Don't forget that adding 3G allows Apple to update all the innards of the iPhone, from shape, battery, video capabilities, camera resolution etc. Come the SDK, a 3G iPhone will be more capable and more in line with current 3G phones on the market (albeit from Apple, and with all that Apple goodness added in).
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3G why?
- Thread starter Ilovemyipod
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Just to be pedantically clear
It all depends on what you are referring to.Voice calls will fall back to 2G when outside of a 3G area - the chances are that you will not even realise the fall-back has occurred (or corresponding fall-forward to 3G when moving back into one) if the network operator has done their stuff right.
Data will operate across whatever technology it can find. As atluten has just said, it will use EDGE if it is available or bog standard 2G GPRS if that is all that is there. Note that GPRS is the lowest common denominator and should always be present in any 2G network anywhere in the world.
The problem with having a 3G phone in an area that simply does not have 3G is that of battery life. As the handset hunts for 3G signals it uses up enormous amounts of battery. The solution, in such cases, is to set the handset to 2G only (normally possible with 3G handsets) which will give it a battery life comparable to most regular 2G-only handsets. But you will also be locking yourself down to maximum data rates from EDGE/GPRS.
Allow me to make things worse for you
Today I have been running up my UK Vodafone Mobile Data Connect PCMCIA card in the laptop (the firm wouldn't buy the USB Stick, bah!) and enjoying data speeds of around 4.5Mbps. I did see it peak to 6.2Mbps briefly. This is using Vodafone's 3G/HSDPA network in London (the UK one folks) which is rated at up to 7.2Mbps and is due to roll out nationwide.
At home, out in the sticks, I am getting 1.6Mbps on the USB Stick (£15/3GB per month).
thats how it works on all other phones
Just to be pedantically clear
Voice calls will fall back to 2G when outside of a 3G area - the chances are that you will not even realise the fall-back has occurred (or corresponding fall-forward to 3G when moving back into one) if the network operator has done their stuff right.
Data will operate across whatever technology it can find. As atluten has just said, it will use EDGE if it is available or bog standard 2G GPRS if that is all that is there. Note that GPRS is the lowest common denominator and should always be present in any 2G network anywhere in the world.
The problem with having a 3G phone in an area that simply does not have 3G is that of battery life. As the handset hunts for 3G signals it uses up enormous amounts of battery. The solution, in such cases, is to set the handset to 2G only (normally possible with 3G handsets) which will give it a battery life comparable to most regular 2G-only handsets. But you will also be locking yourself down to maximum data rates from EDGE/GPRS.
yep thats about it. The voice doesn't really matter its the internet and being abel to download songs on the go.
Allow me to make things worse for you
Today I have been running up my UK Vodafone Mobile Data Connect PCMCIA card in the laptop (the firm wouldn't buy the USB Stick, bah!) and enjoying data speeds of around 4.5Mbps. I did see it peak to 6.2Mbps briefly. This is using Vodafone's 3G/HSDPA network in London (the UK one folks) which is rated at up to 7.2Mbps and is due to roll out nationwide.
At home, out in the sticks, I am getting 1.6Mbps on the USB Stick (£15/3GB per month).
Wow.(I live in the US.)
Mobile data things are hotting up over here in the UK - 2008 is going to be a huge push in that direction by the mobile network operators. The best players we have at the moment, all offering £15/3GB packages are Vodafone, T-Mobile (both on promotions) and 3. Orange have something at around £27 for 3GB so we're all rushing out to buy that, not. And O2, well they have enough problems with being threatened by OFCOM for not deploying enough 3G to be getting into a marketing spat with its competition at the moment.
But for sure, watch the UK as the global model for mobile data during 2008. I suspect that by the end of the year 7.2Mbps will be commonly available, and that HSUPA (thats the Uplink speed) will be giving us 1Mbps or more.
Why? The operators have finally woken up to the fact that there is a huge untapped market of students and people living in rented accommodation who move frequently and for whom fixed line ADSL is no good. £15/3GB compares favourably with a number of ADSL packages - and we may even see mobile data prices fall to £10/3GB or £15/10GB, whichever, driving the value proposition up and up.
WiMAX? Nah thanks Intel. Too little, too late in my opinion.