Analog vs. DigitalJan 16 '00 Write an essay on this topic.Just a few years ago, wireless phones were reserved for stockbrokers and self-important windbags. Today they're as common as Sony Walkmans. But while any walkman you buy will play your cassette tapes, wireless phones, which come in analog and digital are not nearly as interchangeable. Certain phones will work only with certain service providers in certain parts of the country. That's why when you choose a cell phone, you're really choosing between digital and analog service. There are some 60 million wireless users out there. And that number is expected to double by 2003. Analog and digital phones operate on opposite ends of the radio-wave spectrum, making neither type a phone compatible with the other's calling network.(Dual-mode phones, which are less common, work with both analog and digital networks). What’s more, you have several digital standards to choose from - including PCS, GSM, CDMA, and TDMA - which means you might not be able to use your digital phone when you roam into another digital-phone provider's area. One thing all digital phones have in common, however, is efficiency. That's because digital technology separates spectrums into even smaller bands and lets different conversations use the same bandwidth on a time-share basis. As a result, digital technology can pack at least three phone conversations into the same bandwidth gobbled up by one analog cell, which means fewer busy signals. The real appeal of digital phones is that they send and receive data as easily as they do voice signals. This allows digital providers to offer services such as caller ID, paging, text messaging, and faxing. And because digital transmissions are faster than analog, digital technology is ideal for tapping into the Internet. Currently, analog has only two advantages over digital. First, its existing network of cells is more wide spread, and the similarity of all analog signal means that wherever you roam, you'll be able to use your cell phone with the local provider's network. The second is that an analog signal, although it may be faint and full of static, can make itself heard even when it is weak. A digital signal fails to work at all in such situations. This makes analog better if you travel off the beaten path. But even this is changing as digital wireless carriers continue to expand their coverage. Dual-mode phones provide a nice way to get the best of both worlds, but as the name implies, they're literally two phones in one, making them bigger and heavier than digital phones. I would recommend a digital phone to an analog phone, simply because the analog spectrum is running out of room for new customers, while digital is still unexploited. Digital can also handle computer data as well as voice. You'll have to put up with incompatible standards and a limited range for now, but expect that to change soon. If you must have phone that will work anywhere, consider an analog or a dual-mode model.  |
| Read all comments (2)|Write your own comment |
