I’m still enjoying my Note 5. As I indicated a couple of
posts back, Sprint works great in Denver. Between the phone and the carrier, I
get really fast, smooth internet. This is viewed on a big, beautiful screen.
The Note 5 comes with a theme store already installed, and lately I’ve used a
lovely winter scene as my backdrop.
I now have a better idea just why Sprint is so good in
Denver. It uses what is called “carrier aggregation.” This is also known as LTE
Advanced, and Sprint calls it LTE Plus. LTE 4G internet is provided via bands,
somewhat like the wavelengths of radio stations. Those bands are becoming
congested due to so many people having smart phones. The solution, until
in-development technology leads to 5G, is to make “super stations.” This
involves either combining bands, or doubling (or even tripling) a single band.
The whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts, delivering very high data
speeds. Sprint is adding this to other large markets around the country.
ATT&T has been doing it too, with less publicity, and Verizon has their own
technological advances in the works.
The catch is that only phones with the latest modems can
access these aggregated bands. The HTC One M8 in 2014 was the first with the
necessary modem, and Samsung also released some experimental versions of the
Galaxy S4 and S5 with new modems the same year. But it was only in 2015 that
the right phones became widely available. LG started the process with the G
Flex 2, and continued with the G4 and V10. Samsung joined in with the S6 and my
Note 5 (and the S6 Edge and S6 Edge Plus variants). HTC naturally also made the
One M9 capable. Apple got in the game in September with the iPhone 6S and 6S
Plus, which been found to have some of the fastest internet speeds ever recorded in
the USA, when used in Denver on Sprint. More phones will have the necessary
modems in 2016, but it remains to be seen if this will only be for high-end
flagship models.
I’ve been surprised to see that carrier aggregation is
getting very little attention on phone and service provider discussion
websites. Mostly, I see the same tired arguments about iOS versus Android, or
about whether Sprint and TMobile are improving rapidly enough. There’s a lack
of understanding that, aside from the exceptions mentioned above, any phone
released before 2015 is essentially obsolete. Sure, a consumer can save money
by not upgrading their phone, but that upgrade is necessary for anyone who
wants truly fast internet on their phone, going forward. If you go with a Samsung, at least the higher-end ones, you'll also enjoy wireless charging and Samsung Pay. I take advantage of both, and they only make me more pleased about my choice of the Note 5.
Plenty of people don’t care about their phone’s internet speed.
I see customers at my job, who still use the iPhone 4 or 4S. They aren’t
bothered by the tiny screen. It makes no sense to me, but it suits their
occasional use of the phone. It’s fine for making calls, and fits easily in
their pocket, so more power to them. But if you are one of those people who use
their phone constantly, and wants the best experience possible, you owe it to
yourself to get a 2015 or 2016 phone which can take advantage of the latest
technology.
One other, unrelated matter. Sunwheels and Siegrunen has
been out since the middle of October. Helion increased the print run, based on
the strong pre-sales. Instead of the planned 750 copies, they had 1100 printed.
By early December, only 300 were left, justifying their decision! I had
intended to post more about the book’s release, but it sold really well without
much promotion on this blog. The North American distributor ran out of copies,
forcing me to wait to receive my personal copies by special shipment from the
UK. It was a good problem to have, and I’m thankful to be in that situation.
Now I really need to start getting more done on volume 2! Happy New Year to
all!
