Concerned about Radar on T-Mobile

[gsxrcraig]

Hi, I'm really interested in buying the HTC Radar because of all the reviews and everything people have said in this forum. I want to use it on T-Mobile's 4G Monthly plan (100 min., Unlimited Text and Data for $30 a month) but am concerned about T-Mobile's coverage for voice and data in San Jose and the Bay Area. I've heard there are some dead spots and sometimes it might switch to the Edge network. Does anyone have any experience with this combo in or around San Jose? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

-Craig

 

[mtmjr90]

I'm in Berkeley and gonna receive my Radar this week. Same plan as you

I'm a bit concerned though cause the coverage map shows "Really fast data speeds" yet I just tried tonight on my friend's Sensation and I couldn't even hit 2 Mbps down I'll post my findings (if I remember) once I get the phone.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[nodrogkam]

tmobile has good coverage maps on their site. check it out - they've been accurate for me.
I travel throughout the bay area and mostly live in SF. My folks are in Fremont so I'm there a lot too.

Yes they do not offer the best coverage - especially compared with Verizon, but there typically is enough coverage where I need it to make calls/text. 4g on the other hand can indeed be spotty, but a lot of cities in the bay are also upgraded to some of the fastest in the USA, which is good news.

Again use the coverage maps, they are pretty detailed - albeit kind of stupid to use different shades of magenta making it hard to distinguish between great and good coverage levels.

The thing I have noticed with BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7.5 is that Edge doesn't feel all that slow. Granted 3/4g is much faster for most uses.

 

[mtmjr90]

I haven't dropped to EDGE yet but I am still a bit disappointed in T-Mo's speeds. The map for my area shows very strong coverage yet the fastest speeds I've seen are under 6Mbps down. Granted, it's not like that's slow, but when you advertise up to 14.4, I expect that to be possible in well-covered areas.

The only other thing that bothers me is just how variable speeds are. Just outside my apartment building I get around 1.5Mbps down...but in the building, I've gotten up to 5. This happens while I'm out as well where I'll have fast speeds one second, then .7 Mbps all of a sudden (with full bars). All in all though, I'm still loving the phone and you really can't beat the $30 monthly bill

Sent from my Radar 4G using Board Express

 

[nodrogkam]

as you know, a lot of factors contribute to real-world speeds. that being said, hardware and software play large roles in the experienced speed. i can have my galaxy s ii 4g (42mbps radio) and windows phone (14.4 mbps radio) and experience below 14mbps down on the Radar but experience 16mbps on the galaxy s ii.

in the tech world, the numbers are fairly useless. they are always theoretical and you'll only get them in a controlled lab environment. that being said, the higher the number, the more likely you are to take advantage of higher speeds (if the network is upgraded and is not congested). perhaps the WP UI hiding the signal bars is a good thing...i just don't worry about it as long as stuff loads.

in SF, I definitely do drop to EDGE in certain spots, but like i said before, i am covered most everywhere i go. besides, doesn't everyone have wifi these days? :lol: