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Airprime SB3000/Sprint Data Link vs. Visor Phone


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Topic: Airprime SB3000/Sprint Data Link vs. Visor Phone

paz5559
Member

Registered: Oct 2001
Location: New Orleans, LA, formerly of New York, NY
Posts: 13

Airprime SB3000/Sprint Data Link vs. Visor Phone

Ok, I just don't get it. Admittedly, I live in New York City, where GSM coverage is not a problem. And yes, I already have Sprint service, so using my minutes for both voice and data would be nice. But why would I be willing to spend $249 for the Sprint product when the Visor Phone is FREE? (I should add, I did get an OmniSky modem, but returned it because the coverage was awful)

10-28-2001 11:17 PM

mmendo1
Member

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 125

I'm not saying you should get the SB3000, but its advantages include the ability to utilize Sprint's upcoming 3G network with data speeds up to 144k! Also, if you travel any in the US, there is a much higher probability that the area you are travelling to will be covered by CDMA than by GSM and since both VP versions are single band only, having the SB3000 instead the of the GSM VP could mean the difference between being able to place/receive a phone call.

Marty

10-29-2001 08:27 AM

dredhead
Member

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 85

Re: Airprime SB3000/Sprint Data Link vs. Visor Phone

quote:
Originally posted by paz5559
Ok, I just don't get it. Admittedly, I live in New York City, where GSM coverage is not a problem. And yes, I already have Sprint service, so using my minutes for both voice and data would be nice. But why would I be willing to spend $249 for the Sprint product when the Visor Phone is FREE?

You shouldn't. For one thing, the VisorPhone is actually available. For another, data calls on the SB3000 are likely to be somewhat expensive. For another, SprintPCS is not the most consistant service. Sure, it's available in more places, but that doesn't mean you'll actually be able to place a call.

You can't argue with free. Getting stuck with the service plan is a different story, but Voicestream is building up their network as rapidly as any of the other carriers. The only city in my company's network where GSM isn't available yet is Cleveland, and I have yet to be sent there. I'm not too worried about that.

After waiting all bloody summer for the Vaporware SB3000 to arrive, I saw the free w/activation VP, sighed, and gave up. My VP arrives in 2 weeks (ostensibly).

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10-31-2001 12:51 AM

ashmed
Member

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 441

quote:
data calls on the SB3000 are likely to be somewhat expensive.

Howso? I use my Sprint PCS phone with my prism and they use my regular minutes. How is that any different from voice?

quote:
Sure, it's available in more places, but that doesn't mean you'll actually be able to place a call.

Never had a problem with placing ANY types of calls. It's gone all over California, Georgia, Tennesee, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Also, Visorphone connects at 9600bps for data calls whereas Sprint phones including the SB3000 connect at 14400bps without the upcoming 3G capability. Once 3G does come out the SB3000 will connect at very high speeds and the Visorphone will still be stuck at 9600bps and it's not upgradeable to GPRS so it can't get the faster connection speed once GPRS becomes commonplace.

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10-31-2001 04:52 AM

mmendo1
Member

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 125

As long as I have a signal, I have always been able to place a call on the Sprint network. The network is very consistent as far as actually being able to place/receive a call when there is a signal present. Sprint's customer service may need some work and their network may not be as extensive as AT&T's or Verizon's, but the places their netwrok is up is, it is first rate and of the highest quality.

Also, even though Voicestream and Sprint may both cover the same city, its a pretty safe bet to assume that Sprint's network is going to cover more of that city and the surrounding area. That has been my experience (use to be a GSM user until got frustrated with the coverage) and is consistent with the fact that Sprint has been around longer so naturally their network will be more extensive.

Finally, if you returned the OS modem becasue of poor/lack of coverage (which I agree with, not renewing my OS contract in Dec.), then you might be disappointed with Voicestream as GSM coverage in places other than very large metropolitan areas is really lacking.

Marty

10-31-2001 05:14 PM

dredhead
Member

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 85

quote:
Originally posted by mmendo1
As long as I have a signal, I have always been able to place a call on the Sprint network. The network is very consistent as far as actually being able to place/receive a call when there is a signal present. Sprint's customer service may need some work and their network may not be as extensive as AT&T's or Verizon's, but the places their netwrok is up is, it is first rate and of the highest quality.

Marty

Unfortunately for me, Chicago is not the greatest place to use Sprint PCS. Half of our company is on SPCS, the other half uses AT&T with a smattering of Cingular and Verizon. The SPCS folk are always complaining about dropped calls, up to three day delays for voicemail alerts, calls going directly to voicemail with the phone ever having rung, etc. This is all within the city limits, and with full signal strength.

I could have a slanted opinion of their service. Perhaps the network just isn't tweaked in Chicago. It could be absolutely the worst service in the area, yet miraculous in the Southeast.

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11-01-2001 03:34 AM

dredhead
Member

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 85

quote:
Originally posted by ashmed

Howso? I use my Sprint PCS phone with my prism and they use my regular minutes. How is that any different from voice?

It's no different now at 14.4Kbps, but once 3G is introduced do you really think that SPCS is going to adhere to the current price structure for data? They will have made an enormous investment, and will wish to recoup their losses by charging an arm and a leg for DSL-speed wireless data.

GPRS services - at least with VoiceStream - are charged by the megabyte. I'm going to hazard a guess and say that 3G CDMA data will be billed in a similar manner.

quote:

Never had a problem with placing ANY types of calls. It's gone all over California, Georgia, Tennesee, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Also, Visorphone connects at 9600bps for data calls whereas Sprint phones including the SB3000 connect at 14400bps without the upcoming 3G capability. Once 3G does come out the SB3000 will connect at very high speeds and the Visorphone will still be stuck at 9600bps and it's not upgradeable to GPRS so it can't get the faster connection speed once GPRS becomes commonplace.

For all practical purposes you are correct, since no US GSM carrier offers data speeds over 9.6Kbps, even though the phone itself can handle 14.4Kbps. I don't know if it will work on higher-speed HSCSD GSM networks, like the one that Orange just introduced in the UK, but perhaps it will, since from what I can gather it's more of a refinement of current GSM usage, unlike GPRS which is a quantum leap. Or so the gnomes tell me.

Regardless. It's free with activation. If it sucks, I'll buy a GPRS phone with an IR port and still be out no more than the cost of the SB3000 (or possibly reactivate my Yadayada Minstrel (which has great coverage in the area but work won't pay for it)).

Also, it's available sooner than the SB3000.

Also I don't have to use Sprint, which in my area, by all accounts personal and published, blows goats. YMMV.

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11-01-2001 04:48 AM

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