Best phone for ATT 3G

[Deleted User]

Hi everyone! Im finally glad to find a place on the nets that has dedicated group of folks, its been a while and im glad.

So heres the deal. I live in alaska, and ATT is literally the best service provider here. Say what you want, up here is 3G is like godspeed. Compare it to San Diego, its like dialup compared to Cable.

So my HTC Tilt is about to die, its torching my SD cards, so i want to get a new phone. I was going to get the TILT 2, but i figured i might as well upgrade to Android.

So, what phone is the "best" phone for full ATT 3G (2100 quad band antenna). I've lurked on here and apparently Rogers phones work great. What would be a method for getting those? Unlocked?

Are there any handsets that are comming out soon? I wanted Winmo 7 badly, but it doesnt look like itll be out till August, and my phone is about to explode lol.

 

[=KLRS=ZERO]

I would go for a telus milestone

 

[Deleted User]

so what i've been able to gather on info from the telus, it comes out Feb 18th. does anyone else think this be the perfect phone for me?

and if this be it, how would one american get a milestone? buy it from their online store just unlocked full retail OR OR OR ebay it?

-=-----EDIT-------
would i have to edit/hack the phone to work completely with ATT?

 

[=KLRS=ZERO]

yes, you would have to change the APN settings, cut thats easy peasy

 

[Tenacious--M]

What other Android devices might be coming out that can be used with AT&T's 3g? I have been waiting for the Sony Xperia X10, but it keeps getting pushed out and out. Im getting tired of waiting. If I wait that long, there might be a better option. Anybody know of what options will be avaialbe in the next couple of months?

I want the HTC HD2 but its WinMobile and I want Android. I hear of HD2 Android devices like the Supersonic and Incredicble, but all the good devices seemed to be geared towards Verizon, Sprint or TMobile. Its very frustrating...

 

[Deleted User]

So the Milestone came out today. does anyone think this should still be a good idea?

 

[=KLRS=ZERO]

wait a bit, i got a feeling we might get legend or desire

 

[Deleted User]

cool, my phone is soo close to death i need a new one, sepcially for work now. just for information purposes, those APN settings that need to be changed, what are they and how do i do them?

 

[=KLRS=ZERO]

go to Settings>Wireless Controls>Mobile Networks>Access Point Names

next press the menu button and then "new APN"
then fill in the apn settings as listed here:

Name: ATT
APN: wap.cingular
Username: wap@cingulargprs.com
Password: cingular1
MMSC: http://mmsc.cingular.com
MMS Proxy: wireless.cingular.com
MMS port: 80
MCC: 310
MNC: 410

 

[Deleted User]

well ive gone and done it. my Tilt started deleting text messages and emails so i ordered the Milestone from amazon.

FYI, get it from amazon, i got hit with over 70 bucks in Canadian taxes trying to get it from Telus.

 

[colnago]

...So, what phone is the "best" phone for full ATT 3G (2100 quad band antenna). I've lurked on here and apparently Rogers phones work great...

When did AT&T start using 2100? Are you sure its not 850/1900?

 

[Deleted User]

most (and my Tilt) HTC devices use the 2100 quad band antenna to get ATT HSDPA. And ifyou want full throttle 3g you need a 2100 antenna, one of the reasons i didnt get the nexus one is because it will only do Edge on ATT

 

[colnago]

most (and my Tilt) HTC devices use the 2100 quad band antenna to get ATT HSDPA. And ifyou want full throttle 3g you need a 2100 antenna, one of the reasons i didnt get the nexus one is because it will only do Edge on ATT

Just because a phone "has" 2100, doesn't mean that 3G is used for that carrier. I'm thinking AT&T uses 850/1900 "only" (aside "possibly" for some roaming situations) as my Moto Q, and Nokia e71 have only 850/1900 for 3G connections:

Choosing an AT&T wireless phone - Wireless from AT&T

...International Calling
One of the best reasons for going with AT&T is its GSM network, the global standard. That means you can take your phone with you when you travel abroad. Keep in mind, however, there are several different frequencies and each one works in different areas.
850 and 1900 MHz—These frequencies are commonly used in North America
900 and 1800 MHz—These GSM frequencies are commonly used in Europe, Asia, Australia and Brazil
Tri-band phones—These phones have three out of the four frequencies for international roaming
Quad-band phones—These phones have the four most common frequency ranges, though there are other lesser used frequencies.


T-Mobile USA uses 2100MHz (a "frequency", not a "quad band antenna type"), also used in Europe.

 

[Deleted User]

well shit. lol you got me there. but still according to att's and googles documentation the nexus one will not run 3G. It was kinda designed for T-Mobile broadband.

 

[colnago]

well shit. lol you got me there. but still according to att's and googles documentation the nexus one will not run 3G. It was kinda designed for T-Mobile broadband.

Right, well documented that the N1 was developed for T-Mo's network, as far as 3G anyway.

If you got the Milestone from "amazon.com", and are expecting it to get "3g speeds on AT&T", you will be disappointed. The Telus/Canadian version will be the only one to support AT&T's 3G network.

 

[Deleted User]

how sure are you about the milestone from amazon not working. it says its full quad band on amazons site.

 

[Deleted User]

shit its full quad band 2G...gotta cancel quick

 

[Deleted User]

where would one suggest getting the milestone from? i found a company on amazon that is selling the "3G" version, which i imagine is from telus. OH and telus wont accept US credit cards.

 

[colnago]

how sure are you about the milestone from amazon not working. it says its full quad band on amazons site.

http://androidforums.com/motorola-milestone/25020-milestone-3g-us.html

In order for "any" phone to have 3G speeds on AT&T, in North America, it must support HSPA/3G on the 850/1900 bands. It may be "quad band GSM", but that just means that it will work on "Edge" speeds, for any networks using those bands (850/900/1900/2100).

 

[Deleted User]

i found one on ebay, these are the antenna specs.

System:
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, HSDPA 900 / 2100

i got it in a DAY, and according to the sellers page it supports the right settings, but im only getting an EDGE signal on the top

ALSO the backlight has been having problems out of the box, im going to return it straight up because of the screen.

where/how could i get a legit telus milestone that i can use with full 3g in/on US ATT.

 

[JK_the_Slacker]

i found one on ebay, these are the antenna specs.

System:
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, HSDPA 900 / 2100

i got it in a DAY, and according to the sellers page it supports the right settings, but im only getting an EDGE signal on the top

ALSO the backlight has been having problems out of the box, im going to return it straight up because of the screen.

where/how could i get a legit telus milestone that i can use with full 3g in/on US ATT.

You could just pick up a Motorola Backflip, which came out Sunday from AT&T.

 

[colnago]

You could just pick up a Motorola Backflip, which came out Sunday from AT&T.

True, but the Backflip is a significant step down in performance vs. the Milestone, as far as the screen size/resolution, processor, and OS revision.

 

[JK_the_Slacker]

True, but the Backflip is a significant step down in performance vs. the Milestone, as far as the screen size/resolution, processor, and OS revision.

I haven't heard a single complaint about performance from anyone who's owned one - it's got a similar processor to the iPhone 3G, as well as a similar screen size/resolution. True, it runs Android 1.5, but they're planning an OTA update to 2.1 within the next 2 months. The main draw is the fact that, being designed for AT&T's network, it will provide 3g speeds, which is what the OP was looking for. It's also significantly cheaper than the Milestone, which will come into play if he's planning on switching to Winmo7 when it comes out.

Not trying to say that the Backflip doesn't have problems, just wanting to make sure all the options were on the table.

 

[colnago]

I haven't heard a single complaint about performance from anyone who's owned one - it's got a similar processor to the iPhone 3G, as well as a similar screen size/resolution. True, it runs Android 1.5, but they're planning an OTA update to 2.1 within the next 2 months. The main draw is the fact that, being designed for AT&T's network, it will provide 3g speeds, which is what the OP was looking for. It's also significantly cheaper than the Milestone, which will come into play if he's planning on switching to Winmo7 when it comes out.

Not trying to say that the Backflip doesn't have problems, just wanting to make sure all the options were on the table.

Fair enough...I still think it will not prove robust enough for the OP's needs, given that he's got (2) threads open about the Milestone, which is already purchased unlocked. I also wouldn't want to deal with AT&T's software lockdown/lockout on their branded phones.

 

[Deleted User]

so for the record, the milestone i got was a big EFF up. even though the antenna and frequencies listed were right, i couldnt get 3G on it. AAAAND the backlight started freaking out and shutting down. So i had to mail it back to Hong Kong and i am currently waiting a refund.

i checked out the backflip and it looks cool (idk if i like the motoblur interface though). The guy at ATT said theyre getting 2 more android handsets in the next few months and to wait. If i can find a legit milestone on the internet before then ill go with that, but im curious to see what ATT has comming down the pipe