3G and 4G

A growing technology in the market today is in the cell phone industry. The Phone industry is about bridge the Gap between third generation phones and Fourth Generation Phones. From about 2003, Cell phones have been built on what we call 3G, third Generation software and technologies for cell phones. During the last couple of years, cell phone manufactures to great success have managed to stretch and improve upon the 3G technologies to enhance speed, clarity of calls, and Internet applications. Third Generations phones can reach up to 3 Megabits per second (Mbps), with average speeds tending to be closer to 1Mbps or lower. This means 1 million bits, or 125,000 bytes, of data are being transferred per second in equivalent speeds to most standard home DSL Internet connections. At this download speed, it takes roughly 1 to 2 minutes to download a 4-minute MP3 file. 3G coverage spans most of the continental United States, with heavier coverage around major metropolitan areas.

However the 3G technologies has begun to grow old, and now companies are beginning to build phones based off 4G, Fourth Generation technologies. These phones will ultimately be smaller, faster, and serve the user in new and unique ways. 4G phones are estimated to run up to 100 times faster than 3G enabled phones. Fourth Generation phones on average will achieve speeds on connectivity of about 100Mbps to 1Gbps range. At that rate, that 4 minute MP3 downloads may only take users seconds.

4G phones however are hitting quite a few speed bumps that are making some buyers hold off until the new technology is stable. The big problem is 4G services is only available in certain locations, and phones that are 4G enabled end up reverting back to 3G service once out of 4G service. Critics say once 4G is wide spread phones bought at the beginning of the 4G generation may be outdated, because companies will have had time to hit their stride, and stretch the technology farther. Critics refer to these smart phones as pre 4G phones because they have yet to reach the speeds described above.