{{Unreferenced, date=April 2016 Dual-mode mobiles refer to mobile phones that are compatible with more than one form of data transmission or network.

Dual-Mode Phone

A dual-mode phone is a

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

which uses more than one technique for sending and receiving

voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound producti ...

and

data In the pursuit of knowledge, data (; ) is a collection of discrete values that convey information, describing quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpret ...

. This could be for wireless

mobile phones A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while ...

or for wired phones. There are three types of dual-mode phones.

Network Compatibility

Mobile phones containing two types of cellular

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

s for voice and data. These phones include combination of

GSM The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such ...

and

CDMA Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communicatio ...

technology. They can be used as a GSM or CDMA phone according to the user's preference. These handsets are also called global phones. An example of this is the

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

SCH-A790. These dual-mode handsets are compatible with both

and

networks and are essentially two phones in one device. Such phones make sense in those countries that have both GSM & CDMA networks or international CDMA roamers who want to keep a single handset with two numbers on it. Most dual-mode handsets require two identifying cards (one SIM and one RUIM), though some dual-mode phones (for example, the iPhone 4S) only require one SIM and one ESN. Not all

dual SIM Some mobile phones support use of two SIM cards, described as dual SIM operation. When a second SIM card is installed, the phone either allows users to switch between two separate mobile network services manually, has hardware support for keeping ...

handsets are dual mode (for example dual SIM GSM phones).

Cellular and Non-cellular Radios

Mobile phones contain both cellular and non-cellular radios used for voice and data communication. There are also two types of dual-mode phones which use cellular radio which will contain GSM/CDMA/W-CDMA as well as other technology like IEEE 802.11 (

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves ...

) radio or

DECT Digital enhanced cordless telecommunications (Digital European cordless telecommunications), usually known by the acronym DECT, is a standard primarily used for creating cordless telephone systems. It originated in Europe, where it is the common ...

(Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) radio. These phones can be used as cellular phones when connected to a wide area cellular network. When within range of a suitable WiFi or DECT network, the phone can be used as a WiFi/DECT phone for all communications purposes. This method of operation can reduce cost (for both the network operator and the subscriber), improve indoor coverage and increase data access speeds.

Wired Phones

Wired phones with

VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. The terms Internet t ...

and POTS technology. These phones can be used for making VoIP calls and also used for phones on the circuit switch network. These phones require compatible routers and

modem A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by modulating one or more c ...

to make VoIP calls.

List

* Google Pixel & Pixel XL * Google Pixel 2 & Pixel 2 XL * iPhone 6s * Motorola Moto X4 and Android One Moto X4 *

Nexus 5 Nexus 5 (code-named Hammerhead) is an Android smartphone sold by Google and manufactured by LG Electronics. It is the fifth generation of the Nexus series, succeeding the Nexus 4. It was unveiled on October 31, 2013 and served as the launc ...

Nexus 5X The Nexus 5X (codenamed bullhead) is an Android smartphone manufactured by LG Electronics, co-developed with and marketed by Google as part of its Nexus line of flagship devices. Unveiled on September 29, 2015, it was a successor to the Nexus 5 ...

* Nexus 6P

Dual-Mode Phone

Network Compatibility

Cellular and Non-cellular Radios

Wired Phones

List

See also