Update: After Verizon finally started allowing 4G calling (Which allows the data to stay on too). I switched back to an iPhone.
So after 2 years, I am officially back to an Android phone. Why? Well it really all comes down to money, let me explain.
When I joined DPSciences back in 2012 I was offered an iPhone or a Droid, I picked an iPhone 4S because I was under the impression that because it was a 4S I could be able to do 4G tethering…. I was misinformed. If I had ATT this would have been the case, but here in Ohio if you want coverage in God’s country… Verizon is your only option. So a 4S on Verizon’s network is only 3G. yay!
So after about a year I decided it was time to break down and get a 4G MiFi device because tethering to your phone while on a webex was impossible. Verizon doesn’t allow Voice + Data from an iPhone. In fact when you make a call on Verizon’s network the phone actually drops back to CDMA technology and doesn’t even use the 3G. Same is true for an iPhone 5S btw.
So here I am, paying $30 bucks a month to be able to use the data plan I have (because I need a second device while I’m using my phone for a call). Fast forward another year and I’ve had enough of paying $360 bucks a year, so I started looking around for what my options were. This is when I discovered that iPhone’s + Verizon = Crap.
So as of Sunday, August 3rd, 2014… I am officially a Droid User again.
What really mystified me though was how attached I had become to my iPhone…. no not because of the device (I’m a huge fan of Linux and Unix so a Droid makes sense), but because of all the extra money I had stuck in the damn thing. Apps, music, etc… these things cost a small fortune when you add up everything you stick on them.
However when I got home I called my wife, then tethered up my laptop and ran a speed test. All of my grumbling faded when I seen that I was able to get 10 Mbps download while on a voice call from my kitchen (which has crappy service to begin with).
So now that I can cancel my MiFi device, I should save myself $720 dollars over the 2 year contract of my new Samsung Galaxy S5!
Maybe if Verizon fixes their network to allow voice over 4G + simultaneous data, I will be an iPhone user again sometime in the future, but until then DROID it shall be 🙂
I guess I’m confused as to why the DROID is the determining factor here in your decision. If the network is the issue why would being on Android or iPhone make any difference? Maybe I missed something.
Hey Michael.
Im told that the only way around it is the hardware. Since we have 4 phones with verizon (all on different contract dates it makes it hard to up and leave completely. So the only other way around the issue is to use hardware that can “bypass” the issue.
the iPhone has one radio in it, it can talk CDMA (1x) or 3G at a given time, but not both. so when verizon forces the phone back to 1x for voice, it loses its data connection. Ive read that ATT uses there high speed data network for voice which is why there is no drop down to the lower speed network (and hence why you can do voice and data at the same time on their network).
So why the droid.
the Samsung phones use a Qualcom chip that is capable of operating on both CDMA and verizons 4G LTE network at the same time, so even though verizon is telling the phone to go to the cdma (1x) network to receive the call (which it does), it is still able to talk to the 4g LTE network too, allowing data to flow over one frequency while voice goes over the other.
again not a cellular technology expert… but i can confirm that it works well. Another interesting side affect is that its weird to have so many choices again on what app to use for a specific purpose… im used to not having options and just using what apple told me to. Liberating really.
I’ve never used iPhones and I will never be..I’m always comparing iPhones as Caprice Classic and Android as Ford Lincoln or Grand/Crown Vic
I know this is an old post but anyway the reason for this is that Verizon’s Android phones had 2 radios to compensate for the network problem. LTE/4G and a 3G Voice radio. Apple decided they didn’t want 2 radios in the iPhone that would drain battery life. This was a problem with the iPhone on Verizon until the iPhone 6, which now allows simultaneous LTE voice and data thanks to Verizon supporting Voice over LTE.
Yup, that is my understanding as well. Maybe next year Ill be an iphone user again ?
I doubt since you established #vWLove with Android..?
I have since switched back to an iPhone…. the problem i see with an android is that its a computer first with a phone second…. the iphone doesnt do that… phone functions like answering a call etc still work no matter what else your phone is doing. My droid would take forever to hang up after 6 months which annoyed the shit out of me.
Excellent… 🙂