No, a TOWER is simply a structure. It doesn't care what's on it. AT&T bought everything here. The Alltel CDMA gear is useless (though will be maintained for roaming purposes at Sprint's demands for three years). They're adding UMTS equipment to the Alltel towers, and also massively increasing backhaul capacity to support HSPA speeds.
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Verizon Media Event Today, iPhone Expected
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No, a TOWER is simply a structure. It doesn't care what's on it. AT&T bought everything here. The Alltel CDMA gear is useless (though will be maintained for roaming purposes at Sprint's demands for three years). They're adding UMTS equipment to the Alltel towers, and also massively increasing backhaul capacity to support HSPA speeds.
That's probably the only reason I'd stay with AT&T. I love SIM cards and the convenience they bring. I constantly switch my phones, no clue why I just do! I'm always trying out the newest phones and I don't want to have to call my provider or go online to activate a new phone. I know some of you may bash my comment but you can't deny the convenience of being able to switch to a new phone in an instant, especially if you do it quiet often. AT&T service in my area is ludicrous and Verizon is tempting, but I think I'll hold off for now. Another big worry: will Verizon's data speeds compare? Service sucks (dropped calls all the time), but 3G is rather consistent in the San Francisco/Sillicon Valley area. I use my phones internet like crazy, I'm worried about the claims that Verizon's 3G is subpar.
But you just said that they are adding UMTS to the towers that are still CDMA and that is what I was pointing out.. Right now the towers that Alitel used are still CDMA and not UMTS/GSM until AT&T adds the equipment.. So again the towers that Alitel used are still CDMA not UMTS...
P.S. Slim, I too wondered why AT&T would replace the Alltel phones rather than just wait for CDMA customers to natural switch over. There are two reasons. One is to eliminate roaming costs (which can be quite high) when divested market customers travel outside of the divested Alltel areas. Two, and more important, has to do with the fact that right now, the billing system and data infrastructure that we (divested Alltel subscribers) are using belongs to Verizon and AT&T has use of it for one year (from June 23rd, 2010) under a transition services agreement. AT&T would have to migrate us into their billing system and backend systems anyways, so just replacing phones is the best way to do that.
That is correct, that's why they're not converting us for a few more weeks until they have the UMTS on the towers
Late next month we get our new phones. I can't wait! Some markets (Nevada, California, Virginia, Alabama) have already been converted and most customers are reporting far better coverage, except in part of Virginia where they're adjacent to a non-divested (that is, kept by Verizon) market that has no AT&T coverage. So if they travel a few miles to the east, their new phones go to no service. But, service within the area that was sold to AT&T is still better. For what little that matters.P.S. Again... if you want to see how much new UMTS coverage AT&T is adding as a result of buying divested Alltel assets, check out this page:
http://www.att.com/network/?
Click "coverage" at the bottom. See all that light blue future coverage (future being defined as by March 31, but my market is coming in February)? Most (but not all) of that is their overbuild of Alltel markets like mine. I'm in Montana. The reason for the hole in Montana in the northeast is that Verizon got to keep that market Oh well, it's rural wasteland nobody goes to.
Then, look at all the blue in northeast Nevada - that's an Alltel divested market that was converted a couple months ago. A friend there told me the speeds are around 4mbps down/1mbps up consistently and the coverage is much better than Alltel was. And a free Samsung Captivate with no contract. Doesn't get any better than that! Okay, a free iPhone 4, but that ain't gonna happen.
I <3 AT&T these days.
http://www.att.com/network/?
Click "coverage" at the bottom. See all that light blue future coverage (future being defined as by March 31, but my market is coming in February)? Most (but not all) of that is their overbuild of Alltel markets like mine. I'm in Montana. The reason for the hole in Montana in the northeast is that Verizon got to keep that market
Oh well, it's rural wasteland nobody goes to.Then, look at all the blue in northeast Nevada - that's an Alltel divested market that was converted a couple months ago. A friend there told me the speeds are around 4mbps down/1mbps up consistently and the coverage is much better than Alltel was. And a free Samsung Captivate with no contract. Doesn't get any better than that! Okay, a free iPhone 4, but that ain't gonna happen.
I <3 AT&T these days.
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Will this be Apple's primary January event this year? I always look forward to these but it seems like this one regards the Verizon network only, and being in the UK, this means nothing to me, Verizon doesn't exist here!
Anything that us Brits can look forward to?
Will this be Apple's primary January event this year? I always look forward to these but it seems like this one regards the Verizon network only, and being in the UK, this means nothing to me, Verizon doesn't exist here!
Anything that us Brits can look forward to?
Nobody knows, but if it makes you feel better, Verizon Wireless is 45% owned by a British company (Vodafone). The American half - Verizon Communications, which owns the other 55%, insisted on CDMA to maintain compatibility with their analog equipment. It's always been a point of contention between the partners, and I was very surprised Verizon Wireless never cut over to UMTS to help Vodafone for roaming reasons.
Whoa, random idea, and not likely to happen - what if the announcement tomorrow is that Verizon has been secretly building a UMTS overlay to their network and is ready to launch tomorrow with the current iPhone hardware - including the speeds and simultaneous data and voice? LOL, not going to happen - it'd have been found out by now - there's so many permitting issues with that type of overlay, but still, would make a nice "one more thing"
Whoa, random idea, and not likely to happen - what if the announcement tomorrow is that Verizon has been secretly building a UMTS overlay to their network and is ready to launch tomorrow with the current iPhone hardware - including the speeds and simultaneous data and voice? LOL, not going to happen - it'd have been found out by now - there's so many permitting issues with that type of overlay, but still, would make a nice "one more thing"
P.S. Again... if you want to see how much new UMTS coverage AT&T is adding as a result of buying divested Alltel assets, check out this page:
http://www.att.com/network/?
Click "coverage" at the bottom. See all that light blue future coverage (future being defined as by March 31, but my market is coming in February)? Most (but not all) of that is their overbuild of Alltel markets like mine. I'm in Montana. The reason for the hole in Montana in the northeast is that Verizon got to keep that market
Then, look at all the blue in northeast Nevada - that's an Alltel divested market that was converted a couple months ago. A friend there told me the speeds are around 4mbps down/1mbps up consistently and the coverage is much better than Alltel was. And a free Samsung Captivate with no contract. Doesn't get any better than that! Okay, a free iPhone 4, but that ain't gonna happen.
I <3 AT&T these days.
Funny how the Bay in NorCal is all blue. Dropped calls are a given but I do agree that the data speeds are pretty good in most areas.
San Francisco is really hard to cover. Between NIMBYs and hills and high population density. As an Alltel subscriber, I currently roam on Verizon in most of the country. Though I haven't gone to SF with my phone, I will tell you that my experience in the central valley and in LA has been far less than peachy. At home, I get far fewer dropped calls on Alltel than I did when I had Verizon, and AT&T should only be making things better.
Dropped calls are a given, everywhere. AT&T has had major issues in some places. But so does everybody, somewhere.
With that said, when the iPhone 5 comes out, I still might switch to Verizon. Why? Unlimited data.
Sure, Verizon's coverage is worse here - but it still covers 95% of where I am. I've heard from Verizon subs that their dropped call problems here have got better. And I have more friend on Verizon than I do on Alltel/AT&T.
Yes, it's a lot slower data than AT&T, but who cares how fast you can reach a pathetically low 2GB cap?
And how the beginning of the event will look like ;-)
Let's take bets - I go for Steve flying in like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBXPl4zBilo
Let's take bets - I go for Steve flying in like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBXPl4zBilo
cant wait
I cant wait! I still remember when I was reading rumors like a year ago of verizon launching the iphone and feeling like crap when they never came true...settled for a droid and now i have a droid 2...I like them but I, like many others, would definitely prefer having somthing superior.
I cant wait! I still remember when I was reading rumors like a year ago of verizon launching the iphone and feeling like crap when they never came true...settled for a droid and now i have a droid 2...I like them but I, like many others, would definitely prefer having somthing superior.
"I like them but I, like many others, would definitely prefer having somthing superior."
Superior how? As a phone I'd much rather have Android - Swype input is amazing, Android's notification system rocks compared to iPhone, etc. Android devices are far better for messaging and general phone use.
That said, the iPhone, not being weighed down by Java is much better for games and applications.
But, more importantly to me, a phone isn't just a phone - it's also an accessory and fashion statement. I want an iPhone for the fashion of it (because it's the nicer accessory), and can live with the fact that messaging and notifications on it aren't as good as on Android.
*/me prepares for flogging by the Apple fanboys for speaking the truth*
Superior how? As a phone I'd much rather have Android - Swype input is amazing, Android's notification system rocks compared to iPhone, etc. Android devices are far better for messaging and general phone use.
That said, the iPhone, not being weighed down by Java is much better for games and applications.
But, more importantly to me, a phone isn't just a phone - it's also an accessory and fashion statement. I want an iPhone for the fashion of it (because it's the nicer accessory), and can live with the fact that messaging and notifications on it aren't as good as on Android.
*/me prepares for flogging by the Apple fanboys for speaking the truth*
i agree with you...i was going to put that the unnecessary software on my android device definitely slows down my phone and i see myself having to use a task killer almost everytime i unlock the phone...i even have it set to autokill apps every hour also...in short i rather have an iphone and i can live without the pro's that you have stated
John91, your task killer is almost certainly a huge part of your PROBLEM. Those task killers on Android do far more harm than good. Android is very efficient with it's memory management, especially in FroYo.
Leaving a task killer running, looking for things to kill - things Android (which know what it wants) will just automatically restart - is bad news.
Try taking the task killers off completely, see how much better your phone runs. If you still have issues, they're probably caused by one defective app.
And that, both the fact task killers are allowed in the market despite Google's team knowing they cause more harm than good, and the fact defective apps that waste resources are allowed to exist, is one of the HUGE downsides to Android. Sure, the market is more open than the iTunes Store. But that just means it's open to being a wasteland.
I think Google should have a well-vetted store ala the iTunes store AND allow non-Market sources. Not put the junk in the Market.
Leaving a task killer running, looking for things to kill - things Android (which know what it wants) will just automatically restart - is bad news.
Try taking the task killers off completely, see how much better your phone runs. If you still have issues, they're probably caused by one defective app.
And that, both the fact task killers are allowed in the market despite Google's team knowing they cause more harm than good, and the fact defective apps that waste resources are allowed to exist, is one of the HUGE downsides to Android. Sure, the market is more open than the iTunes Store. But that just means it's open to being a wasteland.
I think Google should have a well-vetted store ala the iTunes store AND allow non-Market sources. Not put the junk in the Market.
John91, your task killer is almost certainly a huge part of your PROBLEM. Those task killers on Android do far more harm than good. Android is very efficient with it's memory management, especially in FroYo.
Leaving a task killer running, looking for things to kill - things Android (which know what it wants) will just automatically restart - is bad news.
Try taking the task killers off completely, see how much better your phone runs. If you still have issues, they're probably caused by one defective app.
And that, both the fact task killers are allowed in the market despite Google's team knowing they cause more harm than good, and the fact defective apps that waste resources are allowed to exist, is one of the HUGE downsides to Android. Sure, the market is more open than the iTunes Store. But that just means it's open to being a wasteland.
I think Google should have a well-vetted store ala the iTunes store AND allow non-Market sources. Not put the junk in the Market.
i have it set to ignore those resetting services you are talking about...... on a side note, i really dont care ahhah i definitely am getting rid of my phone after i get confirmation tommorow...make me some money before i fork some over to apple/verizon....
john, if you uninstall your task killer and anything else that likes to sit in the background using resources (remember the task killer does NOTHING except be one of the offending apps, the others will just relaunch if there are any!), I bet you'll find you like your Droid 2. It has a LOT of advantages over the iPhone as a phone, and to be honest, if I didn't care about fashion or games, I'd rather have the Droid 2 than an iPhone. Yup, I said it.
Now, I do care about fashion and games a lot. The iPhone is stylish, and way better for games (two reasons - 1. better developer support and 2. no Dalvik). Though Dalvik isn't as much of a performance bottleneck as it was, and Google had good reasons for the design choices they made, the fact remains that iOS is a lot more efficient than Android. This is BlackBerry's big issue too, though Android devices tend to have much faster processors and more RAM than BlackBerries which helps compensate.
So, AT&T plans to advertise how good their network is? Compared to what? I live in a major US city and in my neighborhood, I get one bar, two bars if I'm lucky. If I have an important call, I have to go outside to improve my reception. My nephew has Verizon and he gets reception in the mountains while mine has a "no service" message. AT&T sucks. I'm looking forward to switching to Verizon, I just wish they weren't so expensive.