So you’ve got a smartphone and want to use it to the maximum. Well, as long as your phone has a decent memory and supports the installation of Java applications, there’s no dearth of add-ons available - ensuring that you don’t need to visit a cybercafe for internet-related work the next time you’re out of town. Here’s looking into the services and software that will help you get the most out of your smartphone.

Similar to how computers require a network card to access internet, GSM mobiles need either GPRS or EDGE. GPRS implies a surfing speed of 8-10 kilobytes per second (KBps) while EDGE offers twice those speeds. However, phones supporting EDGE are more expensive and start at around Rs 9,000.

The next step is to contact your telecom service provider and check internet services they’re offering. Hutch for example offers a basic service for Rs 49 a month. This will let you open WAP sites, that is, sites designed for mobile phones like wap.yahoo.com and also wap.google.com.

If you’re interested in big game then an advanced GPRS or EDGE subscription is what you should go for - depending on what your phone supports. This will allow phone to open any page on Internet. Not only can you surf on the instrument itself, but also on your PC once you’ve connected the phone to it.

ome of the offers available from leading telecom service providers are good enough to replace your home’s main cable connection. For instance a plan for Rs 299 a month with an initial 1 GB of traffic free - you are charged Rs 5 per MB beyond that. There is yet another scheme which is set at Rs 199 a month as the rental, plus Rs five for every MB used, or Rs 499 a month with 500 MB of bandwidth free. After that you have to pay the usual Rs five per additional MB used. If you’re only going to be surfing from your phone, a simple plan is more than enough.

You need a powerful browser to handle extensive images and heavy code that websites employ these days. Default phone browsers fall short here.

Opera’s mobile browser can be installed on any Java or Symbian OS phone. There’s Opera Mobile for Windows-based smartphones like O2 and Imate. Symbian Series phones have their own customised version of Opera Mobile.

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