With his minimalism, I would have expected signal strength to be displayed as one full-height bar that fills. Like a sideways battery charge indicator.
Three years ago, the GSM standards were altered to allow that. We thought that it would be done for the iPhone's arrival on Verizon. But Verizon chose to not implement it, even though it's just a software upgrade.
I miss the capability, though most people don't seen to notice. I doubt Verizon is even thinking about it.
But from my understanding, it was Apple who chose not to support it in the Verizon version of the iPhone 5. I seem to recall some head scratching at the time wondering why Apple didn't implement the necessary tech, although I forget the details.
So what does that really buy someone when most carriers do not offer unlimited data, and those that are grandfathered in, if the data usage reaches a certain limit they will push you to a lower speed anyway.
The fact remains that what the carriers charge monthly for data is too much. All 150Mbps will do is allow you to reach your limit faster.
Until there is more competition the big fellows, AT&T and Verizon, are going to rake in as much as they can, and as long as consumers are willing to pay, the price will stay the same or go up.
LTE advanced is all well and good and I'm all for it.
But how about some more frequencies? The small town 120 km from the arctic circle that I live in has had LTE coverage since december 2010, but we can't use it with Apple products since they ignore European frequencies (2600, 800 and 900 Mhz).
Oh well, there's always Samsung....
(as if I would buy that )
(OK so I read the article again and realized I was, once again, too quick on the draw. It seems that the future is bright, even here close to nowhere )
As if faster data explicitly translates to more data...
It does if I decide instead of waiting to go home to download a file on WiFi or watch a video I just do it from the road. The only time I hit 5 GB was when watching the Apple talks from the recent developers conference. If I was still on 3G I would have waited and done it from my home computer. If the higher speed allows you to do something you could not do, then you will use it more. Not that I am against higher speeds but without corresponding increases in the data caps it is pointless. Once the speeds get much above 20 mbps the network is probably not the bottleneck for most web work, maybe for downloading large files but I do little of that work on the phone.
My carrier supposedly supported it from day one, but it's a giant fail really. The iPhone *says* LTE all the time, but subjectively the speeds are the same and the signal strength is actually a lot worse.
I used to have normal, three to four bar 3G service when sitting in my office, now it *says* LTE but I get one bar or no bars. So all LTE means to me is that I have to leave my office now to make a phone call.
Plus we all have to get used to stupid DOTS now instead of bars. Because Ive.
It does if I decide instead of waiting to go home to download a file on WiFi or watch a video I just do it from the road. The only time I hit 5 GB was when watching the Apple talks from the recent developers conference. If I was still on 3G I would have waited and done it from my home computer. If the higher speed allows you to do something you could not do, then you will use it more. Not that I am against higher speeds but without corresponding increases in the data caps it is pointless. Once the speeds get much above 20 mbps the network is probably not the bottleneck for most web work, maybe for downloading large files but I do little of that work on the phone.
Let's assume there's a regular, hard working Joe getting paid an average wage for his time. By your logic, if he got a huge raise, blew it all on drugs, and suddenly had bigger bills to pay, all Joe's problems would be a direct effect of his huge raise... and nothing to do with Joe at all.
Perhaps, after reading this anecdote, you might consider that capability does not force usage?
Let's assume there's a regular, hard working Joe getting paid an average wage for his time. By your logic, if he got a huge raise, blew it all on drugs, and suddenly had bigger bills to pay, all Joe's problems would be a direct effect of his huge raise... and nothing to do with Joe at all.
Perhaps, after reading this anecdote, you might consider that capability does not force usage?
Your point makes sense considering what the OP said, however I believe there is still the problem of streaming videos scaling in quality based on your connection speed. So watching the same video over LTE will AUTOMATICALLY load in HQ, thus making a bigger dent in your data allotment.
I believe some people reported being able to hit their cap within minutes of watching HQ streams; the same video over 3G (lower quality) did not do the same.
So how long will it take for all csrriers to support this and how bad will it drain your battery looking for it when its not around. Or worse, you are in a place without basic LTE
LTE can be easily turned off in the Settings, then it will never be looked for should dead zones be an issue.
Who has the best LTE Network speeds? Is it Verizon or AT&T? And I told you guys it would be a Qualcomm chip... yay.
Supposedly AT&T faster but less coverage, however With AT&T I get 4g speeds in 80% of my state, 10% 2g, 10% (middle of nowhere) none
I have read that this was first 4g networking (on official basis) later all LTE had it.
This seems like it is like a LTE version of HSPA+ being treated like it, and I figure the speeds recieved will be compatible with regular LTE. (Baybe 70 megabytes per second)
What the hell is wrong with the industry. Nothing more to sell to customers? The LTE-A in Korea is a true LTE-A Network as far as i am concern. The so called LTE-Advanced being / going to be deployed in US is LTE CAT4, capable of going up to 150Mbps.
The Chip used inside next iPhone will presumably be MDM9x25, which is the same IP block being used inside Samsung's GS4 LTE-A Snapdragon 800. The MDM 9x25 do support 3GPP Release 10 aka LTE-Advanced. But none of the US Network going to be deployed will support LTE-A just yet.
I agree the dots don't look good -- they could have come up with something better for cellular signal AND WiFi, maybe Bluetooth too...
Most definetly are bad upgrade with it, the bars are what represent cellular as the 1/4 to 1/2 circle is for wifi, I was hoping for a new better feature up there like maybe data speeds next to it.
Comments
With his minimalism, I would have expected signal strength to be displayed as one full-height bar that fills. Like a sideways battery charge indicator.
Three years ago, the GSM standards were altered to allow that. We thought that it would be done for the iPhone's arrival on Verizon. But Verizon chose to not implement it, even though it's just a software upgrade.
I miss the capability, though most people don't seen to notice. I doubt Verizon is even thinking about it.
But from my understanding, it was Apple who chose not to support it in the Verizon version of the iPhone 5. I seem to recall some head scratching at the time wondering why Apple didn't implement the necessary tech, although I forget the details.So what does that really buy someone when most carriers do not offer unlimited data, and those that are grandfathered in, if the data usage reaches a certain limit they will push you to a lower speed anyway.
The fact remains that what the carriers charge monthly for data is too much. All 150Mbps will do is allow you to reach your limit faster.
Until there is more competition the big fellows, AT&T and Verizon, are going to rake in as much as they can, and as long as consumers are willing to pay, the price will stay the same or go up.
LTE advanced is all well and good and I'm all for it.
But how about some more frequencies? The small town 120 km from the arctic circle that I live in has had LTE coverage since december 2010, but we can't use it with Apple products since they ignore European frequencies (2600, 800 and 900 Mhz).
Oh well, there's always Samsung....
(as if I would buy that
(OK so I read the article again and realized I was, once again, too quick on the draw.
Quote:
Originally Posted by brutus009
As if faster data explicitly translates to more data...
It does if I decide instead of waiting to go home to download a file on WiFi or watch a video I just do it from the road. The only time I hit 5 GB was when watching the Apple talks from the recent developers conference. If I was still on 3G I would have waited and done it from my home computer. If the higher speed allows you to do something you could not do, then you will use it more. Not that I am against higher speeds but without corresponding increases in the data caps it is pointless. Once the speeds get much above 20 mbps the network is probably not the bottleneck for most web work, maybe for downloading large files but I do little of that work on the phone.
Maybe turn LTE off?
Quote:
Originally Posted by wally626
It does if I decide instead of waiting to go home to download a file on WiFi or watch a video I just do it from the road. The only time I hit 5 GB was when watching the Apple talks from the recent developers conference. If I was still on 3G I would have waited and done it from my home computer. If the higher speed allows you to do something you could not do, then you will use it more. Not that I am against higher speeds but without corresponding increases in the data caps it is pointless. Once the speeds get much above 20 mbps the network is probably not the bottleneck for most web work, maybe for downloading large files but I do little of that work on the phone.
Let's assume there's a regular, hard working Joe getting paid an average wage for his time. By your logic, if he got a huge raise, blew it all on drugs, and suddenly had bigger bills to pay, all Joe's problems would be a direct effect of his huge raise... and nothing to do with Joe at all.
Perhaps, after reading this anecdote, you might consider that capability does not force usage?
Your point makes sense considering what the OP said, however I believe there is still the problem of streaming videos scaling in quality based on your connection speed. So watching the same video over LTE will AUTOMATICALLY load in HQ, thus making a bigger dent in your data allotment.
I believe some people reported being able to hit their cap within minutes of watching HQ streams; the same video over 3G (lower quality) did not do the same.
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlituna
So how long will it take for all csrriers to support this and how bad will it drain your battery looking for it when its not around. Or worse, you are in a place without basic LTE
LTE can be easily turned off in the Settings, then it will never be looked for should dead zones be an issue.
Sounds great, seems Apple would be foolish not to ship with this solution this year:
http://www.qualcomm.com/media/documents/files/qualcomm-rf360-front-end-solution-product-brief.pdf
Yes it is reportedly being deployed in the US in 2013...
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/analyst-att-launch-lte-advanced-second-half-2013/2012-12-04
Quote:
Originally Posted by bmg1001
LTE-A is only available in Korea, I believe. Unless all UK and US, and other countries, the carriers magically get LTE-A, wouldn't it be a waste
The main advantage is it's a universal chip, meaning a global iPhone. Currently LTE is very fragmented with different spectrums.
I have read that this was first 4g networking (on official basis) later all LTE had it.
This seems like it is like a LTE version of HSPA+ being treated like it, and I figure the speeds recieved will be compatible with regular LTE. (Baybe 70 megabytes per second)
The LTE-A in Korea is a true LTE-A Network as far as i am concern.
The so called LTE-Advanced being / going to be deployed in US is LTE CAT4, capable of going up to 150Mbps.
The Chip used inside next iPhone will presumably be MDM9x25, which is the same IP block being used inside Samsung's GS4 LTE-A Snapdragon 800.
The MDM 9x25 do support 3GPP Release 10 aka LTE-Advanced. But none of the US Network going to be deployed will support LTE-A just yet.
I agree the dots don't look good -- they could have come up with something better for cellular signal AND WiFi, maybe Bluetooth too...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazoobee
Plus we all have to get used to stupid DOTS now instead of bars. Because Ive.
Just did a speed test and got 39.25 down and 11.92 up.
That crushes my home cable internet by more than 50%.
...only my home internet is vastly more useful because it isn't capped to 6 puny gigs a month.
Raw speed is meaningless with these expensive low limit data plans.