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Mobile plans etc - I don't get it


Zoe

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Yep iphone 32gb 3gs. I am most pissed that basically I was told that the phone was equal to the blackberry bold and it is not from the point of view of call quality and ability to pick up a useful signal. Vodafone have been agresively marketing iphone and i'm sure have sold plenty to people like me on really good business deals. I actually love apple gear and the phone is really nice to use but to be fair the main purpose of the iphone is exactly that to make phone calls.

 

With regards to using a cell phone vs landline - i am sorry but when you travel for a living a mobile is the only option for me. I have a landline and internet through Telstra and then mobile with all business call routed to this through 0800 number.

 

Thanks for the technical information. Vodaphone iphone help were not able to tell me that. It all makes sense now.

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but to be fair the main purpose of the iphone is exactly that to make phone calls.

The more I look at these smart phones (ALL of them knot just iAnythings), I do believe making a actual phone call is a long way from their primary design requirements. They all seemed to be more targeted at getting you interwebing at their respective makers or partners shops.

 

Go suss all the marketing bollix, you'll be hard pushed to find any that do say 'and you can use it to ring other people'. They can all get you on Twitbook inside a millisecond though.

 

As a point of evidence to that comment My Lurd, the iPh V4. If it was indeed primarily targeted at making phone calls surely they would have picked up the now admitted antenna issue during the extensive testing of that function. And Mr Jobbies phone isn't alone in that issue. Notice how no one is complaining they can't get shopping at iTunes or whatever you do at that Twitbook place. I am assuming that Apple, using this example, aren't that arrogant they thought they could pull the wool over all 20 gazillion iPh users by shipping a dodgy ariel. And there I rest my possibly dubious and conspiracy fuelled case :lol:

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All the American girls I met in Boston in Jan (and there were a lot of em) had given up after their second or third i-phone. Broke to easily. I asked cos I assumed young hot chicks would like the media/coolness side of the i-phone....which was correct but not the real priority.

 

Every single one of them was on the bigger Blackberry and swore by it for managing their slightly over-aggressive 25 - 30 something hyper social life which is most important, and a few work calls for when they were supposed to be at work.

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Most mobile phones are designed for Texting (no need for great signal as you are not "live" on the system) and data transferr.

 

To have a Mob phone that is used for actually talking to some one is a secondary consideration for people like I Phone.

 

I have a CHEAP SONY ERICCSON phone with no options other than basic texting and phone calls and it has no problems when other people are struggling to get reception with their flash "battery flatteners".

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southernman - iPhone 3Gs?

 

If so, there's a darn good reason why it doesn't work.

 

That aside, take it back and get a refund under CGA, as it's not fit for the purpose for which it was purchased.

 

MS, tel me more... I've noticed significantly reduced coverage with my iPhone 3Gs also...

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I will repeat what I posted earlier and elaberate. The higher the frequency used, the more directional it becomes. It is not so much about what a frequency can "go through" or penertrate, but more how the materials affect the direction and reflections.

Think of it this way and please note, this is just a basic explanation.

First off, high frequencies are used for ruffly three reasons. Less power is required to transmit. example of this, old AM radio station could be 10Kw. Newer FM radio station covering same area could do the same with 400W.

Low freguencies are more like a flood light and high freq act more like a spot light.

Lets use for example the daylight. We see everything in shadows and even inside the home, out of Direct Sunlight, due to reflection of a very bright light. With Radio waves, the same thing happens. The lower freq are more like the flood light and reflect everywhere. The higher freq are more like a spot and much fewer reflections. To the extreme, think of a Laser. You can only see the beam when it reflects off dust particles. In a 100% clear vacumm, you can not see a laser unless it shines directly at your eyes.

The main reasons why these very high frequencies are used are, it can carry much higer data amounts clearly. As the data rate incrases with technology, the frequency of that data also naturally increases. Think of it this way. When we were Kids, some of us placed a piece of plastic against the bike spokes on our bikes to make a clicky noise. As you pedal faster, the spoke goes past the plastic faster and the frequncy of the click rises. Similar happens with data. The more that we want to speed upo the net, the higher the freq of data transmision and the higher the carrier frequency needs to be.

The last reason is part and parcel with the speed. The faster we want the signal, the clearer we need the signal to be. There is always a "noise floor" with elctronics and background radiation. The higher the frequency, the higer above these natural background radiations we get. The lower the signal reguired to therefore get over those noise floors. The less the power required to transmit. The longer the batteries last and the les expensive the transcievers on the poles need to be and so on and so on.

BUT!!! the big negative is, the more difficult it is to transmit the signal and the more directional the signal becomes. In biuldings, even things like a Steel truss can shadow your phone signal. A refelction of the signal can cause cancellations. The are shadows and holes and bright spots all over the show. The flood light tends to negate these things, the spot light tends to make them worse.

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Read above about 3G extended. Vodafone knew iPhones (up until 4) didn't support this, and by the sounds of it, they've underplayed this rather important fact.

 

So what happens if you take it back to vodafone and complain... Do you rights to be able to do so?

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Being able to return the phone (and possibly terminate the contract) under CGA is likely to be dependent on how SM explain his usage requirements to the sales person. The older iphones still support Vodafone's 2G network (1800MHz) so in theory you are still able to make voice calls, text and use slow Internet access.

 

The call quality issues comes about when you are in a marginal 3G coverage area (2100Mhz) because calls are dropped while the phone switches from 2G to 3G and back again.

 

If the sales person explained the above prior to purchase then there is no likely comeback but I would suspect not because no one in their right mind would purchase under these conditions.

 

The issue is actually a phone/network compatibility issue so one of your alternates might be to get Vodafone to swap the iphone with something else, like a blackberry. They are more likely to be amenable to this because they get to keep your 2yr contract.

 

Worth a try, otherwise you will need to file a complaint under the CGA and work through the process. Personally I wanted the iphone so I swapped to the Telecom XT network. In hind site I'm not sure that the phone itself was worth it. My old Blackberry curve was a much better phone and handled email a lot better.

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I will repeat what I posted earlier and elaberate. The higher the frequency used, the more directional it becomes. It is not so much about what a frequency can "go through" or penertrate, but more how the materials affect the direction and reflections.

Think of it this way and please note, this is just a basic explanation.

First off, high frequencies are used for ruffly three reasons. Less power is required to transmit. example of this, old AM radio station could be 10Kw. Newer FM radio station covering same area could do the same with 400W.

Low freguencies are more like a flood light and high freq act more like a spot light.

Lets use for example the daylight. We see everything in shadows and even inside the home, out of Direct Sunlight, due to reflection of a very bright light. With Radio waves, the same thing happens. The lower freq are more like the flood light and reflect everywhere. The higher freq are more like a spot and much fewer reflections. To the extreme, think of a Laser. You can only see the beam when it reflects off dust particles. In a 100% clear vacumm, you can not see a laser unless it shines directly at your eyes.

The main reasons why these very high frequencies are used are, it can carry much higer data amounts clearly. As the data rate incrases with technology, the frequency of that data also naturally increases. Think of it this way. When we were Kids, some of us placed a piece of plastic against the bike spokes on our bikes to make a clicky noise. As you pedal faster, the spoke goes past the plastic faster and the frequncy of the click rises. Similar happens with data. The more that we want to speed upo the net, the higher the freq of data transmision and the higher the carrier frequency needs to be.

The last reason is part and parcel with the speed. The faster we want the signal, the clearer we need the signal to be. There is always a "noise floor" with elctronics and background radiation. The higher the frequency, the higer above these natural background radiations we get. The lower the signal reguired to therefore get over those noise floors. The less the power required to transmit. The longer the batteries last and the les expensive the transcievers on the poles need to be and so on and so on.

BUT!!! the big negative is, the more difficult it is to transmit the signal and the more directional the signal becomes. In biuldings, even things like a Steel truss can shadow your phone signal. A refelction of the signal can cause cancellations. The are shadows and holes and bright spots all over the show. The flood light tends to negate these things, the spot light tends to make them worse.

 

 

I guess that must be something to do with why I can listen to Classic HIts at home in the morning but can't get it in the afternoon...

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Can you select the freq that it operates on so that it doesn't chop and change in marginal areas.

The vodem stick has this option in the software, so it doesn't keep dropping out as it flicks backwards and forwards.

You may be able to set it to 2g, and be able to receive calls at home/office without dropping out.

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I will repeat what I posted earlier and elaberate. The higher the frequency used, the more directional it becomes. It is not so much about what a frequency can "go through" or penertrate, but more how the materials affect the direction and reflections.

 

I used that terminology to simplify it for the layman, and it is valid - I can go into lots more detail (ex Operations Manager for an ISP) but people's eyes tend to start glazing over at about that point (fresnel zone calculations anyone?).

 

First off, high frequencies are used for ruffly three reasons. Less power is required to transmit. example of this, old AM radio station could be 10Kw. Newer FM radio station covering same area could do the same with 400W.

 

I've seen photos of what happened when an RF engineer performing routine maintenance on an AM transmitter approached the wrong one (i.e. the one still operating). Wasn't even that close before a huge bang, and all that was left were the 2 steel caps from his boots. The more chronic issues years ago were always highlighted by a walk through the lunchroom of the RF engineers for the BBC - most were just 'not quite right'.

 

Levels 47, 48 (inside), and 53 (outside) of the Sky Tower are the main hub of wireless connectivity here; as such, there are signs cautioning about non-ionising radiation and the benefits of staying out of the way of the transmitters. When anyone does walk in front of an antenna alarms tend to go off though, as error rates can increase noticeably and these are constantly monitored for performance. As I'm no longer Ops Manager I don't go up nearly as often, and not really too worried about that fact.

 

As Wheels has explained, higher frequencies inherently carry more data (Kordia/TVNZ for example use up to 60GHz for TV broadcast backhaul), whilst lower frequencies give better coverage. There has been a lot of noise made about freeing up analogue TV frequencies, which run up to ~800MHz. However, the amount of data that can be transmitted on these relatively low frequencies is limited (and takes more power) in comparison to higher frequencies. The date bandied about here is 2015, and whilst many parties are looking forward to this due to the potential uses, the government is probably just as concerned with the monies received from the sale of these frequencies. We own licensed spectrum, and it wasn't cheap to purchase.

 

Farrari is right; one of the chief requirements of the CGA is fit for purpose, which should be explained when purchasing. Hence when buying a cellphone, if coverage is patchy or of concern where the phone is going to be used, say so. I know that everyone would like great coverage, and that this should go without saying, but there will be variation, and it is best to explicitly state concerns at the time.

 

There are also areas where 3G works fine, and 2G does not. For example Wal's place, where 2G only phones don't really work at all, whereas 3G phones (and V Sticks) work fine. It is possible to set most phones to GSM (2G) only, or Dual Mode (2G and 3G). Some newer phones can even be set to 3G only.

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Have you also ever noticed that as you move around the house, the station can come and go?? It's the signal reflecting off of you.

The reason why you can recieve it one part of the day and not another can be from all sorts of reasons, but Dew in the morning causing the hills to be a little more reflective perhaps. Even Seasons can have an influence in some locations. The difference between Leaves on trees in Spring/Summer and nothing in the winter.

Many years back a customer asked us to come and install a TV arial on their property in Para, the valley that links Blenheim to Picton. We doubted very much that they could get reception, but they said they had been able to get something. So two of us went through and we spent hrs walking over there entire property and could not find one little bit of a signal. We came back to the house and gave a report of our findings and the Lady of the house said, Oh but the young school boy we had here found a signal. Huh? where??? Oh well he set up an arial right there on the front lawn and we got a picture. So we went to the very spot on the lawn and bingo, there was a very weak signal. The signal was in a spot of about a 2m area and the arial pointing at the hill across the valley, completely differetn direction than where any Stations were transmitting from. We set up the arial on her front lawn and they had a really snowy Pic. It was so bad that if you were watching cricket, you would see the ball for all the other dots on the screen. But they were really happy. The school boy had struck the only spot, litteraly a spot, on the entire property that had a signal. We told her we had no idea what woudl happen in the winter when all the tree's lost their leaves on the other side of the valley. But they were happy we got something.

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Interesting comments from wheels about the dew and leaves on the trees. :thumbup:

 

Just waiting now to see how soon the wind blowing in the right direction issues will be discussed, now that we understand how:

 

a). the wind can blow onto the leaves, isobar charts, forecasts etc

 

B). mobile phones are affected by leaves on the trees

 

Once upon a time the old DSB marine radios had similar issues discussed.

 

Also waiting for how the harmonics ans earth's magnetism affect signals.

 

What about the moon, moon less nights, Perigee and Apogee :?:

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I will keep you all posted on developments. Phone is going back to Vodafone on Friday when i return home. When I rung Vodafone about this today I was asked if I wanted to return it due to the new iPhone 4 coming out and trying to get one - i.e. a free upgrade. What a joke. At least the guy I got today on the phone was fairly honest. He said he had received 5 phone calls this morning about iphone 3gs reception and obviously it is a major issue for vodafone at the moment.

 

If Apple intended this iPhone to be something other than a phone why call it an iPhone? At least Blackberry don't call their's a phone! Got to say I love the iPhone and it is great for almost everything and the ap's are fantastic. If only the reception issue could be sorted i'd be sold for life.

 

Other annoying iPhone things include - speaker volume on hands free is too quite, voice recognition dialing is not that good, battery life even without wifi on is rubbish - does not get me through a full day contrary to the vodafone sales person who suggested it would, New OS version has slowed phone down considerably and you can't return or roll back to an earlier OS. I'm no phone virgin. I've had every blackberry that has came out, and have had smartphones since Windows CE so I don't think it's just me being bloody minded or apple hating.

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Got my son an iPhone for his birthday the other week, and recently got my daughter an iPod for hers, was dead chuffed when the family got together and bought me an iPad for father’s day.

Got my wife an iRon for her Birthday, it was around then that the fight started......

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Got my son an iPhone for his birthday the other week, and recently got my daughter an iPod for hers, was dead chuffed when the family got together and bought me an iPad for father’s day.

Got my wife an iRon for her Birthday, it was around then that the fight started......

Classic :clap: :shock:

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I will keep you all posted on developments. Phone is going back to Vodafone on Friday when i return home. When I rung Vodafone about this today I was asked if I wanted to return it due to the new iPhone 4 coming out and trying to get one - i.e. a free upgrade. What a joke. At least the guy I got today on the phone was fairly honest. He said he had received 5 phone calls this morning about iphone 3gs reception and obviously it is a major issue for vodafone at the moment.

 

If Apple intended this iPhone to be something other than a phone why call it an iPhone? At least Blackberry don't call their's a phone! Got to say I love the iPhone and it is great for almost everything and the ap's are fantastic. If only the reception issue could be sorted i'd be sold for life.

 

Other annoying iPhone things include - speaker volume on hands free is too quite, voice recognition dialing is not that good, battery life even without wifi on is rubbish - does not get me through a full day contrary to the vodafone sales person who suggested it would, New OS version has slowed phone down considerably and you can't return or roll back to an earlier OS. I'm no phone virgin. I've had every blackberry that has came out, and have had smartphones since Windows CE so I don't think it's just me being bloody minded or apple hating.

 

Keep us posted southernman, I have all the same problems with mine (32GB 3Gs running OS4.0) and it's a real pain sometimes! A few of my mates have Blackberrys and the latest ones seem to be beating the iPhones by miles at the moment, apart from the apps probably.

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If people used their brains and brought their phones basewd on its functions rather than its "fashion" statement they would have no problems!

 

Most "I"anything buyers are all image and no substance!

 

and wait for all the IPAD issues to reveal themselves...

 

 

like

 

Overe heating, weak signal, poor battery life, expensive battery replacement, Screen failure.....

 

read it all here...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/0 ... 26738.html

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