Though a fairly new technology, the cell phone has evolved in the short span to become a very sophisticated device. Indeed, some phones can even be thought of as small computers. To fully understand what the technology you plan on equipping your teen with, you must first understand how the phone works, as well as its capabilities.
Now if you are considering a phone for your child, chances are you already own one yourself and feel comfortable with the device. However,it is not guaranteed that you're device (and your level of familiarity of it) will match feature-by-feature with your child's. Consequently, it is best to know the general aspects of the mobile phone.
Click here to see what common features are available.
How do mobile phones work?
We will start
at the very beginning by explaining how the cell phone's primary
function works. Without going into too much detail, we will give a
brief explanation of the phones underlying operations.
The Tower:
Areas with coverage have phone towers that communicate via radio
frequency to phones. The coverage area for any given tower is called a
"cell" and is typically 10 square miles. Towers serve as the base to
which all mobile phones directly communicate, and from there a phone
call can reach its destination.
The Phone: When turned
on, the mobile phone sends it user information to the nearest tower.
Once the tower has verified the identity of the phone (i.e. its
membership to a carrier) the phone receives signals and is a allowed to
make a call.
The Phone in Motion: When the user is moving
(say, in a car) and the signal from its current tower decreases, the
phone must switch to another tower. If the signal to any other tower
increases, the phone switches to the closer tower. In doing so, the
phone is not confined to one cell.
For more information of phone frequencies and towers, click here. |
GSM vs. CDMA
Each cell phone carrier uses either GSM or CDMA technology. Distinguishing between the two helps to answer the question "What carrier should I subscribe to?" Ultimately, this comparison should be factored in when considering the price of the carrier plan and the carrier coverage.
| | GSM | CDMA
| NAME
| Global System for Mobile communication
| Code Division Multiple Access
| USER BASE
| International
| Primarily North America
| USERS
| >1 Billion | 270 million | PRIMARY CARRIERS IN THE U.S.
| T-Mobile, AT&T
| Sprint, Verizon, Virgin Mobile
| | DEVELOPMENT | GSM is the older of the two networks. In 1982, thirteen nations established a group to create mobile phone standards, and the GSM network was the product.
| CDMA is a newer technology developed by the American company Qualcomm.
| USER IDENTIFICATION (How the carrier recognizes the user)
| The user's identification information is stored in a sim card. Sim cards are typically placed inside the battery compartment and can be removed from a phone. When the sim is placed in another compatable GSM phone, that phone can then be used.
NOTE: Switching phones has led some carriers to "lock" their phones so that they can only be used on their network. There are, however, obscure methods to "unlock" these phones, but each phone has a different method.
| CDMA phones typically store the user information directly inside the phone. If you want to switch phones, you must contact the carrier and this service is usually subject to a fee.
| KEY ADVANTAGES
| -Ability to switch phones
-International traveling: Since many nations use sim cards, you can bring your phone abroad and use a prepaid gsm network (provided the phone is compatible).
| -Faster Internet Speeds
-Better coverage in the U.S.-Since CDMA networks are focused in North America, they usually offer better coverage. They are attempting to expand this technology internationally.
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Your decision on what carrier to choose will ultimately be confined to the carriers in your area. However, that gsm networks can switch phones can be an advantage and a detriment to you teen. If your teens can switch phones, you have less control over what phone and what features they can access. In our Considering Your Options section, we will elaborate more on what carriers you should be looking at.
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