- October 27th, 2010 by Nathan Fischer
T-Mobile is releasing a new Android device in the myTouch line-up: the myTouch 4G. It’s a very nice phone, and those who have had the pleasure of playing with one says it’s one of the nicest Android phones they’ve used so far. I happen to agree – it’s a great phone and I love that it supports T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network. The problem is the phone’s name.
T-Mobile was very late to the high speed party with its 3G network, and it’s the only carrier that doesn’t have a solid 4G plan, either. As a result, it decided to bump its network to HSPA+ technology. It’s definitely a viable fall-back option since it delivers what T-Mobile is constantly calling “4G-like” speeds. In my experience, the HSPA+ speeds match the WiMax speeds I’ve seen on Sprint. The only noticeable difference is in latency where WiMax has far less than HSPA+.
However, it may also not be fair to call WiMax or LTE 4G technologies, either. The latter is what Verizon will be launching starting this year, and next year AT&T will follow suit.
The ITU, or International Telecommunications Union, has decided that true 4G technology will only come in the form of WiMax 2 or LTE Advanced. Both of those technologies promise speeds of over 100Mbps download.
Right now, most journalists and bloggers agree that what carriers are labeling 4G is nothing more than marketing. Consumers may be a little confused, but for the most part WiMax and LTE will deliver an experience that they’re not used to. The only problem is that as they become more informed, this will becoming even more confusing. Compounding the problem is T-Mobile’s highly misleading (and in my opinion purposely) name for its latest Android handset, the myTouch 4G.
I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures, and since the nation’s fourth largest carrier is lagging in its high speed broadband plans, this is probably the least it could do to keep up with the industry.
