Newbie q re: does a dropped voice call = dropped EVDO signal

Robert75

Hi, I'm planning on buying my first smartphone (Treo 700p) soon. I'm currently a Sprint customer using a regular cell phone in Washington DC. I'm trying to learn as much as I can about this before buying. Can someone help answer some questions of mine?

1. There are definitely spots of DC where my Sprint cell phone signal is weak and I drop voice calls. Does that mean if I'm browsing on my Treo in those areas, should I also expect to lose the EVDO signal?

2. If I travel to parts of the country where EVDO isn't yet available, is it correct to say that I can still get web access, although slower, with 1xRTT? Do both Sprint and Verizon have this capability?

I've decided on what kind of phone to get, I'm just trying to figure out what provider to go with. I appreciate any help you could provide!

Robert

xenophon · EVDO Addict Joined: 30 Aug 2005 Posts: 2003

1) You don't really experience a dropped call-like function with data, it will simply be a decrease in performance depending on signal strength. If you lose EVDO signal, it will step down to slower 1xRTT. If the signal is so poor you can't even dial out, you likely will not get data.

2) Anywhere you get non-roaming Sprint voice service, you should at least get slower 1xRTT (avg 50-100Kbps). Starting July 1, you'll be able to roam data on Altell, both EVDO and 1xRTT. Verizon can also roam on Alltel 1xRTT but no announcement yet for EVDO roaming.

More here...
http://www.evdoforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=1235

Michael · Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2006 1:11 pm Post subject:

To add...

A cell phone isn't always the best way to determine how EVDO will work with a PC Card or embedded EVDO.

I have been in areas that have received 1 bar on my cell phone and 3-4 bars on my data card. Each phone may be different with reception based on the chipset and built-in antennas, etc.

As the voice traffic increases on a specific cell, you may experience drops. On EVDO, you will experience slow downs.
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