03/04/2019
A client brought me an Android phone recently with some questions, about resetting, updating , the device, and possibly changing carriers. The mention of Jelly Bean, Ice Cream, CDMA and GSM sent him packing... LOL
Different versions of the Android OS are given cute nicknames, Microsoft does the same for Windows, (Chicago ect), Intel does the same, it names its CPUs after rivers, Android calls them Ice Cream, Jelly Bean, ect ect. Depending on the version.So far all food names, and in alphabetical order.
Android 4.1: Jelly Bean
Android 4.4: KitKat
Android 5.X: Lollipop
Android 6.X: Marshmallow
Android 7: Nougat (2016)
Android 8: Oreo (2017)
Android 9: Pie (2018)
Most newer apps will require you to have Lolli (5.x) or higher, possibly Marsh (6.x) to work anymore, previous versions don't have have the security options and protections for modern apps, like shopping, banking ect.
Depending on your device and your carrier (Verizon,ATT, TMobile ect) your device may or may not be upgradeable.
If it is YOU will probably have to do it yourself with a PC, a USB cable and patience, as most carriers are very slow
to roll out new android versions to their devices.Outlaw Computer Systems can of course upgrade your phone, or transfer everything to a new phone for a minor fee, most tablets as well, feel free to contact us.
The difference between locked and unloaded devices:
A "locked" device is just that, locked to a specific carrier, like Verizon for example or ATT. It won't work on other carriers until unlocked.
An unlocked phone can be used on any carrier.If you're going to buy a new phone, buy it NOT from the carrier/provo, [they are always locked to that carrier and sometimes can't be moved!] instead buy it online unlocked, so later you can take it to whatever carrier you like if needed without issues.
The difference between a Carrier and a Provider:
There is a huge difference between a carrier and a provider (provo) Verizon, ATT, Tmobile, Sprint, are provo's they own, operate, maintain towers and hardware to operate a cell network.Other carriers like Boost, Consumer Cellular, Straight Talk, "lease" bandwidth/traffic from provos, they are middle men that buy traffic in bulk and resell it to you...nothing more.They in reality have 0 control over the network you are on and can do little or nothing.
GSM vs CDMA
CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) and GSM (Global System for Mobiles) are terms for two older radio systems used in cell phones.
In the USA, Sprint, Verizon, use CDMA [ No SIM chip ] (mostly). AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM [SIM chip] (mostly).
Most of the rest of the world uses GSM. In 1987, Europe mandated the technology by law. In the US, what we know as CDMA,, is mostly owned by chipmaker Qualcomm. This made it cheaper for 3rd parties to build GSM equipment.
GSM time divides messages/calls/data , CDMA does not, GSM sends bursts of one complete, call or message,ect and its sent and received as one chunk of data.
CDMA might send a packet of data,part of a call, piece of a text, with "building block info" with it, so the receiver can take all the info and break it back down into part of a call, a text and some piece of data ect.
BUT
You can thank Verizon and Sprint ( and the companies they ran over in the early 90's aka Alcatel,SunCom ect ect), when US carriers went from analog to digital, in 1996 (give or take), they choose CDMA, and by the time it got sorted out that GSM was actually better/cheaper, they were committed already.... You're welcome.
CDMA phones "store" the phones carrier, owner ect on the phone itself, they are much harder to move from one carrier to another, a lot can not be upgraded Android OS wise, or moved from carrier to carrier, period.You bought a $30 Tracfone, you're stuck with it...
GSM phones store the carrier. ect on a SIM chip, making it much easier to move from carrier to carrier, or from an older phone to a newer one.
Having a SIM chip does NOT mean your phone is a GSM phone, some CDMA phones use sim chips to save owner data like contact list ect, but no real carrier/owner/phone data.
Prepaid plans- Verizon , and ATT will both (or would, I assume this hasn't changed), unlock prepaid phones if you've kept them active for some time, (they keep changing, 6 months, 9 months, check with them), Tmobile phones can be unlocked with an app they have always offered in the Google app store.
Cheap TracFone,Net10,ect type phones, They Can NOT be unlocked, Tracfone and Net10 make you agree to this when you activate your phone, they refuse to do it.
I am as of this time, not sure if Sprint will unlock their phones or not, having been acquired by T-Mobile now, I would tend to think so.
Hopefully that may end some confusion about locked, unlocked, GSM, CDMA, ect!