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Why upgrade to 3g with ATT hotspots?

N

neil1255

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 29, 2008
19
0
I have a 2g phone and just upgraded to a 3g, but I am seriously thinking of returning it and eating the restocking fee.
I rarely find 3g service, the 2G is worth more on eBay should I ever sell and with the ATT hotspots now available at Starbucks, the 3g phone itself has little to make me want to change.

Can anyone give me a reason to pay the extra 10$ a month for 3g that I cannot find?
Thx!
 
neil1255 said:
I have a 2g phone and just upgraded to a 3g, but I am seriously thinking of returning it and eating the restocking fee.
I rarely find 3g service, the 2G is worth more on eBay should I ever sell and with the ATT hotspots now available at Starbucks, the 3g phone itself has little to make me want to change.

Can anyone give me a reason to pay the extra 10$ a month for 3g that I cannot find?
Thx!
Click to expand...
GPS
 
GPS accuracy to a cell tower is plenty unless you are arming smart bombs.

Not enough for me.
Thanks, though.:D:D
 
neil1255 said:
GPS accuracy to a cell tower is plenty unless you are arming smart bombs.

Not enough for me.
Thanks, though.:D:D
Click to expand...

GPS has nothing to do with cell towers. Triangulation of cell signals can give you a somewhat accurate guess, but it's no GPS.

Where are you located? Perhaps there's a chance you'll see 3G soon in the future, and this won't be a big deal. If you've got a ton of Starbuck's and McDonalds in the vicinity, then I'd guess 3G wouldn't be too far away.

To answer your question about why I prefer my 3G to a 2G using wifi from AT&T.....I don't ever visit McDonald's or Starbucks, plus I get great 3G service everywhere I go, so I appreciate the faster speed. And my girlfriend who is using my old 2G iphone is constantly jealous about how much faster mine is on the internet.
 
calvy said:
GPS has nothing to do with cell towers. Triangulation of cell signals can give you a somewhat accurate guess, but it's no GPS.

Where are you located? Perhaps there's a chance you'll see 3G soon in the future, and this won't be a big deal. If you've got a ton of Starbuck's and McDonalds in the vicinity, then I'd guess 3G wouldn't be too far away.

To answer your question about why I prefer my 3G to a 2G using wifi from AT&T.....I don't ever visit McDonald's or Starbucks, plus I get great 3G service everywhere I go, so I appreciate the faster speed. And my girlfriend who is using my old 2G iphone is constantly jealous about how much faster mine is on the internet.
Click to expand...

Uh...the iPhone 3G uses assisted-GPS which relies on some data from the cellular network...so yea...
 
I am aware of how GPS works and the 2G does use cell towers for location.
So, whether I am within the 1000 feet on the cell towers of the 2G or the 3g triangulation, the increased accuracy is not in any practical way useful to me.
I am in Cleveland and I travel to Phila , Pitts and NY state regularly, and by the time these areas are fully covered there will be a new iPhone so I reallt think returning my 3G is the best way to go, since there are no inherent benefits to the 3g as I see it.
I am always open to suggestions so keep em coming.
Thanks again.
 
Cleveland, Ohio?

I'm in Cleveland Ohio and I have 3g service everywhere i go with 4-5 bars. I think only one time when i was in Chagrin falls did I switch over to edge. What area are you in?
 
Warbrain said:
Uh...the iPhone 3G uses assisted-GPS which relies on some data from the cellular network...so yea...
Click to expand...

The Assisted GPS is used to make it faster. It gets a general location quickly through cell towers and then pinpoints it with the GPS. Assisted GPS is acutally preferable to regular GPS. What im getting at is the GPS will still work without a cell signal. Google maps wont since it downloads the maps over your cellular or wifi connection, but if there was every a map pack you could download to your phone it would work without a cellular signal.
 
tremlock said:
Cleveland, Ohio?

I'm in Cleveland Ohio and I have 3g service everywhere i go with 4-5 bars. I think only one time when i was in Chagrin falls did I switch over to edge. What area are you in?
Click to expand...

Strongsville, OH
 
natebookpro said:
The Assisted GPS is used to make it faster. It gets a general location quickly through cell towers and then pinpoints it with the GPS. Assisted GPS is acutally preferable to regular GPS. What im getting at is the GPS will still work without a cell signal. Google maps wont since it downloads the maps over your cellular or wifi connection, but if there was every a map pack you could download to your phone it would work without a cellular signal.
Click to expand...

but you still need the cell network to load the map. Even if it's not helping to locate you like Warbrain though.
 
Gps

Still don't know why GPS is such a huge deal. How hard is to use a map or look at street signs?
 
TuffLuffJimmy said:
but you still need the cell network to load the map. Even if it's not helping to locate you like Warbrain though.
Click to expand...

I was pretty sure thats what I said?

And to the OP I would say it sounds like you have made up your mind already. Save $120 a year and lose GPS functionality. If you have an abundance of wifi in your area and rarely get a 3G signal I would go for it. Sorry to get off track earlier.
 
I did have my mind mostly made up but I know there is always wisdom out there I can take advantage of.

Sorry, if I came off as unappreciative, but I was being sold on GPS which is not important .

Thanks again for all your input.
Thanks again,
Best Regards,
N
 
No worries! I mean I have owned both iphones and the first one definitely feels a lot more solid. If you are not worried about 3g or gps then absolutely go with the first gen and save yourself some money each year.
 
I access the internet on my phone all the time when I'm not sitting in a Starbucks or at home. For example, at a friend's house, at the store, heck, I use it in my car streaming internet radio stations. And for all that 3G is definitely required to get any decent speed.

As for GPS, that really depends on what you are using it for. If you are using it to try and find someplace, you really need the full GPS. Knowing where you are within a few blocks (which is what cell-triangulation gets you if you are in an area with lots of towers) doesn't help when you are trying to find a specific building (like a bank), for example.
 
Not knowing where you are, have you asked AT&T about how quickly they are improving the 3G in your area? If you only have Edge where you are then it doesn't make sense to even buy the 3G phone unless you wanted the upgraded GPS features. If 3G is just getting to your area, then you may want to ask AT&T about their time frames.
 
Yeah...

dejo said:
Semi-joking. My point was that you don't always have a map and/or street signs at your disposal.
Click to expand...

If you're in the middle of Alaska with only an iPhone to guide you, you shouldn't have gone there in the first place.

Yours would be an extreme example.
 
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