Which cell phone providers offer service where is important for road trippers -- but how can you tell?
While driving through eastern Colorado not long ago, my husband and I occasionally opened our cell phones and compared how many bars we had. Mindful of tedious television commercials that I've seen about coverage, this seemed like an informative diversion. I assumed that a specific number of bars means the same thing on all phones and with all providers.
Not so, reports technology reporter Tom Simonite in a blog posting on New Scientist. He wrote that there are no industry standards for signal bars, and one bar, two bars, three bars, etc. don't always mean the same thing, as we found out. In La Junta, my husband's cell phone showed an impressive array or bars, while mine displayed just one. Yet I received a call -- in a restaurant where we stopped for lunch. Simonite has some ideas on how to improve the system, as do some of the visitors to the New Scientist blog. It makes for an intersting technie read.
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That's an interesting article. I haven't thought of "bars" as meaning anything relative either - except for realizing when I have NONE I'm screwed.
ReplyDeleteNext month I plan on getting the T-Mobile phone with the "Wi-Fi @ Home" feature (if the $199 iPhone doesn't sway me.)
A unique feature is built in Wi-Fi calling which lets you easily switch from cell calling to Wi-Fi/internet service. (like skype.)
Granted you probably won't have a Wi-Fi signal in a desolate part of Utah - but to think you can be anywhere with a Wi-Fi signal, from a village in the outback to your friend's basement and not worry about signal strength is really cool.
For an overseas travelers they can make and receive calls from a coffee shop, or anywhere they can get a Wi-Fi signal.
james...
Me too. I thought every system was the same.
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