Tri Band vs. Quad Band: Which Do You Need?
“What’s a quad band phone and do I need one?” you may I ask. That all depends on where you live and where you’re headed.
Without getting into the technical details, a quad band phone is basically a phone that works in pretty much any country in the world. So, if you never plan on leaving the United States, a tri band phone is fine. In fact, a dual band phone – such as the Motorola Debut i856 would even pass muster. Here’s an explanation:
The four “bands” referred to in “quad band” are actually four different GSM cell phone frequencies. These are:
• 850 MHz
• 900 MHz
• 1800 MHz
• 1900 MHz
Basically, if your phone doesn’t pick up the frequency being used in the region, then it’s useless. In the U.S., we use 1900 MHz and 850 MHz. In urban areas, you’ll mostly be using a 1900 MHz, but in some rural areas and other sparsely covered zones, you’ll use the 850 MHz.
Originally, all of Europe used the 900 MHz band but cell phone providers later began expanding to 1800 MHz. There are also some countries that use the 850 MHz band as well. For the most part, 900 MHz is more common than 1800 MHz, so if you have to choose between a tri band phone that has one or the other, go with 900 MHz.
If you’re looking for a quad band BlackBerry, go with a BlackBerry Curve 8310 or a BlackBerry 8830 World Edition. Samsung also makes a few quad band phones, including the Samsung SPH-M330.
For a tri band alternative that’s likely to work abroad, try the HTC Touch, which has GSM 900 Mhz, 1800 MHz and 1900 MHz.
Related posts:
- World Roaming Phones: Quad Band GSM
- Do I Need a Tri-Band Cell Phone?
- What Does Dual Band Mean?
- Where is GSM Used?
- Review of the Palm Treo 650
- Most Popular Cell Phones: November 2009
- Which Networks’ SIM Cards Will Work with the Nexus One Google Phone?
- Consumer Reports: Worst Smartphones of 2009
- Top 20 Most Popular Cell Phones Overall
- Samsung Accessories
Tags: cell phone coverage, GSM, quad band