Is 4G Data a Big Deal?

perezr10 · Jan 15, 2012

I regularly get 3G download speeds of 3000-5500 kb/s here in South Bend Indiana and where I used to live in Cincinnatti it averaged about 2500-3500kb/s. This is on AT&T. This is as fast as low-end WIFI. So I'm wondering why the big rush for 4G data by everyone? It doesn't seem like I'm gonna get a whole lot of change to my "user experience".

One advantage of 4G I can think of is faster downloads. Let's say I now have the ability to download entire movies in a fraction of the time. Since it is free on Wifi, I wouldn't do that while on my data plan anyway.

So what's the big deal of 4G? Is there an advantage I'm not thinking of?

jpcamaro70 · Jan 16, 2012

4g will be the norm sooner or later and i was concerned when i bought the 4s that i was not getting new relevent tech. But, since i have wifi on all the time (because the battery is pretty good) I can connect to wifi quite often. My 3g is slow on verizon, but not bad. Your ATT iphone gets 4g speeds without being 4g, that's awesome.

All the phones will soon be 4g, but you arent missing a thing.

speed4tu · Jan 16, 2012

its really not that noticeable unless you are downloading lots of larger files. Just random stuff on the phone isn't that much faster because it is still limited to how fast the phone can render the data once its downloaded.

EWyatt · Jan 16, 2012

In my opinion, you are correct, perez.... For one thing, 4G is not available in most places, except in larger cities. And when it is available, your Internet mail and surfing is about the same as 3G, realistically. As indicated, downloading large apps and files is better w/ 4G, of course, but that's not the norm. And with 4G, you build up that data usage quite "fast."

perezr10 · Jan 20, 2012

I think it's mostly a marketing thing. I think the commercials are meant to sway flip phone users who don't really know much about mobile web-surfing.

EWyatt · Jan 20, 2012

perezr10 said:
I think it's mostly a marketing thing. I think the commercials are meant to sway flip phone users who don't really know much about mobile web-surfing.

Good point!

Quicksilver7714 · Jan 20, 2012

The data speed is the main benefit of 4G. I average 20-35Mbps down and 8-11Mbps up. Now it really comes in handy when downloading large files as the connection is 10-15 times faster than my Wifi connection at home.

For basic web browsing you do see a difference in page load times by a couple of seconds.

But for the most part the bandwidth is unused. Since I have an unlimited plan I have no problem using my phone to download large files when needed.

If you are getting 3-5Mbps down on ATT's HSPA+ network that's pretty good. It's way better than Verizon's 3g network, with an average of 1-2Mbps down and about 800Kbps up.

Your not really missing much except for blazing fast app downloads. Like angry birds, downloaded and installed in five seconds.

Mind you I am on a Galaxy Nexus and 4G speeds vary from device to device with the 4G radio but average speeds on lower quality devices are between 14Mbps down and 8Mbps. up.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

mwhartman · Jan 20, 2012

It is not available where I live and probably won't be for a long time. Therefore, I did the next best thing, I purchased a 4S with an A5 chip. My 4 S is much faster than my rooted overclocked Android. Just my two cents.

Chris951 · Jan 20, 2012

It really depends on the phone you use. Different phones will be able to render web pages and such a lot quicker than others. But like previously stated, you will mostly notice it when downloading files which is really what matters. My mom got sprint 4g on her evo shift and it's very quick. I have sprint as well on my iPhone but with 3G obviously and it's fine for me because all I do is text, surf the web, and get on Facebook. 4g is substantially quicker though. I live in the heart of Denver and the data congestion is ridiculous. I average about .75mbps download with 3g. At night it jumps to a good 2mbps.

scottmti · Jan 21, 2012

I have had two device from Verizon with 4G (Nexus and Rezound) They are awesome if they are working. I used to google video chat with my girl (she has Galaxy tab 10.1) It drains battery like crazy and car charger power is not enough to keep up with it. Even it's plugged in, battery level drops rapid. So beside from that I see no other advantage of having 4G unless you need to DL massive datas in hurry. I stop at starbuck or McDonald to borrow their Wifi if I need to. Ask Siri where is nearest McD and she'll tell you ASAP. LOL.

I think for now their are more disadvantage of 4G than advantage. Maybe doen the future when all cell phone uses 4G, I think we can use it the way it meants to be used. I swear I bought two phone and I had to carry charger in my pocket every where I go. I couldn't even let my girl watch neflix cause battery issues. Sure it's fast but 3G has been working fine watching neflix.
I have "unlimited" data so I was not worrying about the limit (reason why I jump to 4G) but in normal daily life, 4G is not needed..

just my $0.02