Study this before you go begin your cell phone comparisons so you can know what you want and what to ask for.

GENERAL TERMS

Dead zone: A geographical area where a cell phone service provider does not offer service.

Bluetooth: The technology that allows you to send information between your cell phone and your computer, blackberry, printer or digital camera.

Roaming: Use of your cell phone outside your primary coverage area. It usually costs more, but there are some plans that give you free roaming.

Band: This refers to the frequency at which the cell phone is transmitting. Different areas of the world generally use different bands for their cell phone service. So up until recently, American cell phones wouldn't work in Europe because they were incompatible with the European cell phone band. Now, most phones are triband, meaning that they work on the three common frequencies.

DIGITAL NETWORKS

CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access. A network allowing many conversations to be carried over the same frequency by sending it in tagged groups. The cell phone codes are used to reconstruct the message at the receiving end. Many CDMA phones have analog backup, which should factor in to your cell phone comparisons if you will be using the phone in a rural area.

iDEN: Integrated Digital Enhanced Network. You will find this network used by a Nextel cell phone. It provides a walkie-talkie service, but without the proximity constraints. Workgroups who need easy access to each other should consider a Nextel cell phone plan.

GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications. This is the latest digital cell phone technology that allows global roaming. GSM phones are sometimes called "global phones".

OTHER INTIMIDATING ACRONYMS

PCS: Personal Communications Services, is a catch-all term for digital mobile phone services with high frequencies.

WAP: Wireless Application Protocol: Allows you to receives web pages on your cell phone screen. Your cell phone has to have a WAP browser that can display web pages that are coded in WML, a markup language like HTML.

SIM: Subscriber Identification Module is part of the GSM phone. They are smart cards that contain information about the cell phone owner. If you take out your SIM and put it into someone else's GSM cell phone, that phone will then have all of the information that your original phone had.

SMS Text Messages: Short Message Service lets you send text messages from 150 to 160 characters long typed into your cell using the keypad to other cell phones. Check to see if text messaging is free or if there is a charge per message.

MMS: Multimedia Messaging Service. This is the best Short Message Service available. It lets you send maps, animations, video, business cards and more to other phones that are set up with MMS.

3G: This stands for "third generation" phones. They are the latest and greatest in cell phones using superfast Internet connections to video conferencing etc.

This list should get you through the basics. Pretty soon you'll be telling your friends about your 3G cell phone with Bluetooth and a GSM network. Don't forget to refer them to this article.