More than 1 out of 3 iPhone users mistakenly believe their phones are 4G-enabled

(AFP PHOTO/Ryan Anson)

Thirty-four percent of iPhone owners in the US are under the false impression that their smartphone is equipped with 4G technology.

Twenty-four percent of BlackBerry users are suffering from the same delusion. Neither Apple nor BlackBerry maker Research In Motion currently offers a smartphone with 4G connectivity.

A new study by consumer electronics shopping and review site Retrevo has found that consumers are so confused about 4G technology that they are hesitant to adopt it.

Consumer confusion is not the only setback for the next-generation wireless technology. One third of people in the US believe that 4G data plans are too expensive and 22 percent think the performance boost is not worth the cost.

"With so many potential 4G customers expressing concerns about cost and performance providers of 4G phones and services could be in for some disappointment," said self-labeled "Gadget Experts" Retrevo.

In a post titled " What is 4G?," Technology blog Mashable explains that 4G technology aims to make data speeds "10x faster than current 3G speeds. And the technology can help solve the 'last mile' dilemma (the difficult final leg of connecting customers to a network) that prevents rural areas from getting service. 4G data can move faster, and it can get to more people."

However, current "4G" technology is not always what carriers are hyping it up to be. "Most of the systems billed as '4G' could be more accurately called 3.5G, or 3.75G. But the plan is for these systems to upgrade to full 4G in the future," reveals Mashable.

4G technology has been much hyped by carriers in the US but consumers are still not convinced. Sixty-one percent of current iPhone owners said "they don’t care if the new iPhone has 4G or not and will buy, or 'consider' buying, the next iPhone regardless of 4G."

Surprisingly, 41 percent of BlackBerry owners also said they would buy the next-generation iPhone, or consider buying one, with or without 4G.

"As carriers deploy their 4G networks around the country which have the potential of increasing 3G 2 -3 Mbps to well over 10Mbps, it looks like there’s enough confusion and skepticism among consumers to keep the pace of adoption at a moderate rate," said Retrevo. "With so many potential customers expressing concern about price and performance and confusion over what exactly 4G means, providers of phones and services will have their work cut out for them to convince customers to upgrade to 4G."