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Can anyone explain this to me ? All I hear is LTE kills battery, so whats the point of LTE when T-mobile HSPA+ 42Mbps has pretty much the same speed as LTE without causing any battery drain. And why would you need 30Mbps anyway on a limited data plan ? My current Tmobile 3G (not 4G or HSPA+) pulls anywhere from 2.5-5.0 Mbps right now....on older HD2 and Nexus One
GSM version of Galaxy Nexus on T-Mobile does not go up to 41Mbps speeds. It can only go up to 21Mb (this is the reasoning why Galaxy S2 on T-Mobile went with Qualcomm's CPU instead of Samsung's Exynos to hit 41Mbps speeds), this is all speaking theoretically as well. Realistically, I haven't gotten to those speeds.
And people "need 30Mbps" on their phones simply because.... they can.
HSPA+ in its current implementation is definitely not as fast as Verizon's LTE, but as you said it surely is fast and it is more than enough for most people. You can definitely expect upwards of 10mbps down, which is great.
Its really a personal call. Some people are on Verizon because its the only carrier available consistently in their area, or they've been a long-time customer, or they're part of a family plan with others on Verizon.
If you're on T-mobile and happy with your service, you're definitely saving money staying with them. If you can buy it unlocked it is definitely a good choice. You're not missing out on anything by staying with T-Mo and the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus.
Cause we like to stream stuff?
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk
zephiK said:
GSM version of Galaxy Nexus on T-Mobile does not go up to 41Mbps speeds. It can only go up to 21Mb (this is the reasoning why Galaxy S2 on T-Mobile went with Qualcomm's CPU instead of Samsung's Exynos to hit 41Mbps speeds), this is all speaking theoretically as well. Realistically, I haven't gotten to those speeds.
And people "need 30Mbps" on their phones simply because.... they can.
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Whats your speed in NYC ?
martonikaj said:
HSPA+ in its current implementation is definitely not as fast as Verizon's LTE, but as you said it surely is fast and it is more than enough for most people. You can definitely expect upwards of 10mbps down, which is great.
Its really a personal call. Some people are on Verizon because its the only carrier available consistently in their area, or they've been a long-time customer, or they're part of a family plan with others on Verizon.
If you're on T-mobile and happy with your service, you're definitely saving money staying with them. If you can buy it unlocked it is definitely a good choice. You're not missing out on anything by staying with T-Mo and the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus.
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Click to collapse
My buddy has been testing his Nexus and Droid X on Verizon....Nexus got up to 27mbps and DroidX on 3G pulled only 500kbps. I mean I would rather get constant 2-3mbps then switchs between LTE 27m and CDMA 500k. I want to switch to Verizon because it will be the same price as Tmobile, but I am affraid that LTE will kill battery and CDMA is dirt slow. I am in Boston area by the way.
also some reviews say that LTE kills battery while car charging....this just scares me.....i can stream music + use Google navigation at the same time and have brightness at auto and i still dont charge my phone in car....my 1250 battery in HD2 lasts 12-14 hours on that heavy use.
kolyan said:
but I am affraid that LTE will kill battery and CDMA is dirt slow.
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Both of these things are very true.
I have the LTE nexus, and yes, LTE does do a number on the battery, and yes, it is ever so slightly thicker. however, I'm pulling 10 mb/s down in a very poor coverage area, and a reliable 40+ mb/s down when I get closer to the city. (I live on an away facing side of a hill a few miles outside of a town). Also, without 4g, atleast in my area, I can pull 1-2 mb/s down, but thats not as reliable. I like that speed, and I am willing to charge my phone twice in a day.
In all reality, you wont notice too much of a difference between 10-20 mb/s (HSPA+) and 30-50 mb/s (LTE in my area) on a phone. What you will notice is the difference between coverage and no coverage. Which again favors the Verizon model.
These are THEORETICAL max speeds you are talking about.
In reality the speeds you get will be no where close to the theoretical max speeds the technology can handle. Those speeds might be attainable if you are the only one on the network and are standing under a cell tower.
T-Mobile HSPA+ speeds in NYC are 5.4mbps down, and 1.6mbps up (tested on my friend's International Galaxy Nexus)
LTE max theoretical speed is 299.6 mbps. In reality the speeds I tested in NYC on my Verizon Galaxy Nexus are 26.79mbps down and 7.20mbps up.
http://www.speedtest.net/android/114425608.png
Results will vary but I pull 1-1.5Mbps on 3g so I can live with that. Verizon is the only carrier at my house. T-Mobile doest have coverage in the rural area where I live. If I went with them I'd only have service at work and while running errands downtown.
I get 3g at home and LTE just a few miles away. Part of me wishes that I could use T-Mobile but its not practical where I live and do business.
One last thing, LTE reception is great in the basement of my workplace!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
I'm curious to see Verizon LTE speeds once people start buying LTE phones.
It is almost important to note that LTE is not only faster, but also capable of keeping the signal while you are moving rather fast. Like in cars and trains
Sent from Galaxy Nexus hspa+ 16gb
I get 40-50 mb/s down and 10-20 up, thats why
kolyan said:
Can anyone explain this to me ? All I hear is LTE kills battery, so whats the point of LTE when T-mobile HSPA+ 42Mbps has pretty much the same speed as LTE without causing any battery drain. And why would you need 30Mbps anyway on a limited data plan ? My current Tmobile 3G (not 4G or HSPA+) pulls anywhere from 2.5-5.0 Mbps right now....on older HD2 and Nexus One
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Click to collapse
I think you are answering your own question. TMo and AT&T will be slower but use less battery. In the end I'd just decide if you want to be on Verizon or want a GSM phone. Your call.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
kolyan said:
Can anyone explain this to me ? All I hear is LTE kills battery, so whats the point of LTE when T-mobile HSPA+ 42Mbps has pretty much the same speed as LTE without causing any battery drain. And why would you need 30Mbps anyway on a limited data plan ? My current Tmobile 3G (not 4G or HSPA+) pulls anywhere from 2.5-5.0 Mbps right now....on older HD2 and Nexus One
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LTE does kill the battery, but there is an extended battery (Still, I'm not sure how well the battery life improves with the extended battery)
The speed is all about how you feel and what you need. I'd say if you get great LTE coverage in your area and where you're going to be and you'd be fine with the smaller battery life and such, go for the LTE model. HSPA+ speeds are proven to be slower than the LTE speeds (i've seen some users get up to 15-16 down and 12-13 UP while HSPA+ get's us 8-10 DOWN 5-9 UP) But what are you going to do with the 15 mb/s speed?
Since you are T-Mobile, I don't know if you're going to have to switch data plans to access the HSPA+ speeds as some people who are on AT&T (including me) had to do this as well.
rexdog1888 said:
I get 40-50 mb/s down and 10-20 up, thats why
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And what can you do with that, that you can't do with 10 mb/s down on HSPA+?
[hfm] said:
I think you are answering your own question. TMo and AT&T will be slower but use less battery. In the end I'd just decide if you want to be on Verizon or want a GSM phone. Your call.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
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lol...not that easy. I am on Tmo with contract (200 to break now and 100 in a month) I very much prefer GSM over Verizon, but my wife doesn't get any service at work. I am somewhat happy with Tmo, I get service everywhere but when I go places like skiing there is usually just 2g with GPRS or EDGE at best.....I have no idea about Verizon. My battery is just amazing.... I never use any chargers other then at night. Price for service will be the same at both, but I will have to make new 2 year contract at Verizon, I will also get Nexus for myself at $150 and Incredible for wife for free....so new phones is nice to get... my wife not really happy with current Nexus One and I would love to have GN. If I stay with Tmo.... paying 650+ for NS is pricy....
kolyan said:
lol...not that easy. I am on Tmo with contract (200 to break now and 100 in a month) I very much prefer GSM over Verizon, but my wife doesn't get any service at work. I am somewhat happy with Tmo, I get service everywhere but when I go places like skiing there is usually just 2g with GPRS or EDGE at best.....I have no idea about Verizon. My battery is just amazing.... I never use any chargers other then at night. Price for service will be the same at both, but I will have to make new 2 year contract at Verizon, I will also get Nexus for myself at $150 and Incredible for wife for free....so new phones is nice to get... my wife not really happy with current Nexus One and I would love to have GN. If I stay with Tmo.... paying 650+ for NS is pricy....
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Click to collapse
Well, lets weigh out the pros and cons.
VERIZON
Pros:
1) You only spend about 400 going with Verizon.
2) Your wife may get signal at work.
Cons:
1) Battery life using LTE (But you can always turn off LTE)
2) Your wife may not get signal at work. (You never know..)
TMO
Pros:
1) You stay with a company that you've known and have been with for a while.
2) You get to have the flexibility of staying on a GSM provider. Meaning you get the freedom of switching world phones whenever you need to and not having to get it activated and what not.
Cons:
1) You spend more money. (About 250 more just for the GN, and maybe more for your wife's new phone.
2) Your wife will still not get any signal at work.
I guess its really what makes your wife happy. ;D Kidding. I'd bet on Verizon, but only if having a weak battery and not having places to charge your phone aren't complete deal breakers.
Speed won't really be a BIG BIG factor because while LTE and HSPA realtime speeds do differ, the coverage area for both aren't super complete. In both cases, you'll be constrained to 3G/HSPA. But then again this has to do with your coverage area that we know nothing about.
going to Verizon with 2 new phones, Google Voice porting, and paying Tmobile cancelation fee should all be pretty much covered by selling my tmo phones. My wife doesnt really care if she gets service at work she is not picky. In reallity i guess its all about me wanting Nexus and better coverage, but cdma and lte is a big compromise for me.
i'll figure this out soon.....
Think of it this way,
You can get 2 Ferraris:
One with the original Ferrari engine.
And one with 4 cylinder engine in it.
You will do 30 mpg on your 4 cylinder engine Ferrari and will get to the same place as the other Ferrari goes, but just a "little bit" slower.
I made the switch to Verizon and not planing on swapping to a 4 cylinder engine any time soon.
martonikaj said:
And what can you do with that, that you can't do with 10 mb/s down on HSPA+?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anything you can do on a home internet service.
Never really thought about Verizon but I'm to the point were I've had it with sprints ****ty service, so i got a few questions im a little hesitant about jumping to Verizon since their Android lineup seems lackluster (getting the nexus but probably only for a year then would get another phone) anybody hear anything about them acquiring better Android phones in the future, also been to the development section an don't see much activity going on for the LTE version any reason for this? Maybe due to how new it is? Any comments about Verizon as a service provider would be welcome also...
In my opinion, Verizon gets a pretty good lineup of phones. The Galaxy Nexus, Rezound, Razr, etc. As far as a carrier, very expensive but you get what you pay for.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Verizon gets pretty good Android handsets IMO.
I just recently moved one of my AT&T lines to Verizon. Prior to that I was with Sprint. Sprint's data speeds were horrendous in my area and EVERY area in traveled too. I can't even imagine what its like after the Iphone release. Voice was always good on Sprint. AT&T's data blew sprint out of the water. Verizon is as good if not quite as fast 3g wise as AT&T but its incredibly reliable. 4g is blazing. 3g speeds are usually 1 - 1.8mbs on Verizon 3g. 4g pushes 15mbs. AT&T's 3g was anywhere from 800k to 4mbs. Verizon is definitely more stable and works in more places.
Both are leaps and bounds better than Sprint. Also with Sprints $10 premium add on its the same price as Verizon if you use Google voice or another data type service for texting. Which is what I do and saves me the $20 a month. I don't need many minutes since if I get low I can use google voice and GrooveIP for free minutes. Once its set up and configured it works great even over 3g.
In other words, jump ship the grass is greener. Sprint's service has taken a dump the last few years and they run a serious risk of bankruptcy before they can put all the spectrum they have to any real use. They have made one mistake after another after another for a long time now.
The LTE roms are on another site mostly.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Thanks a lot guys ^^ its really between getting the LTE nexus or GSM on tmo, an whats the deal with the litte dev support for the LTE version?
*what site josh...?
i moved from AT&T to Verizon and havent looked back, love my GN, but other phones are respectable too,RAZR,REZOUND are good phones too depending on youre tastes
Rootzwiki, but if you have the choice, get the GSM version.. much better battery life.
Cool, thanks guys great input, how much better battery we talking about?
carlost24 said:
Cool, thanks guys great input, how much better battery we talking about?
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Significant amount. LTE is quite the battery drain. All depending on use patterns of course.
martonikaj said:
Significant amount. LTE is quite the battery drain. All depending on use patterns of course.
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Click to collapse
It's really not that bad. I mean if you hammer it on LTE it will drain quicker than usual but it's not this destroyer of batteries that people make it out to be.
while LTE may destroy ur battery, u can always turn it off till u need it. there is plenty of dev support for the LTE version, and verizon's network coverage destroys all other three carriers put together.
also.. if u are going to pay for a data plan anyways, might as well enjoy the subsidy.
carlost24 said:
whats the deal with the litte dev support for the LTE version?
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Click to collapse
The GSM version works on all providers in all countries all over the earth. The LTE version works on one provider, in one country.
I think the GSM-model simply has what you may refer to as a "immensely much bigger user-base" and hence more developers than what's when you look at the cold, hard facts, is basically a carrier-phone, available on one carrier only.
If you travel out of the country often get GSM. Otherwise get the LTE model. People wanna make LTE out to be some battery black hole but its not. Sprint vs vzw is no contest. Verizon 3g is actually usable and 4g knocks my socks off. It maintains 25 megs on a heavily loaded network and gives me 50+ when its lightly loaded. Honestly development is not really a problem for me because ICS is so good.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Buff McBigstuff said:
If you travel out of the country often get GSM. Otherwise get the LTE model. People wanna make LTE out to be some battery black hole but its not. Sprint vs vzw is no contest. Verizon 3g is actually usable and 4g knocks my socks off. It maintains 25 megs on a heavily loaded network and gives me 50+ when its lightly loaded. Honestly development is not really a problem for me because ICS is so good.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
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Click to collapse
I can't seem to get above 7 anywhere in Denver. Any chance its my phone?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
mark manning said:
I can't seem to get above 7 anywhere in Denver. Any chance its my phone?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's going to vary largely due to many factors. What's your signal strength, how many other people are using 4G in your area, etc...
I was traveling through Baltimore, MD and was managing only 12 MBPS with 1 bar of signal strength on New Years Eve, which honestly, is easily more than enough for anything. Keep in mind, as time goes on, more people get 4G phones, and use them more, available bandwidth is going to go down anyway. I don't understand why people think they should get 20 MBPS anyway....what are you going to do? If you don't have an unlimited plan, what's the point? You'll use up the small amount of data allotment that you have so quick you'll never even know it.
Thanks guys i think i shall pick up the LTE tomorrow...
carlost24 said:
Never really thought about Verizon but I'm to the point were I've had it with sprints ****ty service, so i got a few questions im a little hesitant about jumping to Verizon since their Android lineup seems lackluster (getting the nexus but probably only for a year then would get another phone) anybody hear anything about them acquiring better Android phones in the future, also been to the development section an don't see much activity going on for the LTE version any reason for this? Maybe due to how new it is? Any comments about Verizon as a service provider would be welcome also...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I left Sprint for Verizon 3 months ago, and the extra cost is well worth it - it's like having a landline in my pocket.
As far as your assessment of the Android phone lineup, I'm not sure where you're coming from. I think they have a great lineup, although certainly it's slanted toward the Motorola line. With Google buy Motorola mobility, that should end up being a very good thing.
I also don't think they meddle with the phones nearly as much as ATT does - but I have no direct experience with ATT, just what my friends tell me.
I don't know about all your guys' locations but I live in Mesa, AZ (it is about 30 min from downtown Phoenix). I get VERY slow LTE in the city. Even with 2 bars I get ~5 down and 5 up. As far as signal strength, it isn't much different to any other 4G phones I have used. I get no data in my school's basement and the phone always seems to drop the data service. This morning I had 1X until I restarted the device. At a small town in east AZ, Verizon is the only one with data service, but it is VERY!!!! slow. 3G in Phoenix area is about .8 down (on a good day).
Was hesitant due to what im hearing about battery life on LTE, but i guess I'll deal with battery issue since i do want the 32gig option an I'm hearing nothing but good things about Verizon, any other differences between LTE an GSM version?
I drop Sprint and made the switch to Verizon. I had nothing but network problems on Sprint, crappy speed on 3g/4g network. But one thing I can say is once you make the switch to an LTE phone you’ll never go back to regular 3g/4g service! is like going from DVD to bluray.
Im going to be coming from Sprint to possibly verizon. I was wondering a few things
1. How is the service? I get BAD 3g speeds ( around .5mb ) and 4g is decent whenever I can get it ( 5mb or so ). Whats their average 3g and 4g speeds?
2. What about phones? Im coming from the Evo and its still considered a top contender with the new phones that are out there now. I dont want an iphone, Id like to stay android. Any phones out there that are pretty good? How is the nexus? Anything better? Anything worth waiting for?
Any and all help is appreciated.
My signal is great. I can pull about 2 mbps down with 3G and average 15-20 mbps down with 4G. Occasionally I can hit 30 mbps. I would recommend the Nexus if you want an all around great phone. The Razr Maxx would be a second choice if you absolutely need the extra battery life.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
TeeRom said:
My signal is great. I can pull about 2 mbps down with 3G and average 15-20 mbps down with 4G. Occasionally I can hit 30 mbps. I would recommend the Nexus if you want an all around great phone. The Razr Maxx would be a second choice if you absolutely need the extra battery life.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
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Click to collapse
+1. The signal is always strong. I have about the same with 3g, 4g about 10-12 down. The customer service is amazing as well. I came from the HTC incredible to the GNex and I love this phone. It's got everything I need. Takes a toll on the battery but whatev.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
i have been with every carrier exept at&t in the past month and verizon is the best
sprint was my carrier for a year and the 3g was abysmal but what made it worse is there is no 4 g in phoenix
With Verizon 3G DL's average .4 - .5mb, 4G depending on location, ranges between 1mb (rare) to 25mb in saturated areas (for me averaging 8-16mb). As far as phones with VZ, 1.) Galaxy Nexus. 2.) HTC Rezound 3.) Moto Razr 4.) LG Spectrum. All of which blow any Evo out of the water in both hardware and performance. Sprint sucks
Sent from GNexus w/AOKP & franco.kernel
Depends on your location. Had sprint since I was in 4th grade now in college. Switched to Verizon with my family and where we used to get not even 200kbps with sprint we get 27mb 4G in Tucson. On my sisters 3G iPhone she gets 2-3mb.
Just costs more but you do get what you pay for . Service. Thus far I have never lost service on Verizon's network but was always in fringe areas it seemed on Sprint.
Took a trip to Yuma to head to Mexico for some cheap work on replacing my clutch on truck had 3g all the way and streaming Sirius to my phone.
IMO Verizon is worth it.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Was a ten year sprint customer and left if 3 reasons.
Their 4g wimax is dead and in process of switching to Lte. So any phone you buy with wimax is already antiquated.
I sometimes would get good signal but the speeds sucked on both 3 and 4g(when you could find it) and my house happens to be in a spotty area when it shouldn't be.
every phone they have out now is just a rehashed evo.
I knew made the right change when i drove over bridge in my area (daily commute), where I would always drop calls, and not only did I not drop but my 4g was 2 bars. I pretty much get 4g everywhere now.
I suggest going to your local VZW store and running speed tests. I've seen "3G" pull down 80Kbps, and I've seen it pull down 1.4 megs. I've seen LTE range from 6 megs to 40 megs.
Device wise, if you want to tinker, get the GNex. Ignore all the blithering whining that completely over runs this place. There's nothing wrong with the device. If you don't want to tinker, I'd look at the Rezound and the Razr Maxx. My personal preferences:
1) GNex
2) Rezound
3) Razr Maxx
They're all really good devices. Play with them all and grab up the one you like the best.
One more thing... Expect your bill on vzw to be about twenty dollars more than sprint; worth it in my opinion.
Thanks all. I did the comparison and I'll get less data and less mintues for around the same price
Here is the break down. With sprint I have 2 phones ( so right off the bat, there is a 10$ per phone smartphone charge them tack on ; think 20 bucks here ) add a line for 9.99, 1800 mins ( free mobile to mobile, text, MMS, SMS ) unlimited data ( at SLOW ****ING speeds... )
I used a grand total ( between two phones ) around 80 mins. And that was mostly mobile to mobile. The landline minutes were like 30 mins.
With Verizon I would get 4gb per phone, FASTER speeds, 700 mins ( free verizon to verizon, but no others ) 30 bucks for unlimited sms mms etc etc.. all for around the same price. Im a data user mostly, so that is what pushes me around. I cannot do sprint anymore.
The Verizon service is excellent. I love the phone but it has 2 major issues. Data dropping and the loss of outbound audio bug, which is the worst bug I've ever experienced on a phone. Hopefully a software update will fix those issues.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
wow that would be a potential game changer. I need to mess with my android devices, and I would like to have the nexus versus the moto. But no one has seen a fix for those issues? Guess its a prominent bug out there?
3g is meh. 4g I get between 10-22. Just buy the galaxy nexus.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
yeah well my 3g speeds are .5-.7 on average... haha Im hoping verizon is better than that.
mroneeyedboh said:
yeah well my 3g speeds are .5-.7 on average... haha Im hoping verizon is better than that.
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Will depend on Area. Don't expect Verizon's 3G to be drastically faster than that.
mmmm dammit haha. I thought verizon was one of the if not the fastest like 3-5mb on 3g and around 20 or so on 4g.
mroneeyedboh said:
mmmm dammit haha. I thought verizon was one of the if not the fastest like 3-5mb on 3g and around 20 or so on 4g.
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Click to collapse
The theoretical max speeds for EVDO rev A are only 3.1mbps down / 800kbps up. And those aren't real world. Expect the low 2mbps range at most.
CDMA carriers have atrocious 3G speeds compared to GSM carriers. UMTS beats EVDO easily, HSPA even more-so.
This is why you're seeing Verizon push LTE so hard, because it gives them the speed advantage again. It also offers them simultaneous voice + data, and the eventual move to VoLTE.
Honestly, I'd personally rather have 8mbps all the time on HSPA+ than 1.5mbps sometimes and 20mbps other times.
mroneeyedboh said:
mmmm dammit haha. I thought verizon was one of the if not the fastest like 3-5mb on 3g and around 20 or so on 4g.
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I don't even think 3G supports those speeds. In the few weeks I have been with Verizon I have seen in bad area's with low signal hit around 200-500kbs. In these area's Sprint would be around 30kbs, lol. In good area's where Sprint would get .500kbs-.700kbs I pull about 1.5 - 2mbs on Verizon. I do get 4G all over with Verizon as well as Sprint would be in and out all over the place...
It was great to be at the malls food court tonight and play a HD Youtube video of Yo Gabba Gabba for my son to keep him busy. Verizon's 4G in most places is faster then my home internet.
As far as the phone, the GN is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better then the EVO. I have owned the EVO, EVO 3D and the Epic 4G Touch. The only phone in the same league is the Epic 4G Touch but the GN just has cooler things going for it that make me not miss my E4GT.
As far as dropped data goes, it looks like more of a bad batch of phones. My first GN would drop 4G constantly. I got a replacement and this one never drops data. Keeps 4G consistently. I also haven't had a problem with calls as others have mentioned.
I do not think any other phone on Verizon offers what the GN does but other devices I would would fall right below in line would be the Rezound and Razr Maxx.
For the GN, make sure to buy the extended battery as you will need it. Verizon online has it on sale for $24.99 and it barely makes the device and larger then stock. I would aslo suggest ordering the phone from Amazon as they sell it for $99 and their customer service rocks!
Ahh okay so AT&T hs faster speeds with the HSPA versus EVDO cdma 3g? Then its a no brainer to go with AT&T if I want faster speeds..
martonikaj said:
The theoretical max speeds for EVDO rev A are only 3.1mbps down / 800kbps up. And those aren't real world. Expect the low 2mbps range.
CDMA carriers have atrocious 3G speeds compared to GSM carriers. UMTS beats EVDO easily, HSPA even more-so.
This is why you're seeing Verizon push LTE so hard, because it gives them the speed advantage again. It also offers them simultaneous voice + data, and the eventual move to VoLTE.
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Click to collapse
That's true. CDMA 3g technology speeds is considerably slower in relation to 3g speeds on a GSM network...... However, CDMA Technology does provide a more stable and reliable network with far fewer dropped calls. That is one of the reasons why Verizon is consistently rated #1 in the US year after year. In the past, it was a trade off (slower data for better reliability). Today, the fact that Verizon has the only real 4G LTE network infrastructure makes the decision now a no-brainer.
Sent from GNexus w/AOKP & franco.kernel
I've had this phone now for less than a month. I know it's not a long time, but I think I've got a pretty good idea of how this phone performs. I have not rooted this phone, I am on 4.02 and PRL 15119.
1. The signal problem:
Coming from a Droid2, the first thing I noticed was one or no bars where I used to have full! I was losing data all the time, until I switched to CDMA only. My phone kept switching to LTE and back again, I spent more time in hand offs than connected!
I had the opportunity to have my Nexus, a TBolt, and a Maxx all in my basement together and did a few tests. All three phones had trouble holding LTE here when I was able to run a speed test, they all performed similarly, between 1 and 2 Mbps. When all three switched to CDMA, they displayed one more bar on and off than my Nexus, but showed similar pings and speeds.
I spend a lot of time in my basement and have never had troubles losing data (CDMA only) even though it displays 0-1 bars all the time.
Now, I do occasionally have problems with data, but it's nothing new to me. My Droid2 would show full signal and just not load a page or drop to 1x in locations known to be strong service.
I have not had this problem with the WiFi hand off back to cellular data. This phone switches faster than my Droid2 ever did. Like, by a lot. I work in no service building. Every morning I turn my WiFi on and just turn it off when I get in my car to go home. Usually I have cellular service before I can even turn off the WiFi.
I read a lot of reports where someones Nexus would be outperformed in a 4G speed test by another Verizon 4G device. Not the case here. My tests were constantly the same when comparing between the Nexus, TBolt, and Maxx.
I stopped in the Verizon store and two of the sales dudes had 4G phones, a Razr and another Galaxy Nexus. The Nexus guy was rooted on 4.04 and couldn't break 10Mbps while Razer guy and myself were fighting for 40Mbps.. Maybe there are some lemons out there
All in all, I may have gotten a good device (made in China, go figure), but I do not believe there is a real problem here. If this is your first android on Verizon, I can see where you'd think there are problems. Whenever I pick up my phone, I just ignore the bars and use it. It always works. Even in 3G, this phone loads pages WAY faster than my Droid2.
2. Battery life: I am not a real heavy user. There are times when I'll spend 20 minutes in the bathroom playing angry birds or reading threads, but that's about it. I got the Verizon extended battery before leaving the store with my new phone. This battery has 200mah more juice than the extended battery in my old Droid2.
I think this phone get's great stand by time, I got it to go 3 days off charger with a few calls and texts every day and a little bit of angry birds
On a whole, I'd have to say it get's as good or better life than my last phone.
3. Random reboots: I was constantly pulling my phone out of my pocket to find that it was off. I had gotten quite concerned after reading all the posts about crash reboots. It wasn't until I set the phone down while booting it up that I saw the screen shut off. I knew something wasn't right here and reproduced the shut down by smacking the phone in my palm while it was booting it up.
After looking closely, I noticed the battery would move up and down in its compartment. I solved this by taking some folded paper and taping it to the bottom edge of the battery. Pushing the battery up into the contacts on the phone. I also added some tape/paper to the top of the battery so the cover is pushing it down into the compartment.
Obviously I can't speak for everyone, but I haven't had a single crash/reboot. Just this battery connection problem.
4. Slow screen rotation: I have noticed this, it is VERY annoying when you first get the phone. Habit is to flip it landscape BEFORE launching the app you want to use. This is why you think it's so slow, because the home screen will not flip, it just refuses to. In any app, it flips just like you're used to. A non problem that I'm sure will get fixed.
5. Screen banding: I tried looking at the blank grey screen on any brightness, I could not get the bands I kept reading about. I guess I got lucky!
6. Overheating: I read this phone will try to use 2.4 and 5GHz spectrum's while on WiFi. The first thing I did was set it to 2.4 only and have not had any issues. I use WiFi 8 hours a day every day with out the phone getting hot. I also use the hot spot almost every night, as I don't have a land line internet at home. Never an issue, once again, to the touch this phone was not as hot as my Droid2.
I really like ICS and this phone seems like a keeper. I hope this inspires someone to go out and buy the Nexus!!
Over the weekend I went to the Verizon store to compare the vz nexus signal. Turns out every device with lte read -60 and then nexus -80. But there was one lg phone that displayed both signals at the same time, 1x and lte read -60 and -80. So I wonder does Verizon lte phones actually never show lte signal and always show cdma even when connected to lte?
Just earlier today I compared my Galaxy Nexus at -110 to my dad's Rezound at -80. Side by side at the exact same time. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture.
I'm unrooted stock 4.0.2 right now.
Silly question but did the salesman with the Nexus have LTE on?
How in the world could you go 3 days on a 2100mah? The most i can get is maybe a day or day and a half. Usually its under a day as i use my phone alot.
Dan76 said:
Just earlier today I compared my Galaxy Nexus at -110 to my dad's Rezound at -80. Side by side at the exact same time. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture.
I'm unrooted stock 4.0.2 right now.
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Lost the link but basically non ics phones show 3g signal instead of 4g or something like that. Its a different signal type that's why the gnex always shows less because its showing its actual signal
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
i honestly think its a hardware issue, but i have read all the threads and there is nothing concrete... my phone works perfect on 3g but i switch it to 4g and it just looses signal i could have 3 bars and then all of sudden it just looses all signal, it does not switch to 3g..im in a good 4g coverage area as well. im really angry and i dont want any other phone but the one i have . I hate blur so forget motorola
davidadavila said:
i honestly think its a hardware issue, but i have read all the threads and there is nothing concrete... my phone works perfect on 3g but i switch it to 4g and it just looses signal i could have 3 bars and then all of sudden it just looses all signal, it does not switch to 3g..im in a good 4g coverage area as well. im really angry and i dont want any other phone but the one i have . I hate blur so forget motorola
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That shouldn't happen doesn't to me at all. Call Verizon. Get a new phone lol
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
RogerPodacter said:
Over the weekend I went to the Verizon store to compare the vz nexus signal. Turns out every device with lte read -60 and then nexus -80. But there was one lg phone that displayed both signals at the same time, 1x and lte read -60 and -80. So I wonder does Verizon lte phones actually never show lte signal and always show cdma even when connected to lte?
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Click to collapse
This is generally the case.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
RogerPodacter said:
Over the weekend I went to the Verizon store to compare the vz nexus signal. Turns out every device with lte read -60 and then nexus -80. But there was one lg phone that displayed both signals at the same time, 1x and lte read -60 and -80. So I wonder does Verizon lte phones actually never show lte signal and always show cdma even when connected to lte?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If they are not ICS devices, they do not show the LTE signal.
You have problems?
Cool story bro. This isn't a support site.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
fix-this! said:
How in the world could you go 3 days on a 2100mah? The most i can get is maybe a day or day and a half. Usually its under a day as i use my phone alot.
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This was achieved over a weekend in a strong service area on cdma only. I was at a solid 3/⁴ bars the whole time. I was at a buddys house for a lan, so i was doing my surfing on the computer. I was doing most of my texting in google voice on my pc, so the only use the phone saw was calls and bathroom browsing lol.
Yes, the nexus measures signal differently and this is why it cant hold 4g, it thinks the signal is too weak and lets go before it should. If you had a vzw droid before and know where the strong 3g is, set it to cdma only and see how it performs compared to the old phone. If your getting data drops and dropped calls where you didnt before, then exchange your phone.
Ive read there is a way to force lte only, this would be the best test. But i cant remember how to do it.
Want to add, the ics keyboard is the best one ive ever used. Also, speaker volume on this phone is plenty loud. I have had problems with call quality when i have no bars. Just does not sound good and hard to unserstand people. When i have a bar or more, sounds great. Like theyre in the room.
chancy319 said:
Silly question but did the salesman with the Nexus have LTE on?
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Definitely lte. I am not sure what vzws theoretical max speed is on 3g, but in our area, max is about 1.7Mbps. I know theoretical is no where near 10Mbps.
teeBOMB said:
Definitely lte. I am not sure what vzws theoretical max speed is on 3g, but in our area, max is about 1.7Mbps. I know theoretical is no where near 10Mbps.
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Could the differences have been due to your radios? I'm on 4.0.4 with the new radios and I don't break 10Mpbs.
The speed is fast enough for me and I don't remember exactly the speeds I had on the earlier radios. I vaguely remember breaking 10Mpbs at times. I might reflash the older radios and do speed tests.
I'm happy to report I have zero problems with my VZW GNex since day 1
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
dynamicpda said:
Could the differences have been due to your radios? I'm on 4.0.4 with the new radios and I don't break 10Mpbs.
The speed is fast enough for me and I don't remember exactly the speeds I had on the earlier radios. I vaguely remember breaking 10Mpbs at times. I might reflash the older radios and do speed tests.
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Now i didnt see these guys screens, i dont know what they were using for testing or what server they were connecting to. He told me hes never been able to break 10 megs. For all i know he rooted and flashed on day one. I cant imagine the members of xda would overlook something so obvious, but who knows. Give it a try eh? For reference all my mentions have been using the official speedtest.net app and chicago servers. Im tempted to root, but im waiting for 4.05 ota and have no idea how to do it. Ill get there eventually
I've found that LTE can vary wildly in speeds. You really need multiple tests with multiple phones at the same location/time.
That said, I saw a huge difference between FC05 and FA02. I found that the best combination for my phone was FC04 on the CDMA radio and FA02 on the LTE radio. It's a good 2mbits faster and much more stable. Signal in my house is borderline, so you really see the difference.
tspderek said:
I've found that LTE can vary wildly in speeds. You really need multiple tests with multiple phones at the same location/time.
That said, I saw a huge difference between FC05 and FA02. I found that the best combination for my phone was FC04 on the CDMA radio and FA02 on the LTE radio. It's a good 2mbits faster and much more stable. Signal in my house is borderline, so you really see the difference.
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Thanks for the suggestion.
I flash the FC04/FA02 combo and in the spot near my house where I am disappointed, 4.5Mpbs down / 2.5 up, I got pretty much the same results. One difference I did notice is that the hybrid combo is slower to switch from 3G than FC05/FC05. I toggled LTE to force 4G connect.
I flashed back. Eager to see what 4.05 brings and also if the latest official IMM76K brings new radios.
Smokeey said:
You have problems?
Cool story bro. This isn't a support site.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
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Um, it kind of is since most of us come here for help.
Also, if your read the OP he was not complaining about issues as much as addressing them.
I am with verizon and currently use a note II as my business phone here in the usa. I love to travel and a number of trips each year i find myself in locations that are gsm only and some have decent 3g data services at a reasonable price eg argentina is less than 20 cents us per data for gigs of
3g on 1900 mghrtz band.
i have used old motorola v197's as travel phones--reliable and tough and cheap
i would love to use 3g and have a smart phone with me. my goal would be to pop in a local gsm sim card and use the phone and have access to internet.
my preliminary research leads me to believe nexus gsm might be a great travel phone--quad band on voice edge and 3g. in theory it should work everywhere. there are decent looking used ones going on ebay for us$200 to $225 regularly.
i may visit western/eastern europe, south america and china and se asia over the next few years. i owned a nexus with verizon and know the phone.
can anyone comment and confirm my intuition.
also--in theory the same sim i use with the nexus gsm should fit the note II from verizon and work overseas on the locale sim card? verizon techies say it should work with unlocked?
thanks in advance
The Galaxy Nexus is the perfect travel phone. The pentaband 3G radio makes having internet access in any part of the world possible.
This past summer I used my nexus in Europe and it worked very well. I plugged in my Sim and it found the APN correctly by itself and within a minute the device was ready for use. Keep in mind the Galaxy Nexus does not have the strongest reception. Buildings in Europe are primarily built out of concrete so reception for my nexus was tough to maintain. My nexus would hover at 1-2 bars while indoors but would get full bars outdoors. Using data with 1-2 bars will slaughter the nexus' battery in record time. I found myself charging my nexus 3 times a day.
Besides that the Galaxy Nexus would be ideal for you as a travel phone. Just don't forget your charger.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
when i used the verizon nexus as my primary phone:
1. for long plane rides, i would use an anker 5600 external battery. this small, light battery extender would be charging the phone while i listened toi book on tape , music or a few movie. during a 9 hour flite to buenos aires. i would arrive with a near full charge on the phone. i alawys used 2000mh battery. so every once and awhile i need to change batteries
the nexus radios are far from perfect
The Nexus is a great international phone with it being pentaband so it will get high speed internet access as long as the provider offers it. I used it when traveling through central and South America and kept it in a Kraken case to really keep it protected and it held up just fine.
Your Verizone Note 2 is factory unlocked so yes, all you would have to do is put in a foreign sim card and it will be able to make calls just fine.
Good luck and have a safe trip.