Apple iPhone 5 US Carrier Comparison Chart • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple iPhone 5 US Carrier Comparison Chart

#101

Post by chrisbolt » Sat, Sep 15, 2012, 6:49 AM UTC

DomKM wrote: post #95

indiekid wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not. That's why the iPhone 5 has GSM bands supported as well.

Could you explain this? This chart* would suggest that, while LTE bands are shared between the CDMA model and the non-North America GSM model, none of the models are both GSM and CDMA capable and therefore are not "worldphone capable". I would love to be wrong about this so please elucidate the situation if you are able. * http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/

The CDMA model does GSM as well: http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html

CDMA model A1429: CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B (800, 1900, 2100 MHz); UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); LTE (Bands 1, 3, 5, 13, 25)

The CDMA iPhone 4S was the same (minus LTE), it has a SIM card slot for global roaming and everything.

Re: Apple iPhone 5 US Carrier Comparison Chart

#102

Post by wprater » Sat, Sep 15, 2012, 3:20 PM UTC

benguild wrote: post #33

indiekid wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No current network supports VoLTE so I'm not sure this can be confirmed yet.

Right, but what if the network began supporting it? My understanding was that even if turned on, the current device still relies on either CDMA or HSPA/whatever for voice no matter what.

I dont think it's clear yet; changes to the network may only require a change in software to get this VoLTE function. The document suggests Verizon is testing this, but where did he get that info? There is no footnote about it. Also, would the phone even support it?

Re: Apple iPhone 5 US Carrier Comparison Chart

#103

Post by beagle3 » Sat, Sep 15, 2012, 6:06 PM UTC

drstewart wrote: post #90

UnoriginalGuy wrote: post #82

Americans pay a LOT for their cellular service. I mean $100/month is just absolutely insane. Currently I pay about $17/month but if I wanted unlimited everything I could get it for $32/month. We don't pay to receive calls or texts however so there is little need to have "unlimited" either. Even the thought that I am paying for advertisers to send me junk text messages or calls would drive me insane, if I was in the U…

Cherry-picking one number and comparing it to another country by converting the dollar amount is a ridiculous and meaningless comparison. Looking on here: http://shop.o2.co.uk/mobile_phone/pay_monthly/24_months/Medi... It looks like the cost is $70/month for unlimited text/voice and 1 GB of data. That doesn't seem much cheaper at all to me.

I'm living in NYC and paying ~$80/month for limited everything (900 minutes/1000 texts/2GB/other perks but other discounts).

I visited Berlin in June. I prepaid 15 Eur for unlimited one week everything on Vodafone. I could have gotten prepaid everything for 30 Eur/month, but I was only there for a week.

And the 3G speeds I received were actually higher than the ones I usually get in NYC.

Re: Apple iPhone 5 US Carrier Comparison Chart

#104

Post by beagle3 » Sat, Sep 15, 2012, 6:15 PM UTC

Pewpewarrows wrote: post #68

whichdan wrote: post #58

For people with LTE: Is the difference significant enough to warrant upgrading from a 4 or 4s?

It's typically faster than any Wifi I can connect to. So yeah, absolutely.

Would that still be the case when adoption rate is higher, though?

Does anyone have an idea what kind of internet pipes LTE base stations get, and how much bandwidth they can (realistically) provide to every phone once they are operating at planned capacity?

Re: Apple iPhone 5 US Carrier Comparison Chart

#105

Post by DomKM » Sat, Sep 15, 2012, 7:24 PM UTC

chrisbolt wrote: post #101

DomKM wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you explain this? This chart* would suggest that, while LTE bands are shared between the CDMA model and the non-North America GSM model, none of the models are both GSM and CDMA capable and therefore are not "worldphone capable". I would love to be wrong about this so please elucidate the situation if you are able. * http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/

The CDMA model does GSM as well: http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html CDMA model A1429: CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B (800, 1900, 2100 MHz); UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); LTE (Bands 1, 3, 5, 13, 25) The CDMA iPhone 4S was the same (minus LTE), it has a SIM card slot for global roaming and everything.

Thanks for the info.

Re: Apple iPhone 5 US Carrier Comparison Chart

#106

Post by thoughtsimple » Sun, Sep 16, 2012, 6:30 PM UTC

indiekid wrote: post #93

thoughtsimple wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a CDMA phone which by definition can't be unlocked.

That's not true. CDMA is just one band. The iPhone 5 supports multiple bands, including GSM bands and LTE bands. It also includes a SIM card slot. The iPhone 5 can be unlocked and a new SIM inserted.

Not the iPhone. You can use the SIM internationally but not in the US. Put an AT&T or T-Mobile SIM in your "unlocked" Verizon iPhone and it will not work.

UPDATE: I should also add that if you buy an factory unlocked iPhone from Apple, there is no way to activate it on any CDMA network. CDMA is inherently a locked network.