What about a GSM phone that makes calls?

Barely a day goes by without a new mobile being announced by the major vendors.

Almost without exception though the talk is of the software features of the platform rather than the ability to make a call; that bit seems to be assumed.

But should it be? Our own work with the GSM network is more usually based on sending an SMS text message or a packet of data rather than voice. How ever signal quality is vital for many of our applications where the GSM controller (like our RMC301 for example) may be in a remote location on the edge of cell's coverage area.

In these circumstances selecting the right antenna is vital and yesterday I had a long discussion with one antenna provider that proved to be very useful indeed. Suffice to say that the incorporation of an antenna into a fully embedded device presents more challenges that an external antenna that can be changed if more gain is needed.