This obsession over theoretical network speeds always surprises me. It seems to me that when 3G is good, it's really good, and that improving things like signal strength/coverage and decreasing network congestion will have a much greater impact on user experience than any network technology improvement.
What consumer applications other than video streaming will see a significant boost from 4G LTE? Or is it just hype, like megapixels on cameras?
Well, I would say faster for the same price is better in this case, so the consumer is winning here... But you're right, that's plenty more than we need...
Personally I'm amazed that we still need to create tablets with mobile internet built in them. You won't ever catch me signing up and paying for 2 mobile data plans. Can't we hurry up and get to the point where we pay for one 'pipe' and have all our devices use it?
> Can't we hurry up and get to the point where we pay for one 'pipe' and have all our devices use it?
The problem is that sometimes I may not have the other device with me, or the battery on that device may not be up to the task. With the single device having it's own connection, it's easier to develop, test, sell and for the user to diagnose problems.
What would make sense, is if I had a single "account" with a provider, and all devices would be tethered to the account - maybe this is the logical extension of what Verizon has in mind when they talk about "family data plans"... not just for phones, but data (and voice) devices tied to a provider, each pulling off the same large quota.
AT&T has a good idea with connecting their wifi presence to their accounts, in my experience, 802.11g/n just isn't good enough of a roaming experience - often times I would shut off my wifi so the weak wifi didn't get in the way of the much more reliable 3G (otehrwise my maps/directions would just wig-out while I drove by a starbucks or AT&T store). A new wireless standard that meshed better would be a huge win here.
The real problem is that they want to monetize every bit of utility you get out of their services. Having one convenient pipe would cost about $500 a month.
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[ 5.9 ms ] story [ 18.6 ms ] threadWhat consumer applications other than video streaming will see a significant boost from 4G LTE? Or is it just hype, like megapixels on cameras?
The problem is that sometimes I may not have the other device with me, or the battery on that device may not be up to the task. With the single device having it's own connection, it's easier to develop, test, sell and for the user to diagnose problems.
What would make sense, is if I had a single "account" with a provider, and all devices would be tethered to the account - maybe this is the logical extension of what Verizon has in mind when they talk about "family data plans"... not just for phones, but data (and voice) devices tied to a provider, each pulling off the same large quota.
AT&T has a good idea with connecting their wifi presence to their accounts, in my experience, 802.11g/n just isn't good enough of a roaming experience - often times I would shut off my wifi so the weak wifi didn't get in the way of the much more reliable 3G (otehrwise my maps/directions would just wig-out while I drove by a starbucks or AT&T store). A new wireless standard that meshed better would be a huge win here.