> I'd really love if people would stop calling everything mobile standard some number followed by a G.
It can be useful to have different labels for the "generations" when they're incompatible. Analog (1G) is incompatible with traditional GSM (2G), which is incompatible with UMTS (3G), which is incompatible with LTE (4G). So if your new network only has 4G but your old phone only has 2G and 3G, you know it won't work and you have to buy a new phone.
There are pretty substantial differences between AMPS and NMT, GSM and CDMA, EV-DO and EDGE.
CDMA for example was designed to evolve from AMPS (so was D-AMPS or TDMA, which was another 2g technology), so you could put CDMA and Analog carriers in the same site infrastructure. The 'nG' label is virtually meaningless is most discussions. It also leaves out discussion of PHS, and others, which were clearly 2g technologies.
It can be useful to have different labels for the "generations" when they're incompatible. Analog (1G) is incompatible with traditional GSM (2G), which is incompatible with UMTS (3G), which is incompatible with LTE (4G). So if your new network only has 4G but your old phone only has 2G and 3G, you know it won't work and you have to buy a new phone.