i can't tell the difference. i've always had crystal clear calls with GSM and it hasn't changed with UMTS/HSDPA.

maybe it sounds better in NYC, not sure why but i always noticed gsm just not as lifelike as cdma but then again maybe its just me?

I used a couple of them just to be sure, either they were friends phones or test phones in a cingular store, all sounded the same.

WCDMA borrows certain technology ideas from CDMA, as the name implies, but is in fact very different and incompatible with phones and networks using "CDMA" technology.

It is not CDMA!

Yes I know, but there are similarities to to CDMA, so Im assuming it will make cingular/at&t's system better.

too bad most people dont know that, and CDMA fanboys are quick to point out that it uses CDMA when it doesnt, it borrows certain concepts from CDMA and has GSM features. it has the flexibility of GSM and the spectrum effiency of CDMA. and they act like Verizon invented CDMA. its been around for 50 years. yet GSM is considered "old"

Let's just call it "better than CDMA" =)

it's always been the opposite for me. my parents use alltel and it's never clear. it is always muffuled, to me.

i never tried alltel, not available in NYC, but also not probably not as good coverage as there would be in the NYC area.

they have a native network here in the carolinas, verizon actually has a roaming agreement with them here in certain areas where they don't have coverage.

nothing against anybody that has service with any cell provider in any part of the country or even the world for that matter but im really only interested in what each provider sounds like in NYC area

understandable. i have used my phone in from CT to Mexico and it's always been crystal clear! 😁

ok, but again my main question though was this cingular/at&t will eventually be using all WCDMA and going away from GSM for voice.

eventually yes, but not for years from now.

i assume at that time their system will be more stable and have less dropped calls, right now they have the most dropped calls of any provider regardless of what the commercials say

Perhaps where you are located, but that is most definitely not the case elsewhere.

i think you may need to change your handset. i never get dropped calls with my nokias or sony ericssons. motorola and lg are a whole different story. they drop eveywhere. my 8525 doesn't drop either. i can go 6/7 months with a dropped call.

why would one phone brand be more prone to dropping calls than another if they are on the same network, perhaps the way the phone handles the signal?

exactly. your handset plays a big role in your experience with a carrier. if i used a motorola, samsung, or a lg everyday i would hate cingular too! each manufacture builds the RF in their phone differently. nokia and sony have stepped to the fore fornt of RF.

well i never said i hate any carrier, i dont think they have the best sound or have the fewest dropped calls as they claim, but I never claimed to hate them, they are a cell phone carrier and all cell phone carriers have their pluses and minuses, yes even verizon who i just left to go to sprint mostly because they no longer plan on re-releasing Push To Talk on the evdo rev a network.

i had no idea samsungs were not that good in RF, i have one, and its ok, one day it works good, the other, its horrible, and i thought i learned my lesson, i used to have a LG

they can be ok sometimes. fringe area are horrible. the only samsung that i seen have good rf is the i607.

trust me, it makes a BIG DIFFERENCE, borrow an LG phone for a day and u'll see.

Hey that's not fair. The L1400i and CU500 were good ones. If we're talking about the C1300, then yeah. 😛

yes but the key word is were good phones until we used them

i am carrying the cu500 and the blackjack and the samsung works better everytime

here is how it works in the carolinas and mostly charlote
1.Nokia
2.Samsung
3.LG/Sony
4.Motorola
5.Pantech

not sure about other places but this is how is stands right now in charlotte atleast and most the carolinas where i travel alot of and that only counts for the phones
the pdas and blackberrys
are all about the same in reception usually except the nokia 9300 and e62 is a tad better

bs259 said:
ok, but again my main question though was this cingular/at&t will eventually be using all WCDMA and going away from GSM for voice.

Any difference in sound you here is due to the codecs (the part that converts sound to digital signals and back again). CDMA, GSM and WCDMA are all methods of moving the digital signal, which doesn't change in transit (although some data can get lost with a bad signal). WCDMA uses the same codec standards as GSM. Apparently, you don't like the sound of this codec. I'm the opposite. I found the sound on CDMA to be tinny.

The bottom line is that the transition to WCDMA won't change the sound quality that you don't like.

Any difference in sound you here is due to the codecs (the part that converts sound to digital signals and back again). CDMA, GSM and WCDMA are all methods of moving the digital signal, which doesn't change in transit (although some data can get lost with a bad signal). WCDMA uses the same codec standards as GSM. Apparently, you don't like the sound of this codec. I'm the opposite. I found the sound on CDMA to be tinny.

The bottom line is that the transition to WCDMA won't change the sound quality that you don't like.

Thank you for your response, this one seems to be the best i have read so far, perhaps in the future i will grow to like GSM or whatever it evolves into, I know in the past even though Sprint and Veriz...
(continues)

you beat me too it, thats one of the reasons why i use GSM, is the codec, it sounds natural. i never did like the sound quality on CDMA, its muffled, i would say, Sprint has the most clarity(i used to be under sprint), i dont know if they use a different codec or something else.

Bigbmc26 said:
they have a native network here in the carolinas, verizon actually has a roaming agreement with them here in certain areas where they don't have coverage.

how long have you been with cingular? when they were building the network there (bellsouth mobility dcs) they used alltell phones.

no, we were talking about my parents using alltel and how verizon uses them to roam here. not sure if you're asking me did they use alltel or did they sell alltel? but the first phones sold were GSM handsets, Nortel, Nokia, Motorola. don't really know what phones they used while building the network. 4 years working, 9 years customer.

no. when they were building the original network there our employees(bellsouth) used alltel.

ah, that would make since. alltel(360) has been here for a long time.

Bellsouth DCS was GSM! Still is just owned by cingular oh wait ATT

GSM and CDMA have nothing to do with voice quality, its the CODECS, and GSM happens to be using a 13kbs EFR CODEC that sounds really rich to me. and CDMA uses EVRC or SMR i dont know but its 8kbs. GSM could use EVRC if they wanted to or CDMA could use EFR but its the codec that makes and breaks the technology. HSDPA/UMTS uses's GSM's EFR codec, thats why there isnt really a difference in voice quality.

really? you just educated an RF engineer on RF. 🤣 i know all of that, there was no reason to throw rf engineering jargon for a simple question. 😉

oops i think i responded to the wrong person

😁

i actually enjoyed reading that LoL 🤣