Arysyn

They should finish LTE deployment in MA/CT/RI/NH before opening more stores...

 

3xCA is not live in Boston yet. Their density is also paper-thin... especially when you compare them to Magenta.

 

 

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I agree. I haven't seen anyone here defend Sprint adding more retail stores right now, and I think that is quite telling, aside from the obvious aspect of us being advocates for network development.

 

Which leads me to a question I have for a poll I might create, once I think of how to arrange it best.

http://newsroom.sprint.com/news-releases/sprint-to-bring-new-jobs-and-stores-to-connecticut-massachusetts-new-hampshire-rhode-island-and-upstate-new-york-over-the-next-18-months.htm

 

Nice to see Sprint making investments in the New England Area, but I don't understand the need for additional store locations.

 

Good progress on the network though.

The network investments definitely sound good!

 

I have a question though regarding VoLTE. As many here probably know, I've always liked Sprint's VQ over CDMA, having been impressed by it over the few times I had Sprint, which to me was a noticeable improvement versus T-Mobile's GSM VQ. While I'm not comparing, or even sure of the differences with VoLTE, as I don't believe I've used VoLTE or HDVoice as of yet other than noticing an improvement when I've used Skype, I'm curious about the different codeca being used for VoLTE.

 

I've read people here mention Sprint using AMR WB, which I'm wondering what the other carriers are using, and how they compare in quality. I still haven't switched from T-Mobile yet, though I have a preorder out for the HTC U11 for using in switching to Verizon. The HTC U11 doesn't have a CDMA radio, so it will be using VoLTE on Verizon. I'm interested in knowing how the quality will be if Verizon is using a different codec for VoLTE than Sprint will be, and how they compare, in the case I decide to go with Sprint instead.

 

Also, to further show I probably am the worst around here to make up my mind over stuff, there is a chance I may end up staying with T-Mobile, because of my possibly getting the Sony Z9D television, in which I'll want to get the Sony Xperia XZ Premium being released in a few weeks, that'll only work over GSM. At least I know I'm not going back to AT&T.

Marcelo said it would be happening: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4075474-sprints-ceo-marcelo-claure-presents-j-p-morgan-global-technology-media-telecom-conference

 

"What are we doing from distribution? We are tremendously under distributed at least from a company-owned, so we are growing from a 1,000 company-owned store to what 1,800, so it’s a big growth for Sprint. We are going to add 100 stores. We are going to add over a 1,000 boosters in our prepaid business. So that’s big growth. I mean, Sprint hadn’t open stores in many years. At the same time we are growing through dealers. So it’s a combination of direct and indirect growth."

I really hope Marcelo changes his mind about adding retail stores and instead decides to announce "We at Sprint are really underserved in areas where we have a strong market, but currently have not taken full advantage of our greatest spectrum asset, the 2500mhz band. We plan on a mass deployment of this spectrum in key areas where we serve our large customer base, and we expect to aim around 99% of our current sites with this spectrum. Our next immediate step is to pursue any and all means for us to densify on a full-scale operation within these areas to expand our reach of all our spectrum assets. This now is Sprint's top priority."

I like Tidal for what it is in being a provider of high-quality music streaming, though that isn't to say Tidal doesn't have its faults. Besides, $200 million does seem to be alot of money for what Tidal is worth. Billboard even wrote an article about it here : http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/7662726/tidal-sprint-deal-future

 

For whatever reasons Sprint had though, hopefully this will turn out to work well for them. If Sprint and T-Mobile merge, if that is Sprint's thinking in planning for the future with Tidal among them, then I can begin to understand this purchase a bit better.

What do you think was the strategy behind it?

That is a great question...

 

I thought Sprint would have announced some sort of deal for Sprint customers for free HiFi Tidal service. Now, I've heard from people saying Tidal works perfectly fine using Sprint, despite the 1.5mbps music streaming limit. Using Tidal's 16-bit audio quality, I understand that there shouldn't be any problems running Tidal at 16-bit. Although, I've heard that Tidal also is streaming some audio at 24-bit, which makes me wonder if that works or not. I've never tried it at 24-bit, so I'm not sure.

 

However, if Sprint were to eliminate the streaming audio limit, or at least do it for Tidal, while offering Tidal HiFi for free, and offer a permanent non-expiry $90 for two lines, that would be enough of a deal to keep me from going to Verizon. I think the same offer would help get Sprint alot of customers, even as they already seem to be doing better as it is (Sprint's stores were packed around here on Saturday!).

 

Doing this, would help explain the purchase, at least some sort of deal with Tidal on Sprint.

It was definitely publicity, and Miss Sprint Cup was nice of course. :-)

 

However, it cost a lot of money that should have gone towards the network or debt servicing:

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nascar/2016/10/16/nascar-next-title-sponsor-may-bring-less-money-table/92151830/

 

CSM Sport & Entertainment CEO Zak Brown said the deal will not be as lucrative as the pact NASCAR is finishing with Sprint given the current market climate. Nextel signed a $750 million, 10-year deal to become title sponsor beginning in 2004, according to the Kansas City Star, and Sprint inked a three-year extension through the end of this season at a reduced rate of about $50 million in rights and activations fees, according to Sports Business Daily. Sprint announced in December 2014 that it would not renew.

 

So glad this is over.

I am too.

 

Although I doubt there ever has been a consensus around here at S4GRU about this, I'd be willing to bet and guarantee others' bets on me being the person most disinterested in sports of all the members here. I'd rather spend an entire week with John Legere talking to me 24/7 about the virtues of T-Mobile and why he hates the duopoly, heck - he can even yell at me for leaving T-Mobile, which would be more tolerable to me than my watching a sports game. No offense to sports fans though, just giving an example of my opinion about it.

 

For this and other reasons, such as caring about Sprint's network progress, I'm glad Sprint stopped sponsoring Nascar. I'm still waiting to see what that investment in Tidal is going to provide though.

It's nice to see Sprint doing this for coverage at venues instead of spending substantial sums on sponsorships which didn't improve the network itself:

 

https://twitter.com/marceloclaure/status/871397147383615488

 

As Tarek Robbiati once said about the NASCAR Sponsorship:

 

------

 

Robbiati also singled out one marketing cost that Sprint already has said would end, namely its 36-race NASCAR Sprint Cup Series sponsorship.

 

Telecom companies, Robbiati said, have an unjustified love of “fast cars” in their marketing. He said British-based Orange, a telecommunications company where he worked from 2003 through 2005, had a thing for Formula 1 racing.

 

“There’s no correlation between fast cars and the branding of a network. It just doesn’t make any sense,” he said.

 

Better, he said, to spend money where customers are making decisions, in retail stores and other sales channels, and especially locally where marketing is more effective.

 

“Customers remember this and probably will never remember the car that is running past them at too fast a speed to remember the little sticker that says Sprint on it,” Robbiati said.

 

------

 

http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/technology/article47942890.html

 

What bands are on that COW?

RedSpark,

 

I'm unsure if the same thing frustrated you as it did for me, but I remember when I use to search online looking for Sprint news on Google search, and several search results mostly appeared showing information about Nascar, which frustrated me where I'd be thinking, "Noooo!!! I don't care about the racing stuff Sprint sponsors! I wanna know about Sprint and its network!" After a while of that, I discovered S4GRU.

 

Definitely is a great thing Sprint stopped sponsoring Nascar, and hopefully is spending the savings on the network instead. By the way, how much did the sponsorship cost Sprint?

4k isnt such a reach these days, my laptop can do it at a pinch (intel i7 6820hk, 32gb, nvidia 980 i think) but emulating dreamcast games at 4k? You are probably going to really look into how well it can use the resources you throw at it, i.e. does it need more cores, or less of them but faster etc same for the graphics. One thing I found was gaming at 1080p with more detail turned on and at a higher frame rate seemed better than 4k with a little less detail.

 

Don't go for too small a case though, I know they can look cool but you want awesome airflow once you start racking in some high end cpu, ram and gfx cards. Good luck, if I get the time I'm going to try a ps3 emulator on my laptop.

Emulators are great things to have. Its something I really miss from having Android, as its been months I've been without it while having the Lumia. I loved being able to play old Playstation games in the car. Makes me look forward to getting the HTC U11 for Verizon. One thing I recommend highly to anyone who likes emulators on Android, is to get a Moga Pro controller. It has a built-in stand that holds the device, while having large size buttons and easy to operate analog control stick.

 

For emulators on a pc, I suppose it also depends on the game too. For my use, things were still too slow on the 700 series Nvidia Alienware I had a few years ago, and the screen size was 14-inch on the notebook too. I didn't think it should be that demanding, but it was. However, something really messed up badly on the computer after I upgraded the Windows from 7 to 10, so I had to return it to the store, which couldn't even fully fix whatever problem it developed.

 

So, I've been stuck with my very old Asus ROG with a 560 Nvidia card that gets around 25fps on 720p while playing Shenmue with low settings. I really want something more powerful than that, especially for the 4k tv I'm going to get.

 

Richy, in your opinion, if you look on the CyberPowerPC website for the Syber Vapor PC system, is that a workable size for a 1080TI or TitanXP? The other case size I'm considering if I don't end up buying directly from these companies, is something like the Puget Systems Echo Pro or Origin PC's Chronos. To me, the Chronos looks like the least likely to have overheating issues, but then again the EchoPro despite being smaller, has what appears to be several cooling fans.

Update on televisions here. The 75"-inch Sony Z9D has had a price reduction from $9,000 down to $8,000. At the one store I've been dealing with has offered a $500 discount to me for that television, which means I can get it for $7,500. I'm very tempted to get it, despite the $1,500 price difference of the 65"-inch A1E and the $4,500 price difference of the 65"-inch LG C6 OLED, which is the 10"-inch larger version of the tv I had image retention issues on. However, it never did become burn-in and the ir did get more tolerable, so I'm not thinking that particular issue as bas as I did in the past. However, I need a tv, so I'm going to get one of those two.

Does someone here know the spectrum allotments for both Sprint and Verizon in the Chicago.area? I know Sprint has around 120mhz of band 41, but the rest of it and Verizon's spectrum amounts here I don't remember at the moment.

You are really only going to spend $5500 if you like do dual GPUs, 6+ core Intel processor, and nmve SSD of a large capacity or do some crazy custom case build. Or including a solid 4k monitor?

 

i7-7820X plus solid motherboard will be about $800

Titan is $1200

512GB m.2 nvme $600

case+psu $300

3x 4TB $300

 

That there is just over $3k. Could easily save $600 by going with the as good 1080Ti.

 

But really for emulators, they do need power, but from your experience, that was a long time ago. Two GPU architecture generations (GeForce 700 same architecture as the 600) and on maybe Dolphin 4? Dolphin 5 is out with huge boost in power.

 

Anything older, doesn't need a whole lot. Even DC emulators run fantastic on mobile phones these days at 60fps.

I forgot the name of the DC emulator that is very graphically intensive, or at least was. There was an older one that wasn't as demanding, but didn't have the option to go up to 4k. Although, it has been awhile since I checked.

 

I know $5500 is really extreme, and I'd much rather just get the parts myself and build it to save money, which might even be around $2000 in savings if I could. This is a huge investment I've been waiting for years to get, and didn't even have the money for it until recently from money owed to me as a child. Still, I really don't like having that cost, but then again I have no idea how to build a custom pc, nor do I think I can due to health reasons/needing dexterity to connect the thin cabling between parts.

 

Here is what I'm wanting to get though, in terms of configuration :

 

The i7-7700 4.2 CPU, 32gb or 64gb Memory, 2TB Samsung 960 M2 SSD, Nvidia Titan XP for 4k and to probably last this computer for many years graphically, and a decent fan cooling system. I'm not interested in any fancy liquid cooling, lighting, and what not. Plus, I'm looking for a very compact case that'll still work for these, not a huge tower or anything. When I started looking around online and configuring, I thought this would be around $3,000 to $3,500, but nope, its much more expensive. I've also considered the Syber Vapor from CyberPowerPC, which they go up to a 1080Ti, but the company doesn't offer an extended warranty from when I talked with them a few weeks ago.

I have the HTC M9 and I have never had a issue connecting to the lte roaming. I wonder why your family has had issues with it, I know I had to mess with the settings to make sure it would allow it to roam, and had a few messages warning me about roaming

Hey Cubbiefan, long time no see!

 

Are you considering getting the U11? I've already ordered it to get active on Verizon when it arrives. I'm glad the unlocked version of the U11 will work on Verizon, despite not having a CDMA radio in it, unlike the Sprint version. This way, it'll keep connected to VoLTE without going onto CDMA, which on Verizon never sounded good to me. Sprint's CDMA always has been my favorite vq, other than the very old Nextel, back before Nextel started shifting over, that is.

I don't have experience running the software you mentioned, but in my own experience running some older games on new hardware they still may run poorly no matter how much computing power you throw at them. I regularly play Diablo 3 and Rift and run those just fine on high or ultra settings yet when I load up EverQuest I get video lag which is an 18 year old game.

 

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That is true. I've even heard that the 900 series cards have difficulty in some capacity running the recent Obduction game by Cyan Worlds.

 

One of the Dreamcast emulators I plan to run using the game Shenmue, did well with lower settings using one of the 900 series cards in 4k from something I saw online awhile back, but I'm taking into consideration that on a large tv with higher settings, it could be too much. I know I'm gambling on this, but I'm more confident that if needbe, it'll at least run in 1080p using the new TitanXp, especially in comparison with the 700 that ran well enough in 720p, just not a great frame rate that became even worse at 1080p.

Maybe this is for another thread, but you don't need to spend $5000 on a PC to game in 4k. My three year old machine I put together for around $1500 runs that stuff just fine.

 

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Building a computer is alot more economical than paying a company to do it for you, especially one of the gaming-specific builders such as OriginPC, DigitalStorm, etc.

 

The other thing, while a moderate PC ought to do fine running some newer high graphics games in 4K, emulators are massively greedy for computing power just on 720p/1080p alone. I had a 700 series Nvidia card in a computer a few years ago that couldn't play the Dolphin emulator at 1080p without having really bad frame rates in the upper 10s, lower 20s fps.

 

I'm going to get the Nvidia TitanXp to make sure this can run. If just pc gaming though, not emulators, a 1050/1060 would do plenty well.

So i called to order it and they said they can't give me the $249 contract price because I'm corporate personal line not a corporate business line. But i did get it for $12.75/month and a $100 service credit. With taxes and the credit I'm paying $251 for the phone. Score!!!

Sounds like a great deal, only $2 more than the contract price.

 

I ordered the unlocked version, which I found a working $50 promo credit for, but still at a higher rate than what you paid. I'm planning on keeping the U11 until the LG V30 gets released. I got the U11 for working on Verizon since I'm leaving T-Mobile. The phone should be good while I wait on the V30.

Are the mini-macro B41 gear not as good as the 8t8r stuff in terms of coverage? Powerout and such? Can the mini's do beamforming even?

 

Just curious cause the part of town that has mini B41, going inside a store (walmart or food city) drops to B25, yet where the 8t8r sites are at, I still get B41 inside stores (lowes, walmart, hhgregg, etc) all located in different areas around the tower.

 

Maybe the mini's aren't at full power yet? They seem to have decent coverage outside.

Is HHGregg still in business by you? The one thing I like retail for is selling televisions and appliances. Everything else online. Its a shame many of stores are closing.

 

Speaking of stores, after leaving from my medical test, I wanted to stop and ask a few questions at a Verizon corporate retail store, where there weren't any other customers, but my mother and I. Of course, we didn't start service there, that is for online. Then I decided to try going to Sprint so I could look at the HTC U11. We left Verizon around 10AM and were at a Sprint corporate retail store within ten minutes away. The Sprint store was so busy, there was a wait over a half hour.

 

We went a few other places then tried another Sprint store, corporate too, and it was just as busy as the other one, but there must have been an assistant to answer my mother's question about the phone, which they told her not until the 9th. I sat in the car waiting during that stop, just too warm out. Although, its a very good sign for Sprint doing so well around here in the Chicago suburbs.

TLC could be decent, just not sure what panels they use. Im sure the Element TVs will be ok from Amazon.

 

As far as the Samsung do you get any kind of functionality added functionality outside of say a Chromecast, and a phone with an IR blaster (like my V20). I don't have a SmartTV yet, but that will never have access to my network. Plus I have a reciever, so the TV stuff wouldn't be used anyways.

Those are some questions I'll have while making what I expect and hope to be my last trip Over to Abt next week, most likely on Monday, depending on the weather. I had to go out for a Pulmonary Function Breathing Test today, and the Chicago area weather right now is very, very warm. Makes me empathetic towards tv delivery people having to do weekend rounds today.

 

If I decide not to get the Samsung, and there is a possibility of it, because its still going to be $5,500 plus $800 for the warranty, plus Illinois taxes, I may opt to deal with possible image retention issues by upgrading to the 2016 65"-inch LG C6, from the 55"-inch one that gave me those troubles, plus internet issues likely attributed to just that set. Thing is, there are many people, the majority of 2016 LG OLED owners very satisfied with their tvs.

 

Despite the few issues I've had with mine, it still is a very good tv, and this is the time to upgrade. The cost is $3,000 for the larger C6, only around $1,000 more. The other thing is, its the only one of a few 2016 OLEDs with 3d and the only other 3d tvs last year are a few Sony tvs and the Z9D, which as great as the Z9D is, its $9,000, etc.

That would interfere in my new computer purchase I need to make, for one powerful enough to run emulator games in 4k/3d, which will cost around $5,500.

Samsung sets have some pretty neat integration with the newer samsung phones. I didn't play with it much but it seemed to do remote control, screen projection and screen mirroring. It wa sso easy to setup it managed to do it without my asking (not sure thats a good thing). I was just setting up the TV's and my phone vibrated and announced it had found the TV' and did I want to mirror my screen.

Samsung definitely likes to have their own products integrate with each other, which since that is important to me, Samsung is a consideration for a television, though I'm iffy about getting one of the new QLEDs. I'll explain that soon in the 4K Televisions thread.

 

As I've been considering the switch the past few days, I really like the new Verizon 24 smartwatch. I wish XfinityMobile carried it on their new service, or another LTE-enabled smartwatch for my mother. I'd probably get the LG XPower temporarily, until the Note 8 is available. The reason being, is I have Xfinity for Home Internet at 300Mbps download, and it has been working great. Be nice to bundle those services.

There are 5 of us in the ED1500 plan. After discounts, we each pay ~$47.

 

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The ED1500 really is a great plan, something I think was a great offer by Sprint, which I believe if they introduced a similar plan, it could become highly successful in helping Sprint gain many new subscribers. Is it correct the $47 monthly includes the installment pricing rate costs?

 

It sounds to me it might be, considering that back a few years ago when someone offered a line on their ED1500 plan to me, the plan total for my part of the overall payment prior to the device, was $35 monthly, then adding what I believe was $20 or $25 monthly additional for the Samsung Note 5 payment after the $15 monthly loyalty discount, which I had the added cost for the one-year installment or lease on (I don't remember exactly which right now).

 

I'm a major supporter of service packages, if they give a good deal for one, that is.

Did you say TLC?

 

Alot of people call the company that, and I don't blame them, as it does sound similar. It is a Chinese company that is really pushing for added competition in the less expensive tv space with specifications on par with much more expensive televisions.

 

I have some good news of my own tv search. I had some difficulty earlier with the store I got the defective image retention-prone tv at, but we negotiated on a Samsung tv with an amazing deal I'll post about here next week if everything goes well. I'm really hoping it does, then I can plan to get a compatible Note 8 later this year to work between it and the tv seamlessly.

Why not move over to an Android or iPhone? Windows mobile seems nice, but there are just better options with Google and Apple regarding the whole device and app ecosystem. Until Microsoft does something to gain some more marketshare you're kind of setting yourself up for disappointment not being able to use new services as they come out.

 

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I'm planning to eventually get an Android, with my mother getting an iPhone 8 at the very end of this year/early next year. I'm either going to get a Sony Xperia XZ Premium, or wait until the Note 8. I'm trying to coordinate what smartphone I'm going to get based on connectivity with what brand of tv I'm getting, for compatibility reasons.

 

I'm going to be busier the next few days exploring options.

http://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/verizon-sprint-at-t-detail-spectrum-exchanges-covering-pcs-aws-licenses

 

 

Very nice! I think Tarek said these swaps will net Sprint a couple hundred millions as they had done/received the previous year.

I'm glad to see the carriers at least working together on helping to widen spectrum for their services. Although, it would be good to know what the result totals of spectrum are now, not just what has been swapped/gained.

I think when Marcelo sees the numbers not working too well at the physical retail level, but much better on the online level, hopefully he'll change his mind about spending so much money on physical retail, and really focus that online.

 

Even groceries are getting more and more online nowadays and likely moving to a model with huge warehouses where people don't go shopping as often, saving money on gas, the environment, etc. All the reasons we here for why this is being so heavily promoted.

 

The one difference I have with this physical retail vs online shopping deal, is instead of warehouses, I'd like to see a convergence between physical warehousing and shopping where people still have the choice to shop amidst huge mega buildings, or go up to a counter to shop via a screen, smartphone, or preselect items at home to pick them up. Sprint and other carriers could be right up front digitally assisting purchases while able to make sales all at the same space.

That looks interesting. I'd like to know the results from that particularly if I end up moving to Seattle eventually.

You complain of his long posts, yet here we are ironically clogging up space talking about it. Your constant complaining of him is bordering personal attack. If there was no way to avoid his posts, then I would feel for you. Fortunately, this site offers just what you need.

 

I've offered two simple solutions. You can either take them or leave them. But one thing I do ask is that we drop the constant complaints that single out one user.

 

So if you don't mind, I'd like to drop this and get back to topic.

Thank you, greenbastard, and also to RAvirani who posted earlier addressing WiseGuy.

 

I'm totally fine dropping the issue with Digits now, as I have been since a few days ago when I answered Travis' post to me. I've actually posted less the past few days here on S4GRU, other than addressing the few here who've been complaining about me. I addressed that on the last page, and was hoping that was the end of the complaining. I've explained everything I needed to about that. I agree, lets move on.