New iPad is not 4G, who are Apple fooling?

drunkmonkey

This is annoying me the new ipad is not 4G, apple say it is on their website in Ireland which is completely incorrect from an Irish or UK perspective as we believe 4G to be LTE. The new ipad 2 is not an LTE device.

The Americans think the 4G they have is 4G it's not it's 3G if you were to compare it to what we have.

Silicon republic have now said the 4G ipad, http://www.siliconrepublic.com/comms/item/26147-4g-spectrum-auctions-for/

This is a farce and one apple should be called up, there ipad2 is not 4G, marketing hype and bull**** at it's best.

If your thinking of buying an ipad2 because it's 4G, don't because it's not 4G Irish Style.

:mad::mad:

godtabh

drunkmonkey wrote: »

This is annoying me the new ipad is not 4G, apple say it is on their website in Ireland which is completely incorrect from an Irish or UK perspective as we believe 4G to be LTE. The new ipad 2 is not an LTE device.

The Americans think the 4G they have is 4G it's not it's 3G if you were to compare it to what we have.

Silicon republic have now said the 4G ipad, http://www.siliconrepublic.com/comms/item/26147-4g-spectrum-auctions-for/

This is a farce and one apple should be called up, there ipad2 is not 4G, marketing hype and bull**** at it's best.

If your thinking of buying an ipad2 because it's 4G, don't because it's not 4G Irish Style.

:mad::mad:

Read their disclaimer. It says not available in all regions. Making a fuss over nothing

drunkmonkey

There is no 4G/LTE ipad. It does not exist. The marketing department must have found Steves stash.

speeding

well it is a 4g tablet. Just that we're not able to take advantage of that radio in Ireland

aidan_walsh

Apple are hardly the only company in the US to call LTE 4G.

mathepac

godtabh wrote: »

... Making a fuss over nothing

+1 I have to agree, a storm in a tea-cup. Qualification from manufacturer / seller is clearly marked on their web-site blurb.

drunkmonkey

There not in the US now toto.

They yanks have been fooled into thinking 3G is 4G, apple are the first to say 4G here, they even pointed their website to the 4G data plans on offer from 02, 3 and Vodafone last night, none of those have a 4G network. Nor will they have for about 2 years.

I see this as apple trying to rebrand infrastructure to align with the Americans, it should be the other way round.

ironclaw

If it makes any difference, most consumers can't tell the difference between Edge and 3G, nor would they care if 4G came along in any guise. As long as its 'quick' thats all that matters to most people.

aidan_walsh

they even pointed their website to the 4G data plans on offer from 02, 3 and Vodafone last night, none of those have a 4G network.

A temporary editorial problem that has since been fixed.

godtabh

4G wrote:

Built with the latest in wireless technology, the new iPad lets you connect to fast data networks around the world.2

Disclaimer wrote:

Data plan is sold separately. 4G LTE coverage is not available in all areas and varies by carrier. See your carrier for details.

Again where is the fuss?

Sad Professor

The Australian government is taking Apple to court over this.

http://www.news.com.au/technology/bad-apple-watchdog-bites-tech-giant-over-ipad-4g-claim/story-e6frfro0-1226311693352

They are quite right as Apple are being very misleading. The "4G" iPad only works with 4G networks in the US. It doesn't work with the ones in Europe, Australia, Japan, or anywhere else that I can see. When 4G eventually arrives in the UK it won't work there either. Or here.

Sorry, Apple. Call it whatever you want in the US, but in the rest of the world it's a 3G iPad, so call it a 3G iPad.

Blazer

In fairness there is no 4G network anywhere in the world.
They had to lower the requirements for it as not one Carrier could actually get anywhere near the speeds they were advertising.
It's little more than 3g really regardless what they call it.

http://gizmodo.com/5680755/the-dirty-secret-of-todays-4g-its-not-4g

Stainless_Steel

Ok so looks like LTE is not officially 4G.

So apple are a bit out of line.

BUT note that all the pro android people and the apple haters laughed that the iPhone 4S was not a 4G phone and that their LTE Korean thing was. Or are they actually LTE advanced capable???

opinion guy

Blazer wrote: »

In fairness there is no 4G network anywhere in the world.
They had to lower the requirements for it as not one Carrier could actually get anywhere near the speeds they were advertising.
It's little more than 3g really regardless what they call it.

http://gizmodo.com/5680755/the-dirty-secret-of-todays-4g-its-not-4g

Why did 'they' have to lower the requirements ? To keep the marketing department happen lest they roasted an engineering intern on a spit ?

Tis all just marketing. THey probably do deserve a smack for it

Blazer

Stainless_Steel wrote: »

Ok so looks like LTE is not officially 4G.

So apple are a bit out of line.

BUT note that all the pro android people and the apple haters laughed that the iPhone 4S was not a 4G phone and that their LTE Korean thing was. Or are they actually LTE advanced capable???

no it wasn't.....they really hadn't a clue

AT&T have promised to roll out a LTE advanced network in 2013 but I hold my breath for the rest of the world.
So far to my knowledge no LTE advanced network exists in any commercial carrier in the world that's available to customers.

Apple offers iPad refunds in Australia over 4G



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17532613


US technology firm Apple has offered to refund Australian customers who felt misled about the 4G capabilities of the new iPad.
The country's consumer watchdog has taken Apple to court for false advertising because the tablet computer does not work on Australia's 4G network.
Apple's lawyers said they were willing to publish a clarification.
However the company does not accept that it misled customers.

Bad Apple!

elmossman

Highly over rated and over priced devices in any case.

Blazer

elmossman wrote: »

Highly over rated and over priced devices in any case.

really? care to elaborate ? Does this apply only to iphones +ipads but all smartphones and expensive tablets?

Quazzie

elmossman wrote: »

Highly over rated and over priced devices in any case.

How long have you owned one?

elmossman

I-phones, while I think are still over-priced, are good devices. My mother and sister both have I-phones and my sister also has an I-Pad. I have a Samsung galaxy S and laptops.

I have used the I-pad many times, and while it is good for browsing on the net watching videos etc.. I just feel like its a big smart-phone. Maybe its because as a student the I-pad does not cater for my needs/wants as much as a laptop - but I just feel they are over-rated and over-priced

Dades

elmossman wrote: »

Maybe its because as a student the I-pad does not cater for my needs/wants as much as a laptop - but I just feel they are over-rated and over-priced

My iPad doesn't cater for my needs as an amateur photographer, but that's what I have a DSLR for. The point is, it doesn't claim to replace every function of every device.

Solair

The iPad 4 does support LTE, which is currently not on air in Ireland at present. However, it has been rolled out, on a limited basis, in the US, Sweden, Norway and Japan.

However it also supports the full gambit of HSPA variants which can provide pretty huge speeds where available too.

LTE Advanced meets the criteria to be called true 4G service, regular LTE is just a slight step up from HSPA in reality.

Speeds over Irish HSPA networks should give you well into the 8mbit/s range on a decent network in good coverage. In some areas, you'll get up to 21mbit/s (this will be more common as the months go on).

It's worth trying a few sims in your device to. HSPA coverage varies depending on network provider and the particular transmitter site. It's not universally the same for every network at every cell site.

It's also worth bearing in mind that US mobile operators are very quick to whack 3G / 4G on services that aren't technically that. AT&T went around calling EDGE 3G for years!

Sad Professor

The new iPad does support LTE, yes, but only on certain frequencies - those used in the US. It doesn't work in Sweden, Norway, Japan or afaik anywhere outside the US and Canada.

Whether LTE is really "4G" or not doesn't bother me. The problem here is that Apple are selling the new iPad as being LTE/4G compatible in countries where it's not compatible with the local LTE network. This is misleading.

The problem is that there's a lack of regulatory standards for what frequencies should be used. Maybe Apple think that by doing this they are going to force European countries to adopt US frequencies. But I don't think it's going to work. What's more likely is that they are going to piss a lot of people off.

squonk

elmossman wrote: »

I-phones, while I think are still over-priced, are good devices. My mother and sister both have I-phones and my sister also has an I-Pad. I have a Samsung galaxy S and laptops.

I have used the I-pad many times, and while it is good for browsing on the net watching videos etc.. I just feel like its a big smart-phone. Maybe its because as a student the I-pad does not cater for my needs/wants as much as a laptop - but I just feel they are over-rated and over-priced

I had the view as well initially that the iPad was just a big iPhone. I can say now, having owned one for a year, that I was wrong. My iPad does 90% of the computer related tasks I need to do. For more involved work I still need to fire up the iMac but that happens rarely enough. In the end, if you have an iPad, you may want to also own a computer for the times when the iPad just isn't the tool for the job. If you own a computer, you don't really need an iPad but the convenience of having an instant on device beside you on the couch will mean that you use it far more frequently than a computer and it's portable, very portable in fact, so you can grab and go which makes it even more convenient than a laptop. Revisit this subject when you're in work after college, spend the day in front of a PC and come home in the evenings and don't want to have to go through sitting in front of your home PC all the time just to read a few websites and check emails and buy a few things from Amazon or ebay.

Solair

I'd say it's more a case that there's so little roll out of LTE in Europe that Apple just wanted to get the product out the door.

It looks to me like an oversight.

There's absolutely no way in hell they'll be able to convince European regulators to move to any frequency allocations other than those already set out in law.

They have a proviso on the tech specs for the UK version which says :

"4G LTE is supported only on AT&T and Verizon networks in the US, and on Bell, Rogers and Telus networks in Canada. See your carrier for details."

They'll have to relaunch a version with more frequency bands or, launch a European version when LTE networks are a big deal here.

At present, Europe's still HSPA.

chapterthree

Dear PC World Ireland

How can I arrange to return my third gen iPad. The reason I want to return it for a full refund is because I was led to believe it was 4g ready. Now I learn that it will never work on a 4g Irish network.

BBMcQ

chapterthree wrote: »

Dear PC World Ireland

How can I arrange to return my third gen iPad. The reason I want to return it for a full refund is because I was led to believe it was 4g ready. Now I learn that it will never work on a 4g Irish network.

Try Declan at the PC World Forum. AFAIK, Apple.ie never promised 4G, only "ultra-fast wireless" which is does via dual band wifi.

miralize

chapterthree wrote: »

Dear PC World Ireland

How can I arrange to return my third gen iPad. The reason I want to return it for a full refund is because I was led to believe it was 4g ready. Now I learn that it will never work on a 4g Irish network.

Its not that its not compatible. There just arent any networks out there with access to that spectrum..

ironclaw

chapterthree wrote: »

How can I arrange to return my third gen iPad. The reason I want to return it for a full refund is because I was led to believe it was 4g ready. Now I learn that it will never work on a 4g Irish network.

With respect, you should have done your homework and I don't believe you have a case. All the facts are readily available online and in numerous reviews. About 10 mins of Googling would have cleared up any misunderstandings.

It always amazes me that people buy things they don't fully understand. If anything had an acronym / feature I didn't understand printed on it, I'd check it out fully before parting with cash. If someone pays for something, I believe its implied they understand what the device does. Granted its different if your mis-sold the device, which you weren't as Ireland doesn't have a 4G network to start with.

Solair

There are currently no LTE networks on air in Ireland. However, some networks do support HSPA+ Dual Carrier which can handle up to 42mbit/s. E.g. Vodafone's Performance Pro

It'd be more concerned that the device supports all current flavours of HSPA as LTE rollout's will be limited to some areas and we'll still be relying on HSPA for a while yet even when LTE goes on air.

Julius Seizure

AFAIK the US has LTE on Verizon Att and now sprint. Originally sprint had Wimax. Technically LTE isn't 4th generation but it's the closest. In America and, now the UK LTE is branded 4G as no other option exists. Now Ireland doesn't have LTE, do we even have HSPA+? I thought it was OK to call LTE 4G but not OK to call HSPA 4G as Att tried once