Cell Phone Service Providers AT&T T-mobile Verizon SprintPCS Nextel Virgin Mobile Trac-Fone Boost Mobile Net10 Helio Cricket Trumpet Cell Phone Manufacturers Nokia SonyEricsson Sanyo Samsung Motorola Panasonic LG Audiovox Kyocera Within This Site Pay As You Go Plans Phones I've Used Links Wireless24hours Blog

Hello and welcome to Wireless24hours.com! This website will hopefully help you decipher some basic cell phone terminology and point you to a service provider you are looking for or a particular cell phone you want. Here is some cell phone terminology: EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) - The 3G broadband wireless version of the CDMA. (Verizon and Sprint use this technology) HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) - This is a higher speed update of UMTS. (Cingular and T-Mobile use this technology) UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecomunications System) - The mobile broadband version of GSM standard. (Cingular and T-Mobile use this technology) TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) - Divides radio frequency into time slots and then allocating slots to multiple calls. This can allow three calls on the same frequency. CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) - This process works by assigning each call a unique code, then spreading the call over frequencies that are available. This process can allow ten calls in the same spectrum as one analog call. iDEN - This technology is similar to TDMA and is used by Nextel. GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) - GSM is based from TDMA technology. This technology is the standard for most countries outside the United States. GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) - This is a faster version of GSM an allows for the downloading of ring tones and pictures to and from your cell phone. (Cingular, AT&T, and T-Mobile use this technology) 1xRTT (1 x Radio Transmission Technology) - This is a faster version of CDMA. (Verizon and Sprint use this technology, there equivalant to GPRS) SMS (Short Message Service) - The transmission of short alphanumeric text messages. Usually no longer than 160 alphanumeric characters & contain no images or graphics. MMS (Multimedia Service) - The transmission of images or graphics to other MMS cell phones or e-mail addresses. Usually costs more than SMS. MNO (Mobile Network Operator) - A company that offers mobile phone service and owns the infrastructure and its own licenced frequency allocation of radio spectrum.3G MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) - A company that offers mobile phone service but does not own the infrastructure. These companies usually lease the radio spectrum from MNO's. If you do not understand all of this terminology that is okay. As you read more about the cell phones or visit the web sites it'll make more sense. If you are interested in the text messaging or data plans, please make a note that those are usually add on features with add on costs. Prices vary depending on which service provider you use.

News The iPhone 3G is out and available at AT&T and Apple. The unlimited data for the iPhone 3G is now $30 a month. There is also applications you can download. Some applications you have to pay for and some are free. T-Mobile has released the Sidekick. The Sidekick is a little smaller than the Sidekick LX and the Sidekick has a 2.0 Megapixel camera compared to the 1.3 Megapixel the LX has. Cricket is starting to be available more around the United States. They have a unique concept of trying to combine your landline with your cell phone. They offer flat rates for their service. They start out at $30 a month and increment upto $60 a month plans. If someone just wanted their cell phone to be their only phone it's not to bad of a deal. They phones use a CDMA Network. One thing that is nice is there is no contract. Check out their website to answer other questions and see if this is something for you. Helio was bought by Virgin Mobile. The finalizing of the deal will be fall of 2008. Check both websites for updates. Especialy if you are a Helio subscriber.