By The question and answer session following Verizon’s keynote just finished up and some pretty interesting things came out of the result of everyone’s curiosity. One thing many of you were wondering about whenever Verizon is ready to launch their first LTE phones (which we expect at least one of them to be Android-based) is whether or not you”ll be able to talk on the phone while using data. Many assumed so considering LTE radios were different from the radios Verizon currently uses for data and voice.
We now have official confirmation that this will be the case. Most users on Verizon still won’t be able to enjoy this newfound convenience until at least 2012 where two-thirds of their network will be covered with LTE. By 2013, the entire network will be covered with LTE. Essentially, that means everyone will be given the capability to consume bytes of data while talking as long as they have an LTE phone. The only question that remains is this how many LTE phones? What’s coming out? While we couldn’t pull the details out of Verizon, we should be learning more at CES where they stressed they’d be getting on stage to reveal more LTE-centric products heading into 2011.
You can do that with 3G, I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to do that with LTE.
@Hooty
Because you can’t do that currently on Verizon.
I’m honestly not too excited about LTE. If it’s not Unlimited Data for a reasonable monthly charge, I will stay away from it.
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The only thing LTE will do is use up a data cap faster, and from what I remember, vzw will be using tiered data rates with it.
@hooty
Its not an issue about 3g and 4g per se. Its more abot cdma (verizons current setup) limitations. Vzs 4g won’t be limited the same way the cdma setup is.
Am I missing something here?
I can talk to people on my speaker phone and surf the web at the same time on my Droid Eris….what do you mean by you cant do it on Verizon?
You aren’t excited about insane speeds, tip-top signal penetration(700 mhz spectrum), and low latency(almost wired-fast)?
I guess if you are still chasing after that “unlimited” bandwidth fantasy model you wouldn’t be.
I must be missing something. I connect my laptop to data and still use my phone for calls/texts all the time. I’m using PDAnet via cable tether and I’ve been doing THAT since my dark days with the Moto Q.
so, what’s so cool about using data and voice at the same time…in this iteration?
You know, if they treated voice as data (VoIP) then we could talk and use data on the CDMA network.
Just sayin’.
@GregNH – The ONLY possible way that could happen is if you’re connected to WiFi at the time. If you’re on the phone, and are not connected to WiFi, you will have no data service. I guarantee it.
@John – Is your tethered phone connected to WiFi? I’m guessing not, hence the need for tethering, but I can guarantee you that if you’re on Verizon, if you get a phone call on your tethered phone, your laptop will not be able to surf the web. Sprint, same story, due to CDMA. However, if you’re on AT&T or T-Mobile, simultaneous voice and data is no problem at all.
did anyone ask whether their will be interoperability between LTE networks from different carriers the same way GSM works today?
“Verizon Wireless Chief Technology Officer Tony Melone noted that the voice traffic would still run on the 3G network, while 4G would handle the more intensive data traffic.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20101006-711149.html
I hope Voice over LTE will be enabled soon, or SV-DO on 3G will be rolled out. Having two radios enabled on my phone is just stupid.
@GergS – All I’m saying is, you should not be limited in how much data you can access. Look at where we are today because of unlimited data plans. Do you think people would really be interested in checking their facebook or twitter accounts all the time if they did not have unlimited data? Would any popular site be where it is today if people had to worry about usage fees?
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Now if vzw sets up a smarter tier than at&t’s, I may reconsider. However, I’m in the smaller percentage of users that consumes 3gb plus a month. So if it doesn’t cater to my needs, why should I be excited?
@Bob LTE = GSM 4G network, so to answer your question; Yes! But then again you have to make sure the Frequency bands are supported on the phone when you go from one carrier to another.
Data Caps are likely on phones when they roll out. This came from a Verizon reps mouth on 12/1/2010. Whether on phone or USB modem, caps are ridiculous these days. Dont advertise a device to be great for movies, games and music, and then tell me that if I want to use it for that Ill get a few days out of it before Im over my limit. See below to see why Ill switch my phones on Sprints confirmed UNLIMITED “4G” plan in Feb when my contract is up. AT&T and Verizon= Profit over Innovation.
http://www.evdoinfo.com/content/view/846/63/