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Mondays In Flames

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I felt the Nexus 7 launch was botched as well. Google is not good at launching devices apparently. One would think they would learn...

 

I think it is their poor attempt at building Apple-like artificial demand by "running out." Release a limited supply and watch everyone go bonkers when they run out. And sit back and hope the media properly reports it to make the product appear extremely popular. I hate that.

 

Robert

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There must be something wrong about the storage specs. To have a top end flagship phone with only 8GB and 16GB internal storage, with no MicroSD slot? That cannot be right. People are not going to buy a high end smartphone with so little storage. Makes no sense.

 

Guess we both was wrong on that one bro lol

 

Sent from my EPIC WHITE SGS2 Rockin CM10 4.1.2 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

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Guess we both was wrong on that one bro lol

 

Sent from my EPIC WHITE SGS2 Rockin CM10 4.1.2 using Tapatalk 2

 

Yep. I definitely miss a few. :pinch:

 

Robert

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I think it is their poor attempt at building Apple-like artificial demand by "running out." Release a limited supply and watch everyone go bonkers when they run out. And sit back and hope the media properly reports it to make the product appear extremely popular. I hate that.

 

Robert

 

Artificial scarcity? Lol

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Teardowns on anandtech.com and ifixit.com reveal that the Nexus 4 has Qualcomm's WTR1605L chip with seven-band LTE support. "Three sub 1 GHz bands, three higher bands, and one 'very high band (such as 2.5 GHz)'" according to androidpolice.com's June article on the chip

 

Sent from my Nexus S 4G

 

Edit: links

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6440/google-nexus-4-review/7

http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/06/06/qualcomm-working-on-a-chip-that-would-support-multiple-multiple-lte-bands-carrier-networks/

Edited by djw39
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The Qualcomm WTR1605L is just an RF transceiver. It has little, if anything to do with LTE. The baseband modem is the chipset that needs to be LTE capable. And in the case of the Nexus 4, the Qualcomm MDM9215 surely is LTE capable. But antenna and power amp topology must follow in order to enable LTE capability. They do not in the Nexus 4 because it is designed as a global handset, while LTE bands are highly regionalized.

 

AJ

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Or do you really think this is a non-story, changes nothing

 

Non-story. If no CDMA2000 variant, then no LTE variant.

 

AJ

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Do you mean instead, no CDMA, no Sprint LTE variant? That seems straightforward. But surely the only reason for this chip to be in there is to simplify the addition of LTE for specific carriers. And once Google starts down that road, swapping out GSM for CDMA is not too much of a stretch.

 

 

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But surely the only reason for this chip to be in there is to simplify the addition of LTE for specific carriers.

 

Yes and no. The Qualcomm WTR1605L and MDM9215 (or MDM9615 for CDMA2000) are basically standard equipment now -- LTE or not.

 

AJ

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I wondered ... if we can we put a T-Mobile uSim that is using the $30 5GB pre-paid plan into a Nexus7-3G?

 

This should have been posted in the Nexus 7 forum, don't you think? Anyway, the consensus answer from XDA developers seems to be no.

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OK. I got my new Nexus 4 today. I kind of find it hard to hold and type on, it's kind of slick. Even slicker than the GS3 and Note 2.

 

I activated it on Tmo 4G monthly prepaid. I am not impressed with their network here in Espanola, NM. Only one of the five sites locally have HSPA/HSPA+. All the rest run EDGE only.

 

Here are my HSPA and HSPA+ speed screen shots tonight. I hope it's better in Santa Fe or ABQ. Interestingly, the download speeds were better on HSPA than HSPA+.

 

uploadfromtaptalk1353392007347.jpg

 

uploadfromtaptalk1353392030462.jpg

 

Robert via Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

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OK. I got my new Nexus 4 today. I kind of find it hard to hold and type on, it's kind of slick. Even slicker than the GS3 and Note 2.

 

I activated it on Tmo 4G monthly prepaid. I am not impressed with their network here in Espanola, NM. Only one of the five sites locally have HSPA/HSPA+. All the rest run EDGE only.

 

Here are my HSPA and HSPA+ speed screen shots tonight. I hope it's better in Santa Fe or ABQ. Interestingly, the download speeds were better on HSPA than HSPA+.

 

uploadfromtaptalk1353392007347.jpg

 

uploadfromtaptalk1353392030462.jpg

 

Robert via Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

you will not be disappointed with the speeds in abq.

 

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

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Damn I gotta wait for mine...I failed pretty hard on order day. Meetings + giving up on the play store before going into an f5 rage. Looks like I should have f5 raged a little earlier. Oh well I'm still excited for the phone, and T-Mob has quite a good network here.

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After a few days of using the Nexus 4 and the T-Mobile network in my area, here are my thoughts. The Nexus 4 is a fantastic device. Very fast. Jelly Bean 4.2 in its natural state is wonderful. Screen quality is very good.

 

I don't feel LG in any instance, just feels like Google. Build quality is wonderful. It is sleek and sexy. My biggest complaint with the device is it is so slick. Holding can be challenging if you have really clean hands with no skin oils on them at all. And when your hands are very clean, it can be hard to even just type on it. While typing it wants to slip right out of your hands. I have yet to drop it. :fingers:

 

It also feels a lot smaller than it is. The screen size is nearly identical to the EVO LTE, but it looks and feels smaller. I like the device, but I do miss CDMA and the Sprint network, though. T-Mobile's rural network is grossly inferior in my area to Sprint.

 

Of the 8 T-Mobile sites within 20 miles of my house, 7 of them are EDGE only. The one that is not has HSPA and HSPA+ on it. However, HSPA and HSPA+ both run at the same speed. Maxes out around 2.2Mbps late at night and early in the morning. At peak times, it runs around 400-500kbps.

 

However, I had to go to Santa Fe on Tuesday evening. I did reach a blistering 16Mbps speed on HSPA+. The Google version does support dual carrier HSPA+, but I do not know when I am on dual carrier or not. No matter if I am on HSPA, HSPA+ or Dual Carrier, it only shows "H" next to the signal indicator. Which is kind of a bummer. It would be nice if it at least changed to H+. I have to go into an app like RootMetrics, Sensorly or Settings>Status to find out which 3G/FauxG network I am on. But it changes to "E" when on EDGE. Which is what I see most of the time.

 

Even when on 3G/4G, the service is much spottier than Sprint 3G EVDO. And going inside buildings seems to impact signal more than Sprint. I am amazed how signal strength dependent HSPA performance is compared to EVDO. There is a proportional drop in ping and speeds as the signal degrades. Whereas EVDO holds 80% of performance all the way down to -100dBm. It seems like HSPA loses 50% or more at -100dBm. These are all anecdotal observations over just 4 days of usage.

 

The bottom line is T-Mobile voice coverage is pretty good in my area on EDGE. And voice quality is fairly good but not on par with Sprint (and may be the device and not Tmo network). However, HSPA/HSPA+ coverage is poor to fair, and even city coverage can be spotty and unusable in some buildings. Where T-Mobile network is good and the signal is strong though, the performance is great.

 

But the bottom line is the price. I am paying $30 per month on their web only prepaid plan that gives you Unlimited Text/5GB of 4G data and 100 minutes of talk. You can overlook a multitude of sins for only $30.

 

In my area, Sprint has 3G EVDO on every site, and speeds average 1Mbps. So I prefer that over 2G EDGE everywhere, with some screaming fast pockets of HSPA+. But if T-Mobile ever upgraded their entire Northern New Mexico network to HSPA+ and later LTE, they would be a contender.

 

Another noteworthy item. In Santa Fe, T-Mobile HSPA+ out performed VZW LTE in almost every instance. :tu:

 

Robert

 

uploadfromtaptalk1353605369756.jpg

This is the fastest speed test I ever received. It was in Santa Fe at the corner of Cerrillos and St. Francis. Speeds were great when you were within a few blocks of a Tmo HSPA+ site. Much like Sprint LTE. But dropped off to an average of 3-5Mbps in places in between sites. Although, there were many places in the city signal would drop to -105 to -110dBm making 4G almost unusable. And this was in a car!

 

uploadfromtaptalk1353605397179.jpg

This is the fastest HSPA+ speed test I had in my area, on the one site that has HSPA+ outside of Santa Fe. This was taken at 8 AM in the morning. It rarely gets above 600k between Noon and 9 PM. Also, I'm amazed at the huge swings in speeds in short periods of time on HSPA+. The 10 tests take before and after this one were between 800k and 2.5Mbps.

 

uploadfromtaptalk1353605431531.jpg

This the common peak time HSPA+ performance in Espanola. Meh. Sprint 3G runs about 700k to 1Mbps at the same time. I think Tmo needs to upgrade their backhaul and add more carriers at this site.

 

Robert via Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

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I can 100% guarantee that the issues with TMo you were seeing in Espanola were due to insufficient backhaul. Sounds like TMo has two T1s powering that site.

 

I'll probably get the N4 8GB once it's back in stock. West Central Wireless, a local carrier, now has non-contract HSPA/H+ available, albeit not dual-carrier because in our area they only have the Cellular-B license, and they still run a legacy 1xRTT and GSM/EDGE network. If I'm in Austin, I can just use the $30 5GB T-Mobile plan (TMo has DC-H+ in AUstin and speeds are quite good, but they're GPRS-only in Fredericksburg last I checked).

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After a few days of using the Nexus 4 and the T-Mobile network in my area, here are my thoughts. The Nexus 4 is a fantastic device. Very fast. Jelly Bean 4.2 in its natural state is wonderful. Screen quality is very good.

 

I don't feel LG in any instance, just feels like Google. Build quality is wonderful. It is sleek and sexy. My biggest complaint with the device is it is so slick. Holding can be challenging if you have really clean hands with no skin oils on them at all. And when your hands are very clean, it can be hard to even just type on it. While typing it wants to slip right out of your hands. I have yet to drop it. :fingers:

 

It also feels a lot smaller than it is. The screen size is nearly identical to the EVO LTE, but it looks and feels smaller. I like the device, but I do miss CDMA and the Sprint network, though. T-Mobile's rural network is grossly inferior in my area to Sprint.

 

Of the 8 T-Mobile sites within 20 miles of my house, 7 of them are EDGE only. The one that is not has HSPA and HSPA+ on it. However, HSPA and HSPA+ both run at the same speed. Maxes out around 2.2Mbps late at night and early in the morning. At peak times, it runs around 400-500kbps.

 

However, I had to go to Santa Fe on Tuesday evening. I did reach a blistering 16Mbps speed on HSPA+. The Google version does support dual carrier HSPA+, but I do not know when I am on dual carrier or not. No matter if I am on HSPA, HSPA+ or Dual Carrier, it only shows "H" next to the signal indicator. Which is kind of a bummer. It would be nice if it at least changed to H+. I have to go into an app like RootMetrics, Sensorly or Settings>Status to find out which 3G/FauxG network I am on. But it changes to "E" when on EDGE. Which is what I see most of the time.

 

Even when on 3G/4G, the service is much spottier than Sprint 3G EVDO. And going inside buildings seems to impact signal more than Sprint. I am amazed how signal strength dependent HSPA performance is compared to EVDO. There is a proportional drop in ping and speeds as the signal degrades. Whereas EVDO holds 80% of performance all the way down to -100dBm. It seems like HSPA loses 50% or more at -100dBm. These are all anecdotal observations over just 4 days of usage.

 

The bottom line is T-Mobile voice coverage is pretty good in my area on EDGE. And voice quality is fairly good but not on par with Sprint (and may be the device and not Tmo network). However, HSPA/HSPA+ coverage is poor to fair, and even city coverage can be spotty and unusable in some buildings. Where T-Mobile network is good and the signal is strong though, the performance is great.

 

But the bottom line is the price. I am paying $30 per month on their web only prepaid plan that gives you Unlimited Text/5GB of 4G data and 100 minutes of talk. You can overlook a multitude of sins for only $30.

 

In my area, Sprint has 3G EVDO on every site, and speeds average 1Mbps. So I prefer that over 2G EDGE everywhere, with some screaming fast pockets of HSPA+. But if T-Mobile ever upgraded their entire Northern New Mexico network to HSPA+ and later LTE, they would be a contender.

 

Another noteworthy item. In Santa Fe, T-Mobile HSPA+ out performed VZW LTE in almost every instance. :tu:

 

Robert

 

uploadfromtaptalk1353605369756.jpg

This is the fastest speed test I ever received. It was in Santa Fe at the corner of Cerrillos and St. Francis. Speeds were great when you were within a few blocks of a Tmo HSPA+ site. Much like Sprint LTE. But dropped off to an average of 3-5Mbps in places in between sites. Although, there were many places in the city signal would drop to -105 to -110dBm making 4G almost unusable. And this was in a car!

 

uploadfromtaptalk1353605397179.jpg

This is the fastest HSPA+ speed test I had in my area, on the one site that has HSPA+ outside of Santa Fe. This was taken at 8 AM in the morning. It rarely gets above 600k between Noon and 9 PM. Also, I'm amazed at the huge swings in speeds in short periods of time on HSPA+. The 10 tests take before and after this one were between 800k and 2.5Mbps.

 

uploadfromtaptalk1353605431531.jpg

This the common peak time HSPA+ performance in Espanola. Meh. Sprint 3G runs about 700k to 1Mbps at the same time. I think Tmo needs to upgrade their backhaul and add more carriers at this site.

 

Robert via Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

HSPA for me on AT&T was always very easily slowed down by signal degradation. I did notice how much more resistant EVDO is to speed degradation as the signal worsens. it was not uncommon to see 5-6 mbps at night and 1 mbps in the daytime, from the same tower in the same location. Your T-Mobile experience sounds like the typical HSPA experience on a not perfectly managed network (like AT&T), which is how it sounds like TMO is in your area.

I wouldn't be surprised if the voice network wasn't in the absolute best shape in that area either, around here TMO is Sprints only rival VQ wise (except maybe USCC)

 

Have you compared the voice quality between 2G and UMTS yet? and also does your phone handoff from 3G to 2G when you leave a 3G area or does it just drop the call?

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I can 100% guarantee that the issues with TMo you were seeing in Espanola were due to insufficient backhaul. Sounds like TMo has two T1s powering that site.

 

yep, I have seen that too when I used Tmobile for a month. H+ was indicated on the phone, but no speed test ever went above 1Mbps, anytime of the day.

 

These cell companies can have all the spectrum in the world but if they don't have the towers correctly connected to a network, makes no difference.

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After a few days of using the Nexus 4 and the T-Mobile network in my area, here are my thoughts. The Nexus 4 is a fantastic device. Very fast. Jelly Bean 4.2 in its natural state is wonderful. Screen quality is very good.

 

I don't feel LG in any instance, just feels like Google. Build quality is wonderful. It is sleek and sexy. My biggest complaint with the device is it is so slick. Holding can be challenging if you have really clean hands with no skin oils on them at all. And when your hands are very clean, it can be hard to even just type on it. While typing it wants to slip right out of your hands. I have yet to drop it. :fingers:

 

It also feels a lot smaller than it is. The screen size is nearly identical to the EVO LTE, but it looks and feels smaller. I like the device, but I do miss CDMA and the Sprint network, though. T-Mobile's rural network is grossly inferior in my area to Sprint.

 

Of the 8 T-Mobile sites within 20 miles of my house, 7 of them are EDGE only. The one that is not has HSPA and HSPA+ on it. However, HSPA and HSPA+ both run at the same speed. Maxes out around 2.2Mbps late at night and early in the morning. At peak times, it runs around 400-500kbps.

 

However, I had to go to Santa Fe on Tuesday evening. I did reach a blistering 16Mbps speed on HSPA+. The Google version does support dual carrier HSPA+, but I do not know when I am on dual carrier or not. No matter if I am on HSPA, HSPA+ or Dual Carrier, it only shows "H" next to the signal indicator. Which is kind of a bummer. It would be nice if it at least changed to H+. I have to go into an app like RootMetrics, Sensorly or Settings>Status to find out which 3G/FauxG network I am on. But it changes to "E" when on EDGE. Which is what I see most of the time.

 

Even when on 3G/4G, the service is much spottier than Sprint 3G EVDO. And going inside buildings seems to impact signal more than Sprint. I am amazed how signal strength dependent HSPA performance is compared to EVDO. There is a proportional drop in ping and speeds as the signal degrades. Whereas EVDO holds 80% of performance all the way down to -100dBm. It seems like HSPA loses 50% or more at -100dBm. These are all anecdotal observations over just 4 days of usage.

 

The bottom line is T-Mobile voice coverage is pretty good in my area on EDGE. And voice quality is fairly good but not on par with Sprint (and may be the device and not Tmo network). However, HSPA/HSPA+ coverage is poor to fair, and even city coverage can be spotty and unusable in some buildings. Where T-Mobile network is good and the signal is strong though, the performance is great.

 

But the bottom line is the price. I am paying $30 per month on their web only prepaid plan that gives you Unlimited Text/5GB of 4G data and 100 minutes of talk. You can overlook a multitude of sins for only $30.

 

In my area, Sprint has 3G EVDO on every site, and speeds average 1Mbps. So I prefer that over 2G EDGE everywhere, with some screaming fast pockets of HSPA+. But if T-Mobile ever upgraded their entire Northern New Mexico network to HSPA+ and later LTE, they would be a contender.

 

Another noteworthy item. In Santa Fe, T-Mobile HSPA+ out performed VZW LTE in almost every instance. :tu:

 

Robert

 

post-1-13536053255284_thumb.jpg

This is the fastest speed test I ever received. It was in Santa Fe at the corner of Cerrillos and St. Francis. Speeds were great when you were within a few blocks of a Tmo HSPA+ site. Much like Sprint LTE. But dropped off to an average of 3-5Mbps in places in between sites. Although, there were many places in the city signal would drop to -105 to -110dBm making 4G almost unusable. And this was in a car!

 

post-1-13536053532743_thumb.jpg

This is the fastest HSPA+ speed test I had in my area, on the one site that has HSPA+ outside of Santa Fe. This was taken at 8 AM in the morning. It rarely gets above 600k between Noon and 9 PM. Also, I'm amazed at the huge swings in speeds in short periods of time on HSPA+. The 10 tests take before and after this one were between 800k and 2.5Mbps.

 

post-1-13536053876404_thumb.jpg

This the common peak time HSPA+ performance in Espanola. Meh. Sprint 3G runs about 700k to 1Mbps at the same time. I think Tmo needs to upgrade their backhaul and add more carriers at this site.

 

Robert via Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

My friend is highly considering returning the phone on the basis that he feels like he is going to drop the phone everyone time he types more then a couple sentences or has to respond to work emails

 

 

iPhone 5/iOS 6 using tapatalk

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