Chronicles of a CDMA user

[cutdcrap]

Hi Guys,

The year was 2004 and as many of you would share the feeling :
"The probability of the numbers in your landline / cell phone bills is directly proportional to your having a girl/boy friend, as the case may be."

Also, when you are in the age of 20 - 25, your parents have no reason not to blame you for the ever increasing slant height of the bill payments that they have made especially in the recent months.

2004 here is significant since I was doing my Masters and happened to have a girl friend. So, there was an urgent need to look out for alternates to control this phone expense. The only options were:

1. Stop talking, or
2. Get some thing "free"

Considering the fact that first is impossible (somehow the hours succumbed to the words that we had to share...hmm..another sign of being in love, ehh), there was a movie which came out : HUM TUM.

Saw the movie, but this article is not about it, but the inspiration that TATA Indicom derived out of it. They introduced a HUM TUM promotional pack that had 2 colour mobiles Nokia 3105 at a price of 6.5k each. the best part was that these mobiles had free , and when I say free, it means free calling amongst them. Just remebered the old saying : Bhagwan ke ghar der hai andher nahin.

That was the way I joined the CDMA bandwagon bidding adieu to my long mate Nokia 8310. So, here I was with no radio, not a very good looking handset but like Red bull, love gives you wings, and do you care of the speedbreakers when you are flying????

There were options from Reliance, but personally I didnt want to join that network...wasnt impressed with my dad's cell connectivity. It jammed for most of times due to congestion at that time.

After the year was nearing the end, the same quest for looking for alternates started, but somehow I wanted to remain with this network. So, the miracle happened again. Tata came up with a pack that allowed one to call other TATA mobiles absolutely free by paying Rs.99/month. We were happy again. Seems like Mr.Tata was hell bent on retaining us as their clients as an ode to our love .

Well, the story has been good throughout these 3 years. Connectivity has never been an issue. Tata has one of the best connectivity, thats what I feel. The Customer Care is great. The bills are reasonable. They attend to your concerns giving feedback calls. What else could I desire?

Year 2006 , Month December and I got what I desired..Got married, guys

Now the free factor wasnt that important but it was time to upgrade the phones considering the fact that they had been used for 3 years, and when I say free, it means they were expolited to the max. But they are still in great shape. Sadly, my company doesnt permit the use of camera phones. So, i am still using the same phone.

Wifey got a new one, though. Looked at the options and MOTO Razr V3C made a good choice given the fact that in 8.5k, they are giving Bill and warranty for 1 year along with bluetooth of Motorola worth 2.5k (thats what they say). Looked a value proposition to us. Went for it. CDMAs are better in voice clarity than their GSM counterparts, and considering the relation that I have shared with Indicom, it has been great.

My observations for CDMA are :

1. You do not have the option of a memory upgrade, like a data card in the handset which means you have to live with the phone memory of 35MB, unlike GSM Razrs.
2. No inbuilt Music Player. You have a Demo player which you can purchase over the network but they are limited by time.
3. Razr wont allow you to store games indefinitely. You have to purchase them over the network for a fixed period of time, following which they expire themselves.
4. You cannot trade your handset elsewhere, unless of course grey market.
5. However, the Nokia handset allowed me to store games, etc

To sum it all, the initial reason why I switched to CDMAs and precisely TATAs was the value proposition, which to date has kept me with them. Dont go for CDMA if you are the one who updates his phones more than often.

Thanks everyone

[hrag]

In addition to the Bluetooth headset, you also get the regular headset, a data cable and an installation CD with the RAZR V3c.

You can connect directly to the internet using the Openwave feature. Or, install the CD in your PC / laptop and use the mobile and connect. Or connect via Bluetooth to the internet.

The V3c with Tata Indicom is a very good deal. Only battery life has been a concern for me.

[Cool Zen]

i feel CDMA are still good if you are heavy user, if you go too frequently in roaming etc. even i felt that biggest issue with CDMA handsets is the battery back-up is poor than GSM handsets.

[typeOnegative]

Ah. I have a 6265 CDMA. Reliance. I think memory is not a problem (Can be upgraded to 2 gigs), so is the 2 MP camera. And so are the features. However it is bulky and Reliance connectivity is iffy at times. And yes, as Cool Zen says, battery backup is not that accurate.

[rahul_intlad]

You do not have the option of a memory upgrade, like a data card in the handset which means you have to live with the phone memory of 35MB, unlike GSM Razrs.

There are cdma phones which have a memory card slot.

No inbuilt Music Player. You have a Demo player which you can purchase over the network but they are limited by time.

Again it is available on some cdma phones.

You cannot trade your handset elsewhere, unless of course grey market.

Not sure but think Reliance have/had some offer.

[Eddy]

[quote=cutdcrap;512917 like Red bull, love gives you wings, and do you care of the speedbreakers when you are flying????
[/quote]

Good one dude

Still not used a CDMA phone. I like my numbers starting with a 98 or 99 instead of 93 or 92. No logic, just a personal stupid choice

[cutdcrap]

@hrag : Yes, you get all those goodies, and yes the battery lasts only a day, bad considering that Nokia still manages 2 days with good usage.

@coolzen : Couldnt agree more. BTW, have you heard of the new roaming rental? Some bucks per month and incoming free..

Today I got a call from Customer care saying they had a new pack whereby paying Rs.300, my Caller ID will be free for life.

Calls free, now Caller ID..guess we are inching towards a scenario where operators will be paying consumers to use their network..I dont mind alternate source of income.


@typeOnegative : You are lucky dude, Razr dont have expandable memories

@rahul_intlad : True, but not on Razrs and Indicom, repectively

@Eddy : You said it, "Personal Choice"

[cutdcrap]

After my experience with Razr, and still continued faith in Tata I opted for Samsung Duo mobile phone launched recently. I was planning for a handset upgrade and this is the right one, I guess. So, I took one yesterday

Priced at 12k, this CDMA handset gives you:

1. 1.3 mp camera
2. Upto 1GB extendable memory (Micro SD slot)
3. Stereo function on headset
4. Music player
5. Touch Screen
6. Bluetooth
7. Slots for 2 cards (CDMA/GSM, 2 CDMA, 2 GSM, Either CDMA/GSM). However, only one network will be chosen at a time. Switching time is 30 seconds, approx.
8. There are some really thoughtful features on the main screen like the silence button, which when clicked puts the mobile into silence mode.
9. The menus are easily accessible, and easy to nagivate.
10. Then there is the handwriting recognition that tries to understand what alphabet you are writing on the touch screen.
11. It also says that it can be used as a high speed modem, speeds upto 150 Kbps. I dont have a data cable to test it at the moment.
12. The internal phone memory can save upto 500 contacts (5 numbers each, email address, picture, ringtone)+ 400 SMS + 200 Schedules +20 Memos + 300 Recent calls (100 each for incoming, outgoing and missed). Quite a bit, isnt it? However, there is a default phone memory, which stores only 15 MB data. I have no clue what it is, but the catch is that the music transferred from Bluetooth by me is stored in the default memory and not the internal memory. If I try to move it, it will only move to External memory card, which again I havent bought.

Only thing is that I wish it had a data cable supplied with the set. Anyways, I am looking for one. The good news is that the customer care of samsung is the best that I have encountered ever. They are so proactive and helpful, and now that I have registered my product with Samsung, I am waiting for them to call tomorrow to tell me where can I possibly find one. I saw that there is a service centre close to my house in Patparganj Industrial Area, and if it is available with them, I shall definitely visit them.

Please feel free to clear any inhibitions on the product and I shall be happy to help you.

[cutdcrap]

So, I called Samsung Care in the morning, and the person told me the service centre, and said that the data cable will be available there. He also gave me their number, which is not there on the website, timings and the days the service centre is open. I called up the service centre, and the pwerson said that though the cable is not available at the moment, because it is a new set he has taken my number and said will call me by 7 days, by which he hopes to procure the cable.

[hrag]

Last month, I suddenly found the display of my V3c behaving strangely. Gave it to Redington and they said they needed to change some connector for Rs. 700. I said OK. They then called saying after replacing the connector, the display is fine but the phone becomes very hot. According to them, the board inside would need to be replaced, that would cost around 2000 and is not worth the cost.

[manikjeet]

never ever open v3 (i or v) personal experience

i would suggest buy a new phone

[Steeroid]

That was a very entertaining little write up. So you got married to the girl because you could call her for free

Anyway, a few observations:

Originally Posted by cutdcrap

My observations for CDMA are :

1. You do not have the option of a memory upgrade, like a data card in the handset which means you have to live with the phone memory of 35MB, unlike GSM Razrs.
2. No inbuilt Music Player. You have a Demo player which you can purchase over the network but they are limited by time.
3. Razr wont allow you to store games indefinitely. You have to purchase them over the network for a fixed period of time, following which they expire themselves.
4. You cannot trade your handset elsewhere, unless of course grey market.
5. However, the Nokia handset allowed me to store games, etc

To sum it all, the initial reason why I switched to CDMAs and precisely TATAs was the value proposition, which to date has kept me with them. Dont go for CDMA if you are the one who updates his phones more than often.

Thanks everyone

What you are talking about are HANDSET features, not CDMA features. CDMA is the network, not the terminal (i.e., handset). There are CDMA handsets with all the features you talk about, but they havent been released here in India, primarily because CDMA has been GSM's poor cousin in this market (actually, in most markets) and therefore the operators in a bid to capture the lower end of the market have resorted to free phones or highly subsidized phones, which means you get phones without some of the features you take for granted on popular GSM terminals.

Again, the two operators in India primarily use SIM-less CDMA handsets, which means the handsets are locked to their networks, not the SIMs. This is why you cannot sell your handset (you still can, but that person should want an Indicom or Reliance number). There are SIM-based CDMA handsets which will allow you to switch terminals like you do with GSM phones.

However, CDMA isnt doing very well in India. Both Reliance and Tata want to get on to the GSM bandwagon. Reliance may even sell out to MTN - they havent done a great job at managing a mobilephone company, so I guess the easiest way out for them is to sell the company on the basis of the inflated numbers they keep reporting.

[motorheadinc]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

That was a very entertaining little write up. So you got married to the girl because you could call her for free

Anyway, a few observations:



What you are talking about are HANDSET features, not CDMA features. CDMA is the network, not the terminal (i.e., handset). There are CDMA handsets with all the features you talk about, but they havent been released here in India, primarily because CDMA has been GSM's poor cousin in this market (actually, in most markets) and therefore the operators in a bid to capture the lower end of the market have resorted to free phones or highly subsidized phones, which means you get phones without some of the features you take for granted on popular GSM terminals.

Again, the two operators in India primarily use SIM-less CDMA handsets, which means the handsets are locked to their networks, not the SIMs. This is why you cannot sell your handset (you still can, but that person should want an Indicom or Reliance number). There are SIM-based CDMA handsets which will allow you to switch terminals like you do with GSM phones.

However, CDMA isnt doing very well in India. Both Reliance and Tata want to get on to the GSM bandwagon. Reliance may even sell out to MTN - they havent done a great job at managing a mobilephone company, so I guess the easiest way out for them is to sell the company on the basis of the inflated numbers they keep reporting.

1.They are very well available and available in the open market/ grey market.
There is a CDMA cousin of nokia 6300 with same features(as per my observation).

2. That used to be the case till sometime ago. now-a-days they too have switched to SIM (Tata came from the beginning with the T-sim if i recall correctly and reliance has gone the sim way recently).

The funny thing with reliance is that the Mobile number is not hard coded to the sim and u can get the number changed.

3. How i know all this?
I have a reliance number as my second cell and have been through SIMless to Simmed handset

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by motorheadinc

The funny thing with reliance is that the Mobile number is not hard coded to the sim and u can get the number changed.

Directory numbers (your mobile numbers) are programmed at the network level and not at the handset or sim level - whether GSM or CDMA. You can change numbers at will.

[phamilyman]

Not just that - with ANY GSM operator, when you get a replacement SIM, they give you any SIM lying there, and reconfigure it so that your old number works?!

Old hat bro