Senior News Line: When it’s time for a new cell phone

Like it or not, sometimes we just have to buy a new cell phone. When the old one won’t hold a charge anymore or it won’t take the newest security updates, we have to cave in and begin a hunt for a new one.

Sometimes it’s easy. You take the old phone to the same store where you bought it and tell them you want an upgraded version of that phone. You look it over, press all the buttons, like it, and there you go — a new phone.

Most of the time, however, it’s not that easy. Technology moves along so quickly, and so do the capabilities of new phones.

If it’s been more than three years since your last phone purchase, talk to friends and family. Play with their phones and see how they feel in your hand.

Look up cell phones on the internet and compare the features — all before you even head to a phone store.

Your choice of phones depends in part on what you want it to do. If you want to keeps things simple, check out RAZ phones and the Jitterbug lineup. The RAZ phones, for example, only do regular voice and video calls.

For fancier options, do you want to cruise the internet, send email, watch videos, make calls, take photos, send text messages or play games? Most of the phones out there now do all of this.

Decide in advance how you want to handle the purchase of the phone. Do you want it to be part of a monthly plan or pay for it completely? Do you want to be on a monthly plan at all, which may involve signing a contract?

Additionally, ask at the store whether you’ll get anything for trading in your old phone and whether you’ll get help transferring your information to a new phone.