[OFB Cafe] Less Bars in More Places: AT&T Network Upgrades Degrade 2G Performance

[Timothy Butler]

On Jan 3, 2009, at 1:01 AM, Donald Spoon wrote:

> Tim,
>
> Thanks!  How do you know if your phone is 2G or 3G capable?  I just  
> got the wife a Nokia 6085 cell phone for Christmas, and wonder if I  
> did the right thing... We are doing the "GoPhone" thing with AT&T,  
> and are not committed to any contract.  Any other info you can  
> provide is most welcome!
>
> -Don Spoon-


Hi Don,
Glad to be of service! The Nokia 6085 appears to be a 2G phone (it has  
GSM/GPRS/EDGE). In theory, like most North American cell phones, it  
can pick up the 1900 MHz band, but the band isn't as robust as 850,  
so...

Amongst Go Phones, the Sony Ericsson Z750a ($69) and Samsung A737  
($74) appear to be 3G phones. I like Sony Ericsson phones generally,  
although Nokia makes probably the best "simple" cell phones I've ever  
seen. They work great as plain old phones.

One option would be to buy an unlocked 3G phone, perhaps a Nokia, and  
stick a Go Phone SIM card into it, although I'm not sure if you can  
find a good deal on one...

It could be your area is just fine too. But if you notice "dead zones"  
it is quite possibly due to this issue and not actual lack of coverage.

Hope this helps!

	-Tim

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Timothy R. Butler | "Now  that  I am a  Christian  I  do have moods
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