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Hib05 said:
I did a search and couldnt find any other posts regarding my specific question. Is the GSM phone just a cell phone, or is it a global satellite phone? Also, what is the SIM card? Where can you get one and which phones will it work with? Also, if anyone knows the price of a SIM card that would be helpful. Thanks.
The 997 Turbo PCM phone is a tri-band phone working on GSM 900, 1800 and 1900 (US) networks.
Theoretically (because you don't drive with your car from the US to Europe or Asia), it works almost everywhere on this planet with the exception of Japan and some other minor regions in Asia and South America.
For the last three years, my GSM phone(s) worked flawlessly in the US but I was mostly in Florida where there are several GSM carriers available (T-Mobile, Cingulair, etc.).
Some modern GSM phones have quad-band capability, also working on the 850 MHz band which is used mainly in the US and parts of South America. The latest GSM phones not only carry quad-band capability but also 3G/UMTS. Unfortunately the US uses a different 3G frequency than the major part of the world, so they're not compatible (US uses 3G on 1900 MHz and Europe/Asia uses 2100 GHz as far as I remember). There is no dual-3G phone available yet on the market.
Right now, the most impressive available GSM cellular phones are the Nokia N80, Sony Ericsson K800i and the Samsung P300 in my opinion.
The N80 carries everything you need, incl. WLan and a 3 MP camera at the size smaller than a package of cigarettes. The K800i has a very impressive 3.2 MP camera with autofocus and image stabilizer and takes great pictures. The P300 looks a little bit like an old calculator but it is very thin, light and small, making it probably the most impressive phone regarding it's form factor.
Personally, I'm using a Mio A701 GSM phone (tri-band, pretty small, GPS receiver (SirfIII) and a 520 MHz Intel PX270 processor making it very fast) right now as a business phone.
GSM/3G is definetely the future regarding worldwide availability and compatibility.
