[murkin]

just received a message from our company's sprint rep. he confirmed that the airave service will launch on july 15. the device will sell for $99. i hope the price comes down a bit.

[mburger]

Originally Posted by murkin

just received a message from our company's sprint rep. he confirmed that the airave service will launch on july 15. the device will sell for $99. i hope the price comes down a bit.

Keeping fingers crossed that:
(1) They do launch July 15 (thought it was to be the 13th)
(2) Verizon and AT&T do not launch their versions before.

Hope they market the free minutes aspect when connected and stress that one may now drop landline and services like Vonage and replace it with Airave. I was really hoping that Sprint could marry the Airave solution with a phone plan with zero minutes to mate with Airave. This combo would bring new subscribers to the fold. The numbers would work out something like $15/mo Airave + say, $10-20/mo for phone (zero minutes) comes out to $25-$35/mo for a Voange style service. However, since this is a cell phone service, you can "take" your home phone with you (of course you will have to pay for off Airave minutes then

[Sprint-CA]

July 15th seems like it's possible (but I have no clue). I saw a retail box floating around the office a week or so ago. $99 is not expensive and not a bad deal as some people may feel.

[gwmac]

Will there be an option for people like me that just want to use it as an antenna/signal booster but stick with our plan minutes? I am fine with my current plan minutes and do not need unlimited, but I sure could use a better signal. I average between 0 to 2 bars if lucky and I am sure there are plenty of others out there like me that could benefit from a better signal but don't want the hassle or expense of repeaters.

Both Verizon and AT&T get 5 bars in my house so this would give me a reason to stick with Sprint. Otherwise I would have to pay $99 plus $15 monthly to get what I can for free on the other carriers, namely a good signal and no more dropped calls. I can already get unlimited calls with VOIP applications like Gizmo5 or Skype so that is not a big deal.

[steveymacjr]

http://www.sprintenterprise.com/airave/

[gwmac]

That link is dead, maybe they are updating it? I wonder if this will also boost data/power vision speeds as well?

I use Gizmo5 for receiving unlimited calls on a free local area code number with Grand Central and Skype for outgoing unlimited calling for $30 a year. Seems like the Airave is an unnecessary device if you already have a decent VOIP solution. The magicjack also looks to be some stiff competition with unlimited calls for $20 a year. The only attraction for me would be to boost my signal.

[cchris]

mburger- you should have added one more to your list. Just saw a commercial for T-mobile's version had a girl get out of a car in the desert and cut down the telephone pole advertising an end to the home phone, says available July 2nd

[Thajeffski]

I have one up and running in the north east and recently had to swap it out....which involved close contact with tier III support - I was told last Thursday that the date it'd be available got changed to August 15th that morning.

I can tell you that I'm surprised how far the coverage goes, it's about the same as a newer Netgear wireless N router...

[mburger]

Originally Posted by cchris

mburger- you should have added one more to your list. Just saw a commercial for T-mobile's version had a girl get out of a car in the desert and cut down the telephone pole advertising an end to the home phone, says available July 2nd

I'm glad you told me. I always figured that Sprint was waiting to release Airave after someone else comes out with it first. I just figured that it would be either Verizon or AT&T that they were waiting for.

I am just curious how Sprint plans on marketing Airave. Focousing on giving you signal inside your house is a non-starter. It may be an issue for current customers, but not to bring in new customers. T-mobile's ad, from what you described, sounds real cute and was along the line that I was saying. I still feel that it must be coupled with a cell plan that will knock them dead - one that is so compelling that it will make even customers of Verizon and AT&T buy into it. For this to be real effective one needs a cell phone or a cell phone adapter or an Airave adapter that allows one to connect a standard cordless phone to it. Do that and there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to use the other VOIP services, with the added advantage of offering true portability.

Anyway, I for one will be first in line for Airave to resolve my house signal issue. Also being that I am on the F&F plan and my daughter using only her cell phone (to the tune of 600+ peak minutes/mo), my savings may offset a large portion of the cost of my Airave.

[AllTeedUp]

Originally Posted by gwmac

Will there be an option for people like me that just want to use it as an antenna/signal booster but stick with our plan minutes? I am fine with my current plan minutes and do not need unlimited, but I sure could use a better signal. I average between 0 to 2 bars if lucky and I am sure there are plenty of others out there like me that could benefit from a better signal but don't want the hassle or expense of repeaters.

Both Verizon and AT&T get 5 bars in my house so this would give me a reason to stick with Sprint. Otherwise I would have to pay $99 plus $15 monthly to get what I can for free on the other carriers, namely a good signal and no more dropped calls. I can already get unlimited calls with VOIP applications like Gizmo5 or Skype so that is not a big deal.

If your phone has a roam only mode you could always set it to that and roam on Verizon. That's what I do.

[gwmac]

Originally Posted by AllTeedUp

If your phone has a roam only mode you could always set it to that and roam on Verizon. That's what I do.

If I am not mistaken, the free roaming starts at 9:00 PM and not 7:00 PM. I also heard that is you use more than 50% of your minutes as roaming they will
cancel your contract, which now that I think about it might not be so bad. I would miss my $30 SERO plan though. Verizon has great coverage but I hate their proprietary and crippled phones and their nickle and diming on everything. I wish I could have my plan from Sprint, an iPhone from AT&T, and coverage from Verizon. Now that would be a dream come true.

[murkin]

seems like sprint is moving towards removing the "roam only" option from new phones. the new instinct is one of them that only has automatic and sprint only options. that's the reason i'm waiting on the airave.

[mburger]

Originally Posted by murkin

seems like sprint is moving towards removing the "roam only" option from new phones. the new instinct is one of them that only has automatic and sprint only options. that's the reason i'm waiting on the airave.

The new rom upgrade to the Mogul/Touch also removed the "roam only" option from the phone. Fortunately one can enable the "roam only" option with registry changes. I suffered with my Treo 650 which did not have the "roam only" option. Sprint phones will latch onto its network even if signal is marginal and call will have high probability of being dropped. Would be nice if user can have some latitude as to when phone goes off to roaming if Sprint signal is below a user defined threshold.

[steveymacjr]

Originally Posted by gwmac

That link is dead, maybe they are updating it? I wonder if this will also boost data/power vision speeds as well?

I use Gizmo5 for receiving unlimited calls on a free local area code number with Grand Central and Skype for outgoing unlimited calling for $30 a year. Seems like the Airave is an unnecessary device if you already have a decent VOIP solution. The magicjack also looks to be some stiff competition with unlimited calls for $20 a year. The only attraction for me would be to boost my signal.

the link works for me..

[digiblur]

Roam only on the mogul works great. 5 bars of Alltel and Verizon in the house. But of course Alltel is preferred so it hits Alltel.

Found a roamswitch script so I just tap a shortcut when I walk in the house and tap it again when I walk out. Works great. I stopped waiting on their Airwave as it kept waving bye bye with the date and the crazy pricing for me to increase their signal in my house.