What do you know about 4G? According to a recent survey conducted by Compete, not much.
Though Sprint has been heavily touting its 4G WiMax service (only available in a few U.S. cities for laptop and desktop use), the 4th generation network technology has been slow to unfurl stateside.
“While we have all seen a lot of commercials and advertising around 3G and 4G, we at Compete wanted to see what consumers really understood about this frequently talked about technology,” wrote Josh Pitts at Compete.
The survey looked at four true statements and three false ones and found that many smart phone owners have incorrect beliefs about 4G technologies.
Let’s start with the good news: “My carrier offers 3G” was a true statement, and 82 percent of respondents correctly believed it to be true, while just 3 percent incorrectly thought it was false.
“3G is currently available on some smartphones” was a true statement, and 84 percent correctly believed it to be true, while just 4 percent incorrectly thought it was false.
“3G is available nationwide” was a true statement, and 66 percent correctly believed it to be true, while 19 percent incorrectly thought it was false.
“4G allows for faster downloads of data than 3G” was a true statement, and 69 percent of respondents correctly believed it to be true, while 3 percent incorrectly thought it was false, and 28 percent didn’t know.
“My carrier offers 4G” was a false statement, but 16 percent of respondents incorrectly thought it was true, while 37 percent correctly believed this to be false. Forty-eight percent didn’t know.
“4G is currently available on some smartphones” was a false statement, but 59 percent incorrectly thought it was true, while 10 percent correctly believed it to be false. Thirty-one percent said they didn’t know.
“4G is available nationwide” was a false statement, but 14 percent incorrectly thought it was true, while 42 percent correctly believed it to be false. Forty-five percent said they didn’t know.
While industry professionals understand the significance of 4G networks, it’s clear that regular consumers aren’t as keen on the topic. However, monthly searches for iPhone 4G have grown dramatically since January, according to Compete.
“The iPhone 4G does not exist yet, but it’s clear that consumers are looking for one…a possible result of the AT&T network issues,” Pitts wrote.
Source:
http://blog.compete.com/2010/04/09/you-say-you-want-a-4g-evolution-well-you-know%E2%80%A6/