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Was in the coffee shop and started talking to a guy about internet access. It got us thinking, has anyone been successful in getting their internet stick to work on the Gtab?
dvus said:
Was in the coffee shop and started talking to a guy about internet access. It got us thinking, has anyone been successful in getting their internet stick to work on the Gtab?
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As far as I know, doesn't work yet with the TNT Lite or Vegan ROMs. People have reported that the USB 3G devices power up, but there's no 3G support that appears, presumably because of lack of kernel support. If Viewsonic releases kernel source though, I'm sure that within a few weeks you'll see ROMs here that have USB 3G support built in, since I know Linux drivers exist for these devices.
I use the Overdrive from Sprint. It creates a Wifi hotspot
Works great
dvus said:
Was in the coffee shop and started talking to a guy about internet access. It got us thinking, has anyone been successful in getting their internet stick to work on the Gtab?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I felt that was the way to go as well. I had 2 clear 4g usb sticks and upgraded one to the clearspot wifi router. Other than that I just turn the wifi on my phone and tether it that way.
Sent from my SGH-T959
The kernel sees my CDMA modem but there is no 'app' to control them. The issue is no app not the kernel.
I find these usb stick posts funny. I would figure a majority of gtab owners have an android phone. And so... I would also assume the phones are rooted.
If this is the case just use a WiFi tether application on your phones. Some of the newer versions even work as access points and not just ad hoc networks.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
cuzzinz said:
I find these usb stick posts funny. I would figure a majority of gtab owners have an android phone. And so... I would also assume the phones are rooted.
If this is the case just use a WiFi tether application on your phones. Some of the newer versions even work as access points and not just ad hoc networks.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
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Yeah thats what I Do. Im using a free wifi hotspot with my Samsung Fascinate. works great on the go.
craig4855 said:
I use the Overdrive from Sprint. It creates a Wifi hotspot
Works great
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Click to collapse
yeah I plug my sprint evo 4 g into my tab to keep it charged and turn on the sprint wi-fi app (via myn's warm mod)
works really well this way since its infrastructure mode
Hmmm.... thanks guys, it's a wait and see thing then, either app or kernal support.
I have the Huawei E181 stick on Wind mobile up here in Canada but don't have data on the phone so tethering or WiFi hotspot's not an option for me unfortunately.
It would have been really cool to set it up like you guys and have internet on the go.
cuzzinz said:
I find these usb stick posts funny. I would figure a majority of gtab owners have an android phone. And so... I would also assume the phones are rooted.
If this is the case just use a WiFi tether application on your phones. Some of the newer versions even work as access points and not just ad hoc networks.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, not everyone has an android phone to tether. I do have a sprint 3g/4g usb stick I would love to get working though. And no, not interested in a smart phone, with web, and email, it's a cell phone, all I need it to do, is allow me to call people, and recieve calls. I don't even have text enabled,because I hate txting.
viking68 said:
Nope, not everyone has an android phone to tether. I do have a sprint 3g/4g usb stick I would love to get working though. And no, not interested in a smart phone, with web, and email, it's a cell phone, all I need it to do, is allow me to call people, and recieve calls. I don't even have text enabled,because I hate txting.
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You think you've got it bad, try finding a way to tether to a Blackberry....
While I could tether my N1 to my GTab I would prefer to use my SierraWireless USB 308 stick with the device for internet connectivity.
As I have "virtually" unlimited DATA with the stick (where mass DATA consumption is allowed) as opposed to my N1 which while on an unlimited DATA plan is not supposed to be used for tethering. I do use my N1 as a WiFi hotspot from time to time but I prefer to keep that to a minimum, in case at&t Mobility decides to get snarky and take away my unlimited plan and substitute it for a 2Gb plan.
Dan
NMCBR600 said:
The kernel sees my CDMA modem but there is no 'app' to control them. The issue is no app not the kernel.
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Hey was trying to get my sierra wireless 598U CDMA modem to work. take a look at this post there are some linux scripts for dialing the modem that may help you out.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9833753&postcount=12
http://sierrawireless.custhelp.com/...ting-system-?-(-v.1.7.34)#Driver_Installation
cuzzinz said:
I find these usb stick posts funny. I would figure a majority of gtab owners have an android phone. And so...
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Not everybody, I have corporate Blackberry with virtually unlimited data plan, why wouldn't I use it? ha?
viking68 said:
Nope, not everyone has an android phone to tether. I do have a sprint 3g/4g usb stick I would love to get working though. And no, not interested in a smart phone, with web, and email, it's a cell phone, all I need it to do, is allow me to call people, and recieve calls. I don't even have text enabled,because I hate txting.
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Texting takes much less time than taking a call.
Someone calls you have to 1) stop what you are doing. 2)hold the phone 3)in some cases get up and walk out of your office (if you work in a cubicle).
Who has the time?
Some one texts and i can answer in one or two sentences and through down the phone and keep working. Plus answering can be done at a time of MY chosing, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes later. Dont have to STOP what im doing at that moment to take the call. Call me you get voice mail and a return call 5 hours later when im done at work. Text me you get a response in less than half an hour....
Just saying.....
FRANKLY, when i hear peopke say they hate texting i always think "man, i wish i had the kind of time to waste as you do" ha ha
Allenfx said:
Texting takes much less time than taking a call.
FRANKLY, when i hear peopke say they hate texting i always think "man, i wish i had the kind of time to waste as you do" ha ha
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hit a button at my ear, Say "Call (insert name here)" and have a 10s conversation
to fulfill all the the Q&A that I would have taken a dozen txts or more to complete.
and I can do it while I'm driving without fear of a ticket.
dido, although for me it's a Videotron stick and a XOOM ... would be epic.
One of my friends (he has jailb. iphone and used tethering for ~3 weeks) just got letter from ATT: stop using tethering or we'll change your plan to 4gb teth. plan (+$45)
Another friend though (android device, 2 months tethering) spoke with ATT rep. about tethering and plan overlimit and he was told : we'll just charge you $10 for each addnl Gb.
I'm using tethering for 3 m. If I use browser I change User Agent to Opera mobile (but not all the time) and had no any warnings.
where is the true about tethering? is this device specific? I mean is there something in iPhones that lets ATT to know about "illigal" tethering
is this the f. way for ATT to make money to lock device/software capabilities and then unlock them for $$$. OK lets lock volume or brightnes to 0 and charge people for each % added. lets lock BT - kinda tethering as well
all this is so stupid. it's like if electric company will charge you extra for using toster but not teapot.
who cares how I spend data that no longe belong to them. this is my 2gb. and I can put it in my ... if I'd like so
there are some ?? in this post so I posted it here not General. may be I'm wrong but not so wrong as ATT
i've personally never read about android devices being caught tethering (if anyone can show me otherwise, i would appreciate it)
the way AT&T picks up on people doing illegitimate tethering is by iphone users using mywi, not sure how they do it but every single post i've read of people who got served was using an iphone.
uuh... Bluetooth is not even remotely close to tethering. The reason they charge extra for tethering, compared to simple data plans... and why they don't (technically) allow tethering on unlimited plans, is because if you're using a laptop or desktop and have it connected to the internet via your phone... you're capable of downloading a LOT more information a LOT quicker, thus congesting their network.
Also would need a bit more information about how your friends were tethering. The first mentioned friend with the iPhone was probably doing what Alcapone said... using MyWi to tether for free, while probably on an unlimited data plan. That's probably why he got a letter saying that if it continues, he will be switched to the 4GB Tethering plan. They probably noticed an unusually large amount of bandwidth being used, which raised a red flag.
The second friend i'm assuming probably actually pays for tethering... or at least that's probably what the AT&T rep was assuming. In that case they'll charge per extra GB downloaded.
Only time i've ever heard the possibility of someone's plan being switched is if they're doing something that's not possible on their plan to begin with. Kinda like the people that were praying they could keep their dumbphone unlimited data plan to use with a smartphone.
zelipukin said:
One of my friends (he has jailb. iphone and used tethering for ~3 weeks) just got letter from ATT: stop using tethering or we'll change your plan to 4gb teth. plan (+$45)
Another friend though (android device, 2 months tethering) spoke with ATT rep. about tethering and plan overlimit and he was told : we'll just charge you $10 for each addnl Gb.
I'm using tethering for 3 m. If I use browser I change User Agent to Opera mobile (but not all the time) and had no any warnings.
where is the true about tethering? is this device specific? I mean is there something in iPhones that lets ATT to know about "illigal" tethering
is this the f. way for ATT to make money to lock device/software capabilities and then unlock them for $$$. OK lets lock volume or brightnes to 0 and charge people for each % added. lets lock BT - kinda tethering as well
all this is so stupid. it's like if electric company will charge you extra for using toster but not teapot.
who cares how I spend data that no longe belong to them. this is my 2gb. and I can put it in my ... if I'd like so
there are some ?? in this post so I posted it here not General. may be I'm wrong but not so wrong as ATT
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this rant and its questions have all been debated and answered time and time again on this forum. search.
all have 2gb no tethering plan. Large amount of data? Am I not free to use my 2gb in one day? I mean I can spend only 2gb I paid for. in one day or 1 month, what's the difference? why not to change calling plan to unlimited if att noticed you "spoke to much yestarday"
zelipukin said:
all have 2gb no tethering plan. Large amount of data? Am I not free to use my 2gb in one day? I mean I can spend only 2gb I paid for. in one day or 1 month, what's the difference? why not to change calling plan to unlimited if att noticed you "spoke to much yestarday"
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Click to collapse
This has been covered over here...
Going over your 2gb data plan is one thing and tethering is another. The iphone OS records the amount of time tethered and somehow notifies att about the devices usage. Also, from what I've learned when I had my iphones, not syncing to itunes after you've installed jailbroken apps will not register with apple. The only tethering apps I think most people getting caught with is an app called MyWi. Not sure about PDAnet. My wife uses MyWi but has never synced her phone to itunes after installing and we've never gotten a notice. Might also being looked at cuz the iphone doesn't have flash so other than netflix....how can you use a ton of data other than streaming or tethering.
ccrows said:
This has been covered over here...
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ty, ty, ty
I knew kind people will point me to the right topic I couldnt find myself.
elementaldragon said:
why they don't (technically) allow tethering on unlimited plans, is because if you're using a laptop or desktop and have it connected to the internet via your phone... you're capable of downloading a LOT more information a LOT quicker, thus congesting their network.
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Click to collapse
Is this necessarily true though? With a phone that's capable of multitasking like the Atrix, I don't see the real issue. AT&T claims that by using a laptop, you will end up eating more data, but I always saw the service they provide as the real bottleneck. No matter how many devices you tether to the Atrix, whether it be 1 or 4, you're still unable to use more bandwidth than what you are capable of receiving. If your speed tests run at the miserable 1.5Mbps down and 1Mbps up that I get, how can they claim that you download information QUICKER from a computer? This may have been true before, when phone's couldn't handle as many operations as they do now, but I can definitely stream some music from pandora, browse the web, and hell, even download a torrent all at the same time if I wanted to.
I feel like all of the "modern" updates AT&T has made has just hurt the consumer in the process. Tethering on an unlimited plan shouldn't be allowed, I understand that. Your cell phone plan shouldn't be the basis for your home internet, and that's fair. But if you're on a tiered plan, your 2GB should be yours to do whatever you want with. And while I'm ranting about the tiered plans, I think for the price they charge for the 200MB plan, they need to start offering more. As their service supposedly gets faster, that 200MB cap becomes so much easier to reach. Come on AT&T, get with the times.
Why ASUS didn't include 3G into this tablet, nowdays thats like a must thing to do... with that would be perfect tablet!
Samsung, HTC, and Motorola have existing relations with all the Wireless phone services. That may have something to do with Asus being left out. But besides the Xoom and the Apple, are there any other Wireless Tablets available for contract with wireless phone company?
nook-color said:
Samsung, HTC, and Motorola have existing relations with all the Wireless phone services. That may have something to do with Asus being left out. But besides the Xoom and the Apple, are there any other Wireless Tablets available for contract with wireless phone company?
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Click to collapse
Couldn't they just do an unlocked 3G version without having any connection to wireless companies?
For personal use i don't think i will need 3g much. If/When i do, i have my rooted phone to tether to. So i don't see 3G as that needed a feature. And after following a lot of tech blogs and such it seems a lot of the people commenting are wanting wifi tablets only a lot too. So That could be part of it. Also until they have a shared data plan, cause who wants to pay for 2 data plans, i don't see my self paying for 3g even if it had the radio to do it.
However, for business use i would like one with 3g in it. Since i wouldn't trust people to know how to tether much less have a phone that can tether. So in this case simpler is much better. So for business use i will need to look at a different product which makes me sad. and if the treasurer for our non-profit has her way it will be a ipad ... which makes me very very sad. So a 3G model would have been awesome as well.
---------- Post added at 09:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:14 PM ----------
Smyc151 said:
Couldn't they just do an unlocked 3G version without having any connection to wireless companies?
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Correct me if i am wrong, but 3G isn't like cellular networks right? It has to be someone certain radio signal to work correctly meaning you have to work with that company ( be it at&t t-mobile version or sprint or who ever).
Like why the at&t iphone will work on t-moblie but it doesn't have t-moblies radios so you can't get 3G.
And say they just put AT&T radios in with out asking for whatever ( i don't know if you can do that or if it even matters, but just say they did) if at&T didn't want to support the device they could just block the device and not sell plans to it.
So i don't think it is just as easy as "unlocked 3G"
The dock has a USB port, so just connect a mobile data dongle to it?
dragonithe said:
The dock has a USB port, so just connect a mobile data dongle to it?
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Click to collapse
Can android interpret the data dongle natively?(like Linux (at least it did on Linux Mint last time i tired)) or will a custom app need to be made for it to work if it works at all? (like windows). it is a interesting idea though. If it doesn't work out of the box (i doubt it but never know) someone should really make an app that will make it work. Since i already have a data dongle thing somewhere. lol
Sprint might be getting it if you look at their CES invite the folds look just like that origami screen cover!
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
Charles_A said:
Correct me if i am wrong, but 3G isn't like cellular networks right? It has to be someone certain radio signal to work correctly meaning you have to work with that company ( be it at&t t-mobile version or sprint or who ever).
Like why the at&t iphone will work on t-moblie but it doesn't have t-moblies radios so you can't get 3G.
And say they just put AT&T radios in with out asking for whatever ( i don't know if you can do that or if it even matters, but just say they did) if at&T didn't want to support the device they could just block the device and not sell plans to it.
So i don't think it is just as easy as "unlocked 3G"
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Click to collapse
I'm not the best source about this information, so please excuse me if I'm wrong. But I thought that most 3G were on similar frequencies, and therefore it would be easy to make a 3G antenna which could communicate on all of them. The reason why I ask, is that I had a T-Mobile Android phone and brought it to the UK a few months ago, and can use it on any network here (since it's unlocked), and only have to change the network operators (or something like that, I can't exactly recall) info so it connects to the right towers. And it works perfectly fine. If I can do that with a crappy old Android phone, why couldn't it be done with Transformer?
But on the whole, I agree with you. It's so much cheaper to buy a tethering plan for most phones than it would be to give it its own 3G service, that for most people just doing a wireless hotspot with their phone would make more sense. But it's still a legitimate question for some people
Charles_A said:
Can android interpret the data dongle natively?(like Linux (at least it did on Linux Mint last time i tired)) or will a custom app need to be made for it to work if it works at all? (like windows). it is a interesting idea though. If it doesn't work out of the box (i doubt it but never know) someone should really make an app that will make it work. Since i already have a data dongle thing somewhere. lol
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I know that Archos uses a dongle that slides into the tablet that is powered by USB, so it's not impossible. But I don't know if it's naively implanted.
And if not, maybe some dev's can port the software from the archos devices to the prime to get a USB dongle to work.
I will personally use a wifi modem, that way it doesn't even use the battery of the tab, and I could share the connexion with whoever I want.
I just put my phone in hotspot mode when I need a connection and Wifi is not available. But in that last 2 years I have only had to do that 3 or 4 times. I don't see any need for 3/4g, and the associated extra costs, in a tablet.
Personally I would never pay extra for a 3g version and then have to pay a monthly fee on top of that. In Canada at least the monthly fee is not that cheap.
I wonder if there are stats on how many of each of the ipad models were sold? The original and ipad2 were both released with a 3g model at launch right? It would be interesting to see how big the 3g market is
Probably just to keep costs down. And I honestly don't view 3G as a must do thing. It'll be a while before people start to see data plans attached to devices as a given. Right now, if I need internet while I'm out and about with my tablet I just set up my phone as a hotspot. It's still a bit rare when I feel the need for internet when I'm not at home (most of the time I'll be reading or watching things already stored) but it came in handy while waiting in line for Black Friday.
as the prime is already available for some, could you please test if a 3G dongle works? my interest is not so much in internet connectivity but using mobile TV which only works via 3G here and not over a wifi connection due to legal requirements..
I heard somewhere that they don't because it's not a very popular market. They are aware most people have data plans on their phones and don't want to spend extra on a separate plan for a tablet. Plus most people will just tether from there phones if they need to connect out of wifi range.
3G would be nice in theory, but I wouldn't be willing to pay for another data subscription when I already have one for my phone.
3G does indeed run on different frequencies. especially in the US, it's a giant clusterfuck of various bands that carriers use as well as completely different technologies for it.
verizon and sprint both use CDMA and different freq
tmobile and at&t both use GSM (like most of europe) at run at different freq. (it's the reason an unlocked iphone will work on tmobile, but you won't get 3g on it.)
for asus to come out with a 3g (or 4g) enabled tablet in the states, it would mean working with some provider to support and sell it, which asus being such a small player would be tough to get any of the big providers to get on board.
one solution would be to install a quad or penta band gsm radio in it (like the galaxy nexus) and let people use it however they want, but then cost comes into play.
personally, i've never seen the draw to 3g enabled tablets, as most people who have one also have a smartphone that they can probably tether to the device.
if i really wanted to get 3g and not tether in some way, i'd probably rather get a hotspot for the same price (service wise) and not use up my tablets battery powering the radio and also be able to connect multiple devices to it.
maybe i shouldn't have replied to this thread but created a new one
what i asked is whether a 3G dongle would work (similar to what archos does), but i guess not
asus could support that and not care about a 3G tablet version, only put the drivers and apps into the firmware.
3G connectivity is cheap in austria, unlimited data plan (without throttle) with 10mbit/s for 15 euros/month (or even much cheaper with throttle), but as i said, i'd only need it for mobile TV.
nook-color said:
Samsung, HTC, and Motorola have existing relations with all the Wireless phone services. That may have something to do with Asus being left out. But besides the Xoom and the Apple, are there any other Wireless Tablets available for contract with wireless phone company?
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Click to collapse
The U.S. isn't like the rest of the world. With the exception of Asus, all the manufacturers offer both 3G and Wi-Fi versions of their tablets. Some of what's available in the U.S. are adaptations of those. And data plans in a lot of countries aren't as expensive and don't lock you in to two-year contracts making 3G much more popular outside the U.S.
Asus said in the spring they'd launch a 3G version of the TF1. In November, they sent them out to reviewers. It's still not released and may never be. Apparently, Asus isn't big on 3G.
http://www.tabletbite.com/3g-asus-transformer-spotted-wild-picture-4316/
Charles_A said:
For personal use i don't think i will need 3g much. If/When i do, i have my rooted phone to tether to. So i don't see 3G as that needed a feature. And after following a lot of tech blogs and such it seems a lot of the people commenting are wanting wifi tablets only a lot too.
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Click to collapse
I have a HSPA+ 21 UK tablet that I use on AT&T. It's $20 a month with unlimited data and MMS because it's just another non-smartphone on my account. Tethering is a pain in the ass. Get out the phone, turn on Wi-Fi sharing, connect the tablet, disconnect the tablet, turn off Wi-Fi sharing. If you forget the last thing you're phone's battery is shot. It's shot anyway becasue Wi-Fi sharing's a huge drain. Connecting a tablet after it's been offline's also a pain while you wait for everything to sync before you can start using it. With all the carriers (except Sprint) starting to throttle for excessive usage splitting data over two devices keeps each devices data usage down. I'm usually at 4-6GB a month on both my phone and tablet individually. It's great when you're traveling to be able just whip the tablet out quickly and start using it. I'm not selling anyone on the idea of 3G but it has its advantages.
And there's zero chance the Prime has a GSM radio in it. It wasn't shown in the tear down and wasn't in the sample sent to the FCC for clearance.
yea i had a xoom and phone and it was too much to pay for data so now im just goona hotspot it and not pay $40 for something i dont need.
I got a Photon 4g, and I wanna know if there's anyway I can have simultaneous voice/data on 3G, I know its possible over "4G" (Wimax), and I really don't wanna buy a new phone outright. Will SVDO work on the Photon anywhere?
DiamondJay20 said:
I got a Photon 4g, and I wanna know if there's anyway I can have simultaneous voice/data on 3G, I know its possible over "4G" (Wimax), and I really don't wanna buy a new phone outright. Will SVDO work on the Photon anywhere?
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Click to collapse
To my knowledge this is not possible. Would be hella useful though.
only way is if "voice" if via VOIP such as google voice, skype or SIP provider.
I do it all day! WiFi and I talk and di email and FB! L
Sent from my MB855 using xda premium
i still don't get it, how in the world is this actually useful? should you focus be to the other person you're talking to?
A2CKilla said:
i still don't get it, how in the world is this actually useful? should you focus be to the other person you're talking to?
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Click to collapse
Smartphones have so many features nowadays that it is honestly difficult for any given person to make use of every one of them. Hence, there are some features that are diamonds to some and useless to others. Just because you in particular don't have a use for said feature, it can be be extremely useful to someone else. For instance, my girlfriend now lives a good 150 miles away. So a lot of our casual conversations are done for long periods of time over our phones. Should I be focusing on our conversation? Sure. Do I also wanna check xda, read an article with her to keep the conversation rolling, maybe watch a funny YouTube clip or something? Definitely. My point is, its not a feature that is visibly useless for everyone. You just don't have a use for it.
A2CKilla said:
i still don't get it, how in the world is this actually useful? should you focus be to the other person you're talking to?
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Click to collapse
you might have an email, or be in your car using it as the GPS with the phone on speaker or bluetooth, or wanna check an email you're talking to someone about, etc. A lotta times, when I've been on the internet with the Photon, I've missed calls, and that includes using my Strava cycling app, which simply maps where I'm going.
Calls/texts will interrupt downloads which is annoying when trying to download large files over 3g
Sent from my Kitchen Sync'ed MoPho!
As others have mentioned, if you have VoIP service independently of Sprint, there's nothing to stop you from using it on your phone. You can do a complete end-run around Sprint and cobble your own adhoc SVDO-ish work-around today. Your battery life will totally suck, and you'll be paying more money for VoIP from some thirdparty provider, but you can do it. Just run the client, forward your calls to your VoIP number, and you're in business.
So, why can't SPRINT do it? Simple. The service we all call "Call Forwarding" is heinously inefficient. It was invented ~25 years ago, and only works for its intended purpose (adhoc forwarding of calls to arbitrary numbers) because there are just a few people using it at any given point in time. If EVERYBODY (or even a large plurality of Android owners) tried doing it at once, Sprint would hit a hard limit beyond which no more users serviced by a given switch could forward calls until somebody else discontinued forwarding to free up a circuit (remember, ESS voice calls are circuit-switched, regardless of any packet-switched magic that might occur at the backhaul and trunk level. You'd be amazed how much metaphorical WD-40 and duct tape still gets used behind the scenes at Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile to glue 21st-century wireless and 19th-century wired phone circuits together & make wireless calls look like landline calls to the PSTN).
To implement large-scale SVDO that's cost-effective, scalable, and sustainable, Sprint has to make much bigger changes that involve their switches (enabling them to terminate calls directly to VoIP instead of relying on adhoc ESS-type call forwarding) and signaling (sending notifications via the same mechanism used now to notify the phone of incoming calls, deliver text messages, and carry Google & Apple's push notifications). That way, instead of forcing your phone to establish and maintain an EVDO or LTE connection 24/7 and use it to poll for incoming calls, it can still use the more power-efficient 1x method, and simply notify the onboard VoIP app that there's an incoming call when it happens.
At the end of the day, it's one of those cases where it's easy for nimble, tech-savvy, and highly-motivated individuals willing to spend a few days learning and experimenting to take matters into their own hands and hack something into working for themselves, but it's a much bigger job to make it viable for the unwashed masses who want it to "just work" transparently without disclaimers, gotchas, and devastated battery life. It's the same reason why iPhones don't have wimax on Sprint. Apple point blank refused to even consider implementing something where users have to toggle it manually and be aware of their connectivity options at all times to really make it work right. Think I'm kidding? Find a nontechnical Sprint customer with wimax-capable phone, and check out their 4G settings. 95 times out of 100, they'll have 4G disabled, even in cities where there's been 4G service for more than a year. They went to the Sprint store, complained about not being able to "surf the web" (WE know their phone was probably thrashing back and forth between 3G and 4G & kept spending 5-20 seconds at a time in "no network connection" limbo), the employee toggled 4G off, handed the phone back to them, and they never had any clue what the employee actually DID. They were just happy that their phone quit endlessly saying they had no internet connection. ;-)
Curious what you guys feel the best VOIP method/app is for free calls to other phones is. I don't want to include solutions that require both parties to have the same app installed, so only VOIP that allows you to call phone numbers.
All I personally know about is GrooveIP and Talkatone.
I'd like whatever gives the best overall call quality over 3G, and when on WiFi, hopefully sounding like a perfect call.
I appreciate any input. Thanks all!
Any input at all, guys? VOIP can be very handy at times, even with unlimited talk. I have a friend in the NY area who cannot get signal due to towers being down, but his wifi a home works fine. He used Talkatone with some success, but I'm wondering what out there is better.
xiton said:
Any input at all, guys? VOIP can be very handy at times, even with unlimited talk. I have a friend in the NY area who cannot get signal due to towers being down, but his wifi a home works fine. He used Talkatone with some success, but I'm wondering what out there is better.
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I use Google Voice (GV) for most of my VOIP communcations, and even have my home phone linked to GV via an Obihai OBI100 adapter, which costs about $40 one time on Amazon. So far, calls to the US and Canada have been free, but that gets updated by Google on annual basis. I don't think anyone knows for sure yet that those calls will continue to be free in 2013, but here's an Obihai forum thread discussing that and the concensus seems to be that they will. I can't understand why people pay $25-$40 per month for a VOIP service like Vonage when they can get the same thing for a $40 one time cost, but I guess ignorance is bliss.
On my phone I use Groove IP (paid) when I want to make phone calls over Wi-Fi, mostly with my backup phone which is not currently activated, and it works very well as a front-end to GV. I use Skype too, but unless it's a Skype-to-Skype call I've found the GV connections to be higher audio quality.
Here's a pretty good article on VOIP alternatives for Android devices.
ramjet73
Yes. Keep all my old android phones around as wifi only house phones with 2 apps. Google Voice and Groove IP