Buying a new phone: the four questions you need to answer first

Buying a mobile phone is a lot more complex than it used to be. If you intend to invest in a smartphone with a long term contract, there are four questions you should answer at the beginning.

1. Are you restricted by current contract, location or desire to a certain carrier or carriers?
2. Will this be your only mobile device or will you also own some type of tablet?
3. Do you want or require a specific operating system - Apple, Android, etc.?
4. Is compatibility with some other device important?

Once you answer these questions you will be in a much better position to begin your search and say something more intelligent than "I think I like the blue one".