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iPad 4G?

L

LadyHoneyBabe

macrumors 6502
Original poster
In the near future all the cellphone companies will be on 4G; in fact Sprint is already advertising it. When 4G, which is expected to be deployed next year for other companies, is offered to consumers, will there be an iPad 4G to accommodate the new speeds? If that's the case, why are they pushing the 3G for everyone to buy when they know the hardware is incompatible with 4G? Is this also why AT&T is pushing for everyone to buy the WiFi version?

Just wondering...😕
 
Of course some uniformed users will innocently purchase the 4G version not realizing a 5G version might come out sometime in the future.
 
LadyHoneyBabe said:
In the near future all the cellphone companies will be on 4G; in fact Sprint is already advertising it. When 4G, which is expected to be deployed next year for other companies, is offered to consumers, will there be an iPad 4G to accommodate the new speeds? If that's the case, why are they pushing the 3G for everyone to buy when they know the hardware is incompatible with 4G? Is this also why AT&T is pushing for everyone to buy the WiFi version?

Just wondering...😕
Click to expand...

It will be late '11 before Verizon has a decent size 4g network up. Apple's chosen partner AT&T will likely be at least a year behind that mark with their own 4g network.

Sprint has a head start, and a sizable advantage in available spectrum for the 4g partnership with Clear. Dont think 3g is about to go away just because you see them advertising 4g. HSPA will be the standard long after the useful life of the current iPad model.
 
MacDawg said:
Of course some uniformed users will innocently purchase the 4G version not realizing a 5G version might come out sometime in the future.
Click to expand...

ha. Exactly. That's like asking why Ford and Chevy are making all these gasoline cars when in the future everything will be electric.

Nature of the beast.
 
Mactagonist said:
It will be late '11 before Verizon has a decent size 4g network up. Apple's chosen partner AT&T will likely be at least a year behind that mark with their own 4g network.

Sprint has a head start, and a sizable advantage in available spectrum for the 4g partnership with Clear. Dont think 3g is about to go away just because you see them advertising 4g. HSPA will be the standard long after the useful life of the current iPad model.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for genuinely answering my question without berating it. It was brought up in a discussion and I really didn't have an answer.

I'm a (newly converted) MAC woman working in a PC environment and it ain't easy. 😀
 
4G doesn't exist on ATT yet and it's only being rolled out next year. It won't be anywhere near a complete network. Heck ATT's 3G network isn't all that complete. So bottom line: Apple is selling 3G because that is what exists today. When tomorrow comes they'll sell what is available then.

And Sprint's "4G" is mostly hype. It's not true "4G" technology.

See this article
 
Actually I hear that SJ recently mandated that there shall be no more Apple devices released in the future to take advantage of evolving/future tech.

Sadly, that means that 802.11n and 3G is as fast as any Apple device will ever be.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
4G doesn't exist on ATT yet and it's only being rolled out next year. It won't be anywhere near a complete network. Heck ATT's 3G network isn't all that complete. So bottom line: Apple is selling 3G because that is what exists today. When tomorrow comes they'll sell what is available then.

And Sprint's "4G" is mostly hype. It's not true "4G" technology.

See this article
Click to expand...

First off, carriers started adopting this stupid 3G/4G terminology because it became the consumers perceived idea of how fast cellular data speeds are.

Sprint's network is actually called WiMax, and it is that fast. WiMax is as fast if not faster then land line internet connections. It also has 2x the radius, over 60 miles per tower, which makes expansion quicker and in a wider area then usual.

WiMax is the future. One data plan to rule them all. You won't need internet at home and a data plan for your phone and another for your laptop etc. It will be one data plan for everything. IF you have coverage in your area that is 🙂

I still don't have stupid AT&T 3G in my area and im 60 miles from NYC. AT&T is pathetic. Boooooya.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
4G doesn't exist on ATT yet and it's only being rolled out next year. It won't be anywhere near a complete network. Heck ATT's 3G network isn't all that complete. So bottom line: Apple is selling 3G because that is what exists today. When tomorrow comes they'll sell what is available then.

And Sprint's "4G" is mostly hype. It's not true "4G" technology.

See this article
Click to expand...

Thanks, great article. It really explained a lot in reference to an approximate timeline...years away. Interesting though, Sprint is on WiMAX which is and expansion of 3G and will switch to LTE later on, and Verizon and AT&T will start off with LTE, but it'll still take 5-10 years before it's fully functional. People were really making it seem like 4G will be fully deployed next year and buying a 3G iPad is a waste of time and money. Thanks for the info.
 
dissdnt said:
First off, carriers started adopting this stupid 3G/4G terminology because it became the consumers perceived idea of how fast cellular data speeds are.

Sprint's network is actually called WiMax, and it is that fast. WiMax is as fast if not faster then land line internet connections. It also has 2x the radius, over 60 miles per tower, which makes expansion quicker and in a wider area then usual.

WiMax is the future. One data plan to rule them all. You won't need internet at home and a data plan for your phone and another for your laptop etc. It will be one data plan for everything. IF you have coverage in your area that is 🙂

I still don't have stupid AT&T 3G in my area and im 60 miles from NYC. AT&T is pathetic. Boooooya.
Click to expand...
im 40 miles and every where i go (on long island i have 3g)
 
Was that a typo?

From the article:

"True 4G must generate speeds of at least 100 megabits per second, according to the International Telecommunication Union. Current 3G technology offers speeds of up to 2 megabits per second and broadband delivers 5 megabits per second to the average U.S. household"


The article says that 3g offers 2 megabits per second and broadband offers 5.

4g will offer 100 megabits per second???? is that correct. 4g will offer 20 TIMES the speed of broadband? Who the heck would keep their broadband if they can get that speed through the air?
 
LadyHoneyBabe said:
Thanks, great article. It really explained a lot in reference to an approximate timeline...years away. Interesting though, Sprint is on WiMAX which is and expansion of 3G and will switch to LTE later on, and Verizon and AT&T will start off with LTE, but it'll still take 5-10 years before it's fully functional. People were really making it seem like 4G will be fully deployed next year and buying a 3G iPad is a waste of time and money. Thanks for the info.
Click to expand...

Sprint/Clear's 4g network is pretty good in the interim, If you live in a major market you should have service by the end of the year and it works well. They also own a huge amount of wireless spectrum to use, far more then AT&T/VZW have to use for their 4g network. This will be very important when it comes to avoiding the kind of issues AT&T is having right now with their over congested 3g network.

But, as you said WIMAX is kinda the odd man out here, as everyone else in the world (pretty much) is going LTE (one version or another of LTE, it isnt completely compatible). Thus Sprint/Clear might have issues getting manufacturers to build devices with wimax once LTE really picks up steam.

Fortunately for them the 2 technologies are close enough that they could switch from using WIMAX to LTE relatively easily. (the coast would be non trivial, so obviously they would hope to avoid it)
 
For all you guys saying AT&T or Verizon's networks are years away from 4G, America isn't the only country in the world you know. 🙄

A few Asian countries, and many European have already begun rolling out real, 100Mbps, 4G networks. Yes, cities in the UK and Sweden can access 4G networks right now.

…What? Apple's an American company and will support only what America needs? Not in my experience, really. I've been using the bluetooth in my PowerBook to connect to my cellphone since 2003, when most American Mac-owners were calling it a useless feature because US carriers blocked bluetooth support on phones — but Apple still supported it for the lucky people in the rest of the world. There's also MMS in the iPhone -do American iPhones support MMS now, by the way? Tethering? Emoji? …Apple do support features for other countries, even if it doesn't work in America.

So I don't think it's such a stupid question to ask if Apple will release a 4G iPad soon. They're also always the first company to support the latest WiFi standards, so I don't think it's too outlandish to suggest they might have a 4G enabled iPad within 2 revisions of the device - possibly even by the next generation of the iPad if Apple has access to a dual 3G/4G chipset.
 
dissdnt said:
Sprint's network is actually called WiMax, and it is that fast. WiMax is as fast if not faster then land line internet connections. It also has 2x the radius, over 60 miles per tower, which makes expansion quicker and in a wider area then usual.

WiMax is the future. One data plan to rule them all. You won't need internet at home and a data plan for your phone and another for your laptop etc. It will be one data plan for everything. IF you have coverage in your area that is 🙂
Click to expand...

I wouldn't get too comfortable with that idea, wimax is still subject to severe contention, much more so than any landline. The majority of people will still be using a dsl or cable variant to get decent speeds for VOD. 😀
 
dissdnt said:
Sprint's network is actually called WiMax, and it is that fast. WiMax is as fast if not faster then land line internet connections. It also has 2x the radius, over 60 miles per tower, which makes expansion quicker and in a wider area then usual.

WiMax is the future. One data plan to rule them all. You won't need internet at home and a data plan for your phone and another for your laptop etc. It will be one data plan for everything. IF you have coverage in your area that is 🙂
Click to expand...

First off, WiMax is not even close to what a "land line" internet connection can do.

Second, WiMax is not the future. LTE is the future.

A 4G iPad wont be around for a while. Probably the 3rd revision, a 4G network needs to be built that actually covers a decent area to make it worth while.

It won't really matter much anyway for a while because with 7.2 Mbps HSPA upgrades and then HSPA+ (21 Mbps) a 3G connection will not be much slower then a 4G one.
 
LadyHoneyBabe said:
In the near future all the cellphone companies will be on 4G; in fact Sprint is already advertising it. When 4G, which is expected to be deployed next year for other companies, is offered to consumers, will there be an iPad 4G to accommodate the new speeds? If that's the case, why are they pushing the 3G for everyone to buy when they know the hardware is incompatible with 4G? Is this also why AT&T is pushing for everyone to buy the WiFi version?

Just wondering...😕
Click to expand...

Something I didn't see mentioned as well is that there will be a new iPad next year and then a new one the year after that. Apple wouldn't delay their product a year (best case scenario) to take advantage of 4G when they already have plans to release another generation that year. Why delay profit?

When 4G becomes prevalent, a new iPad (and iPhone) won't be more than 6-8 months away (probably far less).
 
4G would be very nice.

However, I'd be very content if ATT can just get the 7.2Mbps working on their current 3G network like they are supposed to. The iPad will support this speed.

I'll probably be very old before I see this unfortunately!
 
4G? I don't even have 3G here yet, (though this year some time will be available). Luckily where I work there is now 3G as of last year. So I am not even worried about 4G. None of that can still beat true broadband wireless (which I get at work)
 
EssentialParado said:
For all you guys saying AT&T or Verizon's networks are years away from 4G, America isn't the only country in the world you know. 🙄

A few Asian countries, and many European have already begun rolling out real, 100Mbps, 4G networks. Yes, cities in the UK and Sweden can access 4G networks right now.

…What? Apple's an American company and will support only what America needs? Not in my experience, really. I've been using the bluetooth in my PowerBook to connect to my cellphone since 2003, when most American Mac-owners were calling it a useless feature because US carriers blocked bluetooth support on phones — but Apple still supported it for the lucky people in the rest of the world. There's also MMS in the iPhone -do American iPhones support MMS now, by the way? Tethering? Emoji? …Apple do support features for other countries, even if it doesn't work in America.

So I don't think it's such a stupid question to ask if Apple will release a 4G iPad soon. They're also always the first company to support the latest WiFi standards, so I don't think it's too outlandish to suggest they might have a 4G enabled iPad within 2 revisions of the device - possibly even by the next generation of the iPad if Apple has access to a dual 3G/4G chipset.
Click to expand...

You took the words out of my mouth on the bolded section above. The US is a 3rd world country when it comes to wireless access.

/Jim
 
bowlerman625 said:
4G would be very nice.

However, I'd be very content if ATT can just get the 7.2Mbps working on their current 3G network like they are supposed to. The iPad will support this speed.

I'll probably be very old before I see this unfortunately!
Click to expand...

I agree. 7.2Mbps would be very nice for right now!
 
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