CDMA or GSM, HELP!
Hi All!
I am a current Verizon user in the S.F.-Bay area, and have excellent service with them for 4 years now. But I have been intrigued for a long time with GSM service and the phones connected with it. I need peoples input and opinions here. Is GSM better than CDMA and why? I heard the voice quality is better, but is it by much? A year or two ago, I heard GSM was terrible here(as far as signal strength, dropped calls, etc)...has it improved? From what I've seen on the maps and from what co-workers and friends say, it is yes. Now if I decide to go GSM's way, I've decided to go with either AT&T or Cingular, because they have the upcoming 850 frequency besides the already existing 1900. T-Mobile only has 1900 from what I've seen.
So betwe...
(continues)
I am a current Verizon user in the S.F.-Bay area, and have excellent service with them for 4 years now. But I have been intrigued for a long time with GSM service and the phones connected with it. I need peoples input and opinions here. Is GSM better than CDMA and why? I heard the voice quality is better, but is it by much? A year or two ago, I heard GSM was terrible here(as far as signal strength, dropped calls, etc)...has it improved? From what I've seen on the maps and from what co-workers and friends say, it is yes. Now if I decide to go GSM's way, I've decided to go with either AT&T or Cingular, because they have the upcoming 850 frequency besides the already existing 1900. T-Mobile only has 1900 from what I've seen.
So betwe...
(continues)
...
Chris -
I am actually headed the opposite direction with you on this. I live in the Peninsula and have had GSM service for the last yr with AT&T (I chose GSM because the phones you can get have been more feature robust than what is available with TDMA/CDMA).
I am so ready to get rid of the service because of daily dropped and missed calls and overall poor satisfaction. There are several dead spots in my area, and reception is only good in certain areas. Everytime I want to make a call or am expecting one, I have to keep an eye on my phone to make sure I have a signal.
If your primary objective with a phone is getting clear reception, you're better off with Verizon.
Eventually, I will consider going back to GSM, but not for at le...
(continues)
I am actually headed the opposite direction with you on this. I live in the Peninsula and have had GSM service for the last yr with AT&T (I chose GSM because the phones you can get have been more feature robust than what is available with TDMA/CDMA).
I am so ready to get rid of the service because of daily dropped and missed calls and overall poor satisfaction. There are several dead spots in my area, and reception is only good in certain areas. Everytime I want to make a call or am expecting one, I have to keep an eye on my phone to make sure I have a signal.
If your primary objective with a phone is getting clear reception, you're better off with Verizon.
Eventually, I will consider going back to GSM, but not for at le...
(continues)
...
It does, Thank-you!! That's why I am asking the questions to see what people now think of GSM and how it compares to CDMA, namly Verizon. I am very happy with their service, but I talk to a friend of mine in So. Cal. who has GSM service, and he sound's better on his GSM phone than on has land-line! Also impressed with the selection of hand-set's, but I'd rather stick with Verizon than switch to a GSM carrier if the service is still "spotty". I know it was bad a year or two ago, so I'm just asking people and "testing the water's" to see if GSM has improved yet, and if it's worth switching. Thanks again for your imput.
Chris
Chris
...
Verizon CDMA worked out great for me in the Southeast, but up here in the northwest, their service has been horrible, with dead spots everywhere. My home happens to be right in the middle of a deadspot, and I live along I-5 in a highly incorporated area... and i didnt get enough reception to receive a call.
I switched to T-Mobile just to test out GSM coverage, as I had heard about its spottiness, but remained hopeful as i dont use a hardline phone, and be damned to ever get one. I was pleasantly surprised as I get perfect reception everywhere I go. Granted, it doesn't work when i'm skiing at Crystal Mountain, but from my work to home and all points in between, i have never dropped a call.
this is also considering both phones were eq...
(continues)
I switched to T-Mobile just to test out GSM coverage, as I had heard about its spottiness, but remained hopeful as i dont use a hardline phone, and be damned to ever get one. I was pleasantly surprised as I get perfect reception everywhere I go. Granted, it doesn't work when i'm skiing at Crystal Mountain, but from my work to home and all points in between, i have never dropped a call.
this is also considering both phones were eq...
(continues)
...
Thanks for your info! 🙂 T-Mobile was not originally one of my GSM choices, due to being only in the 1900 freq. AT&T and Cingular are developing some 850 area's as well as using the 1900 mg freq, and I hope they will expand the 850 as time goes on. Also a friend is with T-Mobile, and she complains that she has to step outdoors to make a call, where I can call inside my house...for I like you do not have a landline. Also need to make sure it works a little of the "beaten path", for I travel inland sometimes. But then again, I have heard excellent things about T-Mobile's customer service. I haven't fully decided yet to leave CDMA or Verizon, for if I do decide to go GSM, I need to make sure the coverage is going to at least equal what I have...
(continues)
(continues)
...
As the old saying goes: If it isn't broke, don't fix it. I've worked with one GSM carrier (T-Mobile), one TDMA carrier (Cellular One), and one CDMA carrier (VZW) and CDMA is by far the most impressive of the lot. TDMA isn't even worth looking at...all the major TDMA carriers are frantically switching to GSM, and this is going to cause MAJOR issues with the network.
To put it simply, "rigging" a TDMA system to be GSM (which is what AWS did, and you can see the results of this) is the equivalent of using a wire hanger to hold your exhaust pipe in place.
GSM, while a fine system, is inherently limited. The fact that it has to be transposed into a CDMA hybrid just to reach semi-3G status should tell you you're better off sticking with C...
(continues)
To put it simply, "rigging" a TDMA system to be GSM (which is what AWS did, and you can see the results of this) is the equivalent of using a wire hanger to hold your exhaust pipe in place.
GSM, while a fine system, is inherently limited. The fact that it has to be transposed into a CDMA hybrid just to reach semi-3G status should tell you you're better off sticking with C...
(continues)
...
