[Soltrix]

I just purchased the Blackberry 8120, and everything appears to be working fine. The Wifi symbol is solid black on my phone and it shows my wireless name (WLAN) next to T-Mobile. So, I'm assuming things are connected properly....but I really don't notice a considerable speed difference when browsing through the internet. It takes just about the same amount of time for web pages to load as it did on my Blackberry Pearl 8100....which is of course, using the mobile network.....and not WiFi.

Is there something I'm missing here? Please help.

Thanks in advance,
Soltrix

[Dinan3]

welcome to the forums, Soltrix.

You are not missing anything. Speed differences between EDGE and WiFi are not very noticeable (speaking for myself). The advantage of having WiFi connection over EDGE is that you can access websites through your BlackBerry without fighting the EDGE traffic in which others are using, thus, making the WiFi connection seem faster than EDGE if it's "rush hour". Also, if there isn't any network reception or very low reception in your area, you will be glad you have WiFi.

As an added bonus...UMA is awsome!!

[cell_gruz12]

I wish Rogers will get UMA very soon. As of right now, I am eligible for upgrade but waiting for the 8120 or 8320. Can anyone tell me how the battery life of 8120 or 8320 is considering using the wifi to call? I heard that it's bad when using wifi over edge on these phones. When using edge however, no other phones can catch up to Blackberries ;)

[Soltrix]

I'm not understanding what UMA does....besides being able to make WiFi phone calls. Which I don't understand either.... lol.

[Dinan3]

Originally Posted by cell_gruz12

I wish Rogers will get UMA very soon. As of right now, I am eligible for upgrade but waiting for the 8120 or 8320. Can anyone tell me how the battery life of 8120 or 8320 is considering using the wifi to call? I heard that it's bad when using wifi over edge on these phones. When using edge however, no other phones can catch up to Blackberries ;)

From what i am hearing, UMA will be available for Rogers pretty soon.
**crossing fingers for ya**

as far as battery life, it is still great...you will notice a difference when using on UMA, but you should be good if you charge it everyday, which everyone should be doing anyway.

[Dinan3]

Originally Posted by Soltrix

I'm not understanding what UMA does....besides being able to make WiFi phone calls. Which I don't understand either.... lol.

UMA stands for Unlicensed Mobile Access.

and ummm...that's what it does, haha. giving you the ability to make calls over a WiFi network. which as of right now, t-mobile is the only carrier in the USA that offers this great feature.

[Soltrix]

lol.. yeah, but i don't understand it. does that mean you can be on the internet and talk on the phone at the same time?

[Dan East]

It means you can set up a wifi router in your house and essentially have your own cellular network. You don't have to pay airtime charges, and your carrier doesn't even know you made the call. If you are in an area with poor cell coverage then you can still make calls using WiFi.

[John Clark]

And, yes, you can be on the internet and talk on the phone at the same time. It's like having a virtual TMobile cell phone tower in your house. Emails, etc. will arrive while you are on the phone on UMA.

[KoubaK]

Originally Posted by Dinan3

As an added bonus...UMA is awsome!!

I second that as for my self down in my barracks I dont get EDGE so UMA is perfect for my late hours browsing! :P

[mpallo]

Wife just upgraded to 8120 and I connected her to our wireless. Speed is way faster than EDGE browsing. Very noticeable for me. Thinking of getting one myself.

[KoubaK]

@mpallo you should it's worth it! xD

[Dinan3]

Originally Posted by Dan East

It means you can set up a wifi router in your house and essentially have your own cellular network. You don't have to pay airtime charges, and your carrier doesn't even know you made the call. If you are in an area with poor cell coverage then you can still make calls using WiFi.

not true. with t-mobile, you may use UMA anywhere available...but you will be deducted regular airtime minutes if you are not subscribed to the hotspot@home aka "talk forever" feature. and yes, they can monitor your minutes used over UMA.

[map]

Originally Posted by Dinan3

not true. with t-mobile, you may use UMA anywhere available...but you will be deducted regular airtime minutes if you are not subscribed to the hotspot@home aka "talk forever" feature. and yes, they can monitor your minutes used over UMA.

but...the good news is that when you subscribe to hotspot@home you can use any wifi network and make free calls, not just your home network.

[withnail69]

Originally Posted by John Clark

And, yes, you can be on the internet and talk on the phone at the same time. It's like having a virtual TMobile cell phone tower in your house. Emails, etc. will arrive while you are on the phone on UMA.

I'm pretty sure I can't receive calls when I have wi-fi turned on and I am surfing. Users go straight to my voicemail

[withnail69]

Originally Posted by Dan East

It means you can set up a wifi router in your house and essentially have your own cellular network. You don't have to pay airtime charges, and your carrier doesn't even know you made the call. If you are in an area with poor cell coverage then you can still make calls using WiFi.

simply isn't true (at least if you are in the uk) you do get charged. All UMA is useful for is if you are in a bad reception area you can use the wireless to make a call which then connects to your nearest mobile ariel

see this diagram

UMA Technology : Overview

[setzer715]

Originally Posted by withnail69

simply isn't true (at least if you are in the uk) you do get charged. All UMA is useful for is if you are in a bad reception area you can use the wireless to make a call which then connects to your nearest mobile ariel

This statement is somewhat incorrect also. If you are connected to a wifi netowrk and making calls over it, you are NOT routed to the nearest tower. You call is routed via the internet to the switch, not a mobile tower. If you leave the wifi area, then you phone will hand off to the nearest tower.

[2ndHalfCor]

Back to the subject of this thread. I replaced my 8100 with an 8120 a week ago. I find downloading email and using the browser substantially faster than EDGE when connected to WiFi over my home router. Maybe my EDGE is slow or my router is fast, but it goes lickety split when connected. I think it's great. Oh, and the UMA phone calls are surprisingly clear. I'm liking this a lot.

[myk.dinis]

Wirelessly posted (Sex Machine)

The transfer rates are far better with WiFi turned on. The thing is, if a website has a lot of scripting that takes a long time to load it's gonna be slow both ways. Check out a page light in scripting but picture heavy and you'll see the difference.

Cheers!

Myk

[blakeatl]

If say my parents call me internationally and I'm on wifi....do I get to bypass T-mobile charges on this one? Also what about if I call internationally on wifi?