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So, I walked into 2 Verizon stores over the last two days. I wanted to use one of my upgrades to go from my Rezound to the Nexus. I spoke to two different reps and both told me they were not a fan of the phone. Design wise its nice and ICS is cool, but they said there are some problems with the reception and they're seeing more exchanges than they'd like.
I have no problems with my phone. I like it, but I love the larger screen and that's its lighter.
Do any of you wish you waited a bit before buying this phone (because Verizon already pushed this phone back so far) to see if an update cleared any of the issues you guys are having? All phones have their bugs, but I hate that the bootloader is locked and I can't go custom crazy like I wanted to.
Bootloader is very easily unlocked and you can do any mods you want.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
One thing I've learned from reading many mobile phone forums, the Vz sales people often know less than the informed reader. I went thru 4 Bionics and after having issues even after the OTA I packed up all my stuff and returned it for the Nexus.
I don't wish I waited. I love the idea of owning a Google feature phone knowing I'll always have the latest updates and they'll continue to provide updates for a long time coming.
The bootloader is super easy to unlock on this phone and it's equally simple to root. I never rooted my Bionic b/c I ways waiting to see if I ever got a stable phone before I monkeyed with it. The Nexus I rooted after 5 days. I think this phone is going to receive a lot of developer attention because it's so easy to work on. I don't think the radio is as strong as what Moto uses, but I've never had any reception issues.
sebastianraven said:
So, I walked into 2 Verizon stores over the last two days. I wanted to use one of my upgrades to go from my Rezound to the Nexus. I spoke to two different reps and both told me they were not a fan of the phone. Design wise its nice and ICS is cool, but they said there are some problems with the reception and they're seeing more exchanges than they'd like.
I have no problems with my phone. I like it, but I love the larger screen and that's its lighter.
Do any of you wish you waited a bit before buying this phone (because Verizon already pushed this phone back so far) to see if an update cleared any of the issues you guys are having? All phones have their bugs, but I hate that the bootloader is locked and I can't go custom crazy like I wanted to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im surprised they didnt try to get you to buy the iPhone, like most ATT and VZW sheeps do.
They (and the people returning the phones), apparently do not know that the signal bug is a bug and will be fixed soon.
Get the SGN, you wont regret it
andy2na said:
Im surprised they didnt try to get you to buy the iPhone, like most ATT and VZW sheeps do.
They (and the people returning the phones), apparently do not know that the signal bug is a bug and will be fixed soon.
Get the SGN, you wont regret it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So by "fixed soon" you mean the GNex is going to show you more bars for the same signal it currently gets? In my area, that just means I'll show some signal and not have any data network. I've owned several VZW phones and have never had dropped calls at my house like with the GNex. My advice - the GNex is the best phone on the market *if you get signal with it* end of story. If you don't (like me), it's just an expensive paperweight with a pretty screen and "faster updates." BFD if I can't make or receive calls with it out of my home. So anyway, my actual advice is to try the GNex first. If you get signal where you live/work/play, by all means enjoy an awesome phone. If not, return it for something with a better antenna.
Unless Samsung personally delivers a migrant worker to my house to install a newer, better antenna in my device, I don't think any software fix is going to help me (and yes, I've flashed the newest radios to no avail).
Sucks, and I don't want to get rid of it but I think I'm out of options.
Todd
I wouldn't put too much faith in the store employees. Most are not that informed.
It's a good phone, certain aspects may not be as good but the pluses outweigh the negatives.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
I had a "temp" rezound for a week. Loved the phone. In fact I recommended it to a few "semi-techie" (non flashing) co-workers. We're IT guys and service hotels. We climb ladders and run cables. So a heavy-duty phone is nice. The Rezound felt like a heavy duty phone that the guys like. Signal and battery was good.
For me, I prefer the Nexus. I have the extended battery which doesn't add much but every little bit helps on android phones. Both last about the same time with battery life. The Rezound was my temp phone, so I really wasn't interested in setting it up. Just used it barely for work calls. The Nexus, I can't put down. Surfing, emails, games, customization, etc. Both last about 15+ hours with a few hours at night surfing XDA. Pretty impressed.
Signal (just going by bars) was "better" with the Rezound. We know now that Verizon beefs up their signal bars ala iPhone style. Verizon phones typically show 3-4 bars where the Nexus will show 0-1. Both still have the same -db levels thus both getting the same service, but the Nexus is showing TRUE signals bars. Verizon is supposedly working on a patch to increase the number of bars per -db. It's a visual issue. The latest Verizon radio (not public yet) fixes lots of the 3G/4G hand-offs and works much better. Battery life has also greatly improved with the, currently unreleased, 4.0.3 + New Radio/Baseband.
I do disable LTE because I get 2-4mb 3G in my area, which is plenty for syncing emails and facebook type stuff. I don't need a 60+Mbps LTE cell connection all day.
After some pretty heavy usage today at work (SMS, surfing, games , emails, xda), from 8am-2pm I have 75% battery left on the Nexus. 25% in 6 hours = 24 hours battery life
I wouldn't listen to anything a rep says. As far as reception, did a test from my device and posted it on my blog. There is nothing wrong with the reception on the phone. If your device does have a legitimate issue, you need to exchange it.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
My GNex consistenly sits 10-20 db lower than my D2 sitting next to each other on the counter. Admittedly I live in an "outlier" area as far as Verizon's network goes, but if my D2 can manage an average of 80 db, why can my Nexus only muster between 100 and 110 most of the time? I've never seen it go below 93 at my house, where I've seen my D2 get as low as 65 dB. Again, new radios don't help for me. To me it just seems like the Samsung antenna is not as sensitive as in the motorola, so to say there are "no reception issues" simply because you may not experience them is patently false. I've been to three VZW stores now and all three of them said swapping out for a new Nexus is doable, but will not fix the issue because of Samsung's crappy antennas. At least two of the people I spoke with were Nexus owners, one owns a Razr, for whatever that's worth.
sebastianraven said:
I spoke to two different reps.
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Click to collapse
phone store reps and apple 'geniuses' are derps. they are just about as knowledgeable about technical stuff as you and i are about cthulu. ive had a genius tell me that my ipod would have difficulty connecting to n-networks if i was an lte area... its an ipod... it doesnt give a **** about lte. similarly verizon reps have told me that the droid incredible 1 and 2 have the same hardware with a different case.
most people on xda are actually highly knowledgeable and i would trust opinions out here over any vzw derp.
At my local store the Nexus is all but hidden in the stock room. It's on display but in the group of old phones across the room from the iphones and RAZR. I asked the guy and he admitted to not knowing much about the phone but that they are being pumped by management to push the razr and that xyboard tablet. It's obvious verizon corporate would rather not push unlocked phones but imo carried the nexus to snag the root community.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
That's funny. At my local vzw store they don't keep a nexus out on the display. The sign and mount for it are out, but you have to go to the service desk and stand in front of them after being blessed with the opportunity to hold it briefly. All other available models are out in multiple locations for customers to play with.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
I went from the TBolt -> Rezound -> Nexus so hopefully I can offer some insight ;-)
TBolt reception wasn't an issue for me in general. At work the cafeteria is in the basement of our building and I always saw 4G with an occasional drop to 3g. The Nexus occasionally see's signal, but I still prefer the Nexus and having a Google experience device.
Will it be fixed? I hope so.
Could it be software related? Potentially, as much as people want to argue we just don't know for sure. The Nexus S 4G was plagued with performance issues when it was released and they were fixed it with a software update. (note that it wasn't a reception issue)
Some phones have better antenna's than others, that's the simple truth. I've seen excellent reception at times and crappy receptions at other times.
The Rezound I had was a good phone, but I felt the need to tinker with it to get rid of bloatware, tweak performance, etc...I don't feel that need on the Nexus. I have pros and cons for each phone but in the end there are intangibles about the Nexus that I enjoy more. FYI, my second Rezound had great battery life but in all honesty it matches my Nexus. I've hit 12-18 hours every day this week, and it's been a normal work week for me. There's no WiFi for me to connect to from 6:30am until 6:00pm, I'm on 4g the entire time and streaming music for 1-2 hours a day. I don't had a ton of screen on time at the end of the day 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
If you stick with your Rezound you'll have ICS in a few months more than likely, and it does have many of the cool features already built in like the screenshot capability. I hope you are ok with S-On because you can't assume that it will ever be unlocked. Odds are that eventually it will, but until it happens you have to determine your level of satisfaction with it as the phone stands now.
Good luck in your decision.
100% happy with mine. Hands down love this unlocked, rooted, custom rom, OC kernel, blazing fast phone
Asking for your local VZW store's reps' opinions is like asking a Genius at an Apple store, I wouldn't trust their "expertise" about much more than flipping burgers
Unlock your bootloader and enjoy your amazing phone sir.
T-Keith said:
I wouldn't put too much faith in the store employees. Most are not that informed.
It's a good phone, certain aspects may not be as good but the pluses outweigh the negatives.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They might not know everything, but they should have a grasp on what phones are getting returned/exchanged, which probably eats at their commision.
The lady that helped me with a tbolt accessory tonight had the nexus and liked it. Told her I couldn't wait and got the rezound, and she said that was a good phone too.
I agree with others that verizon has its own agenda and is pushing moto products over superior htc and samsung devices...
player911 said:
I had a "temp" rezound for a week. Loved the phone. In fact I recommended it to a few "semi-techie" (non flashing) co-workers. We're IT guys and service hotels. We climb ladders and run cables. So a heavy-duty phone is nice. The Rezound felt like a heavy duty phone that the guys like. Signal and battery was good.
For me, I prefer the Nexus. I have the extended battery which doesn't add much but every little bit helps on android phones. Both last about the same time with battery life. The Rezound was my temp phone, so I really wasn't interested in setting it up. Just used it barely for work calls. The Nexus, I can't put down. Surfing, emails, games, customization, etc. Both last about 15+ hours with a few hours at night surfing XDA. Pretty impressed.
Signal (just going by bars) was "better" with the Rezound. We know now that Verizon beefs up their signal bars ala iPhone style. Verizon phones typically show 3-4 bars where the Nexus will show 0-1. Both still have the same -db levels thus both getting the same service, but the Nexus is showing TRUE signals bars. Verizon is supposedly working on a patch to increase the number of bars per -db. It's a visual issue. The latest Verizon radio (not public yet) fixes lots of the 3G/4G hand-offs and works much better. Battery life has also greatly improved with the, currently unreleased, 4.0.3 + New Radio/Baseband.
I do disable LTE because I get 2-4mb 3G in my area, which is plenty for syncing emails and facebook type stuff. I don't need a 60+Mbps LTE cell connection all day.
After some pretty heavy usage today at work (SMS, surfing, games , emails, xda), from 8am-2pm I have 75% battery left on the Nexus. 25% in 6 hours = 24 hours battery life
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How does this explain most people seeing a 20db difference from the nexus (or charge) and any other 4g device? Seems to me, the signal bar indicator isn't necessarily the problem.
I know on my rezound, I will show no bars of 4g and still have a connection (usually around -100). With 4 bars I'm usually -75 or so.
nrfitchett4 said:
They might not know everything, but they should have a grasp on what phones are getting returned/exchanged, which probably eats at their commision.
The lady that helped me with a tbolt accessory tonight had the nexus and liked it. Told her I couldn't wait and got the rezound, and she said that was a good phone too.
I agree with others that verizon has its own agenda and is pushing moto products over superior htc and samsung devices...
How does this explain most people seeing a 20db difference from the nexus (or charge) and any other 4g device? Seems to me, the signal bar indicator isn't necessarily the problem.
I know on my rezound, I will show no bars of 4g and still have a connection (usually around -100). With 4 bars I'm usually -75 or so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I currently have a nexus and love the phone, hate the reception. I can't get signal where my droidx could. I pray they can fix it before 1/15 or I will have to return it.
The rezound only displays 3G signal not 4G, try switching to cdma and you see that the DBs remain the same. Not sure why that is but I have spent a lot of time considering this as a alternate phone and there is now way to tell what the DB level is of 4G from the status menu.
With light use today. I'm at 61% at 11pm off a charge from 9am. 9am-11pm.
That's awesome. With light use my Rezound would still be about dead at 11-midnight.
Light use = several (4-5) quick phone calls. Texting. Push Gmail/exchange. Twitter/Facebook. Wordfued. XDA.
4.0.3 CM9 Lang w/ latest LTE radio/baseband.
They can always pump more power to the radio antenna to get better signal but at the loss of battery life.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
An earlier post, thought it may be a good topic for debate:
TO ALL THE CLOUD PEOPLE!
Not usually one to rant but I need to here. What scares me about this is the larger picture. Data plans are getting smaller and more expensive and at the same time storage is getting smaller, which will force you to use a cloud service. So for all the music, etc. that you already own you will have to stream it and use up part of your data plan. That's what really scares me, it's like getting taxed twice. Your using data to get the song but it doesn't end there, now you have to use data every time you listen to it. This all boils down to the carriers making a lot of money off of stuff you own. What's next? 8GB phones and $50 per GB data plans in 5 years? I'm all for companies making a profit, I'm conservative and definitely not an occupy movement type but i see potential disaster for the consumer here. Who knows, hopefully this isn't a trend but for all the good things about a cloud, when combined with an expensive data plan it can be really bad for the consumer. I'll keep my content locally thank you. Not to mention all the downfalls of a cloud service, battery drain, losing signal, etc.
What's really disappointing is this entire issue can be avoided with expandable memory. Feels like we are going backwards.
This is only a concern if you believe AT&T's rhetoric that the sky is falling.
First off 90% of phones still come with a Micro SD card slot.
Second, Verizon is really the only carrier who still charges overage fee's (T-mobile and AT&T throttle after a certain point and Sprint is "Unlimited") so I don't get where you are going with this.
bleach168 said:
This is only a concern if you believe AT&T's rhetoric that the sky is falling.
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Click to collapse
I have unlimited data on verizon. I can just add the two scenarios together and see the POTENTIAL for a bad thing, but can you deny that the potential is there?
miketoasty said:
First off 90% of phones still come with a Micro SD card slot.
Second, Verizon is really the only carrier who still charges overage fee's (T-mobile and AT&T throttle after a certain point and Sprint is "Unlimited") so I don't get where you are going with this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try 99% of phones haha
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
miketoasty said:
First off 90% of phones still come with a Micro SD card slot.
Second, Verizon is really the only carrier who still charges overage fee's (T-mobile and AT&T throttle after a certain point and Sprint is "Unlimited") so I don't get where you are going with this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you believe Sprint will have unlimited forever? Where I'm going is trying to point out what nobody else is. Smaller more expensive data plans and streaming services for content you already own COULD become very pricey down the road, hope it doesn't go that route. Not sure how to make that any clearer. Not about overage charges at all.
Verizon already has a 2GB plan (yes i know about double the data, just a gimmick to make you think they gave you something when they took it away). If you use 1GB streaming from the cloud you only have 1GB left for other use. You could have had the content on your phone locally and still had 2GB for other use. So if 2GB isn't enough now you need to spend more on a larger data plan, that's where the cost will be.
@joshnichols189
I'm well aware, see you bought a nexus anyways, good choice.
InfiniD said:
@joshnichols189
I'm well aware, see you bought a nexus anyways, good choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it does become a problem, I don't think it will happen within two years, but the next time you go looking for a phone make sure you get one with an expandable sd card slot
miketoasty said:
If it does become a problem, I don't think it will happen within two years, but the next time you go looking for a phone make sure you get one with an expandable sd card slot
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Click to collapse
If this trend continues we could be in a tight spot in 2yrs. I was okay with the nexus because it was still 32GB, but if this continues and the higher end phones don't have expandable it will suck. I love the Gnex and the community support, I considered the Rezound and now very happy with my purchase mainly because of this site and everybody willing to help others. We are spoiled with the support here. My friend is trying to root his Sprint Evo Design 4G and there is some community support but nothing like the Gnex gets, heck it doesn't even have a forum here at xda.
I think everybody is kinda missing my point of the larger picture down the road lol. This topic started out as a response to discontinuing the 32GB nexus and people being okay with it because of cloud services. Just trying to point out the cloud could come back to bite us later.
I believe the OP has a very valid point here!
stickerbob said:
I believe the OP has a very valid point here!
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Click to collapse
Thanks. Was starting to think I was the only one that could connect the dots lol
InfiniD said:
I'll keep my content locally thank you.
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Click to collapse
I've been in the data retrieval industry for a long time. I've seen at all and am still surprised on a daily basis of what my clients tell me happens to them that results in them losing all of their data.
Your local storage (on your phone, or computer) will fail and you may have to pay hundreds to thousands of dollars to get it recovered, unless you're fine with losing it (which most people are forced to live with due to the high costs and fragile economy). You might shake your head in disagreement at what i'm saying, most think they will never experience this.
We're not walking backwards, cloud is the future, and in my experience, it's the only way to really make sure that you don't lose your data. The point is to never lose data and have it available to you anywhere. I suggest Box and Dropbox to every single client who asks how they can prevent this from happening to them again.
Google Music is a wonderful thing, i use it every morning on the way to work and every evening on the way home. I listen to about 30-40mb of music on the road. Wifi is always on at home, and available pretty much everywhere i go. Since Dec. 3rd, i've been using about 1 - 1.2GB/month for music and still have a little under 4 GB to use for whatever else my heart desires.
Anyway, while companies are screwing people with data plan costs, in the big picture cloud storage is a winner. My GN's 16GB is more than enough to store whatever i need. Also, i'm pretty sure there will be less and less 8GB phones in the future, i don't think you have anything to worry about.
I'm not saying the cloud is a bad thing on it's own, it definitely makes sense, I'm just worried what the future may hold and the how the carriers will take advantage of it. I agree with all of your points about data security/retrieval. I think if there was a plan that excluded cloud streaming as paid data usage that would be perfect. If that's even possible.
They should just make all phones with 64GB of data with an expandable slot and unlimited plans. I'll never worry again lol.
Nexcellent said:
I've been in the data retrieval industry for a long time. I've seen at all and am still surprised on a daily basis of what my clients tell me happens to them that results in them losing all of their data.
Your local storage (on your phone, or computer) will fail and you may have to pay hundreds to thousands of dollars to get it recovered, unless you're fine with losing it (which most people are forced to live with due to the high costs and fragile economy). You might shake your head in disagreement at what i'm saying, most think they will never experience this.
We're not walking backwards, cloud is the future, and in my experience, it's the only way to really make sure that you don't lose your data. The point is to never lose data and have it available to you anywhere. I suggest Box and Dropbox to every single client who asks how they can prevent this from happening to them again.
Google Music is a wonderful thing, i use it every morning on the way to work and every evening on the way home. I listen to about 30-40mb of music on the road. Wifi is always on at home, and available pretty much everywhere i go. Since Dec. 3rd, i've been using about 1 - 1.2GB/month for music and still have a little under 4 GB to use for whatever else my heart desires.
Anyway, while companies are screwing people with data plan costs, in the big picture cloud storage is a winner. My GN's 16GB is more than enough to store whatever i need. Also, i'm pretty sure there will be less and less 8GB phones in the future, i don't think you have anything to worry about.
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Click to collapse
100% true.
While unlimited data may be on its way out, it's only because the telco's can afford to do that for now. Their goal is for you to think the exact same way the OP is thinking right now:
rather than get angry at the telcos, they want you to pay them more, and then get angry at Google, Netflix, Rdio, Slacker, Spotify, Pandora, Onlive, for trying to get you to stream more.
Cellular networks have had a great decade charging high rates on data that most people don't use much of. Average usage for an iPhone user 2 years ago was 800MB - 1.1GB. That means, ATT customers were essentially paying $30 for 1GB, which is a MONSTROUS rate per GB. Typical transit rates on wireline are closer to $0.04/GB. With Android, carriers noticed that usage began increasing very quickly, and just looking at the rise of cloud, they figured out that for them to keep their same profit margins, they needed to either charge more, or keep usage down.
Now, some cellular networks are fighting to keep you paying monstrous per GB rates, either by getting you to pay overages, or getting you to cut back your usage.
The only way to fight this is if enough customers begin actually using the wireless networks and begin bumping up against those artificial barriers, and then begin complaining.
Netflix has already advocated this for wireline networks, although they've been trying to help a bit with voluntary quality/bandwidth limiting.
But either way, cloud *is* the way forward. There are no 2 ways about it. Cell networks will fight as much as they can to retain their absurdly high quarterly results and keep their shareholders happy. If you don't agree with your particular network's policies, the only way to make sure they get the message that caps are bullsht, is to either call them or walk.
Preordered iPhone5. Received it Friday Sept 21. Returned Sunday 2-3 days later. Picked up t-mobile Galaxy S3 right after returning the iPhone5.
So glad I am back on Android. From the 2-3 days of ownership of the iPhone5/iOS (as this was my 1st iPhone and I just wanted to experiment to see how I'd like it), I was not able to do very basic things I wanted, or any reasonable person would expect to be able to do to a phone.
1st off, Ringtones. Anyone owning a phone would have a reasonable expectation to be able to change / add custom ringtones. Should I have to pay for it? Maybe, that is if I don't want to cut the songs myself. I already have ringtones from my last phone which was basic mp3s I could have drag/dropped over. But with iPhone, I had to go through tedious process of utilizing iTunes as a medium, converting to AAC format, moving onto desktop, deleting the ones in iTunes, then renaming the .m4a format to .m4r, then dragging it back into iTunes, then syncing. I could have done all this on Android by just plugging it to my comp, locate Ringtones folder, dropped it in, and done.
Sync was an issue too. I'm pretty sure most people use gmail in some way, and all my contacts are in gmail. Tried to get contacts to sync over to iCloud was a hassle. It would only sync the root folder group of contacts and not the other groups. I had to manually export each contact group to my comp, then import into iCloud. Now if I added/made changes to a contact on my iPhone, I'd have to go back home, and re-enter a new contact in google. It's just not a seamless process.
Also the AppStore. Every 15 minutes I want to get an app, I am asked to enter a password. And Apple requires a complicated pw with uppercase/lowercase, numbers, special characters. It's not by any means easy to type on the phone every time I want to install something.
No widgets either on iOs. No notification widgets to easy turn on/off options like WiFi, screen rotation, GPS, Bluetooth. I have to go into settings and navigate through menus to turn them on/off.
I didn't like how all the apps just show up on the home screen as iOS doesn't have a drawer like Android, and I'd have to dump everything into folders if I didn't want to see it. Also all the icons just align from right to left, top to bottom. I can't change where they are on the page except for the order it flows. I read maybe JailBreaking can help with this customization, but I don't think I want to wait that long for an untethered JB to be available for the iPhone5 to be released.
Forgot to add, I have a TF700 and I utilize TabletTalk to sync SMS to my Tablet and send SMS via the Tablet. This wouldn't have worked out for an Android Tablet with an iPhone.
Side issue that affected me, but unrelated to Apple, was the fact Sprint had deceptive advertising regarding their LTE coverage. As you guys know, iPhone is either 3G or LTE; no WiMax. In DFW, even though coverage map shows I am clearly in 4G LTE coverage, Sprint indeed only had 1 LTE tower up and running in the other side of Dallas of where I am at. And Dallas is a pretty damn big city, so all I ever saw was 3G. Sprint's 3G was < 1mbps down/upload, which is unacceptable as I am paying for "unlimited 3g/4g data" cost of an additional $10/month. It is hardly enough bandwidth to stream music / video or let alone download apps unless I am connected to WiFi; which then goes back to the point of why am I even paying for data. Unlimited data is pointless at that speed and I'm not going to wait 1-2 yrs for Sprint to finish rolling out LTE in Dallas; since by then my contract would have expired anyways and I could just switch to Sprint then.
But overall, I didn't try to / demand anything complicated out of the phone. The simple things I wanted it to do, didn't go as I had expected, even though I kept hearing how easy iPhones are to use, and how stable it is. Stable OS, smooth processing, and pretty, yes. But basic simple customization / syncing, no. And now I totally understand when Android users are trolling iPhone users.
That's why the iPhone has those mesmerizing screen transition animations. Supposed to help relieve the headache after all the frustration. J/K.
:silly:
If you have a mac is easier to import your Google contacts to iCloud, or you can set up Gmail as a exchanged account and will import and update all your contacts automatically (kind of like android) anyways, I'm about to return my iPhone 5 is amazing looking device but not for my needs like I said before, the only thing I miss the most(besides a few apps) is battery life in stand by, really good phone not my cup of tea tho
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Nice to see your in the Galaxy... the cryphones will never be better then android. They have no comparison.. you take a phone that does things and can't be changed and "compare" it to a phone that let's u do whatever you want on it.. I just never see it as a fair comparison.. that's like saying the cryphones are a Datsun and the androids are lambos... and then people say the cryphones are better.. there are in different leagues altogether. Cryphones = lockdown no customization like android... but glad to see u here. Many people waste so much time n money on apple.. and now its biting them in the wallet and a$$... he he he I love it. BTW if u have a DSLR cannon camera check out chainfire's DSLR controller app.. I just found it yesterday and I can control my camera with my phone... its so dope!!! Sgs3 BEST PHONE I'VE HAD YET. PERIOD.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Lots of valid points, but overall it's just an issue with competing ecosystems. You had already had some Androids, so most of your ecosystem was setup through gmail and google.
For a Mac user coming over to an Android phone, much of the same problems pop up (no easy itunes music/podcasts integration, etc)
But overall just by its open source nature, Android is much easier to work with and setup. And conversely since Apple likes to control all aspects of user experience, you don't get all the features and selling points (i.e. the iPhone is so "easy" to use!) unless you are subscribed to the entire Apple ecosystem.
Darmokk said:
Lots of valid points, but overall it's just an issue with competing ecosystems. You had already had some Androids, so most of your ecosystem was setup through gmail and google.
For a Mac user coming over to an Android phone, much of the same problems pop up (no easy itunes music/podcasts integration, etc)
But overall just by its open source nature, Android is much easier to work with and setup. And conversely since Apple likes to control all aspects of user experience, you don't get all the features and selling points (i.e. the iPhone is so "easy" to use!) unless you are subscribed to the entire Apple ecosystem.
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Only way I'd go apple products is if I edited lots n lots of videos... Apple wins that battle all day. But that's there PC and not mobile...
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Tmo has really fast data at DFW, wasn't able to leave the airport hah but in it the 4g was great. For ringtones you can just longpress a song in the media player. No need to even move it.
My gmail calendar syncs between my iPad/net/phone perfectly. Haven't tried contacts but I'm sure there is a way. iOS is definitely a different experience though. I really like the app tray on android too. But iOS has the advantage of searching when you hit home twice.
psykhotic said:
Tmo has really fast data at DFW, wasn't able to leave the airport hah but in it the 4g was great. For ringtones you can just longpress a song in the media player. No need to even move it.
My gmail calendar syncs between my iPad/net/phone perfectly. Haven't tried contacts but I'm sure there is a way. iOS is definitely a different experience though. I really like the app tray on android too. But iOS has the advantage of searching when you hit home twice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google now has that same feature...
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da-pharoah said:
Only way I'd go apple products is if I edited lots n lots of videos... Apple wins that battle all day. But that's there PC and not mobile...
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Video and/or Photos (i work with both) so I do run Macs at home. For mobile I'm with you though, loving my GSIII
Since I do not do any media creation I have no reason to keep an apple product. I use my S3 and my Nexus 7 for almost all of my day to day use.
Otherwise I use my little netbook but those times are getting further and further in between.
I was interested in the iPhone 5, but now that you reviewed here and I'd an android user before, I will just wait for the note 2. I do like Apple products, just hate the Apple company...
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yaddamean said:
Iphones are for girls. And queers.
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Click to collapse
What's wrong with being a girl, or queer?
I bought a Samsung Vibrant on the recommendation of a queer woman.
da-pharoah said:
Google now has that same feature...
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't that the universal search feature that got disabled?
I just though I share my story here:
My HTC desire died because of to much freedom after 1.5 year of custom ROM flashing and partition profile switching(hboot).(I think I have switched between all available ROMs for the HTC Desire before it died one months ago)
I always flashed a new ROM because non of them was what I wanted.
Sure Oxygen was awesome but it sopped to receive updates.
MIUI was awesome but it stopped to to receive updates. (For Desire)
I spent most my time on Gingerbread and ICC custom ROMS and always had stability issues.
I know that if I get an iPhone I will still get updates for it 2 years from now.
If I get a galaxy S3 I will get jellybean but after that there is nothing promising that I will get Key lime pie.
When I get an iPhone all apps in the app store will work on it without problem.
That is maybe the case for galaxy S3. But it's not guaranteed.
I'm also tired of all the customization options. It's great to be able to customize so much but I never was able to get it exactly how I wanted it to be anyway.
The iPhone isn't nearly have as much customize options. But still, it's enough for me and I used MIUI ROM so it reminds a lot of the iOS.
I never even used widgets after a while because widget made my already crappy battery run out of ´cream´ even faster.
I'm still thinking of maybe take a S3 though because of the iPhone seems to have a bit of problems(easy scratches and some other minor stuff)
Though the S3 in my eyes is REALLY big. I can still cancel my order on the iPhone so if anyone after reading this can convince me to get the S3. Please go ahead.
I really loved my time with android. But I kind of got sick on it. Maybe if I try both the iPhone 5 and GSIII I can finally make a 100% accurate choice.
CrimzonEyed said:
I just though I share my story here:
My HTC desire died because of to much freedom after 1.5 year of custom ROM flashing and partition profile switching(hboot).(I think I have switched between all available ROMs for the HTC Desire before it died one months ago)
I always flashed a new ROM because non of them was what I wanted.
Sure Oxygen was awesome but it sopped to receive updates.
MIUI was awesome but it stopped to to receive updates. (For Desire)
I spent most my time on Gingerbread and ICC custom ROMS and always had stability issues.
I know that if I get an iPhone I will still get updates for it 2 years from now.
If I get a galaxy S3 I will get jellybean but after that there is nothing promising that I will get Key lime pie.
When I get an iPhone all apps in the app store will work on it without problem.
That is maybe the case for galaxy S3. But it's not guaranteed.
I'm also tired of all the customization options. It's great to be able to customize so much but I never was able to get it exactly how I wanted it to be anyway.
The iPhone isn't nearly have as much customize options. But still, it's enough for me and I used MIUI ROM so it reminds a lot of the iOS.
I never even used widgets after a while because widget made my already crappy battery run out of ´cream´ even faster.
I'm still thinking of maybe take a S3 though because of the iPhone seems to have a bit of problems(easy scratches and some other minor stuff)
Though the S3 in my eyes is REALLY big. I can still cancel my order on the iPhone so if anyone after reading this can convince me to get the S3. Please go ahead.
I really loved my time with android. But I kind of got sick on it. Maybe if I try both the iPhone 5 and GSIII I can finally make a 100% accurate choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I won't try to dissuade you. If T-Mobile hadn't given me a good deal to stay, or I weren't on T-Mobile to start with, I might have decided to give the iPhone 5 a try. That said, my understanding from a relative who happily uses Apple products is that, if as I do you use Google calendar and Gmail, then there's no significant advantage to the iPhone over the Galaxy S III. What you're left with is a choice between two very good products, each of which has advantages and disadvantages.
So you preordered a phone? What provider? Then used it and didnt like it. Then you got a S3 today and you have already rooted it? Judging by your sig?
@OP I moved to the dfw area a few months ago and had Sprint. nearly two months went by, I had absolutely no service and they said it's because they're "upgrading". I don't call that much of an upgrade if I can't even make calls. And the wimax was still awful. So you made the right choice switching. I also switched to tmo, got an amazing deal and am loving the 4g, WiFi calling, and service in general. Plus the s3 makes it that much sweeter.
If you haven't yet, make sure to call and ask them to add the free WiFi calling onto your account.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
RebDovid said:
I won't try to dissuade you. If T-Mobile hadn't given me a good deal to stay, or I weren't on T-Mobile to start with, I might have decided to give the iPhone 5 a try. That said, my understanding from a relevative who happily uses Apple products is that, if as I do you use Google calendar and Gmail, then there's no significant advantage to the iPhone over the Galaxy S III. What you're left with is a choice between two very good products, each of which has advantages and disadvantages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to visit a local store and try out the S3 and check if it's possible to get my interest back to android.
Than only time will tell if I decide to cancel the order or not and get the S3 instead.
Also the 4G version of the Galaxy S3 is not released here in Sweden yet I think.
1SiK1500 said:
So you preordered a phone? What provider? Then used it and didnt like it. Then you got a S3 today and you have already rooted it? Judging by your sig?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had T-Mobile to begin with (grandfathered with unlimited data). My plan doesn't end until December, but I figured I got tired of flashing unstable roms on my Nexus S that I'd give iPhone a try, as people kept saying "oh it's so easy to use and it's so stable". I used the iPhone 5 from Friday afternoon till Saturday night. I ran into too many customization / sync issues where I just had enough of it and I wiped the phone clean and ready to be returned. Sunday came and I called up Sprint, and cancelled my plan and set up my phone to be returned. Afterwards, went over to T-Mobile as I have the itch for a new phone. Spoke w/ the rep at the store and turns out I could upgrade my account for some reason (though I kept thinking I had to wait the full 2 years to upgrade my line). So picked up the GS3 right then and had everything up and running. I was already using ParanoidAndroid 2.13 on my Nexus S, so it wasn't difficult to get everything up and running. This is much improved over my last phone. 2GB ram vs 512MB (380MB usable) and 1.5GHz+ (oc'd to 1.7 via LeanKernel) vs 1.2GHz Marmite Kernel. GS3 was an overall much better experience.
As for the iPhone, it's a great phone (smooth, fast, and pretty). Great build quality and finish and amazing display. It did feel more delicate as the surface seemed a bit more prone to scratches (back and sides). Mine however was fine, but I don't speak for everyone. The anodized aluminum is more likely to get scratched, and I got the white one so it is less noticeable. The GS3, even though plastic, actually seemed more durable to everyday use, as one would probably not want to constantly worry about scratching the beautiful iPhone shell. Also accessories are scarce for the iPhone. My case was pre-ordered, and still not shipped out today. Cancelled that as I no longer plan on sticking with the iPhone. Also trying to get additional USB->Lightning cables was going to cause me to have to wait another 2-3 weeks due to backorder.
jpirog said:
@OP I moved to the dfw area a few months ago and had Sprint. nearly two months went by, I had absolutely no service and they said it's because they're "upgrading". I don't call that much of an upgrade if I can't even make calls. And the wimax was still awful. So you made the right choice switching. I also switched to tmo, got an amazing deal and am loving the 4g, WiFi calling, and service in general. Plus the s3 makes it that much sweeter.
If you haven't yet, make sure to call and ask them to add the free WiFi calling onto your account.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As for Sprint, they had deceptive LTE advertising. I canceled well within the 14 day trial period ( < 72 hours to be exact). Sprint's 3G is the equivalent of dialup. T-mobile's 4G, even though not real 4G, is still comparable to cable/dsl speeds. Fios-like speeds of LTE is great, but not necessary. Just thinking about the data cap from AT&T or Verizon, as I'm not grandfathered on those plans, would mean constant worry about if I'm hitting cap or not. But anyways, I didn't sign up for Sprint to use my iPhone on WiFi or wait the 1-2 years till they finally finish rolling out LTE in DFW.
BTW, did you end up paying any termination fees? You stated 2 months went by. I just figured, I'd GTFO ASAP haha. Sprint's 3G was unacceptable in today's terms.
Aria807 said:
Preordered iPhone5. Received it Friday Sept 21. Returned Sunday 2-3 days later. Picked up t-mobile Galaxy S3 right after returning the iPhone5.
So glad I am back on Android. From the 2-3 days of ownership of the iPhone5/iOS (as this was my 1st iPhone and I just wanted to experiment to see how I'd like it), I was not able to do very basic things I wanted, or any reasonable person would expect to be able to do to a phone.
1st off, Ringtones. Anyone owning a phone would have a reasonable expectation to be able to change / add custom ringtones. Should I have to pay for it? Maybe, that is if I don't want to cut the songs myself. I already have ringtones from my last phone which was basic mp3s I could have drag/dropped over. But with iPhone, I had to go through tedious process of utilizing iTunes as a medium, converting to AAC format, moving onto desktop, deleting the ones in iTunes, then renaming the .m4a format to .m4r, then dragging it back into iTunes, then syncing. I could have done all this on Android by just plugging it to my comp, locate Ringtones folder, dropped it in, and done.
Sync was an issue too. I'm pretty sure most people use gmail in some way, and all my contacts are in gmail. Tried to get contacts to sync over to iCloud was a hassle. It would only sync the root folder group of contacts and not the other groups. I had to manually export each contact group to my comp, then import into iCloud. Now if I added/made changes to a contact on my iPhone, I'd have to go back home, and re-enter a new contact in google. It's just not a seamless process.
Also the AppStore. Every 15 minutes I want to get an app, I am asked to enter a password. And Apple requires a complicated pw with uppercase/lowercase, numbers, special characters. It's not by any means easy to type on the phone every time I want to install something.
No widgets either on iOs. No notification widgets to easy turn on/off options like WiFi, screen rotation, GPS, Bluetooth. I have to go into settings and navigate through menus to turn them on/off.
I didn't like how all the apps just show up on the home screen as iOS doesn't have a drawer like Android, and I'd have to dump everything into folders if I didn't want to see it. Also all the icons just align from right to left, top to bottom. I can't change where they are on the page except for the order it flows. I read maybe JailBreaking can help with this customization, but I don't think I want to wait that long for an untethered JB to be available for the iPhone5 to be released.
Forgot to add, I have a TF700 and I utilize TabletTalk to sync SMS to my Tablet and send SMS via the Tablet. This wouldn't have worked out for an Android Tablet with an iPhone.
Side issue that affected me, but unrelated to Apple, was the fact Sprint had deceptive advertising regarding their LTE coverage. As you guys know, iPhone is either 3G or LTE; no WiMax. In DFW, even though coverage map shows I am clearly in 4G LTE coverage, Sprint indeed only had 1 LTE tower up and running in the other side of Dallas of where I am at. And Dallas is a pretty damn big city, so all I ever saw was 3G. Sprint's 3G was < 1mbps down/upload, which is unacceptable as I am paying for "unlimited 3g/4g data" cost of an additional $10/month. It is hardly enough bandwidth to stream music / video or let alone download apps unless I am connected to WiFi; which then goes back to the point of why am I even paying for data. Unlimited data is pointless at that speed and I'm not going to wait 1-2 yrs for Sprint to finish rolling out LTE in Dallas; since by then my contract would have expired anyways and I could just switch to Sprint then.
But overall, I didn't try to / demand anything complicated out of the phone. The simple things I wanted it to do, didn't go as I had expected, even though I kept hearing how easy iPhones are to use, and how stable it is. Stable OS, smooth processing, and pretty, yes. But basic simple customization / syncing, no. And now I totally understand when Android users are trolling iPhone users.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup Apple sucks
Hey folks!
I just got a warning letter from Sprint. They're threatening to disable service for tethering. I did a bit of searching on the forums and have seen similar threads, but thought I'd contribute so others wouldn't get flagged like I did.
I'm using CM9 Beta 1 (older version), with FL24 modem, and using WiFi Tether app to tether. Data usage for September so far has been 4.66 GB. Specific usage for data (from tethering) primarily involves web browsing, Youtube videos, Hulu, and playing Guild Wars 2 x3/week for less than 3 hour sessions each.
I'm not sure what all they can or cannot track, so I will try a newer CM9 or CM10 and use wired tethering instead to see if that helps. If I get terminated, oh well. After surcharges and tax, I'm paying 160 for two lines. The other phone on the line is a basic flip phone, of all things. I use tethering since it's more ideal than the campus wifi here.
If push comes to shove and I get terminated, I'll check out T-Mobile since their signal is strong-ish in this area. Not sure what factor/s caused the flag letter, but just posting the info so you could perhaps avoid it!
Good luck folks! :highfive:
They will be able to tell that you are tethering, it doesn't matter what ROM you are using or how you are tethering.
All of the information is in the packets that are being sent on the network. Everything from what browser you are using, operating system, which version of flash/java you have installed, etc...
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Mattix724 said:
They will be able to tell that you are tethering, it doesn't matter what ROM you are using or how you are tethering.
All of the information is in the packets that are being sent on the network. Everything from what browser you are using, operating system, which version of flash/java you have installed, etc...
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. From all the searching I've done across several different forums, this seems to be a consistent but very RANDOM problem (the letter). I wonder if they just do random checks on random people?? I saw a guy get a flag letter for using 100+GB, but I'm below 5GB. Is anyone else getting this letter?
Mattix724 said:
They will be able to tell that you are tethering, it doesn't matter what ROM you are using or how you are tethering.
All of the information is in the packets that are being sent on the network. Everything from what browser you are using, operating system, which version of flash/java you have installed, etc...
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The real question is what they are looking at. Truth is we probably won't know and things change.
Just looking at user agent strings in post and get requests will result in false positives when a user has their android browser using a Windows Chrome user agent string. Its not terribly intensive to spot check traffic on port 80 to see whats going on but probably not the most efficient or fool proof way. Especially when the heavier users of the network are not just casually using a web browser.
Desktop Youtube and Hulu are likely to raise flags. Even the most passive of monitoring will catch these 2. When a tower experiences any amount of unusual congestion someone is likely to take a look at why and see something usual triggers won't notify on. More active solutions are likely to notice an account without tethering connecting to a known game server IP on a known port. Not so much a problem with say hosted FPS servers more of a problem with MMO's.
If they know exactly what they want to look for its very easy to put an automated solution in place. They don't always know what a user is doing on the network and spot checks during unusual congestion will turn things up. All from network administration point of view less of an accurate carrier view though.
Hey guys an update on what I did.
I just got back and found an OK deal. I'm not sure what you guys were paying for Sprint, but I was paying (after taxes and surcharges) 160/mo. for two lines, unlimited data + 2k non cell-to-cell mins and unlimited everything else. I ended up going T-Mobile and it's looking like the bill will be around 130/mo for 3, not 2 lines. One will have unlimited data, the other two are basic flip phones. Everything else is unlimited.
After bugging the living crap out of the representative and asking repeatedly throughout the sales process, it seems like they have a more flexible, less technical data plan. If this is not true, I'll necro this thread sometime to let everyone know.
Although the 130/mo for 3 lines looks good on paper, I did have to put down (after taxes) $430 for the three phones (GS-4, x2 basic flip phones) - not a pretty amount. After bugging them about how much it cost, they at least gave me a zagg screen protector and some crappy.. body armor? body guard? phone case. Not bad.
I mentioned my usage with tethering in the original post. Should things go sour the same way it did with Sprint, I'll update this thread and let everyone know what happened in detail. Supposedly the rep at the store was an avid user for tethering as well, though he only hinted it, telling me there's little for me to worry from his 'personal' experience.
On another note, I did have an incident with Sprint in the past. My phone was evidently set on automatic connection and Sprint literally kicked my phone off the plan for something they called 'excessive roaming'. They claimed they sent me a warning letter beforehand.. and I'm sure they did. My desk is a mess. The guy over at T-Mobile told me roaming was truly unlimited, but I won't take my chances just in case.
Data speed differences in the Denver Metropolitan area are significant. Speed Test shows around 1.5mbps DL Sprint WiMax, 8.16mbps DL T-Mobile "LTE" (Someone told me T-Mobile LTE isn't 'real' LTE. Not sure on this). 10 tests each were done and averaged. 5 tests indoors, 5 tests outdoors.
Thanks for the responses/input - it helped me make my decision. This forum has always been nothing short of awesome. :good:
I'm still very impressed with 4g/LTE (when I can get it, that is) but I ran into a three Qualcomm engineers this weekend at a local San Diego hotel and among other things discussed was 5g and ever-increasing data capacities. Accordingly to the gentleman I spoke with, the technology for 300mbs (and even more) already exists in our devices--and up to 3 times faster in the lab(!)--but a combination of government regulations and matters of infrastructure inhibit us (citizens) from using the technology on a commercial scale. Current eta for this network is expected to stabilize in 2020.
I find this interesting for a couple reasons. First, it remains interesting to me how business and government intersect, particularly in the US, to produce cutting edge technological advances, and then see it (eventually) pour into greater society--it often varies depending on DOD and politcs.
However, despite the drawbacks, the work that arises from these relationship(s) is most often marked by success--in various respects--even considering the delayed roll outs or issues of quality. Eventually, they make their way into the hands of the general public, albeit at a (relative) increasingly slow rate.
(Of course, I'm leaving a great amount of information unstated or otherwise assumed, but I imagine those who may share my interest are likely well aware of the details.)
Second, and perhaps less interesting overall, but WTH are Internet providers going to do once LTE and eventually 5g reaches the major cities and becomes available to all consumers? Based on recent legal preceded, media companies like Netflix are going long on these providers and hence I wonder: are the IP providers working on advancements too? Or, are they going to continue to squeeze every last drop of value from the the current network structures via lobbying efforts that'll lead to... well you see the point. (Note that my points end up being interrelated.)
Anyhow, for those who may share interest, I'm curious--what are your thoughts?
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I have no doubts about technology such as this is already existent. Considering some markets have the 20/20 lte which yields almost 100meg/sec, its just a matter of time. My Comcast internet at home is 100down/20up, and they have faster available too. I really don't think the service providers are worried about cell carriers being faster, well maybe the budget carriers, but they're in a whole different demographic.
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My cable company provides 50Mb, but I'm fine with 25 I have ATM and frankly I have hard time to imagine need for 300Mb, even 4k video is much less, but I'll take it when it comes, even if only for bragging rights. I'm not sure about you guys, but there is rather very few websites I use on regular basis, that can actually feed data anywhere near my 25Mb speed and I know it's not on my side, so pretty much whole infrastructure will need to be updated. For example I read somewhere Netflix averages 3 -5 Mb, regardless of the reason that's slow even for good quality SD program and even 300Mb wouldn't help in this case at all. And since most traffic goes over land lines until the last stage between cell tower and phone, they better do something fast.
^^^ I agree 100%
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Seriously over kill. They need to focus just on making LTE available everywhere I don't see a need for 300mb speed for anything in the near future. Right now I have 50 meg at my home and I can download movies in 20-30 minutes. Good enough for me.
Gn3
What I have noticed as a user who has had a 300mbit line and even a 1gbps line downstream, is that NO ONE can push information that fast to you, so it becomes useless. After a while I started to question what the point of a faster connection was. Very few companies (Microsoft,Apple) were able to come close to saturating my connection but in the end...for what? So I don't have to wait another milli-second for that download to happen? Now on the other hand, some apps saturated that connection all the time and it was great (mostly Usenet,Torrents etc). But then you have these companies that monitor everything you do and end up sending you letters to stop doing such activities. So then again I start asking myself....what's the point? I know for sure that I wouldn't want a slow connection per say but I think that we are currently in a good position for what's available. Now, if only we can get better coverage and more consistent connections...that would be a better solution.