phones with itunes are (i won't say pointless) overkill. just be kind to apple, buy an ipod and use the real iTMS. i see this as a huge flop. phones companies should write software that is simple and gets you the best talk time instead of crap that will kill it.
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Motorola iTunes Mobile Phone - in July?
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Just to clear up some of the mess that has been floating around this thread regarding the cell phone technologies, let's try to break it down
There are 5 main frequencies that are used world wide for cell phone communications: 800MHz (aka 850MHz), 900MHz, 1800MHz, 1900MHz, and 2100MHz (and 2500MHz is in the works).
800MHz (Aka 850MHz) is used for Legacy Analog Mobile Phone Systems (AMPS, 1G). That frequency then was also developed for use with the 2nd generation digital services (TDMA, Time Division Multiple Access; CDMA, Code Division Multiple Access; iDEN, Integrated Digital Enhanced Network; and recently GSM, Global System for Mobiles). It's speculated (keyword speculated) that Cingular will eventually develop 3G WCDMA (which is not comaptible with CDMA) and further down the line HSDPA on this frequency band. I'm not sure if Verizon is using this band in their 3g plans, EV-DO technology. With the impending Sprint-Nextel Merger, it's also speculated that they will eventually deploy 3g (EV-DO) at this frequency. (The same is true in Canada as well as in pretty much everywhere in the Americas)
This band is also known as the "Cellular Band"
900MHz in the US is used for personal wireless electronic devices. Aka, old school cordless phones, and things like that. Everyone else in the world pretty much uses this as the primary GSM frequency band
1800MHz is used by the military and the Dept. of Defence for top-secret communication stuff lol. Aditional (PCS)
1900MHz was spectrum allocated in the early 90s b/c the 800MHz band was getting over crowded. Sprint came out on top in the auctions, and they hold pretty much most of the 1900MHz in the country. There's currently CDMA (including EV-DO), GSM, and WCDMA/UMTS running at this frequency. WCDMA is only commercially running in like 5 cities, but Cingular is expected to have nationwide coverage by years end. (again, samething applies in Canada, as well as in pretty much everywhere in the Americas)
This band is referred as the PCS Band. Note that PCS is not a technology, it's a name for any service that runs on the 1900MHz freqency. So GSM @ 1900MHz is a PCS service. People get that confused b/c Sprint's original name was Sprint PCS (PCS was dropped from the name when Sprint Corp and PCS stock was merged under the FON ticker symbol) so they associate the term PCS with Sprint's technology.
2100MHz, I'm not sure what it's being used on, I think it's something TV/Cable/DigitalTV over the air related. Never the less, its unavailable. This is used pretty much everywhere else in the world
2500MHz is an upcoming spectrum band in the USA. Nextel and Sprint own pretty much everything that has become available in this frequency, they are talking about developing something with Intel called Wi-Max which would be based on some WiFi variant and is supposed to replace home broadband. The licenses however can be turned for Cellular use if the technology to run at that frequency is developed.
Now, CDMA and TDMA are backwards compatible with AMPS. The IS-95 MAP Core allows that to happen. TDMA is in its twilight as well as AMPS, they should both be gone by 2010 I estimate (Actually, AMPS is only mandated to be working until 2008). GSM also uses the same map core, but it's not compatible with AMPS. GSM is a more sophisticated version of TDMA.CDMA moved to a IS-2000 (I think) MAP Core when they Migrated to CDMA 2000 or CDMA 1X RTT (both mean the same, vaguely speaking).
So basically this is the technology path and who's compatible with who:
TDMA --> GSM (no backwards compatibility after this point)
AMPS < CDMA -->CDMA 1x --> EV-DO --> EV-DO Release A (all backwards comp.
Now GSM will follow this path: GSM-->WCDMA/UMTS-->HSDPA. Technically speaking each step is not backwarsd compatible but the phone makers achieve backwards compatibility by adding the older chips into the phone.
The bastard-child of American Cell phone Technology aka iDEN has no migration path to 3g other than for it to be shut down and coverted into either GSM or CDMA, which is the reason Nextel is merging with Sprint.
I hope this gave some technical cell phone knowledge to the masses lol.
Now for the iTunes phone, if the phone is going to be able to download songs OTA, it makes no sesnse to release it for GSM. GPRS (General Packet Radio Service, GSM's data network) has no bandwith for wide spread uses of iTMS mobile, it will bring the network to a screeching halt, max speeds are around dial-up theoretically). EDGE (Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution), the small boost to GPRS still doesn't provide enough bandwith to download a song in a short time frame. CDMA 1X, barely provides enough bandwith. This leads me to think that the phone will end up in whatever carrier's hands happens to reach real 3G first in the USA. That will mean, that it would be between Sprint PCS and Cingular. Sprint plans to go live nationwide on the EV-DO network by the end of this summer. Cingular plans to go live nationwide on WCDMA by year's end. Verizon is rolling out EV-DO by cities, with about 50 cities available as we type, and nationwide rollout by sometime in '06 if that. T-Mobile, not even worth mentioning. They won't be turning on EDGE officially until 2006 and won't hit WCDMA until 2008 proabably (so much for Deustche Telekom making money in the USA).
Given Sprint's record of being on the leading edge, or at least the first one to release a new family of products (first to color screens, first to built-in cameras, first to CDMA 1X, most likely first to national EV-DO) I would say that they will pick up the iTMS phone, and I think it will be the CDMA RazR. Granted, Sprint hasn't been too innovative lately, but the industry has been at a standstilll for a few years now.
Now there's a chance that the US may never see a wide-spread release of the phone. We're light years behind the rest of the world when it comes to mobile technology. Why? We American's have gotten too attached to the free phone business, and b/c of that companies run on a different business model than in the rest of the world. Whereas in the rest of the world companies compete on who has the best phones with the most features, here they compete on who's got the best bang for the buck, the most minutes, the most free things.
There are 5 main frequencies that are used world wide for cell phone communications: 800MHz (aka 850MHz), 900MHz, 1800MHz, 1900MHz, and 2100MHz (and 2500MHz is in the works).
800MHz (Aka 850MHz) is used for Legacy Analog Mobile Phone Systems (AMPS, 1G). That frequency then was also developed for use with the 2nd generation digital services (TDMA, Time Division Multiple Access; CDMA, Code Division Multiple Access; iDEN, Integrated Digital Enhanced Network; and recently GSM, Global System for Mobiles). It's speculated (keyword speculated) that Cingular will eventually develop 3G WCDMA (which is not comaptible with CDMA) and further down the line HSDPA on this frequency band. I'm not sure if Verizon is using this band in their 3g plans, EV-DO technology. With the impending Sprint-Nextel Merger, it's also speculated that they will eventually deploy 3g (EV-DO) at this frequency. (The same is true in Canada as well as in pretty much everywhere in the Americas)
This band is also known as the "Cellular Band"
900MHz in the US is used for personal wireless electronic devices. Aka, old school cordless phones, and things like that. Everyone else in the world pretty much uses this as the primary GSM frequency band
1800MHz is used by the military and the Dept. of Defence for top-secret communication stuff lol. Aditional (PCS)
1900MHz was spectrum allocated in the early 90s b/c the 800MHz band was getting over crowded. Sprint came out on top in the auctions, and they hold pretty much most of the 1900MHz in the country. There's currently CDMA (including EV-DO), GSM, and WCDMA/UMTS running at this frequency. WCDMA is only commercially running in like 5 cities, but Cingular is expected to have nationwide coverage by years end. (again, samething applies in Canada, as well as in pretty much everywhere in the Americas)
This band is referred as the PCS Band. Note that PCS is not a technology, it's a name for any service that runs on the 1900MHz freqency. So GSM @ 1900MHz is a PCS service. People get that confused b/c Sprint's original name was Sprint PCS (PCS was dropped from the name when Sprint Corp and PCS stock was merged under the FON ticker symbol) so they associate the term PCS with Sprint's technology.
2100MHz, I'm not sure what it's being used on, I think it's something TV/Cable/DigitalTV over the air related. Never the less, its unavailable. This is used pretty much everywhere else in the world
2500MHz is an upcoming spectrum band in the USA. Nextel and Sprint own pretty much everything that has become available in this frequency, they are talking about developing something with Intel called Wi-Max which would be based on some WiFi variant and is supposed to replace home broadband. The licenses however can be turned for Cellular use if the technology to run at that frequency is developed.
Now, CDMA and TDMA are backwards compatible with AMPS. The IS-95 MAP Core allows that to happen. TDMA is in its twilight as well as AMPS, they should both be gone by 2010 I estimate (Actually, AMPS is only mandated to be working until 2008). GSM also uses the same map core, but it's not compatible with AMPS. GSM is a more sophisticated version of TDMA.CDMA moved to a IS-2000 (I think) MAP Core when they Migrated to CDMA 2000 or CDMA 1X RTT (both mean the same, vaguely speaking).
So basically this is the technology path and who's compatible with who:
TDMA --> GSM (no backwards compatibility after this point)
AMPS < CDMA -->CDMA 1x --> EV-DO --> EV-DO Release A (all backwards comp.
Now GSM will follow this path: GSM-->WCDMA/UMTS-->HSDPA. Technically speaking each step is not backwarsd compatible but the phone makers achieve backwards compatibility by adding the older chips into the phone.
The bastard-child of American Cell phone Technology aka iDEN has no migration path to 3g other than for it to be shut down and coverted into either GSM or CDMA, which is the reason Nextel is merging with Sprint.
I hope this gave some technical cell phone knowledge to the masses lol.
Now for the iTunes phone, if the phone is going to be able to download songs OTA, it makes no sesnse to release it for GSM. GPRS (General Packet Radio Service, GSM's data network) has no bandwith for wide spread uses of iTMS mobile, it will bring the network to a screeching halt, max speeds are around dial-up theoretically). EDGE (Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution), the small boost to GPRS still doesn't provide enough bandwith to download a song in a short time frame. CDMA 1X, barely provides enough bandwith. This leads me to think that the phone will end up in whatever carrier's hands happens to reach real 3G first in the USA. That will mean, that it would be between Sprint PCS and Cingular. Sprint plans to go live nationwide on the EV-DO network by the end of this summer. Cingular plans to go live nationwide on WCDMA by year's end. Verizon is rolling out EV-DO by cities, with about 50 cities available as we type, and nationwide rollout by sometime in '06 if that. T-Mobile, not even worth mentioning. They won't be turning on EDGE officially until 2006 and won't hit WCDMA until 2008 proabably (so much for Deustche Telekom making money in the USA).
Given Sprint's record of being on the leading edge, or at least the first one to release a new family of products (first to color screens, first to built-in cameras, first to CDMA 1X, most likely first to national EV-DO) I would say that they will pick up the iTMS phone, and I think it will be the CDMA RazR. Granted, Sprint hasn't been too innovative lately, but the industry has been at a standstilll for a few years now.
Now there's a chance that the US may never see a wide-spread release of the phone. We're light years behind the rest of the world when it comes to mobile technology. Why? We American's have gotten too attached to the free phone business, and b/c of that companies run on a different business model than in the rest of the world. Whereas in the rest of the world companies compete on who has the best phones with the most features, here they compete on who's got the best bang for the buck, the most minutes, the most free things.