Oakley707

I knew that NFC antenna would be moved to the top of the phone (ala Apple) with the finger print sensor on the back.  Wouldn't make sense to use it that way otherwise if it were more center placed as they are now on most phones.  Too bad it won't have wireless charging (or Sprint WiFi Calling). 

No sale for me and I'm sure many others.  These new Nexus devices are missing Wireless Charging, Optical Image Stabilization (camera) and a MicroSD slot, despite the great feature in Marshmallow to use MicroSD storage as Internal storage.  All of the excitement I had for the refreshed Nexus devices just went down the drain.  Oh well, they have that not so awesome fingerprint sensor (on the rear? Really?) going for it.

Is wireless charging really out? That is obnoxious.

Separate CDMA2000 and LTE antennas are required for SVLTE, but they do not enable SVLTE.  That requires separate RF paths, which this handset does not have.

 

AJ

Thanks for the simple explanation.  I knew I was missing something...

I must be missing something, but is the B41 LTE antenna different than the main antenna or only in picture?  You state in the article no SVLTE, but it would look like otherwise for B41 and 1x.  I'm going to re-read the article again...

Hope so would be a dream come true to see this on sprint no contract on the google play store

This is the key!  I'd love to purchase this phone off contract for a reasonable rate.  I've always been jealous of the Nexus devices for that reason.

SVLTE is not good enough for you?  I mean the HTC One and GS4 both have SVLTE support.  Even if you don't have LTE where you are at currently, eventually it will get to it and you can take advantage of it. Like AJ said, I don't think its worth the money to keep SVDO support.

 

However I do wish that SVLTE should have been left alone.  I think SVLTE could still be beneficial for everyone including myself which I rarely talk and browse but I can see the benefit of the times I do need to search for something while on the phone.

Excellent point, SVLTE is good enough for me.  However, I'm currently in a market that does not have LTE (currently 8 towers live out of 400).  Therefore, I have six months to a year before I can truly trust that SVLTE will hold me over.  Therefore, I've been waiting for a new Tri-band device so I can harness the beauty of TD-LTE 2600.  The market I'm in has very good WiMax coverage and from the hearsay around the market it may not be too long before it is converted to TD-LTE 2600.  Fast forward to my decision of which device to purchase.  Do I purchase a Tri-band phone which doesn't have SVLTE or SVDO or do I purchase a current phone that has SVLTE (which won't be available for 6 months to a year) and no access to TD-LTE 2600 which may be ready in the same time frame.  As gnoj mentioned, either choice is two steps forward and one step backward.  I'm not trying to complain, just trying to make sure my next device purchase is well thought out.  I appreciate everyone's opinion and help.

Yes, SVDO is never coming back, and SVLTE is likely going away, too.

 

Sources have told us that the cost and difficulty of including separate radio paths for CDMA2000 and LTE in multi band LTE devices are the sticking points.  While we question the veracity of some of that information, the prognostication of disappearing SVLTE does appear to be coming true.

 

So, if you want simultaneous voice and data, you will still have a few options:

• You can be on Wi-Fi.
• You can stick with single band handsets that support SVLTE or even SVDO.
• You can use a third party VoIP application, such as GrooVe IP.
• You can wait for VoLTE enabled handsets.

AJ

Thanks for the detailed and thorough response as usual.  As a consumer, I must admit that I'm still frustrated.  I held off on the HTC One because of the lack of SVDO.  I then get excited about Tri-band phones only to find out they will have the same limitation.  Oh well, here's to hoping VoLTE handsets come sooner than later.  Does anyone have a rough timeline for those on Sprint?

Thanks again.

So, to confirm I'm not reading this incorrectly... No SVDO or SVLTE means I cannot use LTE / 3G Data and voice at the same time?  This seems crazy to me.  Why does it seem the trend is going this way as opposed to the opposite way?  I can't be the only person to use the hotspot function while on a conference call at least once a week...

Am I really the only one who tethers there phone quite a bit and receives phone calls? I guess the real inconvenience is that if I'm tethered to my laptop for work, I need to VPN and therefore a data disconnect results in a cycling of VPN for me. But, SVDO has been SUPER clutch on the HTC EVO 4G LTE. I don't know what I would do without it. (Still in a market that is applying for permits for LTE)...