CDMA vs GSM?

What the heck?????
I know, I know, it doesn't mean a thing to you but it should. Those are the technologies currently in use by the wireless carriers in the continental United States. Cell phone technology started out as an analog signal...you know, the difference between a clock with a second hand and one with the little green numbers that click by???
Then came a digital signal and GSM technology. Well it worked pretty darn good and still does. The problem is that GSM has to be dramatically changed to offer the new stuff that you want on your phone. Mobile TV, Internet, picture and video messaging...they'll figure it out but it's really a case of them re-inventing the wheel. You see, it's just not fast enough.

Now CDMA was MADE for broadband use, they built it in the first place with an eye toward the future. Your choices will depend (or should depend) on what exactly you want out of your phone.

Anyway, CDMA=Code Division Multiple Access

"CDMA technologies have revolutionized the wireless industry and set the path for the next generation of converged communications, mobile entertainment and broadcast services." quoted from CDG.org can offer you detailed information on CDMA technology and it's up and coming news.


GSM=Global System for Mobile communications.

"One of the leading digital cellular systems. GSM uses narrowband TDMA, which allows eight simultaneous calls on the same radio frequency.
GSM was first introduced in 1991. As of the end of 1997, GSM service was available in more than 100 countries and has become the de facto standard in Europe and Asia." quoted from Webopedia