Hello all.... Been a lurker for about as long as this thread has been active, and with all that's transpired with NKT's revelations today thought I might throw out a question. I'm not very well versed in the technology of mobile phones, but in reading up on the snapdragon had a thought-- if the 8650 supports GSM and CDMA what is keeping this phone from being a "world phone"?
From my understanding the processor controls all the radio function, and an antennae is an antennae- as long as you can access the frequencies processor-wise there shouldn't be much limitation to using them.
Do you need a SIM card, or can that information be integrated into the software/firmware as a unique identifier of each unit?
In my simplistic understanding- all a SIM card does is give a unique identifier to the individual phone on the network- it also gives you the option to use a GSM phone on different networks by replacing with a SIM for that provider.
Long story short- could Verizon activate GSM band communication like they did for the BB Tour for use internationally only without the SIM option so you would have to pay roaming charges to VZW for your airtime in other countries... Kind of a sucky second rate option, but at least the phone isn't a brick on international travel.
Other than that I guess you could depend on Wifi and Skype for intl calling...
Anybody know anything about limitations that I am missing? My guess is that i am missing something pretty huge or else google would have adopted this chip for the Nexus one- added a SIM slot and said "free for all- give us 530 smackaroos and you can take this badboy to any network anywhere- the processor has support for every provider the world over- pick the one that works best in your area..." Their "revolutionary" marketing scheme would have been much more revolutionary if they hadn't tied the phone to a single provider or technology by choosing a chip limited to GSM band.
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