Difference between Galaxy S2 4G and LTE

[SFBayArea]

Hey guys, I keep reading about the Galaxy S2 LTE with 1.5 dual chip coming out soon. Do you think its worth the wait? I was waiting for the S2 since April of this year when I first read about it in Engadget. However, I don't want to end up with 2 years locked plan if new LTE Galaxy will be significantly better.
What are the major differences would you see with LTE Galaxy? I am still at Verizon, but I hear that Sprint 4G speeds are not that great, so if that is the case I take it wouldn't matter if LTE speeds are better on paper, if Sprint network can't support it?

 

[Tommydaniel]

There's no confirmation that the Galaxy S II LTE is even coming to Verizon or any other US carrier for that matter.

 

[SFBayArea]

There's no confirmation that the Galaxy S II LTE is even coming to Verizon or any other US carrier for that matter.

True, no confirmation, but it doesn't mean that it can't get there in three months or less.
So question remains the same what is the major difference between 4G and LTE and would it even matter on any US carriers?

 

[Tommydaniel]

True, no confirmation, but it doesn't mean that it can't get there in three months or less.
So question remains the same what is the major difference between 4G and LTE and would it even matter on any US carriers?

LTE is 4G. Yes Sprint's Wimax is slower than LTE, but it's still 4G. The only carrier that would consider picking up the LTE GSII would be Verizon, but since Verizon is most likely getting the Prime there would be no reason for them to pick this one up

 

[Sandroidfan]

Verizon probably won't get LTE SGS2 as they are gearing up for Prime instead. But I saw some rumors that AT&T might get it near the end of year or early next year as they are readying LTE as well. It seems to make sense since announced LTE SGS2 has GSM/HSPA+/LTE radio.

 

[apinkel]

I'd venture a guess that the 1.5GHz SGS2 variant you are referencing is probably the T-Mobile version which will be using a qualcomm SOC instead of the exynos SOC. You can read more here:
AnandTech - Samsung Confirms APQ8060 for T-Mobile Galaxy S 2

I'd guess the 1.2 exynos is probably going to be a little faster than the 1.5Ghz qualcomm due to the older core design used in the qualcomm chip.

 

[sean76]

To the OP....in general, wimax can't hold a candle to the real LTE 4G that Verizon rocks...

Your leaving Vzw for Sprint for a phone?

 

[apinkel]

I'm of the opinion that 4G phones are overrated at the moment (yeah I know I'm in the minority).

The battery life is bad due to 1st gen radios that aren't yet integrated into the SOC, the coverage is limited and for the vast majority of the stuff you do on your phone 3G is more than fast enough.

Browsing the web is still limited by the speed of the cpu (4G makes surprisingly little difference for browsing), you've got an SD display and 3G is enough to stream SD content. I'm sure there are some reasons why 4G would be beneficial but for the way I use my phone I can't think of any.

A year from now when 4G radio's become more battery efficient and the coverage improves I would view 4G as a big benefit. Today, not so much.

 

[sean76]

I'm of the opinion that 4G phones are overrated at the moment (yeah I know I'm in the minority).

The battery life is bad due to 1st gen radios that aren't yet integrated into the SOC, the coverage is limited and for the vast majority of the stuff you do on your phone 3G is more than fast enough.

Browsing the web is still limited by the speed of the cpu (4G makes surprisingly little difference for browsing), you've got an SD display and 3G is enough to stream SD content. I'm sure there are some reasons why 4G would be beneficial but for the way I use my phone I can't think of any.

A year from now when 4G radio's become more battery efficient and the coverage improves I would view 4G as a big benefit. Today, not so much.

I don't know if you have actually used an HTC Thunderbolt, a DROID Charge, or a DROID Bionic....but all 3 of those phones toast anything out there as far as speed goes on the internet. Its not even close between 3G and 4G!

Yes ,right now only vzw has real LTE 4G, but at&t is getting set to release it, and Sprint will soon follow and release it sometime in 2012. Sorry man, but its a night and day difference.

 

[whatsitsname]

Do not leave Verizon if you still have unlimited data. Once you leave it's gone.

 

[apinkel]

I don't know if you have actually used an HTC Thunderbolt, a DROID Charge, or a DROID Bionic....but all 3 of those phones toast anything out there as far as speed goes on the internet. Its not even close between 3G and 4G!

Yes ,right now only vzw has real LTE 4G, but at&t is getting set to release it, and Sprint will soon follow and release it sometime in 2012. Sorry man, but its a night and day difference.

Yes Verizon's 4G is faster... for benchmarks. In everyday use, it has little noticeable impact. 4G has been marketed heavily, and it's a move that all carriers are and should be making but IMO the current state of 4G radios in phones makes it just a nice to have feature at this point in time.

If you want to stream HD content to a TV over a 4G connection I can see 4G being noticeably better, outside of that everything I do on my phone is handled just fine by 3G speeds.

...and no I don't have a 4G phone. But I do have wifi on my phone (which is faster then 4g) and I don't notice the difference when on 3G vs. wifi.

 

[Sycobob]

I'm of the opinion that 4G phones are overrated at the moment (yeah I know I'm in the minority).

I have to admit, I agree with your sentiments. The only reason I even bothered getting a 4G phone is so in a year when the coverage is improved I can actually use it. Even then, because of battery life concerns my 4G use will be minimal. I have Wifi everywhere I go anyway.

It bears mentioning that none of the current '4G' networks are really 4G. They're all 3.5 or 3.9G, meaning they are better than 3G, but they don't actually meet the 4G standards. Not by a long shot. On the bright side, some of the technologies are forward compatible. When Verizon rolls out the true 4G (LTE Advanced) the current LTE phones will be able to make use of it. Not sure about others.

 

[sean76]

Yes Verizon's 4G is faster... for benchmarks. In everyday use, it has little noticeable impact. 4G has been marketed heavily, and it's a move that all carriers are and should be making but IMO the current state of 4G radios in phones makes it just a nice to have feature at this point in time.

If you want to stream HD content to a TV over a 4G connection I can see 4G being noticeably better, outside of that everything I do on my phone is handled just fine by 3G speeds.

...and no I don't have a 4G phone. But I do have wifi on my phone (which is faster then 4g) and I don't notice the difference when on 3G vs. wifi.

To be honest, the difference between VZW's 4G LTE, Reg 3G ,at&t's Bogus 4G, and Sprints wimax or even they're 3G is absolutly Night and Day!

4G LTE is insane when doing anything that involves Data, like surfing the net, watching youtube or videos of the net, streaming music, even grabbing apps from the market is pretty much a 4 second ordeal.

And real 4G LTE is just as fast or even faster in some cases then wifi.

It has a huge impact on the experience of using a smart phone daily. And when Sprint gets they're LTE released (which should be real soon) you'll see what I'm talking about.

 

[sean76]

For those who think 4G isn't that different from 3G or wifi, check this out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Od8oVt0DYo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[apinkel]

They need to redo that comparison and take the same phone and run comparison tests of the same kind of phone on 3G, 4G and wifi.

That video does show how much faster a dual core phone is than single core phones but it doesn't show the speed difference between wifi, 3G and 4G.

Browsing the web is cpu bound so regardless of how fast the connection is a single core phone is going to be slower than a dual core phone.

The video playback is telling... 3G, 4G and wifi all performed almost identically.

An interesting demo would be to take the SGS2 on 3G and compare web browser speed to a bionic on 4G.

 

[ricanlegend]

One is a rumor and the other is in my hand lol

 

[sean76]

They need to redo that comparison and take the same phone and run comparison tests of the same kind of phone on 3G, 4G and wifi.

That video does show how much faster a dual core phone is than single core phones but it doesn't show the speed difference between wifi, 3G and 4G.

Browsing the web is cpu bound so regardless of how fast the connection is a single core phone is going to be slower than a dual core phone.

The video playback is telling... 3G, 4G and wifi all performed almost identically.

An interesting demo would be to take the SGS2 on 3G and compare web browser speed to a bionic on 4G.

Lol...running an SG2 on 3G vs a Bionic on 4G is like putting a Honda accord up against a Porsche Turbo.... There is no comparison at all!

The reality is that the network makes the phone, not the phone makes the network.

I've owned countless phones, on countless carriers....believe me 4G LTE makes a gigantic difference in data speeds!

 

[bad1550]

Lol...running an SG2 on 3G vs a Bionic on 4G is like putting a Honda accord up against a Porsche Turbo.... There is no comparison at all!

The reality is that the network makes the phone, not the phone makes the network.

I've owned countless phones, on countless carriers....believe me 4G LTE makes a gigantic difference in data speeds!

Battery life suffers unfortunately

 

[unplugged1]

Lol...running an SG2 on 3G vs a Bionic on 4G is like putting a Honda accord up against a Porsche Turbo.... There is no comparison at all!

The reality is that the network makes the phone, not the phone makes the network.

I've owned countless phones, on countless carriers....believe me 4G LTE makes a gigantic difference in data speeds!

Yes, LOL: If you watch the Wirefly review between the Bionic and the Epic 4G Touch, ( where the Epic Touch trounced the Bionic, BTW), you will see a comparison out in the real world. On the 4G speed test, the Epic Touch handily beat the Bionic.

 

[sean76]

Yes, LOL: If you watch the Wirefly review between the Bionic and the Epic 4G Touch, ( where the Epic Touch trounced the Bionic, BTW), you will see a comparison out in the real world. On the 4G speed test, the Epic Touch handily beat the Bionic.

Lol...that was plain hog wash! Run 20 tests and you'll get 20 diff outcomes! I get between 20/30kbps with my Bionic on the Speed Test app....Sprint 4G phones don't even get half of that.

However, depending on which phone you own, walk into the store and put the phones up against each other. The Bionic destroys the SG2 on Sprint when you run the test, or pit them against each other while loading web pages! Its not the phones fault, Sprints network is terrible as of late. Watch some Phone Dog Vids, Aaron pretty much puts it all into prospective.

 

[apinkel]

Yes, LOL: If you watch the Wirefly review between the Bionic and the Epic 4G Touch, ( where the Epic Touch trounced the Bionic, BTW), you will see a comparison out in the real world. On the 4G speed test, the Epic Touch handily beat the Bionic.

Yeah, I wish they'd take that one step further and do a head to head of the SGS2 on 3G up against the Bionic on 4G. I really would like to see how that turns out...