Cell Phone Technology Terms

3G Third generation of wireless technology offering faster data transfer of previous
technologies like 2G.
4G Fourth and latest wireless phone technology. Offers the fastest data transfer
available currently.
GSM is one of the major phone technologies in the world. The USA uses 2 types; GSM
and CDMA on their 2G phones.
CDMA is a digital wireless technology used in the USa by Sprint and Verizon Wireless.
WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access a third generation 3G wireless standard
used in the USA by At&T and T-Mobile.
GPS Global Positioning System GPS enabled phones allow the user to locate nearby
services and facilities. In Case of emergencies a GPS phone will alert emergency
personnel to your location.
Quadband supports 4 different radio frequency bands these bands are used all over the
world and allow a wireless phone to work in most places.
TriBand supports 3 different radio frequencies. It’s very important to pick a phone
that supports the networks where you will travel.
SIM Subscriber Identity Module is a small smart card that stores the phone identity
for the wireless networks used by the carriers. Also responsible for data encryption
and transmissions.
Android Smartphone Operating System runs on linux. Android phones allows users to run
software apps on their phones.
Unlocked Cell Phone Most cell phones contain carrier locks which restrict the use of
the cellphone to only one netwrok carrier. an unlocked cellphone can be used with any
network with the purchase of an appropriate sim card.