IPad '4G' claims face scrutiny from UK regulator | Hacker News Reader

IPad '4G' claims face scrutiny from UK regulator

bbc.co.uk

17 pointswgx9 comments

The iPhone 3G should never have been called that and Apple should not be touting the latest iterations of the devices as "4G".

They are meaningless terms in so many real world situations.

I can have a xG phone near a compatible tower and the right chip set and it might get advertised speeds, or the network might be congested.

I can have a xG phone in the desert and get nothing.

I can have a xG phone with the wrong chip set for where I am.

I can have a xG phone but the carrier roaming charges are astronomical because I'm overseas.

It's a difficult problem (obviously), but I want an always connected everywhere phone with transparent and reasonable (!=cheap) pricing for data.

I don't want fast mobile if I stand on one foot near the right mobile tower in the right country. I want reliable connectivity.

Imagine if you were sold a 60 watt lightbulb for your home and it flickered, was dim or completely dark. It's not the bulb, it's the electrical supply you say? Well the bulb is being sold with the electrical supply in nearly all cases. Phone contracts are the bulb and electrical supply rolled into one.

Another unfortunate example of a US company forgetting that there people outside their own borders with different constraints and requirements.

I'd rather Apple just gave a boat load of money to UK mobile networks to help them upgrade to 4G :)

Unfortunately money isn't the thing holding back UK 4G adoption. You can read more about the delays here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17853286

But even then because no two countries will be using the same spectrum my understanding is that UK 4G will be incompatible with US 4G.

Apple recently got in trouble in Australia over the same issue[1]. The final outcome of that case is still pending - at least insofar as what Apple is going to have to do about it.

[1] http://www.smh.com.au/business/apple-and-accc-ipad-mediation...

Customers who bought the 4G iPad before the 28th March had until the 25th of April to approach Apple for a refund.

Also, isn't the "4G" it has on AT&T in the US not really 4G though? I mean the faster 3G, not LTE of course.

There's no one standard definition of "4G". A myriad of differing technologies all claim to be 4G, which is why it's just about impossible for a vendor to produce a device compatible with every one worldwide. If "4G" had a solid definition, and everybody was using it, but iPad didn't support it, then it would be understandable.

While I agree theres no standard definition, theres a general agreement between all parties that LTE is "4G" and HSDPA+ is "3G" (or "3.5G" if you will).

To argue the semantics of what "3G" and "4G" really is only confuses customers even more - and thats exactly what Australia and the UK are trying to prevent.

Exactly. By stating that something is 4G compliant, when there is no real defined way of easily defining the term, then it's pretty misleading!

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