Just curious what everyone out there thinks about how important having simultaneous voice and data truly is on your cell phone. If you recall, this was AT&T's only comeback to VZW's claims on AT&T's poor coverage. What's your opinion?
Simultaneous Voice and Data
- Thread starter Double KLM
- Start date
I use it often enough that I would notice if I couldn't anymore. Mostly when called with directions questions or hey can u look this up for me.
I didn't think I'd really care, but I'm now kind of attached to the capability. I'd miss it if it wasn't there.
So as we all know, the UMTS technology has always had the capability to do simultaneous Voice and Data (SVD), hence AT&T and TMobiles claim to having the ability to do so on their networks. The CDMA technology (VZW & Sprint) does not allow for such capabilities simply based on the standards definition of 1X and EVDO. The only way a 3G CDMA EVDO network could support SVD is through VOIP. Since no operators have yet to deploy and support VOIP (it will come eventually with LTE), CDMA has not been able to claim SVD. That has all changed with VZW with their introduction of some of their 4G smartphones. The Thunderbolt from HTC is an example of a device that support SVD over either LTE and EVDO. This is done through a Qualcomm solution in the handset.
All that being said, I'm not convinced the SVD is a much needed capability. The majority of the time I spend on my phone is while in the car, which is distracting enough, so the last thing I need is the ability to talk while surfing the web while driving!
All that being said, I'm not convinced the SVD is a much needed capability. The majority of the time I spend on my phone is while in the car, which is distracting enough, so the last thing I need is the ability to talk while surfing the web while driving!
It's a feature that I wouldn't give up if given the choice, not to mention we don't pay extra for this feature. I also have a corporate BB Bold which they have us tether to our laptops and it sucks when I am tethering my BB and can't answer my phone or needing do an online search and can't until I hangup. IMO it's like having unlimited data, do you really want to give it up, even if you barely use it.
I think that being able to use both simultaneously has been very handy for me. My wife calls me all the time wanting the phone number to walmart pharmacy so she can call in her prescription. It would be a feature I would miss greatly if I didn't have it.
I use voice and data at the same time almost every day. It would be a huge inconvenience to have to hang up the phone everytime I had to look up a number or get directions.
This is more important than one might think.
If you don't have it, any time the iPhone is accessing the Internet... for anything from email, IM such as Yahoo or MSN, App store updates, streaming anything, and of course Safari you won't receive phone calls and still receive data, and of course can't make them.
In addition, you might fire up Safari and then leave it, but it is still loading the page in the background. Ditto for Mail, app, Weather, and others. So even if you think you are not accessing the Internet, you may be--and, yep, no ability to make or receive calls.
Heck there are times when I am on the phone with, say, an airline CSR, and looking at there website in Safari at the same time.
And I notice this right away when I am stuck in an area with only EDGE and no 3G. EDGE also does not allow simultaneous voice and data--and I hate that. I had to deal with that with the original iPhone and no way would I want to go back to either/or voice/data.
Michael
If you don't have it, any time the iPhone is accessing the Internet... for anything from email, IM such as Yahoo or MSN, App store updates, streaming anything, and of course Safari you won't receive phone calls and still receive data, and of course can't make them.
In addition, you might fire up Safari and then leave it, but it is still loading the page in the background. Ditto for Mail, app, Weather, and others. So even if you think you are not accessing the Internet, you may be--and, yep, no ability to make or receive calls.
Heck there are times when I am on the phone with, say, an airline CSR, and looking at there website in Safari at the same time.
And I notice this right away when I am stuck in an area with only EDGE and no 3G. EDGE also does not allow simultaneous voice and data--and I hate that. I had to deal with that with the original iPhone and no way would I want to go back to either/or voice/data.
Michael
nice feature to have i guess but not a deal breaker. i have sprint so i see both sides. when using a 4g connection i can do both call and browse the web. when on 3g i can browse the web and when a call comes in my phone just hooks up to the call and i speak. when the call it done. the browser automatically pops right back up and continues were it left off. no big deal but still if you have it then i see it as a perk. remember options are your friend.
This is a feature i would definitely not give up for better coverage. My phone is used 95% of the time for data and 5% of the time for actual phone calls. Because of this, the call clarity etc is much less important for me than actually trying to talk and use data at the same time. I have been on the call, asked the Tide in a town for example, downloaded a paid app (TideGraph - awesome if you boat), and told the other person the tide chart. I mean c'mon, thats awesome.
I suspect people who mostly use a headset are more likely to want voice and data Vs those who are physically holding the phone to their ears. To me it is "natural" to want to look something up when on the phone. 
Michael
Michael
Yeah i didn't realize that either. I would assume that has something to do with Apple's implementation of backgrounding/multitasking in iOS. As I remember it, they "freeze" the app so it is no longer consuming data when you exit to the home screen. Now that I am thinking of it, you are saying if you are browsing the web (page is loading)/streaming a youtube video - and someone calls - it kicks them to voicemail? So there is an constant battle between voice and data on the Verizon iPhone 4?