Update: I had mistakenly indicated in a prior version of this post that this might be Qualcomm’s problem to fix. As seen in the comments, I’ve been set straight on the baseband chipsets in the Galaxy Nexus (and it isn’t Qualcomm!) – apologies for the mis-information! As you will see here, the problem with CDMA/LTE devices exists nevertheless…
Verizon had a good run with CDMA. They built an incredible network. Made a lot of money. Made several partners happy. Well, it may be time for a divorce.
What is at the heart of this after all? The battery life! I have never been more frustrated with a phone as I am with my Galaxy Nexus right now. I have to charge this multiple times a day to get through the day with decent use! I practically have to walk around with the charger around my neck! All LTE phones suck the battery more, but I believe Verizon devices are the worst! And it appears this has to do with having two completely independent stacks on the device that need to be active at all times – for CDMA and LTE.
There was a time when you couldn’t pay me to use a different network with sub-optimal coverage. This, despite the horrendous inconvenience of not having an accessible device while traveling to numerous parts of the world. Now, I’m ready to move to AT&T if they have half the coverage! At least I’d be able to use my phone!
This past weekend, I was in Disneyland and I had to save my phone power as if I were stuck in Hurricane Sandy power deprived conditions so that I’d be able to reach my family when I need to, if we split up! I use my phone as a primary device – pretty much for everything except heavy duty work. I read my news, my Kindle books, catch up with Facebook/G+/Twitter/blogs, navigate, search for places, IM, Skype, write short to moderately long emails, shop, look up calendar, to-do lists, and much more on this device. Oh yeah, and make calls sometimes.
When I have to think twice about doing any of these things, carefully orchestrate my GPS and other radio settings and only use it as an emergency device, I might as well own a stupid device from the previous decade!
At the earliest possible opportunity, I’m switching to AT&T. If Verizon cannot fix this problem, they should simply build out the LTE network and move on. Really!