Are you going to upgrade your cell phone to take advantage of 4G technology? / LJWorld.com

Asked at Hy-Vee, 3504 W. Clinton Parkway on June 2, 2010

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“Probably not, I’m happy with my service right now.”

— Brooke Douglas, business management major, Overland Park

“I would like to, but I don’t want to spend any more money than I already have to.”

— Francisco Esparza, assistant line cook, Lawrence

“I will not because my phone is already 4G capable.”

— Austin Nichols, high school sophomore, Lawrence

“No, I don’t think so, I think I will stick with my Blackberry.”

— Ashley Mitchell, stenography major, Wichita

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misterlee 2 years, 11 months ago

I hate cell phones.

jonas_opines 2 years, 11 months ago

3g good enough for me. Don't even know what the difference between the two is.

someguy 2 years, 11 months ago

4G is one better than 3G.

RoeDapple 2 years, 11 months ago

4G's would put me up over 1100 pounds, I don't think my frame could take it.

none2 2 years, 11 months ago

"G" stands for generation. So 1 is 1st Generation, etc...

Also you are talking about old fashioned voice talking. The generations have to do with data usages. Do realize that the old fashion voice talking will one day be obsolete as it is very resource intensive with a dedicated line between the person calling and the person called. (excluding the portion that is wireless. One day all voice will be carried over data (VoIP -- Voice over IP) as then you can handle more of that kind of traffic with less hardware overhead costs.

pagan_idolator 2 years, 11 months ago

You just made my head explode. Now why would you want to go and do something like that?

MacHeath 2 years, 11 months ago

God, I wish Marshall MacCluhan was here!

xbusguy 2 years, 11 months ago

Not if it can still hide in the recliner.

headdoctor 2 years, 11 months ago

Great. Just what we need. More phones with added toys that crowd the networks with a bunch of data crap that will do about everything but make a phone call.

none2 2 years, 11 months ago

One day voice will be a subset of data (VoIP) and not waste all the infrastructure that is dedicated just to make a voice call. Anybody who has use VoIP knows that it still has a way to go to be 100% reliable good quality, but when it was voice calls as they work now-a-days will be history.

headdoctor 2 years, 11 months ago

I don't have a problem with technology advancements. What I have a problem with is quality of service they are currently marketing and collecting money for knowing in some places especially during certain activities their towers are already overloaded with all the Iphone type crap they are also marketing.

As long as we are stuck with the current form of wireless all the VOIP improvements and such wont amount to a hill of beans if the towers can't handle the load to convert to a VOIP transmission or in less populated areas, a land line transmission.

none2 2 years, 11 months ago

What you are talking about is called "backhaul". Carriers tend to skimp on the amount of backhaul to handle the load from the tower to the central office. Some carriers are notorious for doing a minimal of backhaul capacity -- hint, hint iPhone's carrier. In fairness, you have to judge how much traffic you'll have when you setup the backhaul capacity during a buildout. That changes over time. If carriers put the maximum from the very beginning, then they would be unable to build out as many towers because of all the extra up-front money. Setting up a tower from scratch at a bare minimum $100,000. By the time you get everything up, you are talking $250,000. Plus think of all NIMBY Luddite people and local governments that they have to deal with. So towers end up being placed in non-optimal places, non-optimal heights, and sometimes even diguised just to appease people.

none2 2 years, 11 months ago

“I will not because my phone is already 4G capable.” — Austin Nichols, high school sophomore, Lawrence

======================= This guy has no idea what he is talking about. The first 4G phone doesn't come out until next weekend. There will be a 4G iPhone coming out, but that is an Apple marketing gimic. They are calling it 4G because it is the 4th generation of iPHONE-- it has nothing to do with 4G wireless telecommunications.

craigers 2 years, 11 months ago

Thank you for at least understanding that the first 4G phone hasn't even come out yet.

geekyhost 2 years, 11 months ago

KC is going live, but not Lawrence. That's probably years to come. If it didn't involve switching to Sprint, I'd be all over the EVO. That thing looks sweet.

craigers 2 years, 11 months ago

I'm guessing it will be around 6 months and 4G will be inching towards Lawrence. I have had Sprint for over 10 years and haven't had any problems.

riverdrifter 2 years, 11 months ago

Sprint was not very good for a long time. Now: very good.

geekyhost 2 years, 11 months ago

That's good to hear. I'd also have to pay $30- $60 more a month for the service, so it may have to wait for the price to come down.

Played with the Evo. It is indeed sweet.

geekyhost 2 years, 11 months ago

Yeah, I caught that too. I don't think any of them knew what the heck was being asked.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 2 years, 11 months ago

No, I'm holding out for 7G.

2002 2 years, 11 months ago

I'll see your 7G and hold out for 9G.

CWGOKU 2 years, 11 months ago

Smoked ham with swiss cheese on a sourdough roll with mayonaisse. Dill spear and some chips.

none2 2 years, 11 months ago

The problem with this whole "on the street" question is that it is kind of premature to ask the question in Lawrence because the only available 4G in this area is in Kansas City -- as of this last weekend. Sprint's 4G (WiMax) in KC was officially launched on Sunday. It is NOT in Topeka, nor Lawrence at this time.

One of the advantages to Sprint's 4G is that there is no 5 gig caps on usage like you find with all the providers' 3G plans -- 4G it is unlimited.

The other advantage to 4G that people don't understand is that 4G (which has much faster download & upload speeds than 3G) means that it is a more affective use of the network. The slower the speed the longer each request takes to complete - meaning it is easier to tie up the network. Whereas faster speeds mean not only are your own data requests handled faster, but other's requests are also being handled faster. Thus the network is freed up sooner.

If you want a non-telecommunications analogy, imagine that the top speed limit on I-70 between Lawrence & Topeka was 20 miles an hour. Traffic would slow down to a crawl because all the volumes of cars just waiting to get to their destination that could only go up to 20 mph.

4G is a wonderful thing, I just hope it comes to Lawrence & Topeka in the not to distant future.

geekyhost 2 years, 11 months ago

Rumor has it that Verizon is going to stop selling unlimited plans when they go 4G. They're going with some sort of "bucket" system. I think that's an incredibly lousy idea. I think it's lousy when Sunflower does it, too. It makes you dependent on someone else for efficient use of the network (ie not pulling ads from 234324 places or syncing constantly in the background.) It also means you rely on the billing network to accurately report your use of data on the system. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

none2 2 years, 11 months ago

They say that dance lessons help improve hand eye coordination. Perhaps you can find some kind of dance style that you like and take lessons. Perhaps square dancing, ball room dancing, tap dancing, Flamenco dancing. There is no reason you should end up in a ditch from pressing a button.

riverdrifter 2 years, 11 months ago

You don't know Autie.

You must be new around here too.

somedude20 2 years, 11 months ago

I very much liked the G3 as Eric Johnson and Joe Satriani's music is very good. I do not know about the "G4" probably with some d-bags from fallout boy or sum 41 or some spit. In fact, I have made up my mind ( I ain't wastin no more time) I hate the G4 cause new rock music basically sucks!

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 2 years, 11 months ago

Gay tango dancing?

RoeDapple 2 years, 11 months ago

This is getting way out of hand! (think I'll just stay with pocket billiards)

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 2 years, 11 months ago

How How long does tuna salad keep in a Nordic Fertility Goddess?

Ask Odin, but I would say until it smells.

MacHeath 2 years, 11 months ago

The area in Kansas I am from had one of the last local operators. this was like 72. The operator was the mother of a friend of mine. All I had to do was dial 0, ask the operator to get me the town, and ask Bill's Mom where he was, and she would connect me. I dunno, it seemed pretty easy.

MacHeath 2 years, 11 months ago

I do wish Marshall MacCluhan was here. It would be interesting to hear what he had to say about all this technology. Would texting be a step forward, or a step back?

K_Verses_The_World 2 years, 11 months ago

4Gs ($4000) for a phone? Too rich for my blood.

countrygirl 2 years, 11 months ago

The guys at the sprint store here in Lawrence told me that Lawrence should have 4G coverage by this fall. I'll probably upgrade our wireless internet card for the lap top but not mess with the phones.

none2 2 years, 11 months ago

Well it wasn't me that said you need to dance with men if you take dancing lessons. There is no sin in dancing with women unless perhaps you are an old fashion Baptist, or if you are really heavy and tend to step on women's toes when you try (especially if you like wearing cleated shoes).

If those conditions apply to you and thus would like to dance with men to help you with your hand/eye coordination without the connotations of something funny, you can always try Russian dancing. Some if has really fancy stomping and traditional Russian squatwork – knee bending ("вприсядку", vprisyadku). There is nothing mamby pamby about stomping and squat kicking moves.

kcchiefmatt 2 years, 11 months ago

The HTC EVO 4G from Sprint is selling for $199 which is the same price as the top phones for Verizon and AT&T that don't even offer 4G. Besides offering 4G service, the device is the best on the market for 3G also. The EVO has a 4.3" screen, HDMI Output to a TV, HD video recorder, 8 MP backside camera, 1.3 MP front-side camera for video chat, FM Tuner, digital compass, and it's a mobile wifi hotspot for up to 8 devices. Throw in the fact that Sprint's unlimited Everything Data Plan's are about $30-$40 cheaper a month than Verizon and AT&T and it's an easy choice. I will be picking mine up on Friday...

Finnbar1 2 years, 11 months ago

I absolutely CANNOT wait (well I can, but you know what I mean) until I can upgrade to the EVO. I love everything about it and have been telling everyone I know about the features, the the speed, the android-ness, the 4G-ness.....

dajudge 2 years, 11 months ago

Autie could try some of that there "Tantric Yoga" if he's going dancing with men.

Kontum1972 2 years, 11 months ago

4 Girl Techno...how cool.......! sign me up...been a long time 4G....killer mon!

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 2 years, 11 months ago

autie, Happy National Bubba Day!

RoeDapple 2 years, 11 months ago

http://images1.cafepress.com/product/388603261v7_225x225_Front.jpg

Dejacrew423 2 years, 11 months ago

Hey R_I..... what special day is June 4th?

hungryhustler 2 years, 11 months ago

I'm already G'd up from the feet up. U feel me???

Newell_Post 2 years, 11 months ago

My current phone doesn't work at all in about half the places I need it to. (Such as home.) More cell towers, fewer G's. That what we need.

Dejacrew423 2 years, 11 months ago

Nope but....... 2 DAYS!!!!

riverdrifter 2 years, 11 months ago

Here's an old 1981 G3 clunker you can pick up on the cheap:

http://www.aircraftdealer.com/aircraft_for_sale_detail/Gulfstream_GIIGIIIGIV___GV/1981_Gulfstream_III/26094.htm

whats_going_on 2 years, 11 months ago

The first six posters and autie........LOL.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 2 years, 11 months ago

Deja, There are a bunch holidays on June 4th according the the calendar that comes with my subscription to "Obscure Holidays and Observances Quarterly":

Audacity to Hope Day International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression Old Maid's Day Applesauce Cake Day Hug Your Cat Day National Doughnut Day

Keep in mind it is an abomination to schedule the birth of a child.

Dejacrew423 2 years, 11 months ago

I don't have a choice to schedule the birth of my child...... having a C-section. Technically the doctor picked the birth date.... I just picked the date of conception. You never know, he could come today...... not likely but I'd be okay with it!

merrill 2 years, 11 months ago

These cell phone companies are truly very busy finding ways to scam more money from the users. How many phones does anyone need.

Yes I was around when the land lines were all that were available. When a move took place that same phone went along. Owning the same phone for years and years was the deal and very very inexpensive.

What does 4G represent? Why would it be necessary?