[kwlug-disc] android phone, anyone?

[Khalid Baheyeldin]

HSPA seems like a data protocol. I don't think it is worldwide.

GSM is for voice, and is worldwide.

On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 3:48 PM, Dave Cramer <davec at visibleassets.com>wrote:

> HSPA that bell is selling is not world standard ?
>
> Dave
>
> On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 3:10 PM, Khalid Baheyeldin <kb at 2bits.com> wrote:
> > If you ever travel, specially outside of Canada/USA, then GSM is the
> > standard to have. If you have a handset that can do GSM (tri-band or
> > quad-band) then you are good for most of the world.
> >
> > What this means is that you can buy a local SIM card and pop it
> > into your handset and you are good to go.
> >
> > Prices are far cheaper in other parts of the world than here, for example
> > I am told that a SIM card (effectively a phone number and a prepaid plan)
> > is 10 LE in Egypt (that is CAD $1.92), and you can load it with 25 LE
> (that
> > is CAD $4.81!) for 100 minutes.
> >
> > This beats roaming charges which can rack up in the 100s.
> >
> > Only Rogers and Fido have world standard GSM in Canada.
> >
> > A new player that opened for business yesterday is WIND Mobile. I was
> > initially happy to hear that a new entrant is coming the the market. They
> > are backed by an Egyptian magnate who made lots of money putting cell
> > phone networks in many parts of the world.
> >
> > My enthusiasm was dampened after I found out that they operate in the
> > AWS spectrum which is non-standard in the rest of the world (i.e. not
> > GSM compatible). What this means is that unlocked phones will not
> > work with them, meaning they have less handset choices and you have
> > to buy it from them (something that is totally alien elsewhere).
> >
> > It is good ot have competition though. Perhaps Rogers will lower their
> > prices eventually.
> >
> > For handsets, there is a new Android "Droid" phone that is getting good
> > reviews. There is also the Nokia N900 which is Debian Linux.
> > --
> > Khalid M. Baheyeldin
> > 2bits.com, Inc.
> > http://2bits.com
> > Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
> > Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
> > Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci
> >
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> >
> >
>
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-- 
Khalid M. Baheyeldin
2bits.com, Inc.
http://2bits.com
Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci
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