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So I ordered my N1 yesterday, and currently have at&t. wasn't too worried about the whole 3g thing, because I figured one of the smart guys here at xda would figure out a way to make it work. After looking in to it further, I realize the hardware just won't allow that. I would just switch to T-mobile, but they have no 3g coverage anywhere near me yet. this brings me to my question. is it worth switching to tmobiles coverage for faster 2g possibly, or in the hopes that they'll soon expand their network. I don't mind getting out of my contract with at&t, tmobiles rates seem to be a lot better. I'm just wondering if anybody has heard anything on T-mobiles future plans.
I think most anecdotal evidence by most users is that EDGE on TMO is much faster than ATT. Why? Even though the "transport" 2G technology is the same, ATT still suffers from not enough bandwidth at its towers for all the heavy 3G areas due to heavy usage. -- In other words, backhaul contention.
Also, the fact that in places where there is no TMO 3G... EDGE works quite well for the very same reason... Even with towers that only have several T1/DS1's in place instead of T3/DS3's or fiber
Cheers,
Kermee
In NYC, where I have 3G coverage as well, EDGE tops out at 10-15KB/s
hurrycaine3000 said:
So I ordered my N1 yesterday, and currently have at&t. wasn't too worried about the whole 3g thing, because I figured one of the smart guys here at xda would figure out a way to make it work. After looking in to it further, I realize the hardware just won't allow that. I would just switch to T-mobile, but they have no 3g coverage anywhere near me yet. this brings me to my question. is it worth switching to tmobiles coverage for faster 2g possibly, or in the hopes that they'll soon expand their network. I don't mind getting out of my contract with at&t, tmobiles rates seem to be a lot better. I'm just wondering if anybody has heard anything on T-mobiles future plans.
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I personally have ran on EDGE for awhile on tmobile and have never had a problem with wifi while I am at home/school... however the 3g is nice, though my house seems to have 3g signals
its simple business really, though 1 man cannot make a difference... as the company grows, the service grows... verizon has the best service because it has the most customers... i think the reason tmobile has struggled in the US (as opposed to being the number 1 world wide carrier) is because of the lack of appeal from phones... with more phones rolling out and tmobile always having its doors open to unlocked phones i see the company gaining some momentum and it starts with these new android phones making it big as well as now having the fastest network in the nation...
ive had bad experiences with both verizon (contract issues) and att (terrible customer service), tmobile has yet to steer me wrong (other than not giving me an upgrade for the N1 haha)
with that said, try em out, idk if companies still let you trial their service for a week or so but you could ask?
i honestly cant tel a diff between edge and 3 g lol they both are friggin fast as hell
VoLoDaR1 said:
i honestly cant tel a diff between edge and 3 g lol they both are friggin fast as hell
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It all depends on what you're doing Tweeting and reading tweets... probably not so much
Cheers,
Kermee
are you crazy? 3G is AT LEAST 10+ times as fast as EDGE.
I know on my touch pro using att 3g over edge. they have 3g where I work, but not at my house. so I always just use wifi at my house, but don't bother at work because the 3g is fast enough. I can definetly tell the difference. granted there is wifi almost everywhere these days, but with my touch pro I have to turn it off and on when I'm using it so my battery half makes through a day. It will be nice if the N1's is more of a automatic thing, if that makes sense. I guess if I knew that t Mobile would actually be implementing 3g in my area at all soon, it would be an easier decision, but I haven't found anything to make me think they'll be adding towers in York, PA any time soon.
Im in Dallas TX and just activated my phone. I was worried because people in some forums where saying phone kept switching to 2g. I just activated my phone and its been on 3 out of 4 bars on 3g last 30-40 minutes...I know this is kind of off topic, but thought it was important do to the nature of all the talk about speed on tmobile.
Ok im scared now, i just looked at the USA map on tmobile https://my.t-mobile.com/Plan/CoverageMap.aspx and looks to hardly be any 3g coverage! What! Tell me it aint so!
that's what I'm saying, I want 3g on this phone, but it's just not in my area on tmobile. we've established it's pretty much going to be impossible to get att's to work on this phone. It doesn't look like tmobile has 3g anywhere, atleast not hardly. what to do, what to do.
dallastx said:
Im in Dallas TX and just activated my phone. I was worried because people in some forums where saying phone kept switching to 2g. I just activated my phone and its been on 3 out of 4 bars on 3g last 30-40 minutes...I know this is kind of off topic, but thought it was important do to the nature of all the talk about speed on tmobile.
Ok im scared now, i just looked at the USA map on tmobile https://my.t-mobile.com/Plan/CoverageMap.aspx and looks to hardly be any 3g coverage! What! Tell me it aint so!
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thats called #4 carrier coverage
as for that map, its ancient... the thing has never worked properly and the maps take forever to load yet i wish i could get a decent detailed coverage map for tmobile somewhere...
hurrycaine3000 said:
I know on my touch pro using att 3g over edge. they have 3g where I work, but not at my house. so I always just use wifi at my house, but don't bother at work because the 3g is fast enough. I can definetly tell the difference. granted there is wifi almost everywhere these days, but with my touch pro I have to turn it off and on when I'm using it so my battery half makes through a day. It will be nice if the N1's is more of a automatic thing, if that makes sense. I guess if I knew that t Mobile would actually be implementing 3g in my area at all soon, it would be an easier decision, but I haven't found anything to make me think they'll be adding towers in York, PA any time soon.
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OMG i live in york to lol. ive asked tmobile many times if we'll ever have 3g and they told me december 09 but that never happened. who knows if we'll ever get it. but edge for me on tmobile works good unless u use media functions like youtube and streaming video but its good for web browsing and email
Make sure T-Mobile has EDGE all around your area because I've found that there are many places that don't even have EDGE on T-Mobile and are GRPS only. That being said, I do find that usually T-Mobile EDGE is faster.... The difference is so small that I wouldn't change networks over it though..
I get around 25KB/s or so, which works fine for streaming music and such. This is quite a bit faster than the AT&T users seem to get here.
Yeah you should be happy with what you've got. EDGE isn't amazing but at least with the 900mhz range you've got coverage. I'm not sure about T-mobile US thought but it has to be better than UK. I live in the UK just outside of town with 3 basestations surrounding my house just out of range with 2100 3g and 1800 2g. I can get signal occasionally with my Iphone 3gs, until I touch it...
The coverage is okish but I get Black-spots everywhere; literally, I can walk round the corner away from a basestation and lose signal. I can only use my phone if I'm underneath a basestation and even then the crappy 4.2Mbit/s (It may even be less than that) limited basestations are overloaded. Each user is then further capped at roughly 1.8Mbit/s
That's 3G and above, which I rarely get as I mentioned. When you get 2G you get EDGE. When I get 2G I don't get EDGE, I don't even get 2.5G, I get slower-than-dial-up GPRS which is unusable. None of T-mo UK's basestations are EDGE enabled; with common black-spots and poor 3G reception, this makes for an appalling network. I can't wait to switch to Three UK. Blanket UK 3g coverage with amazing deals: £15/mo rolling contract with 300 mins, unlimited texts, Unlimited (7.2Mbit/s) data. The only problem is they have shockingly bad phones (no problem for me, or so I thought...)
melterx12 said:
are you crazy? 3G is AT LEAST 10+ times as fast as EDGE.
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That pretty well sums up the problem with TMUS users.
They have no f***ing clue.
My samsung vibrant on t mobile
Vs
My wife's samsung fascinate on the nations largest 3G network.
Both pics were taken around the same time and right next to each other, I took the pc of mine from my wife's fascinate, and the pic of hers on my vibrant.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
only see one pic.
My wife's fascinate
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Cool Did you say where you live?
i was pulling down 6Mbps the other night
suck it, verizon
this is the reason i ditched verizon. most places i was hitting .6-.8 mbps and i almost hit 5mbps with tmo on my vibrant.
Verizon's service was a lot slower at times, but I REALLY miss having 3g literally EVERYWHERE
T-Mobile 3G isn't even in every major city here in Northwest Arkansas....let alone the rural areas
Tmobile has the fastest 3g around hands down. I have tried sprint and att. Both are slower, noticeably slower and the thing is t-mobile hasn't even started 4g or lte lol
Sent from my Samsung Vibrant
Tmo does have hspa+ though which can have an impact on data speeds depending on where you live
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Tmo will beat everyone on speed but man good luck on finding it. Sprint was slower but everywhere
T-Mobile is the fastest 3G carrier in the US right now IF you live in a HSPA+ area.
The real question is why does your wife have the outrageously high priced verizon while you sport the more economical t-mobile? Business issued?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
There are two main reasons Tmo typcially tops in speed:
Tmo has the fastest hardware right now. This will change, of course, seeing as both ATT and Verizon are working on their 4G networks and Tmo has no plans to go to 4G for the next two years. It is worth noting ATT and Verizon will have LTE not WiMax.
Tmo has a lot less customers so there is less demand on their towers. Less demand means faster speeds for those that do have Tmo.
T-Mobile is increasing 3G coverage a bunch recently. They just gave Puerto Rico 3G coverage and I've been hearing of other places getting 3G recently.
Verizon 3G is much slower here, you can hit 1.9Mbps but you're usually under 1Mbps like T-Mobile 3G before HSPA+. 3G coverage isn't all that either, EV-DO drops out sometimes at my house but I can't complain.
3G is also slightly on JI2 now that the -dBm reading is more accurate within the Android system. The Vibrant grabs onto a 3G signal much better than ANY phone I've had on T-Mobile. (G1, CLIQ, myTouch, TM506, TouchPro2, Nuron).
This is what I typically see with T-Mobile. Data speed is much better than all 3 of the carriers combined here for me. Still needs work in some areas though! Not going to lie.. but overall, it's better.
You would be lucky to get 500Kbps with AT&T or Verizon during peak hours. The Sprint EV-DO network is taking a huge hit due to the new smartphones on their network. It went from being underutilized to being over used.
As a former verizon/sprint/att/and uk versions f#ckee, ive never been more happy with a carriers service/price.
Tmo Hpsa ftw ..see sig
98classic said:
Tmo will beat everyone on speed but man good luck on finding it. Sprint was slower but everywhere
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Sad but true. I'm TM all the way, but F#$#, I hate how it's so limited still to a small area. Granted they are still expanding...Anyway, here's my pictures below...
I wouldn't quite knock Verizon...they'll kill TM on coverage on the mainland...but in some areas TM kicks @$$ over all....
Here's the true coverage ranking, hate it or love it, it's real:
1. Verizon
2. AT$T
3. Sprint
4. T-Mobile
Don't get me wrong, I get sick speeds...super fast...but only in certain areas...
My speed test pic is below...
Sprint coverage is way below T-Mobile coverage. 3G yes but I'd like to keep my calls.
heygrl said:
Sprint coverage is way below T-Mobile coverage. 3G yes but I'd like to keep my calls.
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As a trucker having gone through all 48 states with both carriers this is just not true
Well maybe in WU tmo might have slight better coverage
98classic said:
As a trucker having gone through all 48 states with both carriers this is just not true
Well maybe in WU tmo might have slight better coverage
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Roaming on Verizon in most of those states no?
When you lose the signal in a big city you can't just roam the rest of the time because the phone will try to pick up the weakest bit of Sprint signal. Sprint drops out often here. Deadzones in stores where T-Mobile manages a good usable signal? Check. Signal drop outs when driving down the road? Check. Lesser amount of coverage overall? Check. Dropped calls when signal fades and roaming switches over? Check.
heygrl said:
Roaming on Verizon in most of those states no?
When you lose the signal in a big city you can't just roam the rest of the time because the phone will try to pick up the weakest bit of Sprint signal. Sprint drops out often here. Deadzones in stores where T-Mobile manages a good usable signal? Check. Signal drop outs when driving down the road? Check. Lesser amount of coverage overall? Check. Dropped calls when signal fades and roaming switches over? Check.
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Lol must be the vibrant that sucks then cuz in a 1000 mile stretch of road I might get 3g 3 times for a few minutes, and speed is the worse while moving,. Just last night in portland, stopped, in the driver seat I had 3g, if I moved back to the sleeper 3 feet away it dropped to edge. Might be the phone that only gets 3g in wide open spaces like a satellite
After reading of a new Mytouch HD product that is coming for T-Mobile Im pretty impressed with specs but very turned off by the looks.
So that makes me wonder does vibrant have the technology to run on T-mobile's 4G network with simple software updates?
Reason I am asking this is because I know The iphone 4G will be able to run on 4G network as soon as AT&T launch their 4G service.
Thanks for any knowledge in advance
.... Google is your best friend, its not 4g it's hspa+ on order to take advantage of that speed you ned the physical hardware in the phone which only the g2 had right now, in regards to the iphone 4, I've never heard anything about att launching any 4g network, I also work for att, the iphone doesn't have any hardware that support any faster speeds as far as I know
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iPhone can handle ATT's new "Faster 3G", but they don't have 4G. My understanding is the Vibrant can do HSPa, but not HSPa+? I don't know the difference but that's what i understand. 2G, 3G and HSPa.
4G is just a marketing terms for the masses. After you look at this link...
http://shop.sprint.com/en/stores/popups/4G_coverage_popup.shtml
You should realize that the Vibrant is already capable of reaching the "average" speeds listed here (in areas with proper coverage). Wait...how is that possible?! It's not a 4G phone. Who cares!!! T-Mobile's network and phones already meet or exceed the speeds Sprint is advertising here. T-Mobile is way ahead of the curve here but they're not marketing the hell out of it. FYI, the average website (ATM) may have trouble maintaining a consistent throughput of 5-6 Mbps anyway. Even if you can go faster, does it really matter when the other side can't (yet)?
AlexSochi8 said:
After reading of a new Mytouch HD product that is coming for T-Mobile Im pretty impressed with specs but very turned off by the looks.
So that makes me wonder does vibrant have the technology to run on T-mobile's 4G network with simple software updates?
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T-Mobile does not have a 4G network, and they probably won't roll out 4G for at least 5 years
Reason I am asking this is because I know The iphone 4G will be able to run on 4G network as soon as AT&T launch their 4G service.
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Apple hasn't announced a 4G Iphone, so (by definition) you really don't know what you're talking about.
AT&T is set to roll out LTE, but it will almost certainly be data-only devices as they work the kinks out. (As Verizon has done)
Thanks for any knowledge in advance
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You should ask yourself why you care about 4G. I doubt you'll notice much of a decrease in load times, and the carriers are probably going to charge out the yin-yang for the enhanced features they will be able to offer to everyone with 4G.
AT&T and Verizon are going to limited data (AT&T already has). You should really look past all the marketing and hype. All the carriers are guilty of confusing the public to serve their interests.
All T-Mobile phones will benefit from HSPA+ as it's backward compatible. However, the theoretical maximum throughput on the Vibrant (or any legacy phone) that doesn't have the HSPA+ antenna built in caps out around 7Mbs as I recall. The G2 which is built to run HSPA+ has a theoretical througput around 15-20 I believe.
Seriously though, even 7Mbs is pretty stupid fast for a cell phone.
Xard said:
All T-Mobile phones will benefit from HSPA+ as it's backward compatible. However, the theoretical maximum throughput on the Vibrant (or any legacy phone) that doesn't have the HSPA+ antenna built in caps out around 7Mbs as I recall. The G2 which is built to run HSPA+ has a theoretical througput around 15-20 I believe.
Seriously though, even 7Mbs is pretty stupid fast for a cell phone.
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Clear explanation
But one thing, i am in Boston and my vibrant never reach over 50KB/s...wtf
It supposed to have the + network already...
I get 6mbps on my vibrant on hspa. Home wifi I get only 2.8, I see no difference in browser page loading time..
Downloading w will be faster but whatever.. 6 is all I need. I've only seen some people getting 8 on their g2s, meh, I'm happy with 6..... Hell I'm happy with 3mbps....
Emama said:
Clear explanation
But one thing, i am in Boston and my vibrant never reach over 50KB/s...wtf
It supposed to have the + network already...
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Check the data icon top center - should be two arrows (up/down) and 'G','E', or '3G' to indicate tech. GPRS would be my guess for 50k... EDGE should reach around 200kbps. (I've maxed at about 1.8 mbps 3g in Charlotte, about 210k edge nearer home, and about 12mpbs wifi - same locations as that last my netbook gets 40-70mpbs though.
Check 'settings'->'wireless and network'->'mobile networks' and make sure '2g only' is unchecked. If so I'd suspect a hardware problem. (double-check that 3g is available where you're testing, of course)
j
newkirk said:
Check the data icon top center - should be two arrows (up/down) and 'G','E', or '3G' to indicate tech. GPRS would be my guess for 50k... EDGE should reach around 200kbps. (I've maxed at about 1.8 mbps 3g in Charlotte, about 210k edge nearer home, and about 12mpbs wifi - same locations as that last my netbook gets 40-70mpbs though.
Check 'settings'->'wireless and network'->'mobile networks' and make sure '2g only' is unchecked. If so I'd suspect a hardware problem. (double-check that 3g is available where you're testing, of course)
j
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This is 3g network already,
My phone and my gf's one has the same result
I can have up to 2000kB/s with my home Wi-Fi....but tmo network sucks..
I never see a "G" in that blue icon
And the above result is based on the 3G icon...if it is E, it has only 4-5 kB/s! !!
Any other guy in Boston can tell me if it is T-Mobile network sucks or my phone
I live in Cambridge and just did the speed-test, 3g w/2 bars in my apartment. 129kbps download 614 upload. It really varies quite a bit probably depending upon network traffic.
Xard said:
All T-Mobile phones will benefit from HSPA+ as it's backward compatible. However, the theoretical maximum throughput on the Vibrant (or any legacy phone) that doesn't have the HSPA+ antenna built in caps out around 7Mbs as I recall. The G2 which is built to run HSPA+ has a theoretical througput around 15-20 I believe.
Seriously though, even 7Mbs is pretty stupid fast for a cell phone.
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Click to collapse
Does the 7mb cap only apply to hspa, or hspa+. Because on my wireless g network I get blazing speeds.
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ackattacker said:
I live in Cambridge and just did the speed-test, 3g w/2 bars in my apartment. 129kbps download 614 upload. It really varies quite a bit probably depending upon network traffic.
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I am talking about KB not kbps,
129 kbps is really slow!
I try to compare my friend incredible verizon network at Cambridge
He has 280KB while i have only 45KB download....damn
I get 5mbs in my hspa area on the vibrant.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Should I call T-Mobile to ask about it as it is ridiculous to have only 50-70kB (Less than 0.6 Mbits) in HSPA+ area
jayprime said:
Does the 7mb cap only apply to hspa, or hspa+. Because on my wireless g network I get blazing speeds.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
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theoretical caps. HSDPA 7.2Mbps, T-mobile's variety of HSPA+ 21Mbps according to a T-mobile press release, Wi-fi G 54Mbps.
real word numbers HSDPA 1-5Mbps in good coverage depending on network traffic, HDPA+ on a vibrant 3-7 Mbps again depending on network traffic, Wi-fi... depends on your home internet connection speed.
Some people seem to misunderstand whether or not a non HSPA+ phone (such as ours) can benefit from HSPA+. It indeed can, but not in a straightforward way. In order for T-Mobile to support HSPA+ in a given market they must make reasonable upgrades to their networks backhaul capacity to support it. And these backhaul upgrades will become more important as T-Mobile actually begins selling HSPA+ devices.
One of the most important factors often overlooked with any network is it's backhaul capacity. Bottlenecks in familiar networks can easily make themselves apparent. Take for example the traditional DSL and Cable networks most of us use for wired internet service.
While you may pay for a given advertised speed, whether or not you actually see those speeds has less to do with the connection type and more oftentimes to do with how it has been implemented. In the case of DSL for instance, whether or not you can experience your advertised speed reliably depends on how many other customers are routed through the same DSLAM, *AND* how good the backhaul connection from the DSLAM is to your providers internal network. The same thing occurs with Cable and how many customers are aggregated into a given areas HFC. Bottlenecks within cable and dsl infrastructures occur at different points (because they're architecturally different), but once your outside those infrastructures they both share the potential for having backhaul bottlenecks.
In my area cable is way the fastest connection option, and though I do not pay for the highest speed tier here (15/2, instead of the 10/1 I have), when 10/1 was the fastest tier I'd rarely actually see those speeds. Now I see those speeds reliably. Why? Well there are many factors that effect a network topology, but it's clear that in order to reasonably support 15/2, my cable provider had to make sure it's backhaul could actually handle the load, so it was likely updated to accommodate this.
Hope this clarifies things a bit.
Is LTE a big deal for you? Do you even live in the US ? What are your conditions regarding speeds in your area.
Yes LTE is a better technology... but in practice... HSPA is much more established and will give more than sufficient results:
http://www.phonearena.com/news/T-Mo...ter-than-Verizons-4G-LTE-in-11-cities_id31387
I'm not saying I'm glad the device doesn't have LTE, just that it doesn't really affect me in any way at this point in time.
I live in Vancouver, Canada where LTE is readily available and I don't use it. HSPA+ gets me plenty of speed for the /whopping/ 30 minutes a day my phone is on mobile data (commute to and from work; 15m each way). HSPA+ in Canada is from all providers and has great coverage. I regularly get 10-12Mbps. I've been testing a lot lately and I've managed to get 22Mbps and 25Mbps at certain points/times as well on HSPA+. I have zero need for anything faster than that as all I do is stream radio while walking.
I really hate how the American bias towards LTE, because your providers seem to suck, is affecting this phone. By all accounts in the reviews out there "If you don't live in the US, LTE isn't a big deal and this phone is amazing". That's enough for me. I'm on wifi for 95% of my usage anyways. 100Mbps line at home and 250Mbps line at work. Screw LTE.
Pragmata said:
I live in Vancouver, Canada where LTE is readily available and I don't use it. HSPA+ gets me plenty of speed for the /whopping/ 30 minutes a day my phone is on mobile data (commute to and from work; 15m each way). HSPA+ in Canada is from all providers and has great coverage. I regularly get 10-12Mbps. I've been testing a lot lately and I've managed to get 22Mbps and 25Mbps at certain points/times as well on HSPA+. I have zero need for anything faster than that as all I do is stream radio while walking.
I really hate how the American bias towards LTE, because your providers seem to suck, is affecting this phone. By all accounts in the reviews out there "If you don't live in the US, LTE isn't a big deal and this phone is amazing". That's enough for me. I'm on wifi for 95% of my usage anyways. 100Mbps line at home and 250Mbps line at work. Screw LTE.
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I see your point, but US providers don't "suck" lol. People are bashing LTE on this phone because so many carriers on the US already provide it.
Don't care about lte
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
iAndropple said:
I see your point, but US providers don't "suck" lol. People are bashing LTE on this phone because so many carriers on the US already provide it.
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I get that, but all the major carriers in Canada provide LTE too. The difference is all of our major carriers provide HSPA+ AND LTE so the absence of one simply means the use of the other and speeds on both are phenomenal for a bloody phone. xD I've never understood the necessity for residential internet speeds on your phone. I have a 100Mbps line at home so I can download Steam games really fast. What do people do on their phones that require LTE anyways?
My point about the "seem to suck" comment (which I admit I did say 'seem' because I don't have experience with them) is that from what I have learned, Verizon doesn't have HSPA so the lack of LTE means that the speeds then drop to 3G speeds for them? If that's accurate, a major provider not having both HSPA+ and LTE seems a bit sucky to me. I really guess I just don't understand what people need LTE for or how it affects your phone use. In terms of pure network, LTE is like getting a ferrari when you drive for maybe 5 minutes a day. HSPA+ does everything LTE does at more than acceptable speeds. If the issue is because some of the US networks coverage of HSPA+ is absent or limited, that should reflect upon the providers and not the phone.
I'm not too bothered about LTE either. Though it's available in the UK city in which I reside term-time, which is most of the time, it isn't available in my hometown where my family home is. Sure, by the time I'm done in my student city, LTE will most likely be available at "home" but by then the Nexus 4 will be old and in need of a replacement. I don't need it right now, so DC-HSPA is fine for me. More than fine, actually. Plus my phone is on WiFi most of the time anyway. ;D
TeRRa4 said:
I'm not too bothered about LTE either. Though it's available in the UK city in which I reside term-time, which is most of the time, it isn't available in my hometown where my family home is. Sure, by the time I'm done in my student city, LTE will most likely be available at "home" but by then the Nexus 4 will be old and in need of a replacement. I don't need it right now, so DC-HSPA is fine for me. More than fine, actually. Plus my phone is on WiFi most of the time anyway. ;D
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Agreed
I live in the US but LTE doesn't exist within about a 250 mile radius of where I live so HSPA+ is fine by me!
I live outside the US and LTE is just starting here. I live in the second town of my nation and the first 4G antennas will start to emit here for the public on 1st quarter 2013. Google made the Nexus S 4G, then the Verizon Galaxy Nexus 4G, so why not a Nexus 4 4G tomorrow ?:highfive:
There is a good amount of LTE in my area (SF + the surrounding area), but I suppose I don't NEED it. I've been perfectly fine without it (currently with a Motorola Atrix). However like most of you here, you want the best you can get for your area.
Pragmata said:
.... The difference is all of our major carriers provide HSPA+ AND LTE so the absence of one simply means the use of the other and speeds on both are phenomenal for a bloody phone.....What do people do on their phones that require LTE anyways?
I really guess I just don't understand what people need LTE for or how it affects your phone use.
If the issue is because some of the US networks coverage of HSPA+ is absent or limited, that should reflect upon the providers and not the phone.
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1. It's the idea that Google is pushing consumers to rely more on the cloud, yet "cripple" the phone's ability to CONNECT TO the cloud by not providing LTE. I live in San Diego - we have LTE here and it works great on all my friends' IPhone 5s.
2. While LTE is certainly NOT COMMONPLACE, it is non-negotiable that it is the infrastructure of the future. HSPA+ represents the pinnacle of it's infrastructure, while LTE is the infancy stage of the a newer, higher throughput technology. As a result, you're paying however much for a phone that is not really very future proof. Regardless of how good of a deal this phone is in the near term, you kind of lose out in the long term, especially when viewed in regards to item 1.
3. Since there is no CDMA version of the Nexus 4, it won't work on Verizon or Sprint in the US anyways. T-mobile has ONLY HSPA+ and AT&T has LTE and HSPA+, with HSPA+ coverage being greater than LTE (in San Diego anyways). LTE coverage, however, is expanding, and will be much more available within the next 2 years. Therefore it's not neccessarily that HSPA+ is limited, its that LTE is limited and that's why Google has chosen to omit it from their device, which may be smart in the near term, but again limits the long term relevance of the phone.
4. As a corollary to 3, Google is really just doing the same thing LG has done with the Optimus G but in a different form. Google doesn't provide LTE, so in 2 years you really will need to buy a new phone if you want to transfer large files to and from your cloud, which you will have to do because your phone only has 8GB or 16GB of on-board storage. LG forces you to buy a new phone because they haven't provided updates to their phone since it's release on day 1 and your phone is horribly laggy and bloated and it's bootloader is locked.
This resonates much like Apple's philosophy, which we all bash them for, yet we defend Google vehemently when it does the same in a more inconspicuous way.
I'm a complete loss for what to do now because I really need a new phone lol.
I live in the USA near Washington DC and I live in strong LTE coverage by Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint (allegedly). I've used LTE and while it's nice, I don't require it. In addition, I like being able to use a SIM card in any country I visit. HSPA+ is more than sufficient for me.
It doesn't bother me. I currently have Verizon and have a Galaxy Nexus. My plan for two lines and unlimited data on LTE costs me 180 USD a month. My same plan, but with more minutes would cost me 100 USD on T-Mobile. Almost double check the cost just for LTE speeds? My contract is up in January. So long, Verizon! Your business practises suck. Hspa+ isn't so bad that it's a steep departure. Half the price plus my phone is unlocked so I can switch carriers if T-Mobile starts to play games with my bill? Awesome.
I'm on TMo and there is no LTE.
So, I can care less atm.
TeRRa4 said:
I'm not too bothered about LTE either. Though it's available in the UK city in which I reside term-time, which is most of the time, it isn't available in my hometown where my family home is. Sure, by the time I'm done in my student city, LTE will most likely be available at "home" but by then the Nexus 4 will be old and in need of a replacement. I don't need it right now, so DC-HSPA is fine for me. More than fine, actually. Plus my phone is on WiFi most of the time anyway. ;D
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Has anyone actually tested the ee network in the real world yet? Here in the UK LTE has finally started to rollout but at the launch event the speeds were not that impressive anyway. Anyway at £26 a month for 500mb i think LTE won't be that popular here for some time when three are offering decent speeds with all you can eat data for £10
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using Tapatalk 2
dontdo_that said:
1. It's the idea that Google is pushing consumers to rely more on the cloud, yet "cripple" the phone's ability to CONNECT TO the cloud by not providing LTE. I live in San Diego - we have LTE here and it works great on all my friends' IPhone 5s.
2. While LTE is certainly NOT COMMONPLACE, it is non-negotiable that it is the infrastructure of the future. HSPA+ represents the pinnacle of it's infrastructure, while LTE is the infancy stage of the a newer, higher throughput technology. As a result, you're paying however much for a phone that is not really very future proof. Regardless of how good of a deal this phone is in the near term, you kind of lose out in the long term, especially when viewed in regards to item 1.
3. Since there is no CDMA version of the Nexus 4, it won't work on Verizon or Sprint in the US anyways. T-mobile has ONLY HSPA+ and AT&T has LTE and HSPA+, with HSPA+ coverage being greater than LTE (in San Diego anyways). LTE coverage, however, is expanding, and will be much more available within the next 2 years. Therefore it's not neccessarily that HSPA+ is limited, its that LTE is limited and that's why Google has chosen to omit it from their device, which may be smart in the near term, but again limits the long term relevance of the phone.
4. As a corollary to 3, Google is really just doing the same thing LG has done with the Optimus G but in a different form. Google doesn't provide LTE, so in 2 years you really will need to buy a new phone if you want to transfer large files to and from your cloud, which you will have to do because your phone only has 8GB or 16GB of on-board storage. LG forces you to buy a new phone because they haven't provided updates to their phone since it's release on day 1 and your phone is horribly laggy and bloated and it's bootloader is locked.
This resonates much like Apple's philosophy, which we all bash them for, yet we defend Google vehemently when it does the same in a more inconspicuous way.
I'm a complete loss for what to do now because I really need a new phone lol.
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You make great points and I definitely understand where you are coming from, I would still argue that the speeds HSPA+ provides are more than enough for at least the next year and whether your carrier supports that or not is more on them and less on the manufacturer.
That said, I do have a couple follow-ups cause I think you raised some good points and I'm interested in getting your thoughts.
A) At (max) 350$, do you feel that you really wouldn't be opposed to upgrading in a years time when there could potentially be a new Nexus with LTE? For me 350$ is a steal when I regularly buy a new phone every year for 600+. I know not everyone upgrades on a yearly cadence, but if present and future Nexi were priced around that point, I think it might be something more widely adopted. Perhaps this isn't meant to be a "long-term" phone? Obivously the base argument is that you would want something to last, but if it's affordable why not speed up the upgrade cycle?
B) If we disregard carrier failings and just pit HSPA+ against LTE, I don't see how HSPA+ would be such a deprecated technology that it will be irrelevant within 2 years. Sure, LTE will be bigger and better by then with more coverage, but by no means is HSPA+ something to scoff at. A potential 42Mbps on your phone EASILY gives you all the Cloud throughput you need. I had a 50Mbps residential line for my home internet before upgrading to 100Mbps and I can tell you thinks moved seamlessly. 42Mbps is hardly something that won't let you push and pull content on the Cloud. So you might say that you don't get nearly that on X's network, but that isn't reflective of the technology itself. Maybe X just needs to improve their HSPA+ networks while working on LTE.
I kind of see it like the CPU progress on desktop computers. HSPA+ represents a Dual Core/Quad Core CPU that can be clocked at 4Ghz. Even in mainstream computing today most games/apps/programs barely take advantage of a full optimized Dual Core high clock CPU, yet manufacturers are pushing out Hexa- and even Octo-Core CPU's at low clock rates. Those are like LTE. It's going to be a WHILE before we can properly use 16 threads and 4Ghz of speed on a CPU. And just because those CPU's exist, doesn't mean someone should not buy a Dual/Quad Core CPU. Sure, you can't add more cores to it so it's not "future-proof", but we don't even take full advantage of it yet...
C) I'm still curious at what LTE users like yourself are pushing that you feel pressured in the near future that HSPA+ won't provide (again disregarding shortcomings of providers). Myself, I don't do any media use on my phone so I'm obviously the opposite, but even imagining if I was streaming video and pushing lots of media, I can't forsee the need for a connection faster than what I have to my home. The only possible thing I was able to think of is someone with an unlimited data plan (doesn't exist in Canada) that uses their cell connection as their internet connection and tether their computer through it 100% of the time. Just pure curiosity as per what LTE people push.
I suppose most of this all comes down to the provider limitations and as such necessity for LTE, but I'd be more upset at my provider than the manufacturer. Google has built a worldwide product that can reach amazing speeds on HSPA+ networks. I know America is a powerhouse, but you aren't the be-all-end-all in deciding how a phone should be made. LTE has a lot of reach in Canada on all major providers, but they all also have HSPA+ with great coverage. Only people on smaller or piggyback providers are losing out on LTE, but everyone has HSPA. Maybe the American providers should stop fighting with each other over proprietary LTE spectrums.
If you are hankering for a new phone and don't want this, I'd probably say the Razr Maxx or One X+. Those are my runner ups (Once they finally hit Canadian borders) Since you are on these forums I'll disregard suggesting the locked bootloader Optimus G.
I don't understand this.
LTE is available only in USA and a small amount of other countries as a whole. the world isn't only USA and the 10% places. They've made our such a big issue for everyone, and all the reviewers are complaining about no LTE like every country in the world has it.
There is world outside USA you know...
I don't care for LTE and micro SD slot. I just want this phone in my hands already!
UK here. 4G on just one network in only 10 cities. The lack of 4G means nothing to us Brits!
Want to switch to T-Mobile from VZW at end of my Verizon billing cycle around Nov4 (anywhere before that maybe like 2-3 days)
How is signal treating you guys without band12?
I will be joining my friends plan he has 2 lines for 100 unlimited everything so my line will be +40
I understand on 5.1.1 there is no wifi calling on Moto X but that might change in 6.0 and maybe with 6.0 they will add band12?
One place I travel to frequently has very bad tmo signal inside the building nothing has changed since year ago when I tested tmobile otherwise everywhere I go signal is always great (while I tested)
I'm guessing that you're on the East Coast, in the NY area (based on the screenshot of your Speedtest results). I'm also there, and I recently switched from Verizon to Ting (which runs on the T-Mobile network).
What can I say? Verizon is king when it comes to coverage, signal strength, and network speed. Absolutely unbeatable anywhere along the Northeast Corridor (Boston to Washington DC). If you are highly mobile for work in remote areas (e.g. upstate New York), then you'll want to stick with Verizon purely for coverage reasons.
T-Mobile coverage and signal strength is going to be lower than Verizon in most areas, but will still retain acceptable signal strength in most areas that aren't rural. Network speeds on LTE are acceptable (around 8Mbps - 12Mbps downstream, and 1.0Mbps upstream).
If you spend most of the time on your smartphone near WiFi, you'll be fine switching to TMobile to save yourself some money.
kent1146 said:
I'm guessing that you're on the East Coast, in the NY area (based on the screenshot of your Speedtest results). I'm also there, and I recently switched from Verizon to Ting (which runs on the T-Mobile network).
What can I say? Verizon is king when it comes to coverage, signal strength, and network speed. Absolutely unbeatable anywhere along the Northeast Corridor (Boston to Washington DC). If you are highly mobile for work in remote areas (e.g. upstate New York), then you'll want to stick with Verizon purely for coverage reasons.
T-Mobile coverage and signal strength is going to be lower than Verizon in most areas, but will still retain acceptable signal strength in most areas that aren't rural. Network speeds on LTE are acceptable (around 8Mbps - 12Mbps downstream, and 1.0Mbps upstream).
If you spend most of the time on your smartphone near WiFi, you'll be fine switching to TMobile to save yourself some money.
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I am mostly in the city though and on Verizon I am out of contract but I am just sick of this company (Wireless part) right now around 45$ 30GB to share+2GB free for 3 months vs T-Mobile same price everything unlimited.
What does your usage look like (minutes, text, data GB) per month, as a typical month of usage on VZW?
kent1146 said:
What does your usage look like (minutes, text, data GB) per month, as a typical month of usage on VZW?
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Last month was a round 5k texts 5.6GB and around 500 min just for my line.
I like to watch soccer games on my phone and always have to watch it in lowest quality instead of HD and listen to spotify everyday at highes quality as well.
So many reasons to want tmobile lol
Wow. That's a whole lot of usage.
So yeah, go with T-Mobile's unlimited plan. You'll be better off with that.
kent1146 said:
Wow. That's a whole lot of usage.
So yeah, go with T-Mobile's unlimited plan. You'll be better off with that.
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Yea man that's what the plan is. The one place I spend a lot of time has weak service otherwise everywhere I am is great signal so I am silently hoping that either 6.0 or moto releases new radio fast with band12 support so I can dump Verizon forever and ever lol
By the way were you receiving calls from winback team from Verizon? just wondering I don't have contract anymore so it wouldn't matter and they would not be able to offer me anything anyway but for people who were on contract they would cancel your contract if you came back and all that sort of stuff
I moved from Verizon to T-Mobile a few years back with no issues. I would double check if the location your referring to has any type of WiFi close by. Keep in mind Motorola has really good antennas so if you tested it a year ago on a different phone (Samsung or Nexus 5) it might hold a signal better. At one point I had a Nexus 5 and MotoX 2013 and one of the main reasons I kept the MotoX was due to significantly better signals in the same place.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
SymbioticGenius said:
I moved from Verizon to T-Mobile a few years back with no issues. I would double check if the location your referring to has any type of WiFi close by. Keep in mind Motorola has really good antennas so if you tested it a year ago on a different phone (Samsung or Nexus 5) it might hold a signal better. At one point I had a Nexus 5 and MotoX 2013 and one of the main reasons I kept the MotoX was due to significantly better signals in the same place.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
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I tested few weeks ago AS well but on droid turbo not moto x, and yeah they have time Warner and soon fios so fast internet is not an issue. Are you able to use Wi-Fi calling AS IF now ?
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I've never had to use WiFi for anything lol
Nexus 6 has had it for a while, I remember testing it, didn't care for it, haven't had a need to use it yet. It's not available yet for the MotoX but it's expected (not sure if confirmed) to be activated with marshmallow. I will state that marshmallow has a new toggle for it so I wouldn't be surprised if every phone has it at some point.
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SymbioticGenius said:
I've never had to use WiFi for anything lol
Nexus 6 has had it for a while, I remember testing it, didn't care for it, haven't had a need to use it yet. It's not available yet for the MotoX but it's expected (not sure if confirmed) to be activated with marshmallow. I will state that marshmallow has a new toggle for it so I wouldn't be surprised if every phone has it at some point.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
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Yea there is only one place with bad signal where i spent a lot of time but band12 is in this area just not yet with moto hopefully soak test will add it.
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You can see if Band 12 is in a particular area with this: http://www.spectrumgateway.com/t-mobile-700a-spectrum . Combined with T-Mobile official coverage map, you should be able to get a good idea of the T-Mobile coverage of an area.
It looks like T-Mobile is using Band 12 to fill out national coverage gaps. That's a good thing IMO, if Band 12 has reach/penetration like they say it does. (I live where there is no Band 12 yet, so I haven't tested it.) There are maps floating around (see tmonews.com for example) of the national coverage that T-Mobile plans by end of the year, this planned coverage looks like a blanket similar to Verizon, I think much of this will be the added Band 12 areas. Based on T-Mobile track record, I believe they will get there, if not by end of year then not long after that.
I bought the MXPE counting on Motorola to update it with Band 12 /VoLTE support in the near future, with the idea that it will support it by the time Band 12 is deployed where I need it. The LTE Discovery app is a good tool to see what LTE Band (or other) the phone is using in a particular area, too.
There are still gaps in the T-Mobile national coverage where Verizon has decent coverage while T-Mobile does not. I traveled through one a few days ago, in a rural area about 15 miles from my house. Verizon phone had decent signal, but T-Mobile phones (MXPE and iPhone 6s) had no signal. Since iPhone 6s has robust wireless support including Band 12 /VoLTE, the fact that it had no signal there means there was no T-Mobile signal.
So you just have to look at the maps and see if T-Mobile has coverage where you want coverage. That and actual testing. (If I was on Verizon considering T-Mobile, I would probably buy a month of prepaid T-Mobile or MetroPCS service, pop the T-Mobile SIM in the XT1575, and just try it. "One proper test is worth a thousand expert opinions".)
One thing adding even more wrinkles to all this is the increasing number of LTE roaming arrangements between the tier 1 carriers...
Tinkerer_ said:
You can see if Band 12 is in a particular area with this: http://www.spectrumgateway.com/t-mobile-700a-spectrum . Combined with T-Mobile official coverage map, you should be able to get a good idea of the T-Mobile coverage of an area.
It looks like T-Mobile is using Band 12 to fill out national coverage gaps. That's a good thing IMO, if Band 12 has reach/penetration like they say it does. (I live where there is no Band 12 yet, so I haven't tested it.) There are maps floating around (see tmonews.com for example) of the national coverage that T-Mobile plans by end of the year, this planned coverage looks like a blanket similar to Verizon, I think much of this will be the added Band 12 areas. Based on T-Mobile track record, I believe they will get there, if not by end of year then not long after that.
I bought the MXPE counting on Motorola to update it with Band 12 /VoLTE support in the near future, with the idea that it will support it by the time Band 12 is deployed where I need it. The LTE Discovery app is a good tool to see what LTE Band (or other) the phone is using in a particular area, too.
There are still gaps in the T-Mobile national coverage where Verizon has decent coverage while T-Mobile does not. I traveled through one a few days ago, in a rural area about 15 miles from my house. Verizon phone had decent signal, but T-Mobile phones (MXPE and iPhone 6s) had no signal. Since iPhone 6s has robust wireless support including Band 12 /VoLTE, the fact that it had no signal there means there was no T-Mobile signal.
So you just have to look at the maps and see if T-Mobile has coverage where you want coverage. That and actual testing. (If I was on Verizon considering T-Mobile, I would probably buy a month of prepaid T-Mobile or MetroPCS service, pop the T-Mobile SIM in the XT1575, and just try it. "One proper test is worth a thousand expert opinions".)
One thing adding even more wrinkles to all this is the increasing number of LTE roaming arrangements between the tier 1 carriers...
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I actually have a friend who works at tmo he even typed the address and showed me all types of signal available to me and band12 was all over it. I hope that soak test brings b12.
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T-Mobile for data hogs like me is great. Unlimited data for $30, I used around 10GB a month alone. But that is the only reason I use T-Mobile. Coverage pretty much sucks. If I am in the Bay Area CA its fine great signal. As soon as I leave the area I'm lucky if I get 3G speeds let alone a signal. Indoors is even worse. Went to the movies the other day, phone was dead inside no signal at all. My friend who is on At&t got a full 4 bars of LTE. T-Mobile is great for data and coverage in the cities, you leave those cities and you'll be lucky to even get a signal...
falcon26 said:
T-Mobile for data hogs like me is great. Unlimited data for $30, I used around 10GB a month alone. But that is the only reason I use T-Mobile. Coverage pretty much sucks. If I am in the Bay Area CA its fine great signal. As soon as I leave the area I'm lucky if I get 3G speeds let alone a signal. Indoors is even worse. Went to the movies the other day, phone was dead inside no signal at all. My friend who is on At&t got a full 4 bars of LTE. T-Mobile is great for data and coverage in the cities, you leave those cities and you'll be lucky to even get a signal...
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I mainly spend time in the city Brookyln & Queens so I don't think it should be an issue but one place where I spend a lot of time otherwise everywhere else it's pretty good when I tested it.
Cell Spot
If there is one place you work or live with poor coverage, T-Mobile also has a couple of options that are basically either a range extended or an internal "tower" so you can use your phone inside where you don't get coverage.
https://support.t-mobile.com/community/coverage/personal-cellspot/4g-lte-signal-booster
Ugh. In principle, I'm not a fan of that at all.
T-Mobilr is basically telling cuatomers to buy hardware, install it themselves, possibly connect it to their home internet networks (and use your bandwidth), for potentially multiple people that don't live in your household.
All of this, because T-Mobile didn't invest in building out network infrastructure like Verizon did.
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ExDis said:
If there is one place you work or live with poor coverage, T-Mobile also has a couple of options that are basically either a range extended or an internal "tower" so you can use your phone inside where you don't get coverage.
https://support.t-mobile.com/community/coverage/personal-cellspot/4g-lte-signal-booster
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Yea I am still staying with VZW for now. But there are 2 places that I spend time that have weak service one has no cable internet so that won't do any good even verizon there has weak service 3G and 1 weak bar of lte.
So I am testing tmobile in some place I mainly spend 2 time in 2 places , 1 there is edge and weak LTE -116 around that,I just can't do anthing for the phone to pick up band12 signal. I am running true-pure-x MM
always band4 or HSPA/+ or EDGE.