Difference between 2G and 3G?

Hurley

Hello all. :wave:

Could someone please tell me if there is a huge difference between 2G and 3G? In practical use what is benefit of one over the other?

I ask because I have spied the Blackberry 8520 which is 2G and I want to know how I will be affected if I get this phone.

Thanks you.

OneADay

The core difference (in my opinion) is the speed of the internet - if you want high speed internet, you ned 3g.

Hurley

Is it very noticeable? Do things like youtube become very difficult?

OneADay

I don't use 3g phone myself but given the speed I have seen on 2g phones with net - I would be there all day trying to watch a youtube video. I would not get internet without having 3g. 2g is ok if you are going to view the odd news headline, read some email (no big attachments) but not ok for videos and multimedia.

Hurley

Thanks OneaDay.....I'll give it a miss then.

LeeSouthEast

2G max speed is (iirc) about 64kbit/s.
3G max speed is 3mbit sec... quite a difference.

greyster

Hurley wrote: »

Hello all. :wave:

Could someone please tell me if there is a huge difference between 2G and 3G? In practical use what is benefit of one over the other?

I ask because I have spied the Blackberry 8520 which is 2G and I want to know how I will be affected if I get this phone.

Thanks you.

If you are making calls, texts and sending emails, you won't notice the difference. If tyou want to browse the internet, you will notice the difference. The 2G network you will be connecting to on vodafone, o2 etc isn't geared up for internet so it will be quite slow, comparable to the dial up internet days. If you want faster internet on your phone so websites come up quickly like they do on your PC, then you need a 3G phone.

Not everyone wants fast internet and that is why 3G isn't on every phone yet. Having a 2G only phone has advantages too, cheaper costs and generally higher battery life.

Also for those who care, each mobile network has a 2G network and a 3G network of masts around the UK (except 3*). If you have a 3G phone you need to be in range of a 3G mast, if you are making calls or texts, you need to be around a 2G mast. That is why you need to check voice and data coverage seperately in your area.

(*3 has a 3G network and borrows the Orange 2G network to make calls and texts).

mrcamp

If you will be doing any kind of data/surfing the net, the difference between 3G and 2G is like day and night. Watching youtube videos, streaming music/videos is quite painful and in some cases, practically not doable using 2G.