Walt Mossberg

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Verizon’s LTE Network for Voice

Q:

I live in an area where the cellular voice service is very poor. I was going to buy the Verizon ThunderBolt LTE phone since the network map indicates I am in the LTE (4G) coverage area, so I thought my call problems would be over with. But based on your article, it sounds like my voice calls would remain the same. Do you have any insight as to when voice will move to LTE?

A:

As I noted in the column, Verizon is using its fast new LTE 4G network for data only. It still routes voice calls over its older networks, which are highly rated for voice, but work poorly for you.

International standards for voice calling over LTE are still being developed. Verizon only made its first test voice call over LTE in February. The company says it hopes to offer LTE voice calling sometime next year.

Q:

I am interested in using the iPad for photo viewing and do not wish to download photos directly from the camera. My camera uses a CF memory card. Can the iPad camera connection kit be used with this card, or might a thumb drive be used for data downloads through this additional hardware?

A:

Apple’s $29 iPad camera connection kit can handle either direct USB transfer of photos via a cable from the camera, or photo transfers from an SD memory card. To my knowledge, it isn’t compatible with the CF type of memory card.

And although it does have a USB port, Apple has limited that port to handling cameras. In my tests, it wouldn’t work with thumb drives, though a reader recently wrote me saying you can make it work with such drives, at least for photos, if you use a techie workaround—a powered USB hub. I haven’t tested this.

Q:

Can I use my Toshiba laptop to connect an iPad and an iPhone?

A:

It depends on what you mean by “connect.” If you mean somehow linking or merging the two Apple devices, the answer is no. If you mean connecting each separately to the Toshiba for syncing and backup with iTunes, the answer is yes.

Whether you are using a Windows PC or a Mac, the same copy of iTunes can be used to manage multiple iPhones, iPads and iPods, and you can have different content on each.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns at the All Things Digital website, http://walt.allthingsd.com. Email mossberg@wsj.com

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