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Iphone 3G speed confirmed slower then other 3G devices

K

KanosWRX

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 14, 2008
438
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So today I thought I would do a test in the Washington D.C. area to compare two 3G phones. The new 3G Iphone and a HTC 8525. I went to www.dslreports.com/mspeed a well known testing site for things like this. I did the 1mb test and here is what I found.

3G Iphone - 255 kbps
8525 - 455 kbps
Edge Iphone - 60 kbps


As you can see for some reason the 3G Iphone has some serious connection issues to the 3G network, either the antenna in the Iphone isn't good enough to get the right reception even though the number of bars is the same basiclly on both phones, or the 3G iphone is detuned some how to not be as fast? I think this is a very serious problem, maybe AT&T didn't want their network flooded with new users using all their bandwidth, hence the reason you are limited to downloading only apps 10 megs and smaller while on 3G. I hope more people start doing tests like this and we get some kind of official response from AT&T and Apple as to why the 3G Iphone isn't so "3G"

If anyone else has access to other 3G phones please post your comparison results if possible.
 
How many times did you run the test? Maybe you were in an area with spotty connection speed - in fact, with results that low for 3G, that's probably the case.
 
doing the test one time is often not enough. i have seen these tests fluctuate every time 50%. run it ten times per phone and average the results. there are other factors though unfortunately.
 
I ran it twice today, all tests were done within 2 minutes. I also ran the tests yesterday, same results roughly. A very large discrepancy. I have also tested it at different times on the two different phones at least 5 times. The Iphone never manages to get over ~250 kbps yet my 8525 is always around 455 kbps.

I also wonder if its something limited to the USA and AT&T or the world. Thats why I would like to see others post their results and their location. My theory is its a corporate thing, where AT&T decided to limit the bandwidth.
 
It can't be the cap, the cap was set at 1.4 mbps. That's the weird thing, that your test resulted in such slow speeds for both devices. In fact, I just did the test on my non-iPhone 3G device, got 1276 kbps - that's more of what I would be expecting.
 
Mine in Austin has been fast. I have been surprised and skeptical at the numbers testmyiphone (yes I tested when it was in 3G and not Wifi) has given me so I won't quote them. Honestly there is barely a drop off from Wifi even though I have an extremely fast internet connection at home.
 
Yesterday around 3pm, (also in Washington DC) I was getting speeds of 236kbps, but this morning around 6am, my speeds were around 1.2Mbps. Just tested again, and it's averaging around 739kbps. So I will be safe to assume that during peak hours it's going to be slow(er).
 
How does this confirm anything? Fairly bad title..

FWIW I get very close to 1Mbp/s here in the UK
 
i get 1.2 mbps on 3g so ....

It varies from location to location. I wouldn't say this is accurate at all.

The other question is: How long does it take to fully load up a website. (can the HTC even do that?)
 
Data throughput is not the only key point. Because the iphone runs safari and renders well it can load pages faster than many other phones. I saw a review that timed pages to load of popular sites and phone beat the other 3g phone by 50%
 
also, another thing to look into is

that you probably don't want the fastest 3g modem. Sounds strange, but if its too fast, you might be draining the battery more.

I bet you think is a data speed to time to power graph. I have a feeling this new circuit board (even though uses a smaller battery) is more optimized for low power.
 
I think your conclusion might be just a tad overstated don't you think? One guy testing his speed twice on any given day doesn't mean jack.
 
Just because you did 2 tests in one location, and you tried 1 other 3G phone doesn't mean this is "confirmed" like you say.


Seriously. If you really care, test the phone with different sites, multiple times, in multiple times, in different locations. Pretty sure you will see the iPhone on par or better.


Edit: Never mind, this guy is a troll.
 
let's be clear about one thing: it's really unfair to say AT&T are being skank limiting you to 10mb files or smaller. even a 10mb file would take a LONG time to download on a 3G network. the rated speed is theoretical and i have yet to see anything load up on a 3G handset any quicker than dial-up type speeds (ie. 56kbps or less). that's using in cities such as london and birmingham.

can anyone confirm, without lying, that they get browsing and downloads from 3G that are even worth considering using? i only ever use WiFi for getting big files and browsing the net (admittedly mine's only iphone EDGE, not 3G though).

i see the data connection on the phone useful purely for push emails (without downloading any of the attachments) and IM technology. massive downloads would be a total waste of time...
 
This phone definitely seems slower than my WM phone on Verizon's EVDO did. Very disappointed in that.
I don't know how ppl lived with EDGE. When I'm inside my phone reverts to that and holy cow is that slow. You can almost hear the modem noise.
 
I have been experiencing the same issues in Washington D.C...

My LG Dare (according to TestMyiPhone) was getting around 1.59 mbps(1588kbps) on Verizon's Rev.A...

While my iPhone 3G gets around 0.2-0.3 mbps..

Could just be the DC area..but something is not right.
 
i'm in DC too and 3G is spotty, houston where i normally live is usually bestter(though i have not tried it with my new iphone!)
 
lol no way this is true atleast here in the suburbs of Detroit. This phone's 3G networking is def. faster then my 2 previous Nokia 3G phones..
 
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