Poll: 3G and better battery life or 4G and constant charging?


A notable issue with today’s powerful smartphones is battery life. Android (and other) devices have not exactly provided users with the best battery performance. Especially once those 4G devices started being released. But, are users willing to stick to 4G until battery technology improves, or would they simply stick with 3G devices until then.

Granted, we no longer have much of an option – unless we want to personally turn off those 4G radios. The fact is that once I turn off 4G and rely on 3G networks, my battery life almost doubles. Am I satisfied? Definitely not. But I have grown accustomed to the idea of using my Powerbag, extended batteries, external chargers and constantly charging. All of this in order to keep the blazing LTE speeds that haunt my battery life. I would no longer go back to 3G.

According to a recent J.D Power study, 4G users are much less satisfied with their devices, in terms of battery life. While still substantial, the numbers are not outrageous, though. In a scale of 10, 4G-enabled smartphones were ranked at 6.1 in satisfaction, while 3G devices were higher at 6.7.

Said numbers were determined by users’ claims. And the general consumer may not exactly have an idea of 4G and its consequences. Hell, many iPhone users believed that the iPhone 4 was a 4G device. But that is another story. Battery life highly depends on the manufacturer and the type of 4G. The latter currently holding its position among one of the most discussed topics in the industry – What is real 4G?

Regardless, technologies like LTE and WiMAX are known to be battery hogs. While others (like HSPA+) are more of an enhanced 3G and provide a more energy-efficient experience. It is safe to assume that a good percentage of the surveyed population may not know the difference. And isn’t exactly unsatisfied with 4G, but with smartphones, over all.

But even after considering these factors, devices connected to battery draining networks are improving substantially in this department. We are seeing devices like the Motorola DROID RAZR Maxx, with a whopping 3,300 mAh, and much longer battery life. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is also said to be much better than past devices. Most recently released LTE devices almost match (or surpass) the battery life of last year’s 3G devices.

These arguments leave us wondering just how much the 4G factor affects the customer’s satisfaction. In an attempt to better understand the phenomena, it would be great to see how our readers see this subject. Do you guys mind losing some juice in exchange of speeds up to 10 times faster? Do you prefer sticking with HSPA+ for now? Please participate in the poll, and hit the comments to share your opinions.

[polldaddy poll=6052141]

[Source: J.D. Power Via: The Verge]

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