Idiots guide to mobile networks and data settings

[Cryssie]

Ok. Being new to Android and all, I am still working on finding the ideal settings on my phone. However: I am seriously held back by my lack of knowledge on all things android, and specifically network settings.
Is there a member who can help me with, or point me to, an idiots guide to network and data things?
What is the difference between different networks and how do apps use them? What does data transfer do exactly? I am baffled by questions like: does whatsapp work on 2G or not? What does the autosync do exactly? I think I am not a complete idiot on all things tech, so "Dora the Explorer" explanations are not necessary. I just don't know anything about the how in this department and the internet has not yet yielded what I want to know.

The background story:
I use the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray on stock rom. I am in the Netherlands on a Tmobile contract. The APN settings are the ones I got from Tmobile, so I did not mess with those. They have a GSM (2G?) and UMTS (3G?) network. When I am at home I use the GSM network because where I live the UMTS signal is not stellar while GSM is quite strong. For internet I use wifi at home, but when I go out that is not an option. (No omnipresent free wifi in Suburbia) I like to stay online for Whatsapp.

Uhm. I hope some of you Guru's can enlighten me.

 

[Deleted User]

The main difference between the Gs is the age of the technology. 2G was what initially supported text messaging, 3G enabled internet access and picture messages. What G you get depends on the tower you are picking your signal up from. Most towers are now upgraded to 3G at a minimum and a lot are now upgrading from there.

Syncing refers to how often your phone is set to update your internet pages....basically it refreshes and checks for updates e.g emails, Facebook updates etc.

Hope that help as a start?

Wiki is a good place to look for explanations.