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Australian Regulators Targeting Apple Over '4G' Marketing Claims on New iPad
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ha! they cant, thats the whole point. they HAVE and will have to continue to use other frequences which arent supported by the chip apple uses in the new iPad. its not the providers choice which frequences they can use.
we have 4G on vodafone and tmobile here in germany, yet it won't work with the iPad because the iPad uses frequences that are only supported in the US. fail on the chip part right there
now if apple were to release a world wide "New iPad" with support of all frequencies the advertisement in those countries would make sense; til then i say don't use ads that promise something that will never work in said countries.
This is very true and Apple need to fix this mess. Or be taken to court to be forced to fix the mess. The new iPads should not be sold as 4G outside the US. Simple.
True... but its still like:
You can't advertise a ferrari in San Marino , even if they build a circuit, because the sound levels are not allowed....
Name a country
Please name me a country not ran by idiots?
(i am aussie as well btw haha)
But in all seriousness, Australia does have 4g, but its only available in the CBD in Perth in western australia anyway, but again its a different frequency to what apple is providing it on. And the way apple is marketing to the generic public about its amazing 4G speeds, which i know it is capable of, but it is not capable of that in our country and most likely never will be,so stop trying to sell it like it is apple.
Also apple is not getting sued, its just a government body making sure that companies are doing the correct thing by the citizen of our country. Something that the US could probably learn a thing or two about..... You know that thing where the government is meant to be in charge, not your corporate world controlling your government......
Please name me a country not ran by idiots?
(i am aussie as well btw haha)
But in all seriousness, Australia does have 4g, but its only available in the CBD in Perth in western australia anyway, but again its a different frequency to what apple is providing it on. And the way apple is marketing to the generic public about its amazing 4G speeds, which i know it is capable of, but it is not capable of that in our country and most likely never will be,so stop trying to sell it like it is apple.
Also apple is not getting sued, its just a government body making sure that companies are doing the correct thing by the citizen of our country. Something that the US could probably learn a thing or two about..... You know that thing where the government is meant to be in charge, not your corporate world controlling your government......
4G = 4th Generation Cellular Mobile Communications Standards.
LTE Advance = 4G (1Gbps download / 500Mbps upload)
LTE = 3.9G
WiMAX = 3.9G
DC-HSDPA = 3.8G
HSPA+ = 3.7G
UMTS/HSPA = 3.5G
CDMA Rev A = 3.3G
GSM/EDGE = 3.0G
If you call LTE as 4G, then HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA can be called 4G.
LTE Advance = 4G (1Gbps download / 500Mbps upload)
LTE = 3.9G
WiMAX = 3.9G
DC-HSDPA = 3.8G
HSPA+ = 3.7G
UMTS/HSPA = 3.5G
CDMA Rev A = 3.3G
GSM/EDGE = 3.0G
If you call LTE as 4G, then HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA can be called 4G.
You got it all wrong. A significant number of carriers worldwide support 4G, it is Apple who exclusively focussed their hardware development on the US-market, thus making the iPad incompatible to 4G networks in the rest of the world.
This is a scandal by itself, because there are 4G-chips which support ALL frequencies. Not only are they too narrow-minded to make their hardware work properly outside the "home market", they also advertise a non-working feature.
It's like Sony selling Region A Blu-ray players in Germany and once customers complain they tell them that they can still use them to watch Blu-rays they bought in the US during vacation.
It is Apple who has to comply with the worldwide standards, not the other way around!
Good luck to anyone from outside the US taking his iPad to the holy land of Apple-approved 4G and paying that $1000 roaming bill...
Yep, how come no one is going crazy about LTE being called 4G? hehe, like I said it's just silliness and people want to redefine things for themselves, when the ITU (the only people who have authority to do so) have already defined what 4G is.
You guys should all take this up with the ITU. If they say HSPA+ is 4G, then it's 4G. It is, quite literally, their call to make.
And if you don't like the new definition for 4G you might want to remember that, under the old definition, LTE didn't technically meet the requirements for 4G speeds either.
Wait... there are lots of Computers which support more features than apple.. but you are not buying those!!!
Features doesn't not make a device... its the experience. In this case battery drain.. the chip you are talking about uses way more energy. You would be complaining about that won't you?
No, there is not a single 4G radio chip that supports all LTE bands, plus 3G backward compatibility. Qualcomm has one coming out this December in "sample quantities" (i.e. for engineering teams to use in designing actual devices.) Production quantities won't happen until the first half of 2013. Expect to see these in the next iPad (4th gen).
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I think the customers who are complaining about the advertised 4G feature of the iPad not working in their respective country would rather have a little more battery drain than no 4G support at all.
It is not about the number of features, it is about those features working in every country Apple officially sells the iPad. They basically have three options:
1. Stop advertising 4G outside the US.
2. Manufacture non-US/European/Australian models of the iPad supporting 4G in those countries
3. Use a 4G chip that supports all frequencies (and might lead to more battery drain).
What Apple is doing right now - selling a US-version of the iPad worldwide and still advertising US-only features - is a joke.
You apparently missed the news when the ITU-R revised it's prior decision, and downgraded the speed requirements such that HSDPA+ is considered '4G' by their own definition.
Refunds? Why? It's still within the 30-day return window. Everyone who bought a new iPad still has time to return it if they felt like they were "misled".
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Fair enough. But this still doesn't excuse Apple's false advertising and/or the fact that they don't offer iPads with "localized" hardware.
Just to be clear, the US 4G frequencies are not the only standard, they are one standard amongst many. The only reason they used a chip with US frequencies is that Apple is a US company and the mobile hardware development is highly influenced by US carriers.
In my opinion, Apple will be getting into some trouble with non-US customers if they keep manufacturing hardware only with US needs and standards in mind.
HSPA+ is 4G in the same way that EDGE is 3G. Sure they both meet the definition, but barely. And they don't bring any of the other improvements that the more advanced technologies have. You never hear anyone call EDGE 3G - likewise HSPA+ shouldn't be called 4G.
LTE at least is a completely new technology compared to the various 3G technologies. Its speeds may not be upto par with the original 4G definition, but it does bring several other improvements that HSPA+ doesn't.
It's a stupid thing to argue about because MOST customers in the US can't connect to 4G LTE either.
Hell, I'm in Phoenix, which is a city that does have AT&T LTE, but I guess it has 2 towers in the whole town because I haven't gotten an LTE signal yet. Nobody I've spoken to on MacRumors from Phoenix has gotten it yet either. However, AT&T "released" LTE in Phoenix as one of it's first LTE cities last year.
Go figure.
Hell, I'm in Phoenix, which is a city that does have AT&T LTE, but I guess it has 2 towers in the whole town because I haven't gotten an LTE signal yet. Nobody I've spoken to on MacRumors from Phoenix has gotten it yet either. However, AT&T "released" LTE in Phoenix as one of it's first LTE cities last year.
Go figure.
so as mentioned earlier, if you redefine it as you see fit, it's a-ok, but when the only authority that has a right to do so does it, it's just wrong hehe
4G is not a real thing.Try re-reading what I and a number of others have said.
In Apple's own promotional material they say "the new iPad has got 4G and by 4G we mean its got LTE, we don't mean it's got HSPA+ because we call that a 3G service, so to be clear by 4G we mean LTE and nothing else". Except they word it differently.
Apple cannot claim that HSPA+ fulfils the 4G label as they very specifically say it is a 3G service and not 4G. Again, Apple call HSPA+ a 3G service.
See, this is what happens when you have so much cash on hand. I propose that Apple give the majority of it's money to me. Then, the company won't be such a juicy target for lawsuits and greedy lawyers. It's a sacrifice I am willing to make.
actually I dont get HD channels and there is no service remotely close to me that offers them
like I said too many idiots out there
I disagree with the Aussies, but...
I disagree with the Aussies, but it is still an interesting debate.
Apple is using the ITU's definition of "4G" in their advertising and packaging. Apparently, Australia's industry does not abide by the ITU standard definition of "4G".
So according to some, Apple should change their advertising because their country refuses to adhere to an international standard definition.
No easy answer for this one. But I can see how that can confuse some people who don't read the fine print (especially on expensive purchases like this), and the Australian authorities should be free to determine their own standards and definitions (laws) when it applies to their population.
Fraud is another story entirely and I don't believe it applies here. However, Apple should have looked at the issue closer when deciding to launch the product there.
I disagree with the Aussies, but it is still an interesting debate.
Apple is using the ITU's definition of "4G" in their advertising and packaging. Apparently, Australia's industry does not abide by the ITU standard definition of "4G".
So according to some, Apple should change their advertising because their country refuses to adhere to an international standard definition.
No easy answer for this one. But I can see how that can confuse some people who don't read the fine print (especially on expensive purchases like this), and the Australian authorities should be free to determine their own standards and definitions (laws) when it applies to their population.
Fraud is another story entirely and I don't believe it applies here. However, Apple should have looked at the issue closer when deciding to launch the product there.
They're marketing that it has the hardware capability. It's like complaining about someone selling a sled when only a few places have snow.