[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

My friends cell provider is a CDMA service. That means the phones all suck and have not SIM cards in them.

He desperately wants a Motorola Razor (4x band) or any other GSM phone. Can he just buy one and have it work on the CDMA network?

He called his provider and ask that if someone with a GSM phone came to his CDMA town would the phone still work and they said yes. They said they don't sell GSM phones.

So the question is can he do this? Where would he get a GSM phone card to go with it that works with his provider?

[milhous]

according to the motorola website under "performance features" (http://www.motorola.com/mdirect/hell...l_specs.shtml?) the razr is indeed a quad band gsm phone. it may very well work in the town where your friend lives only because there is both cdma and gsm wireless services available. they both operate in the same airspace, yet are different providers and technologies. if your friend is resolute in wanting to get this phone, he will have terminate the contract with his cdma carrier (be it vzw, sprint, etc.) and sign up for new gsm service (cingular, t-mobile, etc.). furthermore, your friend may have to pay an early termination fee of about $200 if he hasn't fulfilled the contract's duration. optionally he can also port the number from his cdma phone to the razr so that he can keep the same phone number regardless of the service that he uses.

hope this helps.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Terminating isn't an option because he lives in the middle of nowhere and they are the only provider.

I am just trying to understand how if I with my GSM phone went over there if it wouldn't work at all because it is not CDMA.

[turtle777]

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
My friends cell provider is a CDMA service. That means the phones all suck and have not SIM cards in them.

So the question is can he do this? Where would he get a GSM phone card to go with it that works with his provider?

Not possible at all !

Change provider, that's the only thing he can do.
The Motorola razor is a quad band, but still limited to GSM !

-t

[C.J. Moof]

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
Terminating isn't an option because he lives in the middle of nowhere and they are the only provider.

I am just trying to understand how if I with my GSM phone went over there if it wouldn't work at all because it is not CDMA.

Your GSM phone wouldn't work b/c there isn't a GSM network in range for it to hook up with. GSM is usually found in major cities and highways in the US, but has little rural infrastructure. CDMA networks are more built in rural areas, some places you have to go back to Analog, and some places just aren't covered by anything at all.

GSM and CDMA are 2 different network technologies, so taking a GSM phone to a CDMA provider (Sprint, Verizon, Alltel, US Cellular, others) just simply isn't going to happen.

[Earth Mk. II]

No. Even if the GSM phone could operate in the same band as the CDMA phone (usually either 800 MHz or 1900 MHz), it wouldn't work because CDMA and GSM utilize totally different multiplexing protocols.

If the phone works, it's probably because it's roaming on an old AMPS network, or there's a GSM network in range (roaming or not).

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Os since that is out what is the BEST CDMA phone you can get?

He hates his top of the line Samsung.

[theJoKell]

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
Os since that is out what is the BEST CDMA phone you can get?

He hates his top of the line Samsung.

He is limited to the phones his provider sells. You can't take a Verizon phone and put it on a Sprint network, even though both of them use CDMA.

But if you mention what he uses I'm sure someone could recommend a good phone.

[C.J. Moof]

Define "best". Coverage? Cool factor? Usability? Battery life? Picture quality? RF output? Voice quality? The list goes on and on.

2 sites you'll want:
www.phonescoop.com
www.howardforums.com

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally posted by C.J. Moof:
Define "best". Coverage? Cool factor? Usability? Battery life? Picture quality? RF output? Voice quality? The list goes on and on.

2 sites you'll want:
www.phonescoop.com
www.howardforums.com

He really wants good reception and battery life. It also needs the internet stuff. No need for camera.

Can you buy any CDMA and unlock it?

Right now he has the Samsung a600 which he said lasts less than a day battery wise.

at any rate this is what his provider has:

https://commerce.sasktel.com/eSales/...s)&SWERF=1

[C.J. Moof]

If his battery only lasts a day, he'd better check if he's getting digital coverage with that phone, as it may be in analog all day. Analog gets pretty bad battery life, and if that's the only reception he gets, it's going to limit his phone choices to the tri-mode phones. If he got one that doesn't do analog, he might go from crummy battery life to no signal.

If he's stuck in analog coverage, an old used StarTac might be the best thing. Seriously.

He's a Sprint customer, right?

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally posted by C.J. Moof:
If his battery only lasts a day, he'd better check if he's getting digital coverage with that phone, as it may be in analog all day. Analog gets pretty bad battery life, and if that's the only reception he gets, it's going to limit his phone choices to the tri-mode phones. If he got one that doesn't do analog, he might go from crummy battery life to no signal.

If he's stuck in analog coverage, an old used StarTac might be the best thing. Seriously.

He's a Sprint customer, right?

He is a Canadian Sasktel customer. He must get digital cuz he text messages and surfs the net with his current phone. Even when in Toronto his battery lasts only a day.

[turtle777]

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
He is a Canadian Sasktel customer. He must get digital cuz he text messages and surfs the net with his current phone. Even when in Toronto his battery lasts only a day.

Sounds like he needs a new battery to me. Or phone.
That shouldn't be normal.

-t

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally posted by turtle777:
Sounds like he needs a new battery to me. Or phone.
That shouldn't be normal.

-t

His old Samsung did was also crappy so he got the top of the line one 6 months ago.

It is not normal to replace it after that short amount of time.

[turtle777]

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
His old Samsung did was also crappy so he got the top of the line one 6 months ago.

It is not normal to replace it after that short amount of time.

No. It is not.
How long was the battery life when the phone was brand new ?
If it started out that low, something is wrong with the phone.
I couldn't think of any reason why a network (CDMA) would cause this drain at normal usage.

-t

[TheMosco]

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
His old Samsung did was also crappy so he got the top of the line one 6 months ago.

It is not normal to replace it after that short amount of time.

CDMA phones just suck batteries like crazy. It isn't broken, its just CDMA.

Just look at the stats... There are alot GSM that have a lower capacity battery but have sometimes 3x the talk time and maybe even more.

[C.J. Moof]

Originally posted by TheMosco:
CDMA phones just suck batteries like crazy. It isn't broken, its just CDMA.

Just look at the stats... There are alot GSM that have a lower capacity battery but have sometimes 3x the talk time and maybe even more.

GSM battery life is far better than CDMA, but one day is not normal. My Moto V60 only needs to be charged 2x/week, not 7x/week. If he's getting digital service, there's something wrong here.

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Originally posted by TheMosco:
CDMA phones just suck batteries like crazy. It isn't broken, its just CDMA.

Just look at the stats... There are alot GSM that have a lower capacity battery but have sometimes 3x the talk time and maybe even more.

ya I thought the same thing, CDMA are power whores.