T-Mobile's Android phones expected to offer UMA functionality down the road?

posted by John V. / May 13, 2010, 8:03 PM

This article contains unofficial information.

T-Mobile's Android phones expected to offer UMA functionality down the road?

Although we've seen a few BlackBerry smartphones on T-Mobile's lineup that have access to UMA calling, it looks like T-Mobile is extending this nifty feature to its future mix of Android devices. BGR is reporting that the number four wireless carrier will be eying Q3 for their testing trial for UMA capable Android smartphones. Although it's very rare to see handsets include this feature, it essentially allows you to connect to any Wi-Fi network to place and receive phone calls if you've completely lost connection to the network. Think of it more as a backup in the event you find yourself in a dreaded dead spot or coming in handy in areas where signal connections to the network may be weak. We've tested this feature out on the BlackBerry Bold 9700 and were surprised to see how well the phone was able to work. Furthermore, it's just nice to see this invaluable feature being extended to Android – especially when they're slowly moving up in the smartphone market.

source: BGR via TmoNews

Options

5 Comments

1. BlackberryUser

Posts: 609; Member since: Jun 26, 2009

This is an absolutely amazing feature, I wish Verizon offered it.

posted on Oct 20, 2010, 1:46 AM 0

2. Hotzb22

Posts: 109; Member since: Mar 30, 2009

wow nice

posted on May 13, 2010, 9:41 PM 0

3. nak1017

Posts: 328; Member since: Jan 08, 2010

Will this be usable out of the country?

posted on May 14, 2010, 12:30 AM 0

4. jrcrow79

Posts: 477; Member since: May 02, 2008

isnt that a hardware function as well..so they stuck it in and wait to press the "GO/NO GO" button?

posted on May 14, 2010, 12:49 AM 0

5. remixfa

Posts: 14605; Member since: Dec 19, 2008

its software that runs calls over wifi. kinda like wireless VoIP. All the blackberrys in their lineup have it. We basically sell em to soldiers on the military base because the base likes to scramble signals, but theres alot of wifi spots. If you leave your wifi on, it will auto switch between wifi and tmobile when your tmobile signal dies. I cant wait for them to push out this feature. 10 minutes after the first phone has it, the hacking community will rip it out and put it on roms for every android.