Choice has never been better in the world of 3G phones, but HSDPA handsets – which offer up to six times faster download speeds – are poised to hit shelves this summer. Should you save up for one?
Gone hunting for a new 3G phone lately? If so, you're likely to have noticed the overwhelming array of options – and despite our guide on what to look for and our list of top rated 3G phones, one more factor is looming on the horizon that you might want to take into account. We're talking about HSDPA, or High Speed Downlink Packet Access, which bumps the average transfer speeds of current 3G phones by a factor of six – enough to download your average MP3 file in less than 10 seconds.
Acronyms schmacronyms
Hidden beneath the gibberish alphabet soup that is HSDPA lies an upgrade which requires both mobile network operators and end users to exchange their current equipment - base stations and handsets, in other words. The technology itself is an upgrade to existing UMTS 3G networks - not unlike what EDGE represents to GPRS, and raises the theoretical 384 Kbps limit of current 3G data transfer to a whopping 1.8 Mbps, which translates to download speeds in the range of one megabyte every three to four seconds.
As of this writing, Cingular is the only U.S. operator that offers HSDPA coverage; its “BroadbandConnect” service covers 16 cities, including Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Tacoma, and Washington D.C. Cingular has yet to launch an HSDPA-capable handset, although we expect the high-speed Samsung SGH-ZX20 clamshell – poised to be the first commercially available HSDPA phone in the U.S. – to arrive in Cingular’s lineup soon. Meanwhile, GSM carrier T-Mobile, which is the only major U.S. carrier still without a 3G network, has announced plans to launch its own HSDPA service by the end of 2007.
Apart from the increase in speed, HSDPA does not offer any other advantages as compared to current 3G phones, which calls for a certain amount of sober consideration of your actual needs. A business user who frequently downloads large attachments is likely to benefit from owning such a handset, but will need to connect his or her phone to a laptop via USB as the built-in modem capabilities of Bluetooth cannot handle the data rates of HSDPA.
The average Joe, meanwhile, is unlikely to benefit at all from first generation HSDPA phones for several reasons. First, initial coverage will be poor and limited to dense urban areas, and there will little content that takes advantage of the added bandwidth – such as higher-resolution video – until at least 2007. Second, unless users are on a flat rate data plan with their operator, they will be unable to consume much content without going broke in the course of a month.
The bottom line
In summary, unless you're filthy rich or a business user with a proven need for downloading large amounts of data faster, there is no need to rush to get a HSDPA phone. Rather, save your pennies for a more capable 3G handset; we also suggest mastering the delicate art of getting the most out of your 3G phone.
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