What does it mean when a phone has 3G?

Question

in particular, how is a regular iphone different to a 3G iphone?

Answer 1

3G is AT&T's internet.

If you get an internet card from them for your computer, your computer will be running on the 3G network.

The old iPhone used to run on the EDGE network, which is slow and closes randomly.

Now instead of running on the old EDGE network, it runs on 3G so its much faster.

Answer 2

3G technologies enable network operators to offer users a wider range of more advanced services while achieving greater network capacity through improved spectral efficiency. Services include wide-area wireless voice telephony and broadband wireless data, all in a mobile environment.

Basically 3G is a LOT faster than 2G in phones. Its like moving from dial up to broadband.

Answer 3

And you can use videocalls also with 3g network.

Answer 4

The original mobiles were analogue (like home phones) and called 1G.

Then came digital or GSM phones which gave clearer signal and more features but similar transfer rates (like home DECT cordless phones) and called 2G

(some phones had internet and mail features called WAP phones or 2.5G they could access the Internet but it was slow like a dial-up connection).

The the digital technology was updated to new frequencies and equipment which had more features and much faster connections and is called 3G (bit like home DSL broadband) - they allow grainy video calling (not as good as home video chat yet)

they are even now developing even faster data based networks a bit like office ethernet networks and the new digital IP based phone services some countries have in which the voice is carried over a very fast iP (internet) based system and allow  fast Web browsing and full video calling). These are Called 4G or for UK  government use Tetra Radio.