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Whats the big deal with 4g on a phone?

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by Dnjndmrc5, Jan 12, 2011.

  1. Dnjndmrc5

    Dnjndmrc5 Member

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    Excuse my dumbness here. I guess the best way to ask this question is what can you do on a 4g phone that you cannot do on a 3g phone. Is downloading a song in 3 seconds better than 10 seconds. Is a 7 second difference really like wow!!!!

    I can downlod music and movies on 3G just fine

    Is YouTube really smooth?? Will it still buffer when playing Hq videos.

    Wimax vs Lte vs Hspa+?? Which is better? How do you know?

    What is the Mbps on downloads and uploads on each technology?

    How do you plan to use or use 4g on a phone and tell me why I should be excited.
     
  2. ItsMyFault

    ItsMyFault Member

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  3. Royals Ego

    Royals Ego Member

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    in my honest opinion, there is no need for 4g right now, the hardware on current mid-model phones cannot process fast enough to truly take advantage of the 4g speeds...

    it is not until you get to the 1ghz+ range that you can tell the difference
     
  4. seclusion

    seclusion rip chadwick

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    I used to work for VZW, I'll answer a few of these.

    1. If you're impatient like me it totally makes a difference.
    2. YouTube will stream in HD much better, and you shouldn't have much buffering if any.
    3. HSPA+ is just a faster 3G standard. I prefer LTE to WiMax. WiMax requires a LOT of repeaters to increase its' signal and it doesn't penetrate walls at all. A good example is my GF has an Evo 4G -- I think she basically only has 4G in sugarland. LTE is what Verizon/ATT will be using. sprint is wimax.
    4. I don't have those numbers offhand, they're all relatively fast. LTE on the high end rivals or bests current home connections.
    5. I wouldn't be concerned too much about 4G hype right now. Give it a year. If you can get a phone you want and it has 4g already go for it. I have an iphone4 and I'm not too concerned ATM.
     
  5. Scionxa

    Scionxa Member

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    Yes, Youtube will be really smooth on any 4g enabled device (hspa+, lte, wimax)

    It's not just about downloading either, it's about latency. You can look up the term latency. It is alot better with 4g technology. This is a must if you play online games

    Megabits per second can make a difference. For example say you're on a video call, the call quality will be better if you're on 4g versus 3g
     
  6. BleedRocketsRed

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    The potential of 4G is great, theoretically WiMax/LTE should be able to one day reach around 100MBPS (don't know if it will ever reach that but if it gets to half of that it would be amazingly quick).

    But even now, it is alot faster than 3G. Are you seriously telling me that you are unable to notice speeds of over around 3x faster than what you already have? Some of those WiMax/LTE speed tests make it seem like you have a pocket cable modem.
     
  7. gucci888

    gucci888 Member

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    Tried using 4G on my HTC Evo and couldn't tell a difference from 3G at all. Furthermore, it also drained the battery.
     
  8. RedRedemption

    RedRedemption Member

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    I notice a tremendous difference between 4G and regular.
    4G is faster. I mean 3MBPs down on phone was unthinkable a few years ago.
     
  9. Scionxa

    Scionxa Member

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    You will.
    download the speedtest.net app from the market place

    post your results on 3g, and 4g. I BET they will be different.
     
  10. JeopardE

    JeopardE Member

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    Every single 4G phone that has been released or announced has at least one 1GHz core in it, so what's your point? Even the Evo Shift's CPU which runs at 800MHz is still faster than the previous Qualcomm 1GHz chips.
     
  11. br0ken_shad0w

    br0ken_shad0w Member

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    4G is great but will be hampered by caps. Which is why I'm heading to Sprint once they get a new phone.
     
  12. Royals Ego

    Royals Ego Member

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    bare minimum is fantastic

    whats your point
     
  13. Space Ghost

    Space Ghost Member

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    Lets first clear up the term 4g. Carrier have confused the customers on their jargon. ATT has the Iphone4, which some people confused with 4g. Then Sprint has WiMax, which is 4g. LTE is 4g.

    LTE and WiMax are vastly different in terms of impact. I agree that WiMax 4G is not a big deal.

    LTE is very different. Its like comparing dialup to broadband. Its not just about speed, but what you can do with it. Just imagine trying to live on dialup now.

    LTE is the same way. Here are some big changes that i could see happening in the next decade.
    -Carriers getting out of the actual handheld market. If you want a phone, you buy from a manufacturer or retailer. Any phone works on any carrier. You want to trade your Iphone on ATT for your buddies Android on VZW, just pop out the sims and media cards and swap.
    -Flat rate plans. No more complex rate plans. You simply buy data plans to fit your usage.
    -Global roaming prices dropped. If youre in London and you're on a wifi, free call.
    -Again, with common technology standards, carriers will find the overlapping of physical radio towers inefficient. Separate companies already own the towers, and this could push towards carriers leaving these companies to build, expand and upgrade these towers.
     
  14. wizkid83

    wizkid83 Member

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    Posting and viewing clutchfans full site using my 4g phone right now (ok t mobile hspa). 2.6 mb down at a hair salon is good enough to surf without noticing you're doing it on s cell in terms of speed.
     
  15. Tigerknee

    Tigerknee Member

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    I have a VZ LTE cellular modem and I get on average 8mbps down and 6 mbps up.

    My 3G one was 1.5mbps down and 256kbps up.

    It's a BIG difference for me :)
     
  16. Tfj4

    Tfj4 Member

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    Facepalm....What does processor have to do with download speed...???
     

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