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3G verses 4G, Interesting Truths

Updated: at 02:12 PM

I just got back from CES and have been honestly quite confused about all the different claims for 4G verses 3G.  Somehow, my T-Mobile phone I trialed (The Google G2) seemed to get pretty impressive download speeds, even though it was still not 4G (sometimes, up to 5MBs).  Then, my AT&T phone running Windows Phone 7 would get close to the same running AT&T’s 3G.  They both seem to call their networks HSPA+ I think, and somehow, that means 3G but faster (whatever the hec that means).  Now, I have a Sprint phone again (the HTC Slide running Android) with the real 4G.  Hmm. a big confusing.

At anyrate, Jason Hiner just a really good article that sorts all this out.  My biggest takeaway is that the “real” 4G networks (Sprint (WIMAX) and Verizon (LTE)) have significantly reduced latency time which does make a big difference for how the web feels when you are doing interactive stuff.  Below is a post to the article:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/how-at-t-and-t-mobile-conjured-4g-networks-out-of-thin-air/43577?tag=nl.e539

Hope this helps you as it did me.

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