Disqus
Probably against the grain compared to most people using Mobile devices, and possibly/probably much to the chagrin of the Mobile Operators who spent all that money on 3G licenses, but right now when I get a Mobile device, the first thing I do is see if I can turn the 3G network selection off.
My reasoning is as follows – firstly, 3G does kill the battery of a device quicker than 2G – this is due to the way the phone has to react to the network in terms of managing it’s connection. Secondly, most of my apps that might require a high-bandwidth connection at a given point in time are not that critical – I can wait an extra 30 secs or so for a webpage to download, or for my emails to come down over 2G. If I really can’t wait that long, I turn on WiFi!
In recent experiments with both the BlackBerry Bold and the Apple iPhone, I have found that I can draw out some extra (and very much desired) runtime of my device, if I stick firmly to 2G. And the downsides of longer time to pull down data are not that much worse.
Another benefit of staying on 2G is that I am less susceptible to poor coverage, and to call-dropping. At home I am unfortunate not to be in a strong 3G area – my outlook might be different if I were – but often I find I have to wait whilst my phone hands over from 3G to EDGE in order to continue my browsing/email/apps session.
So what is your view? Is 3G very/quite/not important to you? Do you proactively switch off 3G? It would appear the Mobile Networks will continue to run a 2G/3G overlay for some time yet, and if people are staying away from 3G, it’s going to make the transition of bringing in 4G network tech even more painful…..
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
