using this on ATT - Galaxy S I9000 General

Since it doesnt feature the 850mhz frequency, how well does this perform on AT&T's service? particularly the southeast region?

it's a Quad band phone in GSM
as long as your carrier can use any of those, then you'll be fine

Voice calls are great. (quick story):
I drive home from work along Route 202 in NJ and have always had 3 really bad dead zones (actually 4 but the last one is hit or miss). I know the dead zones so well that I start telling people that I will call them back when I lose signal (before its dropped). Well I stopped using my iPhone 3G and migrated to the Samsung Galaxy S and what is amazing is that I have only one area that is still dropping calls (the longest dead zone). So this was not saying the galaxy S is good, it just says that most of the cursing of AT&T that I did was possibly because of the crappy iPhone.
Regarding Data; I see no difference that with my iPhone, except when I go to Manhattan (NYC) where I get mainly Edge and some 3G. At home and work (most places in NJ) I get HSDPA (?) (you know the "H" signal) and I have great download speeds (upload sucks so does latency)
The results here:
http://www.speedtest.net/android/7113153.png
Great (super) Phone
3 issue remain for me though:
1) Fix the Damn GPS issues
2) Properly support the enterprise email (sorry Exchange is a requirement for most serious business phone....the definition of a smart phone) *
3) Get a standard and solid copy and paste solution (iPhone is the best, Blackberry is also good, android SUCKS)*
* only issue (1) is unique to hardware/firmware issues (2-3) are for google to fix!
Updatelease note I have an unlocked/imported SGS. the only ones I would have trusted to not be too dumbed down are the Sprint, Tmobile and Verizon versions (I needed a GSM phone and I hate Tmobile). AT&T's version changes things too much and the phone scores less than the other (rebranded) SGS's on all the benchmarks.

hmm, so should i grab the tmobile version of it or should i get the unlocked SGS? i think the main differences is the tmobile/att versions add the gyroscope, but take away the front camera...theres no other real changes correct?

kurtkbee said:
Voice calls are great. (quick story):
So this was not saying the galaxy S is good, it just says that most of the cursing of AT&T that I did was possibly because of the crappy iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From June 14th
"Samsung claims the Galaxy S showed 20 percent greater success rate of transmission and reception than any other smartphone out on market when they were tested in mountainous and major commercial areas."
I assume this relates to the international version, with possible similar service levels for US carriers but that would depend partially on the carrier and frequencies (though it still could be relatively better than the carriers other offerings). Then again, it is Samsung, so it's biased and we don't know their testing procedure.
http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=103976&code=Ne2&category=2

so should i get the captivate or should i get the unlocked i9000? the only differences are the front camera and gyroscope right?

Related

Concern over iphone

As a longtime iPhone owner, i'm concerned over the news that iPhone is coming to Verizon. ATT was not always a crappy network. iPHone made them crappy. Pushing millions of new data users was detrimental to the network. Now we get them on the Verizon soon. I'm stuck on Verizon for 2 years so i hope this doesn't go through.
I did think i read that iphone would only come to verizon on the LTE network which would not impact us 3G users. But will verizion take bandwidth/towers away from 3G for LTE?
I got with AT&T back in 98. They kinda sucked back then too. I do think the iPhone created some saturation on the network, but I also think the increase in users made a network that sucked suck more. But what do I know?
"we have to earn it" is a quote used by Verizon Wireless' CEO.
Earning it, dissected by a few people means that Verizon has to increase the stability of their network and push out LTE faster. I don't think Verizon's network won't suffer too hard if the iPhone does get pushed.
There is a chance that by getting the iPhone, that Verizon's network will get stronger, bigger and better to be able to handle that much more data. On a side note, Android users are already consuming more data than iPhone users, and since Verizon is the largest carrier with android devices, adding the iPhone to the mix just = more customers, data consumption may differ.
If you switch to another carrier because of the iPhone, i believe you will make the wrong decision. Verizon has been behind on the 4G/LTE update only because they want to cover a lot of people and do it right. Their roadmap in 2011+ coupled with LTE is just the first step to having the ultimate mobile service at your finger tips.
Additional edit:
Also, the latest rumors also indicate that there could be two different versions coming out. The first one having a CDMA/LTE based chip to work right away, and then once LTE is fully established, a full 4G/LTE phone. Time will only tell, but the fact still remains that so much of this talk about the iPhone just means that it's eventually going to go there, when is the question.
AT&T has always had a relatively crappy data network, as far as reach and availability.
The launch of the iPhone created so much additional load on the network that the crappiness was exposed.
If you look at it, there were very few high data-consumption devices on AT&T before the iPhone.
AlexDeGruven said:
AT&T has always had a relatively crappy data network, as far as reach and availability.
The launch of the iPhone created so much additional load on the network that the crappiness was exposed.
If you look at it, there were very few high data-consumption devices on AT&T before the iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you look at my sig, i've had at least 4 phones on Cingular/ATT prior to iPhone.
-->HTC Wallaby (siemens SX56)
-->HTC Alpine
-->HTC BlueAngel (siemens SX66)
-->HTC Hermes TyTN(Cingular 8525)
Media Max was the fastest you could get (2G), but that was in days before Heavy Flash loaded sites. You could shoot through websites without any constraints. I also always had weather widgets, newsfeeds, and instant messaging. None ever had issues. In the same places i've lived in for the last decade, i now got dead spots for calls and data. I think ATT towers now gets taxed easily, bringing the communication down. I just don't want to see that same thing happen to Verizon, of which I've grown to love what it was once like to keep a call going clearly from where i started driving to where i ended up.
If indeed iPhone is coming to VZW and early next year, it would be just 3g not lte. I am already experiencing slow downs ever since Motorola Droid was launched.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

It's official, CDMA call quality and bandwidth reduction coming on 10th of February.

Severe bandwidth problems to come on the 10th of February and onwards. I left ATT for this?? Crap.. I knew i should have gotten an Epic.
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/splash/iphone.jsp
The main difference between AT&T and Verizon is that verizon purchased the largest carrier in the country(network footprint wise) a couple years back leaving them with the most robust network in the country.
AT&T is a bunch of asshats that stopped spending on towers when they figured out that their customers were sufficiently complacent about the network problems being a way of life.
Have you seen any of the articles stating that Android/BB users tend to use more bandwidth on average than iPhone users? What are the biggest smartphones on VZW? Will it cause more network load, yes, but I doubt it will be anything that's going to cripple Verizon's network like it did for AT&T.
imnuts said:
I doubt it will be anything that's going to cripple Verizon's network like it did for AT&T.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
true dat.
VZW got that beefy backhaul
big red prepared, at&t underestimated and has paid for it in customer satisfaction ever since
for more on this: http://gizmodo.com/5730554/will-the-iphone-crush-verizons-network
I really don't think the Iphone is better then any android phone with the balls to back it up. Really you get more out of Google's Android for free then you do from Apple and their aps that you pay for.
I'm going to hold out till something convinces me that my Fascinate is no longer worth it. Could be 2 more years since I just got mine last September.
Interesting. Read the tech specs, it's all GSM information. Wonder if that's live information or just something they put up there for now.
pinecone said:
Interesting. Read the tech specs, it's all GSM information. Wonder if that's live information or just something they put up there for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone is identical except for having a CDMA radio instead of the GSM radio. So just replace quad band gsm with 800mhz and 1900mhz for CDMA and remove the ability to talk and download at the same time.
Xanius said:
The phone is identical except for having a CDMA radio instead of the GSM radio. So just replace quad band gsm with 800mhz and 1900mhz for CDMA and remove the ability to talk and download at the same time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.... and gain the ability to actually talk when you want to wherever you are.
DarthCivicus said:
I really don't think the Iphone is better then any android phone with the balls to back it up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but that's not the point... The point is that some of the iHerd will be coming over from AT&T to *add* to all the Android users we're sharing bandwidth with now. Especially in the major markets where AT&T is really bad (like, um, Manhattan), this could mean a BIG spike/shift in data use.
Swyped from my Voodoo-powered Fascinate via XDA
haha^^
Besides, even if it did cripple data (and it wont), why would it cripple voice? Uninformed threads ftl.
Now we are going to find out the truth. Is it the iphone or AT&T's crappy network.
Kristopherr said:
Now we are going to find out the truth. Is it the iphone or AT&T's crappy network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both, my iphone and my wifes iphone had vastly different signal quality and dropped calls even when sitting right next to eachother.
I have an ipod touch 4g and a fascinate. Once they get the jailbreak for the 4.2 OS the touch will complement my rooted facinate nicely. Don't need no iphone
I think everyone kind of glossed over what Adrynalyne was saying so let me say it again for him. We use a different type of technology from ATT for cell phone service. It would be pretty hard to create the same type of technical problems due to this. ATT uses a gsm service that uses data and voice over the same bandwith pipe, so huge spikes in either could potentially disrupt the other. Obviously now a days people use data way more than voice, so it has been a thorn in ATT's side because they could never keep up with the bandwith. Verizon on the other hand has voice and data coming down two different pipes, which keeps them separate. All the worrying about call dropping and quality doesn't make sense because iPhone users don't just make phone calls and leave their phone running on calls all day (at least the ones I know) It can, however, effect our data speeds and usage. We already have slower theoretical max speeds than that of ATT, so a slowdown could affect us with less users that of ATT users. But luckily for us, when the iPhone 5 drops, we more advanced android users will be on LTE leaving the unwashed masses to their iPhones on CDMA .
CDMA technology also requires a denser tower configuration compared to GSM, so VZW should have more towers in place where they have service compared to AT&T. Each tower has it's own connection to the internet, so the denser tower configuration should also help distribute the potential increased data load. I also think that the load will be a temporary spike. The first week or two after the release will be the worst as every goes data happy with their new phones. After that, there will be normal usage and rates should return to a somewhat normal level.
I used a Captivate, iphone and several other phones on ATT. It's always the same story, multiple disconnects during travel, very slow data rates and bad reception frequently. We know that ATT fudged their signal strength already, the towers are simply too far apart. But with the expected 9 million plus users, even Verizon towers could get onslaught-ed. I would expect that APPLE, notoriously known for strong arm tactics even forced VERIZON to bump us android users off a call if an iPhone user was using simultaneously and there was no room. Probably part of the contract with Apple. We know Verizon was desperate for this move and is scheduled to lose over 5 Billion in the first year subsidizing Apple. If you in anyway think this is not going to affect us, you are crazy.
It's possible that the ATT users of iphones actually get a boost from this while we Verizon subscribers suffer.
As of around this point last year, Verizon had 91+ million subscribers, and AT&T wasn't too far behind (~85 million). The number of VZW subscribers isn't going to spike by some crazy number so much so that VZW's network is going to be brought to it's knees. Android phones aren't exactly bandwidth friendly, so if it's not an issue now, it won't be when the iPhone gets release.
Verizon is seriously OCD about their network, it's part of the reason testing takes so damn long. You can bet they've thought long and hard about the projected spikes, and have made sure their network can handle it. AT&T was in a position where they needed everything they could get, and they underestimated the iPhone's popularity. It's no mystery that the iPhone will sell on Verizon, but there's a history Verizon can use to make sure they're prepared.
I'm not concerned...
orateam said:
I used a Captivate, iphone and several other phones on ATT. It's always the same story, multiple disconnects during travel, very slow data rates and bad reception frequently. We know that ATT fudged their signal strength already, the towers are simply too far apart. But with the expected 9 million plus users, even Verizon towers could get onslaught-ed. I would expect that APPLE, notoriously known for strong arm tactics even forced VERIZON to bump us android users off a call if an iPhone user was using simultaneously and there was no room. Probably part of the contract with Apple. We know Verizon was desperate for this move and is scheduled to lose over 5 Billion in the first year subsidizing Apple. If you in anyway think this is not going to affect us, you are crazy.
It's possible that the ATT users of iphones actually get a boost from this while we Verizon subscribers suffer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Not all AT&T iPhone users are going to switch over on 2/10, and there are a ton of reasons for this. Mainly corporate discounts, service, carrier history, cost, etc.
2. They will not kick people off of their connection if a tower is overloaded. If they do and get caught, you can imagine the law suit that would cause.
3. Verizon is not desperate for customers/iPhone. If the rumors are true, Verizon passed up the iPhone the first time around. And with all the money being put into the DROID lineup, why would they be desperate to bring in it's biggest competitor.
4. AT&T users will still have issues because AT&T has a crappy network. It won't be as bad, but it will still have its problems.
lets be honest. at&t sucked before the iphone. vzw will have a proportional number of people switching to lte anyway will offset any iphone att&t ship jumpers.
we will be fine with our robust network and ****ty customer service. vzw will be able to justify their arrogance well into the future.
have no fears.
Xanius said:
The phone is identical except for having a CDMA radio instead of the GSM radio. So just replace quad band gsm with 800mhz and 1900mhz for CDMA and remove the ability to talk and download at the same time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stop parroting AT&T's marketing, it makes you look like a shill. CDMA has never had that ability. It's a function of the radio hardware, and yet CDMA carriers still dominate the cell phone market in the US, and many other areas.
Read facts, then post. It's a much more rewarding path.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

My reveiw of AT&T and VERZION.

I have used both for more than 30 days and have hi end phones on both. I will be rating calling and data, but mostly data.
Notes: unlimited data for both, 20% off verzion and bills are base 54.99 for AT&T and about 56 for Verzion.
I will start with verzion's pro's and con's:
Pro's:
1)Call's are loud and clear. Never droped one yet. Calling get's 10/10 so far.
2) Data:When It is working It's very fast and help's my home internet when it quits on me.
Cons:
1)Data: 3g is way slower than at&t/ 1DL vs 3-6DL and .5UL vs 1UL. 4G LTE has quit working 3-5 times a week and the speed don't AWAYS best h+ on AT&T.
2) Phones: 300 to start and no phone that is as smooth as the SGS2 in web pages.
Now At&t:
Pro's:
1) calling: loud and clear and able to call 911 in more places than verzion. ( I was in a few "dead zones" and on At&T I could still call 911 vs verzion saying no go.
2) Data on 3G is faster than verzions 3g and it shows. It has NEVER cut me off unlike the big red.
Con's:
1) Calling on lower bars it gets bader than verzion does on one bar. I have droped 2 calls in about 120-180 days.
2) Data: It's slower than verzion by a lot, but I just got LTE were I live. ( That does me no good for my GT 9100 that is only H+.)
Ok now for the ponits:
At&t:
Calling 8/10
Data:9.5/10
Speed: 7/10
%of time working:10/10
Verzion:
Calling 10/10
Data over all: 9.5
Speed: 9.7/10
%of time working: 7/10
over all At&T 9/10 and Verzion 9/10
Comments? and who else seem to be on the some boat when comes to what you see form both of them?
Thank you
More notes:
Phones used: Samsung galaxy 2 on At&t/ Droid RAZR on Verzion
Hmmmm.......I think you're forgetting a major grading factor. Coverage. I had both. ATT was pretty much worthless 80% of the time unless you were in a major city. Had the same problems with Sprint but at lease big Yellow was honest about it. I've seen ATT coverage map. Really ATT? Who are you fooling?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
Hold on, there's life outside of major cities???
TechSavvy2 said:
Hmmmm.......I think you're forgetting a major grading factor. Coverage. I had both. ATT was pretty much worthless 80% of the time unless you were in a major city. Had the same problems with Sprint but at lease big Yellow was honest about it. I've seen ATT coverage map. Really ATT? Who are you fooling?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird, I was travelling a week ago, I had a 3G signal constantly, albeit not as fast as I'm used too (spoiled by LTE), but definitely usable.
.
Thread moved. Would advise you to read forum rules and post in correct section.
i havent had issues with either. in general if i was in a location with low reception with AT&T it was the same with Verizon.
SevenSe7enSeven said:
i havent had issues with either. in general if i was in a location with low reception with AT&T it was the same with Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Their coverage maps are practically identical, with little differences.
Longcat14 said:
Their coverage maps are practically identical, with little differences.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's why I laugh when people say their coverages are so different.
The only real difference right now is their respective LTE networks.
I Am Marino said:
That's why I laugh when people say their coverages are so different.
The only real difference right now is their respective LTE networks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If someone says VZW has more LTE coverage, that's totally ****ing obvious, VZW has had LTE up for longer then a year, while AT&T has had it up for, 2 months?
When it comes to their 3G networks, if you placed the maps on top of each other, it's completely the same, other then VZW having a bit more around utah, nevada, places like that.
If I had graded coverage AT&T would win. I could tell why, but I know the big red is like apple that can do no bad/is like well you know.
Right now my H+ is doing fine with 1080p video from youtube and my razr is stoping every 30-90sec lol. Same vid about some spot, same 3-4 bars.
Edit: All the loading has put the razr about 4min back.
Edit2: now my S2 is at about 21min and the razr about 13min.
4ktvs said:
I have used both for more than 30 days and have hi end phones on both. I will be rating calling and data, but mostly data.
Notes: unlimited data for both, 20% off verzion and bills are base 54.99 for AT&T and about 56 for Verzion.
I will start with verzion's pro's and con's:
Pro's:
1)Call's are loud and clear. Never droped one yet. Calling get's 10/10 so far.
2) Data:When It is working It's very fast and help's my home internet when it quits on me.
Cons:
1)Data: 3g is way slower than at&t/ 1DL vs 3-6DL and .5UL vs 1UL. 4G LTE has quit working 3-5 times a week and the speed don't AWAYS best h+ on AT&T.
2) Phones: 300 to start and no phone that is as smooth as the SGS2 in web pages.
Now At&t:
Pro's:
1) calling: loud and clear and able to call 911 in more places than verzion. ( I was in a few "dead zones" and on At&T I could still call 911 vs verzion saying no go.
2) Data on 3G is faster than verzions 3g and it shows. It has NEVER cut me off unlike the big red.
Con's:
1) Calling on lower bars it gets bader than verzion does on one bar. I have droped 2 calls in about 120-180 days.
2) Data: It's slower than verzion by a lot, but I just got LTE were I live. ( That does me no good for my GT 9100 that is only H+.)
Ok now for the ponits:
At&t:
Calling 8/10
Data:9.5/10
Speed: 7/10
%of time working:10/10
Verzion:
Calling 10/10
Data:
Speed: 9.2/10
%of time working: 7/10
over all At&T 9/10 and Verzion 9/10
Comments? and who else seem to be on the some boat when comes to what you see form both of them?
Thank you
More notes:
Phones used: Samsung galaxy 2 on At&t/ Droid RAZR on Verzion
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure you DONT have HSPA+ in your area BUT you have LTE?
Because HSPA+ utilizes the SAME towers as 3G.
These ratings sounds about right; esp. since you used a non-iOS device to do your testings
I have both AT&T and verzion LTE in the city I live in, but my S2 only has h+21mbs.
I don't think I will be geting an iphone any time soon. the os is just as bad as andriod to me. ( Thats right they both suck vs win xp the solid as a rock OS. )
Hahaha.. everything has it's flaws. My theory is that.. there isn't one OS superior to another.. the one that aligns with your needs is the one that is superior.
I think your right and I can't wait for all the iphone fans to read that. LOL
XP SP3 crashed less than any OS I have ever used. (98,2000,vista,7,8,Andorid and IOS v5)
I've given up trying to explain it. Trust me, although I do love iOS for it's ease of use and the huge support avail for it, I KNOW how crappy the OS/Hardware is sometimes.
Let me put it into perspective.
An average day at work:
SIMS changed (Due to burn-out, Initial Troubleshooting for Warranty, etc..)
-iPhones: 40-50
-Androids: 0-1
-Everything Else: 0-1
It also doesn't help that Apple feeds into the minds of it's technology-illiterate zombies that all problems with the iPhone is anyone but theirs. I've even had customers come to request their SIMS changed because "Their iPhone won't sync with iTunes" & that the "Genius" at Apple said that's the reason. (mind you, my reply was invaluable to her because i'm not a "Genius")
PS. sorry for ranting. But yeah, Verizon is AWESOME in rural areas & LTE coverage, but if you so happen to be where civilization is, they're almost identitcally equal.
That must be a pain sometimes. I did not say in it in the reveiw, but I like At&T better now than I have ever did before. To me verzion=Apple. I will let the viewers of my comment think for them selfs what that meens.

Android 4.1 Smartphone Called CUBOT A8809

I found a android 4.1 OS phone, dual core mtk 6577 3G smartphone 4.7 inch screen
they call cubot A8809, selling only $173.49. free shipping.
This link:http://www.mcbub.com/item/CUBOT-A88...Android-4-0-GPS-3G-WIFI--8-0MP-Camera-152607/
how do you think guys?
Specs are nice, price can be found elsewhere too
I like the specs; but it can be found at the same price elsewhere (for example here)...
Until a couple of weeks ago, I was very sceptical towards buying a cheap smartphone, but I've had some good experience with the Huawei Ascend 300G...
Wemelboy said:
I like the specs; but it can be found at the same price elsewhere (for example here)...
Until a couple of weeks ago, I was very sceptical towards buying a cheap smartphone, but I've had some good experience with the Huawei Ascend 300G...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh ye the same price.
huawei_ascend_g300 is a good one and many good review but expensive than this one.
wslimk said:
oh ye the same price.
huawei_ascend_g300 is a good one and many good review but expensive than this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh ye website you suggest GEEKBUYING.COM has updated a review and video.
I decide buy from them now
finish night work back home sleep....
i got it's fast and pretty design
real android 4.1 OS that's cool
love it
I've bought some I phone clone on early model and had bad experience, reception was horrible, I think I stick with the real thing
wslimk said:
i got it's fast and pretty design
real android 4.1 OS that's cool
love it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CAn you say how is the battery life??...is it really 2500 mah or some fake??
And how is the camera? Is it really 8mp or 5mp one?
the battery is soso, some times it can last one and half day, but you must charge it every day, when i play games or watch video from youtube, cant last one day, maybe 7-8 hours.
the camera is good as geekbuying shows, it is clear and sensitive.
Just wondering has anyone tried this phone in North America? It says it supports WCDMA 850/1900/2100 MHz so technically 3G should work in North America. Just want to confirm before ordering.
At&t 3g should work...but tmobile 3g wont
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda premium
Manan79 said:
At&t 3g should work...but tmobile 3g wont
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably depends on whether it's used in an area T-Mobile has refarmed. They have 3G on 1900 in many metro areas now.
Was going to buy but payment page is not secure
amandez said:
Was going to buy but payment page is not secure
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
paypal? are you serious?
Guessing you haven't heard the PayPal horror stories?
amandez said:
Guessing you haven't heard the PayPal horror stories?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hahah, and how do you pay on internet?
Using trusted sites and my bank card
amandez said:
Using trusted sites and my bank card
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
500000000 people in world know that using bank card for online international payments is unsafe. You are crazy. Learn what paypal is and how it works first
Mini-Review from an AT&T user in the US:
I bought one of these for my wife (I figured it was a good trade --- Just kidding.) I don't feel like committing to AT&T for another 2 years.
I bought it from Geekbuying.com. It arrived in only a few days.
It seemed to have the best specs, and the correct frequencies for AT&T in the US. For these types of phones, the dual core MTK6577 SoC is actually not a bad chip.
I can confirm that it does report an "H" connection (HSDPA) almost everyplace an AT&T signal is available.
My Acer Iconia Smart (HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100 non-US version) Rarely connects as 3G since it does not have 850 HSDPA.
She only uses the 1 SIM. I have a T-Mobile SIM/Account I use for testing, but since it is her phone, I have not tested it on T-Mobile. T-Mobile 3G may actually work, at least in some areas, since as part of the failed takeover of T-Mobile by AT&T, they have a 7 year frequency-sharing agreement. With Quad Band GSM/GPRS, Calls, and 2G data will work fine on T-Mobile.
Performance is also good. Switching Apps, scrolling on the browser, returning to home screen all happen without any irritating delays.
It is a very clean and stable version of Android 4.1.1. Google Play is present, but see below for a problem. Force closes are rare to never.
The screen is beautiful for a Chinese phone. Overall the phone also looks very nice for the price (I bought her the white one.)
Call quality, Mobile signal, and WiFi are also all excellent. -- No compromise as compared with a name-brand phone.
Battery life is also good. Runs fine for a whole day, and with some effort to do battery management, (WiFi on only when needed, BT off, Conservative Brightness and Screen time-out settings) it will go a second day if she forgets to charge it.
But I do have some complaints:
The back, and the way it attaches to the phone is very cheap. I am not sure how many times you can take the back off without it breaking.
It's not bad to hold and use, but I'm pretty sure one good drop will kill it. Of course, 1 drop can kill even a name-brand phone.
It seems to only have one microphone. Most newer "real" phones have 2 or even 3 mics for noise cancelling or for use in different orientations (like using Voice search, or using it in speaker phone mode). This would only be a problem in noisy environments.
Edit: I had previously written something about filesystem corruption. That gave an incorrect perception of a minor problem.
My wife had a problem installing a paid app from Google Play. I believe I could fix the problem, but that would require a factory reset or user data wipe, or rooting. The problem seems limited to the installation of that one app. Other apps install fine.
--
Linuxslate said:
Mini-Review from an AT&T user in the US:
I bought one of these for my wife (I figured it was a good trade --- Just kidding.) I don't feel like committing to AT&T for another 2 years.
I bought it from Geekbuying.com. It arrived in only a few days.
It seemed to have the best specs, and the correct frequencies for AT&T in the US. For these types of phones, the dual core MTK6577 SoC is actually not a bad chip.
I can confirm that it does report an "H" connection (HSDPA) almost everyplace an AT&T signal is available.
My Acer Iconia Smart (HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100 non-US version) Rarely connects as 3G since it does not have 850 HSDPA.
She only uses the 1 SIM. I have a T-Mobile SIM/Account I use for testing, but since it is her phone, I have not tested it on T-Mobile. T-Mobile 3G may actually work, at least in some areas, since as part of the failed takeover of T-Mobile by AT&T, they have a 7 year frequency-sharing agreement. With Quad Band GSM/GPRS, Calls, and 2G data will work fine on T-Mobile.
Performance is also good. Switching Apps, scrolling on the browser, returning to home screen all happen without any irritating delays.
It is a very clean and stable version of Android 4.1.1. Google Play is present, but see below for a problem. Force closes are rare to never.
The screen is beautiful for a Chinese phone. Overall the phone also looks very nice for the price (I bought her the white one.)
Call quality, Mobile signal, and WiFi are also all excellent. -- No compromise as compared with a name-brand phone.
Battery life is also good. Runs fine for a whole day, and with some effort to do battery management, (WiFi on only when needed, BT off, Conservative Brightness and Screen time-out settings) it will go a second day if she forgets to charge it.
But I do have some complaints:
The back, and the way it attaches to the phone is very cheap. I am not sure how many times you can take the back off without it breaking.
It's not bad to hold and use, but I'm pretty sure one good drop will kill it. Of course, 1 drop can kill even a name-brand phone.
It seems to only have one microphone. Most newer "real" phones have 2 or even 3 mics for noise cancelling or for use in different orientations (like using Voice search, or using it in speaker phone mode). This would only be a problem in noisy environments.
Edit: I had previously written something about filesystem corruption. That gave an incorrect perception of a minor problem.
My wife had a problem installing a paid app from Google Play. I believe I could fix the problem, but that would require a factory reset or user data wipe, or rooting. The problem seems limited to the installation of that one app. Other apps install fine.
--
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This phone will not work on T-Mobile it only has 3G 850/2100 like all the other China mtk6577 devices do not buy if you're expecting it to work on T-Mobile 3G! The specs are false saying it supports 3G bands 850/1900/2100!
That's what I'd say too. The specs are good and price is ok for the specs but not exactly a deal.
wslimk said:
I found a android 4.1 OS phone, dual core mtk 6577 3G smartphone 4.7 inch screen
they call cubot A8809, selling only $173.49. free shipping.
This link:http://www.mcbub.com/item/CUBOT-A88...Android-4-0-GPS-3G-WIFI--8-0MP-Camera-152607/
how do you think guys?
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Wemelboy said:
I like the specs; but it can be found at the same price elsewhere (for example here)...
Until a couple of weeks ago, I was very sceptical towards buying a cheap smartphone, but I've had some good experience with the Huawei Ascend 300G...
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using 3G data during a call S4

After checking in to why this would not work I was told that it just isn't supported. You can use 4G and wifi data duringa call but not 3G. It's a little bit ofa draw back for me. I was just wondering what any one else's thoughts where on this?
I do like the phone so far other than this.
tman73 said:
After checking in to why this would not work I was told that it just isn't supported. You can use 4G and wifi data duringa call but not 3G. It's a little bit ofa draw back for me. I was just wondering what any one else's thoughts where on this?
I do like the phone so far other than this.
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I'm taking a chance on sounding silly, but that's just the way it is on CDMA networks. You can only do one or the other on 3G: voice or data. Being able to use voice and data simultaneously is a perk of 4G, LTE or wifi. Of course, if you have no LTE available where you are, or no wifi, it's voice or data. I know it's frustrating. I live in Minneapolis, Uptown area. We never did get very good Wimax at our house, especially indoors.
When the LTE phones came out, I was in no hurry to upgrade, as there was no LTE anywhere in the Twin Cities. No one could hazard a guess as to when it would be rolled out. The Evo LTE has been out for almost a year, and LTE is finally becoming available. It's still pretty spotty, though. The good thing is, even with a weak signal at my house, I still can get nearly 5000kbps down inside my house. That's a lot better than 3G for sure! Sprint is saying we'll have LTE pretty much throughout the city in the next couple of months. I'll believe that when I see it.
I like my S 4 pretty well. It's still strange getting used to Touch Whiz after Sense. I moved to the S 4 after having the original Evo and then the Evo 3D. I'm looking forward to rooting and being able to run custom ROMS on my S 4.
smarcin said:
I'm taking a chance on sounding silly, but that's just the way it is on CDMA networks. You can only do one or the other on 3G: voice or data. Being able to use voice and data simultaneously is a perk of 4G, LTE or wifi. Of course, if you have no LTE available where you are, or no wifi, it's voice or data. I know it's frustrating. I live in Minneapolis, Uptown area. We never did get very good Wimax at our house, especially indoors.
...
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That's not exactly accurate. Some phones can do simultaneous CDMA voice and data. However, it requires extra complexity in the phone (what's called "multiple paths") and with Sprint going to LTE, they decided to put a separate transmit path in the device just for LTE (and Wi-Fi).
smarcin said:
I'm taking a chance on sounding silly, but that's just the way it is on CDMA networks. You can only do one or the other on 3G: voice or data. Being able to use voice and data simultaneously is a perk of 4G, LTE or wifi. Of course, if you have no LTE available where you are, or no wifi, it's voice or data. I know it's frustrating. I live in Minneapolis, Uptown area. We never did get very good Wimax at our house, especially indoors.
When the LTE phones came out, I was in no hurry to upgrade, as there was no LTE anywhere in the Twin Cities. No one could hazard a guess as to when it would be rolled out. The Evo LTE has been out for almost a year, and LTE is finally becoming available. It's still pretty spotty, though. The good thing is, even with a weak signal at my house, I still can get nearly 5000kbps down inside my house. That's a lot better than 3G for sure! Sprint is saying we'll have LTE pretty much throughout the city in the next couple of months. I'll believe that when I see it.
I like my S 4 pretty well. It's still strange getting used to Touch Whiz after Sense. I moved to the S 4 after having the original Evo and then the Evo 3D. I'm looking forward to rooting and being able to run custom ROMS on my S 4.
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There's no harm in sounding silly. :silly: We forgive you.
The Sprint S3 and Evo 4G LTE both do it, it's called SVDO, simultaneous voice and EVDO 3G data (and ofcourse simultaneous voice and LTE and or WiFi).
For some reason, Sprint decided to fore-go SVDO on LTE phones after those two (S3 and Evo 4G LTE) and instead focus on SVLTE. To be fair, in all the years i've been with Sprint (13) i never thought i would ever need or use that feature until i got the S3. The first time i unknowingly used it i didn't even realize that while on a call, i was playing WordFeud multiplayer. It's something i do all the time now, and definitely sad to see it gone on the newer phones.
As their LTE network gets more robust and mature, it won't be much of an issue, but as of now 3G is in more places than their LTE network is. So...
LordLugard said:
There's no harm in sounding silly. :silly: We forgive you.
The Sprint S3 and Evo 4G LTE both do it, it's called SVDO, simultaneous voice and EVDO 3G data (and ofcourse simultaneous voice and LTE and or WiFi).
For some reason, Sprint decided to fore-go SVDO on LTE phones after those two (S3 and Evo 4G LTE) and instead focus on SVLTE. To be fair, in all the years i've been with Sprint (13) i never thought i would ever need or use that feature until i got the S3. The first time i unknowingly used it i didn't even realize that while on a call, i was playing WordFeud multiplayer. It's something i do all the time now, and definitely sad to see it gone on the newer phones.
As their LTE network gets more robust and mature, it won't be much of an issue, but as of now 3G is in more places than their LTE network is. So...
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Thanks to both you guys for setting me straight. I was parroting what I'd always heard from the OG Evo (which I had) and then the 3D, which I just left. Of course, you couldn't do SVDO on either. On the 3D, though, you could do a call + data if on 4G (Wimax), which was and still is, pretty spotty here in Minneapolis-St Paul. Of course, Sprint has been rolling out LTE for a while now. It appears, then disappears a lot. Unfortunately 3G has been awful for months. I will be so thankful when LTE is finally and fully deployed!
No problem, welcome. We are all here to help and learn from each other along the way. :good:
smarcin said:
Thanks to both you guys for setting me straight. I was parroting what I'd always heard from the OG Evo (which I had) and then the 3D, which I just left. Of course, you couldn't do SVDO on either. On the 3D, though, you could do a call + data if on 4G (Wimax), which was and still is, pretty spotty here in Minneapolis-St Paul. Of course, Sprint has been rolling out LTE for a while now. It appears, then disappears a lot. Unfortunately 3G has been awful for months. I will be so thankful when LTE is finally and fully deployed!
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Those devices did not support SVDO. I know the S3 and EVO LTE support it, and possible the Nexus LTE (additionally, the newest Optimus maybe?). I really liked this feature when on the phone and being able to quickly check email or pull up traffic info without relying on WiFi.
The S4 does not support simultaneous voice+data, and I believe that anandtech/ars had good articles describing the data paths employed by the HTC One and S4.
What I found interesting is that when the 4G connection drops out and 3G connects, I can just send a text and get 4G back immediately instead of waiting to hop towers. I suspect that a phone call would serve the same purpose.
Also, toggling 4G off and on will get you back the same mobile IP address. This is not the case with 3G, which results in a new IP address being assigned. In order to get a new IP on LTE, you have to toggle airplane mode (which is likely why this is the first step in troubleshooting LTE connectivity).
Thought I'd help you all out to understand it since you all are sooooo new to having LTE on your phones and all (that was a joke, don't get bent out of shape over it....)
The LTE standard only supports packet switching with its all-IP network. Voice calls in GSM, UMTS and CDMA2000 are circuit switched, so with the adoption of LTE, carriers will have to re-engineer their voice call network. Three different approaches sprang up. Most major backers of LTE preferred and promoted VoLTE (Voice over LTE, an implementation of IP Multimedia Subsystem or IMS) from the beginning. The lack of software support in initial LTE devices as well as core network devices however led to a number of carriers promoting VoLGA (Voice over LTE Generic Access) as an interim solution.[13] The idea was to use the same principles as GAN (Generic Access Network, also known as UMA or Unlicensed Mobile Access), which defines the protocols through which a mobile handset can perform voice calls over a customer's private Internet connection, usually over wireless LAN. VoLGA however never gained much support, because VoLTE (IMS) promises much more flexible services, albeit at the cost of having to upgrade the entire voice call infrastructure. While the industry has seemingly standardized on VoLTE for the future, the demand for voice calls today has led LTE carriers to introduce CSFB (Circuit Switched Fallback) as a stopgap measure. When placing or receiving a voice call, LTE handsets will fall back to old 2G or 3G networks for the duration of the call.
Source
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Just to be a bit more clear, it was not a sprint decision it is based on Qualcomm's chip design. The s4 krait simply supported svdo out the box and the snapdragon 600 doesn't.
themuffinman said:
Just to be a bit more clear, it was not a sprint decision it is based on Qualcomm's chip design. The s4 krait simply supported svdo out the box and the snapdragon 600 doesn't.
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I am not sure that is correct. First of all, the 600 is the CPU, not the modem - which is a separate component altogether. Secondly, I believe SVDO support is more a factor of the front end RF design being set up to feed multiple transmit paths to the modem, which in the case of the Qualcomm modem, I believe has the necessary additional ports to handle it. However, it would have necessitated a more complex RF design which Sprint and Samsung probably opted to forgo, given that Sprint's is already getting on the LTE bandwagon.
myphone12345 said:
I am not sure that is correct. First of all, the 600 is the CPU, not the modem - which is a separate component altogether. Secondly, I believe SVDO support is more a factor of the front end RF design being set up to feed multiple paths to the modem, which in the case of the Qualcomm modem, I believe has the necessary additional ports to handle it. However, it would have necessitated a more complex RF design which Sprint and Samsung probably opted to forgo, given that Sprint's is already getting on the LTE bandwagon.
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You are absolutely correct but wouldn't that be dependent on whether the modem supported that design?
themuffinman said:
You are absolutely correct but wouldn't that be dependent on whether the modem supported that design?
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My best guess is that the advanced modem in the S4 could handle it, but to add it on top of SVLTE along with the newer MIMO antenna configurations and multi-band transceivers and switches found in the latest LTE capable handsets would require the addition of another RF chain in the device and thus significantly raise the complexity of the design to a degree that doesn't make it worthwhile for Samsung to implement it.
It's not going to happen.... It's a USA cdma limitation it has NOTHING to do with the phone
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium
hyelton said:
It's not going to happen.... It's a USA cdma limitation it has NOTHING to do with the phone
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium
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Yes, for the most part, cdma devices has never been able to do voice and 3g data simultaneously but there is something called svdo which allows supported devices to do just that. The HTC thunderbolt on verizon was one of the first phones to support svdo(simultaneous voice and data over 3g on a cdma network). Getting it to work has absolutely nothing to do with the network but how the phone is designed. Now I am a sprint customer so I don't know what other devices supported it on verizon since but I do know that both sprint and verizon's gs3 both support svdo as well as sprints evo lte and a few other devices.
hyelton said:
It's not going to happen.... It's a USA cdma limitation it has NOTHING to do with the phone
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium
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Not true. There have been several devices that could do it.
myphone12345 said:
Not true. There have been several devices that could do it.
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Oh theres plenty!! of devices that support it!! Its the NETWORK that does not.
hyelton said:
Oh theres plenty!! of devices that support it!! Its the NETWORK that does not.
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You keep talking like the network is preventing it from being possible, yes there are technical obsticals but obviously there are ways around it. So the botton line is, can you have a phone thats on a cdma network that can do voice and 3g data at the same time? That answer is yes
Seriously, why are we arguing this much about this? Simultaneous voice AND 3G on Sprint, yes, period. S3 and Evo LTE do it, S4 doesn't. Let's move on to other things.

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