Macworld: Not so fast, 3G ...

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15 Replies Last post: Jul 25, 2008 3:21 PM by mkwilson68 1 2 Previous Next

Macworld

11,211 posts since
Nov 30, 2007

Jul 24, 2008 1:19 PM

Not so fast, 3G

Post your comments for Not so fast, 3G here

heisetax

679 posts since
Oct 2, 2003

1. Jul 24, 2008 1:44 PM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Not so fast, 3G

But here in Omaha, NE there is no AT&T 3G service!
Bill the TaxMan

kimhill

60 posts since
Aug 28, 2004

2. Jul 24, 2008 1:51 PM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Not so fast, 3G

Here in NYC I've found that 3G speed is all over the place. I'll also have to side with Dan as an EDGE defender- I've had pretty good luck with it, often getting speeds in the neighborhood of 200kbps, which is perfectly usable, especially if you stick to sites that are more low-bandwidth friendly.

I've found 3G to range from blisteringly fast - indistinguishable from wifi - to really slow - slower than EDGE in a number of locations. I almost always leave 3G turned off, due to the power issues. Fortuntely, I have enough wifi access so that this isn't a big deal.

3G is certainly no bandwidth panacea..

Grapho

1,847 posts since
Aug 30, 2004

3. Jul 24, 2008 1:58 PM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Not so fast, 3G

I am no expert by a long shot. But my experience here in Houston with EDGE has been dependent to the part of town I am in. In certain areas it is very usable, while on others it simply is totally unusable.

Are these networks not dependent on how many connections are being used at a particular spot or cell tower? If so, how can this be tested?

kimhill

60 posts since
Aug 28, 2004

4. Jul 24, 2008 2:00 PM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Not so fast, 3G

BTW- another tip for EDGE use- RSS readers can be incredibly useful for getting the most out of a slow connection. Google Reader used to be great for this- it even reformatted pages on-the-fly to make them more mobile-friendly.

Inexplicably, Google yanked that feature with the new version of Reader- now it's kind of mediocre, and I'm looking for a new RSS reader...

applecrate

25 posts since
May 20, 2008

5. Jul 24, 2008 2:12 PM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Not so fast, 3G

Atlanta (Midtown):
i.dslr.net - Edge 129 kbps, 3G 1366 kbps
iNetwork Test - Edge 214 kbps, 3G 410 kbps
TestMyiPhone.com - Edge 169 kbps, 3G 1272 kbps

Average: Edge 171 kbps, 3G 1016 kbps

RBTO

1 posts since
Jul 24, 2008

6. Jul 24, 2008 2:13 PM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Not so fast, 3G

I just tried the testmyiphone.com test here in Toronto (via 3G) and was surprised to see a 1860 kbps result.
I'm right next to a cell tower on the highway here, so I may be accessing a bigger pipe, but it helps a little to take the sting off the exorbitant rates Rogers is charging us up here for iPhone data plans. They are at least delivering on the speed.

Daisey31

1 posts since
Jul 24, 2008

7. Jul 24, 2008 2:17 PM

in response to: kimhill

Re: Not so fast, 3G

I'm in SoCal and I compulsively check my speed everywhere on my new 3G iPhone. I have to say that it is consistently around 397kps. I use the web version of iNetwork Test. The native app doesn't work properly for me.

wvdb

1 posts since
Jul 24, 2008

8. Jul 24, 2008 2:30 PM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Not so fast, 3G

I'm in WV.. in the only 3g market that is currently online in the entire state.

I just ran a test on TestMyiPhone.com...

Edge=147kbps /18kbs
3G=719kbps / 88kbs

However setting a 3g iPhone (3g) next to the Original iPhone with 2.0 Firmware running Edge... the Original iPhone loads complex pages at the same speed or faster than the 3G.

So the take away is location, location, location.

rmzajac

1 posts since
Oct 2, 2007

9. Jul 24, 2008 2:54 PM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Not so fast, 3G

In Calgary on Rogers.....

Using testmyiphone.com got an average (3 runs) of 1,975 kbps on 3G.

............r

simX

24 posts since
Aug 22, 2006

10. Jul 24, 2008 2:57 PM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Not so fast, 3G

"[D]efinitely maybe" in reference to a Ryan Reynolds movie?! shakes head How about, oh, you know, Oasis's debut album?! Hellllooooo?

I loled.

Archiform_3D

67 posts since
Aug 27, 2007

11. Jul 24, 2008 3:03 PM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Not so fast, 3G

I am from Australia, so I have used 3G for some time. The speed has a lot to do with where you are at the time, distance from the cell, etc. Sometimes you will wonder if you have any connection at all, just like EDGE, and sometimes you will think you are hooked into ethernet! As they add or upgrade cells it will get better and 3G has room for improvement.

Steve Bell
Archiform 3D Animation

Steve Bell Archiform 3D animation and renderings www.archiform3d.com

xblcsaw

1 posts since
Jul 24, 2008

12. Jul 24, 2008 3:11 PM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Not so fast, 3G

I'm at the very edge of Toledo's 3G network and usually only have a 1-2 bar signal here at home. I tested on testmyiphone.com heres what I got

Edge (99 kbps / 12kbps)

3G (1519 kbps / 185 kbps)

I repeated the test several times and each 3G test was between 1.41 Mbps and 1.52 Mbps. I guess I'll try the test again tomorrow at work where I get a full signal to see if it improves more. 1.52 Mbps is pretty drastic increase over the edge speed.

jrandersoniii

71 posts since
Jan 20, 2008

13. Jul 24, 2008 4:39 PM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Not so fast, 3G

Hey, its wireless what did you expect. Next please.

RandA'sDad

3 posts since
Mar 17, 2001

14. Jul 25, 2008 11:58 AM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Not so fast, 3G

I am in the Sacramento, CA area

I got the following results: on the 3G iPhone using Edge (all results in kbps)

i.dslr.net

Test 1 178
Test 2 174
Test 3 189

iNetworkTest

Test 1 126
Test 2 112
Test 3 163

iNetworkTest
(Native App)

Test 1 21
Test 2 20
Test 3 19

TestMyPhone

Test 1 169
Test 2 279
Test 3 213

I got the following results: on the 3G iPhone using 3G (all results in kbps)

i.dslr.net

Test 1 688
Test 2 631
Test 3 916

iNetworkTest

Test 1 302
Test 2 383
Test 3 420

iNetworkTest
(Native App)

Test 1 42
Test 2 56
Test 3 54

TestMyPhone

Test 1 1337
Test 2 1035
Test 3 775

Average Edge = 138

Average 3G = 553

Equals 4 x faster on 3G over Edge

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Jul 24, 2008 1:19 PM

Not so fast, 3G

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