Dear Prudence

The time to consider buying a new smartphone has come around again. This is planned for every four years nowadays. And I mean buying online, directly from Samsung. Having finally paid off that string of bank loans last March, I've been able to put some money by. The restricted opportunities to spend during the pandemic have also helped. I now have enough saved to easily afford any of the new 2021 models that Samsung will announce in two days' time. 

It will be Samsung. I've enjoyed owning Samsung smartphones since 2012. I am not in the Apple World. I use Microsoft Windows 10 and Android. 

This has been my sequence of Samsung smartphones:

# Samsung Galaxy SII (or S2), named Eloise, used from 10th August 2012 to 12th April 2014 - a Vodafone phone-and-SIM contract.

# Samsung Galaxy S5, named Demelza, used from 12th April 2014 to 28th April 2017 - another Vodafone phone-and-SIM contract.

# Samsung Galaxy S8+, named Tigerlily, used from 28th April 2017 until now. Out of contract, unlocked - and SIM-only - since 9th August 2019.

Each of these smartphones has been physically larger than its predecessor, as I have wanted the biggest screen I can afford for easy use of spreadsheets, and for the best viewing of photos and maps. And with bigger screens come bigger built-in batteries, which tend to have a longer working life. I want my next phone to resemble a hand-sized tablet even more. 

Each of these phones has had more and more memory, either built-in, or capable of being added using a micro-SD card. That's so important. I have a very large 'most important' photo collection to be accommodated - it now stands at nearly 41,000 photos, which between them require 81GB of storage. Then there's the music and the maps, and all the rest. So with ongoing needs in mind - the next phone might well last me fully five years - I want, ideally, 512GB of built-in storage, and the ability to take a 1TB (1,024GB) micro-SD card. I may have to settle for less than this, but if it's on offer I will happily pay to have that kind of storage. I can then install other photo collections (treating the phone as a backup device). And massive storage tends to come only on Samsung's very best models.

Big screen, big battery, big storage. What else? 

The new phone will of course be a 5G device. I won't see 5G in my village anytime soon, but I will encounter it when out and about, especially on holiday. And one day, perhaps three years from now, it will arrive at home.  

Any bonuses? The 2021 Samsung Galaxy models will all have great cameras. That's welcome, but only to make the phone I buy a very good standby picture-taking device. I returned to using a proper camera a year ago, and I doubt whether I'll change back to a phone. It's just the wrong shape for a good grip; and a real camera's physical controls are better than prodding virtual buttons and sliders on a screen.   

So which new Samsung Galaxy model will it be? The 21, the 21 Plus, or the 21 Ultra?

Samsung take the cover off their latest wares in an online presentation on 14th January. I'll assess which one best fits my needs, and register my interest with Samsung, with the actual purchase and delivery in early February. I might as well get my hands on the new phone as soon as possible, well before the coronavirus restrictions end, and caravan holidays become possible again. Yes, I will be paying the full price; but I'll be able to use my new phone right through 2021. That's worth something to me, having the latest tech so quickly. I could wait a few months, and save some money on the purchase price, but then it would seem like old hat and not the newest and best.

Personal devices like a smartphone have individuality, and I depend on mine to organise and record my life with. I come to cherish them, and they deserve a name. Since 2009, it's always been a tradition with me to give my smartphones (of whatever make) a female name. Joanna, Eloise, Demelza, Tigerlily. What will this next one be called? 

At the moment, Prudence comes to mind. That will go very well with the name of my Microsoft Surface Book laptop, Verity. Prudence and Verity. Old-fashioned names for very modern gadgets. 

More on or after the 14th, when Samsung reveal all.