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4G Phones Hit Primetime
By Jeff McIntire, Updated May 16, 2011
Overview
2010 was the year that saw the first 4G phones (the Sprint Evo 4G and Epic 4G, the T-Mobile MyTouch 4G in November). The U.S. 4G market has since matured, with AT&T deploying its HSPA+ network, T-Mobile and Sprint expanding their 4G networks to cover most of the country, and Verizon finally deploying its long-awaited LTE network.So what does this mean to you in terms of everyday use? Each feature of 4G will now be compared and explained in terms of their value to you, and will be followed by a table comparing the 4G phones available now on this site.
4G Network Comparison: WiMax, HSPA+ and LTE
The three U.S. 4G network technologies are WiMax (Sprint), HSPA+ (AT&T and T-Mobile), and LTE (Verizon, though all 4 carriers may eventually adopt LTE). A detailed, real-world test conducted by PhoneArena comparing the three technologies can be found here (it should be noted that only T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network was tested here, but AT&T uses the same standard). If you want an easily understandable, detailed breakdown of “the nation’s first 4G network”, “the nation’s most advanced 4G network”, and “the nation’s largest 4G network”, I highly recommend reading this article. According to PhoneArena’s testing in Columbus, Ohio, each of the three technologies offered average download speeds of 7 Mbps, while Sprint and Verizon offered average upload speeds of 1 Mbps, with T-Mobile lagging behind in the upload department at 0.52 Mbps. According to PhoneArena, LTE’s main advantage is its advanced technology (newer and more advanced than WiMax, while HSPA+ is mainly a stopgap measure by AT&T and T-Mobile until they are able to deploy LTE networks). The biggest advantage of WiMax is that it has more than 50% greater bandwidth (meaning it can support more users at the same time) than either HSPA+ or LTE. The chief advantage of HSPA+ is its widespread availability (T-Mobile in particular claims to cover over 100 major metropolitan areas, up to 200 million people). See the table below for a short-and-quick comparison:
Table 1: Quick Comparison of U.S. 4G Networks
Averages as tested by PhoneArena in Columbus, Ohio
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Download Speed
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Upload Speed
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Ping (Response Time)
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Primary Advantage
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Primary Disadvantage
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WiMax (Sprint)
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7.43 Mbps
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0.82 Mbps
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149 ms (milliseconds)
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Greater bandwidth (can support more users at the same time) |
Limited deployment, Sprint may eventually replace with LTE |
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LTE (Verizon)
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6.86 Mbps
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1.10 Mbps
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186 ms
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Newer, more advanced technology, more room for improvement |
Limited deployment, slower response times |
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HSPA+ (T-Mobile)
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7.39 Mbps
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0.52 Mbps
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97 ms
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Widely deployed, fastest response time |
Little room for advancement, slow upload speeds |
How 4G Affects You
All three 4G technologies have their advantages and disadvantages - there is no clear winner at the moment. Depending on your needs, each 4G network should satisfy your demands more fully than 3G. A word of warning, though: all three 4G networks are relatively new (though WiMax has been around a couple of years), and all have inconsistent coverage depending on your location (not only in terms of where you live, but also in terms of where you are located right now - a park, a crowded street, at home, on a top or bottom floor, etc.). Now, let me explain how upload speeds, download speeds, and response times affect you in everyday phone usage in the table below.
Table 2: Why 4G Matters to You
(based, in part, on a PhoneArena 4G comparison article found here)
| Network Feature |
How You Use It |
Advantages over 3G |
Winner* |
| Download Speed |
streaming video, downloading apps, ringtones, music |
smoother and clearer video picture, less buffering, downloads up to 10 times faster |
WiMax (Sprint) by a slim enough margin that HSPA+ may be faster in other areas |
| Upload Speed |
posting your pictures to Flickr or Picasa, uploading videos to YouTube, updating your Facebook profile, online file sharing, using Google Docs, video chat |
Much faster uploading of your pictures, videos, and online documents, and other files to file sharing sites |
LTE (Verizon) |
| Ping Time (Response Time) |
online gaming, video chat |
smoother video chat, faster response time during online gaming (meaning your reactions will be faster than those of your 3G opponent) |
HSPA+ (T-Mobile) by a significant margin - at least twice as fast as the nearest competitor |
* according to PhoneArena testing in Columbus, OH
Experience 4G for Yourself, For Less Than What the Carriers Charge
Are you ready to take the plunge, to jump in the 4G fast lane? There are several 4G phones available to you now and more on the way (sorry, iPhone fans, the Apple flagship phone was left standing in the game of 4G musical chairs). For the sake of brevity, I will simply list the phones that are currently available on this site at significant discounts from carrier prices. The reseller I represent no longer carries AT&T phones, so, regrettably, they are not available on this site. See the table below for a quick list of 4G phones available on this site (a detailed feature comparison of six of our newest 4G phones can be found here).
Table 3: 4G Phones Available on PrimeCellphones.com
(note: all 4G phones currently available run Android OS)
* prices as of 5/16/11, with a new 2-year contract (excluding one-day promotions and mail-in rebates offered by some carriers) |
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