3G vs WiFi? Which cell phone should you choose?

Cell phones- even the shiny, new ones- are devices built for communicating. It’s a small object that you keep in your pocket and which you’re using to talk to friends, browse the web and send texts and other types of communication. The technology used to send and receive data has changed dramatically over the last decade or so and now you can download relatively large files in 10 minutes or sustain HD video or audio calls for hours in a row. The technologies used on laptops, tablets and computers- WiFi, 3G and 4G, more and more often, are now used on cell phones as well, some of them actually having both of them available at the same time. WiFi is kind of the minimum setup a smart phone has, with those more expensive having 3G or 4G radios as well. Both these technologies offer good transfer rates and basically turn these little cell phones into mini computers connected to the internet. Let’s take a look at how both of these technologies can serve your needs and which type of phone you should choose according to the connectivity feature it packs.

WiFi- Like laptops, cell phones with WiFi can connect to modems that offer WiFi connectivity. This type of service is increasingly accessible throughout the world. In many countries, WiFi hot spots- big “junctions” everyone can use publicly- are very often, especially in larger cities. Basically, wherever you are in the city, you can connect to one of these hot spots and surf the web without paying a fee. The disadvantage of this type of service is that is quite unstable and slow, because many people are connected to it at the same time and the technology itself is not very stable. The average download speed of a WiFi connection can be quite small and often you will have only enough juice to check your email or something. Of course, at home or in other places with a private and stable WiFi connection, you will have very good transfer speeds, with a maximum of around 8 mbps. The problem with WiFi is range- as soon as you go move farther away than 200 feet or so from the modem, you will probably loose signal, so WiFi is not an option to take into consideration when on a mountain or generally in zones outside cities. But if you’re a city slicker and rarely go out of them, a new smart phone with a built in WiFi receiver might be enough.

3G- First thing first- for any 3G connection on your phone, you will have to pay. This is a type of service that shared bandwidth with the actual phone service, so most of the time you will have limit caps, like 5 or 10 GB every month. In terms of speed, 3G services can be slightly faster, but they’re usually at the same level- or even slower. The main advantage of 3G modems is that you can have a connection virtually anywhere, even in the middle of the desert. What you get is range- if there’s a signal for the call functions of your phone, there’s also an internet connection. Of course, the speeds of 3G networks are better closer to the emitters of the signal, which are usually in cities, and as you go outside them, signal quality will probably decrease significantly, but will not let you down completely.   

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