Two questions about the Sprint iPhone

[rgG]

RAMd®d wrote:
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.

Actually, I don't think that is how they said it would work. I think they said that if you have a Verizon or Sprint phone, you will be able to roam with their "world" partners. To me this means that you will have to pay Verizon or Sprint to roam internationally, just like you do with AT&T.

The only unlocked version is the AT&t version, and you can just insert a foreign or TMobile SIM into those and use wherever you wish.

The carriers are still locking these down as much as they can.

[fmgtech]

rgG wrote:
[quote=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.

Actually, I don't think that is how they said it would work. I think they said that if you have a Verizon or Sprint phone, you will be able to roam with their "world" partners. To me this means that you will have to pay Verizon or Sprint to roam internationally, just like you do with AT&T.

The only unlocked version is the AT&t version, and you can just insert a foreign or TMobile SIM into those and use wherever you wish.

The carriers are still locking these down as much as they can.
But there has never been an iPhone that was not eventually unlocked. It would seem that for example an unlocked AT&T world iPhone 4S would work on Sprint, Verizon, and with a SIM card on TMobile.

[rgG]

fmgtech wrote:
[quote=rgG]
[quote=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.

Actually, I don't think that is how they said it would work. I think they said that if you have a Verizon or Sprint phone, you will be able to roam with their "world" partners. To me this means that you will have to pay Verizon or Sprint to roam internationally, just like you do with AT&T.

The only unlocked version is the AT&t version, and you can just insert a foreign or TMobile SIM into those and use wherever you wish.

The carriers are still locking these down as much as they can.
But there has never been an iPhone that was not eventually unlocked. It would seem that for example an unlocked AT&T world iPhone 4S would work on Sprint, Verizon, and with a SIM card on TMobile.
Verizon and Sprint phones are not "locked" the same way as AT&T phones. A CDMA phone, Verizon and Sprint, will only work on one or the other at a time. You have to Flash a CDMA phone to change it from one to the other. Where with a GSM phone that is unlocked, you just swap the SIM. If the hackers do find a way to flash the Sprint to Verizon or vice versa, you still won't be able to use it on AT&T. There are two radios in the phone, one for CDMA and one for GSM, but you can't use them both at the same time.

Edit: let me add that that is the way I understand it.

[Chakravartin]

rgG wrote:
The only unlocked version is the AT&t version, and you can just insert a foreign or TMobile SIM into those and use wherever you wish.

Just to clarify:

The only offically unlocked version will be for GSM networks. It's not "the AT&T version."

The AT&T version will be locked to AT&T.

We don't know that the AT&T version of the iPhone 4S will be unlockable. It probably will not be unlockable for at least several months while hackers work to create a jailbreak-and-unlock solution for it.

...

Based upon rumors and some hints in Apple's iPhone FAQ, at some point Apple will probably sell an unlocked version of the iPhone 4S for $649 or more.

If you can obtain an unlocked iPhone 4S then it would work on almost any GSM network with the appropriate SIM card.

...

Back to the original questions:

1. Since Sprint and Verizon have an agreement to share cell towers you may not see any improvement between a Sprint and Verizon iPhone 4S. If you get poor reception using a Sprint iPhone 4S then an AT&T iPhone 4S might be your best alternative.

2. I have read that Sprint will have a "hotspot" tethering option (capped at 5GB even if you have an unlimited data plan), but have not seen any information about what tethering will cost.

The iPhone 4S goes on sale today. (It's after midnight EST now, so it's TODAY.) Further details will probably become available as the day progresses.

[vision63]

PdaNet and a usb cable gets you all the physical tethering you can handle on Android with Sprint. If something is similar for the iPhone, there's that option. My rooted Evo wirelessly hot spots for nothing.

[Chakravartin]

'Found the info on Sprint's site, but there's no direct link to it. You have to go through the steps of signing up for a plan.

The 5GB/month tethering plan called "Sprint Mobile Hotspot 5GB" is an extra $29.99/month.

[vision63]

The data limits are 5Gb for 3G and Unlimited for 4G while on Sprint's network. I'm swimming in 4G. Also on 4G you can talk and surf at the same time.

[silvarios]

vision63 wrote:
The data limits are 5Gb for 3G and Unlimited for 4G while on Sprint's network. I'm swimming in 4G. Also on 4G you can talk and surf at the same time.

Yep. That's because WiMAX isn't used for voice, so WiMAX for data and CDMA for voice. Correct? Too bad the iPhone doesn't support something other than CDMA, but I actually understand the design limitation.

[Buzz]

rgG wrote:

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.

Not sure what/how/all the nuances are for the various plans are now, but as noted, Sprint used to allow a very nominal amount of roaming, and then they had unlimited roaming for $5/mo which really meant you had to stay under about 40% roaming most of the time, and could only spike a couple of times a year or they kill your favorite family pet or child. Some plans include roaming. Most of the domestic roaming is via VZW. The per minute charge for exceeding the nominal allowance on non-roaming plans is pretty high. The system went whacko awhile back, and we got zotsed for excessive roaming on one bill (3 of our 5 family plan phones have unlimited roaming), and one of the limited phones somehow got dinged for roaming from a location that always had good Sprint coverage. Had to escalate that one up the ladder a bit to get the roaming charges reversed. If the desired plan didn't include roaming, I'd get the roaming add-on to ensure maximum coverage.

///

[Winston]

RAMd®d wrote:
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.

I think it's a decent bet that the Sprint and Verizon phones will come with a SIM card from those carriers respectively. Just as the AT&T iPad comes with a SIM card ready for you to use if you want.

A SIM card is required for international roaming in most countries, because they only have GSM, and GSM requires a phone with a SIM card. I think Sprint and Verizon will want to be able to claim that the phones are "ready to roam" internationally. Of course, at exorbitant rates.

I don't think the Sprint and Verizon phones will come SIM unlocked, ready to use with any carrier. That would open them to being switched easily to AT&T (or T-Mobile at slower speeds). I think they will be sold SIM carrier locked just as most subsidized GSM phones in the US are.


Good luck.

- Winston