3G on iPAD, Kindle, whatnot

woodstock

woodstock

Final Approach
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Hi

I thought 3G meant CDMA technology - IE what Sprint uses in the US (and probably other carriers).

Europe uses GSM. Is there a 3G standard in Europe - if so, what is it called?

How do the iPADs, Kindles, etc... which are advertising 3G coverage (which to my limited knowledge translates to CDMA)..... work in Europe? I know they do work in Europe, but, do they do more than 3G?

What am I missing?
 
AT&T uses GSM here in US, that was what the holdup for Verizon to get the Iphone and Ipad was. They had to come out with new versions that use CDMA
 
AT&T has a GSM network here? Really?

What is GSM considered - 3G?

So now the new Verizon iPHONE - will it work in Europe?
 
woodstock said:
Hi

I thought 3G meant CDMA technology - IE what Sprint uses in the US (and probably other carriers).

Europe uses GSM. Is there a 3G standard in Europe - if so, what is it called?

How do the iPADs, Kindles, etc... which are advertising 3G coverage (which to my limited knowledge translates to CDMA)..... work in Europe? I know they do work in Europe, but, do they do more than 3G?

What am I missing?
Click to expand...

The term 3G is not tied to CDMA. It's intended to mean "third generation" mobile, though there's no clear definition. Like 4G, it's become a marketing term. T-Mobile and ATT are GSM here in the US, Sprint and VZ are CDMA.

In the US, 3G CDMA is generally used to refer to EvDO, while the GSM systems often market HSPDA as 3G. Europe (and many other parts of the world) have UMTS, HSDPA, and HSPA+. Any of those terms may refer to 3G.

The key difference between the US, Europe, and Japan are the frequency bands employed, with an additional difference between the US CDMA operators and the GSM-based technologies used elsewhere. Even in the US, T-Mobile's "3G" (now marketed as 4G) and ATT's "3G"/4G products are not compatible due to the frequency bands employed.

I've got a MiFi box for Europe/the rest of the world that will work on EDGE over here but lacks frequencies necessary for 3G here. The GSM MiFis for ATT won't do 3G in Europe. I use that MiFi with a prepaid data SIM for various european countries when I travel - it works quite well & saves huge hotel internet bills.

iPads and Kindles
 
About to (maybe) switch cell carriers for the office-

Looks like either AT&T (which we have been using for years) or Verizon.

Looking for "amert phones" and ability to tether or (better) use phone as a WAP. Haven't I read that Verizon Droids can act as an access point/hotspot?
 
SCCutler said:
Haven't I read that Verizon Droids can act as an access point/hotspot?
Click to expand...
My Evo (a Sprint Droid phone by HTC) can serve as either a wired tether to one laptop or as a wireless hotspot for several other devices (either 4 or 5, not sure).

HOWEVER, you get to enjoy those separately. To get a "4G" phone, add 10 bucks to the cost of whatever plan, then to add the hotspot/tether capability you have the pleasure of paying another 30 per month per phone.

I have opted not to spend the extra 30, so I can't give a report on its usefulness.
 
SCCutler said:
About to (maybe) switch cell carriers for the office-

Looks like either AT&T (which we have been using for years) or Verizon.

Looking for "amert phones" and ability to tether or (better) use phone as a WAP. Haven't I read that Verizon Droids can act as an access point/hotspot?
Click to expand...

The newer Verizon Androids can act as a hotspot (my Incredible does), but as Ken notes you pay extra. I understand that the iPhones will also support hotspots in their new firmware. In fact, I am posting this through my android hotspot.

For Verizon, I pay the phone plan price, plus about $30 for unlimited android data, plus an additional $20 for 2 GB on the hotspot feature.

The advantage of VZ over ATT is that CURRENTLY VZ offers an unlimited data use plan for android device data, while ATT tiers it. At some point, VZ will go to tiered plans.
 
Elizabeth, you have a few terms confused. 3G is more of a level of service than an actual technology.

Both AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM in the United States, and both have 3G available (HSDPA or UMTS, depending on who you ask).

Verizon and Sprint both use CDMA in the United States, and both have 3G available (EVDO or some rev based on it).

This was all garnered from my time at T-Mobile, but for more info, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3G

edit: Bill explained it better than I did (expectedly). I didn't read the whole thread before I posted.
 
FYI, the Verizon IPad does not really have a GPS for use with product like Foreflight. Something to do with using the CDMA instead of GSM like Apple does. I found out the hard way (Verizon IPad for sale). Bad-Elf.com does have a plug in GPS that is supposed to work even brtter than the Apple built in one.
 
Bluebird said:
FYI, the Verizon IPad does not really have a GPS for use with product like Foreflight. Something to do with using the CDMA instead of GSM like Apple does. I found out the hard way (Verizon IPad for sale). Bad-Elf.com does have a plug in GPS that is supposed to work even brtter than the Apple built in one.
Click to expand...


It does not use CDMA, it's a wifi only model. None of the WiFi only models have a GPS.
 
jtheune said:
AT&T uses GSM here in US, that was what the holdup for Verizon to get the Iphone and Ipad was. They had to come out with new versions that use CDMA
Click to expand...

Bluebird said:
FYI, the Verizon IPad does not really have a GPS for use with product like Foreflight. Something to do with using the CDMA instead of GSM like Apple does. I found out the hard way (Verizon IPad for sale). Bad-Elf.com does have a plug in GPS that is supposed to work even brtter than the Apple built in one.
Click to expand...

There is no "Verizon iPad." The iPads that Verizon sells are the WiFi-only models, and Verizon will happily sell you a MiFi so that you can access data on the road.

The only iPads that have 3G and GPS built in currently are the GSM (ie, AT&T) models. Those of you wanting to use Verizon and have the same functionality as a 3G iPad with AT&T will currently have to buy an iPad, a MiFi, and a Bad Elf or other supported GPS - Kinda kludgy, if you ask me.

I would expect that "iPad 2" will support both GSM and CDMA networks... Hopefully.
 
SCCutler said:
About to (maybe) switch cell carriers for the office-

Looks like either AT&T (which we have been using for years) or Verizon.

Looking for "amert phones" and ability to tether or (better) use phone as a WAP. Haven't I read that Verizon Droids can act as an access point/hotspot?
Click to expand...

Spike,

Careful here - Verizon's network does not support simultaneous voice & data. If you're using your phone for a hotspot, it will cease to be a phone - And if you're talking on the phone, you can't use it as a hotspot.

That's one big point in AT&T's favor - You can do simultaneous voice and data.

The iPhone is supposed to work as a hotspot on Verizon's network at launch. I would imagine that AT&T is going to be announcing the same function very soon - In fact, iOS 4.3 is currently in beta and I would imagine that that is what will allow support for the iPhone to be a hotspot, thus an AT&T iPhone will probably be able to function as a hotspot within a couple of weeks... Unless AT&T pulls another one of these:

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It was a big surprise to me when I found that Cricket was a real carrier, and not a virtual one like Virgin. They use CDMA family of signals.

BTW, anyone heard about recent misadventures of WiMAX? I am afraid the merger of Sprint and Nextel was going to put kibosh on those trials.
 
Bluebird said:
FYI, the Verizon IPad does not really have a GPS for use with product like Foreflight. Something to do with using the CDMA instead of GSM like Apple does. I found out the hard way (Verizon IPad for sale). Bad-Elf.com does have a plug in GPS that is supposed to work even brtter than the Apple built in one.
Click to expand...
There is also a Bluetooth GPS for the ipad that works better than the built in one. A GNS-something. Mike Miley from myTransponder was showing it the othor day.
 
woodstock said:
AT&T has a GSM network here? Really?

What is GSM considered - 3G?

So now the new Verizon iPHONE - will it work in Europe?
Click to expand...

You want a GSM phone for Europe and elsewhere and that's AT&T.
 
Thanks Grant, that is what I went with and should have it in a few days. GNS 5870 MFI Bluetooth receiver made for Iphone/Ipad/Itouch sold by Global Navigation Systems- GNS GmbH for $99.95. I wanted it for the Foreflight products on the Ipad and it is recommended on their site. (Incase someone made the same mistake I did)
 
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