Questions from a Phone Technology Challenged Female :)

[epdean]

Hey BlueBiker
Thanks for the added info. I do believe that the NPR station that my partner listens to does do live streaming so that might be an option. I think one of the concerns was whether or not she could get a signal in the building that she works in (she likes to listen while she is working).

Also good points about the in and out reception with 4G/3G while driving. I'm curious, if the TB allows for simultaneous voice and data, even on 3G, wouldn't one think that this is a feature that phone makers would include on 4G phones for when the phones are not in 4G coverage areas? Again, maybe I'm showing my ignorance here and maybe it's more complicated than that but that's a thought that popped into my phone tech challenged brain. Any idea if other phones have or will have this capability over 3G?

Thanks for the congrats on our new addition. She will be six months old tomorrow. I'm no spring chicken, waited a long time to have her, and am feeling very blessed. I don't know if y'all do this on these techy forums (I'm used to my mom forums) but I'll attach a pic of my little sunshine and I.
View attachment 13520

 

[eksplosions]

This is great, any random user posts just about anything, gets torn apart. Girl posts question, civilized and helpful discussions.

Protip: tell everyone you're a girl and guys will flock like helper bees to honey.

(not hating, just an observation)

Edit: And a family picture! aborbz.

 

[epdean]

eksplosions-
Very interesting, and humorous observation. I am grateful that nobody "tore me apart". However, I do like to think that is was because I wrote grammatically correct sentences, asked clear and specific questions, and was respectful, not because I am a woman (or girl, whichever). But either way, I am appreciative that everyone has been so kind and helpful and I'm sorry to hear that that's not always the case around here.

Glad you liked the family pic. I can't help being a proud mom right now.

 

[eksplosions]

I definitely agree that a good chunk of the forum comes off as somewhat illiterate... but this place is quite good compared to other forums from what I've seen. That said, I'm glad everyone's been helpful to you, that's what a community is supposed to be for, right?

As for your question regarding the simultaneous data/voice, that all has to do with the chipsets the companies decide to go with. Since LTE is in it's infancy (only 1st generation is really in use), their options are limited and in certain cases interoperability between other components may force certain sacrifices-- most likely battery life and performance. The Thunderbolt, for example, it notorious for it's battery life. Meanwhile the two other LTE phones are relatively better, though still not great. To each is his/her own, right?

And, of course, congrats on being a mommy!

 

[BlueBiker]

Hey BlueBiker
Thanks for the added info. I do believe that the NPR station that my partner listens to does do live streaming so that might be an option. I think one of the concerns was whether or not she could get a signal in the building that she works in (she likes to listen while she is working).

There's also podcasts which you could download and then playback later, even w/o data connection.

Also good points about the in and out reception with 4G/3G while driving. I'm curious, if the TB allows for simultaneous voice and data, even on 3G, wouldn't one think that this is a feature that phone makers would include on 4G phones for when the phones are not in 4G coverage areas? Again, maybe I'm showing my ignorance here and maybe it's more complicated than that but that's a thought that popped into my phone tech challenged brain. Any idea if other phones have or will have this capability over 3G?

I haven't verified this behavior myself, but it sounded plausible. A second radio occupies scarce space in a thin phone. IIRC, TB included it as the quickest way to add LTE while also keeping the old 3G radio that was embedded on the existing CPU chipset, but I wouldn't expect that to be an efficient use of space in the future. And Verizon won't want to admit publicly any deficiencies in their products. BTW, this is a Verizon-only problem, as I think other carriers' GSM based networks have no problem w/simultaneous voice and data.

In any case, the problem will diminish in the future as they roll out LTE across the whole country, and their LTE is currently the fastest protocol of any US carrier by a wide margin.

Thanks for the congrats on our new addition. She will be six months old tomorrow. I'm no spring chicken, waited a long time to have her, and am feeling very blessed. I don't know if y'all do this on these techy forums (I'm used to my mom forums) but I'll attach a pic of my little sunshine and I.

What a cutie! Gotta start her off on her first Hello Kitty Android phone.

 

[terrapin01]

A few more thoughts/speculations on the S2-Bionic decision:

I think both phones are likely to have FM radio because the international S2 has it and the Photon has it. Those are the best indicators we have right now. The FM transceiver usually comes built into alot of bluetooth chips nowadays and I really expect high end phones like these to have that integrated chip.

I personally stream my local NPR affiliate with no problem and I'll even go to another affiliate whenever the campaign drive comes up (I know).

The simultaneous voice-data issue remains to be seen. In all likelihood, there will be ways to workaround it, if it's not completely available.

Tethering will be available on both phones for sure.

I think the decision will come down to choosing a phone that's thinner, lighter and more refined vs a phone that's bigger, rugged and can last longer and work around the world.

That's how I would sum it up, based on the information we have now.

 

[butler360]

Are you guys sure Verizon can stop tethering outright like that? If it's a Verizon stock ROM that has been rooted, I guess it seems somewhat plausible, but a fully custom ROM? How do they know you're tethering?

In regards to the comments/discussion, just be glad you're not the girl that won the Droid 3. The comments on that post were awful.

 

[BlueBiker]

Are you guys sure Verizon can stop tethering outright like that? If it's a Verizon stock ROM that has been rooted, I guess it seems somewhat plausible, but a fully custom ROM? How do they know you're tethering?

I'm no expert on this, but I've read that laptops and desktops tend to make network requests that would never be made by a phone, and that even using a VPN won't completely hide the types of access.

In regards to the comments/discussion, just be glad you're not the girl that won the Droid 3. The comments on that post were awful.

Sex plays a role (real or feigned), as do politeness and deference (or lack thereof). I've seen some pissing contests, but newbies seem to be treated pretty well. I wasn't around for the D3 girl.

 

[anon(392870)]

I think both phones are likely to have FM radio because the international S2 has it and the Photon has it. Those are the best indicators we have right now. The FM transceiver usually comes built into alot of bluetooth chips nowadays and I really expect high end phones like these to have that integrated chip.

Was not aware of this. Thanks for the info. I tend to rarely want to listen to FM radio except for baseball games, so maybe it was subconcious ignorance on my part. I edited my previous post/novel.