On Thu, 18 Dec 2008 09:46:54 +0100 "Dr. H. Nikolaus Schaller" <h...@computer.org> babbled:
> > Am 18.12.2008 um 00:12 schrieb Will Siddall: > > > On Wed, Dec 17, 2008 at 7:02 PM, Justyn Butler > > <justynbutler+openm...@googlemail.com> wrote: > > > >> Replace the mc75i with a 3.5G modem! Go on, surprise us all! > > We perhaps will be most surprised how much a 3G modem will cost... a 3g modem/module/chipset is REALLY expensive. especially if you have low volume (that means less than a few hundred thousand units). you pay a small fortune in royalties too. > >> I have to agree with Justyn and say that we need a 3G phone. I > >> bought > > this phone in hopes that I can use it when I travel around. > > Unfortunately, when I leave the country, it just becomes a toy to play > > around with and most of the time I have to leave it behind :( > > Why that? > > I don't own a 3G phone but a UMTS wireless card for my Mac. > > My practical experience is: > > a) in areas (urban) where you have HSDPA speed, you also have WiFi > hotspots > > b) in all other areas (more rural) your connection falls back to GPRS > anyway > > So, a phone that combines GPRS and WiFi is a little more difficult to > connect > to the correct network but has no dramatically worse connectivity than > real 3G. > > 2 months ago I had to run a VNC connection to my server back home > through GPRS. > Slowly, but it worked. > > Improving to 3G is therefore a "nice to have" for me. Not mandatory. here is where i'd disagree. i can walk down my street in sydney - 100% of wifi spots are locked (wep/wpa etc.) - no one opens them. yopur choice is "spotty" wifi hotspots you have to pay for. the other option is 3g (umts/hsdpa etc.) which has pretty good coverage most areas in urban settings - even outside. i think there seems to be some assumption that wifi is so widespread in urban areas (and it comes at a cost equal to or cheaper than 3g datarates). this is not the case in australia. not to mention the datarates for 3g are MUCH less than 2g - they give you a discount for 3g data, but for 2g, it's rap you silly per kilobyte. why? the phone network's 2g data setup was NOT designed for heavy data usage - it's being abused for data and that impacts call quality and the providers will appropriately price the service based on the network ability to provide. so 3g is reasonable. for 2g i will never pay for it as its outragoeus. -- ------------- Codito, ergo sum - "I code, therefore I am" -------------- The Rasterman (Carsten Haitzler) ras...@rasterman.com _______________________________________________ Openmoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
