One of the most frustrating things for a Mobile Phone Dependency Syndrome (MPDS) sufferer is hitting a dead zone in his or her phone's coverage. This can happen in the middle of a city, but it happens more often when you hit the open highway. But by far the biggest dead zone is the vast area outside of the United States. While the majority of U.S. digital service uses 800MHz and 1900MHz Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) standards, the rest of the world is
largely united under the 800MHz and 1800MHz Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) standard.
Of course, GSM service is available from U.S. providers like Pac Bell and Voicestream, but it's allotted the incompatible 1900MHz band. In a nutshell, you can't use the average domestic mobile phone to access GSM networks in Europe, South America, etc. Of course, you can always rent or borrow a phone for your world travels, but a more elegant solution is a globally compatible phone like Ericsson's 800MHz/1900MHz T28 World phone or Motorola's i2000 which supports both Nextel's iDen and the 800MHz world GSM standard.
To test these phones, I had no choice but to take off for Europe. Zooming back and forth through the Alps between beautiful Munich, Berlin, Verona, and Venice on the Autostrasse was tough work, but both phones performed splendidly. I was able to log on to the DeTeMobil Deustche Telecom and Telecom Italia Mobile networks as easily as I could to Pac Bell and Nextel in San Francisco. The price of this magic isn't cheap--the T28 retails for $299 and the i2000 $199, and coverage outside of the states is pure roaming to the tune of about a buck a minute. Still, for users who often travel outside the U.S., the convenience is undeniable. But the story doesn't stop there; physically, the T28 and i2000 are worlds apart.
Ericsson t28 world
Not only is this phone compatible in over 60 countries, it's a miniature marvel. Measuring only 5 inches long (including its 1.5-inch Antenna), by 2 inches wide by 0.6 inches thick, the 4.5-ounce T28 virtually disappears in a shirt pocket. The keypad is a bit small for my tastes, but the T28's voice activated dialing helps offset that. The T28's three-line display is easy to read, and the unit employs an easy-to-learn hierarchal icon-based menu. Unfortunately, too many commonly used items like the phone-book list are buried two or three levels deep.
Other annoyances included a long startup sequence and an audio cue that's startlingly loud when you're in quiet surroundings.
The sound quality of the T28 across the pond was fine, but I managed only 36 hours of standby and 2 hours of talk time. My review unit had seen a lot of use before I took possession, so a fresh battery would undoubtedly have come closer to the 55 hours and 4.5 hours Ericsson claims. Still, I can forgive the T28 World just about anything, because it looks great and is so darn easy to carry around.
Motorola/nextel i2000
At 5.75 inches long (including the housing for the retractable antenna), 2.25 inches wide, and just over an inch thick (and weighing nearly 6 ounces), Motorola's i2000 dwarfs the T28 physically. But heft has its advantages. The i2000's keypad was much more comfortable to use than the T28's, and its 100 percent taller five-line display is easier to read.
The i2000 lacked the T28's voice-activated dialing, but compensated with one-touch speed dial. The i2000's software interface isn't as easy to learn as the T28's, but once you do, features and settings can be accessed far more quickly.
The quality of i2000's sound is a bit tinnier than the T28's, but still usable. However, despite the i2000's large size, its smallish battery provided only about 100 minutes of talk time and 30 hours of standby time. An available larger battery will boost that to 180 minutes and 45 hours, respectively.
