Originally posted by: uli2000
Originally posted by: Rottie
I don't know much about EDGE, EVDO, GSM, etc...tell me what is the difference all of those?
I often heard hearing people said that the Verizon wireless is the best because of voice quality and some say T-Mobile monthly plan is cheaper than others...(Mine is only 29.95 a month) I don't know much about Sprint, and Cingular. Which one is better and why?
Well, all the acronyms are for various cellular system and data systems. The 2 major cellular technologies used in North America are GSM (Cingular/ATT and Tmobile, also some other regional carriers) which is used in most of the world, and the other is CDMA (Verizon, Sprint, Alltel, other regional carriers), which is mostly used in North America, South Korea, China, and a few other places. There is also a 3rd cellular system in use, IDEN (Nextel), but it is slowly being phased out by Sprint (who owns Nextel).
EDGE/GPRS/HSDPA are all data standards used in GSM. GPRS is the slowest, at about 14kb/sec. I havent seen a GPRS only phone for quite a while. EDGE is faster, usually between 100-200 kb/sec. Most GSM phone have atleast edge for data. Tmobiles network is all edge right now. Edge is concitered a 2.5g data technology HSDPA is a high speed 3g data technology used in some areas by Cingular/AT&T. Speeds run up to 3.5 mb/sec. Though right now, its only in limited areas and limited handsets.
1x and EVDO are data standards in CDMA. 1x runs about the same as edge, about 100-150k. EVDO rev 0 (the most common) runs up to about 2.5 mb/sec, though ususally more like 400-700kb/sec. EVDO rev A runs up to 3.5 mb/sec, but has increased upload speeds and decreased latency.
One thing to remember, your speed will vary on many things, such as how far you are from a tower, how many users are using data, ect. Since you are on Tmobile, you have EDGE data, which is good for messaging/web browsing and low bandwith streaming of audio/video.
As far as coverage, CDMA tends to have better coverage. GSM can be limited out of metro areas or major highways. Verizon advertises they have the 'largest network', but much of that is due to roaming agreements with other carriers. I have Alltel, and can roam free on both Verizon (voice and 1x data) and Sprint (voice and EVDO data) and others, and I live in a very rural area, and I have never had a problem making calls. It all comes down to how you will use it. If Tmobile works for you, stay with it. They are currently the only ones who have sidekicks, from which I understand, it the most widely used mobile communication device in the hearing impaired community.