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[I]My 3G smartphone can already connect to the internet reasonably fast - but only under ideal circumstances, so will 4G make that much difference?[/I]
There has been a lot press coverage in recent days about the imminent launch of 4G mobile broadband service in the UK, starting with EE (Everything Everywhere - which used to be the merged T-Mobile and Orange networks). The UK has been pretty slow to adopt 4G compared to many other countries and there are few smartphones currently on sale in the UK that can actually take advantage of it. And there are two competing standards, too - LTE (Long Term Evolution) which is what EE and its competitors in the UK will roll out shortly and Mobile WiMax, which has been popular in the US and some Asian countries like Korea.
But I am rather sceptical about all the fuss. In theory my 3G Samsung Galaxy Note should be able to download 3G data at over 10 megabits and some say 3G HSPA+, which my Note supports, is capable of over 40 megabits. That would be faster than our fibre (FTTC) broadband which is about 38 megabits.
The problem is that I often struggle to get a fast 3G data connection. At my office there is a mast just a hundred or so yards away and so I get a reasonably good connection; almost 4 megabits down and about 1.5 megabits up. But nine times out of ten the speed I 'enjoy' is just a fraction of that.
So I am wondering if 4G will make that much difference. Sure, it may be 10x faster on paper, but will the every day routine experience be blunted by the usual problems of location in relation to masts and of course physical obstructions sapping the signal.
And in any case - even at just 4 megabits, my monthly download allowance of 750MB would be exhausted in just 25 minutes. How long would it last with 4G?
That's something that interests me since spending a week with my family earlier in the year. I could only get a signal from '3' if I stood in the middle of a field, on one leg, without moving.
It was quite comical to stand there with my dinky 3.2" phone (in bright sunshine), trying to fix something to do with a website on my server, while this tractor was bearing down on me - but I dare not move, otherwise I'd have lost the signal!
The possibility of having two different networks on the same phone would be appealing in that circumstance.
Odd that so few phones in this country have the dual-SIM capability given that some people would find it very useful.
[img]http://www.mugsandgifts.co.uk/blog/image/acer-liquid-gallant-duo/gallant-vs-portal.jpg[/img]
(The old vs the new!)
Looks quite nice. It came from France (via Germany) according to the DHL delivery details, and it has a EU plug (with UK adapter in the box). Not convinced of the EU/UK adapter fiddle, but the supplied micro-USB to USB cable seems to work well with my iPad plug so I'm using that for now.