By now you probably know that when you see the term “4G,” it means that the connection is going to be fast, and much faster than 3G. What you probably didn’t know is that there are grades of 4G, and one manufacturer can now lay claim to the fastest 4G connection in a device.
Shown at the Mobile World Congress in Spain – which literally just started – the next model in Huawei’s Ascend series not only features a fast quad-core 1.5GHz processor, but also comes packing with a 4G LTE chip capable of pulling down network speeds of up to 150Mbps.
The most we’ve managed on our 4G smartphone tests sat around the 60Mbps mark, and this handset can apparently reach over twice that, which is sure to impress quite a few people, not just for the speed, but also for the knowledge that it’s over five times the theoretical maximum of ADSL2+.
“Ascend P2 is the perfect combination of elegance and power, and further proof that there’s no need to compromise when desiring a perfect smartphone,” said Huawei’s Richard Yu. “It is evidence of the outstanding smartphone experiences and great technology that we are committed to bringing to consumers globally.”
The device also features a 4.7 inch IPS screen supporting HD’s 720p resolution protected by Corning’s scratch-resistant second-generation Gorilla Glass, a Huawei-build power saving technology, 16GB storage, Android 4.1 “Jelly Bean,” 13 megapixel rear camera, and a 2420mAh battery.
Release details in Australia have yet to be announced, but Huawei’s people have told us that the phone should be coming, though probably not until at least June or July locally.
4G was fast when I first signed up 8 months ago. 36Mb/s download & 26Mb/s up, 2 Kms from cbd. Now the network saturated and speeds are only marginally better than 3G. Some days during the afternoon peak I can’t even connect.
My advice, go with 3G pre-paid telcos like Amaysim or Kogan.
Hopefully the NBN (the wireless component) will improve 4G.