2G vs. 3G
2G Advantage:
• way better battery life
3G Advantage:
• faster data connection
This is a subjective question> Is it worth it at the expense of increased battery consumption?
I have an HTC Diamond with a small 900 mAh battery. So for me, I mostly put mine into 2G and switch to 3G when I use my data connection.
Question: is 2G = 3G when it comes to voice quality? (I can't tell the difference)
...and are there any other 3G advantages that I have missed?
Technically 3G is used for voice as well, but whether you're on GPRS/EDGE/3G I don't think there's a noticeable difference. As for if 3G is worth it? Without question. I'm a huuuuge fan of Android, and I'm dying to get a phone that works with AT&T 3G... Obviously I was greatly disappointed when the Agora Pro was delayed. The G1 seems like the perfect phone for me in every way (except maybe build quality), GPS, WiFi, capacitive screen... But I refuse to buy any phone that doesn't give me 3G, EDGE is painful when you're used to HSPA.
"• can make/receive a call/txt while connected to the Internet (never miss a call)"
thats not a 3g thing thats a cell-phone operator equipment thing
i never lost a call because of grps
thats the real reason that grps was invented to replace
old cell-phone data traffic where you had to call the isp to get
Internet
I don't think it's the right question to ask.
besides the fact that it's individual, 3G and 2G are completely different.
2G provides the regular services which you don't need anything more for.
3G provides services which 2G does not and you will use only if you need them.
so the question is "what do you need?"
I have a polaris on 2G ALL the time... unless I want to connect to the internet.
(just a for instance)
btw, 3G is WAY "less healthy"
for instance, in israel, 2G broadcasts make your phone cast 0.042mW/kb
3G makes it cast 0.43mW/kb. it's like swimming in an ocean of endless EM waves.
that's of course, for an average phone, for full signal
nir36 said:
I don't think it's the right question to ask.
besides the fact that it's individual, 3G and 2G are completely different.
2G provides the regular services which you don't need anything more for.
3G provides services which 2G does not and you will use only if you need them.
so the question is "what do you need?"
I have a polaris on 2G ALL the time... unless you want to connect to the internet.
(just a for instance)
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Yeah well, 3G is a data transfer speed. If you're not using data, there's no reason to have 3G.
Ok, then should the question be.........
E vs. 3G.....regarding call quality & battery consumption
Is there a difference?
or
What radio mode will consume the least amount of battery, Edge or 3G?
Edge consumes a lot less battery than 3G.
Call quality is the same....
Ok, so I will stick with Edge as my basis and switch when I need to use my data connection.
you don't need Edge either for calls. call quality doesn't change from 2G to Edge to 3G to 10G. voice is sampled in 44kHz at best. let's say 22kHz. 22kHz is nothing compared to what 2G can transfer. even if you use Shannon's formula you still get a very high value for 2G data transfer. Edge isn't better than 2G unless you want faster data transfer rate... edge can transfer up to 237kbps per 4 time slots. you need no more than 48kbps.
btw.. just as a general remark. human speech moves between... 20hz to about 3khz. 22khz/48khz is required to transfer music through your phone.
nir36 said:
voice is sampled in 44kHz at best.
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Both 2(.5/.75)G and 3G uses GSM encoding (with a very low sampling frequency); that is, the audio quality is exactly the same with the two.
galaxys said:
Edge consumes a lot less battery than 3G.
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This is particularly true when actively transferring data, and (to a much lesser degree) when just using the phone. I've measured huge (~50%) differences on contemporary handsets - see my dedicated articles if interested.
nir36 said:
3G is WAY "less healthy"
for instance, in israel, 2G broadcasts make your phone cast 0.042mW/kb
3G makes it cast 0.43mW/kb. it's like swimming in an ocean of endless EM waves.
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Do you have any links on this? This is quite big a difference and I'd say, at least under "normal" circumstances, the difference shouldn't be that big.
As CDMA is somewhat more battery-friendly than TDMA (it can transfer the same info using less power), the difference is mostly because of the difference between the carrier (850/900 MHz vs. 1700+ MHz; the higher the freuency, the more power you require to traverse the same distance with the same SNR). That is, with a GSM operator operating at much higher frequencies than 900 MHz, there shouldn't be much difference.
(And, of course, a lot of other factors should also be considered: does the operator use the same radio turn to put all their aerials on etc. If, for some reason, you have a far better 3G SNR than GSM SNR, then, your handheld should use much lower transfer power.)
This is a matter of choices
Each one of us will pick a phone (and a band and a carrier) based on our own needs
In my personal usage, I need FAST INTERNET, so I chose 3G (HSDPA)
I also chose the Xperia X1 because it has a BIG battery
Now I have 3G SPEED and 1.5 days battery life with heavy usage
Menneisyys said:
Both 2(.5/.75)G and 3G uses GSM encoding (with a very low sampling frequency); that is, the audio quality is exactly the same with the two.
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That's great to hear. Well to conserve power, my choice will be to disable 3G using Communication Manager. When I do this, the 3G icon in the task bar switches to E.
Will switch to 3G only when I need to use the internet.
Perfect ! Thanks for helping me with this everyone
Menneisyys said:
Do you have any links on this? This is quite big a difference and I'd say, at least under "normal" circumstances, the difference shouldn't be that big.
As CDMA is somewhat more battery-friendly than TDMA (it can transfer the same info using less power), the difference is mostly because of the difference between the carrier (850/900 MHz vs. 1700+ MHz; the higher the freuency, the more power you require to traverse the same distance with the same SNR). That is, with a GSM operator operating at much higher frequencies than 900 MHz, there shouldn't be much difference.
(And, of course, a lot of other factors should also be considered: does the operator use the same radio turn to put all their aerials on etc. If, for some reason, you have a far better 3G SNR than GSM SNR, then, your handheld should use much lower transfer power.)
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first of all, let me correct my mistake. it's not 0.43 for 3G it's 0.23mW/kb. but that's still VERY high.
I'll try to look it up as i got this info from a friend who worked in orange. but this obviously depends on many factors other than your device. the more relays you have spread around your area, the less power your phone needs to retrieve a normal signal. they're not ALL arranged according to the hexagon method... or the Threeway method.
I'm talking about average power. the closer you are to the relay, the less power you need, but your brain is fried from the relay itself so you can't really run away from it.
FORTUNATELY, power dissipates by 1/r^2 so if you're about 60-70cm away from your phone the effect will be extremely minimal.
"Yeah well, 3G is a data transfer speed. If you're not using data, there's no reason to have 3G."
here we can also use it for video calls directly to another phone number as in not real internet
but nobody use it i think
maybe the problem is that females will spend ½hour freshning up before answering their phones jk
video calls are only different by requiring faster data transfer and much higher signal to noise ratio.. which 3G provides. again, it's not a consideratoin whether to use 3G or not. only if you need to use a video call should you switch to 3G
2G vs 3G......What about (Edge vs 3G)
Wow, some good feedback has been generated here.
Phone use:
• 3G.......is NOT worth it here unless you are video calling
Data Connection:
• 3G.......is worth it here (way faster) even though battery consumption increases nicely
Before concluding with the above, would like to clear up what Edge is:
EDGE can be considered a 3G radio technology and is part of ITU's 3G definition,[1] but is most frequently referred to as 2.75G
Based on the definition here, does anyone believe that using Edge is best when using the phone for the sake of decreasing battery consumption? I believe it should be. Any thoughts?
Actually, EDGE can't be considered as 3G techwise.. and it doesn't have the same data transfer rate as 3G provided by an HSDPA connection.
this is from wikipedia
High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) is a 3G (third generation) mobile telephony communications protocol in the High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) family, which allows networks based on Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) to have higher data transfer speeds and capacity. Current HSDPA deployments support down-link speeds of 1.8, 3.6, 7.2 and 14.4 Mbit/s. Further speed increases are available with HSPA+, which provides speeds of up to 42 Mbit/s downlink.[1]
EDGE only gets to 430kbps AT BEST. the AT BEST part NEVER comes
it's true that EDGE consumes less battery
and it's true that 3G is much faster
but it's also true that this all depends on your needs.
Orange Israel doesn't support EDGE. if they did i would be using it all the time instead of 3G when i need an internet connection.. since i don't need 1.8Mbps..
eventually, i believe there's no debate about what to use.
2G is the best way to go when you do everything but using the internet and video calls.
and then choosing between EDGE and 3G(HSDPA, UMTS.. or whatever you wanna call it) depends on how fast you want your internet connection to be while considering that EDGE consumes MUCH MUCH less battery power.
btw, if you asked me, i woldn't think twice whether you should have a 3G phone or not. having 3G support on your phone nowadays costs nothing more than having a reulgar 2G phone.. so having the option whether to use 3G or not is obviously better than not having it.
band27 said:
EDGE can be considered a 3G radio technology and is part of ITU's 3G definition,[1] but is most frequently referred to as 2.75G
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tehcnically, EDGE (which is a plain TDMA technology, as is GSM) in no way can be compared to 3G technologies, which are all CDMA.
I got my Infuse a few weeks ago and while I'm happy with the speeds over the Captivate (which never seemed higher than 2mbps) I don't think I am getting HSPDA speeds.
With 2-5 bars I am averaging around 1.5-3.5mbps in and around Boston which is all covered by AT&T's "4G" service (Im only talking HSPA+ here not LTE). My highest was 6.7mbps and 7.4 mbps once a week or so ago.
In looking at my "Mobile Network Type". I think that I am very infrequently if ever seeing it say HSPDA. It generally says UMTS.
Am I correct in saying the UMTS is the 3G service that basically the IPHONE gets?
Is anyone else out there seeing faster speed and their "Mobile Network Type" say HSPDA regularly?
UMTS is ATT's basic 3G service...and is generally a very slow network but has a big coverage base....
HSPA is the newer 3G service which gets even better speeds but it still limited in some areas.....An iPhone as you mentioned will connect to UMTS or HSPA depending on cell tower location......HSPA+ which is what the INFUSE connects to is nothing more then HSPA with better backhaul for higher speeds but has the same coverage and range of regular HSPA.
HOWEVER, the way it works is that it connects to the STRONGEST signal at the time, if UMTS is outputting a stronger signal from a cell tower you will latch onto that one more often then HSPA....
At work and traveling to and from, i am usually on HSPA, but at home that signal is weak (location of cell tower with HSPA amplified) so i am usually on UMTS...
actually hspa runs on top of umts and only switches when you start downloading. if you idle, it should say umts.
The Jack of Clubs said:
actually hspa runs on top of umts and only switches when you start downloading. if you idle, it should say umts.
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That's not always true, it depends on the cell site architecture the device is pinging - my device and many previous device idle on HSPA frequently and in other spots, UMTS.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
A useful post to tweak your 4G settings: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1127980&highlight=HSPA+cat+control&page=2
anyone can do that???
3G is HSPA. Some carriers are just more specific about the connection, hence one might see an E instead of 2G or an H instead of 3G and H+ instead of 4G. Here in the US the only carrier that's specific about the connection used is sprint which displays an Ev (for EvDO) to indicate 3G (even tho their speeds are more like 1G).
I wonder HSDPA is an enhanced 3G which the speed is faster than 3G. Lumia diagnostics has built in setting to turn on or off the HSDPA that I wonder it can set the phone in default 3G or user defined HSDPA. Hence Lumia user can still select in radio setting lower to 2G connection in order to save more standby time.
angler said:
I wonder HSDPA is an enhanced 3G which the speed is faster than 3G. Lumia diagnostics has built in setting to turn on or off the HSDPA that I wonder it can set the phone in default 3G or user defined HSDPA. Hence Lumia user can still select in radio setting lower to 2G connection in order to save more standby time.
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this is exaclty what i ask for, at least save some battery life...
remember how the iphone 3G has great battery life?
because it does not use HSPDA, only 3G, and this is during web usage too..
If my carrier has a HSPA+ 42Mb network, and I have a smartphone with a HSPA+ 42Mb radio and my speed is around 25-30 Mb for example, that means that any other smartphone with a 21, 14.4 and 7.2 HSPA radio should be surfing at their top (theoretical) speed?
HSPA an HSPA+ have inherent problems. If you are getting anywhere near 8Mbps please post a screenshot. More likely that you get between 2-6 Mbps with 170-300 latency or ping and your indoor coverage is worse. This is due to 2 reasons. One, HSPA+ is only 3G with a bit more bandwidth and two, the frequency is 1800mhz or greater which means even a simple window can worsen signal strength.
HSPA+ is not an independent technology, but is a licensed technology making it limited by regulations. Many carriers are using it until their LTE matures. LTE operates at up to 10X the speed, allows double the cells using data, half the cost to the carrier, and a latency around 100 for more responsive sessions. The major players in LTE right now is Seimens out of Germany and Lucent ehre in the states. Their test dummy is Verizon who has 64% of the wold wide LTE market and this is being passed onto Vodofone, an others. In the states ATT has now contracted Seimens and a lesser known company who supplies the core equipment to develop their network. Right now ATT stands at 7% of the world market in LTE.
boosterp said:
HSPA an HSPA+ have inherent problems. If you are getting anywhere near 8Mbps please post a screenshot. More likely that you get between 2-6 Mbps with 170-300 latency or ping and your indoor coverage is worse. This is due to 2 reasons. One, HSPA+ is only 3G with a bit more bandwidth and two, the frequency is 1800mhz or greater which means even a simple window can worsen signal strength.
HSPA+ is not an independent technology, but is a licensed technology making it limited by regulations. Many carriers are using it until their LTE matures. LTE operates at up to 10X the speed, allows double the cells using data, half the cost to the carrier, and a latency around 100 for more responsive sessions. The major players in LTE right now is Seimens out of Germany and Lucent ehre in the states. Their test dummy is Verizon who has 64% of the wold wide LTE market and this is being passed onto Vodofone, an others. In the states ATT has now contracted Seimens and a lesser known company who supplies the core equipment to develop their network. Right now ATT stands at 7% of the world market in LTE.
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Very good words, very informative, I really apreciate it. But I was looking for some light about what I asked.
As You can see in my signature I got 6.67Mbps with a ping of 121, and my phone was on 3G not even on H(HSDPA), and this video shows high speed with the Huawe E372(not in my country, I just found it on youtube).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PUawx4Au_8&feature=related
here in Dominican republic Orange dominicana had a 14.4Mbps HSDPA network, and now they claim they have a 42Mbps HSPA+ network working in Santo domingo and Santiago and coming soon in other areas.
So, my question is, if I get speeds over 21Mbps, let say between 25-30Mbps, that would mean I will get the top speed in devices with a 21, 14.4 and 7.2 Mbps radios? or I could get 25Mbps with devices with a 42Mbps HSPA+ radio (Huawei E372, for example), and get less than 14.4Mbps in devices with a 14.4Mbps radio, etc?
note: I tried to use the youtube feature but didn't work.
A little tougher to answer based on the specific set up in your country. I only gave a background as example or foo for thought regarding HSPA+. I would venture to guess that you could potentially hit that 25Mbps mark depending on traffic, network conditions, interference, and base equipment. If you are within 2 km of a tower and not in a null sector of the broadcast with no interference it would be possible but mostly at burst speed an not sustained. Let me know what develops, PM me with your speeds when you can test it.
I notice thay if i turn off LTE, I get a stronger cell signal on H+. Would I get better battery life by turning LTE off when im using home wifi? I dont lose the signal on LTE or HSPA, but the signal is a bar or two higher normally on HSPA
I believe LTE gives better battery life pretty close to/on part with WiFi levels. Future LTE modems coming out are going to be more battery friendly than WiFi.
LTE>3G as long as there is strong signal if not stick to 3G I guess.
The number of bars is arbitrarily set by the rom for a given dBm and can't really be compared between 3G and LTE. LTE will still function well at lower signal strength than 3G.