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Dissatisfied with htc- not enough 3g radios

Like many of you, I have been a loyal HTC customer since 2004 when I bought my first HTC product. I have been buying at least one new HTC product each year since then. However, beginning two or so year ago, HTC stopped selling unlocked phones with 3G Radios which worked in Europe and the U.S.
For example, a few years ago when the HTC TyTN came out, we U.S. customers could pay a bit of a premium and buy an unlocked HTC TyTN which had 3G radios which worked in the U.S. and Europe before the the HTC TyTN variant (Cingular 8525) officially came to the U.S. many months later. The same was true of the HTC TyTN II (AT&T Tilt or 8925).
Beginning with the HTC Rafael (AT&T Fuze) a couple years ago, the unlocked phones offered directly from HTC had no 3G radios for the U.S. Next, the HTC HD Blackstone and then the HTC Touch Pro 2 were offered unlocked, but without radios that could work on U.S. 3G networks.
This makes me very angry for several reasons. First, AT&T is undoubtedly the best GSM carrier stateside in terms of 3G coverage. (Hopefully T-Mobile will catch up someday). All U.S. customers (if they want 3G) have to wait for months to get the hot stuff. By the time the new device arrives, it's old news and out of date (the HTC Tilt 2 for example). AT&T will undoubtedly receive all the good stuff last because of its exclusivity with the I-Phone which makes all the other manufacturers want to release their new stuff elsewhere first. (I don't blame them for this.).
Secondly, AT&T's branding is absolutely atrocious. I'd like to get my hands on the idiot at AT&T who keeps screwing up perfectly good QWERTY keyboards with AT&T idiotic silver keys and insane layouts. The silver wears off and makes the keys hard to see in bright light. The layout is insane because they change the masterful HTC layouts and have even changed patters from their previous keyboards. The caps and function keys have been switched. Whoever is in charge of keyboard layout should be fired and not allowed to work in the industry again.
Business people who live in Europe and travel to the U.S. should be equally upset. Their expensive unlocked HTC products won't pick up a U.S. 3G signal.
Am I the only one who doesn't like this trend? I think not. We all need to band together and push HTC to putting a bunch of 3G radios in its products. Personally, I'd like to see some unlocked products which had the following 3G bands - 850/900/1700/1900/2100. Or what about 850/1700/1900/2100 so that it could be used on either AT&T or T-Mobile in the States and also in Europe? No, they cannot do that, the carriers would have to actually compete on quality of service and price rather than on what phone they have.
I suspect that the hardware is not a limitation. If it is the limitation, the manufacturers could make plug in modules that could go from one frequency set to another. I bet that the reason the radios are limited is due to the totally anti-competitive practices of the U.S. carriers.
This is total B.S. Every single HTC customer who travels between the U.S. and Europe should complain to HTC about this. Can we get some kind of joint letter, etc, going?
I'd be interested to hear all responses. I'm frankly fed up.

I'm personally pretty frustrated with this issue. AT&T really f*cks up their keyboards, and adds so much crap to their devices. I'd have thrown my Tilt and Tilt2 out the window if I hadn't learned about cooked ROMs. The keyboard is the absolute worst, though. Whoever at AT&T decides to ruin the otherwise great keyboards on the unlocked devices needs to be shot. And as you said, they decided to change the CAPS and FN key positions, after I already learned to type the opposite way for two years.
However, the antenna hardware is a limitation, in a sense. Meaning, you can't enable the US 3G bands on an unlocked device if they internal hardware antenna doesn't support it. In a podcast with Mobility Digest, one the legendary producers of HardSPL (Olipro) said that he's hacked radios and SPLs to allow all the frequencies to be utilized, and there was no signal, because the antenna hardware was not able to pick up the frequencies.
I think the real problem is the carriers. AT&T doesn't want people to buy an unlocked AT&T compatible phone that I can use without an expensive data plan that I'm locked into for 2 years. They also don't want me to buy a phone that also supports T-Mobile, so I can decide I don't like AT&T and take my phone with me, 3G coverage and all. So what AT&T does is pressure HTC not to release an unlocked version with their 3G frequencies supported. You're absolutely right when you say that quality of service should be the deciding factor in a network, not the phones they sell.

I went through and other frustrations with HTC and at one point I swore I'd never buy another HTC phone again. Then I went and bought an iPhone. Problem is, while the iPhone is a pretty sweet phone, AT&T is still the same scumbag company regardless of what phone you own and Apple is even WORSE than HTC. Unless you jailbreak the iPhone, you can't do anything interesting with it and you're totally at the mercy of Apple and AT&T as far as apps and what you can do with them. Take Slingplayer, for example. It works over wifi, period. I can get it to work over 3G if I jailbreak the phone and install a utility that makes it think it's using wifi, but how much longer is jailbreaking going to be available? Apple is going to great lengths to put an end to jailbreaking thought patching the exploits that allow it to work and legally by trying to make it illegal to jailbreak it. You can't use your own sounds for message notification, you can't customize the screen, you can't do a lot of things. So Apple and AT&T take a nice phone and totally f**k it up. And that's why I'm back to using an HTC phone. In the grand scheme of things, HTC and Microsoft are, by a wide margin, the lesser of the two evils when put against Apple and AT&T.

I understand that HTC has limited the hardware so that even with the right software, the phones won't pick up frequencies for which they don't have hardware or antennas. It cannot be a big deal.
Always the optimist, I believe that if everyone who used this forum wrote HTC a letter demanding that they start putting the hardware in their phones to operate on multiple 3G networks, something positive might happen.
HTC has it in their power to make and sell unlocked phones. Five years ago, you never saw HTC's name on the phones. It was always, Cingular, T-Mobile, Siemens, Audiovox, etc. Now you see HTC doing direct advertising in the U.S. However, I don't think it will have any effect. The ignorant masses are so I-Phone crazy. The name HTC doesn't mean thing to them.
Soon that I-Phone will be sold on all the U.S. networks. HTC could advertise directly and sell tons of phones if the phones were unlocked and worked on multiple 3G networks. This is one of the principles of "Net Neutrality". People hate to be tied to any certain network. This idea of locking the customer into a two year contact to get a stinking phone is outrageous. Sure, the initial outlay for the phone is small, but the carrier more than makes it back with high than needed data connection fees. In the end, the consumer gets the shaft.
If HTC offered an unlocked phones with U.S. & Europe 3G, I'd buy a new one every few months if the phones were any good. I want an HTC HD2 right now. I'd also like to try an HTC Hero in a GSM 3G too. But I'll have to wait several months and hope my carrier gets it.
Let's not sit back and let this sorry situation continue. Let's spread the word and go after the HTC and get the message out there.

I'm not Dissatisfied with htc in regards to travel. But I am Dissatisfied with htc in regards to OS Updates. I dont think that HTC should allow the updates to be Choosen by the carrieer.
Example: HTC Touch Pro some carrieers are updateing to 6.5 and others are not.. and what pisses me off is HTC Touch Pro was designed for 7 then MS decided to push the release date back. so ALL Touch Pros should get the 6.5 update and when 7 comes out they should also get the 7 update aswell..
I'm so tired of this.. yes XDA is a good place to go for the updates but I should not have to rely on xda to give me the update.
I sware my next phone is going to be the apple iPhone.

radio stacks as far as I see it is not something htc are making a range of
they make one for each device and then make newer versions to tweek or fix issues with the first ones
the newest should in general be applied
about 3g frequencies diff between usa and the rest of the world is hardware differences not radio stack differences

Rudegar said:
radio stacks as far as I see it is not something htc are making a range of
they make one for each device and then make newer versions to tweek or fix issues with the first ones
the newest should in general be applied
about 3g frequencies diff between usa and the rest of the world is hardware differences not radio stack differences
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The radio software is not the problem. It's the hardware. The hardware is deliberately made so that it only works on certain networks. I'm sure that cost and design are not the problem.

HTC needs to get back to devices that are true 3G 'world' phones! They have already lost a lot of the business folks!! Bring on the petition!!!

Agreed
I totally share your frustration. Similarly, due to heavy use I tend to buy a new phone yearly, Starting with Cingular 8150. I have many times purchased the same phone more than once, since no new devices were available when I needed a new phone. I am completely frustrated with being part of the largest consumer market in the world, yet only getting the latest technology more than a year after the rest of this planet. HTC has already lost an opportunity, by failing to fully and effectively advertise its products to Joe public, who was dazzled with the Iphone when it was first released. The fact remains that when we watched these Iphone adds, none of us was ever impressed with these features since they have been available to us for a long time with our HTC phones.
Rambo, I would like to encourage you to make a petition, as few of us are able to articulate this issue as well as you can and I would invite everyone to sign it, as a consumer block numbering in the thousands we can have our voices heard.

galaxys said:
HTC needs to get back to devices that are true 3G 'world' phones! They have already lost a lot of the business folks!! Bring on the petition!!!
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petition? just dont buy their garbage!
i havnt bought another htc since the htc tytn, that is like 4 years ago?
my previous phones, Imate 6150, Imate 9500, Eten X800, Sony X1, Acer F900, and now Acer neotouch S200, just preorder Acer Liquid, and soon Sony X10. what does all these phones have in common? they all works on ATT USA 3G! HTC can take their junks and stick it u know where! haha

netnerd said:
petition? just dont buy their garbage!
i havnt bought another htc since the htc tytn, that is like 4 years ago?
my previous phones, Imate 6150, Imate 9500, Eten X800, Sony X1, Acer F900, and now Acer neotouch S200, just preorder Acer Liquid, and soon Sony X10. what does all these phones have in common? they all works on ATT USA 3G! HTC can take their junks and stick it u know where! haha
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The only reason to petition HTC is because their hardware is not junk. It's very high quality stuff. They just need to make a few important changes.

dont be a pushy! haha
be a man!
it' like eatting at resturant, you are not allow to eat until everyone is finished eatting! that is just a insult to USA users! i wouldnt be begging them to let you eat at the same time as every1 else. i go elsewhere! haha

Thanks for using the Roman 'U' / sarcasm

3G Radios
yep, fully agree. I buy a new phone per year, due to heavy usage, they are generally ready for the scrap heap. I live in USA, but have operations in EU, and Japan / South Korea and I only want one phone and one number, and push around large amounts of data. I have to have 2100 mghz for voice and data in Japan and Korea, 850/1900 in USA and while in EU, need the 1800/900 and now 2100 for 3G access there. As I said, I only want one device and one number to keep updated and ready.
Big pain that HTC and Nokia have decided not to blend the 3G radios in the same way we have quad band GSM services. The extra frequencies on the radios are minor costs, which I would gladly pay.
ATT also keeps HTC from adding the 3.5 mm audio out jack, due to their exclusive deal with Apple on the Iphone, which is ridiculous. These cheap little dongles are a pain to use and keep up with, since I use my tilt 2 as an MP3 player while flying, I have to keep up with another piece. I strongly prefer one device to have to carry chargers for while traveling, so my phone is my MP3 player, email device, voice device, and mobile gps device. I want ONE DEVICE that works everywhere and not be dependant on AT&T to decide what and when I will get what.
HTC has to be tied to these carriers by some contract or agreement and is likely lacking marketing infastructure to take their phones to market globally and feel some ties to these major carriers. Otherwise it makes no sense to cripple these new devices as they are doing.
My 3 cents worth.
MWS

ms0529 said:
Big pain that HTC and Nokia have decided not to blend the 3G radios in the same way we have quad band GSM services. The extra frequencies on the radios are minor costs, which I would gladly pay.
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sony ericsson, and acer have no problems including USA 3g and EU 2100umts on their phone! retarded htc just dont want to! it like watching the new movie New Moon, you not allow to watch it until 6 months later! do u still get excited about New Moon 6 months later while every1 else already watched it? and Samsung is starting to wake up too! their lastest phone Omina II got USA 3g and 2100umts! (900/1900/2100umts)

netnerd said:
sony ericsson, and acer have no problems including USA 3g and EU 2100umts on their phone! retarded htc just dont want to! it like watching the new movie New Moon, you not allow to watch it until 6 months later! do u still get excited about New Moon 6 months later while every1 else already watched it? and Samsung is starting to wake up too! their lastest phone Omina II got USA 3g and 2100umts! (900/1900/2100umts)
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i second that..asus p835 also have us3g band

HTC exists to sell phones and make money.
If they wanted to sell phones that aren't carrier locked, it would have to be at full retail price ($500-600) and as a result MUCH less people would buy it. Plus HTC would have to open their own stores and such, or sell it only online.
The other option is to sell it through a carrier, but when you do that you're at the carriers mercy. And american carriers are scumbags when it comes to that.
For example, when the rest of the world uses the higher frequency that allows more users on the same tower and better speeds. America is still stuck with using ancient towers on ****ty frequencies...because carriers like AT&T are too cheap to upgrade it.
At the end of the day what do you think matters more to HTC (as a business), you deciding not to buy another phone from them (which would cost them very little, if anything, as it would be the carrier that sustains the loss) or them losing a multi-million dollar contract.

Razorfold said:
HTC exists to sell phones and make money.
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so is any other cell phones makers. sony, acer, asus, and now samsung (with their latest omini II got USA 3G and 2100umts. you bought ATT iphone, you also get 2100umts, i believe LG Expo with 1G cpu also has usa 3g and 2100umts!
but if you bought a HTC garbage phone, it either 900/2100 or USA 3G only, no 2100umts !
update: maybe "garbage" is not the correct word, it' OLD JUNKS! but the time it get to usa, phone is already 6months old! would you want to see New moon in 6 months while every1 is watching it now? would you rather eat after every1 is finished eatting? you just eatting the left-over!

netnerd said:
so is any other cell phones makers. sony, acer, asus, and now samsung (with their latest omini II got USA 3G and 2100umts. you bought ATT iphone, you also get 2100umts, i believe LG Expo with 1G cpu also has usa 3g and 2100umts!
but if you bought a HTC garbage phone, it either 900/2100 or USA 3G only, no 2100umts !
update: maybe "garbage" is not the correct word, it' OLD JUNKS! but the time it get to usa, phone is already 6months old! would you want to see New moon in 6 months while every1 is watching it now? would you rather eat after every1 is finished eatting? you just eatting the left-over!
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Click to collapse
What don't you understand about it not having anything to do with HTC?
HTC signs contracts with t-mobile, AT&T, verizon, sprint etc, which allows them to rebrand the phone and sell it ON THEIR SCHEDULE with the features/radios THEY WANT. As almost everyone in America is locked onto 2 year contracts, most will be unwilling to buy to a new phone at full retail price until their contract is over. Hence carriers will wait to stock up on new phones till a time when the majority of their subscribers will be nearing their time to upgrade.
This CAN affect their other phones as well, just depends on whats written on those contracts.
AT&T doesn't want you buying a phone and switching over to t-mobile. So they lock out the t-mobile 3G frequencies.
T-mobile doesn't want you buying a phone and switching over to AT&T. So they lock out the AT&T frequencies.
Verizon/Sprint, don't want you buying a global phone and switching to T-mobile/AT&T, so they lock out both those bands.
If carriers aren't giving a certain phone the 2100 frequency, it's probably because they sell a similar more expensive phone that is "global ready" and want you to buy that instead if you travel. (Like for example, the ATT touch diamond doesn't have the 2100 band. The ATT Touch Pro 2 DOES)
Sony Ericcson, and Acer don't sell their phones in America through a carrier so naturally they don't have to lock out the radios and can do whatever the hell they want.
What is so hard to get about this?
Yes HTC can make a new contract, but I highly doubt carriers will sign it.
And btw I wouldn't want to see new moon, because it's gotta be the worst movie ever and nor am I a 13 year old girl with no common sense.

Razorfold said:
AT&T doesn't want you buying a phone and switching over to t-mobile. So they lock out the t-mobile 3G frequencies.
T-mobile doesn't want you buying a phone and switching over to AT&T. So they lock out the AT&T frequencies.
Verizon/Sprint, don't want you buying a global phone and switching to T-mobile/AT&T, so they lock out both those bands.
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Click to collapse
i dont want a ATT or Tmobile branded htc old junk! i'm talking about HTC unlocked phone that they purposely left out USA 3G on it!

$529 with only att or tmobile support :(

Hi,
i am just asking this out of curiosity.
google is selling the nexus one for $529 for either att or tmobile.
wouldnt it be nice to have 3G bands of att (850) and tmobile (1700 or 2100 not sure) both built in if i am paying $529. i mean than i could choose between the two carriers with the same phone, otherwise i am still restricted
any comments.....

geronemo said:
wouldnt it be nice to have 3G bands of att (850) and tmobile (1700 or 2100 not sure) both built in if i am paying $529. i mean than i could choose between the two carriers with the same phone, otherwise i am still restricted
any comments.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While this would be nice, why add more features? This is the normal cost (This may even be on the lower ends?) of a phone before your carrier subsidizes it...

JAguirre1231 said:
While this would be nice, why add more features? This is the normal cost (This may even be on the lower ends?) of a phone before your carrier subsidizes it...
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but thats my point that at $529 its not subsidized for att.
thats what annoys me.
i would love to get it for att 3G at $179 as it is for tmobile.
so as things stand i have to pay $529 for att 3G, sucks.........

geronemo said:
but thats my point that at $529 its not subsidized for att.
thats what annoys me.
i would love to get it for att 3G at $179 as it is for tmobile.
so as things stand i have to pay $529 for att 3G, sucks.........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is kind of odd that att hasnt picked up the phone yet isnt it? They are probably trying to push off as many backflips as possible before they subsidize it.

I agreed with you. To sell it unlocked for such a high price tag, make it so that we can utilize all of the services that a carrier has to offer. In this case, I meant put all of the 3g frequencies together like the 2g frequency. If they don't want to put all of the frequencies in one unit, at least put the 3g (850/1700/1900) if the phones were aimed for the US and 3g(900/2100) for Asia. Paying $529 and we can only choose either for ATT or for TMO. We can't use the 3g if we change a carrier. Not happy with the way they market the phone.

lingnoy said:
I agreed with you. To sell it unlocked for such a high price tag, make it so that we can utilize all of the services that a carrier has to offer. In this case, I meant put all of the 3g frequencies together like the 2g frequency. If they don't want to put all of the frequencies in one unit, at least put the 3g (850/1700/1900) if the phones were aimed for the US and 3g(900/2100) for Asia. Paying $529 and we can only choose either for ATT or for TMO. We can't use the 3g if we change a carrier. Not happy with the way they market the phone.
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thats exactly my point,
1st off we cannot see the phone up close before buying it, sucks, horrible marketing.
2nd pay whooping $529 for only att 3G sucks, horrible marketing.
maybe google doesnt want this phone to be really successful

Justin241982 said:
It is kind of odd that att hasnt picked up the phone yet isnt it? They are probably trying to push off as many backflips as possible before they subsidize it.
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i read somewhere there att as long as they are in exclusive contract with apple over iphone wont release a phone which is better/equal to iphone, i dont think this is true, but interestingly:
i respect apple, android, winMo but the only 2-3 phones in the market that can give iphone a run for its money are HD2, nexus one, droid and interestingly att doesn't have anyone of them

eoic 4g to use in europe!!!

hy. I just bought the new model sprint evo g4
but i'm in Italy.. so only now I comprehend that this model run in w-cdma
so.. what can I do? I've choosed with the stomach and not with the brain.. sigh
I read here post 8465960
that I can change the band that operates.. in order to use it in Europe.
so i'm really scared.. I lost my money in a wasted choice?
thanks in advance
ugo

Resell it unless there is a wcdma provider.... which I don.t think there is.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

ugokind said:
hy. I just bought the new model sprint evo g4
but i'm in Italy.. so only now I comprehend that this model run in w-cdma
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Click to collapse
I'm not sure if you are talking about the Epic (post title) or Evo (actual post) but both are sprint phones that run on Sprint's cdma network, which is a lot different from wcdma and I don't think either phone can do wcdma which requires different hardware. I think Italy uses GSM (which is often combined with wcdma, but not cdma) and neither phone will work on that kind of network.

The only thing useful you can do with it is sell it to somebody in the US (or maybe Mexico, Brazil, Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Canada, or another country that uses CDMA). Italy is 100% GSM. Europe is 99.9% GSM (100%, if you don't count any country that used to be part of what was formerly known as "Eastern Europe").
If you have any friends or family members in the US, send the phone to THEM, and have THEM sell it on eBay. As a practical matter, most Americans will be nervous about buying an Epic/Evo from someone in Europe, just because an Epic/Evo *is* so completely useless in Europe, they'll assume it was stolen, or was bought from someone in the US who owed Sprint a lot of money and got the phone's ESN blacklisted (if you owe Sprint money, they'll refuse to activate your old phone for anyone who buys it; because Sprint phones mostly work only on Sprint, and only Sprint phones work on Sprint, it makes their bill-collection effort more efficient).

ugokind said:
hy. I just bought the new model sprint evo g4
but i'm in Italy.. so only now I comprehend that this model run in w-cdma
so.. what can I do? I've choosed with the stomach and not with the brain.. sigh
I read here post 8465960
that I can change the band that operates.. in order to use it in Europe.
so i'm really scared.. I lost my money in a wasted choice?
thanks in advance
ugo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sell it. You would be better off with a G2 from T-Mobile for GSM compatibility.

ok
I see..
thanks to everybody for the informations..
i'll sell it asap..
sigh.. I'm sad.. auuuuu
bye

bitbang3r said:
The only thing useful you can do with it is sell it to somebody in the US (or maybe Mexico, Brazil, Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Canada, or another country that uses CDMA). Italy is 100% GSM. Europe is 99.9% GSM (100%, if you don't count any country that used to be part of what was formerly known as "Eastern Europe").
If you have any friends or family members in the US, send the phone to THEM, and have THEM sell it on eBay. As a practical matter, most Americans will be nervous about buying an Epic/Evo from someone in Europe, just because an Epic/Evo *is* so completely useless in Europe, they'll assume it was stolen, or was bought from someone in the US who owed Sprint a lot of money and got the phone's ESN blacklisted (if you owe Sprint money, they'll refuse to activate your old phone for anyone who buys it; because Sprint phones mostly work only on Sprint, and only Sprint phones work on Sprint, it makes their bill-collection effort more efficient).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
stolen? I hope not!!
so in that case I lost my money 2 times!

If you can find Sprint's non-800 number, you can ask them to do an "ESN Check" and they'll tell you whether or not the phone is clean & can be activated.
Worst-case, if Sprint can't/won't activate the phone, you're now the owner of a very expensive wi-fi Android tablet with a small screen. The good news is that, unlike windows mobile devices, it's still useful even if you never activate it as a phone.
Alternatively, as long as you have the MSL code (you DID get the MSL code, right? That's the code that unlocks the phone), you can sell it to someone who's in a country with CDMA besides the US, Mexico, or Canada (Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore are probably the easiest ones) for $250 and use the money to buy a high-end Android tablet from China. You'll take a loss compared to what you paid for it, but you'll ultimately end up with a better Android tablet to play with.

How to get the best phone deals?

I have been on a GSM network in South Africa for ages.
I have had HTC devices for the last few years.
I am now resident in the USA using my TP2 with an AT&T prepaid card.
The phone is getting a bit old and I want to get one of the newer HTC devices offered by Verizon/Sprint etc.
Is the only way to get these phones at a reasonable price to tie oneself to a 2 year contract with one of these operators?
If I go CDMA will I miss GSM?
How do most of you USA residents get your phones??

samsat said:
I have been on a GSM network in South Africa for ages.
I have had HTC devices for the last few years.
I am now resident in the USA using my TP2 with an AT&T prepaid card.
The phone is getting a bit old and I want to get one of the newer HTC devices offered by Verizon/Sprint etc.
Is the only way to get these phones at a reasonable price to tie oneself to a 2 year contract with one of these operators?
If I go CDMA will I miss GSM?
How do most of you USA residents get your phones??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want to get a good phone at a reasonable price, either check here on the XDA Market forum, ebay, or you could go for a two year contract.
Honestly I believe that GSM is much more convenient to use than CDMA for the simple fact of being able to put your SIM in any phone without having to worry about paying flashing charges like you would have to do for a CDMA company if you wanted to have your phone number working on one phone or another. It's all preference. Do what you like best and enjoy your phone to it's fullest

Nexus S ATT version 3G? (rumored 850/1900 version)

Do y'all think they will eventually make a Nexus S for 850 and 1900 3G bands like they did for the Nexus One?
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

Hard to say... it'd make sense if they want to market it to UK and Canadian users, since more of their carriers use the bands AT&T does for 3G. Even if they do, it's not gonna make me jump from my N1. I'm perfectly happy with it, and I personally don't care for the Nexus S.

tehgeekguy said:
Hard to say... it'd make sense if they want to market it to UK and Canadian users, since more of their carriers use the bands AT&T does for 3G. Even if they do, it's not gonna make me jump from my N1. I'm perfectly happy with it, and I personally don't care for the Nexus S.
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Regarding UK carriers - wrong. The Nexus S already has UMTS 2100 which is used UK-wide, and UMTS 900 which is about to gain greater adoption in the UK. No carrier in Europe uses AT&T's bands.
But regarding Canadian carriers, yes, it'd make sense to produce a UMTS 850/1900 version. That doesn't mean it's incredibly likely to happen.

Well I hope it does! Everyone is really downing the phone and theyve never even held it! Google put their name on it so I bet its way better than people are making it out to be
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

I hope so too
I will surely jump from my Nexus One
I love it, but a change of looks would be nice

Here's to hoping there's a software hack like the one they had for the Vibrant's 850 MHz band.

While I have no first hand knowledge what so ever, if Google/handset manufacturer work on the same time line as the N1, after a period of time they will release a North American 3G variant of the Nexus S.
Quite frankly, I wonder why TMo seems to always get the Google Experience Phone, do most developers use TMo?
While I have no issues with TMo other than that they are not real big in my area of the USA, I cannot help but wonder why not either put a pentaband chip-set in the phone (which supports all Frequencies) or offer two variants right off the bat.
It just seems weird to me is all, I realize that El Goog probably has a good reason, but if sales are a key driving force why not offer it to more potential users and not just to users on the USA smallest network.
Dan

dan1431 said:
While I have no first hand knowledge what so ever, if Google/handset manufacturer work on the same time line as the N1, after a period of time they will release a North American 3G variant of the Nexus S.
Quite frankly, I wonder why TMo seems to always get the Google Experience Phone, do most developers use TMo?
While I have no issues with TMo other than that they are not real big in my area of the USA, I cannot help but wonder why not either put a pentaband chip-set in the phone (which supports all Frequencies) or offer two variants right off the bat.
It just seems weird to me is all, I realize that El Goog probably has a good reason, but if sales are a key driving force why not offer it to more potential users and not just to users on the USA smallest network.
Dan
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Click to collapse
Because they don't care? Google and Samsung are both corporations that serve to make their shareholders $$$, not keep us happy. Seriously. How many 850 MHz Nexus Ones did Google sell? Four? It's a ****ing shame because that phone @ at&t when it came out was really only up against the iPhone 3GS - it had no retail presence, and failed. Someone in some marketing office is confusing causation & correlation - their unsubsidized, unmarketable phone didn't sell.
They messed up again, the phone is still only being sold unsubsidized. Nobody buys unsubsidized phones in America (statistically speaking).
EDIT: I have an 850 MHz Nexus One - release day. I haven't seen a single phone on the market to make me even consider switching out. Consequence of dropping unsubsidized cash on a phone I guess.

sheik124 said:
Here's to hoping there's a software hack like the one they had for the Vibrant's 850 MHz band.
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Click to collapse
That was a false positive. The TMobile Vibrant has 1900 3g but it's never had 850.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

sheik124 said:
Because they don't care? Google and Samsung are both corporations that serve to make their shareholders $$$, not keep us happy. Seriously. How many 850 MHz Nexus Ones did Google sell? Four? It's a ****ing shame because that phone @ at&t when it came out was really only up against the iPhone 3GS - it had no retail presence, and failed. Someone in some marketing office is confusing causation & correlation - their unsubsidized, unmarketable phone didn't sell.
They messed up again, the phone is still only being sold unsubsidized. Nobody buys unsubsidized phones in America (statistically speaking).
EDIT: I have an 850 MHz Nexus One - release day. I haven't seen a single phone on the market to make me even consider switching out. Consequence of dropping unsubsidized cash on a phone I guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Nexus S is being sold @ a subsidized price: $199 w/ contract
Google and Samsung do serve to make money for shareholders, but Google does so primarily by making people happy, that is why their services are mostly free. Happy customers are Google's commodity.
About the AT&T 3G bands: I got an "i don't know" from a Google Software developer this morning on Twitter, so doubtful it will be around the Tmobile launch, but I don't think there is any question with the phone being sold in Best Buy and the way Samsung handled the Galaxy, it won't be too long

If there was a 850MHz version, I would put my order in tonight as I'm itching for a 4" phone (perfect size IMO). I have a feeling there probably wont be one though, as the Nexus S is more about having an up to date, clean-slate phone for developers to use and for Google to showcase new Android features. I doubt they care about maximizing sales of them, and there's probably not a lot to gain by opening them up to AT&T/Rogers/Bell/Telus customers, especially after all the testing and certification requirements.
Canadians that really want one can go with Wind Mobile or Mobilicity... and if I lived in the US I would pick T-Mobile over AT&T any day.

sheik124 said:
Here's to hoping there's a software hack like the one they had for the Vibrant's 850 MHz band.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While this has been addressed in part already, I'd like to address the other half of the story.
The Nexus S has already gone through the FCC. Check the FCC filings, and you'll find the frequencies on which the phone can operate. Go back and check the Vibrant initially passing through the FCC. See the difference?
The S does not have the hardware required for 3G to operate on AT&T. No software hack will enable what the hardware just CAN NOT do.

SoberGuy said:
While this has been addressed in part already, I'd like to address the other half of the story.
The Nexus S has already gone through the FCC. Check the FCC filings, and you'll find the frequencies on which the phone can operate. Go back and check the Vibrant initially passing through the FCC. See the difference?
The S does not have the hardware required for 3G to operate on AT&T. No software hack will enable what the hardware just CAN NOT do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, didn't know that.

PrawnPoBoy said:
Canadians that really want one can go with Wind Mobile or Mobilicity... and if I lived in the US I would pick T-Mobile over AT&T any day.
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Click to collapse
That's easy for you to say. I'd jump on Tmobile in a heartbeat but they have no, and I mean none, service at my work. Since I spend the majority of my time there it rules out Tmobile for me. So lets hope an ATT compatible version comes out in a few months.

Yeah I would happily drop 500+ dollars on a at&t nexus s if they make one for 850 and 1900 3G bands
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

dan1431 said:
Quite frankly, I wonder why TMo seems to always get the Google Experience Phone, do most developers use TMo?
Dan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maybe all developers have shotty credit and can only get approved for T-Mobile flexpay?
i kid i kid...kinda...

dan1431 said:
While I have no first hand knowledge what so ever, if Google/handset manufacturer work on the same time line as the N1, after a period of time they will release a North American 3G variant of the Nexus S.
Quite frankly, I wonder why TMo seems to always get the Google Experience Phone, do most developers use TMo?
While I have no issues with TMo other than that they are not real big in my area of the USA, I cannot help but wonder why not either put a pentaband chip-set in the phone (which supports all Frequencies) or offer two variants right off the bat.
It just seems weird to me is all, I realize that El Goog probably has a good reason, but if sales are a key driving force why not offer it to more potential users and not just to users on the USA smallest network.
Dan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah i dont understand it either. it seems as though these manufacturers actually HURT their sales by not being forthcoming right off the bat. we all dance around the issue, not knowing to buy or not buy, will an 850 version come later for me, etc. nobody is gonna drop 500 with that type of info. just lay it all out there from the beginning so people know to buy or not!

cpcrazyfly said:
maybe all developers have shotty credit and can only get approved for T-Mobile flexpay?
i kid i kid...kinda...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If more people supported developers, credit wouldn't be needed. . . .
Sent from my SGH-I987 using XDA App

dan1431 said:
Quite frankly, I wonder why TMo seems to always get the Google Experience Phone, do most developers use TMo?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have two thoughts on this. First, TMo doesn't give a crap. Look at the approach that most providers take to their phones, as far as bloatware, locking it down, crippling, etc. TMo, IMO, does far less of that than any other carrier. Imagine Google asking a carrier to offer a subsidized price on a Google Experience device, that they can't put any bloatware on. AT&T would laugh. For months. I think the prime reason is that TMo is willing to do that, while the others simply are not.
Two, doesn't TMo have a cell tower in Google's parking lot? I read that somewhere, but can't find anything on it. Maybe someone here has some info on that??
dan1431 said:
While I have no issues with TMo other than that they are not real big in my area of the USA, I cannot help but wonder why not either put a pentaband chip-set in the phone (which supports all Frequencies) or offer two variants right off the bat.
It just seems weird to me is all, I realize that El Goog probably has a good reason, but if sales are a key driving force why not offer it to more potential users and not just to users on the USA smallest network.
Dan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, Dan, I feel it's because TMo is the only carrier to offer a subsidy on it. Sammy can make a phone that works on any or all frequencies, if they want to. But they'd have to find someone willing to sell it, without any carrier subsidy, and more importantly, they'd have to have customers willing to buy it unsubsidized. On this latter point, I believe that is why Google felt the N1 was a massive failure. They didn't sell anywhere near what they wanted to, and they couldn't get AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon to offer a subsidy. I'm not sure what happened with the CDMA folks, but I can only venture a guess as to AT&T...

SoberGuy said:
I have two thoughts on this. First, TMo doesn't give a crap. Look at the approach that most providers take to their phones, as far as bloatware, locking it down, crippling, etc. TMo, IMO, does far less of that than any other carrier. Imagine Google asking a carrier to offer a subsidized price on a Google Experience device, that they can't put any bloatware on. AT&T would laugh. For months. I think the prime reason is that TMo is willing to do that, while the others simply are not.
Two, doesn't TMo have a cell tower in Google's parking lot? I read that somewhere, but can't find anything on it. Maybe someone here has some info on that??
Again, Dan, I feel it's because TMo is the only carrier to offer a subsidy on it. Sammy can make a phone that works on any or all frequencies, if they want to. But they'd have to find someone willing to sell it, without any carrier subsidy, and more importantly, they'd have to have customers willing to buy it unsubsidized. On this latter point, I believe that is why Google felt the N1 was a massive failure. They didn't sell anywhere near what they wanted to, and they couldn't get AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon to offer a subsidy. I'm not sure what happened with the CDMA folks, but I can only venture a guess as to AT&T...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was guessing the same thing. Either there is RIDICULOUSLY good T-Mo reception at the Mountain View campus OR it has to be some sort of deal between T-Mo and Google.
I remember when the G1 came out. I was thinking "wow, what an ugly phone. Android seems like a cool concept but seeing how it works on that phone is crappy. boo hiss etc". The phone did not seem to have much promise compared to the other competitors (windows mobile and....iphone). Naturally T-Mo took a huge risk carrying and promoting the at the time unknown phone. It seems like that faith has paid off because Google has chose T-Mobile as the only official carrier of ALL of their developer phones (ADP1 (G1), ADP2 (MT3G), Nexus One, and now the Nexus S.)
Or maybe it's some combination of both of those theories.