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My comparison of iPhone 4 on AT&T and Verizon
- Thread starter Travisimo
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After an extensive series of testing sessions with these two GSM & CDMA iPhones, while traveling and in my home area I find them so nearly equal it's tie.
Here's an article that sums it up as well as I could. It reflects my exact experience.
Source http://is.gd/BbfWA1
Here's an article that sums it up as well as I could. It reflects my exact experience.
Source http://is.gd/BbfWA1
A very decent review, and much appreciated.
The deciding factor for me if I was making a decision( I have the ATT iPhone 4), is international coverage. I travel a lot for my work, and also for vacation. At&T world coverage is a big issue for me...and the cost is not, since the business pays for all calls.
Thanks again!
I did a personal extensive testing and in reality both networks are equal both having strengths and weaknesses. This applies to the area I tested, Tri State area(PA, NJ, DE). Obviously it depends on the area/region.
However look at sections in NYC.
Thanks for your over-simplification - I'm sure it will be very helpful to those currently in the process of deciding between these two phones. Specifically,
1) I sure hope they both do the job as phones;
2) Everything gets updated, but if they don't get updated simultaneously, it will be a point of contention for many;
3) Nobody really needs a lot of things (including this forum), but we still like to have them, right?
Should I just flip a coin to decide which one to keep, or should I try to make an informed decision based on personal experience and advice from those who are willing to help?
UPDATE:
I was leaning towards the AT&T phone for the first few days of testing. The faster network, simultaneous data/voice, new mobile 2 mobile package, and rollover minutes nearly had me convinced to go with AT&T. However, I refrained from making a premature decision in order to test both phones in a variety of conditions and locations around my area.
To this end, I am strongly leaning towards the Verizon iPhone now for the following reasons:
1) In one particular important location (my workplace), I do a fair deal of audio streaming. My job affords me the luxury of listening to music while working, but I'm oftentimes deep inside the building. After testing both phones in this location for the last few days, I have found the Verizon iPhone to be considerably more reliable.
With the phone in my pocket while listening via Bluetooth, the AT&T iPhone will sometimes switch to Edge and cause sudden stops/starts with the music streaming (Mog, Pandora, etc). It doesn't happen constantly, but enough to cause inconvenience. The Verizon iPhone does not do this at all, though I do only get 1 or 2 bars and slower data speeds in this location on both phones.
2) I've been taking both phones with me out and about as I go out to eat, shopping, etc. While both phones do pretty good overall, there have been several areas where AT&T simply doesn't get a good signal. Verizon has been very reliable everywhere I go, including inside stores and restaurants. AT&T seems to be a network marked by extremes - when it's good, it's VERY good, but when it's bad, it's VERY disruptive. There's nothing worse than having your phone stall on you in locations where it gets poor signal. And that just hasn't happened on the Verizon iPhone, despite huge fluctuations in overall data speeds on both phones.
AT&T is always faster (sometimes MUCH faster) in areas where both phones get good signal. In these areas, AT&T will often average 2-3 mbps down and 1-1.5 mbps up, whereas the Verizon iPhone will vary anywhere from a rare 1-1.5 mbps down to a more common 300-700 kbps down, with uploads anywhere from 100-700 kbps. It really bothers me when I see speeds in the 200-300 kbps range because this is several TIMES slower than AT&T. But when I do web browsing, audio streaming, and use apps on the network, there seems to be very little noticeable difference. In fact, even when Verizon is in the slower range, it often starts displaying webpages faster than AT&T even when it's getting 2-3 mbps.
However, streaming VIDEO is pretty much a no-go when the Verizon is in this lower speed range (which is often). So I had to ask myself what I'll be doing most with my phone. To be honest, while I'd love to have the faster speeds on the go, I very rarely watch Youtube or stream video when I'm not on WIFI. And with the 2GB/4GB data caps on AT&T, I'm pretty sure I'd be eating through that bandwidth fairly quickly even if I was going to stream video.
So with the Verizon iPhone, I'll be getting consistently reliable service (for voice and data) - if not the fastest downloads. For heavy bandwidth applications, I'd much prefer to be on WIFI anyway whichever phone I'd be using.
I'm still going to wait it out a few more days, but I'm definitely leaning towards Verizon. I hope my experiences can help those who are also making this decision, though I realize it will depend greatly on location. But I would urge those who are testing to do much more than just running speed tests side by side because this actually tells very little of the overall story!
I was leaning towards the AT&T phone for the first few days of testing. The faster network, simultaneous data/voice, new mobile 2 mobile package, and rollover minutes nearly had me convinced to go with AT&T. However, I refrained from making a premature decision in order to test both phones in a variety of conditions and locations around my area.
To this end, I am strongly leaning towards the Verizon iPhone now for the following reasons:
1) In one particular important location (my workplace), I do a fair deal of audio streaming. My job affords me the luxury of listening to music while working, but I'm oftentimes deep inside the building. After testing both phones in this location for the last few days, I have found the Verizon iPhone to be considerably more reliable.
With the phone in my pocket while listening via Bluetooth, the AT&T iPhone will sometimes switch to Edge and cause sudden stops/starts with the music streaming (Mog, Pandora, etc). It doesn't happen constantly, but enough to cause inconvenience. The Verizon iPhone does not do this at all, though I do only get 1 or 2 bars and slower data speeds in this location on both phones.
2) I've been taking both phones with me out and about as I go out to eat, shopping, etc. While both phones do pretty good overall, there have been several areas where AT&T simply doesn't get a good signal. Verizon has been very reliable everywhere I go, including inside stores and restaurants. AT&T seems to be a network marked by extremes - when it's good, it's VERY good, but when it's bad, it's VERY disruptive. There's nothing worse than having your phone stall on you in locations where it gets poor signal. And that just hasn't happened on the Verizon iPhone, despite huge fluctuations in overall data speeds on both phones.
AT&T is always faster (sometimes MUCH faster) in areas where both phones get good signal. In these areas, AT&T will often average 2-3 mbps down and 1-1.5 mbps up, whereas the Verizon iPhone will vary anywhere from a rare 1-1.5 mbps down to a more common 300-700 kbps down, with uploads anywhere from 100-700 kbps. It really bothers me when I see speeds in the 200-300 kbps range because this is several TIMES slower than AT&T. But when I do web browsing, audio streaming, and use apps on the network, there seems to be very little noticeable difference. In fact, even when Verizon is in the slower range, it often starts displaying webpages faster than AT&T even when it's getting 2-3 mbps.
However, streaming VIDEO is pretty much a no-go when the Verizon is in this lower speed range (which is often). So I had to ask myself what I'll be doing most with my phone. To be honest, while I'd love to have the faster speeds on the go, I very rarely watch Youtube or stream video when I'm not on WIFI. And with the 2GB/4GB data caps on AT&T, I'm pretty sure I'd be eating through that bandwidth fairly quickly even if I was going to stream video.
So with the Verizon iPhone, I'll be getting consistently reliable service (for voice and data) - if not the fastest downloads. For heavy bandwidth applications, I'd much prefer to be on WIFI anyway whichever phone I'd be using.
I'm still going to wait it out a few more days, but I'm definitely leaning towards Verizon. I hope my experiences can help those who are also making this decision, though I realize it will depend greatly on location. But I would urge those who are testing to do much more than just running speed tests side by side because this actually tells very little of the overall story!
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I sort of had the same experience as you. Read my most previous post.
It's most likely 'the nature of the network' in regards to AT&T. I said in my previous post we get hung on on speed however we first have to look at reliability in being able to access 3G internet. I have to say at least in my area I tested which is a wide range, VZW is more reliable but not significantly reliable. Yes with AT&T I experienced the same issues with streaming but it wasn't significant for me. I'm only speaking from my personal perspective.
Both carriers have their strengths and weakness. I believe it's the nature of networks being different.
In regards to uploads I find both equal. With downloads it's tough because of AT&T's inconsistency. At times it literally smokes VZW and at times VZW is faster. If I would draw a graph VZW would be pretty close to a straight line where AT&T would be all over the place. But if you averaged it out AT&T would win in downloading.
I'm glad I did this test. The result is no carrier is better than the other each has their strengths and weaknesses.
The streaming audio issue we both notice because we both testing 2 networks. Someone like me who is with AT&T and streams video would notice the difference. But a VZW already existing customer wouldn't most likely notice or consider it an issue.
Thanks for your comments and continued discussion. You must still be on an unlimited data plan with AT&T? I just checked my data usage on the AT&T phone and I'm already at 770mb after 8 days... that's not good as I will be WELL over the 2GB before the ene of my month and I have only done a very small amount of video streaming (like under a minute).
Strangely, I've only used about 400mb of data on the Verizon phone and I've spent about equal time with them both doing pretty much the same things. I guess it just goes to show that when you have a faster network, you also chew up data a lot faster.
I truly don't know how AT&T can justify a 2GB cap with their upcoming HSPA+ phones. What good is a faster network if you can barely use it? You guys with unlimited data better enjoy it while it lasts. I think a 5GB cap at $30/mo sounds a lot more reasonable, so hopefully they eventually bump it up.
On the other hand, I wonder at what point of data usage on Verizon they will start throttling data? (sigh)
You can't get wifi at work? Most of the time when I'm streaming audio or video I'm usually in wifi, just happens that way. I always go to wifi 1st, better connection anyway.
I used to always be on 3G and never wifi. One day a co worker said to me 'why aren't you on wifi? It's all over the place here at work and it's a better connection.' He is correct. I go to a restaurant I check wifi. I go to Dunkin Donuts and they have wifi. I learned to like wifi better.
I'm sitting here typing this post on wifi.
I bet I can bump down from unltd and save money. A co worker bumped 4 iPhones from unltd to $15 data plans cause all iPhones are on wifi the majority of the time.
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Well if you're on WIFI most of the time, then the streaming video argument is a moot point because that would be identical on both phones. But no, I don't work in an office environment and there is no WIFI available, so I have to rely on my 3G connection there. At restaurants, home, and wherever else possible, I definitely jump on WIFI. Of course, public WIFI is not always the answer either because sometimes their speeds are worse than 3G, and there's also potential security concerns.
The one thing that does bother me about the Verizon iPhone is the inability to send voice calls to voicemail when you are using the Hotspot. That really needs to be an option for the Hotspot on Verizon since it stops your Internet connection even when the phone is ringing. I use my phone more for data than voice so I usually don't have people ringing in while using the Hotspot, but it's still a nuisance.
My experiences exactly... especially at work where there is NO consistent AT&T signal at all. Turn your head the wrong way and the call will drop. Meanwhile, there is 4-5 bars of Verizon everywhere inside at work, plus wifi for data, so for me there's basically no downside to the Verizon iPhone and little upside in keeping my AT&T one.
This certainly has something to do with it, especially if there are areas of AT&T's 3G network that aren't on 850Mhz. As far as I know bigger sections of Verizon's network are on the 850Mhz band which gets better building penetration. They both have slices of the 700Mhz band which they will be using for LTE deployment. I'm guessing you should see roughly similar building penetration with their LTE phones going forward as they roll it out.
Much the same for me. I switched for exactly this reason. Outside, AT&T is fine, but inside buildings (gym, restaurants) AT&T goes to No Service. I use my phone as my answering service pager, so this is unacceptable. My local hospitals also all have Verizon towers on site, so it is just better for me overall. I am willing to sacrifice a bit of "top end" speed for more reliability. None of the streaming services were ever reliable enough on AT&T anyway, so I usually limited them to Wifi previously...
Could not be happier with the VZW switch so far. Looking forward to going to one of my favorite restaurants tonight. Previously I had to walk outside every once in a while to make sure I hadn't missed a text message page, hopefully will be a non-issue now...
:FINAL UPDATE:
Well, it's decided... I'm definitely going with the Verizon iPhone 4! With nearly a week and a half of vigorous testing with both phones, I was ultimately swayed from an early leaning towards the AT&T to a late comeback and TKO by Verizon.
At first, it was those speed test comparisons that gave the AT&T the early lead. But in real world testing, I often found the Verizon to be snappier when doing low-bandwidth applications like web browsing, audio streaming, and apps that use small bits of data. My experience echoes fairly closely with TIPB's experience in their recent comparison:
http://www.tipb.com/2011/02/14/verizon-att-data-speeds/
With great consistency, the Verizon iPhone would start showing web pages before the AT&T. If the web site was mobile or somewhat lightweight, the Verizon would also finish first. With full heavy websites, the Verizon would often show the web page first, but AT&T would often finish loading first.
With audio streaming, the Verizon would almost always begin playing the music first and never had a hiccup. The AT&T was perfectly fine until I took it to my workplace without WIFI to listen to Mog and Pandora. The AT&T would sometimes go to Edge and cut off my music. The Verizon was rock solid even deep inside the building. Again, speed tests were always lower on the Verizon, but real world tests showed a different story.
Then I had a bit of a struggle because the AT&T had a huge advantage when it came to video streaming. When watching Youtube videos, AT&T would start playing first and would stay way ahead of the buffering. The Verizon would often sit there with a circle hourglass waiting to play until it had enough buffer. And even then, it would often stop to buffer somewhere in the middle. This really bothered me at first, but then I realized that watching Youtube videos will eat up a ton of bandwidth anyway, and I'd have a cap on AT&T. At the end of the day, I'd likely be on WIFI if I really want to watch Youtube or stream video. It's definitely a limitation that I considered, but the rest of the Verizon advantages outweighed this one.
When it came to call quality and signal strength, the Verizon iPhone never dropped a call or lost signal. On AT&T, I found a few spots during my excursions around town where it would drop to Edge or even drop signal if I was holding the phone naked (naked phone, not naked ME, lol). No, I'm not going to make a big deal about the antenna issue, but I was able to drop bars on both phones by holding it in my left hand in that special spot... (though it dropped more on AT&T).
In summary, it was the reliable 3G connection on the Verizon that finally convinced me. I'm sure I would have been fine with either phone, and I bought both of them off-contract so I can always switch at some point if I want to.
Thanks to everyone for their comments and participation!
Well, it's decided... I'm definitely going with the Verizon iPhone 4! With nearly a week and a half of vigorous testing with both phones, I was ultimately swayed from an early leaning towards the AT&T to a late comeback and TKO by Verizon.
At first, it was those speed test comparisons that gave the AT&T the early lead. But in real world testing, I often found the Verizon to be snappier when doing low-bandwidth applications like web browsing, audio streaming, and apps that use small bits of data. My experience echoes fairly closely with TIPB's experience in their recent comparison:
http://www.tipb.com/2011/02/14/verizon-att-data-speeds/
With great consistency, the Verizon iPhone would start showing web pages before the AT&T. If the web site was mobile or somewhat lightweight, the Verizon would also finish first. With full heavy websites, the Verizon would often show the web page first, but AT&T would often finish loading first.
With audio streaming, the Verizon would almost always begin playing the music first and never had a hiccup. The AT&T was perfectly fine until I took it to my workplace without WIFI to listen to Mog and Pandora. The AT&T would sometimes go to Edge and cut off my music. The Verizon was rock solid even deep inside the building. Again, speed tests were always lower on the Verizon, but real world tests showed a different story.
Then I had a bit of a struggle because the AT&T had a huge advantage when it came to video streaming. When watching Youtube videos, AT&T would start playing first and would stay way ahead of the buffering. The Verizon would often sit there with a circle hourglass waiting to play until it had enough buffer. And even then, it would often stop to buffer somewhere in the middle. This really bothered me at first, but then I realized that watching Youtube videos will eat up a ton of bandwidth anyway, and I'd have a cap on AT&T. At the end of the day, I'd likely be on WIFI if I really want to watch Youtube or stream video. It's definitely a limitation that I considered, but the rest of the Verizon advantages outweighed this one.
When it came to call quality and signal strength, the Verizon iPhone never dropped a call or lost signal. On AT&T, I found a few spots during my excursions around town where it would drop to Edge or even drop signal if I was holding the phone naked (naked phone, not naked ME, lol). No, I'm not going to make a big deal about the antenna issue, but I was able to drop bars on both phones by holding it in my left hand in that special spot... (though it dropped more on AT&T).
In summary, it was the reliable 3G connection on the Verizon that finally convinced me. I'm sure I would have been fine with either phone, and I bought both of them off-contract so I can always switch at some point if I want to.
Thanks to everyone for their comments and participation!
:FINAL UPDATE:
Well, it's decided... I'm definitely going with the Verizon iPhone 4! With nearly a week and a half of vigorous testing with both phones, I was ultimately swayed from an early leaning towards the AT&T to a late comeback and TKO by Verizon.
At first, it was those speed test comparisons that gave the AT&T the early lead. But in real world testing, I often found the Verizon to be snappier when doing low-bandwidth applications like web browsing, audio streaming, and apps that use small bits of data. My experience echoes fairly closely with TIPB's experience in their recent comparison:
http://www.tipb.com/2011/02/14/verizon-att-data-speeds/
With great consistency, the Verizon iPhone would start showing web pages before the AT&T. If the web site was mobile or somewhat lightweight, the Verizon would also finish first. With full heavy websites, the Verizon would often show the web page first, but AT&T would often finish loading first.
With audio streaming, the Verizon would almost always begin playing the music first and never had a hiccup. The AT&T was perfectly fine until I took it to my workplace without WIFI to listen to Mog and Pandora. The AT&T would sometimes go to Edge and cut off my music. The Verizon was rock solid even deep inside the building. Again, speed tests were always lower on the Verizon, but real world tests showed a different story.
Then I had a bit of a struggle because the AT&T had a huge advantage when it came to video streaming. When watching Youtube videos, AT&T would start playing first and would stay way ahead of the buffering. The Verizon would often sit there with a circle hourglass waiting to play until it had enough buffer. And even then, it would often stop to buffer somewhere in the middle. This really bothered me at first, but then I realized that watching Youtube videos will eat up a ton of bandwidth anyway, and I'd have a cap on AT&T. At the end of the day, I'd likely be on WIFI if I really want to watch Youtube or stream video. It's definitely a limitation that I considered, but the rest of the Verizon advantages outweighed this one.
When it came to call quality and signal strength, the Verizon iPhone never dropped a call or lost signal. On AT&T, I found a few spots during my excursions around town where it would drop to Edge or even drop signal if I was holding the phone naked (naked phone, not naked ME, lol). No, I'm not going to make a big deal about the antenna issue, but I was able to drop bars on both phones by holding it in my left hand in that special spot... (though it dropped more on AT&T).
In summary, it was the reliable 3G connection on the Verizon that finally convinced me. I'm sure I would have been fine with either phone, and I bought both of them off-contract so I can always switch at some point if I want to.
Thanks to everyone for their comments and participation!
Great review!
I also did tests as you know but in a most likely in a much larger geographical area.
My wife wants an iPhone and wanted to see how VZW matched up and if they matched up well and better I would make the switch. I wanted to see how America's most reliable network is. If it is more reliable I would switch no doubt.
Real life applications is best compared to speed tests as you noted. In the majority cases of real life applications that I use everyday both carriers are equal. In the minority cases AT&T performs better but not in majority of cases.
I'm not in a situation like you where I work and not have access to wifi. But today I turned off wifi and kept 3G on in buildings on both devices and streamed audio and video. They both performed equal in audio. In video I had the same experience as you with AT&T having an slight edge. The VZW buffering longer didn't bother me as much as it did you. I didn't drop any calls on both and call quality is acceptable on both.
America's most reliable network compared to America's fastest network....
In real life applications in my region I can't say it's true for VZW for reliability and can't say it's true for AT&T, fastest. They are equal. Although AT&T is significantly faster in a VERY small % of my tests.
Since we're already with AT&T and a family member wants an iPhone although I was very willing to switch if I noticed a significant difference I'm sticking with AT&T.
Another reason I'm sticking with AT&T is because of their roll out of hspa+. I believe and hope that the iPhone 5 will 'support' hspa+. We most likely won't see a LTE iPhone until at least 2012. By then it's possible AT&T will have LTE in my region....
So I'm hoping for hspa+ iPhone 5 which if hspa+ will be like the Inspire then it will certaintly put AT&T version iPhone ahead of VZW until an LTE iPhone comes out and/or when VZW and AT&T rolls out LTE.
Until then I'll stick with AT&T for the hspa + then decide in another year or so.
The reason the video streaming bothered me more was because the Verizon iPhone would sometimes take up to a minute to start playing a video whereas the AT&T would start almost immediately. However, this was in areas where the Verizon was averaging 300-500kbps and AT&T was 2-3mbps. In areas where they were more equal (1.5mbps on Verizon), then the issue was not as prevalent. At the end of the day, however, I save almost all of my video streaming for WIFI anyway so this ultimately a minor issue.
Yes, I had considered that as well. However, a slower Verizon iPhone with Unlimited Data and consistent coverage seemed better than a faster AT&T iPhone with a 2GB cap and spotty coverage. In my comparison of both phones, I was already nearing 1GB of data on the AT&T after a week. I can't imagine how fast I would use up that data if the network was even faster with HSPA+.
If there are 2GB data caps on LTE, then I think I'd rather just stay on unlimited 3G. What good is it having faster speeds if you can't even use the network? With a 2GB cap, you are going to be VERY limited in how much video streaming (youtube, netflix, etc) you can do. And you can be sure that AT&T will not be letting those grandfathered unlimited data users stay on that plan when they switch over to LTE. They may be able to enjoy it for a while longer on HSPA+, but I'll be perfectly content on 3G for the next year until we see how LTE shakes out in 2012.
*** FOLLOWUP COMMENTS ***
I finally got around to returning the AT&T iphone a couple of days ago. I still have not had a single dropped call or coverage issue with the Verizon iPhone. In everything except video streaming, the phone is very snappy on 3G. I have listened to streaming audio consistently at work and have not had any audio dropouts or connectivity issues. My download speeds do vary a great deal depending on my location, but it always stays on 3G and plenty of bandwidth for web browsing and audio streaming.
I have fully integrated Google Voice into my iPhone by jailbreaking and installing the GV extensions that let you use the native dialer/sms clients (as well as bitesms). I have been able to cancel my text messaging plan altogether now (I do not use MMS so I won't miss that).
I have to say, it'll have to be a pretty signifiant upgrade this summer to get me to upgrade again. I bought the iPhone 4 at full retail thinking I could just use my upgrade for this summer's version. And I may still do that, but not if it's just a minor update.
I finally got around to returning the AT&T iphone a couple of days ago. I still have not had a single dropped call or coverage issue with the Verizon iPhone. In everything except video streaming, the phone is very snappy on 3G. I have listened to streaming audio consistently at work and have not had any audio dropouts or connectivity issues. My download speeds do vary a great deal depending on my location, but it always stays on 3G and plenty of bandwidth for web browsing and audio streaming.
I have fully integrated Google Voice into my iPhone by jailbreaking and installing the GV extensions that let you use the native dialer/sms clients (as well as bitesms). I have been able to cancel my text messaging plan altogether now (I do not use MMS so I won't miss that).
I have to say, it'll have to be a pretty signifiant upgrade this summer to get me to upgrade again. I bought the iPhone 4 at full retail thinking I could just use my upgrade for this summer's version. And I may still do that, but not if it's just a minor update.
Really great bunch of reviews. I bought out my Verizon contract last year to get on ATT for the iPhone. Verizon had much better signal quality and I was sorely disappointed that my iPhone gets between 1/4 of one bar and no service in my office where I sit for 9 hours a day. Very frustrated about this. Sure we have WiFi, but that doesn't help when you can't make or take a call. Damn poor.
I'll consider buying out my ATT contract and moving to Verizon now that they have the iPhone... (damn, somebody's getting rich off me, haha)
I'll consider buying out my ATT contract and moving to Verizon now that they have the iPhone... (damn, somebody's getting rich off me, haha)
I'd wager Apple's the one getting the richest, since they really don't care which carrier you are on and just want you to keep buying more phones! LOL. I do the same thing though... so don't feel bad!