Sprint's and Verizon's current implementations of CDMA do not support simultaneous transfer of voice and data. It's a hideous flaw that is having an impact on more and more users with the increasing adoption of smartphones. For the purpose of this post, the technical reasons are not important. The fact is, some carriers support simultaneous voice and data and some do not.
AT&T and T-Mobile 3G customers have the dubious luxury of talking on the phone and using it to look up something on the web, send/receive email or browse facebook at the same time. They probably take it for granted and it's surprising these carriers aren't using it in their advertising (yet).
Well, for those Verizon and Sprint customers who may need to use their phone for data occasionally while still on the line, there are a few workarounds that involve diverting the data or voice to alternate channels. The first one is implemented by the phone manufacturers; wifi. If you are within a wifi coverage area, you can keep on surfing and talking as the data is already diverted. The remaining workarounds divert the voice channel. They require some creativity and impose a little burden so it depends on one's earnest desire as to whether they are really worth it. For some, it will be.
The second alternative is to add another 'standard' phone to a family plan. If you already have a family plan with 4 or fewer lines, just add another for $10 per month and find a cheap dumbphone on craigslist. This sounds complicated, but with some help from Google Voice (GV), it really isn't. GV allows for multiple phones to ring simultaneously when a call comes in. By keeping the 'extra' phone in your car or bag, just pick up that phone when it rings and you'll always have your smartphone available for data usage. Should you answer your smartphone and find yourself on a lengthy call while expecting and important email, just press the star key (*) and transfer immediately to your other phone without anyone even knowing.
An added benefit to using GV, is that it can also ring your home and work phones. By using them for incoming calls, you'll save cell plan minutes.... just a little bonus.
The third option would involve the use of a VOIP application, such as SIPDroid, which diverts voice to the data channel. I can't attest to the call quality as I've never used it, but it is an option and I plan to test it very soon!
