So, I'm interested in upgrading my iPhone 4 to a 5.

Verizon is about 20% more expensive. Fuck that.

AT&T doesn't have LTE coverage within a couple hours of me. That's frustrating, too.

I know that AT&T's non-LTE "4G" is a lot faster than Verizon's, though. How much would it lag behind the Verizon LTE coverage (which I have in my area)?

9/25/2012 10:03:54 AM

if you get the verizon iphone 5...you can actually put an att sim in it and use att 4g network hspa+(not lte)..and it is pretty quick. and you still can use verizon lte with your verizon sim..

to answer your question though...verizon lte will be quite a bit faster than even hspa+ in a good coverage area..but in some areas (like my shop) it isnt a huge difference)

[Edited on September 25, 2012 at 10:31 AM. Reason : ..]

9/25/2012 10:16:09 AM

Go Verizon. The coverage area is night and day, and Verizon's iPhone 5's are all GSM unlocked as ^ pointed out.

Although honestly I think everyone upgrading to the iPhone 5 is retarded. Wait a year, buy one off contract or used for 1/2 the price when the next iPhone comes out and use StraightTalk.

[Edited on September 25, 2012 at 1:37 PM. Reason : .]

9/25/2012 1:37:01 PM

I think I live near a tower, but on verizon LTE Ive hit a 30mpbs down and 21mbps up with ~80ms ping.

9/25/2012 1:42:19 PM

Quote :

"I know that AT&T's non-LTE "4G" is a lot faster than Verizon's, though. How much would it lag behind the Verizon LTE coverage (which I have in my area)?"

i don't understand this statement...but i admit to being ignorant of the latest tech

what's the difference between "non-LTE 4G" and "4G LTE"? i thought only the latter existed...everything else was 3G

9/25/2012 1:44:12 PM

AT&T and Tmobile bitched and moaned to get HSPA+ labeled as 4G. None of the current "4G" networks would've qualified under the initial definition of 100Mbps but the ITU adjusted their definition to appease the masses.

9/25/2012 1:49:02 PM

Quote :

"Wait a year, buy one off contract or used for 1/2 the price when the next iPhone comes out and use StraightTalk."

Yeah, I'm not paying $100/month for a Verizon family share plan. They don't seem to offer plans that are competitive for a single user with a single phone.

I'm not really big on the idea of locking myself into another 2-year contract with AT&T when they're saying they probably won't have LTE at my location for 18 more months. It was just kind of a matter of...well, why not? I don't benefit in any way from sitting around with a now 3-generation old iPhone 4 off-contract...


...but the StraightTalk deal would change that. In the absence of a compelling reason to upgrade, I could be easily persuaded to keep the old phone to cut my phone bill in half. Since I don't generally use >2GB of data per month, it seems like a no-brainer.

The only issue I can think of is...would I be able to keep my same phone #? What about when I want to enter a contract with AT&T/Verizon for an iPhone 6? Will I be able to move my # back again from StraightTalk to them?

9/25/2012 11:12:16 PM

Also, I'm VERY turned off by the prospect of them just shitcanning me without warning if I exceed some data limit that they apparently don't advertise or firmly specify.

9/25/2012 11:32:22 PM

I've somehow managed to avoid throttling the last few months on ATT

I've found in Charlotte my LTE speeds were in the 40ish Mbit range. In Raleigh on a custom ROM I capped out around 20.

9/26/2012 12:40:21 AM

you can port your number to straightalk but i would port it to google voice. then your number is yours and not a carrier's. i use my phone very heavily for streaming music from my house with subsonic, mapping, and I probably 100 emails a day. all of this and I don't generally push 2gb with the standard available wifi. I tether as well. I generally don't see a need for anything faster than hspa+ as I typically get no less than 2mbps which is more than fine for everything including hd streaming via my slingbox.

i'd also look into a pentaband phone if you're looking at straighttalk. with my galaxy nexus, i am able to connect to both tmo and att 3/4g bands so I get much better coverage than when I was on just att proper.

9/26/2012 10:10:09 AM

+1 for Google Voice. Especially on Android. I use it as my business number and my other number for personal.

9/26/2012 10:14:28 AM

Quote :

"if you get the verizon iphone 5...you can actually put an att sim in it and use att 4g network hspa+(not lte)..and it is pretty quick. and you still can use verizon lte with your verizon sim.. "

Is this true? Domestic GSM is unlocked?

9/26/2012 7:13:36 PM

Yep.

9/26/2012 8:09:26 PM

Does that mean the iPhone 5 is compatible with straight talk?

9/26/2012 10:33:31 PM

i'm curious as to what everyone is doing on their phones to need 10mbps on their phone. why can't you guys wait till you get home to look at porn like everyone else?

9/26/2012 10:35:38 PM

Re: StraightTalk

What the fuck does this map even mean? android vs non-android coverage map?

9/26/2012 10:48:24 PM

...so...I stopped by the Verizon and AT&T stores near my house tonight and did some speed tests on the iPhone 5 models on display, using http://www.bandwidthplace.com. Their locations were about 1/4 mile apart. I tested my iPhone 4 in the AT&T parking lot.

I forgot to record the latency. Oops.

Verizon (LTE):
DL: 13.4 MB/s
UL: 7.57 MB/s


AT&T (non-LTE "4G")
DL: 2.9 MB/s
UL: 0.87 MB/s



________
just for the hell of it:

iPhone 4 (AT&T 3G)
DL: 0.53 MB/s
UL: 0.68 MB/s


my home WiFi (Mediacom cable, 15 MB/s DL advertised)
DL: 3.9 MB/s
UL: 1.78 MB/s

9/26/2012 10:52:23 PM

^ Yea, I was pretty pissed when verizon got rid of grandfathered unlimited data. I was looking forward to switching to 4g and using that shit as my broadband tether since it's faster than the DSL and cable in my area.

This straight talk thing is getting my hopes back up, though.

9/26/2012 10:54:24 PM

^^^ If you buy an Android phone with them (don't recommend), then you'll be on Sprint's network, which is shitty. However, if you bring a GSM phone that is unlocked, buy a SIM card from them for either AT&T or T-Mobile (you get to choose), you will get the coverage of either of those that you choose. Talking wise they should be the same, though data wise they are different. If you're using an iPhone, AT&T's network is what you want. However, you will only get 3g speeds out of Straight Talk and you have to use a few tricks to get it to work.

Also, do note that for the iPhone 5, you will have to trim your sim card to fit as the iPhone 5 uses the nano sim card that Straight Talk doesn't have yet.

9/26/2012 11:40:31 PM

warning. there is no 4G in China in case you plan to travel here with your device.

9/27/2012 12:05:14 AM

I'm going to bring my smartphone to China and plan to use their network.

said no one ever.

9/27/2012 1:20:13 AM

^^^ ah, thanks. that sucks

9/27/2012 5:54:35 PM

Quote :

"said no one ever"

haha burn

9/27/2012 8:45:33 PM