Sprint phones

LuckyTaxi

Diamond Member
Dec 24, 2000
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Do they take SIM cards or is it like verizon?

I want to buy my gf a new phone but wasn't sure if I could get any phone that takes a sim card or does it have to be a verizon phone?

I take it she'll call sprint and say she has a new phone, please transfer service to the new phone?
 

dougp

Diamond Member
May 3, 2002
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Originally posted by: LuckyTaxi
Do they take SIM cards or is it like verizon?

I want to buy my gf a new phone but wasn't sure if I could get any phone that takes a sim card or does it have to be a verizon phone?

I take it she'll call sprint and say she has a new phone, please transfer service to the new phone?

Yes, they're "like Verizon." You need to get a CDMA phone that's either Sprint based or unlocked, when you call you just tell them you want to swap and they'll ask for the ESN to register it under her name. Should be pretty simple ...
 

boomhower

Diamond Member
Sep 13, 2007
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Not gonna happen. It is a completely different technology. I don't see them trashing the networks that they have sunk billions upon billions of dollars into. Besides that I think they work better, much better 3G coverage that AT&T ever thought of.
 

pm

Elite Member Mobile Devices
Jan 25, 2000
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Originally posted by: boomhower
Not gonna happen. It is a completely different technology. I don't see them trashing the networks that they have sunk billions upon billions of dollars into. Besides that I think they work better, much better 3G coverage that AT&T ever thought of.

Next generation (4G) Verizon is moving to LTE - which uses something much like current SIMs. LTE is the same system that the majority of the rest of the world is planning on using.

LTE is "long term evolution" and, as the name sort of implies, it's still being defined. But Verizon has committed to using it for their next generation technology and they are (last that I heard) planning on trials in the US in 2008.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3GPP_Long_Term_Evolution
Verizon Wireless plans to begin LTE trials in 2008, choosing the standard over the natural evolution path for the CDMA2000 family, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB).[17]

http://investor.verizon.com/news/view.aspx?NewsID=872

Verizon today announced plans to develop and deploy its fourth generation mobile broadband network using LTE ? Long Term Evolution ? the technology developed within the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards organization. The selection of LTE provides Verizon and Vodafone ? joint owners of U.S.-based Verizon Wireless ? with a unique opportunity to adopt a common access platform with true global scale and compatibility with existing technologies of both companies.

Verizon and Vodafone have a coordinated trial plan for LTE that begins in 2008. Trial suppliers include Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia-Siemens, and Nortel.


Sprint is moving towards WiMax as their 4G solution. There's talk that WiMax devices will use SIMs too - and some early devices do. But regardless of whether they will be SIM based or not, WiMax is fundamentally incompatible with LTE.

In other parts of the world (ie. India and China) CDMA devices use RUIMs - which is the CDMA equivalent of a GSM SIM card. But in the US, Verizon and Sprint use internally-contained identification numbers inside the devices instead.
 

iahk

Senior member
Jan 19, 2002
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Wow, awesome info pm. I was going to do some research into the long term plans into 4g that the carriers were doing but you just threw it in right there.
 

benzylic

Golden Member
Jun 12, 2006
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OP

Make sure the phone says sprint on it.

If it doesnt say sprint on it, they wont activate it.
 

idiotekniQues

Platinum Member
Jan 4, 2007
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Originally posted by: boomhower
Not gonna happen. It is a completely different technology. I don't see them trashing the networks that they have sunk billions upon billions of dollars into. Besides that I think they work better, much better 3G coverage that AT&T ever thought of.

actually there is a technology out called R-UIM that performs the same as a SIM card but for cdma technology. its been around for awhile but no cdma carrier has adopted it.

i wonder why. i have sprint and i enjoy their network - and cdma is the best technology which is why the next gen technology the GSM carriers are going to, WCDMA, is cdma based.


"A RUIM card (also R-UIM) or Re-Usable Identification Module, is a removable ID chip for cellular phones made for the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network. The RUIM card holds a user's personal information such as name and account number, cell phone number, phone book, text messages and other settings.

The RUIM card provides flexibility to switch phones by simply removing the RUIM card and slipping it into another card-enabled phone. The new phone would then be able to make and receive calls on the user's account without having to go through the carrier for activation. A user could, for example, have several phones and switch between them, borrow a friend's phone to make a call with his RUIM card, or even switch to another carrier and keep his or her old phone. The new carrier would simply issue the customer a new RUIM card to use in his or her existing phone. The only requirements are that the phone is unlocked and compatible with the frequency band of the new carrier.

Although the idea of a RUIM card might be new to people who have had cellular service with a CDMA carrier, the concept is old hat to those using Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) networks. GSM is a competing network technology, popular in Europe and most countries outside of North America with a much larger overall share of the world market. GSM phones use a Subscriber Identify Module or SIM card. SIM cards and RUIM cards will be interchangeable in phones, allowing the consumer maximum flexibility. They will also be required to meet the same standards, facilitating uniform manufacturing standards.

Savvy CDMA users in the United States have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of RUIM cards, particularly since GSM has become more competitive in the American market. The SIM card used with GSM phones offers many distinct advantages to the consumer over the traditional proprietary handsets required by CDMA technology. A RUIM card would make CDMA more attractive to consumers and would also open the door to better roaming contracts between CDMA and GSM networks, allowing the best possible global coverage for all cellular customers.

The RUIM card was developed by the CDMA Development Group and 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). It was approved by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and has been used in China since 2002."

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-ruim-card.htm

 

boomhower

Diamond Member
Sep 13, 2007
7,228
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Originally posted by: pm
Originally posted by: boomhower
Not gonna happen. It is a completely different technology. I don't see them trashing the networks that they have sunk billions upon billions of dollars into. Besides that I think they work better, much better 3G coverage that AT&T ever thought of.

Next generation (4G) Verizon is moving to LTE - which uses something much like current SIMs. LTE is the same system that the majority of the rest of the world is planning on using.

LTE is "long term evolution" and, as the name sort of implies, it's still being defined. But Verizon has committed to using it for their next generation technology and they are (last that I heard) planning on trials in the US in 2008.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3GPP_Long_Term_Evolution
Verizon Wireless plans to begin LTE trials in 2008, choosing the standard over the natural evolution path for the CDMA2000 family, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB).[17]

http://investor.verizon.com/news/view.aspx?NewsID=872

Verizon today announced plans to develop and deploy its fourth generation mobile broadband network using LTE ? Long Term Evolution ? the technology developed within the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards organization. The selection of LTE provides Verizon and Vodafone ? joint owners of U.S.-based Verizon Wireless ? with a unique opportunity to adopt a common access platform with true global scale and compatibility with existing technologies of both companies.

Verizon and Vodafone have a coordinated trial plan for LTE that begins in 2008. Trial suppliers include Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia-Siemens, and Nortel.


Sprint is moving towards WiMax as their 4G solution. There's talk that WiMax devices will use SIMs too - and some early devices do. But regardless of whether they will be SIM based or not, WiMax is fundamentally incompatible with LTE.

In other parts of the world (ie. India and China) CDMA devices use RUIMs - which is the CDMA equivalent of a GSM SIM card. But in the US, Verizon and Sprint use internally-contained identification numbers inside the devices instead.


I give spint 5-7yrs before going belly up. They need to drop WIMAX and get in line with verizon. I know they have built up a lot of outside support but I really doubt they are going to be able to build up a solid next gen network as easily as verizon. They reputation is trashed and they are bleeding customers badly. I see having the capital; to role out a new network could be a serious issue. Being able to share tech with them would be very beneficial.
 

benzylic

Golden Member
Jun 12, 2006
1,547
1
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Originally posted by: boomhower
Originally posted by: pm
Originally posted by: boomhower
Not gonna happen. It is a completely different technology. I don't see them trashing the networks that they have sunk billions upon billions of dollars into. Besides that I think they work better, much better 3G coverage that AT&T ever thought of.

Next generation (4G) Verizon is moving to LTE - which uses something much like current SIMs. LTE is the same system that the majority of the rest of the world is planning on using.

LTE is "long term evolution" and, as the name sort of implies, it's still being defined. But Verizon has committed to using it for their next generation technology and they are (last that I heard) planning on trials in the US in 2008.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3GPP_Long_Term_Evolution
Verizon Wireless plans to begin LTE trials in 2008, choosing the standard over the natural evolution path for the CDMA2000 family, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB).[17]

http://investor.verizon.com/news/view.aspx?NewsID=872

Verizon today announced plans to develop and deploy its fourth generation mobile broadband network using LTE ? Long Term Evolution ? the technology developed within the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards organization. The selection of LTE provides Verizon and Vodafone ? joint owners of U.S.-based Verizon Wireless ? with a unique opportunity to adopt a common access platform with true global scale and compatibility with existing technologies of both companies.

Verizon and Vodafone have a coordinated trial plan for LTE that begins in 2008. Trial suppliers include Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia-Siemens, and Nortel.


Sprint is moving towards WiMax as their 4G solution. There's talk that WiMax devices will use SIMs too - and some early devices do. But regardless of whether they will be SIM based or not, WiMax is fundamentally incompatible with LTE.

In other parts of the world (ie. India and China) CDMA devices use RUIMs - which is the CDMA equivalent of a GSM SIM card. But in the US, Verizon and Sprint use internally-contained identification numbers inside the devices instead.


I give spint 5-7yrs before going belly up. They need to drop WIMAX and get in line with verizon. I know they have built up a lot of outside support but I really doubt they are going to be able to build up a solid next gen network as easily as verizon. They reputation is trashed and they are bleeding customers badly. I see having the capital; to role out a new network could be a serious issue. Being able to share tech with them would be very beneficial.

I thought Wimax was for data, and Sprint hadn't decided on the voice side yet?

Or am I just really confused