are sold through stores contain a very limited information as the size of the card is bit too small to give detailed information. Moreover, incidents of shoplifting and inadequate security compel store owners to restrict browsing and comparing different cards. This encourages corrupt companies to indulge in malpractices by promising more than what they can deliver.

If at all, you must buy calling card from a store, be sure to buy a reputed brand or a card that you have already purchased and you were happy with the results.

Where to purchase cards online?

You’ll find scores of websites selling calling cards, and also prepaid cards for phones. You can very conveniently locate them by carrying simple Google searches. Perhaps you could ask some of your friends for additional help and suggestions.

After having located a likely vendor, you should look for the following:

1. Find out all applicable fees and rates. Patronize vendors that have adequately displayed this information.
2. Make sure that you go through the contents in fine print as vendors often conceal real fees under terms and conditions. When locating any additional fee hidden there, you should look for some other card.
3. You must compare prices of at least two vendors. Compare their prices, facilities available, selection of cards on offer and choose the one that most matches your requirements.
4. Other than the vendors, you must compare calling cards of three companies, carefully studying the price and features. You’ll notice a wide variation of prices.
5. Find out the complaint history of the vendor. You may use Google search with “complaint” or “review” as the keyword for the chosen vendor.

Looking to purchase calling cards and phone cards? Visit our website for some great deals!

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IOS, Android Or Windows Based Mobiles – Which Is The Best Option?

Posted on 29.03.2015 by trycards

The mobile industry is a burgeoning one, with a whole host of different companies vying for the top spot. At first, the top spot belonged to Apple, as it comfortably swept aside the competition and rose to the fore. However, Apple was unable to maintain its advantage at the top, and a lack of innovation and ingenuity on their part saw the American behemoths fall second to South Korean tech giants Samsung. Samsung had partnered with Google, and their excellent Samsung Galaxy line of mobile phones has been popularly received throughout the globe. The mobile phones have become hugely popular not only for their performance as well as their outlook. But, are they good enough? Can they compete with others? Here’s a brief guide on the different mobile phone operating systems:

iOS

The Apple iPhones all run the iOS mobile operating system. Apple’s iOS has not seen a lot of aesthetic changes since the time it was revealed, though recently it did undergo a complete renewal as iOS 8 was released in the market, which saw newer icons and newer facilities being provided to users. The iOS has a range of different connectivity options as well, and supports a wide range of new features. The Apple iPhone 6 and the Apple iPhone 6 Plus are both outfitted with Apple’s operating system, and have become hugely popular. However, they are expensive. Apple has always been reserved for those who have a significant amount of money to spare, and the iPhones are no exception. Starting from $650 and going as high as $1,000 for the fully outfitted version, it is not a mobile phone that one would purchase every now and then.

Android phones

The Android operating system is unparalleled in terms of quality and performance; it is an extremely flexible operating system that can be customized with a whole host of different skins and choices that will add a completely different experience to your everyday usage. Some of the best phones on the market, such as the HTC One, the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the OnePlus One, are all powered by Android, though with different skins on the top, which add a completely new usage experience over the top. Unlike Apple, Android phones are available in a bunch of different varieties as well, so you can easily choose between a range of different options, both expensive and affordable.

Other options

There are a range of other options available too, such as the Blackberry Devices or the Windows Phone supported mobile devices. The Windows Phones are mainly manufactured by Nokia, which was wholly bought by Nokia, while the Blackberry interface has all but receded from the market, becoming a shadow of what it once used to be. However, both of these have a very small share of the market, which means that they are a great option for people who are used to them, but not such a good option for those who are looking to buy their first smartphone.

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Blackberry Storm Review

Posted on 15.03.2015 by trycards
Blackberry Storm

Blackberry Storm

About a month ago it was time to get a new phone. Up until that point I had a Motorola Q and was very pleased with it. Based on everything I read, I had decided to get the new Motorola Q9c. But when I arrived at the Verizon store I was informed that the Q had been discontinued. I had a hard time believing it so I called around and verified that it was indeed being discontinued. This left me in a position where I was uneducated on just about every phone in the store. A friend of mine had the HTC Touch Pro and for several reasons, I won’t go into, I had decided against it.

Because I have an Exchange server, I had a pretty specific set of requirements that my phone needed to have. With no Q available and not wanting the HTC, that left 2 choices i.e. The Blackberry and the Samsung Omnia. This is when the salesman at the store went to work on me.

The Blackberry Storm was the best thing on the planet AND it was on sale. If you bought one storm, you got the second one for free. What a great deal right? I told him that I was extremely happy with the Q and wanted the SAME functionality and Exchange integration. I was absolutely assured that everything about the Blackberry Storm would integrate seamlessly with our existing server environment. After repeated clarifications on this matter I ended up getting the Storm. I have never had a touch screen phone and, after all, it WAS kind of cool.

This is where the misery unfolds. Despite all assurances, it turns out the Storm doesn’t integrate with an Exchange server like a Window Mobile device. You have to purchase additional software from RIM (Blackberry), set up separate admin accounts, create additional databases on the server and purchase additional enterprise licenses for each Blackberry in use. 3 days and countless hours of tech support later, the Storms were functioning. OK, it was a headache to get the Blackberry Storm working but after all that it has to work great.

NOT the case. As I started playing with my new Storm, I was excited about the number of apps that were available for the device. I immediately proceeded to install a bunch of apps that were either handy or fun to use. It turns out that the OS on the Storm kind of struggled with some of the apps that were available. YouTube, Google Maps and others seemed to create some minor conflicts with power management and other areas in the phone. Pretty soon my phone started crashing and rebooting on a regular basis. I began reading some forums in an attempt at troubleshooting my issues. In the end, I uninstalled all of the apps bringing the phone back to the original configuration. This should have fixed it.

Touch screens are cool, no doubt. However, I soon realized that I like buttons. About a week ago I went to dial a phone number and the touch screen number pad had crashed. I couldn’t dial a phone number. I had to take the phone out of the case, remove the back cover and take the battery out to force the phone to reboot. I did this twice and the touch screen number pad began working again.

Aside from the technical problems, the email and SMS organization leaves a little bit to be desired. You can customize it a bit by separating the SMS and email messages but all of your sent messages go into your main message folder. Not the end of the world, you just have to sift through more lines to get at what you want.

I have talked to people that are pretty happy with the Storm. My guess is that they are simply a casual user. Below are some additional negatives as well as positives.

The WIN: The Storm’s browser is fast and loads websites quickly, the voice dialing works really well and the screen size is outstanding for browsing, viewing pictures and reading emails. The camera on the Storm takes really good pictures and the threaded text messaging is great. The Storm has a TON of on board memory with the option for additional memory via the memory slot.

The FAIL: Touch pad dialing and typing is MUCH slower and cumbersome vs. a conventional keyboard, the Storm OS app conflicts and the horrible integration and setup. Even though the camera takes great pictures, it crashes frequently and takes FOREVER to “snap” the picture. Sending pictures is also a tedious venture at best.

Bottom line? I don’t think I can recommend the Blackberry Storm to anyone. There are a variety smartphones out there that seem to function much better.

UPDATE: I was just on the Verizon website and discovered that the Motorola Q9c IS available again. There’s a little salt in the wound!

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The Google Nexus 6 In The Latest Smartphone News

Posted on 14.03.2015 by trycards

The Google Nexus 6 Is Breathtaking

It was October 2014 that Google released the Nexus 6 smartphone. At the time, it seems curious to challenge the iPhone 6, and it’s bigger sister the iPhone 6 Plus. Google hopes to challenge Apple in the marketplace, and to steal their headlines with the recent iPhone releases.

Google Nexus 6

Google Nexus 6

We are always diligent about our research of all the best new smartphones in order to help you find the best fit for you. This review takes a look at the new Google Nexus 6 smartphone, and our review may be a little surprising.

Here’s Everything We Know Already

Produced by Motorola the Google Nexus 6 smartphone comes with a huge 6-inch screen meaning that it is barely (less than an inch) smaller than the nearest tablet.

What this phone lacks in compression, it makes up for with top-class resolution to watch all your videos and pictures. With a 1440 x 2560 resolution along with a 13-megapixel camera, you’ll take breathtaking pictures and view video in stunning definition.

The Nexus 6 can be purchased contract-free (unlocked) for $649, and this amount may be a little shocking to users familiar with the Google brand. This price point causes it to be the costliest of Google’s phones.

If a cheap smartphone is what you’re looking for, you may want to get a standard 2-year service agreement. This contract will price the Nexus 6 at $349 available with all of the chief carriers from Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, US Cellular and Sprint.

This move is clearly a ploy by Google to expand its market access and deviates from its conventional model of only releasing their smartphones on Google Play store and serviced by T-Mobile.

By putting the Nexus 6 into more carriers, clearly their hope is that it will help Google expand its market share of the smartphone business.

What This All Means To The Smartphone Market

With the recent releases of Apple’s iPhone 6, the Samsung Note 4, the larger iPhone 6 Plus and now the Google Nexus 6, there’s a number of outstanding options for future smartphone purchase.

This marketplace saturation also indicates that come the holiday shopping season; you’ll find some outstanding deals on all the best new smartphones. So if you’re looking to acquire a new cheap phone or in search of the best new one, then you should be able to find exactly what you need easily.

Whereas the Nexus 6 is an outstanding new phone, it’s introduction into the market will mean that there are numerous deals on a cheap phone if you know how, and where, to contemplate.

As mentioned in the article earlier, the biggest advantage of all these new phones on the market will be furious sales and deals. With the upcoming holiday shopping season, you should be able to locate a great cheap smartphone easily.

By waiting for these holiday deals, you’ll find a great phone at ridiculous prices that will perfectly suit your needs. From finding Black Friday deals to Cyber-Monday steals, there will be prices much cheaper than those publicized now. But you’ll have to wait a couple months, and as it’s said, good things come to those who wait.

It’s never been a better time to purchase a new or cheap phone and there are a number of online stores to help you locate the best prices. So check out phones on Amazon, inside the Google Play store or Best Buy among others to find your next holiday shopping deal.

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Choosing Between The Apple iPhone 6 and Samsung’s Galaxy S5

Posted on 12.03.2015 by trycards

The two major manufacturers of the world’s most popular smartphones continue to compete with two high spec smartphones: Apple’s iPhone 6 and Samsung’s Galaxy S5. We compare the two mobile phones from a consumer point of view by summarising the most important features and specifications.

iPhone-6

iPhone-6

DESIGN
iPhone provides users with a smooth & slim aluminium based smartphone device, while Samsung focuses on merging soft touch plastic with hard plastic edges that are coloured to appear like metal. The iPhone 6 is 2mm thinner and 5mm less wide, fitting nicely in the palm even with one hand. The winner here is clearly the iPhone when taking an aesthetic point of view.

Samsung Galaxy S5

Samsung Galaxy S5

SCREEN
Both phones have similarly spectacular screens. The Galaxy S5 holds a 5.1-inch AMOLED display with a full HD resolution of 432 pixels per inch. The advantage of this type of display is the ability to display perfect blacks with unlimited contrast ratios. This means perfect imagery during movies with dark backgrounds, with zero light emitting turning jet black to grey black.

The iPhone 6 uses an IPS LCD screen, excelling at brightness, viewing angles and colour accuracy in comparison to the competitor. Resolution stands at 326 pixels per inch, so less than Samsung but still offering a sharp display. The winner here is Samsung’s display, which is physically larger too by 0.4 inches.

STORAGE
These devices differ in storage capabilities on a physical note. The iPhone has fixed storage capacities of 16GB, 64GB and 128GB. There is no physical way to expand on storage, unless the giant released a larger internal unit sometime in the future, which will come at higher cost.

The Galaxy S5 has a comparably small 16GB internal storage, but offers users to expand storage up to 128GB easily and at low cost using MicroSD memory cards. This is preferable as it allows users to choose exactly how much extra they want, and can easily store other data on these external cards. The winner is the Samsung S5 here, giving users more flexibility and choice when it comes to storage capacities.

PERFORMANCE
Samsung’s smartphone is a clear winner on paper specifications. However, through product testing, both phones are similar when it comes to essential functionality. In fact, the iPhone has scored better when testing response times, feeling faster during everyday use. A lot of this comes down to the device’s software as opposed to processing power. Samsung’s extra capabilities here could thus explain its downfall in everyday testing.

BATTERY LIFE
Now heavily prioritised among consumer decision factors for smartphones, the two giants struggle to produce high spec computer phones without compromising on power requirements and overall battery life. The Samsung S5 has a bigger battery, resulting in longer use before charging is necessary. Charging the devices is fast at around 2 hours. The winner is the Samsung S5, which not only has a physically better battery, but packs a range of features within its software for saving power.

VERDICT
Highly subjective, we place the verdict upon what type of user you are. If you’re looking for value for money and battery life, then the Samsung smartphone is a clear winner. If you’re looking for design and performance, at a higher cost, then the iPhone 6 is the one to take home.

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