3G ..any good?
Discussion
A phone is for talking to people. 3g is for transferring data.
I use a 3G card in mylaptop for when there is no Wifi around, and it works very well indeed. I use a phone for talking to people.
When decent smartphones are evolved, then I may consider getting one, but by then it'll be 5G.
I use a 3G card in mylaptop for when there is no Wifi around, and it works very well indeed. I use a phone for talking to people.
When decent smartphones are evolved, then I may consider getting one, but by then it'll be 5G.
It then reverts back to a normal phone.jacobyte said:
A phone is for talking to people. 3g is for transferring data.
The UMTS (3G) also carries the voice part as well. Should be higher quality, although it's often dependant on the MSC.
HSDPA is almost rolled out. Gives approx 600K-1.2Mb/sec on current handsets. 11Mb/Sec is the current maximum rate, although I've never seen more than 7Mb/Sec in the lab. We've been able to do it in the lab for a couple of years, but the handsets weren't available.
Out of UMTS coverage, the phone will attach to the existing GSM network, so you'll see no improvement speedwise at all.
Depends what you want to do with the phone of course (just make voice calls, video calling, use it as a high speed modem for your laptop/pda, etc etc.)
I use a 3G model as my main daily phone as I tend to use a lot of the associated features: footy videos, music videos, news, weather, etc. I have no issues with call quality or indeed network reception, and this is on the '3' network.
I used to be on '3' a few years ago when the network first started and, believe me, they sucked big horse-sausage.
A big problem with 3G is that the phones are usually less than desirable, and are only just starting to become normal-sized. There are some excellent 3G phones in the pipeline for the next half-year or so, which is always good.
'3' as a network used to be excellent for the tariffs they offered, normally giving double the amounts of inclusive minutes and texts as the 2/2.5G standard networks for the same price. These networks have got themselves back in the game however, and this is now less of a decisive factor in choosing 3G.
If I were an ordinary customer wanting a small, simple-to-use phone, who would be using an average amount of minutes and texts, then I would still probably leave 3G models alone for the immediate time-being.
I used to be on '3' a few years ago when the network first started and, believe me, they sucked big horse-sausage.
A big problem with 3G is that the phones are usually less than desirable, and are only just starting to become normal-sized. There are some excellent 3G phones in the pipeline for the next half-year or so, which is always good.
'3' as a network used to be excellent for the tariffs they offered, normally giving double the amounts of inclusive minutes and texts as the 2/2.5G standard networks for the same price. These networks have got themselves back in the game however, and this is now less of a decisive factor in choosing 3G.
If I were an ordinary customer wanting a small, simple-to-use phone, who would be using an average amount of minutes and texts, then I would still probably leave 3G models alone for the immediate time-being.
Mr E said:
Why does the display on my phone sometimes show 2.5G and at other times 3G
That'll be the network you're attached to.
UMTS (CDMA) = 3G
GSM (TDMA) + GPRS/EDGE = 2.5G (marketing spin, it's bloody 2G with a couple of tricks)
GSM (TDMA) = 2G
OK that clears it up then.
Corpulent Tosser said:
Why does the display on my phone sometimes show 2.5G and at other times 3G
That'll be the network you're attached to.
UMTS (CDMA) = 3G
GSM (TDMA) + GPRS/EDGE = 2.5G (marketing spin, it's bloody 2G with a couple of tricks)
GSM (TDMA) = 2G
OK that clears it up then.
Basically when your phone cannot connect to a 3G signal it 'roams' onto a 2G signal (2.5G). You shouldn't notice the switchover if ever this occurs (normally when you're driving/moving) and so it makes very little difference. Some of the key features of 3G access are, obviously, not available when you have only got 2G coverage - such features normally include video-calling, video downloads, etc. If you don't use this kind of stuff then it shouldn't make any difference.
ehyouwhat said:
Why does the display on my phone sometimes show 2.5G and at other times 3G
That'll be the network you're attached to.
UMTS (CDMA) = 3G
GSM (TDMA) + GPRS/EDGE = 2.5G (marketing spin, it's bloody 2G with a couple of tricks)
GSM (TDMA) = 2G
OK that clears it up then.
Basically when your phone cannot connect to a 3G signal it 'roams' onto a 2G signal (2.5G). You shouldn't notice the switchover if ever this occurs (normally when you're driving/moving) and so it makes very little difference. Some of the key features of 3G access are, obviously, not available when you have only got 2G coverage - such features normally include video-calling, video downloads, etc. If you don't use this kind of stuff then it shouldn't make any difference.
And your data connection speeds will drop vastly.
if you find yourself using that kind of thing, then that is another consideration.
ehyouwhat said:
OK, I understand, sort of, clever of the phone to know though isn't it ?
It would be cleverererer if the system was flawless. It sometimes isn't.
Tell me about it. I'd love to tell you what I'm debugging right now, but I'm contractually obliged not to.
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