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Sprint's Spark Phones Don't Support Simultaneous Voice/Data

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LOLZ

Versed

Apr 3, 2014, 4:39 PM
Oh please, and people want these special needs clowns to take over T-Mobile????? The screwed this up like everything else they touch. 🙄
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Magnagarde

Apr 3, 2014, 4:49 PM
It seems like a fair compromise to me, though. I mean, I've never had to go on the internet at the same time as I was making a phone call, ever, at any time in my past, and I cannot think of a situation where I'd need to use it.

It offers faster data (which Sprint really needs) as well as more reliable voice communications and better battery life. Three very crucial pros to one con that most people won't care about anyways.

Simultaneous voice and data seems like such a big deal to a lot of people and I can't understand why. Can someone please enlighten me?
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Jellz

Apr 3, 2014, 4:54 PM
It's pretty important if you use your phone as a hotspot. Think of it like having to unplug the phone to plug in the computer to dial-up...

It's also downright useful if you're on a speaker phone and looking for directions or looking up some information.

I do agree though, it is an over-hyped feature. I'd tentatively lay the blame at AT&T's feet, as they trumped up the fact that they had the feature and Verizon/Sprint didn't on the iPhone 4/4S as a selling point.
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Magnagarde

Apr 3, 2014, 4:59 PM
Oh yeah, I remember that AT&T ad.

I've never used my phone as a hotspot (never really needed to) but I hadn't thought of that, makes sense.

I have had to look up some information while on my phone but usually I'm in front of my computer or I just call people back after I've looked it up.
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scottegos2

Apr 4, 2014, 4:57 PM
Yeah, I do both of these things. The single best thing to me about LTE was being able to sit in an airport or whatever and use the phone as a hotspot and still be able to talk. I also go online to check one thing or another while I'm talking oh, about once a day. This is amazingly annoying!
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Zpike

Apr 3, 2014, 4:56 PM
>>Simultaneous voice and data seems like such a big deal to a lot of people and I can't understand why. Can someone please enlighten me?

It's not that big of a deal right now. But it will become a bigger deal as technology progresses. Consider having a friend on speaker phone or bluetooth who is giving you directions somewhere, while you double check on google maps. Or maybe for business purposes you want to share a spreadsheet and get the other person's thoughts without having to end the call. That's just a couple examples, but there will continue to be more and more reasons why you would want this functionality. But the big problem here is that this is Sprint's newest and most advanced technology which represents the future of their net...
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Magnagarde

Apr 3, 2014, 5:01 PM
Your spreadsheet analogy makes sense, but is it really that much of a hassle to call them right back after they have the file? For some people it's important but not for me, I guess. Different strokes etc
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DarkStar

Apr 4, 2014, 4:25 PM
But by then they will have VoLTE.
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B-Sides

Apr 3, 2014, 6:19 PM
I use simultaneous voice and data daily and it was a major reason I left Verizon to go to AT&T a few years back.
My job takes me to new cities weekly and having the ability to use google maps while on a call is AWESOME! I just used it the other day when booking a tee time on vacation. I was on the phone with my buddy while looking at Golfnow to find a time at a couple courses.
I also use my mobile hotspot frequently and having the ability to not have to have my data transmission halted every time I get a call is a major selling point!
I agree that not everybody needs this but when I saw a buddy doing this on his AT&T phone a few years back I made the switch and never looked back.
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bobc74

Apr 3, 2014, 6:38 PM
This is a very easy problem to solve. More and more people are buying tablets these days and carrying them in addition to their phones everywhere they go. Use you phone for making phone calls and your tablet for Google Maps. Problem solved.
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Versed

Apr 3, 2014, 7:08 PM
So, lets buy a tablet that you may or maynot want, and another data plan, so Sprint doesn't look bad because they can't impliment a piece of technology thats supported by mobile carriers in such places as Upper Volta and Haiti?
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deval

Apr 3, 2014, 7:46 PM
One of the drawbacks of CDMA is the inability to do sim voice/data. The only reason some B25 LTE devices were able to do it was due to discrete 1x and LTE antenna paths. With newer devices, that is no longer possible.

Not sure why the trolls are up in arms, welcome to 1996 and birth of CDMA.
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gfondeur

Apr 4, 2014, 11:53 AM
You right, it's a CDMA limitation,

That's why I left CDMA years ago and never looked back,
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DarkStar

Apr 4, 2014, 4:28 PM
Yeah but CDMA is 2G. Why would you want to use 2G internet anyways. Its a fast as dial up. I would rather use 4G if not at least 3G. You can do that.
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T Bone

Apr 3, 2014, 9:58 PM
Have you ever actually TRIED holding a phone to your ear with one hand and trying to do a search on a tablet with the other? It's not exactly a trivial exercise.
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gfondeur

Apr 4, 2014, 11:54 AM
🤣 🤣 🤣
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T Bone

Apr 3, 2014, 9:54 PM
The more important point is being able to receive a call while using data....say you're listening to Pandora, then a call comes in, does the phone ring or not? If the phone can't do calls and data at the same time, then you might not be able to get the calls you need. This is, in the words of Joe Biden, 'a big effing deal'.
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DarkStar

Apr 4, 2014, 4:28 PM
LOL. No calls absolutely go through. You just can't listen to Pandora while taking a call.
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willbx718

Apr 4, 2014, 3:04 AM
Must be a slow day for Phonesccop. This has been known since September of last year, but report it in April. Honestly it's not a big deal, I rarely if ever do both at the same time, and whom really actually has long conversations on phones nowadays anyway?. This is a non-issue. I'd much rather have faster data, than to talk and surf at the same time.
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clbowens

Apr 4, 2014, 7:23 AM
Exactly. I know know why this is news now. I read about this a long time ago.
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Zpike

Apr 3, 2014, 4:50 PM
Sprint does seem to have a special way of screwing up just about everything. Fortunately for me, I just got my Note 3 so it'll be a couple years before I have to worry about Spark or if I can do both data and voice. Also, I don't think I talk and surf very much at all... kinda hard to do that with the phone at your ear. But it is certainly a shortcoming I would like to see addressed for the rare occasions when I do want to use both voice and data at the same time.
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deval

Apr 3, 2014, 7:48 PM
How exactly did Sprint screw up? 🙄

You do know that the Note 3 only does sim voice/LTE, not voice/3G, so it's inherent in the device design. Nothing Sprint "did" or "didn't do".

You'll find the same experience on Verizon devices as well.
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DarkStar

Apr 4, 2014, 4:30 PM
Actually Verizon devices can absolutely do voice/3G.
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Zpike

Apr 8, 2014, 2:23 PM
Was that I currently have a device that is capable of doing both voice and data. Would you disagree with that? If not, then I have time before I have to worry about Sprint's current gaffe with Spark.
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phonetekmek

Apr 3, 2014, 5:18 PM
What does one have to do with the other. For most Sprint customers this isn't a big issue. Unless they are coming from another LTE device most haven't had the ability to use data and voice at the same time, unless they were in wifi. And the reason for CDMA not supporting both is Verizon not Sprint. Having used Spark speeds I can say I have no problem with the trade off.
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Versed

Apr 3, 2014, 6:18 PM
Of course its never Sprints fault, but its VZW or its AT&T's for making commericls several years ago about supporting voice/data? BTW VZW LTE does support voice/data.

And yes I have used voice/data, I'm routinely on the irc, and do make phone calls, nice not to have a data drop. And I do admit to many others, it isn't a big deal.
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deval

Apr 3, 2014, 7:50 PM
Verizon supports sim voice/LTE, I seriously doubt it supports sim voice/EVDO.

That being said, unless there is a magical way of implementing TDD and FDD radios and antenna pathing, sim voice/data will go away on CDMA carriers till voLTE is available.
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DarkStar

Apr 4, 2014, 4:32 PM
Verizon does support voice/EVDO.
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WiWavelength

Apr 7, 2014, 1:48 PM
DarkStar said:
Verizon does support voice/EVDO.

That is not exactly true. Simultaneous CDMA1X and EV-DO -- known as SVDO -- is not a network feature. It is a device feature. It was possible on many early LTE handsets, particularly as many of those handsets used dual basebands. But that is no longer the case. And SVDO is not supported on most/all recent handsets. For example, the VZW variant HTC One M8 allows for SVLTE but not SVDO.

And for the record, VZW is the only operator in the US still offering SVLTE devices. AT&T and T-Mobile have never offered SVLTE devices.

AJ
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phonetekmek

Apr 4, 2014, 10:43 AM
What i was refering to was the difference between CDMA-a & CDMA-b when the technology first came up Verizon bullied other members of the CDMA alliance to choose A technology which does no permit voice/data vs B (which Sprint pushed for) that does allow it. Not trying to be a Sprint appologist or anything like that.
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DarkStar

Apr 4, 2014, 4:33 PM
Are you talking about CDMA or EVDO and EVDV?
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WiWavelength

Apr 7, 2014, 2:12 PM
DarkStar said:
Are you talking about CDMA or EVDO and EVDV?

It was CDMA2000 Rev D -- otherwise known as EV-DV. VZW effectively killed it by pushing EV-DO.

AJ
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DarkStar

Apr 4, 2014, 4:31 PM
Verizon phones can use data while on a phone call with 3G internet.
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WiWavelength

Apr 7, 2014, 2:14 PM
DarkStar said:
Verizon phones can use data while on a phone call with 3G internet.

As I noted in another comment, VZW handset support for SVDO was true among earlier LTE handsets. But recent VZW handsets support only SVLTE. No simultaneous CDMA1X and EV-DO.

AJ
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Globhead

Apr 3, 2014, 11:53 PM
I don't ever use both on my phone, but at the office I routinely talk to people on the phone and use the Internet at the same time for related things (both websites and email).

If I used my phone for business regularly, I would probably need a phone which could do both. Or else I would end up being the dumb guy in the TV commercials. "What do you mean you don't know if Bob sent you that email yet?"
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Colombianmax

Apr 4, 2014, 6:56 AM
What a joke.. lol. That's a big trade-off to be able to keep up with the competition.. I bet they probably won't even reach those speeds they advertise the Shart nertwork, I'm sorry, Spark network will be able to obtain.

While I would never consider Sprint based on the past and current network, any possibility of considering switching for their all new Spark is a no-go. I constantly am looking things up on the web while on the phone, I do often tether while on the phone, and I happen to like being able to received picture messages while on the phone vs having to wait to hang up the call like all my friends who have Sprint.

I just think its sad that my rooted HTC mytouch 3g on T-Mobile's then newly established 3G network late 09 early ...
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szhosain

Apr 4, 2014, 12:12 PM
>> Oh please, and people want these special needs clowns to take over T-Mobile????? The screwed this up like everything else they touch. Rolling Eyes

Unnecessarily harsh comment. The technology for 4G to 3G fallback *today* for the CDMA / LTE carriers such as Sprint and Verizon does not make this easy for them. So, yes, AT&T and T-Mobile have an advantage for the moment. Early LTE devices on Sprint and Verizon (and US Cellular and MetroPCS, etc., too) could not do simultaneous voice and data either.

Sprint's Spark is stressful on the compute power and processing on the current-generation of radios in the devices, so it is not surprising that the first version of Spark devices do not allow simultaneous voice and data. And the data perf...
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DarkStar

Apr 4, 2014, 4:37 PM
>>>>AT&T and T-Mobile have an advantage for the moment. Early LTE devices on Sprint and Verizon (and US Cellular and MetroPCS, etc., too) could not do simultaneous voice and data either

This is completely wrong. The very first LTE phone for Verizon the HTC Thunderbolt could not only do voice and LTE at the same time but also voice and 3G.
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szhosain

Apr 4, 2014, 6:00 PM
>>>>AT&T and T-Mobile have an advantage for the moment. Early LTE devices on Sprint and Verizon (and US Cellular and MetroPCS, etc., too) could not do simultaneous voice and data either

>> This is completely wrong. The very first LTE phone for Verizon the HTC Thunderbolt could not only do voice and LTE at the same time but also voice and 3G.

From a technology perspective, 3G EVDO must pause when the voice call is active. The device puts the IP session into dormancy when you make/take the voice call and then comes back from dormant mode quickly enough the delay is mostly imperceptible - but, yes, it is not a full PDP context session re-establish. With the older 2G 1XRTT devices, the delay was more perceptible. Initial session start was ...
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szhosain

Apr 4, 2014, 6:03 PM
Here is info even on latest iPhone devices on Verizon and Sprint:

http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/11/iphone-5s-and-5c-wi ... »

with their lack of simultaneous voice and data.

An SVDO approach (perhaps that is what the Thunderbolt uses?) needs both the CDMA and LTE radios inside the devices to be on at the same time (and accessing different antennas, BTW).
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DarkStar

Apr 4, 2014, 7:37 PM
Most if not all Verizon 4G phones use SVDO. Same as Sprint.
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