Kristina Tsamis: Some of the most talked-about 4G phones currently on the market are the HTC EVO, the Samsung Galaxy S and the Motorola Atrix. What are your favorite 4G cell phones? Maybe we can start with Sprint’s offerings?
Molly McLaughlin: The HTC EVO 4G and the Samsung Epic 4G are great Sprint phones in general but the only issue is that 4G is not always available. Experts say that when you are in a good 4G zone it works very well and you get pretty good speed, but speeds are still not as fast as promised.
One interesting note is that right now 4G is quite a battery drain so it’s a good idea if you don’t need super speed or are not using data to go back to 3G and that will give you better battery life. Another issue is that Sprint charges an extra 10 dollars per month for a 4G phone even if you are not in a 4G area. This is something to watch out for because even if Sprint has the most available coverage, it still is what it is across the country.
KT: How about the other networks? AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile?
MM: AT&T’s Motorola Atrix 4G made a big splash this year because it can dock into a laptop. As for the phone itself—again great hardware but the speed is just not there.
Verizon has a bunch of exciting-looking phones but none of them are actually out yet. The HTC Thunderbolt is due out sometime this month but it has been delayed several times. It’s possible it will be out mid-month but this is not definite.
T-Mobile is using a technology called HSPA+. What’s nice is that it’s backwards-compatible with a lot of phones. So if you already are a T-Mobile customer your phone may be able to take advantage of a faster network. T-Mobile’s big offerings right now are the myTouch 4G and the G2—both of which are Android phones. They get pretty decent speeds comparable to what is promised by T-Mobile. They may not be the fastest phones out there, but they live up to their promises.
KT: You mentioned that you’ve found 4G speeds to be underwhelming. Why do you think this is the case, even in areas with good 4G coverage?
MM: Yes, the tests that we’ve looked at were mainly on the East Coast and the West Coast and that’s where all the 4G networks are concentrating—in particular on the East Coast. The problem is that the promised 4G speeds are mostly theoretical and “best case scenario.” I think that sometimes the hardware can’t keep up and if you don’t have a good processor or enough memory then your phone won’t be able to keep up with theoretical speeds. 4G networks are still in their infancy, but I think the hardware needs more time to catch up and manufacturers need to do further testing to see what they need to improve in order to provide true 4G speeds.
What cell phones should 4G fans look out for in 2011? How can we make sense of the WiMAX vs. LTE vs. HSPA+ debate? Stay tuned for part two of this interview.
Molly McLaughlin—Senior Editor, Portable Tech
A self-professed nerd, Senior Editor Molly McLaughlin joined ConsumerSearch.com in 2008. As the mobile tech guru, she spends her days keeping up with the latest gadget news and intrigue, including cell phones, smartphones and apps as well as digital cameras and other personal tech. Her biggest project to date has been the creation and editorial oversight of the cell phone micro-site, which covers more than 300 products. Before joining ConsumerSearch.com, Molly was an associate editor on PCMag.com’s consumer electronics team. She has a Master’s degree in Journalism and Technical Writing from NYU-Poly.
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