I mean really, how often do you surf and talk?

Any time I'm on the phone with scheduling/dispatch at work.

I need to make sure we're both on the same page.

Being able to do both is extremely important.

walmartmartyr said:

Does ATT not allow this somehow?

Click to expand...

Verizon. Being a CDMA network, because of the radios in the phone (I think) you can't do simultaneous voice/data. You can with AT&T.

I love this feature. As you mentioned, sometimes it is very useful.

Furifo said:

Verizon. Being a CDMA network, because of the radios in the phone (I think) you can't do simultaneous voice/data. You can with AT&T.

I love this feature. As you mentioned, sometimes it is very useful.

Click to expand...

Wrong. I happen to know for fact you can surf and talk on at least once device. For example:
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/htc-rezound-general-discussions/221707-talk-surf-same-time.html

So if the phone has the support, it can.

jessica. said:

Wrong. I happen to know for fact you can surf and talk on at least once device. For example:
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/htc-rezound-general-discussions/221707-talk-surf-same-time.html

So if the phone has the support, it can.

Click to expand...

I'm sorry if my post implied that what I wrote applies to all phones on Verizon.

I wrote - "because of the radios in the phone" - I was referring solely to the iPhone and its hardware when I wrote this and not the Verizon network as an entity.

For those wondering, there are phones on Verizon that support SVDO. Here's a quote from the forum link posted above:

"The Rezound has hardware support for SVDO - Simultaneous Voice and Data over 3G. Since it requires additional hardware in order to work, so far only a few phones on Verizon support SVDO (I know the Rezound, Thunderbolt, and the Galaxy S3 are among them, and might be the only ones). The upcoming RAZR HD and RAZR mini should support it as well since they'll have the Snapdragon S4 processor (and it has the required hardware)."

I do this regularly and I'm not sure why you assume it would have to be associated with being in the car. I do this for meetings with WebEx frequently. I'll be at home or at my son's soccer practice and participate in a meeting with colleagues in Australia. We use a conference dial-in for the audio (i.e. using the phone) and the WebEx app to share slides, etc. (i.e. using data). Although not nearly as often, I've also used it while helping others track something down. I can put them on speakerphone, fire up the browser, and search away.

I'm not sure why some think this is such a foreign thing to do. I think it's quite normal.

I tried Verizon.
I lasted two weeks.

The first day, I was out in the field and my boss called and asked me where a document was. He wanted me to read it with him while on the phone.

Normally, I would have gone into dropbox, sent him the document then discussed it with him.

I couldn't. Boss didn't really like that I had to hang up, find the doc, send the doc, make the doc a favorite so it would be available to *me* offline, then call him back.

The next day, a colleague called and asked for help with something. I went to the web to go to our web portal to find the info he needed. Woops. I couldn't.

The next day I was talking to my sister. I missed several important emails from my boss.

and so on
and so on
and so on

Oh, and then I called Verizon to discuss returning my phone. I was on hold for 10 minutes and remembered I couldn't surf while on hold. lol

I returned my verizon iphone5, and returned to AT&T where I can do my work and use my phone as *I* need to use it.


Look. You like Verizon. Yay for you.
IF/WHEN verizon gets simultaneous voice and data for iphone, perhaps I'll switch again, though I didn't find the coverage to be any better in my area. I swapped a deadspot at work for a deadspot at home.

In the meantime: try to gain a little perspective before you start a thread telling others what they do and don't need.

It's like going back to holding hands. Holding hands is great. Until you've had more.

I actually use it also.....

Furifo said:

I'm sorry if my post implied that what I wrote applies to all phones on Verizon.

I wrote - "because of the radios in the phone" - I was referring solely to the iPhone and its hardware when I wrote this and not the Verizon network as an entity.

For those wondering, there are phones on Verizon that support SVDO. Here's a quote from the forum link posted above:

"The Rezound has hardware support for SVDO - Simultaneous Voice and Data over 3G. Since it requires additional hardware in order to work, so far only a few phones on Verizon support SVDO (I know the Rezound, Thunderbolt, and the Galaxy S3 are among them, and might be the only ones). The upcoming RAZR HD and RAZR mini should support it as well since they'll have the Snapdragon S4 processor (and it has the required hardware)."

Click to expand...

You're right. The iPhone on VZW could easily talk/surf if the tech were there. It is beyond me why now, with LTE and 4G even, that Apple & VZW don't get this to us now. I was on AT&T for over 10 years but there are only a few instances where I miss it now being with VZW. That could also be that I am on WiFi all day long and not stuck in some office.

LapsangSouchong said:

I tried Verizon.
I lasted two weeks.

The first day, I was out in the field and my boss called and asked me where a document was. He wanted me to read it with him while on the phone.

Normally, I would have gone into dropbox, sent him the article then discussed it with him.

I couldn't. Boss didn't really like that.

The next day, a colleague called and asked for help with something. I went to the web to go to our web portal to find the info he needed. Woops. I couldn't.

The next day I was talking to my sister. I missed several important emails from my boss.

and so on
and so on
and so on

Oh, and then I called Verizon to discuss returning my phone. I was on hold for 10 minutes and realized I couldn't surf while on hold.

I returned my verizon iphone5, and returned to AT&T where I can do my work and use my phone as *I* need to use it.


Look. You like Verizon. Yay for you.
IF/WHEN verizon gets simultaneous voice and data for iphone, perhaps I'll switch again.
In the meantime: try to gain a little perspective before you start a thread telling others what they do and don't need.

It's like going back to holding hands. Holding hands is great. Until you've had more.

Click to expand...

What's better than holding hands?

I use it all the time and absolutely love this feature.... It's come in handy for me many times........ Sorry OP but your hatred is misdirected, this feature is legit and very useful, if you dont have it because your network is limited then you wouldn't know.

ELMNT925 said:

I hate, hate, HATE that people still use this argument to deter people from switching from ATT to VZW. I mean, how often do you REALLY find yourself needing this feature?...If you say you do in the car, you got problems and should stop driving/surfing/talking and just drive.

Click to expand...

Usually during calls i have to check emails to get some info etc
Though calls are a distraction data is my usage of my phone at the moment

Megalobyte said:

What's better than holding hands?

Click to expand...

multitasking, apparently.

ELMNT925 said:

I hate, hate, HATE that people still use this argument to deter people from switching from ATT to VZW. I mean, how often do you REALLY find yourself needing this feature?...If you say you do in the car, you got problems and should stop driving/surfing/talking and just drive.

Click to expand...

All the time, especially at christmas. You realize people walk and talk on the phone at the same time as well. I can easily think of 5 examples where you would want to do this:

Waiting for the bus/train while talking to someone and want to check when the next bus is arriving
Christmas shopping with someone, you split up and are on the phone and need to check info for each other
Looking up info in the airport while on the phone
On a business call and going through email, downloading attachments and checking your calendar.

Like most things you don't realize how much you use it until you can.

i use it quite often.

It never has come up for me but that is because i try to avoid talking on the phone like the plauge. However i can see its value, my first iPhone was the 4 and i went with Verizon because they were still offering the unlimited data ( AT&T) was not. All things being equal i would prefer if my new 5 was capable of doing it, but it is no big deal to me (ymmv and im sure it does)

While it is marketed as "surf and talk", it is better to think about it as phone and data. How often do you use both at the same time. If you're on a long phone call, you can still receive important emails and other bits of information; whereas, on the Verizon network, this is not the case.

ELMNT925 said:

I hate, hate, HATE that people still use this argument to deter people from switching from ATT to VZW.

Click to expand...

Why? Why does it chap your hide SO much that people might possibly use this as an argument? Are you personally hurt every time someone decides to go with AT&T instead of a CDMA carrier?

I mean, how often do you REALLY find yourself needing this feature?

Click to expand...

A LOT. While I have a very nice office with a very nice high speed data connection, there are days where I'm not there, because I'm out in the field troubleshooting a network or checking on a project's status. Often times I'm on the phone with a network operations center, and they might e-mail or text documents to look over. If the network where I'm at is down (which is usually the reason I'm there in the first place) my only recourse is to either receive the info directly on my iPhone, or tether it to my MacBook Pro to get something done that way. If I had to hang up the phone to receive that stuff and then call them back, sometimes multiple times, doing what I do would take a lot longer, and would be aggravating for everyone involved.

If I had a separate wifi hotspot, sure, but I've done that before and it's a pain in the neck: one more piece of equipment to carry around, charge batteries for and possibly lose at a site, and an extra $60 a month to pay whether I use it or not.

I could also get a Droid I guess, but... no. Two radios sucking down my battery, and this huge beast I can't comfortably put in my pocket? No thanks. Dual radios for SVDO is an inelegant kludge that requires the user to make sacrifices for a network technology that has fallen way behind in capabilities.

I've also been in conference calls where it's useful to check my echange e-mail or dropbox as we're talking.

Which is by the way, another reason I prefer AT&T: conference calling with up to five people. No need to pay for some outside conference calling service. I just do it from my iPhone.... but I couldn't do it on Verizon or Sprint.

FlatlinerG said:

While it is marketed as "surf and talk", it is better to think about it as phone and data. How often do you use both at the same time. If you're on a long phone call, you can still receive important emails and other bits of information; whereas, on the Verizon network, this is not the case.

Click to expand...

That's a great point. It IS marketed as surf and talk. But it's really "use all the data features on the phone" while on the phone. And there are lots.

Just the other day I was at the airport, listening in on a conference call, and watching the plane's approach on kayak...

I don't do it all the time, but it sure as hell comes in handy when I need it. Last night I tracked a package for a client of mine while talking to him. I had an instant answer without having to call him back.

sulpfiction said:

I don't do it all the time, but it sure as hell comes in handy when I need it. Last night I tracked a package for a client of mine while talking to him. I had an instant answer without having to call him back.

Click to expand...

Yup, it would be pretty bad if I needed to tell my boss that I needed to call them back with information.

Not a businessman, so I don't do it. Useful feature though, reminds me of the time Steve demo-ed it at the original iPhone keynote back in 2007.

I talk and surf at least a few times a week.

Every time i use a headset i have the phone in my hand, i talk while i use apps that uses data.

i use it all the time

I use it all the time, especially when something needs to be looked up during a conversation. Really useful.