Is 4G worth it?

[Tech Explorer]

I have Cricket on a 3G network. I know that they're starting to convert to 4G, having started in Tucson, AZ and rumored to go 4G nationwide by 2014. They'll let me know what the price is; what I need to find out is how much faster would 4G be and does it also mean no more throttling?

 

[01001010]

You remind me of someone familiar...

 

[superman22x]

Yes, it's better when it's available. The "4G" usually, is just a software update to 3G. LTE networks are the real 4G and are not very widespread yet.

 

[strollin]

The difference between 3G and 4G is very large when you consider DL speeds. For instance, on 3G the fastest DL speed I ever got was 2Mbs while with 4G I have gotten as high as 18-20Mbs. This is fantastic for me since I live in a rural area with no access to DSL or cable for internet. I have an unlimited plan and have not encountered any throttling on Verizon, can't speak for Cricket.

 

[iPwn]

4G is not worth it.

You're going to buy a new phone.
That phone will cost you $500+
That phone will die very quickly because that phone is looking for 4G signal constantly
In 2014, you will have spend another $500 on a new phone
Don't get a 4G phone. That's almost as good as buying BluRay movies before the players were invented. Just wait.

Plus, what the hell do you need 4G on a phone for? I can't imagine a 'life or death' situation where the 4G is really going to make that much of a difference. What phone are you downloading HD movies to from an FTP server on? None! Get a phone to have a phone. Get a tablet to play games, read books, watch movies. Get a PC/Mac to rule them all.
If, in 2014, there is 4G everywhere, and you happen to purchase a nice new phone that you like, and it so happens to have 4G, then there's an added perk. After buying the latest and greatest crap year after year to download the latest and greatest apps day after day, I finally got an LG Lucid because it was android, and I paid $50 for it. It makes calls, it send text messages, it can even give me directions! Hexacore, 2342GB phones are pointless. If I want to play an action shooter with great graphics, I get on my gaming rig and nerd out.

Edit: Cricket uses Sprint's network. You can get an Unlimited package and tethering for the same purpose as strollin, but outside of that, wait until 23423G comes out.

 

[dale]

Life or death situation: http://youtu.be/VuAKKBDz9Sg

 

[Garenius]

I think that 4G is overrated honestly. Then again, I am not one to intensively use my phone for internet anyways, so my opinion is irrelevant.

 

[Tech Explorer]

4G is not worth it.

You're going to buy a new phone.
That phone will cost you $500+
That phone will die very quickly because that phone is looking for 4G signal constantly
In 2014, you will have spend another $500 on a new phone
Don't get a 4G phone. That's almost as good as buyifng BluRay movies before the players were invented. Just wait.

Plus, what the hell do you need 4G on a phone for? I can't imagine a 'life or death' situation where the 4G is really going to make that much of a difference. What phone are you downloading HD movies to from an FTP server on? None! Get a phone to have a phone. Get a tablet to play games, read books, watch movies. Get a PC/Mac to rule them all.
If, in 2014, there is 4G everywhere, and you happen to purchase a nice new phone that you like, and it so happens to have 4G, then there's an added perk. After buying the latest and greatest crap year after year to download the latest and greatest apps day after day, I finally got an LG Lucid because it was android, and I paid $50 for it. It makes calls, it send text messages, it can even give me directions! Hexacore, 2342GB phones are pointless. If I want to play an action shooter with great graphics, I get on my gaming rig and nerd out.

Edit: Cricket uses Sprint's network. You can get an Unlimited package and tethering for the same purpose as strollin, but outside of that, wait until 23423G comes out.

Cricket has some dummies working inside of the store. The guy who "sold" me my phone
(actually gave it to me for free) didn't know why my phone slowed up occasionally (later found out it was due to throttling). Next I inquired about 4G and the dummies said they heard talk about it and that was the extent of the conversation (later discovered that Cricket started 4G over in Tucson). Of course I inquired about a different plan to avoid throttling and the dummies say nothing can be done, but now your edit says Cricket uses the Sprint network and offers an unlimited package which I need to check out further at the store. Finally, to mention, from internet research I learned that (true) 4G can be anywheres from 3 - 15 times faster over anything that's not 4G.

 

[iPwn]

Life or death situation: http://youtu.be/VuAKKBDz9Sg

And 4G is going to make your phone dial faster? If you saw this or it happened to you, you're not going to go to police.gov, download and fill out a help request form and then email it... you call. 4G has nothing to do with voice traffic as 64k is all that's needed to hold a voice conversation.

Cricket has some dummies working inside of the store. The guy who "sold" me my phone
(actually gave it to me for free) didn't know why my phone slowed up occasionally (later found out it was due to throttling). Next I inquired about 4G and the dummies said they heard talk about it and that was the extent of the conversation (later discovered that Cricket started 4G over in Tucson). Of course I inquired about a different plan to avoid throttling and the dummies say nothing can be done, but now your edit says Cricket uses the Sprint network and offers an unlimited package which I need to check out further at the store. Finally, to mention, from internet research I learned that (true) 4G can be anywheres from 3 - 15 times faster over anything that's not 4G.

Just because Cricket is a reseller of Sprint service doesn't mean they offer the same package. They most likely do throttle as they pay the carrier for the data usage whereas sprint owns the network and has no additional costs from data usage. Sprint profits the same from your package whether you use no data or you use 500GB a month.

 

[Tech Explorer]

It was mentioned that an LTE phone would go for $500. The Samsung Galaxy S III will start off at $200 - $250 (which sounds like the beginning of a price war). Here's a link: Samsung Galaxy S III hits Sprint, T-Mobile on June 21 - CNET Mobile