On Mon, 21 Jan 2013, Chuck Cole wrote: > Almost true, but Yaron didn't believe CDMA is a majority of carriers and > likely also in users in the USA. Oh for goodness sake. I NEVER SAID THAT. I said GSM is undoubtebly the most popular system GLOBALLY. I /specifically/ said that the US is LAGGING BEHIND most of the world BECAUSE CDMA is the most popular system here. > POINT of THIS POST: I recall seeing some phones that do BOTH and almost > interchangeably. Must have two RF chips..Not sure what that means at data > level or provider levels. There are what are called "World Phones" that have both CDMA and GSM. These are few and far between, though, and while they can hop btween GSM networks with zero problems, they still have trouble hopping around CDMA networks. We're getting WAY the heck off topic here, but I'll say this. CDMA is an old, old, old and outdated technology. It is missing alot of features GSM does, notably that you can't use voice and data at the same time with CDMA. Furthermore, CDMA is a lot better for locking users into a specific carrier. It is virtually unknown of to be able to take a CDMA phone to a different provider - try taking a Verizon phone to Sprint, for example. Good luck with that. If you buy an 'unlocked' CDMA phone you're still at the mercy of your provider. Contrast this with an unlocked GSM phone. First, since GSM /is/ in use globally, unlocked GSM phones are readily available. Google has been directly selling unlocked GSM Nexus phones for ages, for example, and you can get an unlocked GSM phone, not tied to any provider, on Amazon. Easily. Once you have this phone, you can use it on any GSM network. In the world. Without asking the provider for permission. You just put the SIM card in. I have three unlocked GSM phones at home. If my primary phone breaks, I can easily move my SIM to a backup phone. If I don't like my provider, I have many more options to switch without having to buy a new phone than if I was on a CDMA network. Now as for the quality of SERVICE, that's a completely different matter. I've been using T-Mobile for a loooong time, and I can tell you that the quality of their service AND their customer service has gone downhill a looong way. When Mike said he can't get data service in his home I was sadly not surprised. I have a hrd time with that, too, as do some other t-mobile people I know. This just started happening out of the blue a few years back, and t-mobile claims it's "impossible". And don't get me started on their customer service which used to be fantastic (it used to be the #1 rated customer satisfaction provider! Not anymore...) This has nothing at all to do with underlying technology and, Chuck, I think you misunderstood me completely if you thought that's what I'm saying. By all means, use whatever network is best for you. I'd never advise you to do otherwise. --