3G What is it and do I need it?
Discussion
Probably a bit of a stupid question for those in the know but I have a Nokia N95 that I really like apart from its appalling battery life. Apparently if I turn off 3G the battery lasts about four times as long but, as I have no idea what 3G is and whether or not I need it, I don't know if it's a good idea or not. Can anyone enlighten me?
You can turn it on and off as you need it. It's mainly for higher speed internet access and video call's. I never use video calls and i rarely browse the internet on my phone, so its switched off most of the time.
I think the problem with it is that your phone is contant hunting for a 3G signal and will only switch to GSM when it cant find one. Im sure it will improve over time as more 3G transmitters go up.
I think the problem with it is that your phone is contant hunting for a 3G signal and will only switch to GSM when it cant find one. Im sure it will improve over time as more 3G transmitters go up.
Edited by paul99 on Thursday 15th November 09:06
Rotaree said:
Probably a bit of a stupid question for those in the know but I have a Nokia N95 that I really like apart from its appalling battery life. Apparently if I turn off 3G the battery lasts about four times as long but, as I have no idea what 3G is and whether or not I need it, I don't know if it's a good idea or not. Can anyone enlighten me?
I doubt it'll last 4 times as long, but it may be slightly better.Mr E said:
Rotaree said:
Probably a bit of a stupid question for those in the know but I have a Nokia N95 that I really like apart from its appalling battery life. Apparently if I turn off 3G the battery lasts about four times as long but, as I have no idea what 3G is and whether or not I need it, I don't know if it's a good idea or not. Can anyone enlighten me?
I doubt it'll last 4 times as long, but it may be slightly better.I've just got an N95, I've switched off the 3g, bluetooth and wifi. My battery has lasted 3 whole days with these off.
I have no real need for the 3g, the only time I have made video calls is when the person is sitting next to me and we are just testing it out to see what it's like. Wifi and bluetooth will be switched on when needed.
I have no real need for the 3g, the only time I have made video calls is when the person is sitting next to me and we are just testing it out to see what it's like. Wifi and bluetooth will be switched on when needed.
Bungleaio said:
I've just got an N95, I've switched off the 3g, bluetooth and wifi. My battery has lasted 3 whole days with these off.
a WHOLE 3 days eh? sheesh I knew the battery was naff on them, but I didn't know it was that bad!Edited by Martin_Bpool on Thursday 15th November 12:30
Podie said:
3G is a data transmission protocol.
In most cases if you need it, the phone will switch it back on again.
Nope. If you tell the Nokia to go GSM only, it won't even look at the 2100Mhz band.In most cases if you need it, the phone will switch it back on again.
Bungleaio said:
I've just got an N95, I've switched off the 3g, bluetooth and wifi. My battery has lasted 3 whole days with these off.
I usually get 3 days of normal usage with 3G on. What's interesting is that if I use the phone as a SIP device over my WiFi network the battery gets slaughtered. WiFi is really very power inefficient.Mr E said:
I usually get 3 days of normal usage with 3G on. What's interesting is that if I use the phone as a SIP device over my WiFi network the battery gets slaughtered. WiFi is really very power inefficient.
That is why mobile phones and so on do not use that technology for data transfer, using 3G instead. Laptops with their bigger batteries don't feel it that much but portables do.As I use 3G internet a lot I can't turn it off on my one. I'm planning on getting an extended battery and will post results on here.
mcarrick69 said:
I heard that this is the reason why the iPhone doesnt have 3G built in!
No, that's because the iPhone is crap! 
It has a wonderful GUI but the rest of it is poor and a typical illustration of modern Apple charging a fortune for something on the back of largely unjustified hype. I'll take my HTC TyTN II with integrated 3G (and HSDPA giving up to 3.8Mb/s), GPS, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 3MP camera and no stupid network and application locking any day.roadsweeper said:
mcarrick69 said:
I heard that this is the reason why the iPhone doesnt have 3G built in!
No, that's because the iPhone is crap! It has a wonderful GUI but the rest of it is poor and a typical illustration of modern Apple charging a fortune for something on the back of largely unjustified hype. I'll take my HTC TyTN II with integrated 3G (and HSDPA giving up to 3.8Mb/s), GPS, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 3MP camera and no stupid network and application locking any day.And the TyTn - hardly cheap is it?
The answer to battery life problems is often in the configuration. Turn off anything you dont use when you arent using it. 3G is a big battery drainer as is bluetooth, WIFI is the worst it doesnt just drain batteries it kills them in very short order. Just turning on the bluetooth on my Nokia reduces the battery life by about 30% (unfortunately I have a bluetooth headset so cant leave it off all the time). also make sure your screen backlight is set to go off quickly when the phone isnt being used.
IIRC 3G eats batteries for a number of reasons, the prime one being that there are fewer cells so it has to operate at higher power to maintain call quality - transmission power is variable and reduces if the signal is strong. Using old tech 2G much more numerous transmitters hence lower power drain.
This will get better as the 3G rollout continues, in the not too distant future we will all be using 3G as the 2G will be switched off. And again IIRC mobile companies arent investing now in 2G cell sites, in fact I believe they are reducing the number.
IIRC 3G eats batteries for a number of reasons, the prime one being that there are fewer cells so it has to operate at higher power to maintain call quality - transmission power is variable and reduces if the signal is strong. Using old tech 2G much more numerous transmitters hence lower power drain.
This will get better as the 3G rollout continues, in the not too distant future we will all be using 3G as the 2G will be switched off. And again IIRC mobile companies arent investing now in 2G cell sites, in fact I believe they are reducing the number.
The Dude said:
roadsweeper said:
mcarrick69 said:
I heard that this is the reason why the iPhone doesnt have 3G built in!
No, that's because the iPhone is crap! It has a wonderful GUI but the rest of it is poor and a typical illustration of modern Apple charging a fortune for something on the back of largely unjustified hype. I'll take my HTC TyTN II with integrated 3G (and HSDPA giving up to 3.8Mb/s), GPS, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 3MP camera and no stupid network and application locking any day.And the TyTn - hardly cheap is it?
As for the TyTN II not being cheap, you are surely joking if you're relating it to the cost of the iPhone? To the best of my recollection (I am prepared to be corrected on this as I don't have time to check) you need a £35/month contract on O2 and still might have to pay something for the phone? Couple that with the fact that TyTN II is a far superior piece of hardware and it's hard to claim the iPhone is much cheaper in any way as far as I can see.
roadsweeper said:
The Dude said:
roadsweeper said:
mcarrick69 said:
I heard that this is the reason why the iPhone doesnt have 3G built in!
No, that's because the iPhone is crap! It has a wonderful GUI but the rest of it is poor and a typical illustration of modern Apple charging a fortune for something on the back of largely unjustified hype. I'll take my HTC TyTN II with integrated 3G (and HSDPA giving up to 3.8Mb/s), GPS, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 3MP camera and no stupid network and application locking any day.And the TyTn - hardly cheap is it?
As for the TyTN II not being cheap, you are surely joking if you're relating it to the cost of the iPhone? To the best of my recollection (I am prepared to be corrected on this as I don't have time to check) you need a £35/month contract on O2 and still might have to pay something for the phone? Couple that with the fact that TyTN II is a far superior piece of hardware and it's hard to claim the iPhone is much cheaper in any way as far as I can see.
I'm not getting into a pissing contest with you, just disagreeing. No device is perfect or, for that matter, cheap enough. I've had and seen crap phones (and paid for them unfortunately) and the iPhone is not one of them, by a long long way. I agree it could do some things better as I'm sure the TyTN could.I've had a play on a TyTN but that's all and for me I just don't get on with the "micro-computer" design - one of the reasons I've stayed well away from smartphones. I love the iPhone for it's simplicity and beautifully executed UI.
As for price, you are correct, £270 + £35pm contract is what it will cost you on O2. From a cursory search I saw prices of £400-500 for the TyTN, no details of the contract costs (and even if you're not tied to a deal, your phone service still costs something each month) which is what I based my "it's not cheap comment" on. Glad to be proven wrong though.
To be fair, if I didn't buy a UK one and would probably have a slightly different take on things if mine wasn't sim-free and hacked but that's actually an issue with Apple's policy rather than the device itself. Agree with Cyberface - they do need to get their head from up their arse with the locking stuff.
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