How Fast is 4G?

Now that you know what 4G LTE is (click here if you don't) let's take a look at how fast it is. Is it really worth upgrading your phone to get it? Will you get it everywhere? Will you actually notice a difference in speed?

The biggest problem with answering "How fast is it really?" is that it changes. There are several factors that could affect the speed of your wireless data, regardless of whether we're talking about 4G, 3G, Edge, or any other kinds. While 4G is often said to have speeds of about 100 Mbps (Megabytes per second), it's still subject to the same limitations as all cell phones. First, do you have coverage? There's not much point in having a 4G enabled phone if you live in the country and rarely go to major cities for example. At this point most cell phone carriers are just starting to have 4G coverage in major cities.

Second, if you do happen to be in a major city that has 4G coverage, your speed could also be affected by how many other people around you are using 4G. If you've ever gone to a convention, sports game, or any other large gathering of people, you may have already noticed that it's difficult to access the Internet on your phone when you're in a crowded place. That's because your phone is only one of thousands trying to connect to one tower.

Lastly, there are differences in speed based on the carrier you're using. Some carriers claim faster speeds (but less coverage), and others claim more coverage (but slower speeds). It all comes down to if you're actually going to be able to use it to it's full advantage. Is 4G really that much faster than 3G? In a word, yes, but that's only in theory.

Practical Tip of the Day:
When looking at a new cell phone, also make sure the provider is right for you. Most cell phones are available at multiple providers, so looking at your provider's coverage map for both phone and data plans as well as their advertised speeds can help you decide if a provider's right for you. If you live in a major city, speed might be more important since coverage is almost guaranteed, but if you live in a rural area, coverage may become an issue.

What is 4G LTE?

It seems that if you want to make sure you get a good cell phone nowadays you need a degree in mobile communication technology! 3G? 4G? LTE? Hot Spot? 16GB? 32GB? Droids? iOS? Anyone else here getting a bit confused and overwhelmed?

It would take far too long and boring an explination to explain all the terms to look at when picking out a cell phone, but since "4G LTE" has been being thrown around without explination a lot lately, I thought it would be nice to humanize it a bit. 4G LTE is a description of how a cell phone accesses the Internet. 4G stands for "fourth generation" and just means that it was developed after the 3G standard.

Each generation of technology (usually) is better than the last, and 4G is no exception. Actual speeds will vary depending on several factors I'll cover in a subsequent post, but it is generally accepted that 4G is faster than 3G. Faster at what? Internet access speeds will affect how quickly you can open up webpages, post photos to the Internet (like Facebook), stream movies from Netflix, and a slew of other things. Think of it as how fast your car can drive; If you have a slow car, it'll take longer to go places and do things.

LTE is just a description of what type of 4G network it is. LTE stands for Long Term Evolution, and if you forget that in two minutes, no one will fault you. There is another type of 4G used in the world called WiMAX, but unless you're planning a trip to South Korea any time soon I wouldn't worry about it, most major countries in the world either have or have plans to roll out LTE networks in the near future.

Practical Tip of the Day:
Some cell phone carriers are starting to offer wireless cards you can plug into your computers. Plug it into the USB port on your computer, and even if you're not connected to the Internet either physically or through a Wifi hotspot, you'll still be able to access the Internet. This is ideal if you travel for a living or go on a lot of vacations!

Should I Get The New iPad?

Yesterday Apple announced the third generation of the iPad. Immediately, people began asking whether they should get it or not. Here's a quick breakdown of the new/improved features:

Screen- Higher resolution. This means your pictures, movies and even your webpages and books will look crisper and sharper.

Processor- They've used a quad-core graphics processor. This means this iPad is significantly faster than the previous version. This primarily comes across when running applications.

4G- Certain models of the iPad can use a cell phone carrier's 4G network. This means that you can access the Internet when you're not in a wireless hotspot, and if you're in an area with 4G your webpages, YouTube videos, etc. will load faster.

Camera- They've increased the quality of the camera so now it can take 5 megapixel pictures (pretty good), and record HD video.

Now, does all of this add up to needing a new iPad? If you only use your iPad for checking your email and occasionally playing games, probably not. If you've been thinking about getting an iPad, or you have a tablet that's too slow or doesn't meet your needs I'd recommend taking a look at them.
Practical Tip of the Day:
If you aren't one of the people who feels the need to have the newest product all the time, you can save quite a bit of money by buying the previous generation (aka version) of a product. Often times companies who sell the product will put the older versions on sale, and individual people put their used products on sale on websites like eBay and Craigslist. Buyer beware on purchasing from individuals though- "good condition" is subjective and may mean different things for the seller and buyer.