Sprint features Apple iPhone in 4G Wi-Fi hotspot advertisement

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 82
    esoomesoom Posts: 155member
    Of course, you can just tether a modded phone for your data with a WiFi iPad...



    Not that I would ever consider doing that...
  • Reply 22 of 82
    bartfatbartfat Posts: 434member
    Or better yet, you can buy an iPod touch and a WiFi iPad and connect to them using the MiFi or other WiFi routers that act like cell modems. In essence, you'd lock yourself out of using AT&T's network instead... oh the irony
  • Reply 23 of 82
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bartfat View Post


    Or better yet, you can buy an iPod touch and a WiFi iPad and connect to them using the MiFi or other WiFi routers that act like cell modems. In essence, you'd lock yourself out of using AT&T's network instead... oh the irony



    There is certainly a case to be made for MiFi connected WiFi-only iPad over a 3G IPad, but the relatively low price of iPad data plan (which I'm still astounded by) does pretty much mean that you'd have to be connecting multiple devices on-the-go in the same location for it to be financially feasible. One scenario might be a family with the desire for 2 or more iPads and/or notebooks when traveling.
  • Reply 24 of 82
    dualiedualie Posts: 334member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacTel View Post


    That's a neat thing but for an iPad (home, hotels, public transportation, coffee shops, restaurants, and airports) every place I'd need wi-fi has it for free already. If I'm at a park or other outdoor venue 3G is just fine as I wouldn't be watching a video while I could be enjoying the outdoors.





    Only some airports and hotels have free wifi. Many still charge a fee, or you have to use a service such as Boingo.
  • Reply 25 of 82
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dualie View Post


    Only some airports and hotels have free wifi. Many still charge a fee, or you have to use a service such as Boingo.



    Regardless of the country I've traveled to the more expensive the hotel the more likely they will charge outrageous prices for internet. The cheaper the place the more likely it will not only be free but also fast*.



    Over the holidays I stayed at a Marriott. Very nice and upscale but the Internet was $20/day and only wired, no WiFi. But here is the kicker, the daily charge was per calendar day, not per 24 hours from when you first logged in. What a messed up system!







    * This might be do to the lack of notebooks at cheap hotels and is likely somewhat outdated anecdotal evidence since I've been using notebooks almost elusively since the late 90s, well before notebooks and internet was commonplace so I would have certainly been at hotels with the only WiFi-capable computer.
  • Reply 26 of 82
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Regardless of the country I've traveled to the more expensive the hotel the more likely they will charge outrageous prices for internet. The cheaper the place the more likely it will not only be free but also fast*.



    This is so true.



    I once stayed at a Mandarin Oriental -- in a $900 room (someone else was paying ) -- and the 24-hour internet charge was $49.95! That was a bit shocking........
  • Reply 27 of 82
    soskoksoskok Posts: 107member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    This is so true.



    I once stayed at a Mandarin Oriental -- in a $900 room (someone else was paying ) -- and the 24-hour internet charge was $49.95! That was a bit shocking........



    During flight destruction this winter BA gave me a room (i had to wait 8h for my flight) at some crap b&b (i'm so used to them since uni that i can instantly tell if i'm in one) near Heathrow Terminal 5 and there was free wifi. Slow half mbit/s but still a nice bonus
  • Reply 28 of 82
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dagamer34 View Post


    This is one major reason why I bought the WiFi version of the iPad, AT&T's network just plan sucks. Only problem is that there's no way to ever get as good a deal with month-to-month 3G service as what AT&T is offering. It's either $60/month for 5GB with 2-year contract, $50 month-to-month for 500MB or $40 month-to-month for $250MB. Those price/data points are pathologically stupid for anyone who wants to consume anything besides text!



    Oh well, I'll just stick to what I have now. I'm not about to reward these companies in their attempt to rape my wallet just for mobile data access.



    Really?



    I'm a long-time Qwest ADSL/lan line consumer and with their partnership with AT&T I've got access to > 14,000 Hotspots around the country.



    I don't need a contract. I just access my Qwest account.
  • Reply 29 of 82
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Soskok View Post


    During flight destruction this winter BA gave me a room (i had to wait 8h for my flight) at some crap b&b (i'm so used to them since uni that i can instantly tell if i'm in one) near Heathrow Terminal 5 and there was free wifi. Slow half mbit/s but still a nice bonus



    Back in 2007 I ended up staying a few days at the Heathrow Hilton on my way back from India. I forget how much it was, but I recall the "High Speed Internet" fees as being outrageous and on top of that it was dead slow, slower than some of the places i stayed while traveling Asia. I love that they still advertise it as being "10x faster than dial up" in 2010.
  • Reply 30 of 82
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by habermas View Post


    Appleinsider would do wisely not to carelessly reproduce the false and misleading rhetoric of American marketing in labeling Sprint's network a 4G (Fourth Generation) network.



    What Sprint has rolled out is in Europe considered to be a lowly upgrade of the bandwidth of a 3G network. They claim that a measly 6 mbit/s is to be considered 4th generation bandwidth.



    Well IN THE REST OF THE WORLD 4G refers at least to LTE technology, which promises to provide between 50 - 100 mbps on a mobile connection.



    It is as easy as looking up the article on 4G in Wikipedia to verify this fact.



    So Appleinsider please try to put a dampener on your US-centric, corporate suck up world view in the future in order to remain relevant to your European readership. Thank you.



    It's impossible to write these articles and satisfy everyone on the globe and their unique circumstances. "The rest of the world" is "Europe" as you believe. AI is a USA centric news service - if you're in Antarctica while reading it, chances are it doesn't pertain to you as much. Write your own damn articles. Do you really criticize websites in your country for not taking into account all the rest of the world's cultures, etc? Hell no you don't. Stop being pissy about your envy of the US.
  • Reply 31 of 82
    dreyfus2dreyfus2 Posts: 1,072member
    Besides the network discussion (can't say much about is, as I am in a different country, still - the AT&T rates for the iPad seem to be rather nice?)...



    Doesn't anybody else think that the iPhone was a bit of a strange choice here? They almost say: this is the smartphone to have, but we are the service to use. If I were Palm, I would be a bit miffed about it.
  • Reply 32 of 82
    alandailalandail Posts: 755member
    ok, I'm confused. I looked up Sprint 4G and it says average speeds 3-6 mbps, peak speeds up to 10 mbps. The commercial says it's 10x faster than AT&T 3G, but AT&T 3G is now 7.2 mbps. So isn't sprint 4G about the same speed as AT&T 3G?
  • Reply 33 of 82
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by alandail View Post


    ok, I'm confused. I looked up Sprint 4G and it says average speeds 3-6 mbps, peak speeds up to 10 mbps. The commercial says it's 10x faster than AT&T 3G, but AT&T 3G is now 7.2 mbps. So isn't sprint 4G about the same speed as AT&T 3G?



    The 7.2Mbps is the theoretical speed of the HW. In that case i think that is HW in the iPhone 3GS with many AT&T towers in larger cities with 14.4Mbps speeds. Real world speeds are considerably slower. I haven't even seen 4Mbps from the iPhone on 3G.



    They surely bought some stats that show they are 10x faster than AT&T. it's likely a best case scenario for them with cherry picked results but it's also likely technically true. The problem with WiMAX is not unlike AT&T. WiMAX can claim faster speeds but if it's not available in your area or you can never get these fast real world speeds due to saturation or distance from tower then it's pointless to you as a customer. Same goes for AT&T claiming to be faster than Verizon while Verizon has better coverage and less congested network. Each person's location and usage needs will need to be accounted for independently, so: results will vary.
  • Reply 34 of 82
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dreyfus2 View Post


    Besides the network discussion (can't say much about is, as I am in a different country, still - the AT&T rates for the iPad seem to be rather nice?)...



    I've got unlimited 7.2M 3G Data for $25 a month that I will share between my WiFi iPad, my iPod Touch, my Phone, my MacBook Pro and my wife's Acer. Not missing the US for data tech, that's for sure.



    But yeah, seems like the US is gradually approaching Europe and Asian connectivity levels.
  • Reply 35 of 82
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tonton View Post


    But yeah, seems like the US is gradually approaching Europe and Asian connectivity levels.



    Connectivity, in what regard? Just speed, or do you mean with free tethering, cost per GB, or something else?



    The US is quite large and the connectivity I get in one state carries over to every other state, including Alaska and Hawaii. There are geotechnical costs involved that make nationwide coverage cost ineffective compared to small, dense countries. Traveling through Europe switching disposable SIMs isn't a great plan. I know that the Chinese carriers differ from the carriers in Hong Kong, but even between countries in Europe that share the same carrier there are no EU-wide plans that I'm aware.



    I guess what I'm trying to say in a very protracted manner is that the US' size and population dispersal makes one-to-one comparisons between small dense countries impossible.



    Is your data usage unlimited?
  • Reply 36 of 82
    soskoksoskok Posts: 107member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Connectivity, in what regard? Just speed, or do you mean with free tethering, cost per GB, or something else?



    The US is quite large and the connectivity I get in one state carries over to every other state, including Alaska and Hawaii. There are geotechnical costs involved that make nationwide coverage cost ineffective compared to small, dense countries. Traveling through Europe switching disposable SIMs isn't a great plan. I know that the Chinese carriers differ from the carriers in Hong Kong, but even between countries in Europe that share the same carrier there are no EU-wide plans that I'm aware.



    I guess what I'm trying to say in a very protracted manner is that the US' size and population dispersal makes one-to-one comparisons between small dense countries impossible.



    Is your data usage unlimited?



    You don't say. If US providers have difficulties due to its size I wouldn't bother you describing problems that exist in my homeland Russia is just to big to be managed as a single country, it doesn't stand a chance. No Russian network provides a single (in terms of cost) plan to cover the whole country. So when i travel from Moscow to Vladivostok my provider charges me higher rate per minute than if i used my Russian sim anywhere in the EU.



    Anyhow, if everyone would just look back a decade...1 mbit/s is fantastic speed for a mobile device
  • Reply 37 of 82
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Soskok View Post


    You don't say. If US providers have difficulties due to its size I wouldn't bother you describing problems that exist in my homeland Russia is just to big to be managed as a single country, it doesn't stand a chance.



    Anyhow, if everyone would just look back a decade...1 mbit/s is fantastic speed for a mobile device



    A decade ago I don't think I was getting 1Mbps on a cable network, so I'm certainly not complaining about 3Mbps on my phone.



    Here are some simple stats for 5 large countries.
    Russia: . 140,041,247 population / 16,377,742 sq km = . 8.55 pop. per sq km

    China: .1,338,612,968 population / .9,569,901 sq km = 139.88 pop. per sq km

    US: . . . 307,212,123 population / .9,161,966 sq km = .33.53 pop. per sq km

    Canada: . .33,487,208 population / .9,093,507 sq km = . 3.68 pop. per sq km

    Australia: 21,262,641 population / .7,682,300 sq km = . 2.77 pop. per sq km
    Obviously Canada and Russia have vast areas that aren't inhabited but I have no way of calculating based on inhabited land. Even if I did, it would still not be very telling as there are still many other factors to consider. It's easy to want one nation's carriers to work like another but the reality is always going to be very different.
  • Reply 38 of 82
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Connectivity, in what regard? Just speed



    Yes, a typical 100M wired connection here costs $30 per month or less.

    Quote:

    or do you mean with free tethering



    Yes, thre is no limit to tethering.

    Quote:

    cost per GB



    Cheap unlimited plans

    Quote:

    or something else?



    No carrier locks. Plenty of pre-paid options, super cheap.

    Quote:

    The US is quite large and the connectivity I get in one state carries over to every other state, including Alaska and Hawaii. There are geotechnical costs involved that make nationwide coverage cost ineffective compared to small, dense countries.



    True. But there's no excuse for dense urban areas not to have excellent, affordable service options.

    Quote:

    Traveling through Europe switching disposable SIMs isn't a great plan. I know that the Chinese carriers differ from the carriers in Hong Kong, but even between countries in Europe that share the same carrier there are no EU-wide plans that I'm aware.



    But roaming between countries is cheap as hell. In addition, as there are few carrier locks (one of the most important parts of this discussion), switching SIM cards is at least an option. In the US, not.

    Quote:

    I guess what I'm trying to say in a very protracted manner is that the US' size and population dispersal makes one-to-one comparisons between small dense countries impossible.



    But as I've pointed out, carrier locks and poor service in urban areas are the main place where the US is far, far behind.

    Quote:

    Is your data usage unlimited?



    Yes. Fully unlimited, even if I torrent on my MBP (which I wouldn't do on a WiFi connection). Since getting my data plan, when I'm on the bus or the MTR, I frequently browse the web, check all my emails including attachments, watch the occasional YouTube clip attached to a Facebook message, and update or download apps on my iPod Touch, without having to worry about data usage. It's nice being completely free.



    I can't wait to get my iPad.
  • Reply 39 of 82
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member
    This post makes little sense. First you claim AT&T's network plain sucks. Yet, you say it's data plain is a good deal. If it truly sucks, no amount of money would make it a good deal. Personally, I think the quality of AT&T's network depends greatly on too many personal factors like your location. One thing is for certain, I like being able to access both the data and voice at the same time on AT&T. In my mind, Verizon's failure to implement that makes it's network suck or in the very least not open to a fair comparison with AT&T's network.



    Personally, I think the 3G iPad is the best deal. You know there are going to be 3G specific applications for the iPad. For instance, GPS applications. Those will not be available for the strict Wi-Fi ones. I mean seriously, the iPad will make a sweet GPS unit.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dagamer34 View Post


    This is one major reason why I bought the WiFi version of the iPad, AT&T's network just plan sucks. Only problem is that there's no way to ever get as good a deal with month-to-month 3G service as what AT&T is offering. It's either $60/month for 5GB with 2-year contract, $50 month-to-month for 500MB or $40 month-to-month for $250MB. Those price/data points are pathologically stupid for anyone who wants to consume anything besides text!



    Oh well, I'll just stick to what I have now. I'm not about to reward these companies in their attempt to rape my wallet just for mobile data access.



  • Reply 40 of 82
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member
    Yes, there is a lot to envy right now. High unemployment rate, worst health care system in terms of cost and availability, high tax rate, corrupt politicians, etc., etc., etc.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 8CoreWhore View Post


    Stop being pissy about your envy of the US.



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