Most likely for an HSPA phone, those use SIMs. All the CDMA companies had to put up
parallel HSPA networks because:
-CDMA kinda stalled technologically
-More importantly I think Apple strong armed them into it if they wanted to carry the iPhone.
iPhones previously only supported GSM, now GSM and HSPA. That's the one thing I like
about Apple, they are the one phone maker with more barganing clout than the cell phone
carriers. (Normally it's the carriers that get to push around the phone manufacturers. ^_-)
Not that this means everyone's phones will eventually be compatible, there is
annother standard called UMTS out there than rolled out shortly before HSPA became
dominant that's used by at least once aggressive Canadian new entrant. Maybe LTE is
where we'll finally get full compatability. (You know, like we had when cell phones were
analog and all used narrowband FM. ^_-)
-I've never seen any kind of SIM in a North American CDMA phone.
-TDMA phones never had SIMs, as TDMA died out the TDMA carriers put up
parallell GSM networks and gradually migrated customers over. Kinda like
how CDMA carriers are now migrating to HSPA. Some aspects of TDMA
became parts of the GSM, and IDEN technologies. Not sure if anyone still
runs a TDMA network anymore.
-They were originally in GSM phones as part of the GSM specification.
-They seem to have been part of the HSPA package from day one, it seems
all the HSPA phones are backwards compatible to GSM networks.
-Motorola added SIM capability to their IDEN technology about 10 years back.
IDEN seems to be on the way out now, never really was "mainstream" to
begin with and all network expansion has stalled. Although it had good
sound quality for a digital transission standard.
-I think the UMTS phones use SIMs (haven't seen one in person yet), they
are all listed as being backwards compatible to GSM networks like the
HSPA phones are.
-I did once have a Nokia rep tell me there was a similar type of card that could
be used in CDMA phones but the only CDMA phones they put those in were
to be marketed in China. The North American CDMA carriers who controled
the wholesale market for phones wouldn't want to release something into the
domestic market that would give their customers more control over their own
phones if the could avoid it.
Too bad I don't know anyone that works for Verizon who could look up that
serial number, I'd be curious to know who last owned that SIM card.
Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 9:11 pm