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djelveh
Newbie
Joined: Jan 05, 2007
Posts: 3
Status: Offline
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 Posted:
Nov 02, 2009 - 08:58 AM |
 
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| Post subject: China Unicom 3G Service: Is it worth it? |
I wonder if some of the early adapters can post on their experience on
A. The quality/coverage of regular calls with Unicom compared to China Mobile
B. The speed of the 3G data service compared to 3G in the US/Europe and WiFi at home (that is if you have a grey market phone with wifi capability)
C. Their experience with Unicom service (online, on the phone, in the shop etc)
D. The accuracy of the map application on the IPhone (did they fix the offset problem on Google map on the Unicom phones)
Thanks! |
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ericsson72
Newbie
Joined: Nov 10, 2008
Posts: 4
Status: Offline
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Nov 02, 2009 - 12:42 PM |
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Hi, I got mine on Saturday and ended up with 500rmb+ package and 32gb 3GS.
A) Coverage has been great, not dropped off the 3G network once, only in the usual scenario of any 2G phone i.e. basements and lifts.
B) Performance has been excellent, thought I would be bothered with the lack of wifi but no worries thus far. If I need to download something big to install, can do it on my PC and install via iTunes.
C) It was very good, lady I dealt with at the Zhongshan Park shop spoke great english. Only issue was a 3 hour wait to get my hands on it even though I had signed up in advance, but that is not neccesarily a bad sign, because there were many others going for it meaning they appear to be doing good business. Online sign up was a breeze for me although in Chinese so asked for help. Phone assistance not used yet since it was easy to set up etc and they helped do that in the store. In the store once it was my turn the whole process was finished in 30 mins from filling out the paper work for the phone to be actually working and online.
C) Map is good, even works out directions if you have a start / end location and appears to be accurate so far.
Hope this helps.
Generally, I am more than pleased. Perhaps there are some tradeoffs but for me it has been absolutely worth it. Cons are very few but the pros for me are POP Email and Web Browsing which it has done magnificently. Call quality has been very good too. |
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djelveh
Newbie
Joined: Jan 05, 2007
Posts: 3
Status: Offline
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Nov 03, 2009 - 04:55 AM |
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Kudos for your quick and informative reply!
I hope you don't mind a few follow-up questions:
on B.:
Is the 3G close to wifi speed that you get on your laptop at home?
on C:
Since you are new to the IPhone in China, you might not have noticed the map offset issue yet. When you walk around the city how accurate is the blue point in telling you where you exactly are? For us with phones bought abroad there is an offset issue with the GPS vs. the map. |
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pantera624
Squeeker
Joined: Sep 08, 2009
Posts: 19
Location: Shanghai
Status: Offline
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Nov 04, 2009 - 05:49 PM |
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A.
The CALLING quality and coverage are still bad compare to china mobile. that's why many iphone users are willing to use gprs/edge instead of 3g from unicom.
B.
some guy in shanghai tested speed of recent 3g network(186 numbers). download speed was around 3mb, upload was about 182kb which is not bad.
C.
china mobile is fighting back unicom with better service, such as; english operators, give you better deals and freebies etc.
D.
mine's off with map but pretty accurate in satellite option. chinese military don't like people to use map or gps, it might be a reason. that's why china in google earth is like from 5 years ago. |
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when dream and day unite |
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CoffeeHawk_0
Board Deity
Joined: July 14, 2005
Posts: 17977
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Nov 04, 2009 - 07:50 PM |
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they currently do not allow precise gps map locations relative to western standards. i don't recall the exact precision level, but it's on order of magnitude of in the US you can locate yourself within 5 to 10 meters, in China they allow 30 to 50 meters. |
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netzwerg
Talker
Joined: Sep 30, 2009
Posts: 87
Status: Offline
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Nov 04, 2009 - 08:15 PM |
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Must be an iPhone issue. Google maps on my Nokia E71 is just as accurate as it is back home in Europe.
CoffeHawk: How the hell should the chinese alter the GPS signal from US satellites to make it less accurate???
GPS here in China is just as accurate as it is in Stockholm, Baghdad or Disneyland...!
Dont watch too much Fox News...  |
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3gchina
Squeeker
Joined: Oct 26, 2009
Posts: 17
Status: Offline
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| Posted:
Nov 05, 2009 - 11:46 AM |
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| Post subject: Re: China Unicom 3G Service: Is it worth it? |
| djelveh wrote: |
I wonder if some of the early adapters can post on their experience on
A. The quality/coverage of regular calls with Unicom compared to China Mobile
As for the quality/coverage of regular calls, maybe China Mobile does better at present since it have better 2G coverage. Even you joined 3G network, you will experience frequent switches from 3G to 2G network while using your phone. To catch up with 2G coverage, each 3G operator maybe need 3-5 years or more to complete its 3G network.
B. The speed of the 3G data service compared to 3G in the US/Europe and WiFi at home (that is if you have a grey market phone with wifi capability)
You cannot expect too much on the speed. It is around 2Mbps with best condition (best area, best time). Speed will varies depending on your locations, where the number of users and singal stregth will affect its speed.
C. Their experience with Unicom service (online, on the phone, in the shop etc)
D. The accuracy of the map application on the IPhone (did they fix the offset problem on Google map on the Unicom phones)
Thanks! |
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Provide 3G Broadband, Mobile Broadband, 3G Wireless Broadband. www.3gsolutions.com.cn |
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pantera624
Squeeker
Joined: Sep 08, 2009
Posts: 19
Location: Shanghai
Status: Offline
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Nov 05, 2009 - 12:06 PM |
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after updating to firware 3.1.2, the accuracy on maps should be better.
as the advertisement of firmware 3.1.2 says.
yesterday blackra1n release unlocking tool for 3.1.2
http://blackra1n.com/ |
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when dream and day unite |
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