Is 4G Really Worth It?

[cicijay]

I have disabled 4G and only use 3G so my phone makes it to lunch time without needing to re-charge!

 

[lithos_BOLD]

I would definitely not want to pay extra for it, which is why I am so happy to be grandfather'd. For the poor bastards that aren't, I feel for them greatly. I would never go back to a 3G phone.

Thanks, Robrecht

+1

sent via Tapatalk

 

[Jeenyus]

It's like getting an m3(lte) for the price of a civic(3g). Of course the m3 will eat more gas(battery life), but there are roms to help get more miles out of your tb

 

[circustravis]

I hate to admit it, but I would be willing to pay a bit more for 4G. Though only if where I live was inside coverage. 3G data works, barely... Wi-Fi is normally a little better outside of security concerns. Though that's mostly the fault of cable/DSL providers. Around Northern Kentucky the 10/1Mps (Down/Up) is normally 4/0.5Mps.... LTE is very noticeable even updating/running apps. At worst its 7/4Mps aqnd best 25/9Mps. I wish Kentucky had the same level of coverage as Ohio. I travel a lot in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Ohio's coverage is noticeable better. Cleveland has coverage 40 miles south. Cincinnati has coverage 20-25 miles north and 1-2 miles south. I live 6 mile south. If I had coverage I would stop my cable and happily pay the $30 for Unlimited Mobile Hotspot/Mobile Broadband Connection.

BattleSwine,

I played with some of the 4g devices at Maifest in Covington a few months ago. The service seemed strong there, but as I live slightly south of there, I wonder if I would get the same service. I also travel all around Kentucky, is it ok in the bigger cities like Lex and Lou, or is 4G pretty much gone when I leave the Cincy metro area?

 

[MarkMcCoskey]

After having 4G with T-Mobiles myTouch 4G, I decided that I did not really need 4G, especially at $93 a month. So I opted for Virgins 3G Triumph at a cost of $40 per month. It's everything I need at over half the cost.

 

[sniffs]

It's worth if if you stream videos and or/tether.

3G - in reality, tops out at a little over 2Mbps.
4GLTE - in reality, I've seen top out at over 45Mbps.

You choose what you need.

 

[SSHGuru]

I'm waiting for 5g

 

[sniffs]

Carriers' lofty claims of 4G speed put to test - Technology & science - Wireless - msnbc.com

 

[daveross]

I got some of the inspiration from this LH article: Lifehacker

When 4g first came out I really did not know much about it and really didn't do a lot of research, I just knew it was faster, and in some cases crazy fast. My DX broke and I needed a new Droid (a new iPhone didn't even cross my mind, dwoids for lyfe) I went to the Vzw store and the one thing that I was thinking was does adding 4g to your plan cost more per month. It would make sense right? People with a 3g plan shouldn't pay the same as those with 4g. Its like charging the same price for a Fiat and a Ferrari.

Anyway, they do not charge more and I happily got the TB and now I blast around the internets.

My question is would you have still considered 4g if there was a monthly charge added on. What would your limit be? And is it even worth it for you? Are the speeds really that life changing?

And also consider all the other cons that come with 4g. (i.e. Limited battery life, radio issues, not even having it in your area, sim cards, etc.)

Thoughts!!!


ps. I really desire an app that will turn on your 4g when you open a browser or maps or downloading or tethering or are charging, and then goes back to 3g for all other data things. Would be heaven on earth.

I'm in Reading, PA work 40 miles away in Blue Bell (both areas are shown saturated in coverage on Sprint's site, yet only on the 1st day a month ago did these 2 new Epics ever have working 4G. Eastern PA on Sprint either has serious network problems or these phones suck. So I say, depending on where you live, depending on your network-whether they actually DELIVER or just FALSE ADVERTISE LIKE SPRINT, and perhaps depending on your phone-4G may or may not be worth it.

 

[daveross]

I'm in Reading, PA work 40 miles away in Blue Bell (both areas are shown saturated in coverage on Sprint's site, yet only on the 1st day a month ago did these 2 new Epics ever have working 4G. Eastern PA on Sprint either has serious network problems or these phones suck. So I say, depending on where you live, depending on your network-whether they actually DELIVER or just FALSE ADVERTISE LIKE SPRINT, and perhaps depending on your phone-4G may or may not be worth it.

Oh almost forgot-yes, they make you pay for the 4G despite the fact I can't use it. Total SCAM.

 

[KJ78]

Besides the faster speed, LTE seems to propagate better then 3g. The weak areas seem to be less weak, or at least crappy LTE is light years better than crappy 3g. The whole LTE technology just seems to work better, imho, because its a more modern technology.

 

[wildman]

I'm waiting for 5g

I see this commercial coming to life...

Justin Bieber BEST BUY Super Bowl Commercial - YouTube

 

[elai1108]

Yes 3g works just fine but it is still slower than LTE. And if your on VZW you don't pay more for LTE. I've had the $30 unlimited plan since I've been with VZW and when I got the TB my plan didn't go up. And WiFi works well only if you can use it all the time but I almost never have it unless I'm at home. So LTE in my area is great. I think you'd notice a huge difference if you actually use a 4G phone.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

My wifi at both work and home are nearly as fast as 4G and so I guess I'm one of the lucky people.

4G is definitely superior to 3G if you demand fastest response.

 

[carter17]

Just used 4g for the first time today and hands down 4g is worth it it blows 3g out of the water don't know how I'm going to make it when I go home and don't have it

 

[braveally]

I got some of the inspiration from this LH article: Lifehacker

When 4g first came out I really did not know much about it and really didn't do a lot of research, I just knew it was faster, and in some cases crazy fast. My DX broke and I needed a new Droid (a new iPhone didn't even cross my mind, dwoids for lyfe) I went to the Vzw store and the one thing that I was thinking was does adding 4g to your plan cost more per month. It would make sense right? People with a 3g plan shouldn't pay the same as those with 4g. Its like charging the same price for a Fiat and a Ferrari.

Anyway, they do not charge more and I happily got the TB and now I blast around the internets.

My question is would you have still considered 4g if there was a monthly charge added on. What would your limit be? And is it even worth it for you? Are the speeds really that life changing?

And also consider all the other cons that come with 4g. (i.e. Limited battery life, radio issues, not even having it in your area, sim cards, etc.)

Thoughts!!!


ps. I really desire an app that will turn on your 4g when you open a browser or maps or downloading or tethering or are charging, and then goes back to 3g for all other data things. Would be heaven on earth.

4G is worth it, simple. Unable to go back to 3G after getting 25Mbps+.

 

[chrisrach3]

I wouldn't know because I live in the small town of Kansas City. We only have a couple million people here in these parts, so they don't pay us no mind...

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

Would I pay more for 4G? Hmmm...

How much more? Is there a data cap? Does it come with tethering/hotspot?

I got my Thunderbolt just after launch, so I have an unlimited* data plan still, and when I first got the phone, had unlimited FREE hotspot as well (legit from Verizon, not a root app).

Now, based on those conditions, if I'm looking at phones to start with new contract RIGHT NOW, and all other things being equal one phone is 3G only and the other is 4G, the decision seems easy...4G, right?

Now, if you tell me I can only use 2GB or 5GB or 10GB a month or whatever, I start to realize that 4G is no longer as enticing a feature as it was before. What good is faster speeds, if I'm constantly watching my data usage and constantly looking for a wifi source to connect to? And wait...what's that? Hotspot costs another $30 on top of my standard data plan? Well, all of a sudden my willingness to possibly pay a little more is turning into paying a lot more than I can justify, and for less features.

In other words, no, I wouldn't mind paying a little more for 4G, based on the conditions when I bought my Thunderbolt...but I'm starting to feel like Verizon is acting like the crack dealer right now...giving people cheap 4G at first to get us hooked, then jacking up the price of the services. And honestly, if I were shopping for a new device right now (and didn't have a grandfathered unlimited plan), I'm not 100% sure I'd want 4G even if costs the same as a 3G phone.

 

[ihazaphone]

I think having the faster data would be great, and I might be willing to pay a premium for it, BUT... the battery issues and phone weight made me go for an Incredible 2 over a Thunderbolt.

 

[elai1108]

4G is worth it, simple. Unable to go back to 3G after getting 25Mbps+.

I ran a speedtest at home with 4G and only got about 1.49Mbps in 3 tries.

Does this mean I'm really NOT in a 4G area? The map shows I am but of course that can be off.

 

[LateNight]

I ran a speedtest at home with 4G and only got about 1.49Mbps in 3 tries.

Does this mean I'm really NOT in a 4G area? The map shows I am but of course that can be off.

Does your phone say LTE? If not (and with that speed I doubt you are) then you are only at 3G or worse.