Why would a phone-first device have LTE? It doesnt make sence. If I had a phone like this, I would WANT a 2G phone, as everybody with these phones knows that GSM uses less battery than WCDMA. I think LTE would be a huge disadvantage for a phone-first device, it would zap the battery life.
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Umm. I think because of VOLTE. Other then that it would seem pointless. People want HD voice 😛
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T-Mobile has HD voice, and had it before they launched LTE. It is available on the GS III, GN II, and the Nokia Astound. I think VOLTE is great, but really not so great if you have a phone-first device.
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Eventually all phones will be LTE, and LTE only (until the next technology comes along, of course.) Actually, it may not be that far away. Verizon is already talking about ceasing sales of CDMA phones in 2014. If they can eliminate CDMA and only worry about LTE, it will save on phone cost. That was the reason they cited. Therefore it may actually happen in their cheapest phones first.
Oh, also, Sprint/Boost is CDMA, not GSM. There wouldn't be GSM nor WCDMA in a phone like this.
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Rich, I honestly don't think they will cease cdma in 5 years, but not by next year.
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Why not? They've been trying very hard to get to 100% LTE coverage, and doing a decent job of it. Once they turn on VoLTE, if it performs well, why have CDMA in new phones at all?
(Obviously, this is very different from Verizon phasing out the CDMA network. Obviously that will stay lit for many years.)
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Sure, but not everyone is using a higher end smartphone. Lots of regular phone users out there.
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At some point even the lowest-end feature phone will be LTE. If you're Verizon, it's in your interest to make that happen sooner rather than later.
If it means they can shut down a costly old CDMA network in 2019 instead of 2021, it would be worth it for Verizon to subsidize (and I mean really take on the cost themselves) of LTE-only basic phones now, if if they're slightly more expensive than basic CDMA-only phones for now.
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