Top 10 must-have features on smartphones

The term ‘smartphone’ gets thrown around a lot these days, but if you look a little closer, you'll know that they aren’t really all that ‘smart’. Previously, phones that could multi-task were considered to be smartphones and today, all the major operating systems do support that feature in one way or another. But with time, the smartphones have evolved into much more than that and they are actually coming pretty close to PC standards, in terms of processing power and functionality, which is why we feel the definition of a ‘smartphone’ should be more than just the ability to run two programs at the same time. Here’s a short list of the must-have features every smartphone in this day and age should possess if it has to be termed ‘smart’. 

USB On-The-Go
We’ve longed for the ability to transfer files to our phones without the need for an intermediately, like a PC and USB On-The-Go (OTG) came as a blessing. However, not all smartphones support this feature yet and that needs to change. USB OTG let’s you plug in your pen drives directly to your phone or even a portable hard drive directly to a tablet and transfer files back and forth through an adapter. USB OTG certified devices have a dual-role, which means they can act as the host or a peripheral, meaning that it should be technically possible for you to transfer music or videos directly from one phone to the other. Sure, you can do this via Bluetooth, but it’s obviously going to be a lot faster this way and with USB 3.0 and Embedded Host supplement coming to USB OTG, it’s only going to get better.

No big deal!

Onboard storage for media
Smartphone makers should take a cue from Microsoft and Apple and give users a decent amount of useable onboard storage space to start with. We still have phones in the market that cost upwards of Rs.30,000 and don’t offer any onboard storage for media files (Yes, I’m talking to you HTC!). We don’t think it’s too much to ask for. Including at least 4GB of onboard storage in phones that cost Rs.15,000 and above is essential. While smartphones of today do come with onboard memory, it’s usually a very small amount that can only be used for apps and nothing else.

Good quality bundled headset
Is expecting a good quality bundled headset a little too much to ask for? Most smartphones come with really poor sounding headsets that either never fit in your ear properly or sound horrible. Using your personal earphones is one solution, but then answering a phone call becomes bit of a hassle, especially if you’re traveling using public transport in India. We want to see good quality in-ear phones bundled with every smartphone, price no bar.

Brilliant hearing headphones. FTW!

Good build quality
This goes without saying, but all smartphones should come with superior build quality, especially if they are priced at Rs. 20,000 and above. In order to win the ‘lightest smartphone’ title, manufacturers have the tendency to use a lot of plastic in their chassis (you know whom we’re talking about), which makes the final product feel and even look cheap, to an extent. If you’re going to be pricing the phone above 25K, we want to see some aluminium or stainless steel used in the construction, just so we know it won’t shatter the moment you drop it. The obvious side effect is the increased weight, but to be honest, we don’t mind a little heft in our pant pockets. 

Dedicated camera button

Some may question the validity of this point, but we’ll still hold on to our point that a dedicated camera button for a smartphone is an absolute must. We did a camera phone test, earlier this month and we noticed that ones with a dedicated camera button performed slightly better, as compared to those, which lacked one. A dedicated camera button also helps in that extra bit of image stabilization, along with better focusing.