GSM or CDMA?

GSM or CDMA? We often hear GSM and CDMA technologies being used as one of the main marketing points for mobile phones, but how many of us actually know what these technologies are? And why would we choose one over the other?

For a start, I will give a brief overview of the two technologies:

GSM
Short for Global System for Mobile communications, GSM is the most widely used cell phone technology in the world and is though to have somewhere between 75% and 85% of the market share. It was first launched in Finland in 1991 and is currently available on more than 690 mobile networks in over 200 countries. GSM phones support SIM cards, which give the phones owner great freedom with global roaming and changing to other phone operators. Security is a main feature of GSM technology and it uses several cryptographic security algorithms.

CDMA
Short for Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA is a digital cell phone technology used in second generation (2G) and third generation (3G) mobile phones. It is currently a very popular network in Asia Pacific and North America with popularity starting to grow in other parts of the world. CDMA phones do not support SIM cards, the account information and the owners address book and details are programmed into the phone. CDMA is a form of multiplexing that allows multiple signals to exist on the same channel, optimising the available bandwidth.

Which technology should you choose? If both GSM and CDMA networks are available in your area, your decision should come down to data transfer speed, global roaming and whether you are likely to change your phone all that often.

Data transfer speed
CDMA currently supports data transfer speeds up to 2Mb/s thanks to EVDO (EVolution Data Optimised) technology. This is currently superior to what GSM can offer although I should mention that GSM is fast catching up.

Global roaming
GSM is the obvious winner here due to the ability to change a phones SIM card for local providers.

Changing phone
If you are likely to change phone quite frequently and would like to keep your number and personal contacts, GSM would again be obvious choice due to the ability to change SIM cards.

Another factor may be the quality of your local networks. If you have a choice between GSM or CDMA, it may pay to do some research and see which network has the best coverage in your area.

CDMA Development Group Website
GSMA Website

Motorola RAZR2 V8 - Enhanced Multimedia features

The Motorola RAZR V8 is the next generation RAZR focused on a thin design and enhanced multimedia experience.

As an owner of the older RAZR V3x model, the first thing I noticed about the RAZR V8 was that the external display has been made much larger. After further investigation, I discovered that Motorola have made the external display touch-sensitive with support for music player controls and the ability to read and reply to texts. Once the music player has been started, there is not need to open the phone.

My biggest disappointment with the RAZR2 V8 is that the camera has remained at 2.0 megapixels. This is the same resolution that was provided on the V3X model which is now about two years old.

But what the Motorola RAZR2 V8 lacks with its camera resolution, it makes up for with looks. This is a sleek looking model that features a stainless steel frame, vacuum metal housing, chemically hardened glass and spun metal and chrome.

Specifications:
- External display: 2.0" Touch - QVGA (320 x 240 pixels) and 262k colours
- Internal display: 2.2” QVGA (320 x 240 pixels), 262K colours
- Camera: 2 megapixels with 8x digital zoom
- Music player: Optional stereo micro-USB headset and stereo Bluetooth wireless technology
- Internal Memory: 420MB or 2GB
- External Memory: No
- Video - MPEG4 capture and playback
- Connectivity: Class 2 Bluetooth 2.0 and high speed micro USB 2.0

LG Viewty KU990 - 5 Megapixel camera

The LG Viewty KU990 is one of the latest camera phones - featuring an impressive resolution of 5-megapixels. If you are considering purchasing a digital camera in the near future and could possibly do with a mobile phone upgrade too, then you may want to consider the Viewty KU900.

Not only does the camera support a high 5-megapixel resolution, it also has a touch screen and supports a range of other features that you would expect to find in a standard digitial camera. On top of the convectional auto-focus, the Viewty KU990 is the first ever camera phone to support manual focus. A xenon flash is included although I have heard reports that it is not all that bright.

Other image enhancing facilities include digital stabalisation, ISO 800 and SmartLight for taking quality pictures in low-light conditions.

The LG Viewty KU990's photo editing software provides a range of useful features including picture size adjustment and a scattered photo viewer that allows you to drag photos around the screen with the flick of a finger.

HIgh speed video recording at 120FPS is also supported which allows you to catch objects in motion with a high detail and then view them again later in slow motion.

An MP3 player is included and supports most of the features that you would find on a standalone MP3 player.

Specifications:
- Camera - 5MPx, manual and auto focus
- Digital zoom - 16x
- Optical zoom - no
- Video Encoding - VGA 30fps, QVGA 120 fps
- Video Codec - (MPEG4/WMV/H.263/H.264) - plays divx video up to 640 x 480
- Audio Codec - (MP3/AAC/AAC+/AAC++/WMA)
- Memory Slot - Micro SD 2Gb
- Internal memory - 90MB
- Bluetooth and USB connectivity
- Display - 3 inch touch screen
- Dimensions L,W,H(mm) - 103.5 x 54.4 x 14.8

Samsung i620 3G SmartPhone

The Samsung i620 is one of the latest 3G smartphones to be released by Samsung. The i620 features a wide design to accommodate its QWERTY keyboard and comes with a range of smartphone capabilities.

The i620 supports HSPDA (High Speed Download Packet Access) which makes it ideal for streaming video and chat using video telephony. It runs the Windows Mobile operating system which gives it a range of multimedia options including Windows Media Player.

A user-friendly PC environment is provided with the Windows Mobile 6.0 operating system, providing support for Crossbow, Message Smartifier, IRM email access as well as a range of other applications.

A range of connectivity options are provided with Bluetooth, WAP, Outlook Sync, PC Sync Application and an Internet HTML browser.

It includes a standard 2.0 megapixel camera with digital zoom, brightness adjust, shot mode and photo effects and quality settings.

Smartphone functionality includes a scheduler, document viewer, mobile printing, offline mode, file explorer, voice memo and voice mail.

Specifications:
- Platform: Windows Mobile 6.0
- Browser: Opera
- Display: TFT, 2.2", 320x240 resolution
- Battery: Talk Time - 4.2hrs, Standby - 350hrs
- Input device: QWERTY keyboard
- Camera: 2.0 megapixels, digital zoom, no optical zoom
- Connectivity: Bluetooth, WAP
- Memory: 30MB internal, mircoSD external memory up to 2GB
- Model number: SGH-i620