iphone 4... *one* way AT&T is better

[jntdroid]

So this is probably not news to most of you, but something I just discovered. My father-in-law had a 3GS on AT&T. His company recently switched over to Verizon and bought him an iPhone 4.

Evidently, on Verizon, you can't do more than 3 (total) on a conference call at a time? And you can't simply "mesh" a new call in? He said he would regularly have conference calls on his phone with 4-6 people on AT&T and bring new callers in. Obviously, having web access came in handy during that time as well.

So, his take? Since he actually used his phone, and for work at that... he'd take AT&T with the occasional dropped call any day over the limited functionality he's currently experiencing with Verizon.

Yes, I'm sure not too many people are affected by this, but it's something I was unaware of and a little different perspective than what we normally hear, nonetheless...

 

[piquat]

I have a question, is this something VZW offers on some "business plan" that AT&T just offers to regular users?

 

[jstafford1]

I think its a limitation of the type of network more than anything.

Sent from somewhere...

 

[piquat]

Wow, really? That seems odd. Conferencing seems like an innate ability now-a-days. It's obviously possible, just seems limited. I'm well aware of the 'data/voice at the same time' limitation on CDMA. Never heard of a limit to conferencing.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[Dj Carpenter]

Doesn't the Thunderbolt allow data during voice? I would think they could find a way around this.

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[piquat]

Doesn't the Thunderbolt allow data during voice? I would think they could find a way around this.

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It may, but the TB is on the LTE network, no? Which would also further prove the point that it's the network, which I still find surprising.

 

[Dj Carpenter]

Yeah but I read an article for it(here on the site) and it said that it was the first phone on Verizon to allow simultaneous voice/data over 3G. So, is it still considered the LTE network even if you're on 3G?

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[stealthgriffin]

Tbolt does voice and data over 3G. Its slightly slower than standard 3G because it piggy backs the data over the voice connection.

The feature really shines over 4G though because it is using both radios.

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[piquat]

Good question. I have no idea how they handle that.

Edit: Clarified above, thanks.

 

[Dj Carpenter]

Thought so, good to know. Man, I wished I lived in a 4G area. I'm not that worried about it but I'd love to just try it out a time or two.

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[jntdroid]

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the only reason the TB allows voice/data simultaneously is because of LTE. The 3G network didn't suddenly change how it works. If you're not on LTE, I don't think you can do voice/data at the same time. (trying to find something to verify this! )

 

[Jordan8]

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the only reason the TB allows voice/data simultaneously is because of LTE. The 3G network didn't suddenly change how it works. If you're not on LTE, I don't think you can do voice/data at the same time. (trying to find something to verify this! )

I forget were I read it, I'm thinking droid-life... but it was stated somewhere that the thunderbolt supports it by piggy backing on the voice connection. Verizon didn't want there reps to use it as a selling point though, because they wasn't sure how reliable it would be.

 

[jntdroid]

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the only reason the TB allows voice/data simultaneously is because of LTE. The 3G network didn't suddenly change how it works. If you're not on LTE, I don't think you can do voice/data at the same time. (trying to find something to verify this! )

I forget were I read it, I'm thinking droid-life... but it was stated somewhere that the thunderbolt supports it by piggy backing on the voice connection. Verizon didn't want there reps to use it as a selling point though, because they wasn't sure how reliable it would be.

Interesting - now I really want to dig more. If you find it, please post it in here.

 

[jntdroid]

well i found this: Wirefly: 'no Skype' on Thunderbolt, but simultaneous 3G voice and data is a go; ships on March 17th -- Engadget

but i'd still like to know, more technically, why - and why older phones can't take advantage of it

 

[Craiger22]

Verizon ws experimenting with simultaneous voice and data over the EVDO network. I believe they were calling it SVDO.

As others have stated, reps and ad's weren't advertising it because the reliability was unknown.