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The truth: Why the extra fees are a rip off

LTE sucks and will be at Wimax current speeds when it finally rolls out in 2010.

You know I will disagree with that. Lte does not suck. It is just really young and being handled by idiots. It is like BMW's they are not bad cars, just owned by bad people.
How about we pay the $10 when the forkin service is available?
That is completely reasonable. Do not the Evo until you have 4g. That is the best advice soo far.
 
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Got my EVO friday morning, and even though my home (North of Atlanta) & my office in downtown Atlanta is under the 4G coverage map, I haven't gotten a whif of a 4G signal yet. The 3G runs like a dream, and I must confess, my building probably is blocking the 4G signal, but $10 extra, and I can't use it kinda pisses me off.

The phone is the bomb tho.:cool:

This phone is helluva the bomb. I talked to two Sprint Reps today about 4g. The first one said the evo only worked off the 4g provided by Sprint not Clear. I kinda feel that this is BS considering how much percentage of Clear Sprint Owns.
I am not getting any 4g service in my house where I do get clear. I attribute this to two things-Living in Austin there are a lot of 4g New Customers; and 2 my home modem is HUGE compared to the Evo.

Enjoy your Evo-and remember your Evo can't swim.
 
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Why does WiMAX suck the big balls and why its already a failure when implemented in a smartphone?

WiMAX is 2.5ghz band which is NOT good. This means that the signal has a very difficult time penetrating walls and building and other objects compared to LTE 800mhz and HSPA+ band.

This also means WiMAX radios need much more power to transmit which is why the battery life on the Evo with 4g radio on is so laughably low (3-4hours).

Why did sprint use 2.5ghz? Because they have no choice. The other lower (and superior) frequencies like 800mhz, 900mhz are already taken up by other carriers like Verizon, Tmobile ect.

This is also why sooooo many people do NOT consider WiMAX a true 4g technology. You guys have no idea what LTE and HSPA+ band will bring to the table very soon.
 
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Why does WiMAX suck the big balls and why its already a failure when implemented in a smartphone?

WiMAX is 2.5ghz band which is NOT good. This means that the signal has a very difficult time penetrating walls and building and other objects compared to LTE 800mhz and HSPA+ band.

This also means WiMAX radios need much more power to transmit which is why the battery life on the Evo with 4g radio on is so laughably low (3-4hours).

Why did sprint use 2.5ghz? Because they have no choice. The other lower (and superior) frequencies like 800mhz, 900mhz are already taken up by other carriers like Verizon, Tmobile ect.

This is also why sooooo many people do NOT consider WiMAX a true 4g technology. You guys have no idea what LTE and HSPA+ band will bring to the table very soon.


Wonder what Sprint is going to do with its Iden network.. Hmmm

How does your LTE phone work on those frequencies?
 
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Eieio- I was there at the first wimax units. Not that suprised. They are where wimax was 3 years go.

Why does WiMAX suck the big balls and why its already a failure when implemented in a smartphone?
It is a phone, it can not suck balls.

WiMAX is 2.5ghz band which is NOT good. This means that the signal has a very difficult time penetrating walls and building and other objects compared to LTE 800mhz and HSPA+ band.

No worst then 1.9GHZ used by att, verizon, tmoble, and sprint. You are not talking that much of a difference.

This also means WiMAX radios need much more power to transmit which is why the battery life on the Evo with 4g radio on is so laughably low (3-4hours).
The evo has poor battery life because people turn have 3g radio, wifi, bluetooth, 4g radio, and 30 apps running in the background. I have 4g, wifi, bluetooth, and 4g running. I get about 12-15 hours of battery. It is the apps that suck battery. But since you said so, how much power extra does the 4g radio suck? Please enlighten us.

Why did sprint use 2.5ghz? Because they have no choice. The other lower (and superior) frequencies like 800mhz, 900mhz are already taken up by other carriers like Verizon, Tmobile ect.

They have alot of choice, 800mhz slows down alot when you start to move. Sprint has a section of 800mhz. Their is also a section of 700mhz that will be bought by comcast coming open in about 6 months.

This is also why sooooo many people do NOT consider WiMAX a true 4g technology. You guys have no idea what LTE and HSPA+ band will bring to the table very soon.

That is just personal opinion. The vast majority of experts consider lte dead on arrival, for the vast majority of the world. An fully function lte tower will require about 1.5 kilowats of power. To cover the same area, wimax takes 5 watts. You really are to spewing marketing, not facts.
 
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I would be completely fine with the $10 charge if sprint would allow usb tethering through the stock htc sense on 3G (no 4g in my area). I know there are programs that will allow it and i have already loaded EasyTether. I dont plan on using it all the time as i have broadband at home. But when I am out storm chasing it is going to come in very handy.
 
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I was comparing my VW plan to a Sprint's plan and in the end Sprint was like 3.00 cheaper. woohooo...not

Now VW doesn't advertise everything as unlimited but I don't come anywhere near my limits on minutes or text. Now if Sprint ditched their silly extra fees. Like that 10.00 for a service (4g) they don't even have in my area, or most for that matter, and thus I will not be using 99.999 percent of the time, if that much. And 29.99 a month for tethering is crazy (this is bs on all the carriers IMO). I don't get I'm access their network with the phone , I'm connecting to MY phone with my laptop, Its a bs charge. Personally I think tethering should be bill on a per pay, week or month. For example If I was going on a trip or something then I would activate (Like Verizon does with VZ navigator) but paying for it every month is stupid. These fee are silly money grabs

Oh well I'm ranting.
 
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I would be completely fine with the $10 charge if sprint would allow usb tethering through the stock htc sense on 3G (no 4g in my area). I know there are programs that will allow it and i have already loaded EasyTether. I dont plan on using it all the time as i have broadband at home. But when I am out storm chasing it is going to come in very handy.
usb terthering is alowed. I love this phone!!!!!
 
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With the $10 premium fee that includes unlimited 4g... does that include unlimited 3g as well or is that capped at 5GB?

3G is unlimited even without that $10 fee. The 5 GB cap is only on data cards, phone as modem (tethering), and modems imbedded into netbooks and laptops. The smartphone plans were always unlimited, as Sprint spelled out for the blog at Explain the Fee!
 
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tjwoo <---- sheeple. Getting shafted and he doesn't even care. How about we pay the $10 when the forkin service is available? When was the last time you paid for something you might get in some unknown future period? Have you been reading the 4G threads? Lot of people can't get 4G indoors. Heck, I'd bet your city doesn't even have 4G. You're blinded by the bling... previous iPhone user aren't you?

Nice try, every single area I roam around in NC from school to residence to work are covered in 4g. I'm very satisfied with my speed results thus far, wired tethering and all. This says something because I'm VERY used to fast internet speeds as my town is ranked number TWO in the US for the fastest average internet (Your fastest Internet in the world is found in Berkeley, CA). Still pretty satisfied with current 4g service.

Paying for something I might get in some unknown future? Let's see, the ENTIRE Investing financial industry does this. I'm not blindly wharrgarbling my opinions like some are, before even trying the service or giving time for adjustment.

I'm not saying companies and products shouldn't be criticized, which they should be with a constructive intent, not just bitching to be bitching with illogical and trollish comments. I'm happy to see T-Mobile and other carriers are stepping up to the plate, more competition among carriers can only lead to bigger and better innovations.

p.s my past three phones are Blackberries. Haven't owned an apple product in my life. so much bling eh?:cool:
 
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I get the error 67 vision user/pass incorrect when i try to tether with the htc app. As soon as i connect the usb cable my 3g icon goes away. I have tried the update profile that has been mentioned many times. i think you can only usb tether with the htc app if you are in a 4g area. I will be happy if someone can prove me wrong aon this and show how to get it working with 3g.
 
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I get the error 67 vision user/pass incorrect when i try to tether with the htc app. As soon as i connect the usb cable my 3g icon goes away. I have tried the update profile that has been mentioned many times. i think you can only usb tether with the htc app if you are in a 4g area. I will be happy if someone can prove me wrong aon this and show how to get it working with 3g.

I think the latest OTA update disabled the wired tether ability for some reason. This, I am quite disappointed about.

BUT, don't let that stop you from doing wired tethering, a free and quick way to do usb tether is download PDAnet app on your device and the desktop client for your computer. Works like a charm, and even lets you sms via your laptop.
 
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I am not happy about the extra fees. Yes, we all know Dan Hesse said 4G was so much cheaper to provide than 3G, and we know he said Sprint wouldn't charge us extra for it on the Evo. We also know Sprint currently doesn't charge extra for it on the mobile broadband plans. There is more to it than that though...
I keep seeing Sprint fanboys say ridiculous things like "It's still the cheapest plan out there" and "It's still the best deal..."
Lets put some facts to that bull. I have done the legwork for everyone. Here is the truth.
Sprint:
450 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited web: $70 right now + $10 for Evo so $80
1500 minutes 2 line family plan: $130 right now + $20 for Evo so $150
1500 minutes 4 line family plan: $170 right now + $40 for Evo so $210
T-Mobile:
Even More + (no contract, pay full price for device)
500 minutes, unlimited text, unlimited web: $70
1500 minutes 2 line family plan: $120
1500 minutes 4 line family plan: $180
Even More (2 year contract, subsidized device)
500 minutes, unlimited text, unlimited web: $80
1500 minute 2 line family plan: $160
1500 minutes 4 line family plan : $230
I know, I know, the fanboys will say, "But T-Mobile coverage sucks..."
Here is a fact:
"By the end of 2010, T-Mobile expects to have HSPA+ deployed across the breadth of its 3G footprint, covering more than 100 metropolitan areas and 185 million people."
Source:
Unsupported Browser
So how does T-Mobile's HSPA+ compare to Sprint's Wimax? Here are a couple of quotes from a test PC Mag did (both in Philly):
Wimax: "average of 2.25 megabits down and 628 kilobits up, with peaks of 5.13 down and 1.17 up."
HSPA+: "average download speeds of 3.12 megabits/sec, with peaks of 7.65, and upload speeds of 1.26 megabits/sec with a peak of 2.02."
Source:
WiMAX vs. HSPA+: The Hands-On Test - WiMAX vs. HSPA+ Roundup | PCMag.com
And here is a video of the folks at Pocket Now doing a speed test on their T-Mobile HD2 and pulling almost 9 megs:
YouTube - T-Mobile's HD2 Get's Almost 10Mbps Download
Keep in mind, that HD2 isn't even made for HSPA+. It just so happens that HSPA+ is backwards compatible with HSPA, so the HD2 benefits from it. However, T-Mobile will be launching at least one device to compete with the Evo this year, made specifically for their HSPA+ network. And T-Mobile is claiming it will be 3 times faster than Sprint's 4G, as well as cover more people this year.
Source:
T-Mobile will launch HSPA+ smartphone in H2 2010, 3x faster than Sprint HTC EVO 4G
 
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I think the latest OTA update disabled the wired tether ability for some reason. This, I am quite disappointed about.

BUT, don't let that stop you from doing wired tethering, a free and quick way to do usb tether is download PDAnet app on your device and the desktop client for your computer. Works like a charm, and even lets you sms via your laptop.

Tjwoo, you a Tarheel?

Back on topic... while I can say that I am not overly happy to pay the surcharge, I can live with it. I don't have a problem with people pointing out their displeasure, either. :)
 
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