What is GSM anyway?
GSM is short for; Global System for Mobile communications and is currently the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. What is 2G network?
GSM services uses four frequencies around the world: 850 Mhz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and the 1900 Mhz. Dual band phones usually support 900/1900 or 850/1900, tri-band phones support 850/1800/1900 or 900/1800/1900, and quad-band phones support all four frequencies. GSM-850 and GSM-1900 are used in North America. GSM-900 and GSM-1800 are used in the rest of the world such as Europe and Asia. Before purchasing a GSM phone, it is crucial to ensure the phone supports at least one of the bands that your GSM service provider supports.
How do I know if my network provider is GSM or not?
If you know that you do not have a "SIM card" then your network provider is not GSM. If you're not sure, open the battery cover of your current mobile phone and check to see if there is small SIM card inserted in your phone, if so, chances are your network provider is GSM. To make sure, contact your network provider and ask if they are a GSM provider. Only GSM network providers are compatible with our phones. What does Unlocked mean?
Unlocked means that the phone will be compatible with any SIM card or any GSM provider worldwide. All network providers in North America have locked mobile phones which means that they can only be used with their service. Having an unlocked phone allows you to travel with your mobile and use any SIM card across the globe! Avoiding a massive amount of roaming charges along the way.
What is GPRS, HDSPA, UMTS and WiFi?
GPRS is short for General Packet Radio Service and is a packet oriented Mobile Data Service available to users of GSM mobile phones. It provides data rates from 56 up to 114 kbit/s (moderate speed). It is often described as "2.5G", a technology between the second (2G) and third (3G) generation. HSDPA is short for High-Speed Downlink Packet Access and is a 3G (third generation) mobile telephony communications protocol in the High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) family. Current HSDPA deployments support down-link speeds of 1.8, 3.6, 7.2 and 14.4 Mbit/s (high speed).
UMTS is short for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) and is one of the third-generation (3G) cell phone technologies as well.
To differentiate UMTS from competing network technologies, UMTS is sometimes marketed as 3GSM, emphasizing the combination of the 3G nature of the technology and the GSM standard which it was designed to succeed.
Wi-Fi is a wireless technology used in home networks, mobile phones, video games and more. GSM phones with integrated Wi-Fi can take advantage of Wi-Fi hotspots, therefore eliminating the need to connect through your service provider to access the internet.
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