I'm sure it's already been suggested, but I'd like to throw my hat into the ring as well. With faster AT&T data speeds being a talking point of the last keynote and with AT&T stating "See why your new iPhone 4S and AT&T's 4G network are a winning combination", I'd like to see some sort of status bar indication of when I'm on "4G". I'm not going to argue whether or not this is 3.5G or 4G. I don't care. Just a simple "plus" next to the 3G icon in 5.0.1/5.1 would suffice.
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HSPA+ Indicator
- Thread starter allmanbrother
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AT&T is trying to have "4G" put in the menu bar. I think with Apple staying out of the "4G" branding battle, this is pretty unlikely.
I hope so, because IMO the only types of network deserving of the "4G" label are LTE and WiMax. HSPA+ can be a bit faster, but as it isn't always true, I don't like the idea of it.
They could really just put a H+ indicator so you see that in HSPA+ areas, and then it switches to 3G in areas where is no HSPA+,
I used to have a Samsung Impression (worst phone I have ever owned) and when I was in an HSPA+ area, it added a "+" to the corner of the 3G icon. Something similar to that would be nice and wouldn't cause a major "4G" battle.
Only thing is that some people might find 3G and 3G+ to be confusing. Just my opinion though.
ATT Android phones only show H+. They never differentiate 3G or H+, regardless of what kind of network you really are on.
AT&T rigged those phones. Hope they don't do the same on the iPhone.
Or 7/2G
What's confusing is AT&T advertising the iPhone 4S as a 4G phone and Apple putting 3G at the top.
They may as well call it 4G. You may get geeks complaining about the intricacies of mobile network technology, but at the end of the day it's only a name. It makes sense to just go with the general consensus and make things easier on the average consumer.
I think it would be easier though for the average consumer to see a plus and think "well, I guess I'm getting faster data speeds right now since there's a plus next to the 3G". I just think that saying "4G" would cause a lot of consumer confusion.
That's very much a good idea, and I think some Nokia device do that on AT&T's network currently. (Although I'm not sure if it stands for HSPA or HSPA+, I'm thinking it HSPA as it was a few years back that I had a Nokia)
Either is reasonable. We all know 4>3, so there really would be no more confusion than adding a plus.
What's even more confusing is the little "E" symbol I see more and more while at home. What's that, 1/4 G?
If you call GPRS 2G, then Edge is 2.5G, then 3G is 3G obviously. Then no data network at all would be 1G, which is purely voice and text.
My T-Mobile phone has an H when you are in an HSPA+ area, if Apple doesnt want to use 4G, then they should at least do this.
ATT Android phones only show H+. They never differentiate 3G or H+, regardless of what kind of network you really are on.
AT&T rigged those phones. Hope they don't do the same on the iPhone.
Or 7/2G
Actually it doesn't matter since the air interface on all HSPA sites has been upgraded to HSPA+.