Ok so here is my issue, why would apple add HSPA+ capabilities to the iphone 4s if noone but att can benefit from it? what about sprint and verizon
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Is apple trying to tell us something......
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Only AT&T? Have you ever traveled outside of the US? Many other abroad carriers can utilize HSPA+. Why can't Verizon and Sprint? Its because of a choice they made in the 1990's to go with CDMA cellular technology instead of the now more prevalent GSM technology.
I would imagine it has something to do with the fact that att was once the sole carrier of the iphone and since then has lost that title. I assume Apple is throwing them a bone this time around.
Don't just think US, there are more Iphones sold outside the US. Almost every carrier that has the Iphone outside the US has HSPA+
you would think apple would make it a fair game in the US knowing only one carrier in the us supports HSPA+, thats the part that i really dont get. Do you think that there is somethin that we dont know about. that sprint verizon may be able to benefit from this feature in the near future?
Apple isn't trying to make one carrier appear better then the other. Apple is going up the ramp of cellular tech and HSPA+ just so happens to be the next step. Rather than jumping to LTE like Verizon did or WiMax like Sprint did. Apple is thinking on a global scale, where LTE and WiMax are both rare at this time. Don't forget that the needed chips are not up to Apple's standards at this time.
Like everyone has said, Apple is thinking on the larger scale. Two carriers not supporting HSPA+ is nothing, they'd rather have that support since pretty much every other carrier in the world will be doing HSPA+.
Leave Feedback at Apple to add T-Mobile to their lineup, so that way theres at least two HSPA+ providers. This all could have been solved by ENABLING the bands used by T-Mobile.
The new chipsets actually SUPPORT T-Mobile's AWS band, it just them supporting the merger between T-Mobile and AT&T, which is why they didn't enable them. They wouldn't have to make ANY HARDWARE CHANGES AT ALL WITH the 4S. The chip was INTENTIONALLY CRIPPLED VIA the baseband software itself, but it DEFINITELY SUPPORTS AWS according to many reports.
Nobody likes Tmobile. Personally that's why I think they didn't go through with it; the carrier is lacking and people don't think of it when they think of "the big three".
Now of course there are other, legitimate reasons that I don't think anybody here knows, but there's a reason it isnt there. Tmobile is known for pushing Android though, and due to the fact that it's a somewhat small carrier, I can see the reasoning behind leaving it out.
There is one reason why people don't like T-Mobile: LACK OF iPHONE
Before 2007, people were perfectly fine with T-Mobile, the iPhone is literally bringing this great carrier to the ground, and Apple isn't helping it. Don't get me wrong, I love my iPhone!
Or maybe word of mouth, lack thereof, and the combination of service that isn't that great? By service I mean signal and reception.
They have great phones; if it was just about the iPhone Verizon wouldn't have been doing so well before now, because they just got the iPhone.
They're just falling behind through lack of hardware and service. You could attribute it to the iPhone, it sure as hell isn't belong them, but that isn't the only reason.
maybe att had some say in tmobile not getting the iphone in hopes of the carrier crumbling so att can prove that by them buying them can benefit both carriers
Everybody has come out openly about this; Apple made the decision to not go with Tmobile. The question is why.
In addition to the mostly correct info others have posted...
Apple's decision to support HSPA+ gives them the "best bang for the buck" in a couple of different ways. First, HSPA+ is supported by a large number of carriers (globally speaking). Second, since it's basically an enhancement to the GSM 3G standard that was already supported in previous iPhones, it was a relatively easy upgrade for them to provide (the latest Qualcomm chip that they use supports it natively, meaning no additional circuit board room or power consumption).
Sprint and Verizon, on the other hand, use completely different high-speed protocols (WiMax and LTE, respectively). Globally these are nowhere near as common as HSPA+, and there is no single-chip radio solution that would allow these technologies to be added to the iPhone on top of the GSM capabilities it needs to support the vast majority of international carriers. Apple has indicated that they are not willing to make "design compromises" to support LTE with multiple chips, and a single-chip solution can't be done until the Qualcomm MDM9615 is released in 2nd quarter 2012. That will give LTE capability, but still no WiMax - Sprint is phasing out WiMax in favor of LTE.
I've got some news for you, there are ~192 countries beside the US. Almost 100 of them have the iPhone.
Most of those countries don't even have major CDMA carriers anymore. No sim cards, no ability to transfer voice and data simultaneously. Why would anybody choose them over a GSM carrier?
HSPA+ is available on most carriers that sell the iPhone.
Don't worry, soon enough LTE would kick in, and hopefully everything would be better for everyone.
It is the evolution from GSM 3G, so yes. Technically VZW and Sprint are finally dumping CDMA for a real worldwide standard.