GSM sound, CDMA sound?

Another comment to add to my above post.

I like to sound like I am in my office even when I am not as my job requires desk work and running around to sites in the field so having the best chance at the highest quality for the other people listening to me is what I shoot for. My current Sprint phone, 7300, has rarely if ever left me in a situation that people have asked me to repeat myself or tell me that I am hard to hear but I would like better coverage and Cingular has that in an area I visit 3 to 4 weeks a year so that has become a deciding factor.

 

Hello there,

From my perspective "definitely not". I have had some pretty low end phones on Verizon (Nokia 3589I for one) that had fantastic voice quality. The other CDMA phone that has great voice quality is A670, both of which are much better than the more expensive VX 7000.

On the GSM side, in the recent past I had a V600 whose voice quality sounded muffled and also used the high end Siemens SX66 and the voice was really muffled and people did ask me to repeat myself.

In my opinion the higher end phones offer more "goodies" than a better voice quality or reception.

Just my 2 cents.

BTW: How is your "Experiment" going?

 

Thanks for the reply Charlyee.

My sister-in-law's Cingular LG1500 had good reception every where I went yesterday. I did notice more background fuzz, very light, whereas my 7300 is dead silent but I attribute that to a post someone made earlier, possibly Bobo, that GSM puts a fuzz on the line to let the user know the call is up. I called my Time and Temp number at work multiple times and made calls between my 7300 and the LG while driving that lasted over 15 minutes on 3 seperate calls. I never dropped a call but I did notice the handoffs occassionally on the Cingular phone. Also I thought maybe since the 1500 is a cheaper phone that maybe by buying a real nice/expensive phone I might get a better overall tone and quality to the call. Part of my question previously was driven by my need to have the best (best mostly defined by quality and not totally features). I could care less about having a camera on my phone but Bluetooth is a must since I love to play around but I also want the best sound quality experience when talking since I do so much talking on the phone for work. The only place I did not test and I think I will try and steal my sister-in-laws LG again is at my wifes work. She works at Abbott in the corporate building and she has noted that her calls are perfect on Sprint but that others in her building have asked her what provider she has since they have trouble making calls. My wife just wants her phone to work so I won't risk changing service and not having her phone work at work so that is the last test I need to do.

Sorry for the long off subject post. Thanks again Charlyee.

 

Abbott, that's interesting I almost took a job at Abbott.....small world . Only USCC works every place within our manufacturing facility, fortunately for me Cingular works in almost every place that I need it to. It would be interesting to hear from you how Cingular fares against Sprint in her work environment.

About the background fuzz, you know that is definitely phone dependent. On my Nokia 6230b, I could hear the faint fuzz, whereas my 6682 is so quiet that I often ask the caller "are you still there?"

Let us know what you chose to do.

Have fun experimenting & ofcourse phone shopping.

 

That happens with my Moto V551 a lot... Even with me hacking the phone to increase the volume I really don't have background noise except when I am connected to a distant tower, and even then it is barely noticable.

 

Like Charylee said, it's definitely not trut that more expensive phones will give you better voice quality. There are some cheap CDMA Nokia models out there, for example, that could blow the most expensive LG phone away, reception wise.
There are some brands of phones that are generally known to usually do best with reception and quality, and those include Nokia and Motorola.

 

I also have that problem with my V551 & V540 where I have to make sure we are still connected, the only time I don't have that problem is when there is an echo while on a call, which hasn't happened that much anymore.

 

Well I ported over to Cingular today. So far so good. Several calls later I am satisfied, for today, that the network will hold up now I just have to fine tune the phone selection. Currently I have purchased the HP IPAQ 6515 and the Nokia 6102. I think the wife is ok with the 6102 but to be honest I am not sure i am fully enjoying the 6515, I know i have only had it for about 3 hours so I'll let the weekend be my test. Despite wanting a small slim phone, maybe a RAZR or Z520A or the Sammy D307, I went with the largest of all in the 6515 due to the fun of all the features/gadgets and now I am questioning myself if I made the right choice.

So far I haven't seen any network problems though. The call quality seems to be just as good as my Sprint phone was. I do notice that sometimes at the start or end of the call I hear some static but during the call the phone seems to hold a call quite well without any noise.

 

Good to know you were happy with your Cingular experiment enough to port over.

Good luck with Cingular and the 6515 & 6102. Somehow I couldn't get used to a PDA/Phone. I had the SX66 for 24 hours. The 6515 sure has some very impressive credentials, I hope you enjoy it.

Good luck with your new phones & provider.

 

I recently picked up a Qtek 9100 aka HTC Wizard and love it! They aren't availible anywhere in the US yet, but there are a number of online retailers that will sell them. Very small and slick device!

 

I wonder what you are referring to when you say "static". Static only happens in Analog connections.

 

Well my phone is usually on my hip and when I take it off my hip, either covered by my jacket or shirt, sometimes the signal shows a low reading and maybe that detracts from the quality. Its weird but when I go to make a call I can watch the signal jump up on the phone, using bluetooth headset so PDA in hand. Sometimes I'll have only 2 bars but as soon as the call connects I see the phone go up to 3 or 4 bars. When I refer to static maybe its just connection noise or call setup noise but I haven't used the phone a lot yet but on a couple calls I'll dial and then hear something other than the ring but as soon as the call connects I have a clear call. I know it sounds kinda hoaky without much substance or testing but after using Sprint I guess it just seems different, Sprint is nearly dead quiet all the time with relatively the same bars showing.

On a side note I am probably returning the 6515 for either the W600i or the Z520A from Sony. Any comments about either anyone? I have looked at the RAZR and I am not impressed by the interface and the Sony's get real high ratings on phonescoop. I need to play with the Sony's at the store Monday but its either going to be one of the Sony's or possibly the RAZR. The CSR's at the store must love me I might be back again if I don't like my next choice. It seems I have a hard time evaluating phones in the store, as soon as I got home I realized that the 6515 was probably overkill in my case.

 

Good luck with Cingular hope your experience is a good one, I have also questioned about the GSM signal it seems to be a trait where it always jumps all over the place.

 

I have noticed the same type of activity. However, it generally doesn't affect the quality of the call as by the time the conversation is initiated, there the signal is fine.

 

Well I traded yesterday the IPAQ for the RAZR. So far its ok, I don't like the phonebook my Sanyo was light years better, the volume could also be a little louder as I have noticed in loud areas (my company van or in my equipment rooms) that my loudest volume is still a little soft. Otherwise those are my major gripes for now but for 24 hours the phone has worked pretty good. Good thing it was only $99 as I don't think it was worth a lot more despite the nice size.

As far as voice quality it seems ok. I carried a call for about 10 minutes on my ride home yesterday on the tollway and I think around a tower handoff I noticed a little loss of volume or quality but otherwise the phone worked well and that was with my Jabra bluetooth headset. Thanks for all the input. In 3 weeks I'll be up in the UP of Michigan and that will be the final test for me on if I made the right choice or not regarding my switch from Sprint to Cingular.

 

You can hack the gain table to boost the volume levels on Motorola phones. I did this on my V551 and now when it rings everyone jumps!