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Honestly, if AT&T got that, and a much faster network rolled out then I could see myself jumping ship once my Sprint contract was up, or once I found it economical to pay the early termination fee ($200) and the price to sign on to AT&T.

Don't forget, Sprint promised they would introduce "Pro-Rated Cancellation Fees" back in November. Of course, I'm still waiting to see what those are so I can get out of my contract for cheaper than $200.

EDIT: Just saw a report on AT&T's prorated cancellation plan here, and it has somewhat shattered my hopes, as it will only apply to contracts initialized after May 25, 2008. I would imagine Sprint's being similar. So, if the iPhone is updated tomorrow, I'll be waiting until May 26th regardless of anything else.

That's interesting. I live in Charleston, West Virginia, a city of about 60,000 people (400,000 in the metro area) and we've been told that by the end of May, we'll see 3G. There are reports of folks talking to techs who have let it slip that there are already 3G radios installed in various parts of the city, just waiting to be lit.

By cities, I do mean the city itself and the area surrounding it. Charleston would definitely qualify, and I remember seeing that and another West Virginia city on the list, but the name is currently escaping me. Probably the Parkersburg/Fairmont/Clarksburg/Morgantown area (I remember being upset that it was close to my hometown but not close enough to matter).
 
If we used those semantics then we could easily say that the 1xRTT phones are also 3G as well (which would mean every phone from Verizon and Sprint are already 3G). Somehow I don't think everyone is willing to make that leap.
Er, yes. It's known as IMT-MC by ITU.

I don't think it is much of a leap to call technologies 3G, which are called 3G by those who make the 3G standards - ITU.
Technically W-CMDA doesn't fall back to CDMA2000, unless the phone implements CDMA2000 3x (which very few phones do).
There's no reason to make a UMTS/CDMA2000 phone. There are few areas where CMDA2000 is available but UMTS isn't. A UMTS/GSM phone, however, does make sense. GSM is deployed worldwide except Japan and South Korea (which do have UMTS). Furthermore, UMTS and GSM belong to the same family, so they use the same SIM card, allow handover between UMTS and GSM cells, etc.
 
DS, would you consider buying an iP and unlocking it to stay with Sprint or go to another carrier that is not AT&T?

Sprint is CDMA, so not possible. The data networks are also completely incompatible. The only (major) American company that the iPhone would work on is T-Mobile.
 
Heh, my Sprint 2 yr contract ends on June 4, 2008.

I would love to go for a 3G iPhone, but they cost so damn much as it is, I dunno if I wanna spend $300 or more on a phone!

(BTW, I'd get a 3G iPhone since 3G is the only network usable in Japan, since I'm going on a 3.5 week exchange there mid June).
 
Wow, that coverage map us the worst map I've ever used. I typed in my zipcode and I was taken to Red Bluff CA :confused: anyway, it appears that most of California is covered, if not my city in particular.
 
anyone look at the website, 5-7 days for shipping....

I think this point was made before - that if they were basically alright for the iPhone's launch, and are suddenly short now, something is certainly up. That Yahoo article about possibly May now is a little odd, but WWDC in June, in my opinion, is 80% likely. If not the iPhone, then we will know all about it, and when to expect it.
 
I wonder if Apple can position the 3G phone in a way that the 2G phone is still attractive.

....

My new prediction - a technology bumped 2G iPhone real soon (cheaper, perhaps functionally identical but lower power, more integrated chips) alongside a 3G announcement for June?

What if they dropped the Cell Data altogether in the low end and just had voice and wifi, or at least made it optional allow voice only plans at $20 cheaper.Put's it between iTouch and current iPhone. Even make the screen a half an inch smaller call it a nano. Push the main phone screen size up
iPhone 3.8-4inch - 480x720
iPhone nano 3inch - 320x480

There are a number of options.
 
Ahem...my point is that I don't think MOST Americans live in cities with 3G. MAYBE every city in the U.S. with a population of over 100 thousand people will have 3G by June. I don't really believe it, but it's not up to me to debate it. EVEN if that is true, the total population of EVERY city in the U.S. with a population of over 100 thousand people is ~163 million (a little over 50% -- which, yes, is "most"). It obviously makes sense to sell such a phone because a lot of people (arguably those with most money) can take advantage of it. BUT, these people also travel and need a phone they can use everywhere.

Wait, what was my original point? I don't remember. :D

Here are the exact numbers, based on the 2000 census. While the actual population number has changed, I'm sure the percentages haven't varied that much.

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/census/cps2k.htm
 
why??

If 3G wastes battery, then why not use wi-fi? It wastes battery as well and its pretty darn fast. Why would anyone want to kill their battery with 3G while on the road. 3G is just a hype. An add on to lure people into spending money on a useless upgrade. EDGE is pretty fast if one is patient! :)
 
If 3G wastes battery, then why not use wi-fi? It wastes battery as well and its pretty darn fast. Why would anyone want to kill their battery with 3G while on the road. 3G is just a hype. An add on to lure people into spending money on a useless upgrade. EDGE is pretty fast if one is patient! :)

Walking from Florida to New York is pretty fast if you're patient (and have three months to kill). But me, I've got better things to do... I'll go ahead and fly.

It's all relative. EDGE vs 3G is all relative. But really, stop with this ridiculous argument. "3G is just hype." That's uneducated at best.

I'm glad that EDGE, a years outdated technology, works for you. I sincerely am and I completely understand Apple's logic for not introducing the iPhone with it. That said, there are those of us that have, for years, used smart phones with 3G. Whose effectiveness in some occasions away from Wi-Fi is greatly increased on 3G networks because minutes count and 5-6 webpages loaded on EDGE vs 3G is often 2+ minutes wasted. Whose productivity would suffer if we downgraded - with respect to speed and efficiency - to the EDGE iPhone.

3G is not hype. It's due.
 
Don't forget, Sprint promised they would introduce "Pro-Rated Cancellation Fees" back in November. Of course, I'm still waiting to see what those are so I can get out of my contract for cheaper than $200.

EDIT: Just saw a report on AT&T's prorated cancellation plan here, and it has somewhat shattered my hopes, as it will only apply to contracts initialized after May 25, 2008. I would imagine Sprint's being similar. So, if the iPhone is updated tomorrow, I'll be waiting until May 26th regardless of anything else.

Cool, AT&T doing something better than most cell companies... there's hope for insurance and better data plans after all. And with better 3G maybe even a faster network.

My HTC Touch beats the snot out of the iPhone speed wise, and the keyboard is much easier and faster to use, but I'd leave Windows Mobile for a Mac OS X based phone with upcoming software options in a heartbeat if I could get something close to what i get with Sprint... I'd even pay the full $200 cancellation fee.
 
Yay i'm excited. I'm going to Gainesville for college and there's 3G coverage there :cool:

There's coverage all over Florida—at least the largely populated areas—hell it's even in Plant City! We're the 4th largest state in terms of population you know.

I hope this means that Apple will finally release a model that works on either Verizon or Sprint's networks. If not then the iPhone will still be a crippled regular phone with a large screen, not a smart phone by the majorities standards.

You mean like not being able to use bluetooth fully with Verizon? (I'm fully aware that the iPhone doesn't support transfer, but every other AT&T phone does) Or do you mean not being able to use your phone as a modem without paying for a card from Sprint? I don't know if these two companies continue to do this, but they're the two biggest phone crippling companies.

Just because it's not on a network you prefer to use doesn't mean it's crippled. The iPhone being the biggest selling smart phone seems to be deemed by the "majorities standards" and once it will hook up with exchange they'll fly off the shelves even faster. I for one am glad it's on AT&T. I get great service, I'm not paying Verizon a dime, and when the 3G iPhone comes out and I buy it I'll have even greater service.

I understand that AT&T doesn't have the greatest coverage everywhere, but no other company does either. It also doesn't have the best packages, but it works for me, and I've been very happy with their service—and I'm not the only one. I've never had fradulent charges (like Verizon is notorious for—one of my friends was on the phone with them for 2 hours the other day because of that) and I've been with them for over ten years.

I can see the claims against offering insurance, but you could just take care of your phone. I've never lost or broken a phone, and I've had a cell phone for over a decade. Of course my friend, who had Sprint and an insurance plan has broken around ten. He started to have problems getting them replaced at some point though.

And for all of the people talking about AT&T not offering unlimited data, the iPhone plan (the extra $20) is an unlimited data plan. That's why you have to buy it when you have an iPhone. 3G data and EDGE data cost the same, and are both unlimited under this plan. The iPhone will not be AT&T's first 3G phone you know. This info is available to anyone on AT&T's site. Why can't people take the time to research their questions before they post?

By the way, my iPhone plan (when I get it) will be $10 cheaper than the same plan on Sprint and $20 cheaper than on Verizon.
 
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