Want an iphone as my droid is garbage, but being trapped in a 3g network that is quickly becoming outdated, seems foolish. Reminds me of the analog to digital transition a decade ago. Thoughts on this?
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why buy a 4s when youll be stuck wth 3g for 2 years?
- Thread starter ApplePie22
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3G is going to keep on working. It's not like they're going to turn it off overnight.
Besides, I get 5Mb down and 1.5Mb up on 3G - there's no way anyone needs faster for a while. My 3G on my phone is faster than my home broadband...
Besides, I get 5Mb down and 1.5Mb up on 3G - there's no way anyone needs faster for a while. My 3G on my phone is faster than my home broadband...
Has it occured to you that many of us can AFFORD to buy a new iPhone without waiting for a two year upgrade?
You're not stuck with anything. You can always buy a new phone and/or switch carriers at any time. You might have to pay an early upgrade or early termination fee to make a switch but you're by no means "stuck".
Solid 4G won't be available for another 2-3 years where I live anyways.. You can upgrade any time you'd like.. it's only $$$
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4g isn't as close as all these commercials make it out to be. A full roll-out of 4g coverage will take years. 3G works fine for me so no complaints here.
4g isn't as close as all these commercials make it out to be. A full roll-out of 4g coverage will take years. 3G works fine for me so no complaints here.
On what network?
Verizon/Sprint? yea that would blow.
ATT? The original iPhone 4 gets 3-5mbps down and 1.5 up. That's broadband speed that most have in their home. Better than most DSL. That's fast, and I no longer care. I'm done, 4G doesn't interest me at all.
I can't get excited over more network speed, I'm already streaming pandora and youtube perfectly with bandwidth to spare.
I can't get excited over a larger, bulkier device with bigger screen that my thumb can't easily reach across.
I can't get excited over more processing power, especially when I see how fast Safari is, and run games like Infinity Blade and Dark Meadow, holy ****.
The iPhone 4S is even faster, realistically on ATT network, people are getting 9-10mbps down. Holy ****, on a mobile phone. Screw LTE, I can't see needing more.
Far different than the analog/digital transition. That was a complete shift in the capability of the phone, being able to SMS and WEP plus smaller phones and improved battery life on digital.
The 3G/4G transition nets you no additional capabilities, just the same features on a faster network. The phones currently are tending to be larger and have worse battery life.
The additional speed of 4G is of relatively little value on a handset directly (different story if you tether). I can stream video on 3G at handset-screen resolution without buffering, what is the benefit of a faster network there? I can download a song in a few seconds, the benefit of 4G in that case is almost insignificant.
I do look forward to 4G because I do tether, and at some point in the future there will be applications & capabilities that 4G will enable that we haven't even considered yet. And, that may happen within 2 years - so it's possible that if your budget is tight, you'll be "Stuck" on 3G for a while if you buy a handset now. But there are alternatives as mentioned above to upgrade early, so in my mind - get the best product for your needs when you need it, rather than wait for what "might" happen later. For me, that was the iPhone 4S.
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Good point. 4S benefits I mentioned only apply on GSM, if you're on CDMA then you have a much harder decision.
I still think 3G is just fine. I don't know what I'd need 4G for at this point yet. When I stream content I think it's great. 4G isn't totally rolled out yet anyway. Plus with most carriers instilling datacaps, does 4G really matter? LOL... Luckily I'm still grandfathered into my unlimited data plan with AT&T and have the iPhone 4S.
Oh I completely disagree. Verizon 4G coverage is in almost 200 markets now (including the regions where I spend 99% of my time) and it's crazy fast. I ping at ~50ms and get down speeds of 5+Mbps on a slow day. It's essentially as fast as my home broadband.
Perhaps the questions should be: why would anyone want a 2-year contract for a phone? I don't get that at all, it works out MUCH cheaper to just buy the phone up front and get a cheap calling plan (or go pre-paid - I do that, and it works out at <£30/$50 per year, including data). Plus you're not tied down at all, you can do whatever you like with your phone.
A 2-year contract is not far off getting a mortgage!
A 2-year contract is not far off getting a mortgage!
2 years vs. 15 years? Are you kidding me?
You're also not in the US. In the US, a quality cellular plan from Sprint/Verizon/ATT costs the same whether you get a discounted phone or not.
$200 + $40+/mo for contract.
or
$650 + $40+/mo no contract.
Few change carriers often enough to care, and thus save $450.
In the US, there's no typically no difference in the monthly service whether on contract or not on contract. I understand this is different from service options in the EU.
Datacap argument is odd and I don't see the applicability.
On 3G. You browse and open a 500kb website might take 0.3s with latency. Uses 500kb of your datacap.
On 4G. You browsing and opening the same 500kb website might take 0.1s with latency. Still uses only 500kb of your datacap for you to read it.
I think it's a very valid argument. 3G/4G for your current, normal use pattern is plenty fast. Perhaps with 4G faster speeds you can come up with some additional reason to want/use those speeds. But with the data cap, it's moot - you can't use the benefit without busting the cap.
Faster speeds, oh yippie I can download more, download more and meet the datacap.
I understand the technical aspects. I'm just saying, in general, we still have datacaps, for the most part. So having faster speeds doesn't necessarily mean the world is suddenly great.
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It took till almost 2 years ago to have 3G where I live. 4g wont be "here" by the next early upgrade.
It took till almost 2 years ago to have 3G where I live. 4g wont be "here" by the next early upgrade.
att has allowed me to upgrade every year to the new iPhone at regular price ($199) if I just agree to sign a new 2 year contract. I think they pretty much do this for everyone unless you pay for the lowest plan, basic data, and no sms.
Hmm.. the iPhone cost to the carriers is supposed to be $600. So if you don't take the iPhone, they just keep the extra $400 it would cost them? That's really, really ******. Or alternatively it's a massive opportunity for anyone with a more customer-friendly business plan
How are you trapped.? You can change your device whenever you want and unlike many other phones. You can often do it at a profit.
Yup, the U.S. carriers want all of their customers to be locked into a contract. And when your contract is up they bombard you with mail trying to get you to buy a new phone under a new contract.
It would really be nice if they would offer a no contract plan for a premium phone. Not going to happen.....
It would really be nice if they would offer a no contract plan for a premium phone. Not going to happen.....
4G speeds are great but, in my opinion, it's not ready for prime-time. I had a Droid Bionic for 2 months and I had a couple major problems with 4G: Phone would lock sometimes going between 4G and 3G areas; battery life was horrid.
I've read numerous stories and have friends with the same issues on other 4G phones so I don't think it was just me.
If you have access to have you phone plugged in most of the time, and you need to stream videos often, 4G is for you. But I'll happily live with 3G for now on a stable phone until they get some of the bugs worked out.
I've read numerous stories and have friends with the same issues on other 4G phones so I don't think it was just me.
If you have access to have you phone plugged in most of the time, and you need to stream videos often, 4G is for you. But I'll happily live with 3G for now on a stable phone until they get some of the bugs worked out.