CDMA, GSM or iDEN?

[MJR]

I think I have a basic understanding of the difference between CDMA and GSM, but can anyone tell me how iDEN works?

[TheZodiac]

iDen is based on pre GSM technology (TDMA) Its pretty damn slow. COnjured up by Qualcomm I think. Its basically the backbone for thier cute walkie talkie system. about 9-12 kbps.

[carcomptoy]

I thought it was Motorola that developed it...hence all their phones being Motorola with the exception of the Blackberries. I used to dislike it, but after finding out more about it, it's a pretty cool system actually. Since it is based on TDMA just like GSM, there're many similarities such as a SIM card and everything. I like the flexibility of it...you can use the iDEN system in countries that support it, such as some in South America and even Asia like the Philippines (total shocker to me:eek: ), and of course you still retain the whole walkie talkie concept. If you go to non-iDEN countries, just put the SIM card in a GSM phone, and you're ready to go:D

[jmax577]

motorola created, maintains, and 100 percent owns iden technology. it it is based on time division standards but operates a little differently than tdma or gsm. ever notice that EVERY nextel phone is motorola minus the balckberry?

[carcomptoy]

THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I SAID:D:D:D

Anyways, to clear things up, Qualcomm developed CDMA, just FYI:rolleyes:

[Box215]

ever notice when you call a nextel person you get the message "please wait while we locate the nextel cusotmer?" (it goes something like that)

[jmax577]

you said that you thought that motorola created it. i confirmed it. the data rates are horrendously slow (as stated before) and the footprint SUCKS.

[carcomptoy]

you said that you thought that motorola created it. i confirmed it. the data rates are horrendously slow (as stated before) and the footprint SUCKS.
I'm not being like I ALREADY SAID THAT in a mean way...I was just proud that I was right:p

I don't know the data rates personally, but when I asked my friend if she had internet on her Nextel phone, she was like yeah, but it's really slow and it's not that good...

LOL it's funny that you say the footprint sucks...cause it looks very similar to T-Mobile's:rolleyes: Perhaps the merger will add more coverage, yes?

[3gpeasy]

you guys have far too many standards... what's wrong with just GSM and UMTS, i ask you...

[carcomptoy]

Don't ask us, ask the FCC and the carriers. I love GSM and all, but I appreciate that the FCC didn't limit the carriers to just ONE standard, where as in some countries I heard it's illegal to have anything else but GSM or CDMA. In Europe's case, you guys wanted to work together so that Europeans could travel between countries and still use their phones, thus all of you decided on GSM. With the US, we didn't work with anybody, and obviously, limiting carriers would go against our laissez faire roots, however quasi it is now:rolleyes:

[3gpeasy]

yeah it's all "government by consensus" in the good old EU, supposedly.

which is how you get the total farce that is the common agricultural policy, the UK budget rebate, and now half of europe voting no to the constitution.

but it worked out ok with GSM, at least

[jayesh]

yeah it's all "government by consensus" in the good old EU, supposedly.

which is how you get the total farce that is the common agricultural policy, the UK budget rebate, and now half of europe voting no to the constitution.

but it worked out ok with GSM, at least

yea or we wont be here having this discussion :D

[3gpeasy]

good job we're better ay network standards than we are at keeping the french happy :rolleyes:

[carcomptoy]

LOL those French...gotta love 'em:D Anyways, yeah, going back to topic, I prefer GSM to anything else. I love the flexibility of switching phones on a whim, and that it connects us even more to the rest of the world since most of the rest of the world uses it. Imagine if the EU had adopted CDMA instead of GSM...:rolleyes:

[jmax577]

god help us if cdma was the world wide standard

[3gpeasy]

i don't entirely understand CDMA, but am i right in thinking that there are no SIM's and your phone has your number, end of?

cos if that's right, that'd be awful

[jmax577]

yes, that is an attribute of a cdma phone

[carcomptoy]

LOL CDMA isn't that bad...sometimes I have to admit the call quality seems better. Don't get me wrong though, I love the flexibility due to the SIM card:D

[jmax577]

in theory cdma works better. the code breakdown of a digitial signal is far easier to transfer than using assigned timeslots. i just never have had much luck with cdma phones. maybe thats because the companies using cdma BLOW

[carcomptoy]

Yeah...I especially hate Sprint:p

[3gpeasy]

is there any technological reason why CDMA phones can't have SIM cards (or equivalent), cos that's clearly the best way to go. obviously a sim from a cdma phone would have to go in another cdma phone to work, but that'd still be a hell of an improvement in flexibility over what there is now.

[jmax577]

any technology can be modifies to use sims. since cdma is domestic only the main benefit of using sims for international purposes is lost.

[3gpeasy]

yeah, but still it means you can sell your phone and buy another one without having to change your number.

which i do do. a lot.

[Box215]

you can buy a phone without changing your number, you just have to let verizon or sprint know so that they can change the number from one phone to another.

[carcomptoy]

any technology can be modifies to use sims. since cdma is domestic only the main benefit of using sims for international purposes is lost.
Actually, CDMA isn't domestic only...even with a CDMA-only phone, Verizon and Sprint customers can roam in specific CDMA countries, such as Korea, Israel, China, and New Zealand, in which it's cheaper to use your CDMA phone than to rent a GSM one

[3gpeasy]

you can buy a phone without changing your number, you just have to let verizon or sprint know so that they can change the number from one phone to another.

won't they get a bit pissed off if i'm ringing them up to do that every day? and do you have to have bought it "properly" (ie from verizon or whoever) or can you just get one from wherever, ie. ebay?

[lpietro]

won't they get a bit pissed off if i'm ringing them up to do that every day? and do you have to have bought it "properly" (ie from verizon or whoever) or can you just get one from wherever, ie. ebay?

Actually, you can, but, since it's kinda difficult to find a CDMA phone brandless, you'll have trouble changing carriers. In the US, at least, you guys have 2 carriers using CDMA, but here in Brazil we only have one, and manufacturers don't do CDMA phones brandless, so, if you want to buy a phone without a carrier (UI personalization, WAP/MMS settings, etc.), you simply can't. That's why I rather die than have a CDMA phone (kinda harsh, isn't it? :P). GMS is A LOT better. They have so many phones with OS (which I love), bluetooth (same here) and GSM has the only REAL 3G: the videophone, so to speak.

[carcomptoy]

WirelessImports.com imports the CDMA phones from Korea for use here...that's about the only unbranded CDMA handset you can get. A lot of the times too, carriers are incompatible with each other. You can't use a SprintPCS handset on Verizon, and vice-versa, so if you're with a CDMA carrier you're really stuck. Definitely, that's what I love about GSM:D

[iGambit]

You can't use a SprintPCS handset on Verizon, and vice-versa, so if you're with a CDMA carrier you're really stuck.
Not exactly. VZW does allow you to activate non-VZW phones; as of late, they have become a bit stricter, but if you have a CDMA phone that supports the 850Mhz and 1900Mhz band, even if it's a Sprint phone, you can activate on VZW. I was a customer for seven years, so trust me on this. Also, VZW does not lock their phone. They lock their browsers and customize (cripple) their phone with GIN ("Get It Now"), but their phones are actually unlocked.

[iGambit]

is there any technological reason why CDMA phones can't have SIM cards (or equivalent), cos that's clearly the best way to go. obviously a sim from a cdma phone would have to go in another cdma phone to work, but that'd still be a hell of an improvement in flexibility over what there is now.
Well, R-IUM cards (http://mrtmag.com/news/radio_ruim_offers_freedom/) would do the trick, but unfortunately no US CDMA carrier has adopted the technology.

[jmax577]

don't you guys remember that michael told us that you can change verizon phones using their website? i guess all you need is to access your account, typoe in the new esn, and its changed.

[carcomptoy]

Still, that's a hassle...imagine doing that every morning instead of just switching SIM cards! (not that I do that, but theoretically speaking...)

[carcomptoy]

Not exactly. VZW does allow you to activate non-VZW phones; as of late, they have become a bit stricter, but if you have a CDMA phone that supports the 850Mhz and 1900Mhz band, even if it's a Sprint phone, you can activate on VZW. I was a customer for seven years, so trust me on this. Also, VZW does not lock their phone. They lock their browsers and customize (cripple) their phone with GIN ("Get It Now"), but their phones are actually unlocked.
That's pretty cool I didn't know that...so what non-Verizon phones have you used on Verizon?