What operating system should my kid use?
There are several key players in the smartphone market, each with their own benefits and drawbacks. Android comes with the most diverse line of phones, offering a wide variety of sizes, prices, and features, as well as a highly customizable home-screen and interface. The iPhone bears what is arguably one of the simplest and most streamlined operating systems, and only releases one new model a year which makes picking a handset even easier. Windows Phone 8 offers a bit more of a customized experience, much like Android, and features Live Tiles which can provide your kid with updates from all of his or her favorite social media apps in a single glance. If your family has already started using Windows 8 PCs and laptops then using a Windows Phone might be a bit easier a transition for your child as well. BlackBerry is largely designed with professional usage in mind, but its ability to keep work and play separate could be of great use to high school and college students who might occasionally use their phones to get some schoolwork done. If you yourself use a smartphone, you may want to consider giving your child a similar one so you can help him or her learn to use it (or vice versa, many children will adapt to new technology very quickly).

How likely is this phone to break?
Kids can be clumsy and careless, and if full grown adults have trouble keeping their phones intact then children certainly will as well. Phones like the HTC One (which has a unibody metal frame) and the Motorola RAZR family (which have Kevlar backs and screen-protecting raised edges on the front) provide a layer of built-in protection which many phones lack. Of course, putting on a screen protector and case will help spare your kid’s phone from all sorts of drops and spills as well, and Geek Squad Protection will make sure you’re covered if the handset does break.

Is my child ready for a smartphone?
It might seem like everyone has a smartphone these days, but don’t forget there are still feature phones and traditional cell phones available as well. These devices might not have the same computing capability as a smartphone, but if you worry your kid might run up a large bill in the app store or visit websites you don’t approve of, a more basic phone will ensure that neither is even a possibility. Regular cell phones can also be less costly to replace if they are lost or broken, making them a worthy consideration if you feel your children are not ready for the responsibility of owning smartphones, but still want them to be able to text their friends or call you from anywhere in an emergency. A traditional cell phone will also spare you the added cost of having to pay for mobile data.

The carrier’s coverage map is going to be the most important, as a phone is only good when you can use it. Coverage maps are provided by the carrier, and can be found here for AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. These coverage maps do not guarantee coverage, however, so it is best to talk to family and friends about what they have, and talk with a Best Buy Mobile Sales Consultant, who can help you choose the right carrier for you.

Next consider how many devices you want. Don’t forget to include mobile hotspots, tablets, and basic phones, as these can all be added to your account with ease. Each carrier has its own plan options; some offer up to 10 lines of service on one account to best suit your needs. Verizon and AT&T have each rolled out shared data plans, where you can choose a pool of data that each of your devices can share from. We even have in-store data calculators to help you estimate how much data is right for you.

Finally, you will want to look at the different types of phones to find what works best for you. Do some research on operating systems and decide if Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, or Windows Phone suits you best. Many smartphones are available only with certain carriers, so this may help narrow your field if you have your eye on a specific phone.

Each individual carrier has its own benefits, but there are a lot of factors in finding one that works perfectly for you. At Best Buy Mobile we are unbiased, and will help you choose a carrier, from planning your monthly bill to finding the coverage area you need. Stop in and talk with one of our consultants to see what is best for you!

Near-Field Communication, or NFC, is a technology we’ve had a while but have only recently started putting it into our cell phones. It allows devices to use a short-range signal to communicate with other compatible devices. Sharing photos, contact, and other information through “bumping” your devices is the most common use of NFC for the average person. A few current hot phones featuring NFC technology include the BlackBerry Z10, Motorola DROID RAZR Maxx HD, Nokia Lumia 920 and Samsung Galaxy S 4, among many others.

But what else can you use NFC for? For one, you can purchase little devices called NFC tags. These can be written with a certain function for whenever a device touches it. For example, I have an NFC tag on my keychain that will take anybody who uses it to my Facebook page. That way they don’t have to go through the trouble of finding me later. Other common uses are logging into Wi-Fi, setting an alarm, or starting up a music station.

And why not pay for those new NFC tags with your phone? A growing trend is NFC payments, where customers use their phone to safely and securely pay for their products. Similar to PayPass or Blink for credit cards, apps like Google Wallet utilize the NFC chip in your smartphone to transmit data to the pay stations in retail stores. More and more retailers are adding NFC payment support, so make sure to ask before whipping your phone out!

Aaron’s back to round up the best smartphones as voted on by YOU in PhoneDog’s Official Smartphone Rankings!

In week 62, the HTC One continued its dominance against the Samsung Galaxy S 4, holding the first place spot for a second full week with a total of 614 votes!

Passbook is a centralized location that enables you to keep your boarding passes, movie and concert tickets, coupons and reward cards in one place. For me it can save quite a bit of time and money. Passbook is still growing, with a little over 20 apps available. Starbucks, for example, allows you to store gift cards. When you realize that you still have a balance left over for the beverages you desire, boom! That just saved you money. Or when you reach the airport the app can notify you about all important information regarding your travel. That just saved you time.

For the social crowd, Passbook has partnered with Living Social, a company that provides small businesses a customer base while giving consumers huge discounts on products and services. Another very cool aspect is being able to “pay for things without ever needing a wallet.” Square was one of the first companies to develop a system for sellers to collect money, and they are now perfecting a way for buyers to purchase items without even swiping anything!

Passbook is simply a very smart way to keep track of transactions that are important to us. Also, the amount of money and stress it can save makes this app a very convenient and up-and-coming way to manage coupons and important documents. Being able to go out try new places and foods at very affordable prices, with all the tools stored and managed within a handheld, internet-connected device is very enriching, and even life-changing too! Useful for everyone and essential for those who are on the go or traveling, Passbook is indeed a smart efficient tool I will definitely end up utilizing for years to come.

Jake Christiansen – Mobile Sales Lead for BestBuyMobile. Follow him on twitter @JakeChristiansn.

A quick summary this week. I have the Samsung Galaxy S 4 at number one, the fluid OS on this device is amazing and all of the software features make this a very special and great looking phone. At number two, the HTC One is the best built phone in years. I love how it feels in the hand, and it also comes packed with its own software features on Sense 5 like Zoe and Blinkfeed.

Number three is the still the Samsung Galaxy Note II. I love this display, it works great with all of the different features the TouchWhiz offers users. Best phone of last year and it still selling strong in stores. The HTC DROID DNA is my number four and could be one of the best choices for any Verizon customer. Great 1080P display and awesome processor, great for media lovers.

And at number five is the iPhone 5. I am excited to see if Apple will provide users with any new iOS features this year. Right now the phone still has a great following, is well built, and an overall solid choice.

Daily activity
The Fitbit Flex wristband monitors steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned and active minutes, so you can easily set daily activity goals. It is equipped with LED lights to show you at a glance how you are doing with said activity goals (which you can set online via your free Fitbit account on their website).

Sleep monitoring
Not only does the Fitbit Flex monitor your activity through the day, but it also keeps an eye on the time and quality of your sleep at night. This helps to promote overall wellness. And to help make sure you don’t overdo sleeping, a silent alarm gently wakes you in the morning. Don’t worry about the wristband being a hassle. With a slim, water-resistant design, it ensures a comfortable fit 24/7 – even when you’re in the shower.

App
Fitbit also has a free app that can be downloaded on select iOS and Android devices. With this, your Fitbit wristband will sync automatically, so you can see your stats updated in real-time, set goals and log your food and workouts. Because you are syncing wherever you are, you can also receive notifications on your phone when you are close to your goals to keep you motivated and, when you meet your goals, celebrate your achievements. And, like with all Fitbit trackers, you can earn badges, connect with friends to share and compete for extra encouragement. The Fitbit Flex helps give the motivation you need to get out and be more active.

The Flex wristband is just one of the many awesome products Fitbit has out. Regularly priced at $99.99, the wristband comes in four colors: black, slate, tangerine and teal.

There are a lot of benefits to using Bluetooth. For one, it is wireless! That makes phone calls a lot easier to handle when you’re busy doing other things or travelling, so you don’t have one hand glued to your ear the whole time. Bluetooth also uses low power signals, so it doesn’t need a lot of energy. This is great for saving the battery on mobile devices.

Click below for a helpful how-to for setting up Bluetooth on your new smartphone.

• How to: Connect your HTC phone to a Bluetooth device
• How to: Connect your Motorola phone to a Bluetooth device
• How to: Connect your Samsung phone to a Bluetooth device

Do you need help avoiding this terrifying situation? Don’t worry, there are things you can do to alleviate the drain on your smartphone’s battery. If poor battery life is keeping you tied down to your charger, click below for some tips to help free yourself from that wire.

• How to: Save battery life on your Motorola phone
• How to: Save battery life on your Samsung phone
• How to: Save battery life on your HTC phone