1900 vs 1700/2100 Day 1 Video

The Lumia 1520 arrived today, and I went ahead and activated Solavei service on it.  Note for those who may be interested in the 1520, it uses a Nano SIM, which up until this point, has only been reserved for a few phones, obviously the iPhone 5, 5C and 5S, and a Sony model.

Some notes you may want to remember during the video.

1) Make sure you are NOT connected to WiFi when running your speed tests, as the phone will use that connection first, so you would not be testing your cellular connection with the speed test.

2) Doing speed tests on your phone does use some data, so be aware of that as you do them.

3) I will only be testing 3G and 4G HSPA for the month on these phones, no LTE will be tested.

Results from today:

I chose the best of 3 tests on each phone.

Nexus 5: Ping: 45ms, Download: 12.06 Mbps, Upload: 1.78 Mbps

Lumia 1520: Ping: 93 ms, Download: 9.01 Mbps, Upload: 3.35 Mbps

Video for Day 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=783tnAEnZpc

If you would like more information on Solavei, please check us out at http://purplepaycard.com

Have a great day!

1900 vs 1700/2100 for Solavei

I have decided to do a test for a month between two devices running different bands to see how far T-Mobile's refarming project has come over the past year.

For those who are wondering what the heck I am talking about, the two GSM carriers in the US (AT&T and T-Mobile) are constantly fighting to switch customers between the two.  They both have their own network infrastructure so their phones communicate on different spectrum.  T-Mobile has been 1700/2100 and AT&T has been 1900.

When the merger between the two fell apart almost 2 years ago, AT&T had to pay T-Mobile something like 4 Billion dollars.  T-Mobile used a large portion of that money to start adding 3G/HSPA 1900 spectrum on it's towers across the US.  They called it "refarming" the towers.  They are mostly done with these upgrades and are focused primarily in major metropolitan areas as that is where their largest customer bases are.

My test will use a 1700/2100 phone and an AT&T 1900 phone and record my experience over the month to see how they fare against each other.


I am currently carrying a Google Nexus 5 with 1700/2100 support

The second test device is going to be an AT&T Nokia Lumia 1520 with 1900 support only. 

App of the Week 2/16/14

Another app that I enjoy perusing on a daily basis is Mashable.  A great way to get a dose of career, tech, and life articles that are current and relevant. 

Check it out at:

Android:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mashable.android.phoenix&hl=en

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mashable!/id356202138?mt=8

Desktop:  http://mashable.com

Technological Attraction

There is a large amount of information out there on how to create interest in Solavei.  Facebook, Twitter, Craigslist, and Youtube are all talked about in great length for getting your brand seen online.  For many though, it is the day to day interactions while going about normal life that create great relationships that lead to business being done.

While you are standing in line at the grocery store, bank, or movie theater, how do you generate interest on a moments notice when the opportunity arrives?  I have found that just by having something a little different, interest from other people happens automatically.

Technology that other people may not be entirely familiar with gets them curious and makes them want to ask you what it is, or if they can see it.

The LG Flex is one of the first curved smartphones and certainly will have people stopping you left and right to see it.  The new Lumia 1520 is larger than the Note 3 and is a pretty stunning piece of hardware.

I have even had people stop me and ask if they can see my Sony Smartwatch 2 which ALWAYS leads into a conversation about cell phones, carriers, costs, etc.

It is hard to just randomly start talking to someone about their mobile service carrier, but it is MUCH easier when strangers start talking to you about it.

Application of the Week - 2/9/14

I love to keep up with the technology industry as much as possible, so it was nice to run across an app that helps tailor news from many different sources.  It learns your preferences based on what articles you open the most.  The app is called Zite and you can download it for your phone by visiting their website and selecting the app store of your choice.

http://zite.com/

Important Websites to Have Bookmarked

Important Websites to Know and Bookmark 

1.  Re-farmed 1900 Map - http://www.airportal.de/

2.  My Solavei Android App - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app.solavei&hl=en

3.  Solavei Phone Set Up App for Android - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.solavei.configurator&hl=en

4.  Solavei Phone Set Up Website - https://support.solavei.com/community/set-up/phone-settings

5.  Solavei Self Help Troubleshooting for APN settings - https://support.solavei.com/community/set-up/self-help-troubleshooting

6.  Solavei Ready Phones (GSMNation) - http://www.gsmnation.com/solavei/