[Epic 4G General] h2g2:
There are a lot of factors that can affect how quickly a file downloads and you can certainly construct scenarios in which an "inferior" phone may be favored over a higher priced model. The scenario you described earlier, for example, where you're simply downloading a single large file will likely result in a small difference. Also, such an operation is also going to factor on issues like how optimized the kernel and file system drivers are (I understand that this is a weakness with Samsung) as well as the speed of the SD card or onboard memory, depending on where you are downloading to.

As you know, overhead at Layer 4 and above scales with the number of sessions involved. In usage cases where you are multitasking with lots of data-dependent apps (for example, I sync multiple email accounts, along with Pulse, SlideScreen, streaming music over Slacker, etc.), I suspect that the overhead this generates will push a phone with a 1Ghz Cortex-A8 core ahead of, say, a phone with a slower ARM11 core like the Optimus S but none of this is to guarantee that the Epic 4g will always be faster than the Optimus S, only that there is nothing technically wrong with the claim that a faster processor results in faster internet speeds.

Actually, this is a misnomer. The LG Optimus uses an MSM7626 which only contains a single ARM11 core. Note further that no current shipping version of Android supports more than one core - the Viewsonic G Tablet, for example, ships with a dual-core Tegra SoC but only one core is usable due to OS limitations.

The "secondary core" is in fact just a QDSP5000 which provides the CDMA modem functionality. This is a DSP, not a full-fledged CPU and it isn't dedicated to the modem, it *is* the modem. It's just a cost effective alternative to a dedicated ASIC- nothing more, nothing less. In other words, it's functionality no different from any other phone. The Epic 4g uses a QSC6085 for it's CDMA modem since the Hummingbird processor apparently doesn't have the modem integrated (an integrated modem appears to be a Qualcomm-exclusive feature at this point, the TI OMAP3 SoCs don't have integrated modems either), and has a separate ASIC or DSP for the WiMAX modem as well so the Epic similarly has processing power that is "dedicated" to the modem so that's a push.

It's possible that Qualcomm has added certain optimizations to the MSM7626 with regards to it's interop with the QDSP module which improves the I/O between the modem and the CPU which may show improved performance vs. a Hummingbird or OMAP based phone in straight throughput tests, I would call this a synthetic benchmark as it does not match my usage patterns but obviously, your mileage may vary on this.

Not to beat a dead horse but you knew with 100% certainty that 4G service didn't exist in your area when you signed up for the service. You fell for a sales ploy and now you're feeling buyers remorse because of it. I get that it feels crappy, I wouldn't be happy about it either. But that's capitalism for you. There's nothing illegal about it.

I suspect that if you really feel your needs are better served by the Optimus S, for example, you can go to your local Sprint store and complain until they let you exchange it (it's a trade down in their eyes so I can't see them being too opposed to this). Also, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of your Epic 4G being defective, either. I'm sure that if you demonstrate the faster speeds of your girlfriend's Optimus S compared to your Epic 4G in front of them, you can use that to push for a warranty replacement.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that you should be happy with your experience. I just posted because you blasted a couple of people here for suggesting that processing power could affect internet speed. I'm just pointing out that there is nothing inherently technically wrong with this claim. You seemed to want a more technical explanation and that's what I've been trying to provide.