Will the 7.2 HSDPA upgrade help speed on 3.6 phones?

[jeffharris]

The BB 9700 I just got only supports 3.6 HSDPA. Will we see (at least some) speed increases on the 3.6 phones with the forthcoming 7.2 upgrade?

[NorrisCell]

The hardware on the 9700 lists it as being limited to 3.6 HSDPA. This would mean it will not increase if the network is increased to support 7.2. It all depends on whether the phone's hardware supports it. Many 3G phones will support 7.2, but it appears the 9700 is not one of them.

[jeffharris]

Originally Posted by NorrisCell

The hardware on the 9700 lists it as being limited to 3.6 HSDPA. This would mean it will not increase if the network is increased to support 7.2. It all depends on whether the phone's hardware supports it. Many 3G phones will support 7.2, but it appears the 9700 is not one of them.

Well, I get that - I guess my question is more network related, than phone. At 3.6, the 9700 clearly doesn't reach this speed, which is more network related - so, I am wondering with a 7.2 upgrade, does that open up some bandwidth possibilities to easier reach the 3.6 threashold, when there's 7.2 in play?

[NorrisCell]

Originally Posted by jeffharris

Well, I get that - I guess my question is more network related, than phone. At 3.6, the 9700 clearly doesn't reach this speed, which is more network related - so, I am wondering with a 7.2 upgrade, does that open up some bandwidth possibilities to easier reach the 3.6 threashold, when there's 7.2 in play?

As I understand it, a phone will have a theoretical max speed at the hardware max speed. There's always a certain amount lost to the network, but I doubt that overshooting the hardware max will decrease the network overhead because the phone will still only see the max of 3.6