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| Photo by Arafath Hashmi |
Nowadays smartphones are becoming more and more widespread. Almost always when you go to purchase a phone and sign a contract you need to pay extra to use the internet, there are various types of internet bundles you can choose from. This is when it becomes cloudy for many people. Phone companies do a terrific job of making their products seem as if they are the best, boasting of extremely fast internet or inexpensive deals.
There is 3G internet and a new 4G. The introduction of 4G internet has brought along numerous questions. For example, what is it, what's the difference between the two, and is it really all that better? Research 4G and try to answer some of these questions.
There are multiple versions of 4G; for example sprint uses Wimax while Verizon uses LTE. LTE is the better of the two from what ive read. but both are much quicker than their 3G predecessors.
ReplyDeleteBetween 3g and 4g it is mostly a generation label. The standard in our current phone generation is 3g. 3g can achieve download speeds of up to 3 Mega bits per second (Mbps). 3g is used all over the United States and is very well known. 4g on the other hand is a different story. 4g is the next generation of phone data transfer, after 3g. 4g is very new and can be a little overpowering when looked into. This means that 4g isn't quite perfected or used very often. When 4g is used data is sped up to 100Mbps. That means that 4g can be up to 10 to 100 times faster than 3g in some areas. But, the catch is that 4g is used like 3g is used today. There are only a couple of phones out there that will even attempt to connect to a 4g tower. Even if you did have a 4g phone, it would be a very big hassle considering that not many 4g towers are constructed. But, all 4g phones can also use 3g towers, so the best idea is to wait until this idea, or renovation, is perfected.
ReplyDeleteThis is a comparison between 3g and 4g internet capabilities.
ReplyDeleteTechnology
3G
4G
Frequency band
1.8 - 2.5GHz
2 - 8GHz
Bandwidth
5-20MHz
5-20MHz
Data rate
Up to 2Mbps
100Mbps moving - 1Gbps stationary
Access
W-CDMA
VSF-OFCDM and VSF-CDMA
FEC
Turbo-codes
Concatenated codes
Switching
Circuit/Packet
Packet
http://mobileinsight.blogspot.com/2008/01/3g-vs-4g.html
All good points! A good follow up question would be which would you choose if you had the choice?
ReplyDelete4G allows people to use HDTV on cell phones and can allow intereacttion with digital video broadcasting, it also allow seamless file transfer.
ReplyDelete4G refers to the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a successor to 3G and 2G standards, with the aim to provide a wide range of data rates up to ultra-broadband (gigabit-speed) Internet access to mobile as well as stationary users. The 4G transmission speed is said to be at least 4 times faster, than the 3G network. The 4G data rates are expected to be much higher than the current ones provided by 3G. The data rate of 3G is up to 2 Mbps, whereas that of 4G is 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps stationary.
ReplyDeleteIt's obvious that you would chose 4G due to all of its better advantages listed above.
I would choose 3g, because it is more reliable. 4g is still a little sketchy. Also, 4g is not available everywhere yet.
ReplyDelete4g is much faster than 3g but as buddy elf said it isnt available in many places. one of the only places in michigan is the grand rapids area. also for verizon there is a slim selection now on phones that are 4g only the brand new smartphones are. so all in all 4g is better just not really available yet.
ReplyDelete4g is 10 to 100 times faster than 3g. the other thing is... its newer. why not use it. but most of the smart phones from last year use 3g,, both good thogh. one just better.
ReplyDelete4g is clearly better than 3g for a few reasons. One, The newest and fourth generation of mobile phones, 4G, is expected to provide an all-Internet Protocol solution, which will exponentially increase bandwidth (according to www.discovery.com). This will allow simultaneous use of voice, Internet access gaming and streamlined multimedia services such as TV and video streaming services.
ReplyDeleteWell there are your personal prefrences for which generation to get. If you want the risky, new, high tech, but un trusted software/phone, go with the 4g. But if you like trustworthy, tested, reliable software/phone, go with the 3g.
ReplyDelete3g is better for 3 reasons.
1. More coverage- the phone companies have had to advance in technology to keep up with their competitors. Therefore, when 3g came out, all the phone companies went to 3g. Now that there is 4g out there, tey all haven't fuly advanced there yet. Making coverage in some spots not avaliable.
2. More phones- along with the coverage, many phone companites stil haven't advanced in their phones. Leaving them 3g, so there is A LOT of 3g phones avaliable, not many 4g phones avaiable.
3. Faster speeds- Once again with the coverage and phones, the speed is only equipped to 3g. Which is still fast, but not all the way to 4g.
I guess you could say that some companies are ahead of others and making themselves better. Or the 3g companies are perfected, very well perfecting actually, before they advance on. Not just half winging it then moving on.
I also heard that when phones say 4g, they are really only 3g. So they're making you pay for the more expensive phone when it really is the lesser generation. Unreliable if you ask me.....sketchyyy!!!!
To be quite honest, 4G is the better choice. People constantly refer to the 4G as "unreliable" or in Buddy the Elf's statement, "Sketchy." However, these are all false. New technology is new technology, there are variables that need to be discovered over time. And remember, 3G was new at some point, and 2G was new at some point, too. There are "learning curves" for all products. Also, the question wasn't whether 3G had more coverage or if 4G was available in all phones, it was which is better? Well given the statistics cited by most everyone prior to me, I find it very clear that 4G is superior. Faster downloads, better file quality, HDTV, and a wider assortment of things you can do on your smartphone or laptop. The benefits of 4G are much greater than 3G, albeit 3G is very good. But like I said earlier, new technology is what it is, and with newer technology being an upgrade of prior technology, I see no problems or risks associated with upgrading your phone or laptop for a new 4G compatible one.
ReplyDeleteWould a 4G phone be backwards compatible with a 3G network, i.e., would a brand new 4G-capable phone use 4G when available and revert to 3G whenever it is in an older coverage zone?
ReplyDeleteYes, "4G" phones can revert back to 3G whenever the owner chooses, but 3G phones cannot convert to "4G". Because the programming is different, or so I believe.
ReplyDeleteIf so, why would someone choose to not have a 4G-capable phone if it is available (and he or she can afford it)?
ReplyDeleteMr. Bearss you bring up something I've been wondering too, why bother with older technology if a newer more advanced technology is available, and compatible with the previous technology. Companies design their newer models to work with older models for multiple reasons, however, quite possibly the biggest reason to make them compatible would be for the company to fall back if there's a major error in their service or product, if all else fails, go with the tried and true technology of the past.
ReplyDeleteBrian Bearss, even if money was not an option, someone would choose a 3g phone over a 4g phone because 4g coverage is scarely available. For example, in Michigan it is only available in Grand Rapids through Sprint (below is a link that can show you 4g coverage in every state throughout the nation) http://shop2.sprint.com/en/stores/popups/4G_coverage_popup.shtml
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments this week.
ReplyDelete