For those of you who have been following the latest updates about CES upon Twitter, various blogs, etc. the one thing I’ve noticed is the fact that many (if not most) of the Android devices being touted by carriers are 4G phones.
Some of them (like Motorola’s Atrix 4G) boast not only 1 GB of RAM, but also 4G speeds (aka LTE) will run laps around the iPhone 4 (at least as far as browsing the web goes).
While Apple will probably leap frog the current competition in specs in June of this year, there are reports that the next iPhone will not support 4G speeds, giving their Android adversaries a critical advantage over Steve Jobs mobile device.
Companies like T-Mobile are already playing ads on TV mocking 3G speeds, and if iPhone is the only major smartphone lacking 3G support (note: I’m ignoring Blackberry here), then they could see even more users choose Android over the competition.
Despite the fact that 4G has yet to roll out to most of the country (as it’s still only available in select cities within the US), Apple’s lack of 4G adoption could result in the iPhone being eclipsed by Android sooner rather than later, ensuring Google’s mobile dominance for the foreseeable future.
Although 4G smartphones do have some major disadvantages against their 3G brethren (battery life being chief among them), Apple is going to have to figure out a way to once again wow the masses this summer if they want the iPhone to be seen as a leading contender in the smartphone industry.
Image Credit: Motorola, via Mobile Crunch
Originally posted on January 5, 2011 @ 5:19 pm