is 4g ready worth it for me?

phoebe03cat

Want to buy a Samsung S3. I will retire this year and want to buy a phone with the spec that will keep me going when the cash flow downsizes! I like this phone, very much..will be using the large screen for my navigation and ditching the tom-tom. Mostly want data and text with lowest call allowance. Would 4g ready be an investment for better coverage/speed or simply would I be unlikely to notice as a moderate user. This may be a stupid question but it it likely 3g will start to be phased out? How long before prices on contracts drop after the samsung4 released...any ideas? Thanks for help,

Browntoa

as a moderate user I would not say it was worth the extra , and I am sure that currently coverage is patchy outside the main cities

Harald

Not to mention is WAY ovepriced. And REAL speed you can get is not any higher than recent 3G technology (for example DC-HSPA+ offered by Three).

Moreover: LTE is still energy-inefficient techology. This mean same phone capable working whole day on single battery load will die shortly after lunch using LTE.

I know, 4G is a shiny new toy, but t you'll get less for your premium

Bingolingo

To give a different opinion, I've found 4g to be quite addictive.

No more annoying pauses when loading web pages, instant iplayer access, home broadband speeds when tethering my tablet, instant upload of pictures and videos that I want to share.

There's no doubt it comes at a price premium (unless you've wangled a sneaky discount - mwahahaha) but it'll become more common soon and I'd recommend having a 4G ready phone - especially if you're going to be keeping it for a few years.

mije1983

phoebe03cat wrote: »

How long before prices on contracts drop after the samsung4 released...any ideas? Thanks for help,

If the prices of the S2 are anything to go by (still around £20 a month nearly 2 years after release) I can't see the S3 dropping in price that quickly - it quite common to see it on a £26 a month contract now.

Even though the S3 will be overtaken by the S4, it's still a top of the range phone so a price drop isn't cut and dried.

[Deleted User]

Oh dear, I remember the days of waiting 10 minutes for a 10kb game on a cassette tape to load (it would invariably do so, only on the 3rd try). Have some patience!

With the S3, you can use HSPA+. This is frankly fast enough for anything I ever need to do with my phone. 4G will just kill your battery. Also, 4G isn't fully implemented yet in the UK - the phones still need to drop to 3G/2G for voice calls (Proper 4G calls work in a voip manner)

Bingolingo

ringo_24601 wrote: »

Oh dear, I remember the days of waiting 10 minutes for a 10kb game on a cassette tape to load (it would invariably do so, only on the 3rd try). Have some patience!

With the S3, you can use HSPA+. This is frankly fast enough for anything I ever need to do with my phone. 4G will just kill your battery. Also, 4G isn't fully implemented yet in the UK - the phones still need to drop to 3G/2G for voice calls (Proper 4G calls work in a voip manner)

Well I've been on 4G for a few months now and battery life, while not as good, is certainly not that big an issue. For video streaming, tethering and also online gaming 4G is a big improvement. The drop to 2G/3G for voice calls is not an issue. How would anyone use the connected featured on their phone when it's pressed to their ear?

Personal choice really. If you want super fast (and it's a massive difference over 3G) then you can pay a price premium for it if you want. Not really any different to buying a new car with a bigger, faster engine.