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One-Third of iPhone Users Mistakenly Think They Have 4G

Oh god, thank you thank you thank you...

I was really ready to get out of the closet and admit I was a geek...

I mean I like all the computer stuff... I wonder when the Lion will come out, whether the Windows 8 will be the new new Vista.. crap like that...

But, after reading some of the posts in this thread, and also the "Why are people always so surprised when I tell them a new iphone will come out..." thread over at the iPhone forum, I've realised I got nothing to worry about...

Some of you guys.. really.. need to get a life..
 
ah the ignorance of people...

This is both hilarious and a little sad. I'm very surprised by this, especially since 4G doesn't really exist on any current phones in the first place!

I used to work somewhere where I sold apple products, and lots of people referred to the ipod touch 4th generation as an ipod touch "4g"... I got some of that with the iphone 4 too, but less so.

And as for the people saying we shouldn't be so judgemental... screw that. If you buy a phone and don't know what kind of conection it has (a phone's connection being a very fundamental part of the phone's functionality), then you are at least a little bit of an idiot. Doesn't matter how smart you are in other areas. And if you genuinely don't care, that's one thing. But thinking that you have a 4G when 4G is not really out yet... that's silly.

If you asked me what kind of car I had and I said it ran on anti-matter, would I not be an idiot? Or more realistically, if I didn't know if my car ran on gasoline or diesel, would I be an idiot? Damn right. I don't expect everyone to know every technical detail about their devices... but some knowledge is fundamental and expected. Especially when you're phone says 3g right on it or on the screen.

Ignorance is by far one of the most pervasive problems of the modern age...
 
Apple deliberately mislead consumers by naming it "iPhone 4" at the same time the carriers started advertising their 4G Network.

Of course the general population would think iPhone 4 was 4G after the names "3G" and "3GS"
 
Ammo said:
Apple deliberately mislead consumers by naming it "iPhone 4" at the same time the carriers started advertising their 4G Network.

Of course the general population would think iPhone 4 was 4G after the names "3G" and "3GS"
Click to expand...

Agreed. I think most of the confusion is because the previous phone was called 3G. Most of the iPhone owners I know call theirs 4G without even thinking what it means. The casual consumer doesn't read forums like this - they have no clue. You can't get angry and call them morons though because they don't know the difference between cell networks. Apple is very mainstream now - EVERYONE has an iPhone; not just the nerds like us.
 
Ammo said:
Apple deliberately mislead consumers by naming it "iPhone 4" at the same time the carriers started advertising their 4G Network.

Of course the general population would think iPhone 4 was 4G after the names "3G" and "3GS"
Click to expand...

What makes you so sure that it's deliberately?
 
torbjoern said:
What makes you so sure that it's deliberately?
Click to expand...

Why else would they name it iPhone 4 around that same time?

I just wish iPhone 3G was iPhone 2 so we wouldn't have this "3G/4G" nonsense that no one even understands in our cell network advertisements.
 
I really don't blame people for being confused about this. The way carriers are throwing around the term "4G" is guaranteed to breed confusion. I'm on Telus, and they've effectively changed the name of their HSPA+ service from 3.5g a few months ago, to 4G... even though it definitely isn't LTE. Apparently I'm experiencing 4G service now from Telus... though absolutely nothing has changed. And Telus only did this in response to AT&T doing it first, so their network, which is basically identical, wouldn't look old and slow.

For these terms to be even remotely meaningful to anyone, their use needs to be regulated.
 
floobie said:
I really don't blame people for being confused about this. The way carriers are throwing around the term "4G" is guaranteed to breed confusion. I'm on Telus, and they've effectively changed the name of their HSPA+ service from 3.5g a few months ago, to 4G... even though it definitely isn't LTE. Apparently I'm experiencing 4G service now from Telus... though absolutely nothing has changed. And Telus only did this in response to AT&T doing it first, so their network, which is basically identical, wouldn't look old and slow.

For these terms to be even remotely meaningful to anyone, their use needs to be regulated.
Click to expand...

They need to not be used, period.

Ask the average American what 3G or 4G is and they have no idea. It's a ridiculous notion started by the iPhone 3G.

I bet if iPhone 3G was named iPhone 2, we'd never hear the terms "3G or 4G" muttered in a cell phone commercial.
 
AnthonyHarris said:
But it clearly says 'iPhone 4' on the side of the bloody box. Anyone that just presumes there is a G involved anywhere is a complete idiot. Nothing is easily added anywhere. Its 'iPhone 4'. Nothing else. Plain. Simple. Doesn't the box also clearly state on the bottom that it runs on the 3G network?

And they say the human race is supposed to be the most intelligent life form? Only if they read the literature that comes with their expensive devices, it seems. Morons.
Click to expand...

You just called your parents complete idiots. Not to mention every supreme court justice, CEO of any fortune 500 company not in the computer or telephone industry, the doctor who delivered your kids, the professor who taught you how formulate a sentence... I could go on and on. You're a complete idiot if you think the only measure of intelligence is the understanding of arcane and arbitrary cell phone terminology.

Idiot.
 
Ammo said:
They need to not be used, period.

Ask the average American what 3G or 4G is and they have no idea. It's a ridiculous notion started by the iPhone 3G.

I bet if iPhone 3G was named iPhone 2, we'd never hear the terms "3G or 4G" muttered in a cell phone commercial.
Click to expand...


2G, 3G, and now 4G cell networks have no relation to the iPhone at all. You may not remember the hype around 3G when it was rolled out way back in the dim mists of year 2000, a full 7 years before the iPhone was a twinkle in the consumer's eye.

Yes Apple made an error when labeling the iPhone 2 the iPhone 3G, then the 3GS as it just added to the confusion. However as you can see in the graph it's not just iPhone users that are confusticated about this. While Apple didn't help, this is still on the cellphone companies for not being open and forthright about these technologies, and fine print in a TV ad doesn't count. That those fine print things on TV should be a legal violation, they are virtually unreadable in size and time.
 
In other news, 98% of people paying for 4G data think they're actually paying for 4G speeds.
 
Ammo said:
Why else would they name it iPhone 4 around that same time?
Click to expand...
Because it succeeded the 3G and 3GS. What else should they name it? "iPhone 5" or "iPhone 3GSX" (whereas the X represents an arbitrary letter)?

First was the original iPhone
Second was iPhone 3G
Third was iPhone 3GS (the model # was then in accordance with the iteration #)
Fourth was iPhone 4 (the model # is still in accordance with the iteration #)
 
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daneoni said:
In other news, 98% of people paying for 4G data think they're actually paying for 4G speeds.
Click to expand...

My WiMax connection is faster than the Average Americans Broadband. Its worth the extra $10 bucks a month. My sprint bill is $72 a month that includes 4G data, unlimited text, unlimited mobile to mobile with any carrier, and unlimited data.
 
Ammo said:
Why else would they name it iPhone 4 around that same time?

I just wish iPhone 3G was iPhone 2 so we wouldn't have this "3G/4G" nonsense that no one even understands in our cell network advertisements.
Click to expand...
maybe because it's the 4th iPhone???
 
Yes but Apple did better with names back when they went with big cats for OS X.

If they'd done something similar with iPhone.. say, birds: Raven, Tanager, Avocet, Heron... or just blown our minds and come out with a non-series series of names, like iPhone Bayou, iPhone Jupiter, iPhone Aquifer, iPhone Lattice...

People just get mad when there's too much possible confusion of numbers between a product's name (or generation), and stuff related to any part of its specs.

I bet they go around and around on product names in meetings at every company. It's all about brands but the lawyers often get in the way of name picks because of the work involved in trademark research. It's too bad. I'd love to have an iPhone Lattice and a DoughMixer Lattice. wtf, I could tell them apart...
 
Pretty much every product from cars, cell phones, electronics, boats, motorcycles, etc. are all named based on some type of specification. It actually makes things easier. You really think it would be easier for people to tell the difference between an iPhone Apollo and iPhone Zeus vs their current names?

There is only one iPhone released a year, if someone can't figure out which one is the latest (let me give you a clue.... the one that's always in advertisements) then that's their own problem.
 
Ammo said:
Apple deliberately mislead consumers by naming it "iPhone 4" at the same time the carriers started advertising their 4G Network.

Of course the general population would think iPhone 4 was 4G after the names "3G" and "3GS"
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was SO bummed when I fought out I only get 1 iPad when I clearly bought an iPad 2.

FALSE ADVERTISING APPLE!
 
So that makes one-third of the iphone users dummies. Sell turds to the masses and they think it's chocolate.
 
rmhop81 said:
again i will repeat it ONE MORE TIME. people who are NOT tech savvy won't understand. If they hear an iPhone 3G has 3G data they are only going to assume an iPod or iPod Touch 3G has 3G data as well. But you are the one claiming it's OK to call it a 3G instead of iPod 3rd generation bc you say so.

This concept is difficult for you to grasp isn't it?
Click to expand...
"Generation" is what the G stands for. What do you think the G stands for in cell phone companies' "3G" and "4G"?

It has been used for many products by many people, not just cellular signal.
 
cameronjpu said:
You just called your parents complete idiots. Not to mention every supreme court justice, CEO of any fortune 500 company not in the computer or telephone industry, the doctor who delivered your kids, the professor who taught you how formulate a sentence... I could go on and on. You're a complete idiot if you think the only measure of intelligence is the understanding of arcane and arbitrary cell phone terminology.

Idiot.
Click to expand...

Does the world revolve around cell phone terminology? Absolutely not.
But. You don't PRESUME you've won the lottery without checking your numbers, nor do you PRESUME you've lost 100 pounds from the fad diet you've been on without weighing yourself first.

Why would you PRESUME that your phone has 4G services without reading the information that came in the box or is freely available on the website? There is a simple way of figuring things out. Do a bit of research.

Idiot.
 
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