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LTE, do you trust it?

audix said:
Also, is this on par with the much touted fiber optics which excites me more than LTE. I haven't tried it yet.

Also, is the new iPhone going to say LTE or 4G? Are they the same thing?
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Lol :D
Fiber optics excite you more than LTE huh?
I think you gotta do some research on LTE, 4G, 3G HSPA+ and find out the tech details, meaning and theoretical speeds behind them. How they work etc...
That little indicator on the top left of the phone sometimes doesnt mean much and companies like AT&T display it more like a gimmick type of thing on the 4S past ios 5.1
 
I just really want my futuristic downloads. That 1GB per second speed that you've only dreampt of. I thought fiber optics gave us that.

And my question isn't answered. Why does the iPad say LTE while the iPhone says 4G?

Does it go like, E and 3G becomes LTE and 4G?
 
audix said:
I just really want my futuristic downloads. That 1GB per second speed that you've only dreampt of. I thought fiber optics gave us that.

And my question isn't answered. Why does the iPad say LTE while the iPhone says 4G?

Does it go like, E and 3G becomes LTE and 4G?
Click to expand...

The new ipad is LTE enabled meaning it has an LTE modem inside. The iphone 4S or any current iphone doesnt. It has a 3G modem inside and since the 4S has a faster version of 3G (HSPA+) AT&T calls it 4G.
4G is not LTE.
 
Applejuiced said:
The new ipad is LTE enabled meaning it has an LTE modem inside. The iphone 4S or any current iphone doesnt. It has a 3G modem inside and since the 4S has a faster version of 3G (HSPA+) AT&T calls it 4G.
4G is not LTE.
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Now I'm confused. So, okay. The iPhone 4S has 4G because the 3G speeds are fast enough to warrant the name 4G?

I thought it was because the iPhone 4S was built with a 4G modem that allows for faster speeds, that's what AT&T told me.

Why in commercials do they say 4G LTE as if its the same thing? So, the new iPad went from 3G to LTE and the iPhone 4S went from 3G to 4G which is really just faster 3G?

What will the new iPhone have? LTE or 4G?
 
Its a marketing game AT&T and Tmobile plays with 3G+ calling it 4G.
Most consumers dont know the details and fall for it.
The 4S doesnt have a 4G modem, just a faster 3G modem than the iphone 4 and previous iphones. It has HSPA+ that will give you 3G speeds up to 14mbps.
But its not LTE.
The next iphone will most likelly have true LTE but noone knows for sure yet.
 
audix said:
Now I'm confused. So, okay. The iPhone 4S has 4G because the 3G speeds are fast enough to warrant the name 4G?

I thought it was because the iPhone 4S was built with a 4G modem that allows for faster speeds, that's what AT&T told me.

Why in commercials do they say 4G LTE as if its the same thing? So, the new iPad went from 3G to LTE and the iPhone 4S went from 3G to 4G which is really just faster 3G?

What will the new iPhone have? LTE or 4G?
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No, the 4S has HSPA+ on GSM networks, which is a faster 3G. AT&T and T-Mobile just advertise it as 4G.

4G and LTE are the same thing, Verizon's network = 4G LTE. The new iPad did go from 3G to 4G LTE, but the 4S never went from 3G to any kind of 4G. It's just marketing by AT&T.
 
audix said:
Now I'm confused. So, okay. The iPhone 4S has 4G because the 3G speeds are fast enough to warrant the name 4G?

I thought it was because the iPhone 4S was built with a 4G modem that allows for faster speeds, that's what AT&T told me.

Why in commercials do they say 4G LTE as if its the same thing? So, the new iPad went from 3G to LTE and the iPhone 4S went from 3G to 4G which is really just faster 3G?

What will the new iPhone have? LTE or 4G?
Click to expand...

Think of it this way. EDGE, HPSA, HPSA+, LTE. That's slowest to fastest....

Now the numbers. EDGE would be 2G, HPSA would be 3G, HPSA+ used to be 3G because of marketing ATT now labels it 4G. LTE is generally called LTE, however Verizon refers too it as 4G with some phones.

Btw that's just att, Verizon's network is different.
 
cynics said:
Think of it this way. EDGE, HPSA, HPSA+, LTE. That's slowest to fastest....

Now the numbers. EDGE would be 2G, HPSA would be 3G, HPSA+ used to be 3G because of marketing ATT now labels it 4G. LTE is generally called LTE, however Verizon refers too it as 4G with some phones.

Btw that's just att, Verizon's network is different.
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Well then I was right. Because with the iPhone 4 you get Edge and 3G. So it's E and then it shows 3G.

With the iPhone 4S you still have E and it also will show 4G.

With the newer iPhone it will, instead of E or 3G, say 4G and then it will show LTE.

That's what the iPad does right?
 
audix said:
Well then I was right. Because with the iPhone 4 you get Edge and 3G. So it's E and then it shows 3G.

With the iPhone 4S you still have E and it also will show 4G.

With the newer iPhone it will, instead of E or 3G, say 4G and then it will show LTE.

That's what the iPad does right?
Click to expand...

A new phone will show GPRS (a dot), E for EDGE, then 4G (HSPA and HSPA+) and then LTE (if available). EDGE is never labeled as 3G although under 3GPP it actually is a 3G technology.
 
audix said:
I just really want my futuristic downloads. That 1GB per second speed that you've only dreampt of. I thought fiber optics gave us that.
Click to expand...

1Gb/s is possible, Google has deployed such network in Kansas City. Fiber does give you that. In fact, a single fiber can deliver as much as ~38.49 Gb/s using OC-768 multiple and using Synchronous Optical Network Protocols (SONET). That is just one strand. Further updates to this protocol are at OC-1024 which has a bandwidth of ~160Gb/s.

However, using another fiber optics protocols/standard called Wavelength Division Multiplexing can increase a single fiber capacity to 1.6Tb/s; yes Terabit per second (Tb/s).
 
Going back to original post, LTE is about money but not about charging YOU money. For carrier, it's all about keeping their customers happy, and giving them the edge over competition.

Now, Verizon holds the crown of biggest LTE footprint, with AT&T is second, and Sprint a very-very distant third. This means that Sprint users may jump over to Verizon or AT&T, less people will jump off Verizon to go to Sprint or T-Mobile, and Verizon will keep cancellation and churn rates down, thus increasing their profit.
 
I am currently with AT&T for my iPhone 3G data, and I'm also a Verizon customer for my 4G LTE/3G evdo data. In San Diego, my AT&T 3G data has been more dependable for me. Even if San Diego is marketed for LTE coverage... it's still very spotty... and I still end up using slower Verizon 3G evdo data. Verizon 3G is slower than AT&T, but I'm fine with it... The thing that gets annoying is the lag when switching from LTE to 3G... and the other way around. It really depends on where you live if you are going to like LTE or not. When we went to San Francisco, LTE coverage was awesome in that area... it was fast and dependable. I was getting better LTE speeds in SF then I ever had in SD.
 
When I was in Washington DC I got a solid 12Mbps. That's extremely fast compared to the 4Mbps I get with HSPA+ in my area (no LTE in Scranton) its still 10 times slower than my wifi at home, but that's blazing for a mobile network.
 
audix said:
Also, is this on par with the much touted fiber optics which excites me more than LTE. I haven't tried it yet.

Also, is the new iPhone going to say LTE or 4G? Are they the same thing?
Click to expand...

Cellular networks use fiber optics from the tower to the server. Many times the fiber is the same as your home Internet, leased from the cable company.
 
LTE is really nice, but I don't really need it unless I'm downloading something. I usually keep it turned off because at home and work it isn't available. I will say watching youtube in hd with no buffering is very nice.
 
audix said:
I suspect LTE is just a way of getting you to pay up more money for a slightly different internet connection. Not necessarily faster. Anyway. LTE should not be sold at a premium. That's why people will not upgrade to it.

Is the new iPhone automatically going to be more expensive because it comes with LTE?
Click to expand...

Woah, woah, woah ... wait, what?

LTE 4G plans, at least as of now, don't cost you a penny more than 3G plans do. Are the shared plans seemingly raising costs for smartphones across the board? Yes. But they don't discriminate price-wise against LTE 4G plans.

Will Apple charge more for the LTE 4G technology in the new iPhone? No. They will maintain the same price structure they have since the 3G as of years ago, and most likely the tiered pricing scheme that went into effect as of the 4S last summer:

iPhone 4 8Gb $0
iPhone 4S 8Gb $99
new iPhone 16Gb $199
new iPhone 32Gb $299
new iPhone 64Gb $399

Can you source where you are reading that the new iPhone with LTE will dramatically change costs, or where 4G LTE plans will cost more than 3G plans?
 
mattopotamus said:
you may not live in an area with 4G LTE coverage.....there is a very noticeable difference between 5mbps and 15
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hmmm.. I live in Los Angeles... sooo... there should be LTE coverage here. maybe it's an issue with the phone then... but all i know is, when my husband and I are both on our cell phones, we sometimes compete to see whose phone gets to a site faster (I have an iPhone, his is android), and many times, I win.
 
LittleGwen said:
hmmm.. I live in Los Angeles... sooo... there should be LTE coverage here. maybe it's an issue with the phone then... but all i know is, when my husband and I are both on our cell phones, we sometimes compete to see whose phone gets to a site faster (I have an iPhone, his is android), and many times, I win.
Click to expand...

yeah, you should definitely have LTE living in LA. What about when you download the same app? Both of you download the free speedtest app and see what the results are..... both in time it takes to download and also the speed test performed by the app.
 
Well a lot of people just seem confused by 4G and LTE. It might be something I'll think about farther into the future.
 
I have an iPhone 4s with AT&T and a Verizon LTE iPad 3. My husband and kids have Verizon 4s iPhones. Speed experienced as follows:

Verizon 3G < AT&T 3G/4G:rolleyes: HSPA+ << Verizon LTE.

True LTE is much and noticeably faster than HSPA in my experience and yes, it is worth it.
 
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