Saturday, November 17, 2007

Picking the right phone for the available network

All Nokia mobile phone works with either the GSM network or the CDMA network. Therefore, you need to choose the right model to match your wireless operator.

Unfortunately, not all Nokia smartphones work with all wireless operators everywhere in the world. Each wireless operators build their networks using different kind of technologies, and a phone model typically works with only one of the network technologies.

If you obtain your Nokia smartphone from the wireless operator when you signed up to a service plan, it can be rest assured that the device is compatible with the operator's wireless network in your current area. However, as smartphone power users and gadget lovers, many of us actually buy cutting-edge devices directly from electronics stores at bargain price and then use them with existing service plans. If that the case, you have to be a little extra careful to picking a phone that works correctly with your operator's network.

Purchasing a smartphone from a third-party electronics store without a service plan will often cost you more, because the mobile operator does not subsidize the cost of the device with service revenues in this case. However, you will have access to the latest devices available that have not been officially supported by the operator, and you will be freed from operator lock-in. Additionally, you get a handset unmolested by the mobile operator. Many operators apply custom firmware and branding to their handsets, such as adding new icons or removing functionality from the device. This would limit the full potentials of your smartphone. Even if you get a device unlocked from your operator, it will still have some customizations in place, and sometimes this can produce very undesirable effects in the long term.

Thse are the most common technology for cellular phones

GSM
The GSM technology was developed in Europe to provide digital voice networks. It has been now extended to support fast wireless data access via the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS; 2040 kbps), EDGE (40 230 kbps), and UMTS (384 kbps and up) protocols. GSM phones operate at frequencies of around 900, 850, 1800, and 1900 MHz. It is now become the most widely used wireless phone network technology in the world. All Nokia smart phones support both GSM and GPRS. Newer models, such as Nokia N-series also support EDGE and UMTS.

iDEN
iDEN is Motorola's proprietary wireless networking technology based on (but unfortunately not compatible with the prevalent) GSM. It attempts to combine the digital phone, two-way radio, alphanumeric pager, and data/fax modem in a single network. The iDEN network is only used in about a dozen countries. In North America, Nextel and Mike (Telus Mobility) are iDEN operators. No Nokia phones currently works with iDEN networks.

CDMA
The CDMA technology is developed and licensed by Qualcomm. It is based on the spread-spectrum technology which uses a single-frequency band for all traffic. Each individual transmission is differentiated by a unique code assigned by the network before transmission. CDMA supports wireless data at a peak speed of 153 kbps, about three times the speed of GPRS. Nokia's CDMA devices are not as technically advanced as its GSM-based devices, such as the lack of Symbian S60 OS.


Network availability is a prime consideration if you frequently travel abroad. For instance, most wireless operators in Western Europe use the GSM network. Your CDMA phone will have limited coverage there. On the other hand, South Korea uses mostly CDMA networks.

To get a complete list of GSM and CDMA devices from Nokia, go to the Forum Nokia device matrix at http://www.forum.nokia.com/ devices and choose GSM or CDMA in the "Devices filtered by" drop-down box.

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