True Rev-A Phones?

Quixote · EVDO Newbie Joined: 30 Nov 2008 Posts: 1

So the sticky at the top of this forum compares the speeds of tethered phones and cell modems, but that was a year and a half ago. Are there any genuine rev-a phones, and if so, is there a list of them or a way to figure out if a phone has the necessary throughput?

Maureen · Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 6:23 pm Post subject: Verizon and Sprint Rev-A Phones

Hi Quixote,

Good news: it took a while, but both Sprint and Verizon are finally featuring a couple of EVDO Rev-A phones!

For Sprint, there is the Samsung Instinct, HTC Touch Diamond, Palm Treo 800w, and HTC Mogul, but ONLY the Mogul and 800w support tethering.

Verizon only has 2 Rev-A phones right now, and both of them can be used for tethering: the LG Dare and brand new Blackberry Storm (sidenote: 3Gstore.com DOES have the Storm IN STOCK! Click the link for more information, availability, etc).

So far, 3Gstore has only tested the LG Dare (Storm results and review coming SOON!) and we got great results while tethering it - AND it worked with a Cradlepoint router! Check out the full review here.

In the past, tethering was an option with some phones, but rarely was it preferable to buying a dedicated device like a USB modem because the speeds weren't nearly as good. With a Rev A phone, though, some folks that only need mobile broadband occasionally can forgo the additional device/contract and use their EVDO Rev A phone as a modem on vacations or in DSL/Cable outages and only pay for the time they have the feature turned on ($15 or $59.99/month depending on your device). The problem of not being able to talk on your phone while you're using it as a modem is still there of course, but for occasional usage it can be a perfect solution.

Remember: 3Gstore.com sells Verizon and Sprint phones and service - including these Rev A devices!

donheff · EVDO Newbie Joined: 04 Jan 2009 Posts: 3

widgetman101 · EVDO Junkie Joined: 02 Apr 2008 Posts: 211

Go to Verizon's site and take a look. It will tell you if the phone is Rev-A capable or not.

On a side note a co worker that I told about Evdo bought a USB727 then decided he wanted to tether instead. So he picked up a new BB Curve. He says his connection and speed is better with the phone tethered.

I'd be interested in seeing actual data proving it is better but he no longer has his data card. He seems to be happy with it though.

widgetman101 · EVDO Junkie Joined: 02 Apr 2008 Posts: 211

Umm Maureen you might want to get your facts straight.

Verizon has more than 2 models that are rev a capable. The BlackBerry 8830 is Rev-A capable.

Umm a few others, LG Decoy™ Limited Edition, Samsung Glyde, Motorola Krave™ ZN4.

I'm sure there are others but I think I made my point.

Alex · Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 10:08 pm Post subject:

In your earlier post you said:

widgetman101 · EVDO Junkie Joined: 02 Apr 2008 Posts: 211

I'm being a bit lazy here. I just circled the Evdo in the description from Verizon Wireless's website. I can't believe I forgot about the Voyager since my friend has one of those.

But anyways here are some screen shots. And I know for a fact the 8830 is Rev-A because that's what my co worker bought and clearly said his manager had the little (Rev-A) symbol by it.

Correct me if I'm wrong but Verizon phased out there other Evdo revision correct? That means these all have to be Rev-A because there generic phones list under 1xRtt and don't specify Evdo.

Alex · Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:32 am Post subject:

Alex · Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:53 am Post subject:

here's more to support our argument. the LG VX 8350 specs list similar information that you think should make it a Rev. A Phone:

donheff · EVDO Newbie Joined: 04 Jan 2009 Posts: 3

Alex: I am jumping in in the full glory of my ignorance because your speedtest image caught my attention. I have a BB Storm and hooked it up to my Cradlepoint router for the last few days. I didn't know anything about Rev-O vs Rev-A before I started reading this thread. In any event, I ran a couple of speed tests out of curiosity and was surprised at the results. In both I got upload speeds in the neighborhood of 750K but my download speeds were much lower - around 200K. Is this common?

Alex · Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 9:28 am Post subject:

Maureen · Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 3:36 pm Post subject: More Verizon Rev-A PDAs!

In addition to the Blackberry Storm and LG Dare, Verizon now has 3 other phones (all Smartphones/PDAs) that have Rev-A.... and they're all tether-capable!

Check them out here:

Samsung Omnia
Samsung Saga
HTC Touch Pro

All 3 of those are PDA's, so tethering is $15/month (remember that you also have to have a data plan with ANY PDA!)

Unfortunately, out of those 3 only the Omnia has an antenna port - and like the Dare, it's located beneath the battery cover.

Router compatibility coming soon...

sabersaw · EVDO Newbie Joined: 05 Jan 2009 Posts: 2

Since this looks to be the only Rev. A phone that can be tethered from sprint at this time... I am wondering if anyone on the forum has used this setup yet. Does it work okay and are the speeds/latency as good as using a pcmcia/usb adapter in the same areas? I have heard good and bad about the past Treos pertaining to the operating system on the device. But I would like to hear how well tethering works in particular.

Maureen · Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 12:42 pm Post subject:

Hi sabersaw,

While we haven't yet gotten a chance to test the 800w's tethering capabilities, if you are in a Sprint Rev-A covered area you should get good results. It should work as well as a dedicated EVDO device.

Do you plan to use it in a router or tethered directly to your computer? There currently isn't any official router support for the 800W, but it is certainly possible that it will work with the Cradlepoint routers since other Treo models are supported.

sterlinron · EVDO Newbie Joined: 26 Jan 2009 Posts: 1

Can you define tethering? I assumed it was when you can connect your pc to the phone and get the internet on your PC. A post earlier said that the HTC Touch Diamond cannot do tethering. I have one, and can get the internet through it on my PC. So what does tethering mean?

I didn't realize it could do Rev-A though, that is awesome. I had a Motorola Sliver before. I got pretty good speeds from it, but not REV-A.

I haven't decided if I wanted to keep this Touch Diamond though. I am having trouble getting my X-box to connect through internet sharing like I used to do with my Sliver. I think it may be because the Touch is a Windows Mobile device and is using a version mobile ICS. And maybe I can't do ICS on my PC too. I had it connected for a minute the other night, then something happened, and I haven't been able to get the X-box out to the internet since.

Sorry I got off topic there. Embarassed