Sprint Announces First Tri-Band 4G LTE Devices

[Fraydog]

I tend to think that the next iPhone will have TD-LTE support of some sort because 700 million China Mobile customers would be too hard to pass up.  Apple will have to cater to China Mobile and SoftBank more now, as China Mobile and SoftBank merged with Sprint would bump AT&T back down to third in global iPhone supply. 

 

Band 26 isn't that hard to add since it's more or less a superset of Cellular band 5 that the iPhone 5 already supports for LTE.  By moving to the MDM9625, the iPhone 5S would add carrier aggregation and the ability to support up to 7 LTE bands.  I could easily see an Asia Pacific model that supports TD-LTE for SoftBank, Sprint, and China Mobile.  

[dstar2002]

 

 

Well they only mentioned tri-band phones from LG and Samsung, but that doesn't necessarily mean we won't see a tri-band iPhone. We all know how closely Apple guards this info. I'm disappointed they didn't mention Motorola though.

 

 

To be honest, I have been very disappointed in Motorola high end phones thus far. I wouldn't be surprised if they flop the next Sprint LTE phone since Motorola seems to only do well with Verizon.

 

As a Moto Photon 4G owner myself, I was initially excited for the phone which is why I got it but the lack of software updates and the failure of Motorola to provide the Photon 4G with ICS upgrade has really rubbed me the wrong way. Heck the Photon Q 4G LTE just barely got Android 4.1.2 in May 2013.

You are in the exact same boat as me. I loved moto. Got the Photon, loved it. Then everything needed ICS to be worth a damn. Tick tock tick tock . Moto never delivered. They burned the bridge with me. Just like moto built iden. They done. Nextel. Done.

 

Sent from my Galaxy S3

 

 

[djw39]

I agree with the power of donuts that it will be Note3 and LG2G. I know Samsung said they will do a tri-band S4 but absolutely nothing to suggest that would be for Sprint. Could just be a Korea-only variant or whatever.

 

For Moto, I don't think there have been any genuine leaks of their next high-end device, only fan-made mockups that get misreported. There have been true leaks, but for a different, mid-range device.

 

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

 

[ericdabbs]

You are in the exact same boat as me. I loved moto. Got the Photon, loved it. Then everything needed ICS to be worth a damn. Tick tock tick tock . Moto never delivered. They burned the bridge with me. Just like moto built iden. They done. Nextel. Done.

 

Sent from my Galaxy S3

 

YES YES YES.  ICS would have done wonders for the Photon 4G.  For one thing the devs with Moto ICS source would have been able to find a way to make stable ICS/JB ROMS with full functionality and 4G Wimax working.  One thing that bugs me currently is that if you unlock bootloader, you lose your 4G.

[dstar2002]

Yes, the locked bootloader.  That was the other thing that really grinded my gears.  Moto PROMISED unlocked bootloaders and failed to deliver those as well.

 

Hell, I was even in their beta program for Photon firmware updates.

 

Such a shame.  The device was awesome, I loved it.  Their lack of dedication after the sale REALLY pissed me off.  Still does.

 

I wont go back.

[thepowerofdonuts]

http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/21/motorola-xt1056-gains-fcc-credentials-for-sprint/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedly

 

Looks like the XFON will not be tri-band.

[ChadBroChillz]

I tend to think that the next iPhone will have TD-LTE support of some sort because 700 million China Mobile customers would be too hard to pass up.  Apple will have to cater to China Mobile and SoftBank more now, as China Mobile and SoftBank merged with Sprint would bump AT&T back down to third in global iPhone supply. 

 

Band 26 isn't that hard to add since it's more or less a superset of Cellular band 5 that the iPhone 5 already supports for LTE.  By moving to the MDM9625, the iPhone 5S would add carrier aggregation and the ability to support up to 7 LTE bands.  I could easily see an Asia Pacific model that supports TD-LTE for SoftBank, Sprint, and China Mobile.  

 

I know they do not use Band 41, but doesn't Europe also use spectrum in the 2.5Ghz-2.7Ghz spectrum? That should boost the likelihood of antennas broadcasting that frequency being included in the iPhone. 

[Fraydog]

I know they do not use Band 41, but doesn't Europe also use spectrum in the 2.5Ghz-2.7Ghz spectrum? That should boost the likelihood of antennas broadcasting that frequency being included in the iPhone. 

SoftBank is currently, by my estimation, the largest seller of TD-LTE phones worldwide since China Mobile has not yet launched commercial TD-LTE service yet.  The best part? It's on Band 41.  

 

Look at the specs of SoftBank branded phones on PDAdb. 

 

http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=4020&c=softbank_pantone_6_200sh

 

That's the Pantone 6, that's using XGP aka TD-LTE on Band 41, the same band that Clearwire will use for TD-LTE when they launch commercially. Here's some others.

 

http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=4012&c=softbank_sharp_aquos_phone_xx_203sh

http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=4023&c=softbank_fujitsu_arrows_a_201f

http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=3838&c=motorola_razr_m_201m_xt902_motorola_scorpion_mini

http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=4027&c=softbank_huawei_stream_201hw

 

More is coming down the pike, and I wouldn't be shocked to see some of these handsets eventually make it to the US. I'm pretty sure all these handsets are powered by the MSM series of x60 handsets that have CDMA unactivated riding abord. 

 

Edit: I forgot all about TD-LTE services in India. I'm sure Airtel has a pretty large set of economies of scale they're building.  

 

Edit 2: SoftBank may still be the largest TD-LTE seller right now since Airtel only sells the Huawei Ascend as a TD-LTE phone.

[ericdabbs]

http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/21/motorola-xt1056-gains-fcc-credentials-for-sprint/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedly

 

Looks like the XFON will not be tri-band.

 

I wonder if this phone will be a Sprint exclusive like the Photon series.  Also the fact that it will be single band LTE means that I certainly will not be buying this product.  Too bad though...I was hoping that Motorola was going to try to step it up this year by offering a its own flagship phone like the rest of the major OEMs.

[djw39]

http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/21/motorola-xt1056-gains-fcc-credentials-for-sprint/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedly

 

Looks like the XFON will not be tri-band.

 

Gahhh. I had finally made up my mind to get the Optimus G, now I have to wait and see what this is about...

 

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

 

[dmchssc]

I don't think it's really that unlikely that the iPhone will be tri-band. Like people have already noted, the iPhone 5 (international/CDMA) already supports the 850 band and the PCS band. Clearwire's 2.6 GHz band aligns well with the 3G-X band many carriers are already using in Canada and Europe. It's not a reach to think they'd support the ESMR-CEL superset band and both TDD and FDD in the 2.6 GHz band.

[thepowerofdonuts]

I wonder if this phone will be a Sprint exclusive like the Photon series.  Also the fact that it will be single band LTE means that I certainly will not be buying this product.  Too bad though...I was hoping that Motorola was going to try to step it up this year by offering a its own flagship phone like the rest of the major OEMs.

 

It doesn't look like flagship material, but it will not be an exclusive. There will at least be AT&T and Verizon versions.

[Sonic13]

I am doubting the iPhone will have it given their trending over the past few years of staying a step behind in hardware. Not starting a iPhone bash by any means, just pointing out their trend of possibly playing it safe. Glad to see the addition as this should allow them to get things working correctly and figure things out before putting it into handsets which to be honest should be relatively easy especially the 800SMR band.

I agree, but I wouldn't rule it out, I believe there are a few European carriers doing 800/2600Mhz LTE. Not supporting it (again) would be a pretty stupid move.

[thepowerofdonuts]

I agree, but I wouldn't rule it out, I believe there are a few European carriers doing 800/2600Mhz LTE. Not supporting it (again) would be a pretty stupid move.

 

With Apple, I tend to look at history more than logic. It would not harm them not to support these bands, as consumers don't care, but it would cost more money to support them. I would be surprised if they supported either of the new LTE bands.

[Fraydog]

Apple should release a EMEA iPhone with the band support for Europe's 5 LTE bands. They kind of need to because, over there, they aren't doing as well with market share.

[kallistos]

Can someone enlighten me on how Sprint's "tri-band" LTE network works? From what I understand there's LTE on 800mhz, 1.9ghz and 2.5 ghz. Does a device pick which frequency to connect to depending on signal strength? Also, other than the recently announced tri-band hotspots, when will we see major phones (iPhone/Galaxy) with the ability to connect to these 3 frequencies? Can someone also enlighten me on the difference between EV-DO and eHRPD?

 

Edit: Also I've read about TD vs FDD LTE, clearwire's is FDD which isn't very widespread in the US correct? Any idea when devices will be able to utilize both types?

Edited July 6, 2013 by kallistos

[Nickel]

Can someone enlighten me on how Sprint's "tri-band" LTE network works? From what I understand there's LTE on 800mhz, 1.9ghz and 2.5 ghz. Does a device pick which frequency to connect to depending on signal strength? Also, other than the recently announced tri-band hotspots, when will we see major phones (iPhone/Galaxy) with the ability to connect to these 3 frequencies? Can someone also enlighten me on the difference between EV-DO and eHRPD?

 

Edit: Also I've read about TD vs FDD LTE, clearwire's is FDD which isn't very widespread in the US correct? Any idea when devices will be able to utilize both types?

Clearwire uses TD-LTE but i don't know how much they've actually started. They were the ones who rolled out WiMAX and from reports that seems to be hit and miss, mainly because of a lack of funding. Also the difference between EVDO and eHRPD is purely a software based update.

 

As for the tri-band part I think you can only be connected to one band at a time and I don't know what the priority will be but I would guess:

 

 2500 MHz (band 41) > 1900 MHz (band 25) > 800 MHz (band 26).

[dedub]

are these devices still vapor-ware? the only tri-anything I see on sprints page is the tri-fi (3g/wimax/lte)

[ericdabbs]

are these devices still vapor-ware? the only tri-anything I see on sprints page is the tri-fi (3g/wimax/lte)

 

The triband LTE devices are not vaporware. The 3 triband LTE devices like hotspots and usb dongles were officiallt announced at CTIA in late may. Go google "sprint triband lte devices ctia"

 

Sent from my Motorola Photon 4G using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[maximus1987/lou99]

 

 

So are we assuming dual band devices will be coming soon? I wanted to wait to upgrade so i could secure an 800LTE compatible device. Im not concerned as much about the 2600 band clear wire LTE service.

 

 

As far as I know, there will be no dual band devices. They are going straight to tri-band.

Source/link/reason?

[IamMrFamous07]

Sprint announced on their Triband device press release that they are skipping dual band and going right to Triband

[dedub]

The triband LTE devices are not vaporware. The 3 triband LTE devices like hotspots and usb dongles were officiallt announced at CTIA in late may. Go google "sprint triband lte devices ctia"

 

 

I know all about the announcement. Show me where I can buy one. Thanks.

[ericdabbs]

 

 

 

The triband LTE devices are not vaporware. The 3 triband LTE devices like hotspots and usb dongles were officiallt announced at CTIA in late may. Go google "sprint triband lte devices ctia"

 

 

 

 

I know all about the announcement. Show me where I can buy one. Thanks.

Its not out yet. Hopefully by late august they should be released. Dont worry.

 

Macinjosh saw some of those devices hit the FCC already.

 

Sent from my Motorola Photon 4G using Tapatalk 2

 

[WiWavelength]

I know all about the announcement. Show me where I can buy one. Thanks.

 

Bribe someone at Netgear to smuggle one out for you.  Take your pick between USB modem and mobile hotspot.  They are definitely not vaporware.

 

https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=N&application_id=575774&fcc_id=PY3AC341U

https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=N&application_id=864273&fcc_id=PY3AC771S

 

 

AJ

[MacinJosh]

are these devices still vapor-ware? the only tri-anything I see on sprints page is the tri-fi (3g/wimax/lte)

 

I'm hoping for a late July/early August release, but I'm thinking the Novatel Tri-band LTE MiFi needs to pass thru the FCC before Sprint releases any of them.

 

 

Sent from Josh's iPhone 5 using Tapatalk 2