Does the Hump really make a difference

[timmymsmith]

None of the reviews of the 2125 have mentioned whether or not the hump actually seems to improve reception. I know some people with the SP5m that have complained about the quality of the reception. I get annoyed with phones that aren't good phones (if that doesn't seem obvious enough), so it is important to me.

I have T-Mobile US and have been trying to figure out which smartphone to buy. I like the SP5, but I'm curious if there will be a non-Cingular version of the 2125 that has the hump and WiFi. Is there any news about this type of model?

[jfreiman]

None of the reviews of the 2125 have mentioned whether or not the hump actually seems to improve reception. I know some people with the SP5m that have complained about the quality of the reception. I get annoyed with phones that aren't good phones (if that doesn't seem obvious enough), so it is important to me.

I have T-Mobile US and have been trying to figure out which smartphone to buy. I like the SP5, but I'm curious if there will be a non-Cingular version of the 2125 that has the hump and WiFi. Is there any news about this type of model?

I'm having some signal issues in my apartment but I'm confident I can get it fixed with a call to Cingular - just like I did with my 5600 from Audiovox.

The additional antenna is for the 1900MHz frequency and I have no way of knowing if that signal is even used in my area anymore.

I know that my area has been upgraded to 850MHz and the antenna does nothing for that frequency.

I'm hoping that in NY where my parents live it will offer me better reception (I get nearly no signal there and there are many dead zones near their house) but alas, I'm not visiting there until Jan/Feb.

Until then, I'm getting better reception in the below ground train stations - San Francisco!

[Jason Dunn]

None of the reviews of the 2125 have mentioned whether or not the hump actually seems to improve reception.

Well, how would you test that? It's not like you can turn the hump off, test your signal strength, then turn it back on... ;-) Things as minor as the type of paint used can impact reception, so comparing it to the SP5m isn't a fair comparison either.

[amg212]

The additional antenna is for the 1900MHz frequency and I have no way of knowing if that signal is even used in my area anymore.

I think it is safe to assume that most areas that are using 850 are still using 1900 also (but as a secondary band). Unless forced to do so (perhaps to avoid monopolistic situations), why would a company give up valuable bandwidth?

Also, if you should "roam" on T-Mobile (could happen close to home, ya never know) they're still on 1900 only

[timmymsmith]

None of the reviews of the 2125 have mentioned whether or not the hump actually seems to improve reception.

Well, how would you test that? It's not like you can turn the hump off, test your signal strength, then turn it back on... ;-) Things as minor as the type of paint used can impact reception, so comparing it to the SP5m isn't a fair comparison either.

I'm not as concerned about turning the hump on or off. I'm more concerned about does the 2125 get better reception or does the SP5m or the SP5. If you could turn them all on in the same place w/the same SIM and test call quality, that would be useful.

[Mike Temporale]

Since this is more than a little off topic, I've moved this thread out of the "Name the Hump" thread and over to the Cingular forum. :wink:

[Mike Temporale]

I'm not as concerned about turning the hump on or off. I'm more concerned about does the 2125 get better reception or does the SP5m or the SP5. If you could turn them all on in the same place w/the same SIM and test call quality, that would be useful.

You can't turn the hump off, that's the point. The hump is designed for an improved reception. Since you can't disable it, it's almost impossible to determine if it makes a difference. The SP5(m) line of phones are a totaly different line of phones. So you can't really compare the performance of those to this one.

[Mike Temporale]

I have T-Mobile US and have been trying to figure out which smartphone to buy. I like the SP5, but I'm curious if there will be a non-Cingular version of the 2125 that has the hump and WiFi. Is there any news about this type of model?

T-Mobile is working on a model as well. No idea on when it might be made available. http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9811

[timmymsmith]

I'm not as concerned about turning the hump on or off. I'm more concerned about does the 2125 get better reception or does the SP5m or the SP5. If you could turn them all on in the same place w/the same SIM and test call quality, that would be useful.

You can't turn the hump off, that's the point. The hump is designed for an improved reception. Since you can't disable it, it's almost impossible to determine if it makes a difference. The SP5(m) line of phones are a totaly different line of phones. So you can't really compare the performance of those to this one.

Two things:

1. You could do an apples-to-apples comparison between 2125 and the Orange SPV600.

2. Even though comparing SP5 and 2125 is not apples-to-apples, a person could use both phones and make a determination as to which one has better reception. For example, I know someone who uses a KJam and his wife uses a RAZR. He says that he has signifcantly better when he uses his SIM in his wife's RAZR. This is a comparison that I'd find to be useful.

[timmymsmith]

T-Mobile is working on a model as well. No idea on when it might be made available. http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9811

Thanks for the link...not sure how I missed that article when it was originally posted!

[Mike Temporale]

Two things:

1. You could do an apples-to-apples comparison between 2125 and the Orange SPV600.

2. Even though comparing SP5 and 2125 is not apples-to-apples, a person could use both phones and make a determination as to which one has better reception. For example, I know someone who uses a KJam and his wife uses a RAZR. He says that he has signifcantly better when he uses his SIM in his wife's RAZR. This is a comparison that I'd find to be useful.

It's almost impossible to do an apples to apples comparison, even if the devices are the same - like the C600 and the 2125. The reason is that something as simple as the amount and type of paint used on the device can greatly effect the reception. While both of those phones are technically the same device, they are painted differently. :(

I understand what you're looking for, I've often wished that there was some rating that could be given to a phone based on the amount of signal it was able to grab under certian circumstances. :?

[jfreiman]

Well, I can't speak for the hump specifically, but my 2125 has the worst reception between all the GSM/Cingular/ATT and SBC phones I've had the 'pleasure' of owning.

The 2125 (I'm on my 2nd brand new phone at this point so it's not phone specific) has poor signal strength in my apartment where my SMT5600 operated just fine.

One thing I keep seeing with the 2125 is that the phone keeps loosing/droping the carrier (Cingular) their are no services available and then, a split fraction of a second the phone re-discovers the carrier.

This happens all over town and quite frankly, I'm loosing calls because of this.

Mind you, I don't stare at my phone all day, but I notice a couple of times a day -- too bad.

My area has not merged the "Blue" and "Orange" networks yet and I'm hoping that that will resolve my problem.

In the meantime, I'm told that my phone/SIM will convert over to the Blue network in the next 24 to 48 hours and I'll see if that fixes the problem.

If not, does anyone have any Windows Mobile 5 phone suggestions for me???

-John

[Rocco Augusto]

Well, I can't speak for the hump specifically, but my 2125 has the worst reception between all the GSM/Cingular/ATT and SBC phones I've had the 'pleasure' of owning.

The 2125 (I'm on my 2nd brand new phone at this point so it's not phone specific) has poor signal strength in my apartment where my SMT5600 operated just fine.

One thing I keep seeing with the 2125 is that the phone keeps loosing/droping the carrier (Cingular) their are no services available and then, a split fraction of a second the phone re-discovers the carrier.

This happens all over town and quite frankly, I'm loosing calls because of this.

Mind you, I don't stare at my phone all day, but I notice a couple of times a day -- too bad.

My area has not merged the "Blue" and "Orange" networks yet and I'm hoping that that will resolve my problem.

In the meantime, I'm told that my phone/SIM will convert over to the Blue network in the next 24 to 48 hours and I'll see if that fixes the problem.

If not, does anyone have any Windows Mobile 5 phone suggestions for me???

-John

i see this problem often when there is a sim card problem. try taking the sim card out and cleaning it of fingerprints, dust, grim and anything else that might be messing with it. if all else fails go to a Cingular COR (corporate) store and see if they can swap out a sim card with you to see if that fixes the problem or if you know a person with Cingular service try using their sim card in your phone to see if that helps.

also i dunno if it would effect it but check to make sure you are using the new 3g 64k cingular sim cards and not the older 2g 32k sim cards. i know the older smartphones like the 5600 didnt have a problem with 32k or 64k cards but i have heard of weird complaints where 32k cards wouldnt function right in newer phones.

since you have had the same problem with 2 different phones im positive the problem isnt with the device but either with the way the account was set up, the sim cards, or the towers not being intergrated as you suggested earlier. i can tell you from personal experience that reception on the 2125 is a LOT better than i had on my 5600. in my city i have only dropped below full bars once and i was in a tunnel. with my 5600 i would usually only be at around half bars in most places.

hopefully some of those suggestions can help you out.

-opti-

[jfreiman]

I've already been through 3 sim cars, all of them were the newer 64k ones - I didn't touch the contacts on the sims so I don't think that's the answer.

I did as you said however just so that I could say that I TRIED everything and it still has the same symptoms.

Well, the longer the issue goes on and the more problems I have, the more times - which is frequent, that I see the phone drop the carrier the more I believe it is a problem with the phone.

Whether it's something that can be fixed or not, I don't know.

I only know that this is the first Cingular/PacBell phone that I've had in the last 8 years which didn't work in my apartment.

-John

[Rocco Augusto]

im sorry youre having this problem john. i wish there was more that i could suggest to help you get this problem taken care of. have you tried a hard reset on the phone? besides that im honestly out of ideas altogether. if i can think of anything ill post it back here.