What was Apple thinking releasing another 3G iphone?

[Rudy]

4G isn't relevant to most people right now (limited availability is the biggest issue)

[rajputwarrior]

1/3rd of all Android phones use 4G speeds unlike iPhone 4S. It is very typical for Apple users to try to lower the impact of others when they get crap from Apple. This is nothing I'm shocked about really.

way to twist the articles words... they are ABLE to use 4g Speeds, doesn't mean the networks are. 4G and LTE are NOT the same and HSPA+ is just 3G on steroids. all you can ever do is twist words around to make it seem like you now what you are talking about when you attack apple users because you think you are better then them.

;

and apparently all you care about is speed cause the battery life on 4g phones is garbage...

;

Battery

A person at Sprint describes the EVO as a 3-o'clock phone (as in, you're out of juice by 3 in the afternoon), and the Epic as a 6-o'clock phone. Through my use, it's more of a 4:30 phone, meaning that it's definitely better than the EVO, but it's not so great that you're going to be satisfied in the battery performance. Luckily, Samsung has an external battery charger (sold separately) that you can use to constantly keep a spare battery charged. A BlackBerry this is not, but the 4G and giant, bright screen needs to be powered somehow.

http://gizmodo.com/5613501/sprint-epic-4g-review-the-best-4g-phone

battery life is garbage on samsungs new 4g phones... i bet you most people care more for battery life then then do being able to watch a youtube video a second quicker...

[LightShadow]

Because half the world still has 3G. I mean I'm in a smallish town in the UK. I can't even get past 1mbps on a 3G phone. We don't even have a agreement for 4G set till after 2012.

[Ambroos]

4G is pretty useless on smartphones. It's okay if you want to go tethering or streaming HD videos on a tablet or PC, but for phones it's pretty useless. Especially since the iPhone doesn't output 720p anyway.

I have 2Mbps 3G (HSPA) almost nationwide and it's fast enough for almost anything. Surfing on my laptop while tethering it is comfortable, and on my phone it feels blazing fast, sometimes even faster than WiFi (and more stable than WiFi for me). HSPA can go much higher than 2Mbps, and I really can't see why anyone would need more than HSPA speeds on a phone. But maybe that's just me.

Also, in Europe 4G is pretty much non-existent for the moment. Really nobody cares about it.

[rajputwarrior]

4G is pretty useless on smartphones. It's okay if you want to go tethering or streaming HD videos on a tablet or PC, but for phones it's pretty useless. Especially since the iPhone doesn't output 720p anyway.

I have 2Mbps 3G (HSPA) almost nationwide and it's fast enough for almost anything. Surfing on my laptop while tethering it is comfortable, and on my phone it feels blazing fast, sometimes even faster than WiFi (and more stable than WiFi for me). HSPA can go much higher than 2Mbps, and I really can't see why anyone would need more than HSPA speeds on a phone. But maybe that's just me.

Also, in Europe 4G is pretty much non-existent for the moment. Really nobody cares about it.

yeah it does... but i agree with all your other points.

[ILikeTobacco]

What can you do with the 21 / 42 Mb/ps of 4G that you can't do with the 14Mb/ps of the iPhone 4S?

Play Crysis :shiftyninja:

[Tech Star]

It doesn't need 4G, as others in this topic have said. 4G will only matter next year, when there is 4G in more cities and the 4G chip has shrunk to save more battery life.

I am still loving my iPhone 4S without 4G. People will use any excuse to hate on a device before they have even used it these days, it seems.

[The Rev]

they were thinking it will be a while before the iPhone 5 is ready lets just throw a new phone out there that is more powerful and we don't have to re engineer to sooth the populous while we finish up the new design.

Yeah.... Basically that was Microsoft's solution in Windows Vista. Look how great Vista turned out.

[ILikeTobacco]

Yeah.... Basically that was Microsoft's solution in Windows Vista. Look how great Vista turned out.

If you are going to compare completely different product types, at least make it a logical comparison. Vista was not a simple upgrade from XP the way the iPhone 4S is a simple upgrade from the iPhone 4. The 4S is more of a service pack than anything.

[NeoTrunks]

If you are going to compare completely different product types, at least make it a logical comparison. Vista was not a simple upgrade from XP the way the iPhone 4S is a simple upgrade from the iPhone 4. The 4S is more of a service pack than anything.

The only thing that is the same in the 4S when compared to the iPhone 4 is the enclosure. The innards are different.

[The Rev]

If you are going to compare completely different product types, at least make it a logical comparison. Vista was not a simple upgrade from XP the way the iPhone 4S is a simple upgrade from the iPhone 4. The 4S is more of a service pack than anything.

True, but it WAS meant to be a "bridge" that was to bring us an easier transition to Windows 7, which it did do.

[ILikeTobacco]

The only thing that is the same in the 4S when compared to the iPhone 4 is the enclosure. The innards are different.

You are correct, they also completely redid the operating from the ground up. /s

The point is upgrading hardware that runs the same but faster is a not a radical change like going from xp to vista. Can't make some people happy I suppose. So are claiming that Apple didn't change enough and some are claiming they changed too much.

[Chasethebase Veteran]

One could argue that a good amount of the planet doesn't even have consistent 3G coverage yet - take a look at the mobile phone networks in the US. Maybe instead of this break neck half baked networks being setup how about a consistent 3G experience nation wide rather than this hodgepodge situation where one constantly drops back to 2G the moment one leaves the CBD of a big city.

You do have a good point.

[PyX]

The point is upgrading hardware that runs the same but faster is a not a radical change […]

No, not radical as in, it doesn’t change our habits. But that was probably what each of us has done a good half-dozen times, when we wanted new computers. We wanted faster hardware, and then we were satisfied.

I don’t get how people can be dissatisfied with an upgrade that brings arguably the fastest hardware (not on paper, but the benchmarks prove it), arguably the best vocal command center ever, arguably the best cellphone camera yet, and all the improvements made in iOS5. :/

[.Neo]

One could argue that a good amount of the planet doesn't even have consistent 3G coverage yet - take a look at the mobile phone networks in the US. Maybe instead of this break neck half baked networks being setup how about a consistent 3G experience nation wide rather than this hodgepodge situation where one constantly drops back to 2G the moment one leaves the CBD of a big city.

Using the same logic one could say that a good portion of the globe doesn't have any coverage at all.

[NeoTrunks]

You are correct, they also completely redid the operating from the ground up. /s

The point is upgrading hardware that runs the same but faster is a not a radical change like going from xp to vista. Can't make some people happy I suppose. So are claiming that Apple didn't change enough and some are claiming they changed too much.

You're also making the assumption that everyone getting an iPhone 4S already has the iPhone 4. We don't. Some are upgrading from older models and some are new customers. No different than someone running Windows 7 Pro on a Core Duo upgrading to a machine running the same OS but with a Core i7.

[Zain Adeel]

this time i think Apple did the right thing by not updating the body or including a 4G chip.

They have a standard. And they want to keep their devices at that. If they released a phone with lower battery life that would be a step backwards.

Now its not their fault there arent many great innovations going on at the Battery capacity end of the spectrum. So i guess they decided to wait out.

It actually allows them to get more profit and so they have more to invest for their next innovative product.

And Apple never leads in superior hardware. Its always about usability and ease of use. Longer battery. Easier apps and overall OS. Simple structure and processes to get a job done. Thats why they sell so much.

[rajputwarrior]

even without the updated body, i still think it's the nicest looking phone out there with the best build quality why do all android phones have to be made out of plastic? i don't get it...

[Vice]

even without the updated body, i still think it's the nicest looking phone out there with the best build quality why do all android phones have to be made out of plastic? i don't get it...

I don't know if it's the same in the USA but in the UK you can get Android phones almost always fully subsidised on contract and not even on the highest paid contracts but even the lowest and mid-range and I'm talking High End phones like the Galaxy S II and Evo 3D not just low end models. I believe the Android manufacturers know that if they want to compete with the iPhone which is like the iPod of Phones now that they can only really do it by undercutting the price because when most consumers are presented with the choice of the iPhone and an Android phone at identical costs they pick the iPhone most often. Be that because of hype, marketing or they just want an iPhone.

I'm sure we've all visited our phone sites and seen how the iPhone is featured centre stage. My own phone network lists iPhone as its own category on every single page. No other device or mobile operating system gets that kind of recognition and it's the same across all four of the major networks here in the UK and even the independent phone sellers who have no network affiliation.

So it is for these reasons that I believe you won't see a super premium Android device that isn't plastic, it would not sell well against the king and they must undercut that price point to sell any device in good volume.

[rajputwarrior]

I don't know if it's the same in the USA but in the UK you can get Android phones almost always fully subsidised on contract and not even on the highest paid contracts but even the lowest and mid-range and I'm talking High End phones like the Galaxy S II and Evo 3D not just low end models. I believe the Android manufacturers know that if they want to compete with the iPhone which is like the iPod of Phones now that they can only really do it by undercutting the price because when most consumers are presented with the choice of the iPhone and an Android phone at identical costs they pick the iPhone most often. Be that because of hype, marketing or they just want an iPhone.

I'm sure we've all visited our phone sites and seen how the iPhone is featured centre stage. My own phone network lists iPhone as its own category on every single page. No other device or mobile operating system gets that kind of recognition and it's the same across all four of the major networks here in the UK and even the independent phone sellers who have no network affiliation.

So it is for these reasons that I believe you won't see a super premium Android device that isn't plastic, it would not sell well against the king and they must undercut that price point to sell any device in good volume.

maybe the tablet guys should have thought of that because coming out with a tablet that is suppose to compete with the king while being the same price is not the smartest of ideas...

[Shadrack]

Haha, just proves my point that a lot of Apple users get their products because of popularity/status....not because they know what they are getting.

No. Most Smartphone users are not gadget nerds is what that means. People on this board like to selectively forget that.

[Ravensky]

easy answer...is 4G available pretty much everywhere like 3G? No...

MAYBE by the time iPhone 5 is out ... but I doubt it...

http://www.att.com/network/?WT.srch=1

click the 4G LTE coverage map...it tells the whole story.

[mudslag]

What was Apple thinking releasing another 3G iphone?

They were thinking "look at these sales figures, we're kicking ass".

[Stetson]

HTC or Motorola build 4G phones for people who live in 4G areas or want to be future proof, as well as phones that do not have 4G and its current compromises. Apple builds one phone model to suite a large percentage of consumers around the world.

Apple also usually waits until the second or third generation of cell chips before they switch to the new standard. They did this with 3G with the first iPhone and now they're doing the same with LTE. I believe LTE chips based on the 28nm process are due in 2012. These will be much more power efficient than current LTE chips.

easy answer...is 4G available pretty much everywhere like 3G? No...

MAYBE by the time iPhone 5 is out ... but I doubt it...

what do you know I was wrong...

AT&T has been busy...

http://www.att.com/network/?WT.srch=1

AT&T only has LTE in 5 pinpoint cities according to their map. They have a lot of HSPA+ coverage but they're just getting started with LTE. By this time next year the market for an LTE phone both in the US and worldwide should be pretty good.

[Ravensky]

yup I looked at their 4G map wrong...they need to get busy! lol