SturgeonGeneral

A few thoughts on the matter...

 

We do know that the hardware in the "US" variant will be centralized across all domestic operators.  S4GRU staff even has discovered more recently in the FCC OET a "KOR" variant -- ostensibly intended for South Korean operators.  Samsung seems to be standardizing its handset hardware platforms across all operators within certain countries/regions.

 

What we do not know is how Samsung will handle separate firmware per operator.  Though I doubt it, the customized firmware could be temporary and tied to the SIM card in use.  Pop in an AT&T SIM, that activates the "A" firmware.  Pop in a Sprint SIM, that activates the "P" firmware.

 

More likely, barring hacker intervention, the firmware locks could be permanent.  A Sprint "P" variant, for example, always may be set up for Sprint, thus not particularly usable on VZW.  From a sales volume standpoint, Samsung benefits more if those who are switching providers have to obtain new handsets.

 

AJ

This showed up in the rumors thread...

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/7323-samsung-galaxy-s7-rumors-thread/page-11&do=findComment&comment=470384

Where are we at as far as VOLTE progress goes?  Are there any phone hardware considerations for that which are starting to appear yet?

After the Photon fiasco, it'll be a long time before I go back to Motorola. 

Samsung hasn't been even a tiny percentage of the problem that dealing with Moto was.  As far as I'm concerned, they still owe me a phone.

I paid good money for a "flagship" Photon and got a pile of completely unsupported junk.

For me, it'll be nice to see what Samsung manages down the road.

http://associationsnow.com/2014/03/small-scale-mobile-carriers-boost-signal-collective-clout/

and

http://cdn.softbank.jp/en/corp/set/data/irinfo/presentations/vod/2013/pdf/press_20140327_01.pdf

I used to work for a company that used the direct connect, as soon as it releases for the S4T I'm going to try to get a hold of it and try it out with some friends that are also Sprint.

It may come in handy for our annual pilgrimage to Oshkosh Wisconsin.

The problem is that so many boards massively restrict anything that can be seen as bashing of users. You HAVE to be able to criticize a flawed opinion and poor reaction in order to fight it. When you can't point it out, you're hamstrung from the start.

It's always okay to falsely bash the carriers, but not truthfully the customers.

When you cannot blatantly point out the utter foolishness and mis-education these users have in their discussion of the subject, you get too watered down and become ineffective.

While we're at it, the same goes for lot of the complaints about the phone hardware. They are always characterized as complete junk, yet, strangely enough, mine works.