GSM

Why GSM over CDMA?
This is one of the questions that strikes anyone buying a new phone. Should I buy GSM or a CDMA? As most of us know these are two different genres of phone numbers or we can say SIM cards available in the market. Common people have nothing to do with the technicalities of the two but they should know why they should prefer GSM over a CDMA phone. We will not go in the technical part and talk about the two in the most common language.
The first and foremost reason you should buy a GSM phone is that, the SIM cards provided by the service providers or network carriers and are not locked to the phone. This means if you decide to buy a new SIM card of a different operator you do not need to change the phone. Whereas in a CDMA, the SIM cards (called R-UIM) are locked to the cellphone. This means in a specific handset you can use a specific network carrier only. The disadvantage here is the fact that you need to change your phone if you buy a new CDMA SIM. This makes the older phone waste and thus economic loss.
Secondly the network coverage by a GSM network will always be greater than a CDMA provider. If you are in some rural areas, chances are you will suffer from low connection and quality on a CDMA as compared to a GSM. The main reason can be that GSM providers usually partner to provide good services in rural areas and this doesn't cost so much to the companies. While if CDMA providers decide to do so, they need to put in a lot of funds and thus customer gets the same connectivity at a much higher rate than a GSM user.
When it comes to international roaming, GSM is a sure shot winner. In a foreign country, you can always buy a new SIM card and use your old phone which can not be the case with SIM-Locked CDMA Phones. Thus no international traveller prefers CDMA while in ther countries.
The only advantage of CDMA over GSM that I found was the data transfer speed. Both technologies boast of 3G but CDMA is more capable of providing higher and stabler data connections than a GSM phone.

This is a guest blog written by Mayank from asli-indian.com.