Two questions about the Sprint iPhone

[dad@home]

After looking at the pricing plans for the new iPhones I am thinking of giving up the old Treo and drinking the Kool-aid with a new Sprint 4S.

http://forums.macresource.com/read.php?1,1238603
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,239...vudQm_fPLm

Two questions:

1) I need to be able to access the internet at my vacation home. If I buy a Sprint iPhone at an Apple store and the reception proves inadequate can I return it for a Verizon version (or just get a new sim)?

2) Can you tether an internet connection with a Sprint iPhone? The table at the PCmag site above is ambiguous about it.

TIA

dad

[rgG]

Sprint and Verizon do not use SIM cards, so if you needed to switch from Sprint to Verizon, you would need to switch phones.

I have been told that Sprint roams on Verizon, so it might be possible that you could roam while at your vacation house, but I think there are limits on how much roaming Sprint will allow.

I don't know about tethering.

[AllGold]

I'm not an expert but actually, I don't think there is a limit on Sprint roaming on Verizon, at least not for voice. There might be for data. Hopefully, someone else will chime in.

I don't know about the iPhone, specifically, but in general, Sprint has gotten away from "tethering" entirely. That is what the Mobile Hotspot thing is. It turns your phone into an 802.11 WiFi hotspot which you can connect to with your laptop.

[Winston]

The term "tethering" has come to include enabling the personal hotspot features on an iPhone, which can allow connection via USB, Bluetooth and WiFi, depending on model.

I don't know how Sprint will do it. Right now with AT&T you can do it one of two ways:
1. Pay AT&T a large monthly fee to officially enable tethering. The iPhone 4 has this built in, so I assume the 4s will too.

2. Jailbreak the phone and use one of several programs to enable tethering. Some of these programs simply turn on the AT&T method, which then alerts AT&T and they will send you messages that they are going to start charging for tethering. Others seem to be able to do it "below the radar" because they cause internet requests that come through tethering to appear to be from the phone itself, not from another device.


As to dealing with inadequate reception, you'll have to ask the store or Sprint about that. One solution is to get one of those cellular extender devices (femtocell?) which I think hook up to your internet connection. I'd make sure you have return instructions in writing if you want to avoid being stuck.


Good luck.

- Winston

[fmgtech]

rgG wrote:
Sprint and Verizon do not use SIM cards, so if you needed to switch from Sprint to Verizon, you would need to switch phones.

I have been told that Sprint roams on Verizon, so it might be possible that you could roam while at your vacation house, but I think there are limits on how much roaming Sprint will allow.

I don't know about tethering.

I thought the new iPhone 4S was supposed to be a world phone, meaning it would work on AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint?

[silvarios]

fmgtech wrote: I thought the new iPhone 4S was supposed to be a world phone, meaning it would work on AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint?

Yes, but Verizon and Sprint still don't use SIM cards for their CDMA service. Nor does it mean the 4S is unlocked when you buy one from the carrier. From my understanding anyway.

Edit: Clarity?

[rgG]

silvarios wrote:
[quote=fmgtech]I thought the new iPhone 4S was supposed to be a world phone, meaning it would work on AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint?

Yes, but Verizon and Sprint still don't use SIM cards for their CDMA service. Nor does it mean the 4S is unlocked when you buy one, from my understanding anyway.
Correct. It is capable of working on all three carriers, but all the phones are locked to one carrier. You can buy a factory unlocked AT&T iPhone, which means you could use it with TMobile here or other carriers overseas, but the Sprint and Verizon phones are locked to the carrier.

[silvarios]

Winston wrote: The term "tethering" has come to include enabling the personal hotspot features on an iPhone, which can allow connection via USB, Bluetooth and WiFi, depending on model.

Exactly what I was going to post. Thank you Winston. I believe Sprint requires a fee, but you get an extra 5GB pool for tethering.

[fmgtech]

rgG wrote:
[quote=silvarios]
[quote=fmgtech]I thought the new iPhone 4S was supposed to be a world phone, meaning it would work on AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint?

Yes, but Verizon and Sprint still don't use SIM cards for their CDMA service. Nor does it mean the 4S is unlocked when you buy one, from my understanding anyway.
Correct. It is capable of working on all three carriers, but all the phones are locked to one carrier. You can buy a factory unlocked AT&T iPhone, which means you could use it with TMobile here or other carriers overseas, but the Sprint and Verizon phones are locked to the carrier.
So could you buy a factory unlocked Sprint or Verizon phone, or unlock it yourself (assuming there will be an unlock hack), and then use it on TMobile, AT&T, etc? Since it is a world phone, even though Sprint and Verizon do not use a SIM card, would the phone have a SIM card holder (I guess it would be empty)?

[RAMd®d]

There is only one version of the 4S so it will have a SIM card holder, and if it's an att phone, it will have a SIM card.

So Sprint and Verizon users could, with an unlocked phone, use the CDMA side here, and then buy a SIM card when traveling abroad using the GSM radio in the phone.