dslreports logo
 story category
Shock: Consumers Incredibly Confused By '4G' Term
34% of iPhone Users Think They Already Have 4G

Late last year, the ITU declared that Mobile WiMax and LTE weren't technically "4G," and that no major wireless carrier was technically deploying 4G networks since none were capable of speeds over 100 Mbps. Carriers almost gleefully ignored the declaration, T-Mobile arguing their HSPA+ build was the "largest 4G network," while Sprint, AT&T and Verizon also made "4G" part of marketing for their respective Mobile WiMax, HSPA+ and LTE networks. Facing pressure from carriers, the ITU then reversed course and declared that pretty much every current wireless network was 4G.

Not too surprisingly, this resulted in significant confusion among subscribers, who often have no idea what 4G is -- or if they have it. A Nielsen survey earlier this year found that while 83% of respondents are aware of the term 4G (thanks largely to ads), 49% have absolutely no idea what it means (also thanks to ads). A more recent study by Retrovo found that a third of iPhone owners think they have "4G," possibly simply because of the "4" in their device name. Of those who do actually know what 4G means, many of them simply don't think the cost is worth it:
quote:
Not only are many consumers confused about 4G, another significant group is under the impression that the performance gains of 4G are not worth the cost. With early benchmarks showing mixed results in data speed improvements over 3G or even 3.5G like AT&T and T-Mobile’s HSPA+ we can’t help blame consumers for their skepticism however, long term, we’re confident that 4G speeds will prevail over 3G and that carriers will ultimately provide a fair price for 4G service. In the meantime, it looks like the after the kinks are worked out, marketing departments will have their work cut out for them to change consumers’ perceptions about the value of 4G.
With AT&T and Verizon ditching unlimited and imposing new low caps with $10 per gigabyte overages, there's certainly a growing sense that a cutting edge speedy network is made less useful if nobody can actually afford to really use it.
view:
topics flat nest 

Duramax08
To The Moon
Premium Member
join:2008-08-03
San Antonio, TX

Duramax08

Premium Member

derps

title says it all.

Alcohol
Premium Member
join:2003-05-26
Climax, MI

Alcohol

Premium Member

Re: derps

Iphone users are dumb. Isn't this obvious? They bought an iphone in the first place. That's proof enough.

Duramax08
To The Moon
Premium Member
join:2008-08-03
San Antonio, TX

Duramax08

Premium Member

Re: derps

i must be a derp then.

Alcohol
Premium Member
join:2003-05-26
Climax, MI

Alcohol

Premium Member

Re: derps

said by Duramax08:

i must be a derp then.

You must be.

Duramax08
To The Moon
Premium Member
join:2008-08-03
San Antonio, TX

Duramax08

Premium Member

Re: derps

8-)

digiblur
Premium Member
join:2002-06-03
Louisiana

digiblur to Alcohol

Premium Member

to Alcohol
said by Alcohol:

Iphone users are dumb. Isn't this obvious? They bought an iphone in the first place. That's proof enough.

Yep, I hear people talking about the iphone 4G all the time. I always laugh.

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102

Premium Member

Pfft.

We're OG here.

»www.urbandictionary.com/ ··· ?term=OG

fifty nine
join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ

fifty nine

Member

Of course people are confused.

When T-Mobile and AT&T market their 3G networks as 4G people will be confused.

When the iPhone 4 is referred to as the iPhone 4G people will be confused.

quantitious
@cox.com

quantitious

Anon

Re: Of course people are confused.

Case in point, I just got a text from a friend of mine asking if I knew how to factory-reset an "iPhone 4G" - granted she had an iPhone 3G or 3GS before, so I suppose it's an honest mistake.
firedrakes
join:2009-01-29
Arcadia, FL

firedrakes to fifty nine

Member

to fifty nine
employes don't know what 4g is. they get it wrong every time. mostly

El Quintron
Cancel Culture Ambassador
Premium Member
join:2008-04-28
Tronna

El Quintron

Premium Member

Re: Of course people are confused.

said by firedrakes:

employes don't know what 4g is. they get it wrong every time. mostly

Meh... I think the definition of 4G; or more specifically trying to explain to a client why somethings are 3g, 3.5g or 4g is above most retail employees' paygrade.

If I were sluggin' it out at $10 and hour with a 10% commission I wouldn't be wasting my time on the 3g vs. 4g debates when I could have sold 3 iPhones in the time it took me to explain it.
brad152
join:2006-07-27
Chicago, IL

brad152

Member

Re: Of course people are confused.

i'm not sure where you work but when i did cell phone retail it was $12/hr plus 50% of the MRC, and that was just up until very recently.

and to be honest for that kind of pay, you need to know your crap IMO, especially something as little as what real "4G" is considering you can work part time and still pull off $35,000/yr plus benefits while in school

El Quintron
Cancel Culture Ambassador
Premium Member
join:2008-04-28
Tronna

El Quintron

Premium Member

Re: Of course people are confused.

said by brad152:

i'm not sure where you work but when i did cell phone retail it was $12/hr plus 50% of the MRC, and that was just up until very recently.

and to be honest for that kind of pay, you need to know your crap IMO, especially something as little as what real "4G" is considering you can work part time and still pull off $35,000/yr plus benefits while in school

I've never done any type of cellphone retail, I've done technical support for various wireless devices and admittedly I was pulling numbers out of my ass.

However having to offer technical support to folks who do retail cellphones and wireless devices I don't think I'm too far off the mark for Canada.

50% of the MRC? That had to be a nice shop to work for...
brad152
join:2006-07-27
Chicago, IL

1 recommendation

brad152

Member

Re: Of course people are confused.

i worked for a corporate store, not 3rd party. Those always pay very well compared the 3rd party ones, and i've done retail for two major US carriers and the pay was very comparable at both places

i was easily pulling $35,000+/yr working part time and they were paying for my college at the same time, so like i said there is no excuse for associates not knowing anything.

but i guess like anything you get in what you put out of it, and i know i was not the best rep in my market, but all of my customers left completely informed and knew who they could come too with any issues

El Quintron
Cancel Culture Ambassador
Premium Member
join:2008-04-28
Tronna

El Quintron

Premium Member

Re: Of course people are confused.

Good on you, it's nice to know that your customers left informed and didn't have to call to know what their products could and couldn't do.
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

1 recommendation

tmc8080

Member

all you need to know:

With AT&T and Verizon ditching unlimited and imposing new low caps with $10 per gigabyte overages, there's certainly a growing sense that a cutting edge speedy network is made less useful if nobody can actually afford to really use it.

As useful as $5+ gasoline with a large heavy gas guzziling SUV.
Shall we consider all you... FOOlish people who buy it anyway at ANY HIGH PRICE the "early adopters" since this is technology related sector..

When price is high.. stop your buying..

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102

Premium Member

Re: all you need to know:

said by tmc8080:

With AT&T and Verizon ditching unlimited and imposing new low caps with $10 per gigabyte overages, there's certainly a growing sense that a cutting edge speedy network is made less useful if nobody can actually afford to really use it.

I have to admit that had we not been grandfathered into Verizon's unlimited plan I most likely would have second-guessed the purchase of a smartphone for my wife. You nailed it perfectly... what's the point of any Internet-enabled device if you have to take the battery out when you're done using it to ensure some rogue app doesn't take you over the cap?

That doesn't sound very practical to me.

exocet_cm
Writing
Premium Member
join:2003-03-23
Brooklyn, NY

exocet_cm

Premium Member

That's because

34% percent of people using an iPhone and responding to the survey are misinformed.

It is called marketing in a fast-moving technological environment. Slap a little "i" on things, throw in some big "G" behind whatever the hell you are trying to sell and pretty soon everyone will be confused.
Hooper
Premium Member
join:2001-10-22
Castle Rock, CO

Hooper

Premium Member

Surprised the numbers aren't higher

With the iphone being the smartphone for the masses, I am surprised that number isn't higher. I guess the 3G on the screen gives the answer away to some.
sphinxguy18
Premium Member
join:2008-01-13
Dallas, TX

sphinxguy18

Premium Member

Shocked? No, they are just retarded!

Those 34% of people are just retarded, it says right on the iPhone from AT&T "3G" on the screen! How much more "technological advance" do you need to be? If you don't see it, it's because you don't use the phone and therefore don't need an iPhone to be "hip" or "cool" like everyone else that needs to have one and you should just go back to a flip phone

Those 34% of consumers should go back to their "old skool" phone and maybe that will reduce what ever "over-head" they consumer and maybe, just maybe, the carriers will come back out with their unlimited plan (yea-right!).

But really, those 34% of people are honestly and completely beyond stupid and should apply for disability benefits if they could figure it out!
ISurfTooMuch
join:2007-04-23
Tuscaloosa, AL

ISurfTooMuch

Member

Just like HDTV's

I remember seeing several surveys showing that a significant number of people thought (or maybe still think) that, as soon as they bought their new HDTV, they're then magically getting their shows in HD, even if they aren't. Maybe we're dealing with the same group of people here.

Mix deceptive marketing and gullible people, and nothing should surprise you.

The part I don't understand is how so many people could be lacking critical thinking skills. I mean, I don't consider myself some sort of genius, but I don't fall for every marketing line and corporate or political talking point out there. Yet, so many people do. Is this some skill they simply never learned?
tcope
Premium Member
join:2003-05-07
Sandy, UT

tcope

Premium Member

Re: Just like HDTV's

What added to that confusnig was that TV went from digital to analog at the same time. IMHO, I think more people thought the digital signal was the same as HD.

ExitWound
Porsche Snob
join:2001-12-13
Boalsburg, PA

ExitWound

Member

Transparency

It's not that people are dumb, it's the the technology should be transparent to them. When they buy a car, they have a steering wheel, pedals, blinkers, wipers, etc all in the same place no matter what is under the hood. They hear about new features and believe they need them because of sly and crafty marketing schemes (i.e. Hemi's provide little more than non-hemi's on the highway, Digital Copy on DVDs and Blu-Rays), not because they actually know what they are. Products people buy are status symbols more than anything. It's the tech-savvy people like you and I that know better. Unfortunately, we don't drive the markets all that much.

Twaddle
@sbcglobal.net

Twaddle

Anon

Shock? Dismayed? Angry?

It's no wonder consumers are confused. The carriers blatantly lie about their services, condoned by those entrusted to protect the public and supported by the government through exchange of lobby money and favorable court rulings.
If I took a compact car slapped some fancy misleading emblems and marketed it as a high performance muscle car the Feds would be all over me like white on rice as would every other jurisdiction. I don't have the money to buy my legitimacy so I'd be carted off to jail for fraud false advertising and anything else they can imagine as a crime.

MooJohn
join:2005-12-18
Milledgeville, GA

MooJohn

Member

100 meg sticklers

Sure, 4g "technically" requires surpassing 100 meg speed but let's face it -- 95% don't even get such speeds over their wired ISP. Many probably don't even go faster than that on their home's LAN.

Anything over a few hundred k/sec is going to feel like the next generation of wireless whether it technically is or not.
gruntlord6
join:2010-06-10
Barrie, ON

gruntlord6

Member

Its an Apple product

most users ar brain dead when it comes to tech. I distinctly remember some girls excitedly stating they would be getting an Iphone 4G when they came out. I informed them that no network in canada is "4g". They were less excited.

Iuser
@army.mil

Iuser

Anon

4th generation

If somebody says they have Iphone 4G, they are right by all means because it is in fact a 4th generation Iphone, which can be written as Iphone 4G, the network, however, is not.

openupshop
join:2000-11-25
Chandler, AZ

1 recommendation

openupshop

Member

The type of phone speaks for itself

They are I-Phone users that have AT&T what do you expect? They will buy anything because it has an I in it LOL
axiomatic
join:2006-08-23
Tomball, TX

axiomatic

Member

No confused

I'm not confused at all.

The 4G available now isn't really 4G. End of subject.... really.

It's time to take control of these buzz words from the marketing department. They are only doing damage.

Sesnvdodge
@comcast.net

Sesnvdodge

Anon

Re: No confused

By all means it isn't "4G", but 4G's 14 Mbps is greatly faster than 3G's 1/2 - 2 Mbps and with sprint you get to use all that speed as much as you like. 4G is better compared to wifi speeds... That's why people want 4G.
pkorx8
join:2003-06-19
San Francisco, CA

pkorx8

Member

Car analogy

So if all of the sudden, car companies sold conventional cars and heavily advertised them as "electric car like", because there is a 12v battery in every car and thus it can be called an electric car.
Soon, all the ppl who bought and drive these cars can claim they have an eletric car...

.............
This is another sad example where people who can buy advertisement (corporations) can say black is white, up is down, and everyone will just buy into it.
stridr69
join:2003-05-19
San Luis Obispo, CA

stridr69

Member

P.T.Barnum

"there's an idiot born every minute"
'nough said...

kevinds
Premium Member
join:2003-05-01
Calgary, AB

kevinds

Premium Member

Why call it 4G when it is obviously 3G, to confuse people.

I noticed that up here in Canada,

after the US companies started calling HSPA with or without the +, 4G, a few of the providers Telus & Bell, cough cough, started calling theirs 4G as well, however Rogers, having lauched HSPA+ a couple years before, was properly calling their network 3G.

I was surprised that Rogers didn't fight them on calling their network something it wasn't. Or maybe they did, and that could be why for the most part, those ads have stopped.

ctceo
Premium Member
join:2001-04-26
South Bend, IN

ctceo

Premium Member

Marketing

That's all it is. If they have you confused enough to pay for it, then they've done their job. An educated person knows what works best for them.