How often have you been on a journey and found that your 3G connection drops even while you’re in towns and cities? Or maybe you find that you’re always waiting for videos to buffer and feeds to refresh? All that will be a thing of the past thanks to 4G, which has connectivity speeds faster than the average home broadband and which promises an awesome improvement in time spent on downloads. If you’re not sure whether to upgrade, take a look at the awesome features below and then decide.
You can watch live TV and on demand content on 3G but the slower connection speeds mean that feeds can take longer to start, appear to lag and often buffer in the middle of a really exciting part. Many video services use adaptive picture technology which means that the quality of the video changes based on your connection speed. As all speeds dip at some point, you can find that 3G connections will often revert your HD video back to SD or may stop playing completely, a problem if you’re watching something like a live sports game. You’ll have no such trouble with 4G though as the average 4G speed is twice the recommended amount for many video streaming services. The benefits of 4G are that you’ll experience less buffering and latency, and you’ll be able to watch in HD for the whole of your show.
In addition, you can download files, music and apps to your phone much faster over a 4G network than 3G, as often network providers will limit the amount you can download at once using 3G. This means that both work and personal files can be downloaded in less than half the time it would take on a 3G connection. As well as fast download speeds, 4G also offers much quicker uploads and doesn’t give you so many restrictions when you’re not connected to wi-fi. This means that photos and videos will upload around ten times faster on 4G than if you were using a 3G connection, which is a great reason to upgrade to 4G.
If you often tether your phone to your laptop when you’re out then you’ll have the best experience with 4G as you’ll achieve faster speeds and great coverage. As 4G is faster in many places than home broadband, you shouldn’t have any trouble with lagging or slow download speeds.
Another brilliant benefit of upgrading to 4G for your smartphone or tablet is that you’ll be able to take advantage of all the abilities of mobile gaming. Connecting to facebook and scoreboards will be faster, plus downloading updates will take just seconds. Many games won’t let you play in HD or use multiplayer functions when you’re on a 3G network, but with 4G you’ll have brilliant high definition graphics and be able to play against your friends even when you’re not at home. A fast speed is essential for multiplayer games to ensure that each player is at exactly the same point, with no lagging or connection drops that can cause unequal timing for each player’s device.
If you’re still not convinced of the benefits of upgrading to 4G then think of your common, everyday tasks- things like checking your emails, looking through your Instagram feed, reading tweets and using Skype. These will all be practically instant using 4G which is great for people who use their phone for work as well as for the fun and personal stuff. It isn’t uncommon on 3G to receive emails hours after they were sent, even if you’ve been checking your phone as the connection just isn’t strong or fast enough to download them when you’re on the move. But with 4G you’ll get all your emails on time and can reply with file or image attachments easily.
If you’re thinking about buying a new smartphone or just want to get the most from your current phone, checking to see whether 4G is available in your area will help you to stay connected and entertained wherever you are.
