4G -- Why bother

[jimbo45]

Hi there

I like the idea of 4G being standard on Windows 8 phones -- but in practice this is a total 100% irrelevance / waste of time and space.

I can't understand what all the hype is over the 4G systems now being rolled out -- I NEVER surf the internet with a mobile phone unless it's on a Wi-Fi system and then the 4G system is 100% irrelevant as you are dependant on the Wi Fi's Router's speed irrespective of the software installed in your mobile phone.

Who on Earth on this planet pays a MOBILE operator to surf the internet at Mobile rates when universal WI-FI is available.

Maybe I've missed something here --but tech comms guys perhaps you can tell me what I'm missing here.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[TheGrantFitz]

Hi there
I can't understand what all the hype is over the 4G systems now being rolled out -- I NEVER surf the internet with a mobile phone unless it's on a Wi-Fi system and then the 4G system is 100% irrelevant as you are dependant on the RoRouter's speed irrespective of the software installed in your mobile phone.

Who on Earth on this planet pays a MOBILE operator to surf the internet at Mobile rates when universal WI-FI is available.

Maybe I've missed something here --but tech comms guys perhaps you can tell me what I'm missing here.

Cheers
jimbo

Same here.
Using them "fancy" smartphone plans seem ridiculous, other than maybe a email check or quick web look. I use a 500 MB a month plan and don't use my phone enough to use up those 500 MB.
I may begin using this:
Free Wireless Internet | Free Internet | 4G Wireless Internet - FreedomPop

Cool idea, I think.

 

[Hamnat]

I thought the same thing at first. I had the bare minimum to be able to have a smartphone and I never used the full 200mbs or whatever it was. But, as I travel a lot now and ATT has the shared data I bumped the plan up on the shared data plan and I find I use it a lot more than I had imagined before. The shared data is much more useful I have found and cheaper with more data overall than I had.

It probably depends on what you do for work. If I am in the office all day with Wi fi then I go home at night to my wifi and thats all then yeah it does get redundant to have a huge plan for data. If I am somewhere with no wireless or if the wireless connection is bad I know my 4gLTE is much faster I will switch over. I use my 4gLTE everyday now. Traveling though or working outdoors or what have you there is not good wifi EVERYWHERE yet. And even if there is wifi 4gLTE is faster I find than a lot of the "guest" Wi fis or public choices

 

[cluberti]

As someone who uses the phone as a companion work device, and in a pinch, the primary device, the difference in HSPA/HSPA+ and LTE speeds are (frankly) incredible. Download large files over LTE, then go back to 3G or EDGE and tell me which you'd prefer. Also, downloading faster over an LTE connection and then going idle is better for the battery than downloading the same thing slower over a slower connection, long term. Also, some WiFi hotspots might as well be dial-up modems, so having LTE in those places is faster, better for the battery, and more common than you'd think.

Just because it has no value to you doesn't mean it has no value .

 

[R0bR]

and then the 4G system is 100% irrelevant as you are dependant on the Wi Fi's Router's speed irrespective of the software installed in your mobile phone.

I don't even understand what this point of yours means, what does 4G have to do with a WiFi's Router speed?

Just because things are irrelevant to you they aren't irrelevant to others. Perhaps Wifi is available everywhere you go and it is free, but when I travel Wifi hotspots are not free. It would cost me more a month in Wifi charges than just using my phone if I went that route.

 

[pparks1]

I don't have universal WiFi in many places that I go. My kids watch videos all of the time on 4g on my phone while we are on the car.

 

[strollin]

My smartphone with 4G provides me with download speeds about 4-6 times faster than my home internet connection and is faster than ANY free wifi connection I have ever encountered. The 4G connection is available in the car while underway (try that with free wifi) and there are very few places I frequent where free wifi is available. I can turn on a hotspot on my phone and surf away on my netbook, laptop and tablet (all at the same time BTW). If it wasn't for the fact that I have an unlimited data plan I might think differently but no way would I want to give up my 4G for sucky free wifi.

 

[Airbot]

Who on Earth on this planet pays a MOBILE operator to surf the internet at Mobile rates when universal WI-FI is available.

Maybe I've missed something here --but tech comms guys perhaps you can tell me what I'm missing here.

Hi there.


Universal WiFi?

What is that?

News to me. Maybe if we all lived in Iceland, but not where I'm from.

 

[cluberti]

Exactly - I live in NYC and travel the US. The only free WiFi I find is in Starbucks (slow) and airports (slower!), and even that isn't universally true either.

 

[Coke Robot]

Mostly because wifi networks in most places are either: wide and in between, password protected, too slow, or there just aren't any networks available. Ending my contract with att forced me to use wifi, it's annoying. I have to constantly check for wifi networks, see if any are open, connect if they're within range, and sometimes have to go IE to login into the network. It's also a major PITA when I'm using Nokia Drive and I need a route and don't have a network connection and don't have wifi anywhere. I literally have to do a practice cerca 2005 called wifi hunting or I think also called wifi war driving. There are also times where my home wifi speed for some reason gets throttled down at certain times, especially at night, where having a 4G network is literally faster than using wifi.

But then again, this is the US. We're into privacy, security, and ownership. We also don't seem to have the ability to call BS on contracts that can cost upwards of 60-80 dollars a month for two years, when all is said and done, you end up paying over 2,000 dollars for a phone you paid 200 for. I don't think many people do the math on that one. I know here in the US, T-Mobile has a 4G prepaid smartphone plan with packages ranging from 30-60 dollars. The 30 dollar plan is the one I'm going to have as it has all I need and more if I want. When all is said and done after year years, I would end up paying about 1,400 dollars versus about 2,200. The huge cost is the phone itself you pay out of pocket.

But you should also know that it's not just internet browsing, it's also apps. There are instragram, facebook, pintrest, Reddit, YouTube, email, news, SkyDrive, Office, and other apps that need internet. Again, this is how the US is different from Europe, I guess Europeans don't watch videos on a 4 inch screen. Why people do this I don't know. It's idiotic to the point that people only use their PCs to print things because they're so engrossed in their phones and say, "My phone can do this, so why do I need to use a laptop?" Idiots I say.

 

[Hamnat]

Calling people Idiots because they choose to use the technology they pay for with their own money differently from you and do not adopt "your way" of thinking is quite strange.