So your dog/toilet ate your phone and you want to know what to do? This is a primer to advanced cell phone usage and consumption. Mind you, this info is current as of July, 2006 in the USA.
You need to know if your Phone company is CDMA or GSM. That defines whether you can buy your own phone, or if you buy it from the carrier.
A
CDMA phone means that you have to buy from your carrier. This is Verizon, Sprint, Nextel, Alltel. If you're dedicated you can get your unlocked world CDMA phone on their network, but you need a friend who works there to add the ESN. It's just too much hassle and your friend could lose their job.
-See the popular phone forums below for possible options to unlock/uncripple your phone. BITPIM is the software that allows you to modify your CDMA phone's file system, but it's very easy to brick your phone if you mess with the wrong files.
A
GSM phone means that you can buy a phone, put your SIM card in and it will connect to the your carrier. GSM carriers are easily identified by having a SIM card. The SIM card is the white flash chip that lives under the battery. Here, this is Cingular and T-Mobile.
- You can buy your mobile from your network, but often features will be disabled. Bluetooth file transfer, Java functionality and custom ringtones are often the first victims. This is a good route for most people because you can expect customer service from your cell phone company rather than having to do it yourself. Typically, this is more expensive than an unlocked phone unless you get a $100-$200 discount afforded by a 2 year contract extension. Again, this is not a bad option. You can sometimes unlock your phone even if you bought it from the carrier, typically after being on contract for a year. Refer to the phone forums listed below for more information.
-You can buy an
UNLOCKED GSM phone from almost anywhere in the world, put your SIM in and have it work. There are qualifiers on that statement for a reason, but I'll go on about the good side first. You can buy the latest phone and use it here. You can sell your phone later for more than its locked companions because it can work with any carrier. You can sometimes upgrade your phone firmware to add features yourself thanks to the tireless efforts of phone hackers. Mostly it involves more customization, more freedom and no contract.
Ok. You want an unlocked phone. How do you decide which one to get?
Hold on a second.
First a warning. These phones are not insured except by the manufacturer and even then you are not buying a 100% satisfaction-guaranteed warranty. Most often they will not be equipped to repair these phones in the US and if they do take it, they will fix it at their leisure. You are buying a phone with no safety net. You are responsible to keep an eye out for updates to the phone's firmware. You are the only customer support rep you will ever deal with for better or for worse.
If you still decide to get an unlocked phone, first research to see if you need the 850MHz band. In big cities you have stellar 1900MHz coverage, but often you need 850 inside buildings and in suburb neighborhoods. Communities often oppose the construction of 100ft cell towers, so ironically the richest neighborhoods often have terrible GSM coverage. Look for the GSM map of your area or call your provider to find out your coverage at home/work/school. Look at your commute and see if there are any dead spots. The 850 band is often the limiting factor when purchasing overseas phones. I.e. tri-band (no 850) versus quad band.
TL;DR
-The US uses 850MHz and 1900MHz for cell phones.
-Dual band can be 850/1900 OR 900/1800
CAREFUL you cannot use 900/1800.
-Triband is most often 900/1800/1900MHz, i.e. for Europe.
-Quadband a.k.a. world phones have 850/900/1800/1900 and will work great everywhere except S. Korea and Japan.
Finally,
be a savvy consumer and do not be wooed by features. Read reviews. Read more reviews and listen for complaints. Phone heads will complain about the SLIGHTEST problem in a handset. If you wait a couple months you will live an easier life.
Resources:
Phone Forums
These are the wizards of phonedom. Fear for your sanity because you will spend way too much time searching these forums for answers to your problems. These are not an easy read.
http://esato.com
http://howardforums.com
http://se-nse.com
GSM Maps
http://wirelessadviser.com
http://gsmworld.com
T-Mobile Only:
http://compass.t-mobile.com/default.aspx
This article is ©2008 by the respective authors. Reproduction is prohibited without express permission from all contributors.