Droid Charge is pricey, but its 4G flies - The Boston Globe

Excerpts from a Hiawatha Bray review of the latest Samsung 4G phone

But what about that $199 iPhone 4? Actually, the iPhone’s price jumps to $299 if you get it with 32 gigabytes of memory. The Droid Charge, which runs Google Inc.’s Android operating system, offers the same; but it adds some features the iPhone doesn’t match, like a superb display screen and, of course, the blazing speed of 4G downloads.

Despite its name, the iPhone 4 still relies on 3G technology for data downloads. You can expect 1.5 million to 4 million bits per second, depending on which version of 3G technology is operating in your area. Verizon’s 4G network is far faster, and no device I’ve tried makes better use of it than the Droid Charge. With the industry-standard speed testing software from Ookla.net, I saw speeds of nearly 17 megabits per second, which is actually a bit faster than my home Internet service.

Droid Charge is pricey, but its 4G flies - The Boston Globe