Root UMA Possible?

[CAL7]

The biggest thing I miss with my N1 is the ability to use TMO's UMA feature. What are the chances of finding a ROM that supports UMA? Is it impossible?

 

[AZBear]

Unfortunately not. UMA requires a chip to handle the hand off between wifi and 3G/edge. The only phones with that hardware are the Tmo BBs.

 

[SnotF]

There was also a flip phone with that capability. Its not a chip, its all software based.

 

[CAL7]

There was also a flip phone with that capability. Its not a chip, its all software based.

My wife has a Samsung Katalyst that supports UMA. I believe there are others, besides the BB's.

So, if it's software-based, then is there anything that prevents it from being implemented at the ROM level, or does it take something more than that?

 

[mi_canuck]

i heard there were some Nokias that would do it... apparently none as smooth as the blackberry 9700... i had a 9700 for a while, so that's my only point of reference... it worked pretty well... couple times though the handoff wasn't super great, but my office has both poor wifi and poor cell signal, so....

 

[AZBear]

Sorry, I did not make the correct statement above, i meant the only phones that Tmo sells now using UMA are the BB 9700, and the BB 8520. yes there are plenty of older phones that support UMA.

If you look at this page UMA Today : Technology : UMA Overview and check put the following section things become a little clearer.
UMA-enabled Dual-Mode Wi-Fi Handsets: By far the most well-known UMA service is dual-mode cellular/Wi-Fi handsets (DMH), which enables operators to provide high-performance, low-cost mobile services to subscribers when in range of a home, office or public Wi-Fi network. With a UMA-enabled dual-mode Wi-Fi handset, subscribers can automatically roam and handover between cellular and Wi-Fi access, receiving a consistent set of services as they transition between networks.

I thought dual mode wifi handsets had a special wifi radio but if it is software then it should be doable.

 

[CAL7]

.... I thought dual mode wifi handsets had a special wifi radio but if it is software then it should be doable.

Programming a new ROM is way over my head, but who would be most likely to tackle a project like this? I would pay $$ for the feature.

 

[AZBear]

Way over my head as well. I would also pay $$ for such a thing. I loved UMA when I had my BB 8320 and would love to be able to use it on my nexus One

 

[SnotF]

It would be doable except for obvious reasons the code was and will never be released.

 

[mi_canuck]

i also believe there is a hardware aspect to UMA (like some custom chip or something like that on the board)... so no amount of software hacking would likely rectify that...

 

[SnotF]

I've never seen or heard any mention of any hardware. Can you document this? This is all I can locate currently.

View Document

 

[CAL7]

It would be doable except for obvious reasons the code was and will never be released.

Help put this in perspective for me. Assuming no additional hardware is necessary, how feasible is it to create the code from scratch? Does this make it a non-starter; or is it reasonably possible for talented people to implement it?

 

[SnotF]

Help put this in perspective for me. Assuming no additional hardware is necessary, how feasible is it to create the code from scratch? Does this make it a non-starter; or is it reasonably possible for talented people to implement it?

not all that hard, something along these lines is already underway, just look at what google voice and the different apps taht work with it are doing. the thing is, instead of handing tmo 20/mo to access unlimited data callling, you're now buying credits for minutes via whichever carrier you choose. and if you were to work it out, i think that .04 cents a minute seems pretty reasonable, unless you're planning on doing ALL your calling via data.

in any case, this is basically uma, just via a different carrier and done in a different manner.

 

[CAL7]

On my N!, I have tried Truphone and a couple of SIP programs. None of these has given acceptable call quality - maybe two calls out of 30 attempts allowed me to have a conversation. I Compare that to TMO's UMA, which is nearly perfect. The technology is the same, so I expected more. [plus, UMA from TMO has the huge benefit of giving me VOIP on a single phone number.]

I was very hopeful about Google Voice being the transforming element to the non-carrier-dependent business model (just a data pipe), but that doesn't seem to be the way they want to go. At least not yet.

My family plan with TMO has unlimited Hotspot (a/k/a UMA) for all phones at just $9.99 per month. Even when I moved my phone to the N1, I kept the Hotspot feature, so theoretically I would have free calling if the N1 ever supported native UMA.

 

[AZBear]

I have done the same as CAL7. Truphone, skype and others have been low to medium quality while UMA on my old Blackberry was very high quality.

You can use UMA without paying the $9.99/month. The difference is the minutes come out of your plan minutes.

 

[SnotF]

Get fave five. Assign gvoice as one of your contacts. All domestic gvoice is free. Make all calls through gvoice. SMS is free. Turn off SMS through tmo. And lower your minutes to the lowest plan offered. Best I can think of.

 

[CAL7]

Get fave five. Assign gvoice as one of your contacts. All domestic gvoice is free. Make all calls through gvoice. SMS is free. Turn off SMS through tmo. And lower your minutes to the lowest plan offered. Best I can think of.

I like it! I have tried to sign opp for Voice, but so far have not gotten an invite. Are they readily available? As a cutting edge Nexus One owner, you would think I would get priority for Voice.

 

[SnotF]

N1 comes w voice, pretty sure you just sign in to the app and you have it.

 

[CAL7]

T-Mobile has announced "WiFi Calling" for the MyTouch 4G. Two questions:

1. Is this the same as UMA and will it fit into the same pricing plan(i.e. I have unlimited UMA calls on the family plan)?
2. The announcement says it will be offered on selected Android phones. Will that include the Nexus One?

Thanks!