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TB 4G download speeds?

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TxGoat

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I'm just curious if anyone has any specific (as opposed to speculative) information about how fast the Thunderbolt will be able to downloads on Verizon's 4G network. To clear up some of the obvious answers, I know it's not going to be exact and that my mileage may vary etc etc, but what I want to know is will the TB be able to download at the advertised speeds of the 4G aircards (averaging between 10-15 Mbps)?

The reason I ask is when I went to Sprint to look at their 4G offerings, I noticed different phones download at different speeds. Samsung phones for instance were downloading at about 2 Mbps and the HTC phones were averaging between 4-5 Mbps. Also, will faster 4G connections affect battery life? I would suspect that more data = more processing of data which = faster battery drain. Is it possible the battery rumors and subsequent fix mean that the TB's 4G connection is going to be watered down for the sake of battery life?

I think I'm really going to have to review the TB specs prior to making any decisions about purchasing it, as much as I hate the idea of not being able to purchase the phone because I didn't pre-order it and Verizon running out of stock.
 
I would think that faster processing of data would result in less time spent calculating which would result in less power used. I could of course be completely wrong.
 
mkeith813 said:
I would think that faster processing of data would result in less time spent calculating which would result in less power used. I could of course be completely wrong.
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There are definitely going to be a lot of variables. One of the reasons I'm reconsidering re-signing with Verizon on this phone if I'm going to see the same data downloads as Sprint's/AT&T's/T-mobile's 4G. The other thing to consider is I'm sure Verizon will have their 4G on "high" while there are less subscribers and in order to be a more attractive alternative to the other guys, but what's going to happen in a few months? Will their speeds get downgraded to fall in line with the other guys? All these questions really have me wondering if I'm ready to give new technology and a new phone a chance. I already got burned once with a new model year Saturn when I bought one of the first off the assembly line. Very problematic to say the least.
 
Clear (Sprint) advertises 4G typical speeds of 3-6 Mbps with bursts or over 10 Mbps. Verizon advertises 4G typical speeds of 5-12 Mbps, and with my VZW 4G Pantech modem I've had bursts of over 30 Mbps. The 10-15 Mbps speeds that we are seeing now won't be attainable on a regular basis with a loaded network.
 
gvillager said:
Clear (Sprint) advertises 4G typical speeds of 3-6 Mbps with bursts or over 10 Mbps. Verizon advertises 4G typical speeds of 5-12 Mbps, and with my VZW 4G Pantech modem I've had bursts of over 30 Mbps. The 10-15 Mbps speeds that we are seeing now won't be attainable on a regular basis with a loaded network.
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Yeah, I'm not hoping for 10-15 Mbps, but I also don't want to pay a premium 4G price for 1-2 Mbps faster speeds. I've seen Sprint advertise "up to 10x faster than 3G" which I guess they're taking the slowest 3G and applying the fastest 4G speeds to it. It would be nice for someone to take them to task and challenge their claims of "up to 10x faster than 3G", especially considering I USED TO get 2 Mbps from my 3G and 3 Mbps on rare occasions. For some reason lately, I've noticed around 1 Mbps speeds. If Verizon's 3G is ramping down to make room for 4G speeds, then I would hope that they'll start lowering the price of their 3G service since their speeds are getting slower as we approach 4G phone service.

I wonder if Verizon will allow me to tweak my cell contract to include a clause that guarantees me at least 6 Mbps when in 4G areas and if I drop below 6 Mbps, they charge me less. I know that won't happen, but it would be nice to get a few tens of thousands of Verizon Wireless users and draft up our own 4G contract that keeps us protected from Verizon trying to pull a fast one like Sprint advertising up to 10x faster.
 
TxGoat said:
Yeah, I'm not hoping for 10-15 Mbps, but I also don't want to pay a premium 4G price for 1-2 Mbps faster speeds. I've seen Sprint advertise "up to 10x faster than 3G" which I guess they're taking the slowest 3G and applying the fastest 4G speeds to it. It would be nice for someone to take them to task and challenge their claims of "up to 10x faster than 3G", especially considering I USED TO get 2 Mbps from my 3G and 3 Mbps on rare occasions. For some reason lately, I've noticed around 1 Mbps speeds. If Verizon's 3G is ramping down to make room for 4G speeds, then I would hope that they'll start lowering the price of their 3G service since their speeds are getting slower as we approach 4G phone service.

I wonder if Verizon will allow me to tweak my cell contract to include a clause that guarantees me at least 6 Mbps when in 4G areas and if I drop below 6 Mbps, they charge me less. I know that won't happen, but it would be nice to get a few tens of thousands of Verizon Wireless users and draft up our own 4G contract that keeps us protected from Verizon trying to pull a fast one like Sprint advertising up to 10x faster.
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2 Mbps is well above the advertised "typical" 3G speeds of 600 Kbps - 1.4 Mbps and 1 Mbps is well within that range. Also, take notice of their wording "up to 10x faster than 3G" which means they aren't guaranteeing 6 Mbps, they are just simply saying that it's possible. Sprint isn't pulling a fast one here. :cool:
 
Check out Howard Forums. There is a thread on there asking for 4G download tests. VZW advertises 4-12Mbps for a "typical" 4G experience. However, there are a number of folks there getting ~30Mbps down and 7 or 9 up. The theoretical max is 50Mbps I think.

You're right that the processing power of the phone can affect this when you get to really high speeds (over 2 or 3Mbps I'd say). Why not just buy the highest spec VZW 4G phone around? Oh wait, there are no VZW 4G phones - sorry. :) But, The ThunderBolt is due out within a week or two. That's what I'm getting.

BTW, Verizon's "4G/LTE" is not even in the same league as any other carriers "4G". It is absolutely the best existing "4G" technology out there.

-Frank
 
gvillager said:
2 Mbps is well above the advertised "typical" 3G speeds of 600 Kbps - 1.4 Mbps and 1 Mbps is well within that range. Also, take notice of their wording "up to 10x faster than 3G" which means they aren't guaranteeing 6 Mbps, they are just simply saying that it's possible. Sprint isn't pulling a fast one here. :cool:
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Well, the "up to 10x faster" IMO is them pulling a "not-so-fast" fast one when I've been pulling 2 Mbps already on 3G on average. As a matter of fact, let me show you what I'm pulling now (granted my speed in this location is flaky at best).





FrankXS said:
Check out Howard Forums. There is a thread on there asking for 4G download tests. VZW advertises 4-12Mbps for a "typical" 4G experience. However, there are a number of folks there getting ~30Mbps down and 7 or 9 up. The theoretical max is 50Mbps I think.

You're right that the processing power of the phone can affect this when you get to really high speeds (over 2 or 3Mbps I'd say). Why not just buy the highest spec VZW 4G phone around? Oh wait, there are no VZW 4G phones - sorry. :) But, The ThunderBolt is due out within a week or two. That's what I'm getting.

BTW, Verizon's "4G/LTE" is not even in the same league as any other carriers "4G". It is absolutely the best existing "4G" technology out there.

-Frank
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That's what I keep hearing (about Verizon's to-this-date non-existent 4G phone speeds) which is why I hate the idea of leaving Verizon, but the fact that they have NO 4G phones right now makes it something to consider.
 
TxGoat said:
That's what I keep hearing (about Verizon's to-this-date non-existent 4G phone speeds) which is why I hate the idea of leaving Verizon, but the fact that they have NO 4G phones right now makes it something to consider.
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A number of the TB "testers" have posted speeds. I saw one tester today posted 29Mbps down and 7up.

-Frank
 
FrankXS said:
A number of the TB "testers" have posted speeds. I saw one tester today posted 29Mbps down and 7up.

-Frank
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Wow, 29 Mbps down is insane from a cell phone! I know a lot of people were impressed with my 2-3 Mbps down, although they were either AT&T or T-Mobile customers so I figured they were easily impressed... :D


With those types of speeds, I can see Verizon justifying a tiered data plan. I just hope it doesn't come to that.
 
TxGoat said:
Well, the "up to 10x faster" IMO is them pulling a "not-so-fast" fast one when I've been pulling 2 Mbps already on 3G on average. As a matter of fact, let me show you what I'm pulling now (granted my speed in this location is flaky at best).

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I think you missed my point. They aren't saying your going to get 10x faster, they are saying you'll just get "up to" 10x faster. There is a difference.
 
TxGoat said:
Also, will faster 4G connections affect battery life?
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That's primarily a function of the power drawn by the radio and that's unknown for the Bolt at present.

Example - with an Evo, one may get 4~5 Mbps download speed; if done over wifi, power consumption is low, if done with WiMAX radio, power is sucked quickly.

The only real processing difference - the radio chips involved.

Can't extrapolate any of that to an unknown/uncharacterized LTE radio.

Could go either way.
 
gvillager said:
I think you missed my point. They aren't saying your going to get 10x faster, they are saying you'll just get "up to" 10x faster. There is a difference.
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No, actually I understand your point, they're using lawyer speak. Kind of like Taco Bell claiming that 17% of their "beef" is "seasonings", they're using a broad interpretation of what "seasonings" are which is the way business is run nowadays.

My point is that "up to 10x faster" is very vague and even shady IMO.
 
I've always gotten a 1.7mb to 2.5 mb down speeds on my HTC Imagio and that's on verizon's 3G network.. must be because I'm about 2 miles from a tower.. anything over those speeds i'd be tickled pink...
 
swade8 said:
I've always gotten a 1.7mb to 2.5 mb down speeds on my HTC Imagio and that's on verizon's 3G network.. must be because I'm about 2 miles from a tower.. anything over those speeds i'd be tickled pink...
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I have a cell tower about 1 mile from my house. Not sure if it's a Verizon tower, but I think I've seen a Verizon van sitting near it a few times.
 
There is zero reason for to go over 10mbps. That is about 3 times quicker them most home internet connections.

Verizon is really pushing to limit lte use to business users. Hence the high price for the phone and plan.

3 things to keep in mind.
1.) With any radio, the faster the speed the more power it takes.
2.) 700mhz is a bad frequency for cities do to interference.
3.)The connection between tower the internet is, like wimax, the bottle neck.
 
Tested a droid x v. att htc inspire. X was on 3g and the inspire was on att 4g. The X dowloaded 2 times as fast on 3 g as the inspire did on 4g. Again not apples to apples (no pun intended) but it made me pause enough to pick up the X and wait a year for the 4g devices and service to get up and running.
 
I thought I saw some 4g testing using speedtest where they were getting between 8-10mbps down

Anything over 3 and I'm happy . And WiMaxx is a joke in Denver I almost switched to sprint until I realized the 4g was useless . I have two very close friends who ahve had evos for about 5months awesome phones but they have both said they have never been able to get a reliable 4g signal and even wehn then get one it swithces back and fourth with 3g and masacures the battery .

I've got high hopes for LTE IMO it's going to be the only true 4G network . We have a LTE Data card and it works pretty much everywhere and while I haven't tested the actually speed (don't even know how to haha) it's faster then my home DSL which usually connects around 5-10mbps down on my phone
 
ChiTownJim said:
I thought I saw some 4g testing using speedtest where they were getting between 8-10mbps down

Anything over 3 and I'm happy . And WiMaxx is a joke in Denver I almost switched to sprint until I realized the 4g was useless . I have two very close friends who ahve had evos for about 5months awesome phones but they have both said they have never been able to get a reliable 4g signal and even wehn then get one it swithces back and fourth with 3g and masacures the battery .

I've got high hopes for LTE IMO it's going to be the only true 4G network . We have a LTE Data card and it works pretty much everywhere and while I haven't tested the actually speed (don't even know how to haha) it's faster then my home DSL which usually connects around 5-10mbps down on my phone
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twistedlim said:
Tested a droid x v. att htc inspire. X was on 3g and the inspire was on att 4g. The X dowloaded 2 times as fast on 3 g as the inspire did on 4g. Again not apples to apples (no pun intended) but it made me pause enough to pick up the X and wait a year for the 4g devices and service to get up and running.
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ATT is not using true 4G (yes, yes, I know that they are ALLOWED to call it 4G, but we all know it isn't). Verizon will be using LTE which is what all the major carriers will be moving to (including ATT).

I would not judge 4G by the Inspire or Atrix running on whatever ATT is using right now. Trust me LTE is going to be faster.
 
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