iPhone 3G S data isn't really faster than the 3G's in Chicago

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 20th 2009 at 10:19AM

There's been talk the last couple days about the fact that there really isn't anywhere in the States to take advantage of the blazing 7.2Mbps downlink connection supported by the iPhone 3G S -- except for one great hope, one diamond in the rough that could become a shining destination for 3G S owners the world over. That destination would be Chicago, where AT&T fired up 7.2Mbps trials late last year, and the hope was that they might be letting lay folk (like us) in on the action in time for the 3G S release. Well, we've been running side-by-side tests today, and the short answer is that we're clearly not accessing 7.2 -- granted, the 3G S is getting marginally faster speeds both up and down, but we figure this can easily be attributed to the new model's faster processor because a doubling of the downlink pipe simply doesn't account for a 100kbps bump in speed (latency was all over the map on both phones, for the record). If you're holding out on upgrading from a 3G to a 3G S, go ahead and crack a smile -- because for now, anyway, this is one spec bump that means precisely zilch in the real world.

Filed under: ATT, HSDPA, UMTS, HSUPA, Apple

Tags: 3g s, 3gS, 7.2mbps, apple, att, chicago, iphone, iphone 3g, iphone 3g s, Iphone3g, Iphone3gS, network, speed

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

TedP @ Jun 20th 2009 10:32AM

Look at latency!!
That counts for something...

Highest Ranked

MTM @ Jun 20th 2009 12:58PM

"latency was all over the map on both phones, for the record"

Please read the article.

Highest Ranked

JKL @ Jun 20th 2009 10:37AM

What did people think. The problem has always lied within AT&T's network. Try using the iphone overseas, on a proper 3G network, and you will most definitely see an improvement.

Neutral

Jamar @ Jun 21st 2009 1:13AM

Or Hawaii, where the network was partly developed by NTT DoCoMo.

Neutral

HouseofG @ Jun 21st 2009 2:03PM

No kidding. Using my iPhone in Europe (even Croatia on the islands!) was a dream. Great signal strength AND lots of wifi everywhere.

Neutral

LDR @ Jun 20th 2009 11:00AM

Hmmm Im in Tampa... Just went to that site and tried the mobile test on my G1... 1MB file, 1735 kbit/sec and 1.121s latency

Is that good??

Neutral

HouseofG @ Jun 20th 2009 11:35AM

@LDR - I'm in Tampa as well. Using my 3GS to connect to the DC server on the DSLreports.com app, I got:

Latency 163 ms
Download 2211 Kbps
Uload 306 Kbps

Latency is all over the place for me as well.

Much like this Chicago test, it is only slightly better than my 3G.

What's bizarre, though, is that the 3G is KILLING my 3GS if I test them each on my wifi connection.
Anyone know why that would be??

Neutral

LDR @ Jun 20th 2009 11:58AM

Well, I dont have an Iphone...

I have a G1, on T-Mobile's 3G network...

I was just posting that to compare... Not sure how it compares but it looks good... cant complain...

Neutral

Francis @ Jun 20th 2009 12:41PM

The latency difference there (3G: 1067ms, 3GS: 140ms) is *huge*.

Because of how TCP network protocol is designed, it has to probe for bandwidth when you initiate a connection, trying to use as much bandwidth as it can find without using up an unfair share of the network.

With small downloads (small web pages) a difference of 1067ms and 140ms latency can change load times from over 10 seconds to under 1 second.

With larger downloads, the TCP can eventually figure out how much bandwidth there is available, so the effect of having a large latency becomes less important. The reported test here seems to report the "large long download" scenario.

If the numbers that are reported in this blog post are reflective of typical real world behavior, this would be a *huge* justification on why the 3GS is way faster. If they are accurate, I would *unhesitatingly* pony up an extra $100 to get a 3GS.

Highest Ranked

Brandon @ Jun 20th 2009 1:14PM

Read the damn article....

Neutral

Rem @ Jun 20th 2009 1:02PM

I did comparison tests and the wifi is faster on a 3g

Neutral

HouseofG @ Jun 20th 2009 4:29PM

So that makes at least two of us. Interesting (though not in a good way!)

Neutral

alex @ Jun 20th 2009 2:20PM

Is 610 Kbps slow?

Neutral

Brandon @ Jun 20th 2009 4:36PM

It's not terrible, but not fast for a 3G network.

Neutral

zephxiii @ Jun 20th 2009 2:39PM

Got to remember this, just because you are in Chicago, doesn't mean you are on 7.2mbit sites. The "test" could have been a smaller control group. In addition, backhaul is the real limitation.

Highly Ranked

Beanie @ Jun 20th 2009 11:00PM

Holy shit, someone using LOGIC in Engadget comments! Where did you come from?

Neutral

Nathan @ Jun 21st 2009 2:40AM

haha I have been saying this since the iPhone announcement was made. UK is the only country so far with any real benefit from this phones release. Sure, when the US gets a proper 3G network (we'll be considering 7.2mbps 4G) every iPhone 3G S owner will be happy but by that time there will be a NEW iPhone and WM7

Stick with my BlackBerry

Neutral

J @ Jun 21st 2009 10:44AM

I'm on Rogers in Canada where the 7.2 meg rollout has already happened, and right after unboxing my 3G S I tested at 4 mbps. My original 3G topped off at about 1.2.