3G or 4G: Battery Life vs. Bandwidth - Shelly Palmer

With all the hype around the advent of 4G I thought it might be a good idea to look at the real differences between 3G and 4G devices how they interface with 3G and 4G Wireless Networks and offer some insights that might help you sort out what you actually need right now Speed vs Service amp8230 let39s consider the followingFor the record it is April 15 2011 This information is time sensitive According to Tony Malone Verizon39s VP Network Ops Verizon plans to cover 100 million Americans in 25 to 30 metro areas with 4G LTE by the end of 2011 It will double that coverage by early 2012 and completely cover the US by the end of 2013 Interestingly due to its 700MHz license Verizon39s 4G LTE Network will cover a greater portion of the US than its 3G Network covered3G is a defined standard Verizon39s EVDO Evolution Data Optimized Rev A provides speeds of 600Kbps1400Kbps Download bursts to 31Mbps 500Kbps800Kbps Upload bursts to 18Mbps Is that too geeky Sorry amp8211 at its best 3G is comparable to lowend home DSL service I live in New York City where there is good 3G and 4G coverage I just ran some broadband speed tests on my 3G Verizon iPhone 4 In three consecutive tests it averaged 500 Kbps down and 300 Kbps up well below the published specification 500 Kbps is just a little better than I used to get with my AOL dialup account in 1996That said 3G email is fine Exchange Server runs fine Calendar runs fine Contacts sync fine Google is snappy apps run great YouTube buffers a bit and the web is clunky but serviceable 3G speed is what we have become accustomed to in our modernAmerican mobile world4G which stands for 4th Generation wireless network technology is really a marketing term It may sound technical but the truth is that standards organizations such as the International Telecommunication Union have not officially defined 4G OopsNot to worry Verizon has done it for us From its point of view LTE Long Term Evolution is quotthequot 4G standard Verizon says that 4G is six to 10 times faster than 3G I can39t verify that but again from my apartment in NYC I ran broadband speed tests on my Verizon HTC Thunderbolt In three consecutive tests it averaged 21 Mbps down and 25 Mbps up Trust me that39s fast for a wireless device In fact I39d be happy if my Time Warner Road Runner Extreme Cable Modem consistently gave me this kind of performanceIf you are looking for raw wireless speed 4G from Verizon is as fast as it getsBut amp8230 speed is not everything And 4G is not everywhereOver the past few weeks several awesome 4G devices have hit the market ATampampT introduced its 4G Motorola Atrix Now ATampampT doesn39t really have a 4G network As I said in a previous article if you read the fine print in ATampampT39s agreement it says quot4G speeds require a 4G device and are delivered when HSPA technology is combined with enhanced backhaul 4G speeds available in limited areas with availability increasing with ongoing backhaul deploymentquot As of this writing that means ATampampT 4G is only available at full speed in Northern CA Greater LA Greater Dallas Houston Chicago Charlotte NC Baltimore Buffalo Boston Providence RI and Puerto Rico If you are not in one of these areas ATampampT 4G is 3GThis will change over time ATampampT also plans to cover the US with its 4G Network But for now what this really means is that the 4G Atrix will fallback to a 3G when it can39t find a 4G signal And as you can see from reading the previous paragraph that39s pretty much everywhere in the USA This is also true with the Verizon HTC Thunderbolt and its new Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot SCHLC11 and every other device on the market that calls itself 4GNow as Verizon39s VP Network Ops said Verizon has about 13 of the USA covered with LTE and plans to have about 2339s covered by early 2012 and most of the USA covered by the end of 2013 That39s just about the time your new 2year contract is going to end Hummm amp8230 seems like most people really won39t have 4G coverage for a whileJust how many batteries do you need for 4GSorry to bury the lead but 4G may not be for you Why Battery life 4G devices look for 4G networks When they can39t find a 4G network they fallback to 3G However unless you turn off the 4G radio the devices keep searching for 4G signals This absolutely eats batteries Sadly some devices don39t even let you turn off the 4G feature but even those that do require you to constantly know where you are and be conscious of the status of your network and your equipment YuckSo if you are used to popping in an extended battery and doing your 3G business all day long you are going to need two extended batteries or four regular batteries in our current 3G4G hybrid world Do you really want to charge one to three extra batteries every day Do you want to buy the extra equipment to do that Do you want to spend the money on the batteriesIf you need the speed and you know where you are and you are geeky enough to always be conscious of whether your background data 4G radio and WiFi radio are on or off then a 4G device may be for youHowever if you are a normal person who travels for business and is not used to constantly monitoring battery life and tweeking your device to extend it you might want to rethink 4GShould you avoid 4G devices No Most of the 4G devices available today not only have access to the much faster 4G wireless networks they devices themselves are significantly more powerful than their 3G counterparts This makes the entire 4G mobile computing experience much much more productive and enjoyableShould you cancel your 3G contract and rush to get a 4G device No unless you have a specific reason to do so And if you have a reason you are not reading this articleIf your contract is up between now and the end of 2011 don39t be afraid to purchase a 3G device instead of a 4G device amp8211 you won39t absolutely need a 4G device until late 2012 and remember amp8211 the carriers will support 3G for at least 10 more yearsDo I love my 4G smartphones Yes I strongly love them Note the plural I have not yet spent a day without four battery changes on my primary phone A Verizon HTC Thunderbolt Just for a point of comparison I had a extended battery on my Verizon 3G BlackBerry Bold 9650 which never needed charging on any business day during its service life I don39t miss it but I do miss the battery lifeShelly Palmer is the host of MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer a daily show featuring news you can use about technology media ampamp entertainment He is the author of Television Disrupted The Transition from Network to Networked TV 2008 New York House Press and the upcoming Get Digital Reinventing Yourself and Your Career for the 21st Century Economy 2009 Lake House Press Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts ampamp Sciences NY the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy Awards For information about Get Digital Classes visit httpwwwshellypalmercomseminars Watch Digital Life with Shelly Palmer Tuesdays at 10p ET on WNBC39s NY Nonstop httpwwwshellypalmercomdigitallifeRead all Shelly39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Shelly Palmer ReportCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerMediaBizBloggers is an openthought leadership blog platform for media marketing and advertising professionals companies and organizations To contribute contact Jackmediadvisorygroupcom The opinions expressed in MediaBizBloggerscom are not those of Media Advisory Group its employees or other MediaBizBloggerscom contributors Media Advisory Group accepts no responsibility for the views of MediaBizBloggers authors

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

3G or 4G: Battery Life vs. Bandwidth - Shelly Palmer

Author

Publish date

Channel

Shelly Palmer

"About That with Carl Mayer:" Alaina Donnellon (Episode 6) - By Carl Mayer

More Videos:

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

3G or 4G: Battery Life vs. Bandwidth - Shelly Palmer

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Shelly Palmer

"About That with Carl Mayer:" Alaina Donnellon (Episode 6) - By Carl Mayer

The payment was successful

Cookies