What Is The Difference Between Cell Phones And 2-way Radios? Do you think Nextel offers good services?

[xavierrd 0]

As many people, I'm a cell phone user, but regular. I know there's a different system that uses different cell phones that work just like 2 way radios. What's the main difference? Do they use the same cells for transmitting or is a differente technology? I understand they are better suitable for business, so I guess they're more expensive. Are they? I would consider getting some of those radios, maybe for my family, what do you think? Do they have good reception? good audio? I just would like to know of somebody else's opinion. Oh, by the way, Nextel is coming to my town. Do they have good service?Thanks

Edited February 21, 2006 by BuffaloHELP (see edit history)

[kevlar557 0]

Do you mean the 2-way radios built into cell phones, like Nextel phones, or do you mean actual 2-way radios that contain their own transmitter and reciever?

[wariorpk 0]

The main difference between cell phones and two way radios is where the path that the signal takes. Two way radios transmit a signal out for however long their range is. Any other two way radio on the same frequency can pick up the transmission. Cell phones on the other hand send a transmission to a cell phone tower and then either to another cell phone tower and to a cell phone if you are calling a cell phone, if it is a land line it goes from the cell phone tower to the house. For the most part people can not pick up your phone calls. Thats the difference. Cell phones generally have a greater range than two way radios as well.

[ebula 0]

The main difference between cell phones and two way radios is where the path that the signal takes. Two way radios transmit a signal out for however long their range is. Any other two way radio on the same frequency can pick up the transmission. Cell phones on the other hand send a transmission to a cell phone tower and then either to another cell phone tower and to a cell phone if you are calling a cell phone, if it is a land line it goes from the cell phone tower to the house. For the most part people can not pick up your phone calls. Thats the difference. Cell phones generally have a greater range than two way radios as well.

The main difference is in the technology. Two way radio is based on surface radio waves travelling across globe, bouncing back from surface to surface and our ionosphere, before reaching to target 'by chance or probability'. These have actually short frequencies. On the other side, cell phones uses FM or frequency modulated waves (as used in FM radios) wrapping one short wavelength wave in another higher wavelength wave. These waves cant travel to long distances, and hence require towers to amplify / modulate them or to be sent to long distances by using altogether different technologies, such as satellite or fiber optic cables.

[Thorned Rose 0]

If you want something more indepth, you can go to Wikipedia. The following exerpts are from there:

Two way radios:

A two-way radio is simply a radio that can both transmit and receive (a transceiver). Portable two-way radios are often called walkie-talkies or handi-talkies. Two-way radios are also available in mobile and base configurations. An example of a two-way radio that both transmits and receives at the same time (or full-duplex) is a mobile phone or cellular telephone, which uses two different radio frequencies to carry the two directions of the conversation simultaneously.

and Cell phones:

Mobile phones and the network they operate under vary significantly from provider to provider, and even from nation to nation. However, all of them communicate through electromagnetic radio waves with a cell site/base station, the antennas of which are usually mounted on a tower, pole, or building.
The phones have a low-power transceiver that transmits voice and data to the nearest cell sites, usually .5 to 10 miles away. When the cellular phone or data device is turned on, it registers with the mobile telephone exchange, or switch, with its unique identifiers, and will then be alerted by the mobile switch when there is an incoming telephone call. The handset constantly listens for the strongest signal being received from the surrounding base stations. As the user moves around the network, the mobile device will "hand off" to new cell sites.

Cell sites have relatively low-power (often only one or two Watts) radio transmitters which broadcast their presence and relay communications between the mobile handsets and the switch. The switch in turn connects the call to another subscriber of the same wireless service provider or to the public telephone network, which includes the networks of other wireless carriers.

The dialogue between the handset and the cell site is a stream of digitized audio (except for the first generation analog networks). The technology that achieves this depends on the system which the mobile phone operator has adopted. Some technologies include AMPS for analog, and TDMA, CDMA, GSM, GPRS, EV-DO, and UMTS for digital communications. Each network operator has a unique radio frequency band.

My father used to have a ham radio which is basically still just two-way. It was a lot of fun. Why do you ask what the difference is? Or are you just curious?

[xavierrd 0]

Well, after a brief research, I've found the answer to my question, je. The technology cellular phones use is similar to the one used by radios. But when I say radios, I mean Digital Radios, made by Motorola, yet best known as IDEN Phones. The signal modulates o carries digital data, including voice and text or images. Just as cell phones do nowadays.

But, there are differences, so you could say those are different technologies. The one used by Nextel in my country has been developed by Motorola, and it's called iDEN: Integrated Digital Enhaced Network. With that you need a radio, not a cell phone. But it could be confusing because at the end, the radio can be used as a cell phone itself, but it's like qhen you get a cell phone with digital camera, it's not the main porpouse. So, radios are used for work or business, because it's possible to make whoever uses a radio listen to you inmediately. Like a radio, but digital. A really good thing about it is that you could get in touch with some one that has the same service in another country, or state. That avoids the problems of signal strenght, of course it has limitations, it would only work where there is coverage.

Also, among a lot of features, one of those radios can be used also like a wireless modem. You can connect a laptop or palm and get connected to the Internet. You could check your email, receive messages, send voice messages to an email account (using the radio button, that's kinda cool), etc.

Many have GPS features and a way to be located using special Internet services.

As I said, those radios could be used for making phone calls, like a cell phone. With that it is possible to get the modem work.

All other services use digital packages. In general, the main four services are: direct connection (radio), Phone network access, modem and messages.

As example, you could check the features of the i870, by Motorola.

http://idenphones.motorola.com/idenProducts/phonesHome.do?phones=870

Did I mention they support J2ME?? If someone likes programming cell phones, those can be an extra option to think about.

Thanks to you all!

[imobilecentral 0]

the mobile phone is way advanced than a radio.It is a improvised version of a radio.you can access internet,watch live video,sen messages and do lot of stuffs in a mobile which is not available in a radio.A mobile phone just uses the transmission technique usewd in radio to connect to access points

[xavierrd 0]

Well, that's true, but those iDEN phones used for radio, here, are intended to be used by people at work, because they provide much faster communication, just by pushing a button, and other features, like sending voide messages in a file to an email account, just bypressing the same button. However, there are "normal" people who use those phones just as cell phones, and as everything, if those gadgets cell phones have will be a treat to iDEN phones, I believe that Motorola or whatever manufacturer makes them, will include cool things later. Don't you think? Time will tell