Personal computing discussed
Moderators: renee, David, mac_h8r1, Nelliesboo
parodon wrote:What do you think? Are you afraid of spying (I am a bit)? Is the support even possible?
Chrispy_ wrote:Pretty sure the active spying on users by the US is more of an issue than active spying of US users by China, unless you work for the US government in the first place. Then you definitely don't want the Chinese government accessing your data.
The US problem is (as already mentioned) that you use LTE instead of GSM like the rest of the planet. I guess that goes with your resistance of Metric and SI units too, but this time it's actually denying you products that would be a huge benefit to you
derFunkenstein wrote:Biggest concern I have is that if a phone has not officially been released in North America, it often doesn't have the LTE bands for your carrier. And for me, then, it doesn't matter about spying. It won't even work right in the first place.
Chrispy_ wrote:Pretty sure the active spying on users by the US is more of an issue than active spying of US users by China, unless you work for the US government in the first place. Then you definitely don't want the Chinese government accessing your data.
The US problem is (as already mentioned) that you use LTE instead of GSM like the rest of the planet. I guess that goes with your resistance of Metric and SI units too, but this time it's actually denying you products that would be a huge benefit to you
Arvald wrote:Chrispy_ wrote:Pretty sure the active spying on users by the US is more of an issue than active spying of US users by China, unless you work for the US government in the first place. Then you definitely don't want the Chinese government accessing your data.
The US problem is (as already mentioned) that you use LTE instead of GSM like the rest of the planet. I guess that goes with your resistance of Metric and SI units too, but this time it's actually denying you products that would be a huge benefit to you
LTE is the evolution of GSM.
CDMA is the dead standard some U.S. carriers were stuck on.
Usacomp2k3 wrote:Just to put it in perspective. Verizon has 151M subscribers. Sprint has another 53 Million. That's ~200M on CDMA. That's roughly 25% of hte population of all of Europe, or all of UK, France & Germany put together. That's alot of momentum to shift to the non-CDMA.
DancinJack wrote:Usacomp2k3 wrote:Just to put it in perspective. Verizon has 151M subscribers. Sprint has another 53 Million. That's ~200M on CDMA. That's roughly 25% of hte population of all of Europe, or all of UK, France & Germany put together. That's alot of momentum to shift to the non-CDMA.
I don't want to discount anything you said because in theory it's true, but in practice it's a little more nuanced. For instance, I'm in Wichita, KS about 90 percent of the time. I'm never, literally never, on CDMA while in Wichita. The vast majority of people in even moderaltely sized metro areas don't touch CDMA anymore. Verizon isn't even adding devices to their network anymore than use CDMA only. It's all LTE all the time now. Most of their metro areas have VoLTE too (and any phone registered with VZW through the carrier/OEM process must include VoLTE now).
So, while Sprint and Verizon still use CDMA as a backup (especially Sprint) it's not near as much of a factor anymore as it used to be. Verizon is completely retiring CDMA in H2 2019.
clocks wrote:I stay away from cheap Chinese phones because they generally are missing bands needed in the USA
and they usually don't get software updates.
meerkt wrote:clocks wrote:I stay away from cheap Chinese phones because they generally are missing bands needed in the USA
People travel globally with their phones. Isn't it a non-issue nowadays?
Usacomp2k3 wrote:Oh, I certainly agree that today it is much less of an issue. I was hoping it would come later than 2019.
meerkt wrote:Is LTE that important when you can fallback, I assume, to 3G?
DancinJack wrote:Usacomp2k3 wrote:Oh, I certainly agree that today it is much less of an issue. I was hoping it would come laterthan 2019.
Goodness me, I wish it had already happened!
Neutronbeam wrote:Related to my earlier thread comment, I just pulled the trigger on an unlocked GSM Huawei with US warranty, as the gold color price had a temp drop on AMZN from US$249 to US$192--just a really great deal.
DancinJack wrote:I'm with Funk on this one though. Not having the LTE bands necessary to operate properly is more than just a top speed issue. Some of those bands (frequencies) get better penetration and propagation. A lot of times that can mean increased (relative to poorer LTE reception) battery life compared to a phone that doesn't have access to everything your carrier provides. It's just one big mess if you ask me.
meerkt wrote:...a middleground: known Chinese companies/brands. Xiaomi...
parodon wrote:Hi,
There are so many cheap android phones from brands I've never heard of that I do have to ask.
What do you think? Are you afraid of spying (I am a bit)? Is the support even possible?
I found this thing (because its cheap so please do no laugh) with Android 7.0 so not THAT old https://productz.com/en/doro-8040 for around $50-$100 (!!).
I had Samsung which I hated (the software modifications), iPhones or way too expensive and not evolving that much these days.
I liked the idea behind OnePlus but these are getting more and more expensive.
cheers
Looking for Knowledge wrote:When drunk.....
I want to have sex, but find I am more likely to be shot down than when I am sober.