Apple's new handset is called the iPhone 4 and its not 4G as all the pre-announcement hype would have us believe. There are a lot of handset manufacturer marketing teams who are frustrated about the launch of latest iPhone 4 (NOT 4G). They think Apple is confusing the marketplace branding a phone the 4th generation and it not being 4G. There are lots of social media and blog sites asking the same question as one would assume that it should be 4G with all of the hype. ITS NOT I think it is also pretty "sleazy" of Apple to call it the iPhone 4 just as 4G and LTE is starting to get marketed heavily to consumers.
Sprint, T-Mobile & Verizon Have 4G Networks . . . So Why is AT&T Behind?
Currently, Sprint is the only carrier who has a 4G network while Apple and AT&T currently have an exclusive deal which is expected to last until 2012. AT&T is far behind the other carriers Sprint and Verizon in deploying a 4G network on HSPDA. When the FCC auctioned off the analog TV spectrum in 2008, Verizon received a block of spectrum that enabled them to create a nationwide 4G network in a single frequency range, which is easier to implement. AT&T, however, finished second in the spectrum auction and ended up with a patchwork of disparate frequency ranges, which creates network and handset-design complications. As a result, Verizon's LTE network is due to launch first, sometime this year, and AT&T's not until sometime next year.
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Counted 15 Digg posts submitted in 24 hours today saying the iPhone 4 is 4G. Amazing how many people are confused by marketing the phone as a 4th generation.
There are hundreds of blog posts from people calling it a 4G phone. Why?
I don't think they are trying to fool people into thinking it's a 4G phone. It's just the most simple naming convention; it's the 4th iPhone.
I really don't understand why Sprint is jumping the gun on the 4G thing before theirs is even near completion. Verizon seems to be playing it safer, and if their current network is any indication, their 4G will kick the nuts off of anyone else's.
AT&T is obviously years away from even having a decent 3G network, let alone 4G. Maybe they'll just skip 4, then catch back up with whatever comes next.
Pete Cashmore of Mashable called it a 4G on Leo Laporte's show Twit.tv. Lots of people are confused about the lack of marketing clarity from Apple.
Will the iPhone 5 work on 4G HSPA+? Will AT&T call it 5G?