Better to get a WiMax or LTE Sprint phone at this point?
With Sprint announcing that WiMax is a dead-end, and the (eventual) transition to LTE in 2013, do you think it would be better to upgrade to a WiMax, or LTE phone at this point?
The LTE phones are newer and faster, but my market (Portland) only has WiMax for the next year or so. Would you recommend going with spotty WiMax coverage for now until the next upgrade, or non-existent LTE coverage until the indeterminate point at which the LTE network gets rolled out?
With Sprint announcing that WiMax is a dead-end, and the (eventual) transition to LTE in 2013, do you think it would be better to upgrade to a WiMax, or LTE phone at this point?
The LTE phones are newer and faster, but my market (Portland) only has WiMax for the next year or so. Would you recommend going with spotty WiMax coverage for now until the next upgrade, or non-existent LTE coverage until the indeterminate point at which the LTE network gets rolled out?
If you get wimax where you live and work take the bird in hand. If not, you can wait but it could be more than a year before you get it, hence taking the bird in hand if you have one.
Buy an iPhone and stick it out with 3G until this 4g mess is sorted. That is what I did. Occasionally I miss 4g, but not often. And I never miss the crap battery life and spotty indoor coverage of 4g.
Buy an iPhone and stick it out with 3G until this 4g mess is sorted. That is what I did. Occasionally I miss 4g, but not often. And I never miss the crap battery life and spotty indoor coverage of 4g.
Seconded! And I use an iPhone over VZW LTE--so I'd very easily take it over WiMax (or a yet-to-be-launch LTE)
Get whatever works for you now. For me, the market that I live in (Pittsburgh) and the markets that I travel to frequently (Orlando, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland) are all blanketed by Wimax very well. I ended up with another Wimax phone, a Galaxy S II and I'm thrilled with it, fantastic piece of hardware, even if you don't use Wimax.
It's just not a super awesome time to be upgrading phones. My Dad is in the same situation. Detroit supposedly has Wimax, but he's just a tad bit south of Detroit and can't get Wimax. He wants a Galaxy S II, but at the same time, who knows what Sprint is going to do, when? I imagine he'll never see Wimax where he is, but how soon until the roll out LTE there? At the very least, when he's out around town, he could have Wimax. He also travels to Columbus frequently (we actually stay in Columbus for a 10 day straight period, where it's awfully nice to have 4G), so if he goes with LTE, he's going to be screwed in Columbus, as I don't suspect they're going to convert the Wimax towers to LTE very quickly, my guess is they'll fill in the gaps with LTE, then start converting existing Wimax to LTE. But what the hell do I know.
I would get the LTE device like the Galaxy Nexus that's future-proof.
As often as most ppl here like to swap phones out, there's no such thing as future-proof. I figure take the phone that best serves the area you'll be using it in most, unless you have an iron-clad guarantee that they'll roll out LTE in your market before you're ready for a new phone.
For myself im waiting for an LTE phone to come out,
Because there is no Wimax in San Diego, however with LTE it is said it will eventually will bring LTE 4G to San Diego.
Wimax will be supported thru 2015, however will not expand anymore. So the common sense thing to do for me would be to get an LTE phone and hope it reaches San Diego in the future. If your in similar situation thats one suggestion i give you to. The latest smartphones are gonna be mostly "4G" phones, whether you have 4G or not in your area, you will still be paying the fee, so for me, im waiting for the LTE, a chance to pay for a service i could get instead of never getting with wimax phones out now.
Galaxy S2 & Photon 4G are amazing phones, it hurts to hold out on my last upgrade, waiting to see what else Sprint Brings out after Galaxy Nexus, perhaps a Galaxy s2 HD LTE, xD
For myself im waiting for an LTE phone to come out,
Because there is no Wimax in San Diego, however with LTE it is said it will eventually will bring LTE 4G to San Diego.
Wimax will be supported thru 2015, however will not expand anymore. So the common sense thing to do for me would be to get an LTE phone and hope it reaches San Diego in the future. If your in similar situation thats one suggestion i give you to. The latest smartphones are gonna be mostly "4G" phones, whether you have 4G or not in your area, you will still be paying the fee, so for me, im waiting for the LTE, a chance to pay for a service i could get instead of never getting with wimax phones out now.
Galaxy S2 & Photon 4G are amazing phones, it hurts to hold out on my last upgrade, waiting to see what else Sprint Brings out after Galaxy Nexus, perhaps a Galaxy s2 HD LTE, xD
He has WiMax in his area. How strong it is? I'm not sure.
As often as most ppl here like to swap phones out, there's no such thing as future-proof. I figure take the phone that best serves the area you'll be using it in most, unless you have an iron-clad guarantee that they'll roll out LTE in your market before you're ready for a new phone.
Right now, there are no Sprint LTE devices. If you're talking about "at this point", your options are CDMA or WiMAX. If you're willing to wait until late summer, LTE will become an option. Sprint also announced that they're going to launch LTE in the summer in 4 cities. So, it might be a year or more before LTE gets to you. I mean, AT&T launched LTE last summer in 5 cities and doesn't carry the majority of Americans yet. If Sprint launches LTE this summer and we come to Feb 2013, they might not have a huge number of cities covered. Are you expecting to get a new phone every year and a half? If so, it might not matter if you buy a WiMAX device now.
Right now, Sprint hasn't launched LTE and we don't know how quickly they're going to roll it out. Odds are decent that it's going to be a year or more before it comes to your area.
Better to get a WiMax or LTE Sprint phone at this point?
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by brockasher
Bookmarks