Ok, so the general consensus is that the iPhone 5 will not be LTE, but will it at least be capable of HSPA+? I thought I read that in the Verizon iPhone teardown, that the new radio was actually a hybrid GSM/CDMA chip that was capable of HSPA+. If that's true, than I think its a safe bet that AT&T will be touting themselves as the only first network to offer "4G" (even though not really true 4G) on the iPhone, while verizon users will still be stuck with CDMA only for another year.
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iPhone 5 HSPA+?
- Thread starter haddman
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It certainly may influence my decision to switch to VZW, like lots of others I'm getting tired of dropped calls, however I have to say I have noticed a big improvement with dropped calls since 4.3. The iPhone seems to stay connected on calls now even when signal drops to 1 bar, vs before it would start cutting in and out and drop the call. Also, the phone seems to be handling calls better when moving between 3G and EDGE coverage areas.
No way...you will have LTE on both carriers in 2012. No way will they wait until summer 2013!
I'm sure the GSM phone will get HSPA+ support. You have to remember there are other carriers around the world that will probably want it too.
There's a reason why the iPhone 4 blows a lot of phones away on upload speeds, and download speeds to a lesser extent.
AT&T caps ALL other phones at 300kbps upload speeds except the for iPhone.
A lot of people, myself included are pissed off that our 4G phones don't even get 3G upload speeds. Hell, many barely get 3G download speeds.
They have completely disabled HSUPA on the new Atrix and Inspire 4G phones.
It is also disabled on their Windows Phone 7 devices as well.
Users can enable it on the Samsung Focus via the test menu and the HTC Surround via a radio update.
I'd like to know what kind of deal they have with Apple that has them neutering all their other devices.
Wow, I never knew that.
Its all other smartphones but the iphone that gets great upload speeds like that?
What would be the point of that? How much stuff can you upload from your phone, people usually download more than upload.
That's what a lot of us on XDA are trying to figure out.Wow, I never knew that.
Its all other smartphones but the iphone that gets great upload speeds like that?
What would be the point of that? How much stuff can you upload from your phone, people usually download more than upload.
There are a few AT&T techs on the forum that have confirmed it.
I'm pretty sure it has to do with the fact that Apple doesn't let the carriers mess with the hardware.
If you want to be able to do real video chat (Skype, Qik, etc.), 300kbps uploads is all but worthless.
Unlike the iPhone, AT&T doesn't restrict chat on Android devices. Now we know why. They crippled them to the point where it wouldn't work very well anyway.
Take the Atrix, it has the ability to do HSUPA 5.7Mbps uploads, yet AT&T had Motorola completely disable it on the phone. Nobody has been able to get anything over 300Kbps.
Wow, that sucks.
You're right about Apple not letting AT&T or any carrier touch/modify any of their software.
Im surprised they crippled their android devices so bad, and then I thought Verizon was bad disabling stuff
Yep, in Vancouver (and pretty much everywhere in Canada!) they've had HSPA+ rolled out for over a year.
Sweet, what are your down and up speeds?
Also, this may be a dumb question but what other cities have speeds around 6-7 down in north America? Hasn't AT&T already rolled out HSPA+ in a few trial markets?
AT&T has HSPA+ rolled out to all their current 3G towers already.
Only 10 cities have the required back haul upgrades in place to actually make it work.
Download speeds in those markets are pretty decent.
Some are getting upwards of 16Mbps download speeds in Atlanta, Georgia.
Only 10 cities have the required back haul upgrades in place to actually make it work.
Download speeds in those markets are pretty decent.
Some are getting upwards of 16Mbps download speeds in Atlanta, Georgia.
I know. They do on their phones anyway. Unlocked phones take advantage of it. I had an htc diamond that got crazy upload speed 2 years ago.
I was pretty disappointed that the atrix had this problem, i wanted to pick one up, but there were too many things that annoyed me.
My point was that, it will one get better for the iPhone. And as it stands, I have yet to see any phone on any carrier beat my speeds I get here in Chicago. With the exception of my fiancé's sisters mytouch 4g, got 2.5 up once. But unthinkable it was a fluke. Mine shoots up to 3.0 on the ookla app sometimes too, but then settles at 1.5.
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We are in Clearwater right now for Spring Training and the ATT iPhone 4 speeds down here are incredible 4.5 down/1.25 up. ATT works very well in Clearwater/Tampa. Thought it worked well in Philly.
Wow. The iPhone 4 is capped by its own hardware to 7.2 mbps, so what you're getting is amazing. You must be on a very good array with few people on it.
I've gone over 4 a few times, but I can't recall ever getting 6.
I don't care...as long as our iPhones work the best.
I don't understand the LTE thing. We have a long way to go with the HSPA+ upgrades first, it seems to me.
I understand the potential of LTE, but when you factor in the huge expense it will involve for Verizon to basically change their field technology, it's just...a horrible economic situation.
If AT&T carry HSPA+ to its full potential, namely 21 mbps, it's still going to be destroying most Verizon arrays in practical use in the field.
And if you think you have a problem now, switching from an 850 MHz array to a 1900 MHz array on 3G AT&T, just wait until you're trying to switch from a Verizon LTE array to a Verizon 3G array.
I have no idea how they think they're going to work that out, but I am glad it's somebody else who has to think about it.
Wow. The iPhone 4 is capped by its own hardware to 7.2 mbps, so what you're getting is amazing. You must be on a very good array with few people on it.
I've gone over 4 a few times, but I can't recall ever getting 6.
I don't care...as long as our iPhones work the best.
I don't understand the LTE thing. We have a long way to go with the HSPA+ upgrades first, it seems to me.
I understand the potential of LTE, but when you factor in the huge expense it will involve for Verizon to basically change their field technology, it's just...a horrible economic situation.
If AT&T carry HSPA+ to its full potential, namely 21 mbps, it's still going to be destroying most Verizon arrays in practical use in the field.
And if you think you have a problem now, switching from an 850 MHz array to a 1900 MHz array on 3G AT&T, just wait until you're trying to switch from a Verizon LTE array to a Verizon 3G array.
I have no idea how they think they're going to work that out, but I am glad it's somebody else who has to think about it.
Would it be easier to convert 3G into hspa+?
If so I would much prefer a rock solid 3G network. Hopefully ATT is on the path to build, expand and improve their 3G network. It seems like they are. They have to play catch up with VZW so hopefully the iPhone with VZW had kicked them in the butt to move.
If and when ATT can build etc a rock solid 3G network then hspa+ would be easier to implement? If so as I said I would prefer this path.
Because right now our iPhones with ATT have been experiencing better than usual speeds. In Philly I average 2.5 down/1.5-2 up. Compared to NY VZW work iPhone it blows it away.
uhh no, ignoring the HSPA+ network is pretty dumb. They should be working on getting the HSPA(+) network solid (deploying backhaul, additional sites, and spectrum), as well as deploying LTE (which they are) to off load some data traffic....and yes they will be working on a full LTE rollout.
And yes they should go all out with HSPA+ as well as it would be dumb not to get the absolute most out of your HSPA spectrum.
HSPA+ and the backhaul that comes with it is something that everyone can use RIGHT NOW.
HSPA+ isn't just about faster speeds either as there are improvements all around with the interface.
Summary from qualcomm paper:
http://www.qualcomm.com/documents/files/hspa-enhanced-mobile-broadband-whitepaper.pdf
Now why the **** wouldn't you deploy that **** is beyond me lol.
Will AT&T be launching HSPA+ R8 or R7? R8 looks like it is just about on par with LTE, if not a little slower. I believe LTE is rated at 60mbps.... but at those speeds is 42mbps noticably slower than 60? probably not.
Right now they are just looking to get R7 off the ground. It would not take much for them to launch R8 42mbps afterwords because all it's doing to achieve 42mbps peak is combining resources from 2 carriers.....and att already has at least 2 carriers deployed just about everywhere...with up to 3 and 4 carriers deployed in some markets.
Are there any major advantages that LTE has over HSPA+ besides speed? If not, and I were ATT then I would be inclined to focus on deploying an HSPA+ network that can match Verizon in coverage. Beat them at their own game. In the long run, nobody is going to care if you're getting 42 mbps down vs. 60 mpbs. We are years away from having modern day internet utilize all that on mobile devices.