Iphone 5, A1428, and A1429 GSM question

cchukan · Sep 12, 2012

So I'm planning on purchasing the new Iphone 5 from AT&T (since it's GSM) and later taking the phone to Germany. (I'm in the military and being stationed there for 3 years)

I know that AT&T will unlock my phone when I cancel my contract (AT&T honors military orders for overseas deployment) but my question is this...

QUESTION: According to this http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/ I would have to purchase the A1428 GSM model but will I be able to use it in Germany? Apple will be selling A1429 GSM Model with different LTE Band support. Does this mean that if I take my unlocked AT&T A1428 I wouldn't be able to get LTE service in Europe?

Thanks for all the help in advance!

Dwalls90 · Sep 12, 2012

That is all very confusing to me.

It's not really a "world" phone if it can't be used across all (or at least the majority) of carriers

Would it really have been so bad to make the phone 1% thicker and include ALL of those radios/bands?

cchukan · Sep 12, 2012

Dwalls90 said:
That is all very confusing to me.

It's not really a "world" phone if it can't be used across all (or at least the majority) of carriers

Would it really have been so bad to make the phone 1% thicker and include ALL of those radios/bands?

So are you trying to tell me that I won't get 4G LTE service in Germany if I go with the A1428 GSM? Or are you saying you are also confused...??

profets · Sep 12, 2012

You're correct. The AT&T model will only get LTE with AT&T and in Canada.

In Germany you'll get hspa+ and dc-hspa.

midtownhd · Sep 12, 2012

The iPhone 5 sold for at&t wont work under other companies' LTE services. But it does work using HSPA if unlocked.

cchukan · Sep 12, 2012

midtownhd said:
The iPhone 5 sold for at&t wont work under other companies' LTE services. But it does work using HSPA if unlocked.

It will be unlocked so I guess I can use HSPA...Question was is hspa+ and dc-hspa and hspa??

Thanks

MikeNemat · Sep 12, 2012

cchukan said:
it will be unlocked so i guess i can use hspa...question was is hspa+ and dc-hspa and hspa??

Thanks

3g

ShaolinX · Sep 12, 2012

Dwalls90 said:
That is all very confusing to me.

It's not really a "world" phone if it can't be used across all (or at least the majority) of carriers

Would it really have been so bad to make the phone 1% thicker and include ALL of those radios/bands?

It wouldn't be 1% thicker, substantially more I'd think because of the fragmentation in the LTE spectrum. It is a world phone in the sense that you can pop in a local sim and use their data network, just not at LTE speeds. HSPA+ should be fine. I'll defer to my technical betters here though.

midtownhd · Sep 12, 2012

hspa+ is a faster version of hspa, the dc-hspa is used in Asia (I think).
The GSM version of A1429 with LTE support for other countries. I think it will be sold in Europe/Asia. If you're buying unlocked, and going to Europe, why not try that one? But the again, it wont work under ATT lte here in US

Dwalls90 · Sep 13, 2012

I doubt I'll travel the world in the next year, so it's of no personal concern.

Just baffled that we cannot create a phone that works on all frequencies in 2012, when the world has had cellular technology for years now.

Ran7 · Sep 17, 2012

cchukan said:
So I'm planning on purchasing the new Iphone 5 from AT&T (since it's GSM) and later taking the phone to Germany. (I'm in the military and being stationed there for 3 years)i!

the ATT version is the one version that will work worse and with the worst capablity in Europe.

The 1429 CDMA and GSM version sold for Sprint and Verizon has everything the 1428 has plus many bands in use and planned for use in Europe that the ATT/1428 does not have.
'
If you travel or live in Europe you do NOT want the ATT version

profets · Sep 17, 2012

Dwalls90 said:
I doubt I'll travel the world in the next year, so it's of no personal concern.

Just baffled that we cannot create a phone that works on all frequencies in 2012, when the world has had cellular technology for years now.

It's an extremely technical issue right now, and LTE is quite early on with many bands being used (more so than gsm or umts used) so it won't be simple just yet.

It happens at every new generation, gsm/edge phones had just 2-3 bands for a while before quadband became popular and could be used everywhere. UMTS/HSPA as well for years we would see models for north america and then models for Europe.

With time I'm sure we'll see it improve.

Dwalls90 · Sep 17, 2012

profets said:
It's an extremely technical issue right now, and LTE is quite early on with many bands being used (more so than gsm or umts used) so it won't be simple just yet.

It happens at every new generation, gsm/edge phones had just 2-3 bands for a while before quadband became popular and could be used everywhere. UMTS/HSPA as well for years we would see models for north america and then models for Europe.

With time I'm sure we'll see it improve.

I hope by the next iPhone we have the scenario we had with the 4S; one phone for all carriers and bands on 3G or lower, except for LTE next time around.

zorinlynx · Sep 17, 2012

Those of you concerned about LTE service in other countries... You do realize how expensive international data roaming is, right?

HSPA should be more than enough when you consider that even 50MB tends to cost a fortune.

Just a thought; people probably shouldn't be worrying so much about this.

profets · Sep 17, 2012

Dwalls90 said:
I hope by the next iPhone we have the scenario we had with the 4S; one phone for all carriers and bands on 3G or lower, except for LTE next time around.

Same here. I found it quite impressive how with the 4S they were able to get CDMA, GSM, 3G, etc all into a single model. Quite beautiful what they do logistically too like that.

I remember reading about newer chips that qualcomm was going to have ready for late 2012 or 2013 that allowed many more LTE bands to be possible on the same device. The iPad next year may be a good indication of what they can do.

----------

zorinlynx said:
Those of you concerned about LTE service in other countries... You do realize how expensive international data roaming is, right?

HSPA should be more than enough when you consider that even 50MB tends to cost a fortune.

Just a thought; people probably shouldn't be worrying so much about this.

Though I agree, I tend to get a local sim when travelling. Data seems to be quite cheap when travelling in europe on prepaid sims. But yeah, unless living abroad for a while I really wouldn't worry much about LTE for outside of my home country. We've lived without it all this time already lol, and we do have hspa+ and dc-hspa for use when travelling.

Stetrain · Sep 17, 2012

They aren't really "CDMA" and "GSM" versions. All of the versions support GSM and HSPA.

Rigby · Sep 17, 2012

I wouldn't sweat it too much. Even the European iPhone 5 supports only one of the three LTE bands (800/1800/2600 MHz) that are used in Germany. Coverage in the 1800 MHz band is only available in major cities. And HSPA+ is fast too.

cchukan · Sep 17, 2012

Ran7 said:
the ATT version is the one version that will work worse and with the worst capablity in Europe.

The 1429 CDMA and GSM version sold for Sprint and Verizon has everything the 1428 has plus many bands in use and planned for use in Europe that the ATT/1428 does not have.
'
If you travel or live in Europe you do NOT want the ATT version

Hey,

quick question, why do you say the AT&T version (GSM) is worse than the Verizon or Sprint version (CDMA) when all of Europe is GSM? According to their website the Verizon/Sprint version is only a CDMA version not CDMA and GSM like the Iphone 4s or am I missing something here? Let me know thanks!

Ran7 · Sep 20, 2012

cchukan said:
Hey,
quick question, why do you say the AT&T version (GSM) is worse than the Verizon or Sprint version (CDMA) when all of Europe is GSM? According to their website the Verizon/Sprint version is only a CDMA version not CDMA and GSM like the Iphone 4s or am I missing something here? Let me know thanks!

I dont know what you are reading but you are reading it WRONG. Neither the sprint nor verizon site say their versions are CDMA only., As we knew some time ago from the FCC filings, as well as from Apples own site on the technical specifications, the Sprint and Verizon are CDMA plus GSM, plus LTE frequencies the ATT lacks.

The sprint and Verizon versions have all the capability (type of radio and frequencies) of the ATT PLUS:
1) CDMA
2) More LTE bands. There are already several countries in Europe and elsewhere that have announced or because of only avaialbe bands, that they are/will be allocating LTE bands not on the ATT version but on the Sprint/Verizon Z1429.

If you are traveling or may sell the phone overseas the 1429 (verizon/sprint) is superior.

This is why apple will be sellign ONLY the Sprint/Verizon version in Europe and and not the ATT version there

OwenMeasures · Sep 20, 2012

What about if i buy a GSM model in New Zealand and im from the England, will i be ok for LTE when my carrier supports it?

Applejuiced · Sep 20, 2012

Rigby said:
I wouldn't sweat it too much. Even the European iPhone 5 supports only one of the three LTE bands (800/1800/2600 MHz) that are used in Germany. Coverage in the 1800 MHz band is only available in major cities. And HSPA+ is fast too.

I agree.
You will survive with HSPA+ while deployed in Germany.
You can reach speeds up to 14.4mbps if supported or available.

Ayemerica · Sep 20, 2012

Apple in reality would have liked to wait to add LTE until the next phone (2013) the fragmenation of LTE across spectrum is crazy right now, but costumers wanted it so bad.

Lyshen · Sep 20, 2012

The 1429 model will not support AT&T LTE frequencies.

iphone LTE bands

So if you have 1429 GSM in Europe and come to US, no LTE on AT&T. T-Mobile USA, depends on their upcoming LTE network bands.

cchukan · Sep 21, 2012

Ran7 said:
I dont know what you are reading but you are reading it WRONG. Neither the sprint nor verizon site say their versions are CDMA only., As we knew some time ago from the FCC filings, as well as from Apples own site on the technical specifications, the Sprint and Verizon are CDMA plus GSM, plus LTE frequencies the ATT lacks.

The sprint and Verizon versions have all the capability (type of radio and frequencies) of the ATT PLUS:
1) CDMA
2) More LTE bands. There are already several countries in Europe and elsewhere that have announced or because of only avaialbe bands, that they are/will be allocating LTE bands not on the ATT version but on the Sprint/Verizon Z1429.

If you are traveling or may sell the phone overseas the 1429 (verizon/sprint) is superior.

This is why apple will be sellign ONLY the Sprint/Verizon version in Europe and and not the ATT version there

Thanks for the info. Quick question though, where on this website http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/ does it talk about Verizon/Sprint CDMA phones also support GSM? Thanks

cchukan · Sep 23, 2012

cchukan said:
Thanks for the info. Quick question though, where on this website http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/ does it talk about Verizon/Sprint CDMA phones also support GSM? Thanks

Anyone?

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