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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 By the time the new device arrives, it's old news and out of date (the HTC Tilt 2 for example).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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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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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!
Looking for a good online shop in the US that sells unlocked phones.
I know Expansys is great, but their selection of phones for the US is abysmal.
(Try finding an unlocked phone that supports US 3G! Ha!)
Any other REPUTABLE shops?
eBay is a very good choice for online shops
there is cellhut.com also, but i haven't bought anything from them.
Remember to put the url tags
Cell Hut
CellHut doesn't seem to sell US 3G devices. so they are out/crap.
Huh, I think that a Google search can help you very much
nathanpc said:
Huh, I think that a Google search can help you very much
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Sadly not.
Try it.
Huh. Yeah, this is one of the times that Google doesn't help
big phone selections but you have to stop to deal with price in shop ( usaly 10-20 % down of price ) gandhiappliances http://www.gandhiappliances.com/
or popularelect http://www.popularelect.com/
www.mobilecity.com
www.xpansys.com
lakeg said:
big phone selections but you have to stop to deal with price in shop ( usaly 10-20 % down of price ) gandhiappliances http://www.gandhiappliances.com/
or popularelect http://www.popularelect.com/
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Thanks.
Too bad only that these fvcktards all sell european versions of phones which do not work with US 3G.
http://www.onthegosolutions.com/
ilgaz said:
http://www.onthegosolutions.com/
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Not bad - like how they at least declare which phones are US 3g and which aren't.
They do have the Magic and the Hero but both are overpriced by about $100.
No Acer Liquid (which is the phone I have my eye on, now that it is out)
The best place that beats any other onlines store in the US or EU that I've used is Clove.co.uk.
The reason that you're not finding ANY phones with US 3G is because no manufacturer sells any phones unlocked in the US market. (Except for a select few phones) For that try BestBuy.com or go to a Best Buy in person. They are expensive and they only support AT&T 3G.
The point is, finiding an Unlocked phone you want with US 3G will be tough. Rumors are that the Sony X10 will have T-Mo US 3G. Until Manufacturers start making Quadband 3G unlocked phones you will be stuck with edge. Right now that's the price you pay for buying a phone that the US market won't see ever (or for atleast 6 months) and not being under contract. I think that's still a deal.
]
So if you really want 3G, sign another contract and get a phone from the carrier. Right now that's the only way. Don't yuo wish the US used EU's Carrier System here and their 3G bands?
Fix: Let me fix something. Looks like they need to make phones that have 5 or 6 3G Bands in order to be true 3G World phones. They would be 800/850/900/1700/1900/2100
1900/2100 for Europe/Asia
850/1900 for AT&T
800/850/1900/2100 for Japan but mainly 1900/2100
and 1700/2100 for T-Mo US
900 for Australia and other.
So if you want an unlocked 3G phone make sure it has the 850/1900 bands if you have AT&T or the 1700/2100 if you use T-MO. Just because they state the phone has US 3G does not mean it will work on your carrier.
HTC Touch Freak said:
The best place that beats any other onlines store in the US or EU that I've used is Clove.co.uk.
The reason that you're not finding ANY phones with US 3G is because no manufacturer sells any phones unlocked in the US market. (Except for a select few phones) For that try BestBuy.com or go to a Best Buy in person. They are expensive and they only support AT&T 3G.
The point is, finiding an Unlocked phone you want with US 3G will be tough. Rumors are that the Sony X10 will have T-Mo US 3G. Until Manufacturers start making Quadband 3G unlocked phones you will be stuck with edge. Right now that's the price you pay for buying a phone that the US market won't see ever (or for atleast 6 months) and not being under contract. I think that's still a deal.
]
So if you really want 3G, sign another contract and get a phone from the carrier. Right now that's the only way. Don't yuo wish the US used EU's Carrier System here and their 3G bands?
Fix: Let me fix something. Looks like they need to make phones that have 5 or 6 3G Bands in order to be true 3G World phones. They would be 800/850/900/1700/1900/2100
1900/2100 for Europe/Asia
850/1900 for AT&T
800/850/1900/2100 for Japan but mainly 1900/2100
and 1700/2100 for T-Mo US
900 for Australia and other.
So if you want an unlocked 3G phone make sure it has the 850/1900 bands if you have AT&T or the 1700/2100 if you use T-MO. Just because they state the phone has US 3G does not mean it will work on your carrier.
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I know.
Which is why I am looking for 850/1900/2100 phones.
The primary reason (if you ask me) why you don't see many unlocked phones being sold is twofold:
1. Price
2. Most stores are fvcktards: they don't even know that they are selling a 'crippled' phone even if you point it out to them.
Good examples are the 3 phones I have been looking at recently: HTC Hero and Magic as well as the Acer A1.
The majority of stores will happily sell you a EURO phone without telling you that it won't work. The ones that have the NAM version, will sell it to you for $100-$150 'over price'.
I am even willing to give them some leeway, since Hero and Magic are carrier bound in the US and HTC might not be allowed to ship the NAM version to US stores (making it more difficult/expensive for stores to sell them [not sure if that is legal though]).
What pisses me off big time (and proves that stores are absolute fvcktards) are phones, like the Acer A1, which are not bound to a carrier and will never get sold in the US unless they are sold as unlocked phones. Those stupid dickheads at the stores can't even sell that phone with the proper model in the proper market and the morons at the manufacturers spend millions on advertising/publicity but then can't even get products into stores!
I agree ALL GSM phones should have quad-gsm and quad-3G frequencies.
So last but not least it is also the phone manufacturers fault, since they should build quad-GSM/3G phones!
coolVariable said:
I know.
Which is why I am looking for 850/1900/2100 phones.
The primary reason (if you ask me) why you don't see many unlocked phones being sold is twofold:
1. Price
2. Most stores are fvcktards: they don't even know that they are selling a 'crippled' phone even if you point it out to them.
Good examples are the 3 phones I have been looking at recently: HTC Hero and Magic as well as the Acer A1.
The majority of stores will happily sell you a EURO phone without telling you that it won't work. The ones that have the NAM version, will sell it to you for $100-$150 'over price'.
I am even willing to give them some leeway, since Hero and Magic are carrier bound in the US and HTC might not be allowed to ship the NAM version to US stores (making it more difficult/expensive for stores to sell them [not sure if that is legal though]).
What pisses me off big time (and proves that stores are absolute fvcktards) are phones, like the Acer A1, which are not bound to a carrier and will never get sold in the US unless they are sold as unlocked phones. Those stupid dickheads at the stores can't even sell that phone with the proper model in the proper market and the morons at the manufacturers spend millions on advertising/publicity but then can't even get products into stores!
I agree ALL GSM phones should have quad-gsm and quad-3G frequencies.
So last but not least it is also the phone manufacturers fault, since they should build quad-GSM/3G phones!
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I wouldn't blame the stores on anything. Yes they know they are not selling a NAM 3G compatible device but it will work on edge. It's not their fault that it only woks on edge in NA. Blame the manufacturer.
Phones like the G1, and magic you can get with US bands but they are only T-Mo US 3G bands. (I have yet to see an AT&T one Besides the phone from Rogers) I have not seen an Unlocked Hero with NAM bands. If there was one It'd be in my pocket.
Again, Most of the unlocked phones that you are seeing that have NAM 3G are either T-mobile only or AT&T only. So you still have to be catious when you buy the phone. The US sellers that sell unlocked phones are selling the exact same EU/Asian unlocked phones that the EU sites are selling. Why? Because that's all there is to sell. And typically the US sites sell the phones at a higher price because they can.
Clove.Co.UK I got my Topaz the day it came out and it cost me $520 USD shipped (From the UK to CO). Other US based sites had the phone for $580+ excluding shipping.
My final word is that we all should send E-mails to HTC Worldwide stating that we want phones with True World 3G compatibility. We refuse to buy carrier branded phones and need the extra bands for personal and buisness use when traveling abroad. Even the EU and Asain Versions should come with "World 3G" bands. They do travel to the US and having 3G work here benifits productivity. Heck even users of branded US phones travel to EU/Asia for buisness and not having their 3G effects their productivity which in turns slows down world productivity and in the end hurts the world economy because someone had to wait 40 more seconds to DL something.
HTC Touch Freak said:
I wouldn't blame the stores on anything. Yes they know they are not selling a NAM 3G compatible device but it will work on edge. It's not their fault that it only woks on edge in NA. Blame the manufacturer.
Phones like the G1, and magic you can get with US bands but they are only T-Mo US 3G bands. (I have yet to see an AT&T one Besides the phone from Rogers) I have not seen an Unlocked Hero with NAM bands. If there was one It'd be in my pocket.
Again, Most of the unlocked phones that you are seeing that have NAM 3G are either T-mobile only or AT&T only. So you still have to be catious when you buy the phone. The US sellers that sell unlocked phones are selling the exact same EU/Asian unlocked phones that the EU sites are selling. Why? Because that's all there is to sell. And typically the US sites sell the phones at a higher price because they can.
Clove.Co.UK I got my Topaz the day it came out and it cost me $520 USD shipped (From the UK to CO). Other US based sites had the phone for $580+ excluding shipping.
My final word is that we all should send E-mails to HTC Worldwide stating that we want phones with True World 3G compatibility. We refuse to buy carrier branded phones and need the extra bands for personal and buisness use when traveling abroad. Even the EU and Asain Versions should come with "World 3G" bands. They do travel to the US and having 3G work here benifits productivity. Heck even users of branded US phones travel to EU/Asia for buisness and not having their 3G effects their productivity which in turns slows down world productivity and in the end hurts the world economy because someone had to wait 40 more seconds to DL something.
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I absolutely blame the stores (as well as the manufacturers) and you should too! The HTC Magic and the HTC Hero are not only made with US 3G bands ... you can even buy them unlocked in certain stores (usually for $100-$150 more than the EU version). Do your research!
(e.g. unlocked Hero w. at&t 3G: http://www.importgsm.com/product.php?productid=660&cat=0&page=1)
But it's not only phones like the Magic/Hero (which after all are sold in the US carrier bound) - the same is true for phones that are not bound to a US carrier (e.g. Acer A1, Acer F1, certain Nokia phones, ...).
There is no reason why US (online) stores (or even the manufacturers) can't sell those unlocked at full retail price.
coolVariable said:
I absolutely blame the stores (as well as the manufacturers) and you should too! The HTC Magic and the HTC Hero are not only made with US 3G bands ... you can even buy them unlocked in certain stores (usually for $100-$150 more than the EU version). Do your research!
(e.g. unlocked Hero w. at&t 3G: http://www.importgsm.com/product.php?productid=660&cat=0&page=1)
But it's not only phones like the Magic/Hero (which after all are sold in the US carrier bound) - the same is true for phones that are not bound to a US carrier (e.g. Acer A1, Acer F1, certain Nokia phones, ...).
There is no reason why US (online) stores (or even the manufacturers) can't sell those unlocked at full retail price.
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Dude Research. That is not an Unlocked Hero. That is a Branded Rogers and/or Telus Hero. Which is LOCKED. You have to buy it from Telus/Rogers Unlock it then use it on AT&T. If a store online wanted to sell it Unlocked they have a right to sell it to you for $150 more than an unlocked EU version.
Just look at the facts. This is AMERICA. The phone companies will not sell you a phone they carry and your carrier doesn't. It's called competition and Greed. They lock you in to a contract and "make" you use their phones that they want to carry.
In EU carriers don't care. I'll use US carriers as an example of how they work and we should to. I have T-Mo. I want the HD2 and only AT&T carries it. I would walk into the AT&T store and say I wan't the HD2 unlocked. I pay full price pop in my sim and go. Easy as that.
But the US carriers want you locked down. Hence the reason the companies are using different 3G bands than the rest of the world. It's stupid so don't blame the stores that just sell the phone or the manufacturers then. Blame AMERICA.
Mebe you should do the research and READ.
HTC Touch Freak said:
Dude Research. That is not an Unlocked Hero. That is a Branded Rogers and/or Telus Hero. Which is LOCKED. You have to buy it from Telus/Rogers Unlock it then use it on AT&T. If a store online wanted to sell it Unlocked they have a right to sell it to you for $150 more than an unlocked EU version.
Just look at the facts. This is AMERICA. The phone companies will not sell you a phone they carry and your carrier doesn't. It's called competition and Greed. They lock you in to a contract and "make" you use their phones that they want to carry.
In EU carriers don't care. I'll use US carriers as an example of how they work and we should to. I have T-Mo. I want the HD2 and only AT&T carries it. I would walk into the AT&T store and say I wan't the HD2 unlocked. I pay full price pop in my sim and go. Easy as that.
But the US carriers want you locked down. Hence the reason the companies are using different 3G bands than the rest of the world. It's stupid so don't blame the stores that just sell the phone or the manufacturers then. Blame AMERICA.
Mebe you should do the research and READ.
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Maybe YOU should do your research, 'tard!
http://www.negrielectronics.com/product_info.php?products_id=3036
And by the way - great argument why stores are not selling NAM versions of phones THAT AREN'T BOUND TO ANY CARRIER!!!!!!!!!
coolVariable said:
Maybe YOU should do your research, 'tard!
http://www.negrielectronics.com/product_info.php?products_id=3036
And by the way - great argument why stores are not selling NAM versions of phones THAT AREN'T BOUND TO ANY CARRIER!!!!!!!!!
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Bah ha ha ha. Alll that is, is a rogers Hero. I wouldn't be surprised if it had the Rogers logos and software on it. Heck for that much they probably flashed a stock rom and ereased the logo. Not that hard to do you know. 'TARD
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-remove-Logos-from-your-PDA--cell-phone-wit/
There are other more profesional ways to do this. Find them yourself. HTC has no Hero for the US Unlocked or locke. If they did Bestbuy would be selling it. And obviously it only has AT&T 3G which happens to be the same frequencies Rogers uses. Derrrr.
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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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
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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).
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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.
i have a uk vodafone desire, its custom with aosp roms and us unlocked.
I am going to new York for a week and i need to get a pre pay sim, mainly just for data, i don't care about calls and texts as i just want access to email and Skype to call home.
I have looked at some of the sites, but i dont know which one to get, can anyone recommend one?
I have a truphone simcard here.
which i need to pay£10 to get the membership this will give me local rates in uk or usa no matter where i am then i can buy a USA number for £5 and then buy some credit maybe £10 may do.... so that's £25 about $50, so i guess thats the bench mark. The desire is quad band so should work over there.
Did you take your trip already?
Your UK Desire doesn't have any 3G bands for the USA, so you'll be stuck with 2G/EDGE. T-Mobile USA has a $1.49/day data pass that is "unlimited". They throttle after 30 MB daily usage, but the speed reduction only shows up in 3G mode. You won't get 3G so you won't notice. It'll just be slow all the time...
If you want faster than EDGE you'll need a separate device.
Missed it. As been already. Bought a samsung fakeberry while I was there. Expensed the topups. Was just for email, for 5days.
But thanks I will look at t. Mobile next time. I bought at&t..... they suck. With the new job I will be going NYC regularly.
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
iamdarren said:
Missed it. As been already. Bought a samsung fakeberry while I was there. Expensed the topups. Was just for email, for 5days.
But thanks I will look at t. Mobile next time. I bought at&t..... they suck. With the new job I will be going NYC regularly.
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
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Okay, well if you will be visiting the USA regularly, you may want to consider buying in the US a phone with T-Mobile US compatible 3G frequencies. Most of the T-Mo US phones also have UMTS 2100 for the UK, so you'll get 3G back home.
Be warned, T-Mo US is pretty choppy too, but you get a better deal for data than AT&T.
Another option as long as we're talking new hardware - you could buy a prepaid MiFi device from Virgin Mobile USA (CDMA carrier, runs on Sprint's network) and purchase data for that. Use the wifi on your phone to tap into that instead of data roaming; and you can also run your laptop/tablet/etc on it. It won't do you much good anywhere outside the USA, but for some this is a viable option.
Hey Folks,
Here in the U.S. phones are bound to their carriers--you buy an AT&T handset to run on the AT&T network, Verizon handset to run on Verizon, etc.. This, of course, is annoying as hell, because it makes it hard to switch carriers and lock you into a contract.
What's the best Android phone to use if I want to switch among Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint? I've got 7 months left on a crappy contract and I can't wait to start taking advantage of better deals.
tyvm for your help, and forgiving the n00b question.
tangoking said:
Hey Folks,
Here in the U.S. phones are bound to their carriers--you buy an AT&T handset to run on the AT&T network, Verizon handset to run on Verizon, etc.. This, of course, is annoying as hell, because it makes it hard to switch carriers and lock you into a contract.
What's the best Android phone to use if I want to switch among Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint? I've got 7 months left on a crappy contract and I can't wait to start taking advantage of better deals.
tyvm for your help, and forgiving the n00b question.
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Click to collapse
You have 2 choices. GSM (ATT & Tmobile...Sim card) or CDMA (Sprint & Verizon...Non Sim card) There are a few phones that will work on all of them but you will lose faster data speeds like 3g and lte. All carriers are not using the same bands and each carrier has their bands hard coded in the hardware.