Sprint 3G Data Speed in NOVA: is it really slow, or is it just me?

[Gekkota]

Originally Posted by slim04

If you can back out of that deal, I would. The Epic is a WiMax phone, which they are phasing out. WiMax will not be improved at all and won't work after 2015. Sprint is building a faster 4g network with LTE. The rumor is that LTE will go online in DC September 2012 and be completed in January 2013. The rest of the country rollout will be longer, but should be done by 2014.

So if you are going to sign a contract, you might as well get the best 4g technology in a LTE phone. The Samsung Galaxy S3 and the HTC Evo LTE are both very highly rated LTE phones available right now. The iPhone 5 is supposed to be LTE compatible, but not WiMax compatible and is rumored to come out in October.

You would be taking a short term risk that Sprints deployment of LTE will be slower than expected, but LTE is a better technology. LTE is much faster, seemlessly drops in and out of 3G when in a car while moving (WiMax is really bad at this, making it useless while driving), and penetrates indoors much better.

So the Evo4G on Virgin Mobile that I have been considering would have the same issue, right? I believe it uses WiMAX. Wonder if VM will release an LTE compatible phone anytime soon...

[ragnarkar]

Originally Posted by Gekkota

So the Evo4G on Virgin Mobile that I have been considering would have the same issue, right? I believe it uses WiMAX. Wonder if VM will release an LTE compatible phone anytime soon...

For $35/mo, I'm not complaining about their mediocre but unlimited 4G service. I seem to get better reception than my GF using T-mobile's $30/mo 4G (also unlimited but with only 100 minutes of talk.)

There's a rumor they'll be coming out with the Samsung Galaxy S2 soon.. wonder if it'll use LTE instead of WiMAX

Galaxy S2 coming fashionably late to Virgin Mobile | Android Central

[Mishra100]

I don't use much data but my phone calls drop all the time since I moved from Louisville to NOVA. It hasn't been all that fun to be a Sprint user.

[bykim5]

Yeah, the 3G speeds are pretty slow, but I've rarely get dropped calls. There are some dead spots.. like on FFX Pkwy near Burke Station Rd... Reston Pkwy/West Ox intersection.. However, when I lived in Lorton, I got zero service and Sprint ended up giving me an Airave because of it which allows VoIP using your wifi. Obviously, rock solid in the home. HEH

[jillybean720]

Originally Posted by slim04

If you can back out of that deal, I would. The Epic is a WiMax phone, which they are phasing out. WiMax will not be improved at all and won't work after 2015. Sprint is building a faster 4g network with LTE. The rumor is that LTE will go online in DC September 2012 and be completed in January 2013. The rest of the country rollout will be longer, but should be done by 2014.

So if you are going to sign a contract, you might as well get the best 4g technology in a LTE phone. The Samsung Galaxy S3 and the HTC Evo LTE are both very highly rated LTE phones available right now. The iPhone 5 is supposed to be LTE compatible, but not WiMax compatible and is rumored to come out in October.

You would be taking a short term risk that Sprints deployment of LTE will be slower than expected, but LTE is a better technology. LTE is much faster, seemlessly drops in and out of 3G when in a car while moving (WiMax is really bad at this, making it useless while driving), and penetrates indoors much better.

I didn't see this response until just today. In any case, I've been using my Samsung Galaxy S 2 since June and still love it. There's a bit of a black hole along a stretch of rt 7 where I get no service, but that's a Sprint issue, not a phone issue. Other than that, it never drops calls, uses 4g whenever available, and works just fine inside my house. Not sure what the big deal is. I can say I don't plan on having the same phone for more than 3 years, so being potentially obsolete in 2015 isn't much of a concern. 3g vs 4g while driving isn't a concern, either, since, umm, I don't use my phone while I'm driving. I don't do much with my phone - I use it primarily as *gasp* a phone, check emails once in a while, check Facebook occasionally, stream music at my desk in my house, and play some basic games a few days a week in the evenings. And take pictures. I use it for ALL my pictures since I have them automatically upload to Google+, so I don't have to worry about losing my photos if I lose my phone (as opposed to using a separate digital camera). My husband now has the iPhone 5, and I prefer my Samsung.

Overall, I haven't had any trouble with my Sprint service (except the aforementioned black hole on 7). My husband even got his iPhone through Sprint as well (he also previously had VM).