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I am very interested in the galaxy tab but I am wondering if it makes and receives calls on the carrier networks, namely verizon. I am one of the people who will lug the tablet around as my main phone. I see the phone app on the pictures around the net but I have yet to see it stated anywhere.
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
You will be sad to know the for the North American Tab the Phone/ Voice has bin removed from the list of options thats is being shipped from from Samsung. In the press conference today they stated that.
If they kept the microphone, this is Dev worthy.
ConceptVBS said:
If they kept the microphone, this is Dev worthy.
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no joke! i hope someone can get ahold of one of these ASAP and take it apart to see if it has the hardware.
I read somwhere that you just have to have a bluetooth or regular headset.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
I'm hoping this is just a software thing for having the phone feature disabled on the US version of the Tab.
Imagine the looks you would get holding a 7inch tablet to your ear? LOL. Well a wireless headset or a set of earphones is in serious need. Hopefully the devs here can sort something out if the tab has the hardware for it.
it does have 3G voice and data hardware
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_tab-3370.php
but as you said, yes people will look at you extremely weird face LOL
AllGamer said:
it does have 3G voice and data hardware
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_tab-3370.php
but as you said, yes people will look at you extremely weird face LOL
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Well that is awesome then, I will go back to the idea of me wanting one again... Ill use my g1 until a modded rom comes out if one isnt out by the time it releases stateside...
I dont plan on holding it to my head during a call even though I might just to be funny..lol.. i barely use my phone (for voice calls) which is why im so concerned with merging it into my tablet because it would be just an app for me... which is the way I like it.
Every review I've read of the US-based versions of the Galaxy Tab (for AT&T/Verizon/Sprint) has said that the Tab will NOT work as a phone.
(sorry, newbie post so I can't post full URL...endgaget has the story)
Skype and other VOIP services work, but not regular EDGE/3G phone calls. Combined with the so-far announced pricing from the major carriers absolutely kills any desire for a Tab vs. either an iPad or a Dell Streak. I'm hopiing that some vendor will make a 7-9" tablet/phone combination in the near future.
That's the American version of the GT. The European and Asian GT DOES HAVE calling/3G functionality.
diskmuncher said:
Every review I've read of the US-based versions of the Galaxy Tab (for AT&T/Verizon/Sprint) has said that the Tab will NOT work as a phone.
(sorry, newbie post so I can't post full URL...endgaget has the story)
Skype and other VOIP services work, but not regular EDGE/3G phone calls. Combined with the so-far announced pricing from the major carriers absolutely kills any desire for a Tab vs. either an iPad or a Dell Streak. I'm hopiing that some vendor will make a 7-9" tablet/phone combination in the near future.
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zyborg said:
That's the American version of the GT. The European and Asian GT DOES HAVE calling/3G functionality.
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So, if I understand this correctly (?) unlike the iPad where it's 3G cannot use voice but only data, the G-Tab Euro version can connect via voice and make calls, but the US version cannot.... Does this mean the US (north American) model lacks the hardware? I am asking because the voice calling is important to me and I have ordered an unlocked US version but maybe I should go for the Euro version?
Euro tab - no 3g in USA but it has voice capability
Has tab - data and sms/mms and no voice capability
Pick your poison muchachos.
I am personally think about the Sprint version with 2gb/m for 399.99 and 29.99/m.
Why wont the Euro version have 3g? The unlocked Euro version from cellhut and Negrielectronics have everything we need. Should just pop in my AT&T SIM and off I go.
negrielectronics.com/samsung-p1000-galaxy-tab-3g-850-1900-2100-oem-unlocked
cellhut.com/Samsung-P1000-Galaxy-Tab-Unlocked-Quadband-GSM-Cell-Phone-Reviews-29956
If the tab has 3g radios, wouldn't there be a way to transfer voice over it? Of course some hacking would be needed, but i'm sure there is a way. If not, couldn't one just tether to the tab with a phone and then use that to make calls over a "wifi" signal?
To answer to the two previous posts:
Unless the Tab has the ability to change 3G bands (Like its cousins phones from Samsung line), the European version won't be able to have 3G over AT&T (Maybe T-Mobile if I recall well, not sure). However some other versions may be able to do so (The version from Telstra should have the right radio for instance and hopefully voice calls enabled)
Then... hopefully we may not be limited to VoIP on the US Tabs... I hope Samsung didn't really castrate the Tabs here and limitation is just a Software limitation. Just flashing the right Firmware / ROM could restore this function (But then you'll need a different plan than the one your carrier will let you subscribe)
All in all my plan (and hope) is we'll be able to enable the voice calls on the US versions. I'll buy it with no plan and will switch it with my TP2. If not... Then I'll be looking for a version elsewhere in the world that has the proper 3G bands and voice enabled
dboppc130 said:
Why wont the Euro version have 3g? The unlocked Euro version from cellhut and Negrielectronics have everything we need. Should just pop in my AT&T SIM and off I go.
negrielectronics.com/samsung-p1000-galaxy-tab-3g-850-1900-2100-oem-unlocked
cellhut.com/Samsung-P1000-Galaxy-Tab-Unlocked-Quadband-GSM-Cell-Phone-Reviews-29956
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That's my thought as well. I purchased the HTC HD2 and used it w/o problem on ATT for more than a year even tho ATT never did specifically support it (which meant I could only get Edge speed - but the GT has 1900 UMTS and the full range of ATT voice GSM freq so it should work OK.
i bought the tab in germany and calling even without headset is very good.
the speaker quality is very good. makes it a brilliant conference phone
I seriously hope that the it is just a software lock because buying a the overseas version vs the u.s. Is a huge price difference , looking at the frequencies of tmobile u.s.a will the overseas version work on 3G here even though tmobile is 1700/2100 ?
When I use aDialer I press # and the number I try to call and it cuts off music and for a second a call icon pops up like something is trying to make a call then ends. If I dont hit # first then it doesn't even try to make the call
Sent from my SPH-P100 using XDA App
according to the specs in gsmarena,there is no voice communication function on this device. this is a sad news for us. anyway, can we enable it with connecting a bluetooth headset?
Although I don't have the specific specs sitting in front of me, the tab will likely have the same restrictions that where placed on the US version of the Galaxy Tab (1?).
It will likely require a European rom with the voice capabilities enabled. This is something that all (for the time being) US tabs are going to have to go through, as I guess samsung feels it is to dangerous to allow us dumb Americans to hold it up to our ear and talk (WHO DOES THAT ANYWAY?!)
Personally, I have flashed a new rom and kernel to my galaxy tab (TMOUSA) and use it as my phone (HD2 sim card w/voice+data) and after about another week of testing will be canceling my data plan on the tab all together. (Or when 3g+voice gets finished.) Seems more logical to cancel the data for the 200 fee than pay for a data line I'm not using for another 1.5 years.
So don't count voice out just yet. If the devs at the 7" tab figure out a 3g+voice modem... I can pretty much promise it will happen for the 10.1.
ps. I checked the post on GSMArena and didn't see anywhere on the specs that it had 0 voice capabilities.
I hope that this nice guy will have voice, I returned my SGT 1 to buy this hopefull within the next two month and want to use it as my primary phone, with a bluetooth headset and the SE Liveview as extention, by specs it should be possible to get voice or am I wrong?
GSM band 850/900/1800/1900 is the normal phone band ?!
well seeing all the dissappointing specs from the xoom, i'd go for this one. however, i am not sure worried about it not supporting voice (the previous had one) but if honeycomb supports it. On the xoom so far i haven't seen a single phone icon or program for calling.
And i really want honeycomb..not crappy ugly old android
Any news about phone capability?
I'm looking for a tablet and I need a tablet that can call!
Dou youn know any other 10" tablet that can make phone(and videocall)?
I don't know: Motorola, Acer, Asus, Lg and so on?
DJ Palmis said:
Any news about phone capability?
I'm looking for a tablet and I need a tablet that can call!
Dou youn know any other 10" tablet that can make phone(and videocall)?
I don't know: Motorola, Acer, Asus, Lg and so on?
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The current USA 8.9/10.1 versions that have been announced do not have voice call capabilities. There's no news on European ones other than the Vodaphone UK 10.1v version.
omnia1994 said:
according to the specs in gsmarena,there is no voice communication function on this device. this is a sad news for us. anyway, can we enable it with connecting a bluetooth headset?
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Just pairing a bluetooth headset doesn't magically allow it to make calls over GSM. It has to be a hardware/software combination that's also enabled by the carrier to allow voice calls.
Thank you for your help.. But just today I read on an italian blog that there are hopes that they will allow voice calls: http://technologydroid.blogspot.com/2011/03/galaxy-tab-101-e-89-con-tw-40-posso.html
Well.. I cross my fingers..
Now live in the UK!
I called my brother who has a Galaxy S2 and the voice quality is amazing!
How did you activate it? Does the other person have to be on orange with a hd voice phone?
both phones and network needs to support HD Voice to support it
Does T-mobile support it?
666fff said:
How did you activate it? Does the other person have to be on orange with a hd voice phone?
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yes exactly
if you call another sgs2 on orange it should work
daz_2000 said:
Does T-mobile support it?
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not yet no
daz_2000 said:
Does T-mobile support it?
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not yet no
winwiz said:
not yet no
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they do now
at least in poland
HD calls on Orange have been supported for like a year now....
hi maybe a noob question but how do you know your making a hd call is ther an app or does your network do it automatically?
wals1h said:
hi maybe a noob question but how do you know your making a hd call is ther an app or does your network do it automatically?
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gets done automatically - you will hear the difference :-D
just to clear things up for everyone....
to use HD Voice and for it to work....
1. BOTH phones used for the call MUST have "HD Voice" (this specification will ONLY be on the phones spec on the orange website)
2. BOTH phones MUST be orange branded!
2. BOTH phones MUST have 3G signal at the time of placing the call....
if these conditions are met, the call will be in hd voice, (similar audio quality to viber). if the 3g signal drops on either handset, call quality will be reduced to standard...
currently, it only works with orange, its done with an enhanced version of the regular audio codec used for calls, which at the moment, is only implemented orange branded firmware on some handsets (although, its not just limited to android, it's actually a technology developed by nokia, and is on loads of phones, has been for years, on a variety of platforms!)
no1 else seemed to care much for HD voice, but recently, sprint in the USA started implementing it too, which should kickstart a trend, and in a couple of years, it might be more of a common thing.... x
Google seems to not care about rest of the world with their devices, only the USA I guess.
I got myself a Nexus 7 2013 4G LTE from the USA to use here in Egypt and I've read numerous posts about it not supporting normal GSM phone calls with a lousy reason that it is a tablet not a phone. YEAH SURE, then why Samsung, Asus (own devices) and many others offer the functionality ?!
Anyways I said ok, I will use it only for Internet Data the realized even that is a pain to do.
Here in Egypt we use pre-paid SIM cards and that requires USSD functionality which Nexus 7 4G LTE lacks so every time I need to renew or charge my Data plan, I have to take the Nexus 7 out of the case, pop out the SIM card, pop it in my iPhone, renew/recharge, pop it out of phone and back into the Nexus 7. How convenient! .
Any way to fix that ?
I don't know about Egypt, but here in Australia, just about all PrePaid services can be recharged online. Instead of taking the SIM out, why not just use the one already in your iPhone, and recharge using the iPhone's browser?
r9800pro said:
Google seems to not care about rest of the world with their devices, only the USA I guess.
I got myself a Nexus 7 2013 4G LTE from the USA to use here in Egypt and I've read numerous posts about it not supporting normal GSM phone calls with a lousy reason that it is a tablet not a phone. YEAH SURE, then why Samsung, Asus (own devices) and many others offer the functionality ?!
Anyways I said ok, I will use it only for Internet Data the realized even that is a pain to do.
Here in Egypt we use pre-paid SIM cards and that requires USSD functionality which Nexus 7 4G LTE lacks so every time I need to renew or charge my Data plan, I have to take the Nexus 7 out of the case, pop out the SIM card, pop it in my iPhone, renew/recharge, pop it out of phone and back into the Nexus 7. How convenient! .
Any way to fix that ?
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1. It's a tablet....not a phablet. It's not meant to be a phone intentionally. Other devices are... Because they intentionally make them that way.
2. It's sold as a USA device. This has nothing to do with Google not caring about anyone outside the USA. The model doesn't currently have all the support for international use. That's why it's currently only sold in the USA.
Yes it does stink. But I believe Google made it clear the limitations I would have outside the USA. Maybe an update will be released that will add some functionality that will help your situation.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
sola fide said:
1. It's a tablet....not a phablet. It's not meant to be a phone intentionally. Other devices are... Because they intentionally make them that way.
2. It's sold as a USA device. This has nothing to do with Google not caring about anyone outside the USA. The model doesn't currently have all the support for international use. That's why it's currently only sold in the USA.
Yes it does stink. But I believe Google made it clear the limitations I would have outside the USA. Maybe an update will be released that will add some functionality that will help your situation.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
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Actually, all variants of the Nexus sold on the Australian Play Store as well as through various retailers. It's not a US exclusive.
iPWNtehNOOB said:
I don't know about Egypt, but here in Australia, just about all PrePaid services can be recharged online. Instead of taking the SIM out, why not just use the one already in your iPhone, and recharge using the iPhone's browser?
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I tried charging online but for some reason when the SIM is in the Nexus 7, it won't work so I have to put the SIM in my iPhone first for either online or USSD charging. I think it has something to do with some network requests that is blocked or can't function on the Nexus 7
sola fide said:
1. It's a tablet....not a phablet. It's not meant to be a phone intentionally. Other devices are... Because they intentionally make them that way.
2. It's sold as a USA device. This has nothing to do with Google not caring about anyone outside the USA. The model doesn't currently have all the support for international use. That's why it's currently only sold in the USA.
Yes it does stink. But I believe Google made it clear the limitations I would have outside the USA. Maybe an update will be released that will add some functionality that will help your situation.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
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Click to collapse
1-As I mentioned, I am ok with it not having a phone functionality but at least they should've made it fully functional with mobile data
2-Actually I've also tried Nexus 7 LTE EU model (from the UK) and it has the exact same issue and the only difference is 4G LTE frequencies that are a little bit different but it is not a problem because we still don't have 4G LTE coverage here and H+ is fast enough for me.
Many people complain about the same thing in Google forums but no official response yet
sola fide said:
1. It's a tablet....not a phablet. It's not meant to be a phone intentionally. Other devices are... Because they intentionally make them that way.
2. It's sold as a USA device. This has nothing to do with Google not caring about anyone outside the USA. The model doesn't currently have all the support for international use. That's why it's currently only sold in the USA.
Yes it does stink. But I believe Google made it clear the limitations I would have outside the USA. Maybe an update will be released that will add some functionality that will help your situation.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
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I'm going to challenge (1).
The fact is that the chip they use for mobile data IS a full phone chip. You can use it for voice calls or data. Similarly, it can support up to 7 bands in LTE and HSPA+. So this isn't a choice not to include - it's a choice to BLOCK a feature. This is the same with SMS. Worse, the LTE bands for Canada are 4 and 7 but we don't get the EU model - which supports those - we get the US model which only supports 4. Worse, the US model only uses 6 of the 7 bands. They *could* have include 4 & 7 on the US model, but didn't. So Canada kind of got the worst of both worlds.
If Google simply didn't include a phone app and left it up to you to find one, I'd be ok with this. Like you say - it's a tablet and Goog wasn't marketing it AS a phone, so no foul. But they went further and not only removed the API in the OS to support phone service, they blocked the chip. That's going somewhat farther than 'we didn't intend for this to be used to as a phone' to 'we're not going let you use this as a phone in any way, ever.' they actually had to put in EFFORT to prevent you from using it as a phone.
Something similar happened with SMS. In 4.3, you can use SMS, it's just poorly supported. They chose not to include the Messaging app and only put in minimal SMS receiving software. Kind of stupid because a lot of PAYG services let you top up using a text message. Still, as we found out - if you get the Messaging app from the Nexus 5, bingo - you get send and receive SMS.
But in 4.4 - they actually *removed* API to make this trick not work. That's not a casual thing. It's intentional.
It's one thing not to put in a feature that's not required when it takes effort to *add* it - it's quite a different thing to *block* a feature that would be there if you did nothing.
The whole idea of the Nexus line was 'pure Android'. These are supposed to be the 'hero' models that show what you CAN do with pure Android and let developers do what they want. Yet clearly, Google is intentionally blocking certain functions that would be there otherwise.
And some of us (myself included) think that kinda sucks.
As a non-American, I'm also going to challenge (2) just a bit...
Google makes money from everyone... not just Americans. They intentionally sell their products around the world and collect data from non-Americans to use to generate revenue. Europe alone has almost 500M people - more than the US. China and India together is almost 1.5B people. Those are rather large markets.
Yet consistently, Google suffers from the same 'country blindness' that other US companies have. If you're going to sell a product outside the US, you have to be aware of, and take into consideration the differences. What makes this ironic is that OUTSIDE the US, there's a lot of standardisation. For example, all of Europe uses GSM and has 2100MHz as their primary HSPA+ frequency. This means phones work everywhere. They use DVB-T for digital TV everywhere. The US (and sadly, Canada since we get dragged along for the ride) insists on using different tech. So the biggest carrier uses the antiquated CDMA system and other carriers use the incompatible TDMA system in order to prevent customers moving between carriers. You use ATSC for digital TV which almost no one else uses.
Google Glass is US only. So is Wallet. And Voice. What makes Wallet so odd is that the US is actually way behind the curve with chip and pin and NFC based payment systems. If they actually skipped the US and focused on Europe and Canada, they'd get further faster and might even help encourage US retailers to accept the technology. What makes Voice so odd is that other US companies that don't have their heads up their.. ahems... can provide World-Wide VoIP at nearly free cost NOW. I use MagicJack on my Android tablet (you know - to make phone calls that you're not supposed to do because it's not a phone), yet while my American friends can call ME for free - I can't call them (well not using Google Voice anyway).
Are there alternative? Yep. But that doesn't justify or rationalise away Google's bizarre choices. That's like suggesting that it's ok that the main bridge in your city collapsed because there's another bridge on the west side of the city.
UPDATE - I was able to track down the following link for the modem that is supposed to be used in the LTE version. This would give credit to the information that tech support gave me. If this is correct, the modem is completely accessible at the software level. HELL YEAH! Now here is the link.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/i500-cellular-modems-products.html
I originally called Nvidia tech support back on July 17th, 2014 to see if the LTE version would support GSM voice calling seeing as how it is factory unlocked and compatible with both AT&T and T-Mobile. They would not tell me if the phone restriction in the US was locked down by hardware or software at that time and that I would have to call back once the tablet officially hit the market.
I called today and was AMAZED when the tech told me very honestly that the restriction was at the software level. I then asked, if I were to root the device without unlocking the bootloader, and then use a different framework to expose the dialer and phone settings, would I be able to achieve making phone calls over a GSM connection....................... HE SAID YES!!!!!!
Again, being very forthcoming and stating exactly what I wanted to do, he assured me that this can be done by altering JUST the software, it is not locked down at a hardware level like the uh...cough, cough... Nexus 7 LTE. As usual, rooting MAY void the warranty....BUT he said that doing something like this would be looked at on a case by case basis for determining if these actions would indeed void the warranty. Encouraging, as he did not flat out say, if you mess something up...enjoy your new paperweight!
Praise the lord... I know not everyone needs or wants a tablet that can make calls, but if I can kill 2 birds with 1 stone, and have a way to make the 30 minutes of calls that I do per month through BLUETOOTH (don't start the whole holding a tablet to your head is stupid argument) while only carrying an awesome performing tablet, than that is fine for me.
Now to just wait for the LTE model to arrive to market and then see if any BADASS DEVELOPER can share with me how to modify the framework to expose that dialer!
Mods... just realized that I posted this to Q&A instead of General, please move if necessary.
jdmadonna said:
I originally called Nvidia tech support back on July 17th, 2014 to see if the LTE version would support GSM voice calling seeing as how it is factory unlocked and compatible with both AT&T and T-Mobile. They would not tell me if the phone restriction in the US was locked down by hardware or software at that time and that I would have to call back once the tablet officially hit the market.
I called today and was AMAZED when the tech told me very honestly that the restriction was at the software level. I then asked, if I were to root the device without unlocking the bootloader, and then use a different framework to expose the dialer and phone settings, would I be able to achieve making phone calls over a GSM connection....................... HE SAID YES!!!!!!
Again, being very forthcoming and stating exactly what I wanted to do, he assured me that this can be done by altering JUST the software, it is not locked down at a hardware level like the uh...cough, cough... Nexus 7 LTE. As usual, rooting MAY void the warranty....BUT he said that doing something like this would be looked at on a case by case basis for determining if these actions would indeed void the warranty. Encouraging, as he did not flat out say, if you mess something up...enjoy your new paperweight!
Praise the lord... I know not everyone needs or wants a tablet that can make calls, but if I can kill 2 birds with 1 stone, and have a way to make the 30 minutes of calls that I do per month through BLUETOOTH (don't start the whole holding a tablet to your head is stupid argument) while only carrying an awesome performing tablet, than that is fine for me.
Now to just wait for the LTE model to arrive to market and then see if any BADASS DEVELOPER can share with me how to modify the framework to expose that dialer!
Mods... just realized that I posted this to Q&A instead of General, please move if necessary.
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That is very good news. I really like this tablet, but I will upgrade for the larger storage size and the ability to make a few changes and be able to use it as a phone when needed as well.
Speaking of the lte version, does anyone have confirmation its is T-Mobile and attack ONLY as I was looking at the listed cell bands and it does list the bands that others carriers use as being compatible though I saw no mention of what the actual radio chip set is (so its feasible that it isn't gsm only hardware wise)
Sent from my SHIELD using Tapatalk
See my updated op. You might like what you find.
According to the Nvidia Shield Tablet FAQ, there are 3 versions of the LTE tablet, only one of which supports voice. Unfortunately, the LTE bands that model supports do not appear to be the ones T-Mobile or AT&T use in the U.S.A.
Hopefully the lack of voice support on the other models will be a software restriction that can be fixed by the developer community here.
From http://shield.nvidia.com/tablet-faq
>>
WHAT CELLULAR NETWORKS DOES THE SHIELD TABLET LTE SUPPORT?There are three versions of SHIELD tablet LTE. There is a North American version that works on AT&T, T-Mobile and Rogers on LTE bands 2, 4, 5, 7, and 17 and HSPA bands 1, 2, 4, 5.There is a second International version that works on popular European and Asian networks. It supports LTE bands 3, 7, 20 and HSPA+ bands 1, 2, 5, 8. The third version also works on popular International carriers, in addition to including voice support on compatible networks. It supports LTE bands 1, 3, 7, 20 and HSPA+ bands 1, 2, 5, 8. Check with your favorite carrier to verify coverage in your area.DOES THE SHIELD TABLET LTE SUPPORT VOICE?There is a version of the international SKU that supports voice on compatible networks, available for purchase in select regions.<<
i want to upgrade my phone and i intend to do exactly as you did .but i'd like to know does the shield tablet have an inner top speaker ? meaning if i want to put it on my ear directly to make a phone call . wouldn't everyone surrounding me hear what the other party on the end of the line is saying to me ?
what would you do about that ? i really need an answer about this matter because it's the only thing stopping me from getting this tablet
Thanks for the great news and just what I had been waiting to have clarified. Presently I am using the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 P6800 which has phone capabilities.
My telephone use is very light, texting gets more usage, and I have no interest in carrying two devices. Generally I make phone calls using the speakerphone but if I ever have to take a call in a public place then I hold the tablet to my ear. Just for the record and for those who are paranoid self obsessed, nobody ever notices that my phone is 7.7", let alone point fingers at me
My brother is a heavy mobile phone user and he has a Tab 7.7" also and he will never revert to a small screen phone either.
The UK release date for the LTE version is 2nd September which is close to my birthday so I wonder what Santa will bring
This is an excellent move by Nvidia, they deserve to have outstanding success with the Shield Tablet.
In the meantime I am watching the WiFi and cracked casing threads to see how Nvidia are responding, I wouldn't be surprised if the release date is delayed while those issues are addressed.
Same situation as rebski/ I got a tab 7.7 too...
But unfortunately the shield tablet looks quite heavy, 390 grams with 8"... And doesn't have a notification led/ or an amoled screen ( on my tab 7.7, I use NoLed)
But all the ports are very useful.... Quite a dilemma with the tab Style 8.4 (290 grams)
Pre-order or wait?
So I'm looking to replace my nexus 5 with an nvidia shield... This will be my first time using a tablet as a phone. I'm rather nervous about dropping the extra hundo (100$) on a tablet when there is a chance that I wouldn't be able to use it as a replacement for my phone, sure its the best looking tablet on the US market right now and lets be honest, i'd happily drop 300$ on the none LTE version but I don't want to drop the extra money if this wont work. What do you guys think are the probability of being able to use this as a phone replacement and even if it is not capable of LTE voice in the US market is there a reasonable workaround the can be done to be able to use the tablet as a phone?
What do you guys think are the probability of being able to use this as a phone replacement and even if it is not capable of LTE voice in the US market is there a reasonable workaround the can be done to be able to use the tablet as a phone?
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It seems like it should be possible but much may depend on location and carrier technology. But I supect that we may have to expend some cash and time in order to get it to work even in those areas where the capability seems certain. In short it probably won't make calls straight out of the box but we shall know more once the LTE models are shipped.
http://shield.nvidia.co.uk/tablet-faq/
"DOES THE SHIELD TABLET LTE SUPPORT VOICE?
There is a version of the international SKU that supports voice on compatible networks, available for purchase in select regions."
Sorry if my opinion is so vague but Nvidia themselves are not at all clear on the point.The next couple of weeks should bring some clarification and answers.
I am assuming that many people will buy the 32Gb version regardless but I will only buy it if it makes phone calls.
rebski said:
It seems like it should be possible but much may depend on location and carrier technology. But I supect that we may have to expend some cash and time in order to get it to work even in those areas where the capability seems certain. In short it probably won't make calls straight out of the box but we shall know more once the LTE models are shipped.
"DOES THE SHIELD TABLET LTE SUPPORT VOICE?
There is a version of the international SKU that supports voice on compatible networks, available for purchase in select regions."
Sorry if my opinion is so vague but Nvidia themselves are not at all clear on the point.The next couple of weeks should bring some clarification and answers.
I am assuming that many people will buy the 32Gb version regardless but I will only buy it if it makes phone calls.
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I got mine LTE the other day and the msg that pops up is "Calls are not supported" when using a dialer.
Live in Sweden btw
Congratulations on getting the device. That is disappointing not to have voice calls straightaway. I have been looking closely at the photos on some recent LTE reviews and they don't have the phone icon. So what is this SKU that is supposed to be available for purchase I wonder? No doubt we will find out shortly. In the meantime enjoy your tablet.
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rebski said:
Congratulations on getting the device. That is disappointing not to have voice calls straightaway. I have been looking closely at the photos on some recent LTE reviews and they don't have the phone icon. So what is this SKU that is supposed to be available for purchase I wonder? No doubt we will find out shortly. In the meantime enjoy your tablet.
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Got this reply from Support today.
Thank you for the update.
I checked this case further & the current Shield tablet you have purchased with the P/N 940-81761-2505-200 is for “SHIELD tablet LTE Europe (EU / UK Adaptor)” which is data only and no Voice feature supported.
For voice you would need to go for SHIELD tablet Voice (E.U. Adaptor) - which is not yet released. Hope this helps.
Best Regards
NVIDIA Customer Care
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Thanks for the information. Nvidia is making this harder that it seemingly need be. They should have clarified this from the outset . I think that the sum total of the issues with this device means that I shall look to the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact Tablet as my likely next device.
I hope that you were not completely counting on making phone calls, if so then this is a bummer bombshell for you.
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rebski said:
In the meantime I am watching the WiFi and cracked casing threads to see how Nvidia are responding, I wouldn't be surprised if the release date is delayed while those issues are addressed.
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I bought the Wifi version and had to return it due to the Wifi issue. It's widely known and posted in Geo Force forum (NVidia own forum site) and no response from NVidia.
As much as I like the Shield Tablet, if NVidia won't fix it, I won't buy it.
I completely share your views. When this device was first announced I couldn't wait to buy one, so it is despondent to watch the enthusiasm evaporate. Also disappointing as I had expected much more from Nvidia. Isn't there a 64 bit version on the drawing board? Perhaps with the Shield Mark II they will get it right.
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rebski said:
Thanks for the information. Nvidia is making this harder that it seemingly need be. They should have clarified this from the outset . I think that the sum total of the issues with this device means that I shall look to the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact Tablet as my likely next device.
I hope that you were not completely counting on making phone calls, if so then this is a bummer bombshell for you.
Sent from my GT-P6800 using Tapatalk
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The idea was to replace my phone so yeah i was, started the process to return the device until i can grab one knowing i can make phone calls.
Other than this i havnt had any issues with either battery, wifi or cracked edges even the buttons feels different compared to 16gb version.
I simply love the tablet but doesnt help if i can only text people lol
Ill stick to my old broken phone until they get this sorted and get a new tablet then
Email from nvidia
Today I had the following response from nvidia support:
"Thank you for your patience, please note The LTE comes in 2 types DATA only and DATA + Voice. Unfortunately the DATA + Voice is not yet released."
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...followed by:
"I certainly understand that many of user are looking for the NVIDIA Shield DATA + Voice version. Unfortunately we do not have any update yet, however, we suggest you to keep in touch with NVIDIA/GeForce.com website for latest updates regarding new upcoming."
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AnyOldName said:
Today I had the following response from nvidia support:
...followed by:
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Well that leaves 2 options then, Return it and wait for the voice version or keep it and wait for their adapter
I recently had a conversation with Nvidia regarding voice support on LTE devices in the United States. Here is what they had to say (names removed to protect privacy)...
Hello ----,
Thank you for contacting NVIDIA Customer Care.
My name is ----- and I will be assisting with your query.
From your e-mail, I understand that you would like to know, if the SHIELD Tablet LTE (USA/International) version supports voice.
I would like to inform you that the North American version of the SHIELD Tablet LTE doesn't support voice calls.
There are 2 International versions of SHIELD tablet LTE :
1. International version that works on popular European and Asian networks. It supports LTE bands 3, 7, 20 and HSPA+ bands 1, 2, 5, 8.
2. This also works on popular International carriers, in addition to including voice support on compatible networks. It supports LTE bands 1, 3, 7, 20 and HSPA+ bands 1, 2, 5, 8.
Hence, there is no International version that supports voice calls on LTE band 4 and/or HSPA band 4.
Please let me know, if this information was helpful. In case, if you have any further questions, please reply to this e-mail, so that I can assist you further.
Looking forward for your update.
Best Regards,
-----
NVIDIA Customer Care
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