If this indeed has a 3G module...

[Silent-Hunter]

I may sell my phone as well as my Pandora in order to buy one of these!

Any idea what cellular providers would even support connecting it to their networks though? I'm in the US, by the way.

 

[TrashyMG]

I may sell my phone as well as my Pandora in order to buy one of these!

Any idea what cellular providers would even support connecting it to their networks though? I'm in the US, by the way.

Well you will most likely want to wait on selling your phone, the 3G module only supports GSM which most North American phone companies doesn't support, also there may not be software to make voice calls right out of the box.


ED mentioned a 4G version which might be slightly pricier, but may have better support in North America.

 

[Silent-Hunter]

There are quite a few GSM carriers here, in fact I only know three that use CDMA, Sprint, Virgin, and Verizon. All the rest, to my knowledge, are GSM. In any case, I could go back to StraightTalk, my old GSM carrier. And yeah, the voice call support would be important. But could I not just use "ATDT <phone-number>" to make a call, using Putty or some such? I've seen that done with the GSM module from Radio Shack.

 

[deadofmind]

Wait what?! Oh My Satan, I completely forgot that Straighttalk had GSM plans! I wonder what their service is like in my area!

 

[Silent-Hunter]

StraightTalk is great! $45 a month gets unlimited everything, whereas Virgin is $55 for unlimited. But unfortunately the phone I had to get is CDMA, so Virgin I am stuck with.

 

[deadofmind]

Hell yeah! I had one of those first old Samsung sliders on Straighttalk, that thing was a BEAST, the internet browser was shit, but that thing took beating after beating, including extreme drops, being thrown, swimming (completely submerged, had to disassemble and dry though lol) and sooo much. Still kept going. I loved that phone!

On a side note, I have Straighttalk support in my area on the at&t network. Will the Pyra support at&t sim cards?

http://www.shopstraighttalk.com/bpdirect/straighttalk/Start.do?action=view&locale=en&market=GSM4&productFamily=simcards

 

[rygD]

StraightTalk is great! $45 a month gets unlimited everything, whereas Virgin is $55 for unlimited. But unfortunately the phone I had to get is CDMA, so Virgin I am stuck with.

I was looking at Virgin because of their $35 Beyond Talk plan (and using VoIP if the voice minutes weren't enough).  T-Mobile was chosen instead for $30.  Not my phone/plan, so I haven't gotten to try the VoIP option that had me looking at them.  Have you tried this to see if it is a feasible alternative to paying more?

 

[levi]

But could I not just use "ATDT <phone-number>" to make a call, using Putty or some such? I've seen that done with the GSM module from Radio Shack.

Yeah, that ought to work - hopefully it'll be exposed as some tty or other and you can just pipe echo into it.  But wiring up headset phones and microphone is another matter.  Should be good for texting out of the box though.

 

[WizardStan]

But wiring up headset phones and microphone is another matter

It should be treated as a USB audio device. It's "just" a matter of redirecting microphone input on one audio device to the speaker output of the other device and vice versa. "simple".

Any idea what cellular providers would even support connecting it to their networks though?

The proposed chip is the PHS8 by Gemalto, specifically the "world" version. Anyone that uses the 850 or 1900 mhz GSM bands, or the 850 or 1900 mhz UMTS bands. That's primarily AT&T, it would seem. According to Wikipedia, also AlaskaComm, Viaero Wireless, and West Central Wireless should be supported. T-Mobile should work, but only at GSM speeds: their 3G uses the 1700/2100 AWS band which is only available on the upgraded PLS8 LTE version.Of course, being a world chip it also supports the European frequencies, 900/1800 for GSM and 800/900/2100 for UMTS, but I don't think any US carriers use them.

 

[Silent-Hunter]

StraightTalk and Tracfone use AT&T's towers. So, likely same frequency. And they have a "Bring your own phone" scheme.

But does the chip support voice? Or only 3G data? EDIT: Nevermind, I looked it up on Gemalto's site. Looks like a good chip!

I miss my DynaTAC. I had it right up until they turned off the analog cell network. My dad gave it to me when I entered high school.

 

[Glyph Reader]

:mellow: This all sounds so complicated.  I've never owned a phone.  Never needed one. 

-Glyph Reader

 

[Silent-Hunter]

But could I not just use "ATDT <phone-number>" to make a call, using Putty or some such? I've seen that done with the GSM module from Radio Shack.

Yeah, that ought to work - hopefully it'll be exposed as some tty or other and you can just pipe echo into it.  But wiring up headset phones and microphone is another matter.  Should be good for texting out of the box though.

Could I not just hold the Pyra up to my head, and talk into the mic? If it's anything like the Pandora, the speaker would be near my ear, and the mic near my mouth, and I could just turn the volume down.

 

[Natsu]

Could I not just hold the Pyra up to my head, and talk into the mic? If it's anything like the Pandora, the speaker would be near my ear, and the mic near my mouth, and I could just turn the volume down.

Well, the mic is the dot you see next to the keyboard.

Spoiler

Not sure how good it and the speakers would be while the Pyra is closed.

 

[Glyph Reader]

Could I not just hold the Pyra up to my head, and talk into the mic? If it's anything like the Pandora, the speaker would be near my ear, and the mic near my mouth, and I could just turn the volume down.

Well, the mic is the dot you see next to the keyboard.

Spoiler

Spoiler

Not sure how good it and the speakers would be while the Pyra is closed.

I stared at this for a little bit, and I think I have an idea; why not add notches to the sides of the rim on the upper part of the case?  This would allow sound to travel better.  

-Glyph Reader

 

[renegadechic]

Would a bluetooth headset work rather than being directly wired for phonecalls?

 

[TrashyMG]

Would a bluetooth headset work rather than being directly wired for phonecalls?

Most likely or it should if the bluetooth works as intended.

 

[deadofmind]

This one product(The Pyra) is going to be so All-Around, it's able to do anything! I really need to get it when it comes out... Might have to sell some stuff ^_­^;

 

[levi]

FWIW, Straight Talk doesn't seem to have their own GSM license, so they piggyback on top of other operators (quite a common tactic in GSM) so yes, AT&T SIMs will work in the Pyra, which will be unlocked. If you've got AT&T masts in your area that might be a good choice to get the Pyra on the wireless.

 

[deadofmind]

Yeah, where I live, almost every service completely fails as SOON as you get on my property never had AT&T though.

 

[Askarus]

StraightTalk is great! $45 a month gets unlimited everything, whereas Virgin is $55 for unlimited. But unfortunately the phone I had to get is CDMA, so Virgin I am stuck with.

Also high speed internet?

Without limit?

If so then why can't we get such a thing in Germany as well?