As I've posted, I recently switched from AT&T to red pocket on my 3GS, AT&T doesn't seem to have the greatest signal in my complex... or so i thought. I was playing around with my old phone collection and swapping the sim into various unlocked phones i own and the results surprised me. First i was using my iphone 3gs and the signal would fluctuate allot, it would generally be about 3 bars while sometimes going to 4 and then other times one bar and even losing the network momentarily too and the numeric reading was -89 to -109 so this annoying me, so on a hunch i decided to test my other phones too see what they did, here are my findings.
Nokia 3390b= 2 out of 4 bars sometimes 3 and sometimes 1 acted much the same as 3GS
Nokia 6340i= mostly 7 out of 7 bars never seeing it deep below 4 out of 7 bars
Sony Ericsson T616= this phone everyone used to poo poo due to reception troubles but since i had debranded it and updated the firmware some years ago it gets mostly a full 5 bars never dipping below 3!
NEC 535M= This phone i bought new back in 06 unlocked and non carrier branded, it gets 4 out of 4 bars never dipping below 3 out of 4.
So in light of these finding and the fact the iphone barely holds a charge more then 8 hrs if that while these basic old *** phones can go 2-4 days between charges it makes me want to use a basic phone and perhaps have a ipod touch on the side... What do you guys think?
"Oh Peter I absolutely love what you've done with the place... It's so sterile, so bland, so wonderful!"
That's interesting man. I kinda miss those old reliable phones.
They were always good on battery and signal.
I have some old SPCS phones but the one I still use today is my old Nokia 3620, it had the circular keypad and back in the day was a sought after device.
I still use it often as it gets a signal in places that my Inspire doesn't even if I force the Inspire into 2G only thru that code.
Just last week at a hospital I had no signal with the Inspire and also at a very rural Dollar General store.
I took the Nokia there, to both places and it had nearly full bars at Dollar General and full bars at the hospital.
The real test was could it receive and dial out calls and there was no problem at all.
The Inspire failed to do that even when forced into the 2G mode. ( *#*#4636#*#*)
I think you're definitely on to something! It's been observed pretty regularly that many of the older simpler phones have better RF (radio) performance, and sometimes better audio as well. I'd say do it and see how it fits you.
One thing you might eventually have trouble with though, is that in some areas AT&T is shutting down their 2G service, and that ultimately means everywhere, so the clock is ticking.
I think you're definitely on to something! It's been observed pretty regularly that many of the older simpler phones have better RF (radio) performance, and sometimes better audio as well. I'd say do it and see how it fits you.
One thing you might eventually have trouble with though, is that in some areas AT&T is shutting down their 2G service, and that ultimately means everywhere, so the clock is ticking.
I had read that about At&t shutting down 2G service. It sucks cause then these backup older cells will go to cell phone heaven.
It also sucks for older people who don't want a fancy shmancy cell phone and just a basic cell. (I'm sure there are basic 3G cells out there, I just wouldn't know cause I don't go looking for them)
Somehow right now I'm thinking back to 1994 when I got my first cell. Analog of course, with incredible range and incredibly terrible battery life.
I had a plan called the Night Owl on Airtouch in LA. $39.00 a month for TWENTY mins a month! And it could only be used at 901pm and after hence the Night Owl name.
My dog chewed that phone up and Airtouch was so desperate to get us all off analog, that in 1997, they took that chewed up analog in exchange for a brand new digital cell with that Qualcomm chip.
Ahh the advances this technology has made is beyond fascinating.
I hear ya. I have a 6230i that would pull a signal inside King Tut's Tomb™. I miss the T9 interface sometimes. And EDGE is more than enough to get a Wunderground WAP optimized weather page for my city.
I hear ya. I have a 6230i that would pull a signal inside King Tut's Tomb™. I miss the T9 interface sometimes. And EDGE is more than enough to get a Wunderground WAP optimized weather page for my city.
Interesting thoughts
I love wunderground! I use it all the time living in tornado alley here.
Though I can not get an AT&T signal in my storm shelter. Ahh.
As a long time Palm Pilot user, I've always believed the PIM should be independent of the phone and phone company. So now I love my iPod Touch, and couldn't live without it. Since I hardly use the phone, the only thing keeping the Touch with a TracFone from being the perfect combination is that I dislike using email at public wi-fi spots, though one of these days, I'll get a better handle on the Touch's email security. I'm also considering switching to Boost, which does have e-mail on their Pay as you Go phones.
The one downside for many people would be keeping the contact list synchronized between the iPod, the phone, and Thunderbird, particularly if you switch carriers every few years, like I do. I wind up just entering contacts into the phone as I need them.
I'm thinking of going back to basics.
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Originally Posted by whacker
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