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CNET's quick guide to 3G cell phone services

For the past few years, cellular carriers and handset manufacturers have talked a lot about third-generation (3G) services for mobile phones. Despite all the talk, however, the companies haven't done a particularly good job of explaining what it all means. To many customers, the real meaning of 3G has been lost among promises of video features and zippy data speeds--promises that are only now beginning to live up to reality. Yet the question still remains: What exactly is 3G?

Simply put, 3G cellular technology will bring wireless broadband data services to your mobile phone. Boasting speeds from 144Kbps (roughly three times faster than a 56K dial-up modem connection) to 2.4Mbps (close to cable-modem speed), 3G networks let you speed through Web pages, enjoy streaming music video, watch on-demand video programming, download and play 3D games, and videoconference with your fellow chatterers. While the interface is undoubtedly different on a cell phone, the experience of surfing, downloading, and streaming stands to be very close to that of a broadband connection on a computer.

Cellular technology: a brief history Cellular technology: a brief history
See how it all started for cell phones
Types of 3G Types of 3G
Not all high-speed technologies are the same
Which carriers have 3G? Handsets with 3G
Show me the 3G-enabled phones out there
3G glossary 3G glossary
Decipher 3G's alphabet soup
Sound good? Well, yes, it does. To date, major cellular carriers have introduced 3G services, and a solid assortment of 3G-enabled handsets are now available from the various key vendors in the market.

Editors' note:
Some parts of this article have been modified from the original story.
Cellular technology: A brief history
Remember those telltale twisty antennas on the roofs of cars in the 1980s? Those cool customers on their car phones were using Advanced Mobile Phone Service, or AMPS. This first-generation analog network may have been cutting edge at the time, but it soon became notorious for its iffy call quality. Even worse, anyone with a police radio scanner can easily eavesdrop on AMPS calls, which travel through the air without any scrambling or encryption. AMPS still is available today on handsets from some phone vendors, but it is largely fading as a technology.

The evolution of 3G
   1980s   1990 to 1995   1995 to 2000   2000 to 2005 
1G
Analog: voice only
AMPS      
2G
Digital: voice and limited data
(less than 20Kbps)
  CDMA
GSM
   
2.5G
Data at dial-up speeds
(30Kbps to 90Kbps)
    GPRS
1xRTT
EDGE
3G
DSL speeds
(144Kbps to 2Mbps)
      UMTS
1xEV-DO

The 1990s marked the arrival of two digital networks: CDMA, popular in the United States and a few other countries; and GSM, the dominant technology overseas. These second-generation (2G) networks spread voice calls across several wireless spectrums, making for more reliable connections that are much harder--though not impossible--for hackers to intercept. More importantly, CDMA and GSM networks are also capable of sending a sliver of data along with voice signals, making possible for such features as text messaging (SMS), caller ID, and conference calling.

Though the move to 2G was a great leap in terms of the technology, the splintering of the CDMA and GSM camps created a mess in some countries such as the US which had some carriers opting for GSM while others choosing CDMA. While each camp claims to have the advantage, the schism resulted in two competing networks with little incentive to create a unifying 3G standard. Conversely in Europe, 3G arrived much more quickly because all carriers were working off a government-mandated standard.

Of course, there were other factors working against 3G's adoption in some countries. Rolling out the new networks was very expensive, and customers had to be sold on the services. Furthermore, the move also involved technological constraints. Carriers had to bridge the gap between slow-as-molasses 2G service and zippy 3G with "2.5G" network enhancements. In operation a couple years now, 2.5G networks let you download ring tones, listen to short audio clips, send multimedia messages (MMS), or surf the Web, albeit slowly. These services include GPRS, which is capable of transmitting and receiving data at an average of about 30Kbps to 40Kbps, or a little slower than standard 56K dial-up service and EDGE, another GSM enhancement that manages about 90Kbps on an average day, or almost twice as fast as dial-up. On the CDMA side is 1xRTT, an early version of CDMA2000, which squeaks in about 60Kbps to 80Kbps. The next step, of course, is 3G and beyond. But some important differences remain.

Types of 3G
There are two main flavors of 3G: UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephone Service), which is being rolled out over existing GSM networks, and CDMA2000, which brings 3G speeds to CDMA networks; for a detailed explanation of terms, see the glossary. Both UMTS and CDMA2000--which has two high-speed offshoots, the data-only 1xEV-DO and the voice-plus-data 1xEV-DV--are already available in major cities with more expansion set for 2006. Speeds for both should be about DSL quality. We're also beginning to see discussions of 3.5G and 4G technologies such as HSDPA and WiMax, which should provide cable modem and gigabyte Ethernet speeds.

Of course, you'll need a 3G-capable phone to use one of the new high-speed networks. After a slow start, a wide assortment of 3G handsets is now available from the carriers. All the mobiles offer support for the new 3G networks, and they come in a variety of styles, from stylish and trendy--such as the Samsung SGH-Z540--to simple and functional, as in the Nokia 6233. For a complete list of phones, see the next page for all new 3G cell phone reviews.

Laptop users also can take advantage of 3G networks for on-the-go broadband without a Wi-Fi network; all you need is a carrier-supplied PC Card.

Services and speeds 
   1G   2G   2.5G 
Technology AMPS GSM
CDMA
iDen
GPRS
1xRTT
EDGE
Speeds n/a Less than 20Kbps 30Kbps to 90Kbps
Features Analog
(voice only)
Voice; SMS; conference calls; caller ID; push to talk MMS; images; Web browsing; short audio/video clips; games, applications, and ring tone downloads

   3G   3.5G   4G and beyond 
Technology UMTS
1xEV-DO
HSDPA (upgrade for UMTS)
1xEV-DV
WiMax*
Speeds 144Kbps to 2Mbps 384Kbps to 14.4Mbps 100Mbps to 1Gbps
Features Full-motion video; streaming music; 3D gaming; faster Web browsing On-demand video; videoconferencing High-quality streaming video;
high-quality videoconferencing; Voice-over-IP telephony
*WiMax has been mentioned as a possible 4G technology, but no standards have been set.

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