To choose a cell phone service:
How are you going to use your wireless cell phone.
How about frequency of use and your other needs to determine the best service plan. Here's more on
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Alphanumeric
- messages - consisting of numbers, letters and characters.
AMPS: advanced mobile phone service.
The traditional analog wireless transmission technology,
operating at 800 MHz in the United States and Canada.
Analog signal
It's the traditional method of modulating radio signals.
A signal that has a continuous nature rather than a pulsed or discrete nature. (electrical or physical analogies, such as continuously varying voltages, frequencies, or phases, may be used as analog signals).
The capacity of a transmission medium (channel), measured in frequencies (Hertz, as analog bandwidth) or in the amount of data (bits per second, as digital bandwidth).
Batteries
Battery technologies: Nickel-Cadmium (NiCd), Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) and Lithium-Ion (LiON). Click here for information.
Bit: binary digit.
A character used to represent one of the two digits in the numeration system with a base of two, and only two, possible states of a physical entity or system. In binary notation either of the characters 0 or 1.
CDMA: code division multiple access.
A coding scheme, used as a modulation technique, in which multiple channels are independently coded for digital transmission over a single wideband channel.
Cellular phone/mobile.
A communications system that uses a combination of radio transmission and conventional telephone switching to permit telephone communication to and from mobile users within a specified area.
In cellular mobile systems, large geographical areas are segmented into many smaller areas, i.e., cells, each of which has its own radio transmitters and receivers, interconnected with the public switched telephone network.
To encode information using series of bits, each stating 1 or 0. (see also Bit)
Dual-band:
working on two frequency bands (such as 800MHz and 1900MHz) with one signal format, is called dual-band phone.
Dual mode:
is single phone mode, plus will also work with an analog signal system.
Frequency
The number of cycles or events per unit time, measured in Hertz at which an electrical current alternates. Also known as indication for radio frequency location. Learn more...
GHz: See Hertz.
GPRS: general packet radio service.
Is based on packet transmission.
In order to take the quickest possible route, parts of the message sent by GPRS, travel separately through networks to its destination.
This means higher transmission speed (approx. 35 kbps) than GSM (approx. 9 kbps).
GPRS terminals/phones are permanently online; you don't pay for the time but for the amount of data you send and receive.
'Always on' might be the most important advantage of GPRS.
GSM: global system for mobile telecommunications.
A public all-digital cellular network using TDMA techniques for multiplexing and using a transmission band around 900 MHz. GSM formerly identified the Groupe Speciale Mobile of the European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI); today it is a worldwide standard. A GSM network can provide, besides telephony services, fax, short messaging services (SMS), e-mail, data communication and limited internet, in circuit- and/or packet mode. GSM signaling uses specific channels and protocols; voice is compressed at about 13 kb/s and error correcting algorithms (FEC) are used. The core network is based on a 64 kb/s circuit-switching technology. A more recent version uses an 1800 MHz band; modern terminals currently used in Europe can access both networks depending on traffic conditions and other parameters. A GSM version using a 1900 MHz access network is available in the United States.
A frequency measurement equal to one cycle/wave per second. Kilohertz (KHz)is thousand Hertz. Megahertz (MHz) is million Hertz. Gigahertz (GHz) is billion Hertz.
iDEN: integrated digital enhanced network.
A specialized system that combines a TDMA phone with a two-way radio feature.
MHz: See Hertz.
Microbrowser:
Part of WAP technology, it utilizes the screen of the cellular phone to display web pages served in the wireless markup language.
Paging.
Receiving a transmission on a small one-way or two-way radio receiver (pager). The transmission sounds a tone or vibrates.
There are now pagers that can receive and send numeric and text messages.
Some pagers can also send emails. Learn more...
PCS: personal communications services, branded by Sprint.
Indicating the hardware and software - digital network at 1900 MHz - that provides two-way, digital voice, messaging and data services.
