Nexus 7 with HSPA+ - is there any difference to the wifi vesion?

[Mattylad]

Apart from having HSPA+ connectivity does anyone know of any other differences to the 32gb wifi version?

Where is the HSPA module located - ISTR that it was pretty tight in the 16gb teardown I have seen.

What can be gained by having HSPA connectivity? what good is it - can the Nexus be used as a phone because of it?

Your links, views and knowledge would be appreciated.

BTW, I have read http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/13/3639904/google-nexus-7-with-mobile-data-review

 

[Frederuco]

Welcome to the forum Matty!

The first thing, HSPA connectivity means you can use mobile network (AT&T for now) to stay online when you are in a car, or anywhere you have service. With the WiFi only version you have to rely on free WiFi or a mobile hotspot/phone tethering to stay online.

HSPA is faster than 3G, but not quite as fast as LTE.

Can it be used as a phone? Most likely it will not have the phone.apk app installed. I am sure that someone will get it installed pretty quickly, but then it can be a bit tricky to use as a phone. First, you will not be able to hold it up to your ear like a regular phone because there is no front facing speaker on it. You will have to use it by speakerphone, wired headphones or bluetooth. IMO, 7" is a bit large for a phone, but some users with some of the 3G Galaxy Tabs have done it. The ohter thing, one of the Verizon Galaxy Tabs has the phone.apk installed, but Verizon disables it somehow through your account so it does not work as a phone.

One option is to use GrooveIP and forward your google voice calls to Google Talk and you can use your Google Voice to make calls. This works on both the WiFi, 3G, 4G, and HSPA+ versions of tablets.

 

[Mattylad]

Hi Frederuco, thank you for the reply.

I'm in the UK so if the tablet is unlocked then we should be able to use it on any network.
Phone use is just a query, I already have one of those lol.

I Wish Asda (walmart) woulkd hurry up and stock them, I want mine before Xmas.

I'm looking forward to filling it with games etc.

I'm curious about how they have fitted it inside too.

 

[Frederuco]

Yes, it should work in the UK.

 

[Mattylad]

Still not seeing any good reviews of it in the UK.

Google play says I can preorder one now, but there will be a 2 week wait for them to come in stock.

I suppose that they will get stock before anyone else will..

 

[Mattylad]

Well I got the 32gb wifi one instead, given the scarceness of the HSPA version.
And that it would cost me nearly £70 more, if I want mobile I'll get a mifi device.

 

[ICS]

Ordered my 32gb with data on 1st December direct from Google. They quoted me 1 to 2 weeks delivery BUT it was delivered on 4th December!!
It is fantastic and works superbly with my Vodafone data sim card.

 

[JGX]

I use my HSPA version with GV and Talkatone. "Speakerphone" mode works well, and also a Plantronics M50 headset.

(I also have a Callcentric free number and CSipSimple as backup, but Talkatone is working well enough that I turned CSipSimple off.)

250MB costs me US$16 for a month. From what I see and can find out, VOIP generally requires about 1 MB/minute. Seems high but there is a lot of overhead in maintaining quality for VOIP.

HSPA also lets you turn the Nexus into a hotspot for laptops, etc.

I did not renew AT&T after the first month, but will activate when I travel extensively again. Meanwhile I just use my US$10/month super cheap Tracfone which is all integrated with GV also.

I'm glad I purchased the HSPA option.