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34% of iPhone Owners Think the 4 Is 4G

Posted by samzenpus on from the this-one-doesn't-even-go-to-4 dept.

tekgoblin writes "An interesting study was just released by Retrevo which indicates that a startling 34% of iPhone 4 owners are confused to what '4' actually means. iPhone owners who had an iPhone 3G knew that the 3G actually stood for 3G so that is where the confusion has stemmed from. iPhone 4 owners think that the 4 means 4G."

17 of 306 comments (clear)

  1. In other news by MaskedSlacker · · Score: 4, Insightful

    consumers are stupid. Film of them accidentally hitting themselves in the balls at 11.

    1. Re:In other news by tripleevenfall · · Score: 2

      My phone is supposed to be 4G but since I have AT&T, I doubt my 4G is any faster than their 3G.

    2. Re:In other news by teslafreak · · Score: 2

      Simple test. Ask iPhone users about a component in their phone ("What kind of processor is in that?") See what they say. Now ask an Android user. They won't all know, but more of them seem too.

    3. Re:In other news by Kenja · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Q: "What kind of processor is in that?"
      A: "Who cares? What does it matter?"

      --

      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    4. Re:In other news by _0xd0ad · · Score: 3, Informative

      Actually TFA pointed out that the Android users were the only ones who could correctly answer that they "already own one", since there are 4G Android phones on the market (such as the HTC Evo 4G and the Samsung Infuse 4G). There is no such thing as a 4G iPhone or Blackberry; they don't exist yet.

    5. Re:In other news by ArhcAngel · · Score: 3

      If people think the 4 is 4G, that's not really Apple's fault

      Are you that naive? It was TOTALLY their intention to imply it was "faster" just like every current implementation of 4G out (LTE included) is not in fact 4G. 4G has not been deployed commercially anywhere yet. Companies spend millions figuring out ways to convince the consumer something about their product that isn't true. It will make them more desirable, less of a failure, more confident, the list goes on.

      --
      "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
    6. Re:In other news by magnusrex1280 · · Score: 2

      Sounds like you're missing his point entirely. He's not even remotely saying that knowing the processor is important. He's saying the kinds of people who do more research when buying a device (people who know what processor is inside is one way of qualifying that) are less likely to be confused about something utterly basic like knowing the difference between an iPhone 4 and a phone with 4G. People who realize a basic truth, knowing the details helps you make better choices and achieve better results, are going to have the curious mind and appreciation for facts and information to know that "phone version 4" and "a phone with 4G service" aren't the same thing. Now I don't necessarily agree with him saying that Android users are smarter than iPhone users, but there are huge chunks of people who buy the Apple product only because it's more expensive and because they're hungry to be recognized as owning the "cool" or "luxury" brand. Me, I don't give a shit what other people think about my phone. I had an iPhone 3G for a while, now use a Galaxy S, but will probably get an iPhone 5 simply because Android is too glitchy and buggy and immature of a platform to run like it should. It's too busy stumbling over itself to work properly.

  2. Blame the phone companies by Wyatt+Earp · · Score: 2

    Even their "4G" networks aren't 4G.

    4G is suposed to have "peak data rates of up to approximately 100 Mbit/s for high mobility such as mobile access and up to approximately 1 Gbit/s for low mobility such as nomadic/local wireless access, according to the ITU requirements."

    LTE advanced release 8 currently supports up to 300 Mbit/s maximum

    1. Re:Blame the phone companies by Baloroth · · Score: 2

      That's okay, you can't really use that much speed what with 5 GB (maximum) data plans anyways. Really, you should be thanking the carriers that their speeds are so low, it makes going over the cap so much harder!

      --
      "None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
    2. Re:Blame the phone companies by Rich0 · · Score: 2

      While I understand the complaint, they actually exceed the 4G spec for cell phone use, and that is what they're advertising.

      If they were selling tower-based point-to-point dish antennas I could see where this might be deceptive.

  3. Really? by Lev13than · · Score: 4, Funny

    Just 34%? There is absolutely no way that the number can be that low.

    --
    When you have nothing left to burn you must set yourself on fire
  4. Are there even 4G phones yet? by artor3 · · Score: 2

    My understanding was that the name had been co-opted as a near-meaningless marketing term.

  5. cheap laugh by will_die · · Score: 4, Funny

    http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2011-05-10/

  6. Forget that.... by freeze128 · · Score: 2

    Ask them what the "i" stands for....

  7. The carriers are confused too! by DdJ · · Score: 2

    No shock there -- the carriers are confused as well. They've been referring to stuff that's unambiguously not 4G in marketing materials as if it were 4G. They're using 4G to mean "better than what you probably think of when you hear 3G". It got so bad that 4G had to be formally redefined.

    I don't know what the right answer is, except perhaps to discard the short labels and talk about the details. Don't sell me on "4G speeds", sell me on specific speeds (and/or features). For example.

    Myself, I'm constantly tempted to disable 3G on my phone so my battery lasts longer. I do not need the higher speeds. If I could drop back to 2G without giving up any features, I would.

    (Explanation: on AT&Ts network, apparently some towers do not permit simultaneous voice and data if you connect via 2G. Simultaneous voice and data always work if you connect via 3G. That's the only reason I leave 3G turned on today.)

  8. True, but 99% of iPhone users... by Kamiza+Ikioi · · Score: 2

    ... aren't aware of any apps outside the Apple app store, phones outside the Apple line, or music outside of iTunes.

    Of course, that can also be said of Blackberry users, 99% of which probably don't know it's now 2011. ;)

    --
    I8-D
  9. Re:You use that word, I don't think it means what by jimbolauski · · Score: 2

    The wheel

    I await your reply.

    --
    Knowledge = Power
    P= W/t
    t=Money
    Money = Work/Knowledge so the less you know the more you make