T-Mobile's UMA goodies exposed

by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 1st 2006 at 3:13PM

It doesn't take an industry insider to notice that T-Mobile's been putting together plans for a UMA service to bridge their GSM network with public and home hotspots here in the States. We've also guessed that Samsung's T709 would be involved, and though we still don't have anything approaching an official confirmation, these pictures have filled in some blanks for us. Sent in by a handful of intrepid beta testers risking life and limb for the public good, we see here that the T709 looks to be T-Mobile's launch handset as expected, sporting a 1.3-megapixel camera, GSM 850 / 1800 / 1900 with EDGE, roughly 69MB usable flash, and media player. They have at least two routers in the works -- a Linksys and a D-Link -- though the only difference from your average 802.11b/g router appears to be the addition of a button to facilitate painless, secure hookup to your phone without entering a WEP / WPA key. Our respective tipsters report differeing experiences however: one said it works well, improves reception, and has no complaints; another said UMA performance leaves a lot to be desired, and besides draining battery juice at a breakneck pace (8-9 hours standby), voice quality is poor without perfect WiFi reception, and GSM / WiFi handoffs are currently a bit flaky with frequent dropouts. Of course, this is all still in beta and we'll reserve judgement until T-Mobile gives the signal -- which shouldn't be too terribly long, considering the beta materials have retail packaging -- but the T709 sadly lacks Bluetooth and any sort of memory expansion, meaning we're already in a holding pattern for second-generation devices.

Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, T-Mobile, GSM, GPRS, EDGE

Tags: d600, gsm, handoff, hot spot, hotspot, samsung, slider, t-mob, t-mobile, t709, uma, wifi

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

Wild Bill @ Feb 13th 2009 9:53AM

Can any one tell me if the P-270 is out yet? I don't think this made the cut os to speak for UMA/3G good to go overseas? Thanks, Wild Bill

Neutral

Rehan @ Mar 13th 2009 9:27AM

I am traveling to France and curious using UMA from hotel room. I want to carry a router with me so Blackberry can talk. Any recommendations? Will I get international roaming charges if using UMA?

If I take my @home Linksys router to France, will I receive my US number calls there? How to set it up?

Thanks

Neutral

Pavlo @ Aug 1st 2006 3:21PM

WOW! This is great! I can't wait to get it!

Neutral

Josh Wardell @ Aug 1st 2006 3:34PM

So how soon will someone figure out how to hack this on to the SDA etc? I've got bandwidth but not great cell reception at home, perhaps T-Mo would like to supply me with a router so I can happily expand theirs and my coverage.

Neutral

Ben18 @ Aug 1st 2006 3:39PM

Can someone please explain what a UMA network is. Is it like 3G, or what?

Neutral

clayfree @ Aug 1st 2006 4:30PM

Someone has already done it. Google it and you will find a guy that overclocked and SDA and runs Skype on it. I am currently using an iPaq 6315 that has T-mobile service. I have been able to tweak it to also run Skype. I bought it unlocked and stuck my T-mobile pay as you go simm in it.

Neutral

Nick @ Aug 1st 2006 4:34PM

clayfree: Not quite the same. This uses your existing cell phone number and infrastructure, but enables you to make the calls over wifi. Skype is a different number, different voicemail, different usage method.

Neutral

Keith @ Aug 1st 2006 4:42PM

But with Skype, you aren't going to get the handoff from cellular to Wi-Fi or the one phone number that you get with the carrier-provided UMA system.

Neutral

clayfree @ Aug 1st 2006 4:43PM

Nick,
Thanks for the clarification. What will T-mobile charge for minutes over WiFi? I guess it uses the T-mo hotspots. I think I would rather run Skype for less money. AT&T lets me use their wifi spots for 1.99/month. It would be nice to have one number/voicemail etc.

Neutral

Warren @ Aug 1st 2006 4:56PM

This will be huge, I too have no cell phone service in my house. If the phone happens to ring, I have to grab it and run outside like a crazy person to keep the call. I'd gladly use my own WiFi connection to have a single number in and out of the house.

Neutral

PEZ @ Aug 1st 2006 4:58PM

All I can say is "duh".

And thats it (NDA, you know).

Neutral

-_- @ Aug 1st 2006 6:02PM

sooo... what exactly are the benefits of uma again? i mean, vs. having a FREE skype account with an mda as well as a cell plan?

Neutral

gpdrummr @ Aug 1st 2006 6:03PM

http://en.fon.com/

check this out

Neutral

Jack @ Aug 1st 2006 6:33PM

NDA NDA NDA NDA, not very smart, NDA

Neutral

Brian @ Aug 1st 2006 10:48PM

I wonder if all is possible with the new Nokia N-series devices, running Symbian. The N80 and other N-series devices are very similar, specs wise to this phone... and they actually come with VoiP (SIP) support out of the box.

Neutral

uclatommy @ Aug 1st 2006 10:56PM

What we need is a cell phone that doubles as a hotspot so that we can have a wifi connection where ever we take our phone. Why hasn't anyone thought of this? Is it not feasible?

Neutral

vincent @ Aug 2nd 2006 12:47AM

UCLATommy, it's not impossible, in that the WiFi enabled N-series phones have the right equipment. But the software that allows your phone to work interoperate on both the GSM and VoIP networks (same number, VM, messaging, etc) would need to be implemented by the network. Seeing how some type of client software will be needed, not just settings, I wouldn't expect Tmobile to support non-branded phones for this application.

Neutral

emarrs @ Aug 2nd 2006 12:59AM

I have tmobile, and this would be great for me. My slvr doesnt do too well in the basement, dropping calls all the time n whatnot (my old samsung got 2-4 bars always while downstairs, and it even worked perfectly with 1 bar) Ive been wanting to get rid of my slvr and buy some new samsung. My router is next to my modem in my room, which is in the basement. So having a phone which goes on wifi will be a great pleasure in my life. No more dropped calls while downstairs, no more searching for that one good spot. I will have to follow up on this one~ may even upgrade my contract length~! oh no lol

Neutral

bewip @ Aug 2nd 2006 6:34AM

BeWip http://www.bewip.com allows users to unify cellular et VoIP communications on pda/pocket pc and smartphones based on Windows Mobile 5.0

BeWip is a Fixe Mobile Convergence (FMC) solution. The true Mobile VoIP !!

Neutral

mtnview @ Aug 2nd 2006 8:49AM

Without Handover between networks, that is not true FMC solutions at all.

For the UMA services, you need software runs on cell phone and network as well.

I found a link www.umatechnology.org, you may have more information. www.kineto.com is a company behinds the technology.

Neutral

staiano @ Aug 2nd 2006 11:37AM

#10, the basic advantage is seemless handover of calls from cell to wifi and back which means less [possible a lot less] stress on TMo's network...

TMo probably won't charge too much for this as it's to their advantage for users to use UMA.

Neutral

VoIP @ Aug 2nd 2006 11:57AM

#19 The level of stress to TMo's network would be same.
UMA is replacing physical layer to the GSM core network. Once the VoIP Packet arrives at MSC(UNC),
the rest of operation will be exactly same as current 2G network.
The best advantage is they don't need to invest more money to build tower anymore.

Neutral

BloodWolf @ Aug 2nd 2006 1:41PM

The UMA would still tax their systems, but it would free up the Cell towers a lot. I believe the cost will be $4.99 per month to add to their TMo service plan and the SDA and MDA have UMA built in already (at least that is what I have been told from our CompUSA TMo Rep).

Neutral

Viktor @ Aug 2nd 2006 11:30PM

#21: If that's the case, would it allow for UMA roaming outside of Tmobile's network using the Wifi bridge?

Neutral

VoIP @ Aug 3rd 2006 1:22AM

#22 UMA allows it, however it is more depends on
how operators deploy policies on roaming.

Even there is no GSM existing but WI-FI, the UMA allows user to connect to GSM network.

Neutral

shizy @ Aug 3rd 2006 2:36AM

T-Mobile rulez. Awesome technology that works. Voice quality will be better, guaranteed. For those who dont think there is enough benefits, get off from this blog as you dont understand the technology.

International roaming. You can make free calls from any wifi from outside the US (free to T-Mobile, they might want to charge you some money for it, but considering they are a smart company it wont be much. Think about it, you just have to hit the GSM network and until then you are travelling over internet. So, no roaming agreements needed as long as calls are wifi originated. Those who understand GSM will get this benefit better)

Free calls from wifi within the US. What may this cover? Not only your home, maybe school, work, public library (use at your own risk), coffee shop etc. How about this: ANY OTHER STORE CAN START ADVERTISING FREE WIFI CALLS AND ATTRACT CUSTOMERS JUST LIKE A LOT OF THEM ALREADY ARE OFFERING FREE WIFI INTERNET BROWSING.

How about quality, from home, the quality will be awesome. You wont need a home phone again (for those of you who have one). Your home phone is the UMA phone which will be travelling with you.

For those who think that during a wifi session, internet browising on phones doesnt work, get it checked out before blaming that service is not allowed. It has to be allowed according to www.umatechnology.org, and if T-Mobile and other vendors are able to get voice over wifi, what makes you think they cant get data.

Why do you think T-Mobile wants to push this UMA service out? Because they are a smart service provider with excellent technical decision making brains.

DONT COMPARE THIS TO ANY OTHER JUNK TECHNOLOGY, SKYPE ETC. BECAUSE IF YOU DO, AGAIN, YOU DONT UNDERSTAND THE TECHNOLOGY. THIS ONE LETS YOU MAKE WIFI CALLS ON AN EXISTING GSM NETWORK.

And those who think it is just the handset that will enable this calling WHAT? How can you because then you would have every service provider trialing this, not T-Mobile. It needs network. Handset alone cannot do it.

And I think some people doubt the network stability, read this and you might want to switch from cingular.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/business/15183046.htm

Neutral

Viktor @ Aug 3rd 2006 7:50PM

#23: Thanks. I guess it's too early to know what type of restrictions Tmobile will put on the service. But it could be a really useful service for me.

Neutral

Tim Dowker @ Aug 4th 2006 10:16AM

Sooo glad they're finally coming out with this. I'v been trying to get Skype mobile working on my wifi enabled PDA as a work around but now that this is here, I'll buy it.

Cheers,
Tim

Neutral

Ern @ Aug 9th 2006 1:13AM

so I was wondering what exactly UMA was and how people are using skype on their phones...because if skype is free do you just have an internet plan and how do you use the internet on a prepaid SIM?

Neutral

Paraglide Tandem @ Aug 16th 2006 12:14PM

It sounds like good alternative to having a Skype phone and cell phone. I would be interested because I have had good results using T Mobile WIFI in Starbucks and Kinkos. I paraglide tandem and travel to places like Sun Valley and Golden BC. Sometimes it is easier to find wifi than get cell coverage.

Neutral

carla @ Apr 23rd 2007 1:54PM

Okay, so T-Mobile is providing the D-Link router to you... is will cost $50 but it has a $50 rebate, so no biggie.

However... now that you have the router... will that provide free internet access? (i.e. to laptops)

The service costs $20 additional, and you have to have a plan of $39.99 or more. Which isn't bad, considering the cheapest myFaves plan is $39.99.

So for $59.99, you will get unlimited nights, unlimited weekends, unlimited calling to 5 phone numbers, unlimited in-home calling, unlimited hot spot calling... (i'm sure t-mobile will put SOME sort of restriction). And you get perfect signal in your house. Which means... no more home phone number. The cheapest is probably around $20 no? Plus some providers charge extra for national long distance, for caller id, for voicemail, etc. And you get to have the same phone number. But will you have internet access as well? Cuz if the D-Link router will enable it, then you're saving another $25+ in not needing to subscribe DSL-speed internet (even dial up, the cheapest has GOT to be around 5 or 10 bucks)

Will the internet be free????

I can't wait to get out of Cingular's dumb contract and switch over to T-Mobile, my secret love

Neutral

schmol @ May 3rd 2007 6:10PM

Carla, you will need to already have a broadband connection, its a router not a modem.

Neutral

Digital @ May 15th 2007 3:46AM

I think this is going to be awesome, recently I just moved and inside my condo I have no signal at all but if I step out of the building I have terriffic signal , so I am really looking forward to this!!! =)

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