iPhone 3G Size and Battery Life Analysis

[aristobrat]

Interesting.

BlackBerry just announced that their next model (soon to be released) will support WiFi + EDGE. They appear to have passed on 3G this go-round as well.

http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9746191-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

 

[mickeymikey]

Another great objective analysis by the crew at Anandtech...

I know some of you are commenting on how you never see any "free" wifi. My experience is actually shockingly opposite. With the iPhone constantly searching for wifi, my eyes have been opened to a world where I find open access points all over the place (and I live outside of the city). It's actually a little scary how many people have no clue about security.

Just google "wigle" and see where all the free stuff is...

 

[iPoodOverZune]

Consumers will choose whether their decision was right, by either BUYING or NOT BUYING the iPhone. Those that BUY the iPhone and still complain that it should have had 3G, seem the strangest to me. At least the ones not buying the iPhone seem to make more logical sense. Those that bought the iPhone purchased Apple's decision making process.

~ CB

Amen.

But CB, even those thoughts won't shut up the retarded idiots who think they are more clever. Its a simple decision. You don't like the profile of a gadget, then buy the one that suits you better. If you are really that smart, then you should also be able to find other better products in the market and avoid cribbing over something that you can't control as per your stature. Show your smartness by become a Jonathan Ive first and come up with better products or better ideas to support your hypothesis/design concept. Otherwise, this fretting behavior is typical of people seeing only a part of the picture and declaring they have seen whole like that story of blind men touching different parts of elephant and touting their view as the complete picture. I see too many people here in my own research work too who question everything and crib a lot and yet can't come up with even a remotely reasonable solution to their own question when asked. I guess its just in their habit! Its good to ask question and offer constructive criticism but its just stupid to crib over some problem.

So my personal take. I like apple's philosophy of product design after first getting introduced to macs four years ago (from the Windoze). And I have played with iPhone at a local store and I think it is a very good phone. But I would like to see 3G in iPhone too. So since its not in their current iteration, I will wait until it appears, even if that is a year or so (my current phone is good enough until then); or if the circumstances turn out that I really need to have it sooner for my work and I can't live without 3G, I will look for something else that satisfy my requirements. As simple as that! Peace out.

 

[gazzzmoly]

WI-FI is great if you have it in your area.

Fact is in the uk we have very little wi-fi coverage, to the point where it is almost a pointless technology. we only have 1 city "London" that as just rolled out our first true wi-fi area and that only covers 1 square mile near the financial district.

we only have a few city's and for the most part our country is made up of towns that have populations of less than 100,000 people.

In the uk 3G is mature we have had the service for over 3 years all our providers offer 3g and i will be honest i think if the iphone came here without 3g that yes you may get the faithful buyng it or the people that need to be on the bleeding edge, but the people that rely on data and 3g will stick with there blackberrys or there 3g smartphones

 

[emotion]

Not read all comments but:

There's no mention of signal strangth on any of the networks tested.If the phone is "reaching" for a signal the battery life is likely to be less.

Also when a lot of Europeans say 3G they actually mean support for HSDPA (and would also like HSUPA support).

 

[aristobrat]

but the people that rely on data and 3g will stick with there blackberrys or there 3g smartphones

The fact that people will chose a non-3G device (like a BlackBerry) if the other features on the device make it worthwhile says something, no?

 

[pjo]

window sizes?

But even with 1Mbps, 4Mbps, or 10Mbps, or 200kbps EDGE, nearly all handsets, PDAs, and even laptops suffer from one fundimental issue: improper window sizes or any mitigation against latency for that matter.

Improper window sizes? Are you saying that's actually a problem on the iPhone? Cause other than excessive scrolling, it isn't for me. I actually HATE the default viewport in Safari on the iPhone cause you have to scroll so much on some pages, but otherwise it works like a charm.

Hmm.. the first time I read maokh's post I assumed it was in refference to TCP windows ... are we talking about that or screen resolution/size issues?

 

[techkidd4400]

Battery life in the iPhone?

I am willing to accept what Jobs said about 3G not being mature enough, but I less convinced that Apple got the battery right in the iPhone. My battery drains in significantly less time than the specs say no matter what I turn off. I took my iPhone back to the Apple store and discovered that they are aware that some of the batteries don't work right and the problem is more serious than a UI bug that can be fixed with a software upgrade. I like my iPhone so I'll use my warranty to get the battery replaced, but I am not pleased that Apple has another battery issue that they are not publicly acknowledging.

 

[aristobrat]

the problem is more serious than a UI bug that can be fixed with a software upgrade.

Huh? Software updates can do much more than just UI changes. Have you seen any of the software updates Apple has sent out to their laptops that change the firmware of the batteries, addressing battery performance issues?

http://search.info.apple.com/?search=Go&lr=lang_en&kword=&type=&newstype=&q=battery update

 

[techkidd4400]

not my point

Huh? Software updates can do much more than just UI changes. Have you seen any of the software updates Apple has sent out to their laptops that change the firmware of the batteries, addressing battery performance issues?

http://search.info.apple.com/?search=Go&lr=lang_en&kword=&type=&newstype=&q=battery update

You missed my point. I am assuming that most iPhone users already know that Apple has admitted that the battery "bug" many are complaining about is due to a software glitch in the UI. My point is : well, there may be bugs in the user interface, but the battery suffers from more than a software glitch. I know this to be so, but I do not know how extensive the problem is. Who knows how many users have defective batteries? My guess is the number is significant. Even aside from the batteries with defects, the battery just does not produce the charge claimed by Apple. I do not know of any who disagrees. I wish it did.

 

[aristobrat]

My point is : well, there may be bugs in the user interface, but the battery suffers from more than a software glitch.

And my point is that sometimes some "non-software" characteristics of a battery (i.e. how long it lasts, how long it takes to recharge, etc) can be changed via a firmware update to the battery itself.

Do I know if Apple is planning any battery firmware updates for the iPhone? No.

Have I been on the forums here long enough to have seen some people post about getting longer battery life after Apple's released a battery update for their notebook? Yes.

Personally, I would never run my iPhone as Apple did during the tests where they determined the battery life.

# Talk Time: Testing conducted by Apple in May and June 2007 using preproduction iPhone units and software. All talk time testing was done connected to a 1900MHz network. All settings were default except: Call Forwarding was turned on; the Wi-Fi feature Ask to Join Networks was turned off. Battery life depends on the cellular network, location, signal strength, feature configuration, usage, and many other factors. Battery tests are conducted using specific iPhone units; actual results may vary.

# Standby Time: Testing conducted by Apple in May and June 2007 using preproduction iPhone units and software. All settings were default except: Call Forwarding was turned on; the Wi-Fi feature Ask to Join Networks was turned off. Battery life depends on the cellular network, location, signal strength, feature configuration, usage, and many other factors. Battery tests are conducted using specific iPhone units; actual results may vary.

# Internet over Wi-Fi: Testing conducted by Apple in May and June 2007 using preproduction iPhone units and software. Internet over Wi-Fi testing conducted using a closed network and dedicated web and mail server, simulating browsing to 20 popular URLs and checking mail once an hour. All settings were default except: Call Forwarding was turned on; the Wi-Fi feature Ask to Join Networks and Auto-Brightness were turned off; WPA2 encryption was enabled. Battery life depends on the cellular network, location, signal strength, Wi-Fi connectivity, feature configuration, usage, and many other factors. Battery tests are conducted using specific iPhone units; actual results may vary. Internet over EDGE: Testing conducted by Apple in May and June 2007 using preproduction iPhone units and software. Internet over EDGE testing conducted over a 1900MHz EDGE, using a dedicated web and mail server, simulating browsing to 20 popular URLs and checking mail once an hour. All settings were default except: Call Forwarding was turned on; the Wi-Fi feature Ask to Join Networks and Auto-Brightness were turned off. Battery life depends on the cellular network, location, signal strength, EDGE connectivity, feature configuration, usage, and many other factors. Battery tests are conducted using specific iPhone units; actual results may vary.

# Video Playback: Testing conducted by Apple in May and June 2007 using preproduction iPhone units and software. Video content was a repeated 2 hour 23 minute movie purchased from the iTunes Store. All settings were default except: Call Forwarding was turned on; the Wi-Fi feature Ask to Join Networks and Auto-Brightness were turned off. Battery life depends on the cellular network, location, signal strength, feature configuration, usage, and many other factors. Battery tests are conducted using specific iPhone units; actual results may vary.

# Audio Playback: Testing conducted by Apple in May and June 2007 using preproduction iPhone units and software. The playlist consisted of 358 unique audio tracks, a combination of content imported from CDs using iTunes (128-Kbps AAC encoding) and content purchased from the iTunes Store (128-Kbps AAC encoding). All settings were default except: Call Forwarding was turned on; the Wi-Fi feature Ask to Join Networks was turned off. Battery life depends on the cellular network, location, signal strength, feature configuration, usage, and many other factors. Battery tests are conducted using specific iPhone units; actual results may vary.

 

[madfuku]

I am new to the forum but I just had to chime in.

First, I am FROM Japan and am in Japan right now. Sitting in front of me is a bunch of magical Japan 3G phones. None being more than 8 months old. Anyway, next to them is my wonderfully elegant iPhone that I imported from the states.

This 3G discussion is such non-sense. I am in the epicenter of 3G technology (i-mode) and it is over-hyped improperly deployed technology with no practical use. I hope you guys in the US don't get suckered like europe and australia did.

Yeah, it is faster than EDGE but you pay a hefty premium to use it. In Japan it can cost hundreds of US dollars per month to do what you do with flat data fees under EDGE. Flat fee, that is so cool. We call them packets. 3G phones are really big, even the small ones. I took pictures of the SMALLEST 3G phones in Japan right now. I also took a screen shot from one of the BEST phone displays in Japan SHARP 910SH of our crappy high tech 3G web browser.

Most Japanese do not use 3G the way you folks are thinking we use it. Since it cost so much we usually only use our phones for sending text messages to each other. In fact, i rarely even talk on my phone and never use things like video talking because no one would bother accepting my call because the rates are so high. And the video looks horrible too, kinda like really low res youtube stream.

Beyond that, our handsets have terrible battery life. I can not go a day without charging my high tech 3G brick. Now, don't get me wrong I love my SHARP 910SH with its awesome 5MP camera and video. But if I actually use the thing I get maybe 4 to 5 hours of life with text, telephone and device use. Its also pretty big. I took picture for you guys comparing the latest JAPANESE 3G phone to iPhone.

The thin phones are also 3G but have no features and boast 2MP camera like iPhone. The iPhone is better all around and I can't wait for the official one to come out in Japan. I pray it won't be 3G (but it must because we are just so smart here to make sure foreign products are not compatible with out networks) because it would have a battery life just as bad as every other Japanese phone here.

BTW, I have used EDGE too when I was in the US on Cingular network in NY. It was sloooow but I hear it has improved. WIFI is the way to go, screw AT&T and DoCoMo(Japan). All you need is a SKYPE client on the iPhone!

Apple did good with the iPhone, in fact it did great and I can't wait for this thing to hit Japan. Soooo many news outlets here call iPhone total garbage, just like the iPod. Except the iPod is the most successful mp3 player in Japan and iTunes Japan is the number one online music store.

I guess they think if they trash Apple enough it will make up for there inability to innovate.

Anyway, I think there is a new consumer electronics shift away from Japan and to the US. I see products like Apple computers, ipods, iPhones, AppleTVs, slingbox, XBOX 360, etc... All american innovations a new front in consumer electronics that is just starting to make the world stand up and take notice.

 

[needthephone]

I would concur about the limited ea 3 g use. In Australia 3g is widespread but hardly anybody uses it to its full potential. I have a nokia 6280 on three and when I accidentally hit the planet three(the internet type thing) button I am struck by blind panic as I desperately try to turn it off-its ahhh How much is this costing me. I have to charge every night too.

And finaly the Nokia 6280 is the worst phone Iv'e ever owned. It so buggy and horrible to use that I would never consider a nokia phone again.

I would take a 2.5g iphone tommorrow-wifi is everwhere here.

 

[emotion]

It's clear the issue is not really with 3G (though coverage is more patchy than is ideal, even in major cities like Manchester, UK). The real issue is the provision of flat rate data plans.

We are at a point where the networks are all going to switch to flat rate plans. This is similar to the situation where everyone was on dial up paying per minute of use just before broadband came along with flat rates.

 

[madfuku]

It's clear the issue is not really with 3G (though coverage is more patchy than is ideal, even in major cities like Manchester, UK). The real issue is the provision of flat rate data plans.

From your mouth to gods ears. And more power efficient 3G chips while he's at it. I think the iPhone will force that hand in Japan. We are packet fee happy here. But flat rates won't change the terrible execution of handset software and 3G features .

 

[eflaten]

3G is important!

"I honestly dont see the point in 3G when you have WiFi unless you really need to surf the web or do other things on the go all the time. I also think Steve Jobs is right about 3G not being mature enough yet."

At least in Norway many people using the 3G network when sending MMS and videocalls. 3G is stable and has been so in about 2 years.

Vodaphone turned Apple down because of the lack of 3G. Apple was first with USB, Firewire, wifi. Why be last in on 3G. Makes sence in US where the carriers dont have 3G, but not in europe where poeple use this evryday.

 

[askripko]

iPhone's main competitors

It is natural, to become the high-grade competitor of iPhone, the potential opponent should have touch display and of course 3G, at least. Taking into account the given requirement ten main competitors of Apple iPhone have been selected.

1. Samsung F700 Ultra Multimedia
2. LG Prada (KE850)
3. Meizu miniOne
4. Neonode N2
5. Microsoft Zune Phone
8. Nokia Aeon
9. BenQ-Siemens Black Box


Read the rest here:
iPhone's main competitors

 

[Krevnik]

AT&T's 3g morphs to EDGE when 3g isn't available.

People make it sound like if there's no 3g in their area - there's no service.
This is wrong.

One of the reason's UTMS chips in AT&T phones are so huge (like in the blackjack), is because it has EDGE and GRPS circuitry, in addition to the UTMS circuitry. The chips wind up being large until you can either ditch EDGE, or die shrink the chips and integrate them onto a single chip.

 

[Yankees 4 Life]

One of the reason's UTMS chips in AT&T phones are so huge (like in the blackjack), is because it has EDGE and GRPS circuitry, in addition to the UTMS circuitry. The chips wind up being large until you can either ditch EDGE, or die shrink the chips and integrate them onto a single chip.

this is exactly how they were able to make the iphone thinner than the blackjack

 

[janey]

this is exactly how they were able to make the iphone thinner than the blackjack

After half a week of only having my iPhone for internet access, I will willingly pay extra for a 3g iPhone that's double the size that has 5 hour battery life.

..The fact that you appear to have one and are using it to make the opposite point baffles me...

I don't have one, but I've gotten the chance to use one very often. I am aware of battery life issues regarding the blackjack, but it's not like I get 24h usage from my non-3g iPhone either (and although that might drive in the point that 3g on iPhone would have huge implications on the already pathetic battery life...).

...That may be the reason why 3g wasn't part of the desgin...

I'm sorry, even though Apple might be new to the whole industry does not mean that others take only half the time to design and start manufacturing a new phone just cause they have the expertise and experience. Apple didn't hire complete newbies fresh out of universities. Apple itself may not have had the experience, but the people Apple hired certainly did.

Plus wifi is being deployed at a faster rate than 3G is being rolled out....Plus they are working with Metro areas to deploy city wide wifi. So it will just be a matter of time til wifi over takes 3G anyways. Just my two cents!

Are you saying widespread 802.16 deployment is that imminent?

Or that it's cheap and easy to deploy wifi mesh networks?

Google's own 802.11b/g mesh network still doesn't cover all of Mountain View and has extremely slow speeds rivalling EDGE sometimes, ran into some snags, and was not very cheap. In addition, if you want to use it indoors, you're mostly out of luck. Mountain View is geographically and population-wise not very large.

Not only is Wifi the future, but it is a solution with freedom.
Would you rather have ATT control your data access or have the ability to use the internet for free? Anyone can set up a great WiFi, but only the big corporations can set up 3G..Let's see; less money, more freedom, better battery life and better performance....hmmmm tough choice.

Nothing is free. Nor is a mesh network cheap. Or free. Or necessarily secure. Or free. (repeat 100x)

Personally, I'd worry about security concerns with public and open wireless networks, given some of the IDIOTIC decisions made by the iPhone team at apple in regards to that little (or, maybe not so little) aspect.

But many of us find it a great inconvenience to drive to a Panera Bread, etc. to get Wifi. I'd still like to know where everyone's getting this constant free fast Wifi cuz I sure can't get it on the road in a car, outside at a picnic, etc. etc.

I can't not agree with you. I almost never find open/secure+auth networks unless I'm at a coffee shop or restaurant. And most of the time I use edge is not when I'm at a restaurant or coffee shop.

Honestly. To all those iPhone users out there who have miraculously free wifi wherever they go (that don't live in a place like mountain view)...where do you live and what do you do to get free wifi? I've had a laptop since forever, I've had mobile devices with wifi, I now have my iPhone...I have never encountered such a plethora of open usable networks such as the ones you people here are describing. Never. Never over years of having wifi on my laptops.

If you're trying to browse while driving, you might want to re-think your driving habits....

I've gotten passengers to look up directions on gmaps for me on my iPhone while I was driving whenever my gps nav system hated me. Works pretty well. And I've taken pics and emailed them in the car (while I wasn't driving), like this.

Good... now they should run a test and see if the extra amount of battery life makes up for the extra amount of time needed to load larger websites in crappy areas with edge

</sarcasm>

Maybe you meant to be sarcastic, but even though 3g and 3g coverage is ******, it's still noticeably faster (imo).

I've relegated myself to browsing mobile versions of sites when I have the opportunity...regular pages take way too long to load, if at all. Waste of a nice mobile browser that works nicely with wifi, but since that's almost never except at home (when I'd use a computer instead)...

Hmm.. the first time I read maokh's post I assumed it was in refference to TCP windows ... are we talking about that or screen resolution/size issues?

My bad, I must have been half asleep when I read that

 

[Bush438]

What about the iPhone 3G in Europe?

Lets not forget that Apple is slated to launch the iPhone in Europe by the 4th quarter of 2007. From every carrier that has spoken about the possibility of carrying the iPhone in Europe, 3G has almost been spoken about as a forgone conclusion.

Question being, if they do release 3G iPhone over there, who's to say they won't simlultaneously release a 3G one here?

 

[Ghostrider555]

3G Ready NOW ?

I had some one working for Apple tell me today that the I Phone is already for 3G, just needs to be activated via update. His rational was that there have been other products introduced with "lower" speeds and then "all of a sudden" yes they work with the higher speeds.

He pointed out the airport wireless and newer lap tops.

Hmm. Could be?

Sure wish I knew, want one so bad.

 

[Luigi239]

I had some one working for Apple tell me today that the I Phone is already for 3G, just needs to be activated via update. His rational was that there have been other products introduced with "lower" speeds and then "all of a sudden" yes they work with the higher speeds.

He pointed out the airport wireless and newer lap tops.

Hmm. Could be?

Sure wish I knew, want one so bad.

No, that can't happen. People have cracked open the iPhone and there was no 3g radio to be found, only an edge one. The only way the iPhone will get 3g is via a hardware upgrade.

 

[fabianjj]

Not read all comments but:

There's no mention of signal strangth on any of the networks tested.If the phone is "reaching" for a signal the battery life is likely to be less.

Also when a lot of Europeans say 3G they actually mean support for HSDPA (and would also like HSUPA support).

I don't know about you guy's, but I assume you are mostly americans. I'm from Sweden and we are used to better performing cell phones. I mean we have almost COMPLETE nationwide WCDMA coverage (like 375 kbit/s) and COMPLETE EDGE (although only about 70 kbit/s) coverage, and pretty fast expanding wifi and HSDPA (3,6-14 Mbit/s)

So if Apple is planning on releasing the iPhone here, they better up the specs for that kind of price.

and comparing it to other phones in that price range, that's just pointless.
take Nokia N95 (HSDPA,WCDMA, wifi?, 5mp camera, gps) for example, or how about the swedish Sony Ericsson K810.
the only phone on the market that i've seen trying to compete with theese specs and prices would be the LG Prada, but that's it.

 

[aristobrat]

So if Apple is planning on releasing the iPhone here, they better up the specs for that kind of price.

All guesses are that the won't (hardware-wise, anyway), so it should be interesting to watch.