TMO3G Network Specs

[MaxMarti]

Greetings All!
When looking for a new phone, would like to confirm the TMO 3G network. I currently have TM717 and it has network of HSDPA 1700/2100. Looking at the Xperia X10 mini pro, the network specs are HSPA (no "D") 850/1900/2100. If I want to use my TZones and tether, what kind of network specs do I look for in a new phone? Also, can most (if not all) SE phones be modified to use TZones and tether? thanks for your help!

[jet1000]

Looking at the Xperia X10 mini pro, the network specs are HSPA (no "D") 850/1900/2100. If I want to use my TZones and tether, what kind of network specs do I look for in a new phone?

I don't believe they make an X10 Mini Pro with T-mobile 3G bands yet. You need one with 1700. The X10i, for example, does have 1700 combined with 900 and 2100. According to GSM arena on the mini pro, the 900/2100 European version does not have 1700.

I'm not able to answer regarding tethering because these are Android devices and sometimes you have to be able to root Android phones to be able to tether. T-zones works with x10i however.

Whether it says HSDPA or HSPA it doesn't really matter. Now if you see a device with HSPA+ that will mean it's faster. For furhter information, see

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Speed_Packet_Access

[MaxMarti]

In other words, if I want to have TMO 3G, it has to have 2 frequencies: 1700/2100? Looking at the HTC 3G, it only states 2100. I would love to get an Android SE with TZones and tether, but I think thats asking for too much.

[jet1000]

if I want to have TMO 3G, it has to have 2 frequencies: 1700/2100?

When you see the terms 1700 or 2100 in a phone specs, those are actually names of a 3G band.

2100 is another name for Band I which means the device can connect with a 3G network that uses 1920 - 1980MHz for uplink and 2110 - 2170MHz for downlnk.

1700 is another name for Band IV also known as AWS. It uses 1710 - 1755 Mhz for uplink and 2110 - 2155 for downlink.

The full list of 3G bands and their corresponding frequencies can be seen here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMTS_frequency_bands

The 2100 band is commonly found in European cities. The 1700 band is used by T-Mobile USA and Wind Mobile in Canada.

[MaxMarti]

thanks for the link! (I guess its true, I do learn something every 2 weeks!) so if I want to stay with TMO 3G, I need to look for a 1700 AWS network phone. whether the phone can tether, is a completely different story, though, most "smart phones", do have that feature. most of us are spoiled with the tzones tethering ability...