Perhaps this discussion of standards would be simpler if we separate voice and data.
Enjoy, Jim On Jul 29, 2011, at 12:44 PM, objectwerks inc wrote: > > On Jul 29, 2011, at 1:31 PM, Scott G. Lewis wrote: > >> >> On Jul 29, 2011, at 1:07 PM, Scott G. Lewis wrote: >>> >>>> Unless your boss needs to be on Verizon, then he would use the GSM iPhone, >>> >>> You mean WCDMA iPhone. The original iPhone was the last GSM iPhone. Sure, >>> the current iPhones support GSM when they have to fall back to it. >> >> I suspect the phrasing bit me on that. I meant unless he needed to be on >> Verizon.... he would use a GSM iPhone. > > The last GSM iPhone was the original iPhone. The 3G and on iPhones use > W/CDMA (which is different than the CDMA variant used by Verizon, Sprint, et > al). AKA "UMTS" > > W/CDMA uses a CDMA type signaling with a GSM type control/command layer. > Since it uses the same sort of control/command layer as GSM it is an easier > upgrade to GSM for 3G service than other 3G type services. But note that > not all W/CDMA/UMTS carriers support GSM nor are all W/CDMA/UMTS carriers > upgraded to it from GSM. Both NTT DoCoMo and SoftBank in Japan, and the > Korean users, for example, did not have GSM networks in existence when they > introduced their W/CDMA/UMTS networks. > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W-CDMA_(UMTS) > >> But that said, the non-CDMA iPhone is GSM... no? > > See above. > > The iPhone 3G/3GS/4 are commonly called GSM phones. They do support GSM as a > fall back but normally run on W/CDMA/UMTS unless it is not available. They > are dual mode phones. GSM does not allow concurrent voice and data. > W/CDMA does, which is why the iPhone supports it. > >> Have I lost my mind, and has Wikipedia failed me to boot? >> >> In any event, as you mentioned, other than the CDMA iPhone for Verizon, it >> works all over. > > Exactly. Which is why Apple sells it all over as well, including non GSM > places like Korea and Japan. > >> What the roaming charges are... that's another story. :) > > true. We are going to Japan in a month and a half and which is why I am > going to try this: > > http://applenberry.com/store/gevey-sim/gevey-ultra.html > > with a local SIM card my SIL is going to get for me there. That along with > > http://www.unlockit.co.nz/unlockit/ > > Will hopefully help me out on that front. I will be sticking my normal ATT > sim in a NOKIA for the trip so that people in an emergency can call me > directly. > > > > _______________________________________________ > iPhone-talk mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.omnigroup.com/mailman/listinfo/iphone-talk _______________________________________________ iPhone-talk mailing list [email protected] http://www.omnigroup.com/mailman/listinfo/iphone-talk
