Why are GSM only fones still being sold here??

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old3eyes

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#74678 5-Jan-2011 09:14

Why do the like sof Vodafone still sell GSM only fones here in NZ considering that they now have a good 3G network in place??.

A friend of my wifes who thru her toys out of the cot when Telecom wouldn't fix her old CDMA fone (don't ask. If you new here you would understand) ported the number to Vodafone and bought a cheap Nokia slide. She has come to stay with us at Tauranga and went to use here fone but no GSM coverage. She's basically screwed until she goes into town and hopefully she can get a signal. Before at work we were given new Galaxy 3 fones and we had old GSM fones I always have to call FWD my work fone to my Telecom mobile so that I could receive calls where our TG house in Pyes Pa. Now with the Galaxy 3 there is no need to as I get 4 bars of 3G.

If Telecom can sell 3G fones for $199 surely Voda and 2D can..

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#424156 5-Jan-2011 09:31

old3eyes: If Telecom can sell 3G fones for $199 surely Voda and 2D can..

Vodafone is giving the users an option. It was a cheap handset, wasn't it?

The only problem I see is the salesperson not being savvy to talk to your friend enough to find out exactly what she needs, and the phone is going to be used to help deciding on an appropriate handset.

On the other hand, if the salesperson did talk about requirements, but your friend decided based on price, ignoring the advice...

So what exactly happened at the store? Until we have the complete story things are still a bit blurry.

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muppet

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#424167 5-Jan-2011 09:50

Is it still the case that 3G chipsets use more power than the GSM ones?
I guess probably not so much anymore, but my first 3G Phone used to SUCK the juice when it was in 3G mode.

The old GSM phone are still good for people who don't want data (a lot of older people) and want a phone that'll last ~5 days without a charge.

freitasm

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#424168 5-Jan-2011 09:52

It's not that the 3G chipsets use more power... It's also that most cheap phones had both 3G and 2G always on, searching for the best signal. A few years ago 3G wasn't available everywhere and both chipsets running would consume a lot of power. It would also cause problems in areas of fringe coverage.

That's why people suggested to set the handset to on service only. If you don't use 3G at all (if you are in the main centres) it's still a good idea.

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#424169 5-Jan-2011 09:55

freitasm: It's not that the 3G chipsets use more power... It's also that most cheap phones had both 3G and 2G always on, searching for the best signal. A few years ago 3G wasn't available everywhere and both chipsets running would consume a lot of power. It would also cause problems in areas of fringe coverage.

That's why people suggested to set the handset to on service only. If you don't use 3G at all (if you are in the main centres) it's still a good idea.

I had a SonyEricsson K600i (well it was a V600i until I flashed the Vodafone crap from it) and, once flashed, you could set it to 2G, 2G+3G or 3G only. In 3G only mode in Auckland it'd use up the battery ~3-4 times faster than 2G only.

I'm sure that was because it was one of the early 3G phones though, I guess these days there's probably negligible difference.

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#424170 5-Jan-2011 09:57

Also consider the 3G coverage. If there were more 2G coverage than 3G, even in 3G mode only the handset would have to amplify the signal to keep the same levels...

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SteveON

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#424184 5-Jan-2011 10:44

old3eyes:

If Telecom can sell 3G fones for $199 surely Voda and 2D can..

3G mobile phones are still a premium device, generally they are smartphones and require more stuff. Believe it or not this 'stuff' includes hardware/software/development; all costs money.

Telecom can offer these '3G' phones at these prices because they HAVE to! Their network is 3G only and would not survive without the budget 3G handsets they sell. Their low-end 3G phones are at least 1-2 Generations old and therefore VF/2D do not want to sell old crap.

Kind of like how their old CDMA network; with the 3 year old phones still on sale.

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andrewcnz

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#424189 5-Jan-2011 10:48

old3eyes: Why do the like sof Vodafone still sell GSM only fones here in NZ considering that they now have a good 3G network in place??.

A friend of my wifes who thru her toys out of the cot when Telecom wouldn't fix her old CDMA fone (don't ask. If you new here you would understand) ported the number to Vodafone and bought a cheap Nokia slide. She has come to stay with us at Tauranga and went to use here fone but no GSM coverage. She's basically screwed until she goes into town and hopefully she can get a signal. Before at work we were given new Galaxy 3 fones and we had old GSM fones I always have to call FWD my work fone to my Telecom mobile so that I could receive calls where our TG house in Pyes Pa. Now with the Galaxy 3 there is no need to as I get 4 bars of 3G.

If Telecom can sell 3G fones for $199 surely Voda and 2D can..

In Tauranga the 3G coverage on Vodafone is far better than the 2G coverage. Mostly due to far more towers with 3G only equipment.

old3eyes

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#424202 5-Jan-2011 11:18

andrewcnz:
old3eyes: Why do the like sof Vodafone still sell GSM only fones here in NZ considering that they now have a good 3G network in place??.

A friend of my wifes who thru her toys out of the cot when Telecom wouldn't fix her old CDMA fone (don't ask. If you new here you would understand) ported the number to Vodafone and bought a cheap Nokia slide. She has come to stay with us at Tauranga and went to use here fone but no GSM coverage. She's basically screwed until she goes into town and hopefully she can get a signal. Before at work we were given new Galaxy 3 fones and we had old GSM fones I always have to call FWD my work fone to my Telecom mobile so that I could receive calls where our TG house in Pyes Pa. Now with the Galaxy 3 there is no need to as I get 4 bars of 3G.

If Telecom can sell 3G fones for $199 surely Voda and 2D can..

In Tauranga the 3G coverage on Vodafone is far better than the 2G coverage. Mostly due to far more towers with 3G only equipment.

Agree a 100% that's why I asked the question as to why GSM only fones are still being sold as 3G coverage seems way better on Voda..

My wife's friend lives in Napier where I assume GSM coverage is OK at present..

Regards,

Old3eyes

TwoSeven

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#424207 5-Jan-2011 11:37

From memory I think the term 3G refers to a set of standards whereas GSM refers to a type of technology.

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freitasm

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#424216 5-Jan-2011 12:04

TwoSeven: From memory I think the term 3G refers to a set of standards whereas GSM refers to a type of technology.

Hmmm. Nope. In this context the discussion is around two different radio technologies: GSM (2G) and WCDMA (3G).

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tombrownzz

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#424300 5-Jan-2011 15:36

andrewcnz:
old3eyes: Why do the like sof Vodafone still sell GSM only fones here in NZ considering that they now have a good 3G network in place??.

A friend of my wifes who thru her toys out of the cot when Telecom wouldn't fix her old CDMA fone (don't ask. If you new here you would understand) ported the number to Vodafone and bought a cheap Nokia slide. She has come to stay with us at Tauranga and went to use here fone but no GSM coverage. She's basically screwed until she goes into town and hopefully she can get a signal. Before at work we were given new Galaxy 3 fones and we had old GSM fones I always have to call FWD my work fone to my Telecom mobile so that I could receive calls where our TG house in Pyes Pa. Now with the Galaxy 3 there is no need to as I get 4 bars of 3G.

If Telecom can sell 3G fones for $199 surely Voda and 2D can..

In Tauranga the 3G coverage on Vodafone is far better than the 2G coverage. Mostly due to far more towers with 3G only equipment.

If it's 3g only then sometimes when you go into buildings, instead of falling back to 2g, the phone will not be able to find a network. Where are the 3g only cell sites in Tauranga?

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#424316 5-Jan-2011 16:11

tombrownzz:

If it's 3g only then sometimes when you go into buildings, instead of falling back to 2g, the phone will not be able to find a network. Where are the 3g only cell sites in Tauranga?

3G Extended coverage is 900Mhz not 2100...?

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#424320 5-Jan-2011 16:20

tombrownzz:
andrewcnz:
old3eyes: Why do the like sof Vodafone still sell GSM only fones here in NZ considering that they now have a good 3G network in place??.

A friend of my wifes who thru her toys out of the cot when Telecom wouldn't fix her old CDMA fone (don't ask. If you new here you would understand) ported the number to Vodafone and bought a cheap Nokia slide. She has come to stay with us at Tauranga and went to use here fone but no GSM coverage. She's basically screwed until she goes into town and hopefully she can get a signal. Before at work we were given new Galaxy 3 fones and we had old GSM fones I always have to call FWD my work fone to my Telecom mobile so that I could receive calls where our TG house in Pyes Pa. Now with the Galaxy 3 there is no need to as I get 4 bars of 3G.

If Telecom can sell 3G fones for $199 surely Voda and 2D can..

In Tauranga the 3G coverage on Vodafone is far better than the 2G coverage. Mostly due to far more towers with 3G only equipment.

If it's 3g only then sometimes when you go into buildings, instead of falling back to 2g, the phone will not be able to find a network. Where are the 3g only cell sites in Tauranga?

A quick look shows a number of 2100 3G only sites in Tauranga, maybe around 6 or so at a quick glance. Nationwide Vodafone have hundreds of 3G only sites.

A phone can drop back to GSM for a number of reasons, including when there can be a perfectly good 3G signal.

tombrownzz

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#424357 5-Jan-2011 17:34

sbiddle:
tombrownzz:
andrewcnz:
old3eyes: Why do the like sof Vodafone still sell GSM only fones here in NZ considering that they now have a good 3G network in place??.

A friend of my wifes who thru her toys out of the cot when Telecom wouldn't fix her old CDMA fone (don't ask. If you new here you would understand) ported the number to Vodafone and bought a cheap Nokia slide. She has come to stay with us at Tauranga and went to use here fone but no GSM coverage. She's basically screwed until she goes into town and hopefully she can get a signal. Before at work we were given new Galaxy 3 fones and we had old GSM fones I always have to call FWD my work fone to my Telecom mobile so that I could receive calls where our TG house in Pyes Pa. Now with the Galaxy 3 there is no need to as I get 4 bars of 3G.

If Telecom can sell 3G fones for $199 surely Voda and 2D can..

In Tauranga the 3G coverage on Vodafone is far better than the 2G coverage. Mostly due to far more towers with 3G only equipment.

If it's 3g only then sometimes when you go into buildings, instead of falling back to 2g, the phone will not be able to find a network. Where are the 3g only cell sites in Tauranga?

A quick look shows a number of 2100 3G only sites in Tauranga, maybe around 6 or so at a quick glance. Nationwide Vodafone have hundreds of 3G only sites.

A phone can drop back to GSM for a number of reasons, including when there can be a perfectly good 3G signal.

Can you give me a link of the 3g only sites in Tauranga? And so is there no 2g coverage in areas with 3g only sites?

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#424359 5-Jan-2011 17:50

Don't Vodafone force calls back from 3G to GSM where possible anyway to save on 3G bandwidth used up with voice?

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