ios update question...and LTE is amazing

[Policenaut]

I just got a few verizon iphones and I want to update them to the new 4.2.8 os. I can't do it through itunes since the connection here is extremely slow and regularly times out which breaks the download. I was wondering if the following link would be safe to use: http://appldnld.apple.com/iPhone4/041-1022.20110503.5g8k7/iPhone3,3_4.2.8_8E401_Restore.ipsw

I see this posted on a few jailbreak sites. Anyone update their iphone this way? Is it safe?

As a side note I tested out a Thunderbolt near my house and got 26mpbs download speed and 5mpbs upload speed. I will be getting one this week before the tiered data scheme goes into effect.

 

[ThunderChunky]

I'm getting a Charge because I'm currently on a 6 year old flip phone and the speeds people are getting on LTE are amazing. This is an order of magnitude jump in bandwidth plus the increased penetration of the lower frequency signal..

The only downside appears to be the size and battery life of the LTE phones. I dont expect this to be solved until next year when the modem gets integrated into the SoC.

 

[Chris Hegarty]

I'd advise extreme caution about speeds of LTE networks. In short, these networks are currently very underutilized. As more people utilize the networks, the speed will drop. I just hope that it isn't like AT&T's terrible 3G network problems.

 

[Policenaut]

I'm getting a Charge because I'm currently on a 6 year old flip phone and the speeds people are getting on LTE are amazing. This is an order of magnitude jump in bandwidth plus the increased penetration of the lower frequency signal..

The only downside appears to be the size and battery life of the LTE phones. I dont expect this to be solved until next year when the modem gets integrated into the SoC.

I already plan on getting the extended battery for the Thunderbolt. The screen on the Charge is nice but I don't care for the physical buttons at the bottom and I don't like Samsungs touchwiz interface much. The main reason why I'm getting a 4g phone now is because of the tiered plans. I still have a feature phone so I need something with an unlimited plan to be grandfathered in. Also I have a strong 4g connection in my area so why not get a 4g phone? I assume it will get slower over time but it'll still be much faster than 3g. Another nice perk is that the Thunderbolt (and I guess the other 4g Verizon phones) can do talk and data at the same time. I'd rather have waited for the Bionic to show up because it's a dual core 4g phone but it seems they are timing its release perfectly to screw anyone without an unlimited plan already out of getting it. Oh well. The Thunderbolt is still a nice phone and it'll be supposedly getting Gingerbread around the end of this week.

But back to my original question about the ios update. Anyone have an opinion on that? I am just doing a regular update. No jailbreak or anything.

 

[Policenaut]

Problem solved. They have been updated via the direct download. Went rather smoothly. I hope those rumors of the ios5 update being ota are true. Should be nice.

Anyway this thread can now be about how awesome Verizon's 4g LTE is. Hello 26mpbs. What's a buffer?

 

[ThunderChunky]

The thunderbolt can do voice and 3G data at the same time. I believe this is the only phone on verizon that can do this. However, all the Verizon 4G phones can do voice and 4G data at the same time. The thunderbolt has more RAM and onboard storage than the charge. Took me a while to decide, but I went for the screen and weight of the charge plus its anecdotally better battery life. Both phones are good.

I ordered mine from amazon this morning...I should get it before the weekend. Then the fun can begin.

Verizon's 4G network is far from done. They are still expanding to new markets and increasing coverage in existing markets. It may slow down as more people hop on, but I do believe they will keep improving the network over the long term.

 

[Policenaut]

Verizon's 4G network is far from done. They are still expanding to new markets and increasing coverage in existing markets. It may slow down as more people hop on, but I do believe they will keep improving the network over the long term.

Yeah I don't doubt it. They have been rolling 4g out to other cities on a pretty regular basis. Carrier speed test shows that Verizon is kicking some ass with their 4g LTE: http://www.pcmag.com/Fastest-Mobile-Networks-2011

I don't know how in my area I was getting 5mpbs upload speed when on this test the highest less than 3mbps. I will have to test it for myself when I pick mine up friday night.

Have you tried the Charge? If I were you I would delete all the addons to touchwiz you can because when I tested it at the Verizon store it lagged to **** just transitioning between screens. Also I heard a launcher helps out immensely. Sense isn't too bad but I will probably be putting a launcher on it unless HTC comes through and unlocks the bootloader like they've promised to do with some other phones. One annoying thing about these two phones is the amount of uninstallable crapware on them. Load them up with crapware if you must but allow us to delete it. Especially apps that are LINKS TO DEMOS. What is this ********?

 

[dtugg]

Yeah I don't doubt it. They have been rolling 4g out to other cities on a pretty regular basis. Carrier speed test shows that Verizon is kicking some ass with their 4g LTE: http://www.pcmag.com/Fastest-Mobile-Networks-2011

I don't know how in my area I was getting 5mpbs upload speed when on this test the highest less than 3mbps. I will have to test it for myself when I pick mine up friday night.

Have you tried the Charge? If I were you I would delete all the addons to touchwiz you can because when I tested it at the Verizon store it lagged to **** just transitioning between screens. Also I heard a launcher helps out immensely. Sense isn't too bad but I will probably be putting a launcher on it unless HTC comes through and unlocks the bootloader like they've promised to do with some other phones. One annoying thing about these two phones is the amount of uninstallable crapware on them. Load them up with crapware if you must but allow us to delete it. Especially apps that are LINKS TO DEMOS. What is this ********?

If you root you phone, you can just delete that crap. Or install a custom ROM that is undoubtedly better than the one the phone came with and has all that stuff deleted already. And do all kinds of cool stuff like wifi tether your super-fast LTE connection to your laptop or install themes. Head to the XDA forums for instructions. It is easy. Or at least it was for my phone.

For a launcher, I recommend LauncherPro. It is highly customizable and has cool screen transition animations. Easily better than the Sense and Touchwiz launchers. And free. The plus version for $3.49 has a bunch of awesome, theme-able widgets and allows you to re-size regular widgets. Here are some screen-shots to give you an idea of what it can look like:

 

[ThunderChunky]

Have you tried the Charge? If I were you I would delete all the addons to touchwiz you can because when I tested it at the Verizon store it lagged to **** just transitioning between screens.

I tried it at the store and there was some lag. At the XDA forums as mentioned above, it appears to be mostly due to samsung using an older filing system. There is a fix out to convert it to the faster filing system. Plus, as also mentioned by dtugg, if you root you can delete the crapware.

It is a shame though that they put this crap onto the phones and the only way to delete them is to root...give people a phone that works out of the box.

 

[dtugg]

I tried it at the store and there was some lag. At the XDA forums as mentioned above, it appears to be mostly due to samsung using an older filing system. There is a fix out to convert it to the faster filing system. Plus, as also mentioned by dtugg, if you root you can delete the crapware.

It is a shame though that they put this crap onto the phones and the only way to delete them is to root...give people a phone that works out of the box.

Yeah, I don't know why the hell Samsung uses RFS. It is easy enough to convert to EXT4 though which is a much better file system.

 

[Policenaut]

I have thought about rooting but I'm just afraid of bricking it. Definitely first thing I'm buying is Launcher Pro. Also do you use a live wallpaper? They look pretty cool but how much do they impact the battery?

 

[dtugg]

I have thought about rooting but I'm just afraid of bricking it. Definitely first thing I'm buying is Launcher Pro. Also do you use a live wallpaper? They look pretty cool but how much do they impact the battery?

The chances of bricking your phone are negligible if you follow instructions correctly. And if you do, you can get warranty replacement - just don't tell them how you bricked it.

And to use live wallpaper, all you need to do is long press on the home screen or press the menu button, the select wallpaper, then live wallpaper. That's how it is on Samsung phones, at least. Its probably the same or similar on HTC. There should be some installed already. You can also get some from the market, it installs like a regular app and you can select it like the others.

As for battery life, it would depend on the wallpaper, how complex the animation is, and how well it is coded, but overall I would say negligible. For the one that I use, if I am one the home screen doing nothing, the frequency is 100Mhz, which is the minimum frequency, over 80% of the time. And it is only running if you're on the home screen anyway. If the screen is off, or if you're in an app, it is not eating CPU cycles.

 

[Policenaut]

Sounds good. I like that nexus live wallpaper but some of the comments don't inspire confidence (lag, stopped working, etc.). I also see a pretty cool one with a thunder storm but the same type of complains are in the comments. I'll dl the free versions first and see how they are. And I might root. I have to read more about it though.

 

[keale]

Just a heads up on the Verizon LTE for those of you possibly looking into it do it BEFORE July 6th after that Verizon will implement a crappy tiered pricing structure. I sell Verizon as well as ATT and TMobile. This is straight from the Verizon rep that they will fall in line with the other providers.

 

[Policenaut]

Everyone get in on the unlimited plan? I did. Very happy with my Thunderbolt. Like I said I would have liked to have waited at least till the Bionic was released but that just wasn't an option. 4g is still amazing and luckily I get it just about everywhere I go. Lowest speed I've seen is 8mbps, fastest was 35mbps. I tried the free tether while it was still free and it was also amazing. Much faster than my home internet. Verizon has said that you can add it to your unlimited plan for $30 a month and still keep the unlimited plan. So theoretically I could cancel my internet, pay less per month, get faster speeds, and have 3g/4g internet on my laptop where ever I travel. That's a pretty good deal even though there are apps that do it for free.

 

[BenBurch]

I'd advise extreme caution about speeds of LTE networks. In short, these networks are currently very underutilized. As more people utilize the networks, the speed will drop. I just hope that it isn't like AT&T's terrible 3G network problems.

My experience was it was great until the free trial period was over, and then it went to hell.