[Numero12]

Hello! Recently I changed my Torch 9810 for the Bold 9900...
But I have noticed that the Torch II has 4G! And my new Bold 9900 DONT!
Is this normal or should I make an update?

[Phill_UK]

The 9900 is an HSPA+ (H+) device.

Some carriers choose to display 3G, some H+, and some 4G... but the device is H+, nothing more.

[elvin1983]

Both models support HSPA+, they are no different in that respect. Many carriers call HSPA+ 4G, even though it is technically the same 3G network with increased data speeds. Everything should be the same.

[zeniq]

The 9900 is a 4G phone, at least on T-Mobile and AT&T in the US. I don't know about Comcel's network.

[Numero12]

The 9900 is a 4G phone, at least on T-Mobile and AT&T in the US. I don't know about Comcel's network.

Yeah, but with my both 9810's, COMCEL displayed H+ and after update 4G...
My Bold 9900 is displaying 3G with the following OS: 7.0.0.540

[mc21]

I think it's fair to say it's a 3G+ device

[galleon]

4G HSPA HSPA+ 3G is made to be the most confusing thing ever! I would try doing a speedtest with a speedtest app, you'll likely find it to be the same on both devices.

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[Fnord]

Most people might not agree, but technically HSPA+ is classified as a 4G network!

OP, if you carrier runs an H+ network on the same frequency your 9900 variant is capable of running on it you'll have 4G.

Just note that H+ technology is a slower 4G than LTE or WiMax.

[ngc]

actually ive seen various 9900 that says in the about screen only 3G while other says H+... the one that says 3G only get 3G, they cannot get H+...

[cliro]

BELL advertises it as 4g and mine displays H+

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[Fnord]

While HSPA+ is technically 4G, as others have stated, what each carrier chooses to display is up the them and is purely marketing. If your carrier has an H+ network and runs on the same frequency used by your 99xx variant you will get the speeds regards whether the phone shows 3G, H+ or 4G.

[Numero12]

actually ive seen various 9900 that says in the about screen only 3G while other says H+... the one that says 3G only get 3G, they cannot get H+...

That's even more strange!!! I understand that there may be differences between 9900 and 9930 but not between 9900's!

[Phill_UK]

actually ive seen various 9900 that says in the about screen only 3G while other says H+... the one that says 3G only get 3G, they cannot get H+...

That's absolute rubbish... see my first post, the question was answered there.

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[urbanguy]

That's even more strange!!! I understand that there may be differences between 9900 and 9930 but not between 9900's!

Two 9900s on different carriers will have different displays. The Bold 9900 is not an LTE device (which I would say is true 4G), it is a 3G+ device. My carrier shows H+. Others will show 4G. Some others might show 3G.

[White9900]

The short answer is that none of the current commercially available technologies (in the UK, US or elsewhere), officially meet the definition of 4G however 2 different technologies (LTE and WiMAX) that are both forerunners to the technologies that will eventually provide true 4G and an Advanced version of 3G called HSDPA+ are being marketed as 4G mobile broadband.

True 4G is defined (in Wikipedia) as having “peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 Mbps for high mobility communication (such as from trains and cars) and 1 Gbps for low mobility communication (such as pedestrians and stationary users)”. Technically this only applies to two technologies called LTE Advanced and WiMAXMAN-Advanced and excludes the current LTE, WiMAX and HSDPA+ technologies. However the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), sent out a statement in December 2010 saying that they recognised that the term could be applied to the forerunners to 4G (LTE & WiMAX) and evolved 3G (HSPA+) thus rubber stamping the carriers right to market their networks as 4G.

Interestingly whilst T-Mobile are marketing HSPA+ as 4G in the US of the UK networks only 3 has been actively rolling out HSPA+ but is not yet marketing this as 4G.

Long Term Evolution (LTE)

Of the two forerunners to true 4G LTE is behind most of the 4G networks that are both currently available in the US and planned for the UK. Even US carriers such as Sprint who currently use a WiMAX network are thought to be planning to move to the rival technology, LTE. LTE has a theoretical top download speed of 300Mbps and an Upload Speed of 75Mbps however real world download speeds (based on the US where LTE networks are in use) are 6-12Mbps.

WiMAX

None of the major UK mobile operators are planning on building a WiMAX network however US provider Sprint claims its WiMAX network achieves real world download speed of 3-6Mbps. Having used their WiMAX network myself on a few occasions I was never capable of getting close to these speeds so am a little sceptical. Theoretically WiMAX has a peak download speed of 128Mbps and upload speed of 56Mbps.

HSPA+

Whilst HSPA+ might not be capable of delivering the same potential top speeds as LTE it has an important role to play as it is much easier, quicker and cheaper to upgrade the existing 3G network to HSPA+ meaning it is a very viable short to medium term solution. In the US where T-Mobile has been using this technology for some time real world speeds are reported at between 1Mbps and 7 Mbps. In the UK 3’s HSPA+ network can theoretically reach 21Mbps though 3 say that you can realistically expect speeds of double your standard 3G connection so somewhere in the 2Mbps – 4Mbps range is realistic. It’s with noting that you will need the more pricey Huawei E367 HSPA+ compatible dongle from 3 to take advantage of these speeds.

HSPA+ has the potential to further increase download speeds to 42Mbps through something called dual-carrier which is something to watch out for in 2012.

[Phill_UK]

The short answer is...

That was NOT a short answer!

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[White9900]

I hope this answers your questions regarding 3g or 4g the simple truth is that true 4g is not here yet if it was you would know about it! So your Bold 9900 is advanced 3G called HSDPA+ and being marketed as 4G mobile broadband. Here is the link for the article 4G Mobile Broadband - About 4G Broadband Internet in the UK

[NursingNinja]

3G and 4G are horrible labels to be honest. The industry should list their top speed and adverage speed in different coverage zones and leave it at that. The new berries max out at 14.4 megabits per second. That is twice as fast as my wifi at home and I stream HD netflix movies all the time. To be honest though, in areas that claim to support the faster speeds of the 9900 I havnt seen it faster than 7 megabits per second. No gripes though.

[White9900]

Ok clever clogs! it was as short as was needed to fill in all the gaps! 3g and 4g are being sold in a confusing manner at the moment in some countries.

So now know they know how and why and hopefully wont get stitched up by their carriers. which I think is one of the reasons Crackberry exists.

So enuff of the sarcastic crap! Inform and Warn is my Motto!

[galleon]

At any rate, LTE 4G HSPA or whatever is not going to make much if any difference in many locations until they either put up more towers or increase the bandwidth to the towers because they just throttle it down to nothing anyways because of lack of capacity.

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[White9900]

At any rate, LTE 4G HSPA or whatever is not going to make much if any difference in many locations until they either put up more towers or increase the bandwidth to the towers because they just throttle it down to nothing anyways because of lack of capacity.

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This is very true!!!

[Numero12]

Two 9900s on different carriers will have different displays. The Bold 9900 is not an LTE device (which I would say is true 4G), it is a 3G+ device. My carrier shows H+. Others will show 4G. Some others might show 3G.

I think my doubts about 3G, 4G and H+ has been quite clear to me.
Thank you very much to all who participated in this post!

[Numero12]

At any rate, LTE 4G HSPA or whatever is not going to make much if any difference in many locations until they either put up more towers or increase the bandwidth to the towers because they just throttle it down to nothing anyways because of lack of capacity.

but 4G makes better the Home screen instead of 3G!

[AugustArborists]

Doesn't the data go through RIM's servers? Wouldn't the speed of those, the travel back and fourth, as well as compression, effect our true speeds, up or down? I am astounded by the speed of BBM, very close to instantaneous, really about the same as regular old texts. Too cool.

This is a real question, I'm a tree guy, not anything close to an engineer.

[galleon]

That's a good point. I know I don't understand RIMS architecture very well but I'm not sure that all downloads and streaming media are going through ther servers. It doesn't seem to me that they would further compress an audio or video stream, but maybe I'm wrong on this? This would all put a huge load on their bandwidth AND servers, compressing these large files.

I also love how fast BBM is. I was sending one to someone in San Francisco from Canada and it was delivered before I had my finger off the send button! I thinks its much faster then texting.

EDIT: I was just reading in another forum about users that claim they use less data with streaming radio etc on their Blackberry VS Iphone so maybe I'm wrong. Wow, they must have a massive server system if the actually process everything and run it through their computers first.

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