Silly question... does 1GB 3g = 1GB 4g

[sillyrabbitt123]

Silly question... does 1GB 3g = 1GB 4g meaning: i have unlimited data on two phones now and i only really use about 3.5gb on each if i go to a shared plan will certain built in apps or are the new 4g phones designed to use a ton more data? Can you get by with the same amount of data on 3g as 4g? i know if i download movies and or skype all the time the answer is no outside of that though?

thanks

 

[rehpyc]

Data is data.. the reason why people tend to use more data over 4G than 3G is because of how much faster it is, which allows you to do much more.

 

[sillyrabbitt123]

thanks! thats what i figure but what i am asking is

are these new 4g phones designed to SUCK DOWN data? Hence on 3g phone normal user is 1-2 gb and on a 4g phone normal user is 2-3 lets say?

or if all things equal you do the same things on a 3g or 4g phone normal usage would be the same?

thanks

 

[jspidey]

thanks! thats what i figure but what i am asking is

are these new 4g phones designed to SUCK DOWN data? Hence on 3g phone normal user is 1-2 gb and on a 4g phone normal user is 2-3 lets say?

or if all things equal you do the same things on a 3g or 4g phone normal usage would be the same?

thanks

As rehpyc said, data is data. But, since 4G is so much faster, people tend to do more data transfer per the same time period just for the simple fact that they can. If you download a 30GB app over 3G, it would still be a 30GB app over 4G.

 

[UncleMike]

Quoting ausui from another thread (I couldn't say it better):

4G loads data more quickly, not more data necessarily. My surfing/streaming habits haven't changed since I got a 4G phone, and so my data use per month also hasn't changed. It just takes less time for things to download.

So, like the others have said, 1GB = 1GB, regardless of whether you're using 3G or 4G. That said, with available 4G, people's habits often change, leading to an increase in data use. For example, prior to getting 4G in my area, my typical monthly usage was around 200-300MB (yes, M). At that time, streaming videos from my home server didn't work well enough to use. With 4G I was able to do it with no problems; so I did, and my usage increased.

Given your usage, I'm guessing you're doing some sort of streaming already. It's possible that your streaming provider is limiting the quality of your stream with a 3G connection, and that the quality (and data usage) will increase with a 4G connection.

 

[Demache]

thanks! thats what i figure but what i am asking is

are these new 4g phones designed to SUCK DOWN data? Hence on 3g phone normal user is 1-2 gb and on a 4g phone normal user is 2-3 lets say?

or if all things equal you do the same things on a 3g or 4g phone normal usage would be the same?

thanks

Its sort of like comparing dial-up vs cable broadband. The dial-up user is going to use far less data, but that's because they don't have a lot of bandwidth at their disposal, so its takes a long time to download anything and in most cases, they will avoid downloading large files if at all possible. However, with cable, you have a lot of bandwidth and seldom max it out. You have no issue with browsing Youtube videos because they download in a minute or so rather than 20-30 minutes.

Like so, a 3G user takes much more time to download the same video as a 4G user so they can only consume so much data in a given amount of time. Its only natural that with faster internet access, you will use more data.

But as for your original question, a byte is a byte no matter how its transferred. There are just differences in how fast can you move those bytes in a certain amount of time.

 

[sillyrabbitt123]

thanks all! i get that a byte is a byte but you did answer what i was trying to see which is with 4g i probably need to up the data amount since we will use more across the 4g smartphones we will upgrade too.

thanks

 

[spartan141]

i think what you dont understand is when you watch a youtube video in 3g compared to a youtube video in 4g, although it may appear to be the same video, the 4g phone will show it in higher quality. thus more data, and like the other people have said already data is data. but you are pulling more data at a much faster rate. so you consume more data. when i had my droid incredible i never went beyond 800mb per month. upgraded to the thunderbolt and BAM, 3 gigs+. your just doing sooooo much more with 4g. even if you are not a heavy user, i suspect you will top 1-2 gigs a month. thats just the way it is.

 

[jmt9779]

i think what you dont understand is when you watch a youtube video in 3g compared to a youtube video in 4g, although it may appear to be the same video, the 4g phone will show it in higher quality. thus more data, and like the other people have said already data is data. but you are pulling more data at a much faster rate. so you consume more data. when i had my droid incredible i never went beyond 800mb per month. upgraded to the thunderbolt and BAM, 3 gigs+. your just doing sooooo much more with 4g. even if you are not a heavy user, i suspect you will top 1-2 gigs a month. thats just the way it is.

i think this answer is really starting to hit closer to the OP's question... meaning that a 4G phone may have a default setting in youtube to pull high quality video while the default setting on a 3g phone may be to pull video of a lower quality. the same goes for apps like pandora or slacker radio, netflix, etc. but you can just go into those apps' settings and change the quality of the video/music being streamed.

also, these days, because of higher speeds due to 4g, we're starting to see A LOT of services be cloud-based (as opposed to saving things locally) because the connections are so fast. so just be aware that as cool as it may seem to have google drive, google play music, etc access your files from anywhere, it's streaming them over your internet connection and racking up your data use age. just be aware.

 

[AntimonyER]

I guess the basic answer is, you can get a 4G phone, and as long as your phone usage doesn't change (ie you stream the same amount, download and update apps in the same frequency, etc) your data usage won't change too much. But a lot of people's usage does change, they will start streaming more especially (especially high data apps like Netflix, Hulu, etc.) I would think that the first few months, you should be able to rely on your previous usage to pick a data plan, and just monitor your usage, to know if you need a higher plan. You can easily call up Verizon and bump the data limit by 2GB for an extra $10 at any time if you are about to go over.

 

[mahmad143]

Hi there is there anyone let me know actully my current usage on samsung galaxy 3 is about in between 3 to 4 gb data every month on 3g data but I am now decid to jump on 4g data with Samsung note 3 usage so my question is that to know to how much data I need to require on 4g as my previous consumption on 3g in between 3 to 4gig every month is that 5gb data enough on 4g tariff

 

[kate]

Hi there is there anyone let me know actully my current usage on samsung galaxy 3 is about in between 3 to 4 gb data every month on 3g data but I am now decid to jump on 4g data with Samsung note 3 usage so my question is that to know to how much data I need to require on 4g as my previous consumption on 3g in between 3 to 4gig every month is that 5gb data enough on 4g tariff

You will probably use about the same amount of data, maybe a little more.

4G is faster, but that doesn't mean you will use tons more data. Some streaming sites like YouTube might automatically give you higher quality video though, so you may want to watch out for that.

 

[svensett]

Hi there is there anyone let me know actully my current usage on samsung galaxy 3 is about in between 3 to 4 gb data every month on 3g data but I am now decid to jump on 4g data with Samsung note 3 usage so my question is that to know to how much data I need to require on 4g as my previous consumption on 3g in between 3 to 4gig every month is that 5gb data enough on 4g tariff

If you use Verizon as your service provider, then you have an app called My Verizon Mobile on your phone. You can see your usage in that app. You can also add an app to your home screen called My Verizon Data that will show your data usage.

Your usage amount should be about the same on 4G as on 3G unless you actually start using your phone more because of the higher speed. I am curious how/why you do not have 4G service on your galaxy s3, but would have it on a note 3. Both are 4G capable phones.