iPhone Original Vs. 3G, Part 2
No blog posting I have ever written before has sparked as much controversy as “iPhone Original Works 3G … Anywhere But America.” As you can see, there have been comments posted in response that explain everything from the inner chips of the iPhone, and technical specifications of mobile phone systems in Europe to outright outrage that I would make such an assertion. Thanks to everyone who took the time to write a comment, and especially to those who read my commentary.
At the sake of repeating some of my original posting, permit me to underscore the point I was making:
- The Edge data network in America, acquired by AT&T during the purchase of Cingular, is “aged, outdated and antiquated.” The Edge data stream runs at about 80k or at dial-up speeds, even though iPhone users pay a premium for the service. These speeds are far slower than consumers expected when the iPhone was introduced in 2007.
- The cellular phone systems in America as a whole are so far behind the sophistication of the rest of the world that it is not even accurate to call them, “third-world,” because most so-called third-world countries have better mobile phone service.
- While visiting Germany and Switzerland in August, I was astonished by how fast my iPhone original surfed the Web and downloaded email. Subjectively comparing my iPhone’s performance with a new iPhone 3G, it appeared to be on a par.
- Upon return to America, I had an opportunity to ask an AT&T supervisor of the company’s global network to explain the performance boost I had experienced. He said that when an iPhone original from America is used on the more sophisticated and much faster data networks in Europe and around the world, it will operate at comparable* 3G speeds. He said, “It will be ‘forced’ to run at 3G speeds.” If there is a single error in my original posting, it was that I should have used the word, “comparable.”* Mobile phone data network speeds are relative and ever-changing, influenced by traffic and demand. Nonetheless, the iPhone original operates at speeds that rival an iPhone 3G in such context, according to this AT&T expert, and that was my personal finding.
- The iPhone original was not made for 3G, and I did not say that it was. It is, however, a quad-band phone capable of working on much faster networks around the world than exist in America.
I’m not sure whether this update posting will be a help. I hope so. From reading all of the comments, I have come away with the conclusion that there exists considerable confusion over what is defined as “Edge” in Europe, and that the Edge network is indeed considered 3G. Quite frankly, I don’t care. The fundamental fact remains that an iPhone original from America downloads data astonishing fast when used in Europe.
An iPhone original in America would perform much faster were it not for AT&T’s current agonizingly slow Edge data network. Even AT&T experts confirm that fact.
I might add that Ameicans traveling internationally are better advised to use a Blackberry for emails due to AT&T’s expensive iPhone international data roaming charges.
* “Comparable” defined as “like, equal, equivalent, similar.”
Filed Under: Apple • Personal notes • iPhone
About the Author: David is a veteran communications strategist ... writer ... blogger ... online publisher ... and Emmy Award winning former CBS Network News correspondent. He lives in the Washington, D. C., area, and works worldwide.
Hey David -
Thanks for clearing that up.
Just to make absolutely certain then, what you are now saying is that when you originally said -
“Here’s a headline for you — the original iPhone works on 3G data networks, and works just as fast as the new iPhone 3G.”
- you didn’t actually mean that at all.
And when you said -
“But in America, however, original iPhones are throttled back by Apple’s software and forced to operate only on AT&T’s aged, outdated and antiquated Edge data network…”
- you didn’t actually mean that at all either.
Is that the case?
No, Gerald. You still are not getting it or reading what I posted accurately. Stop parsing my words and simply read them.
Gerald,
Your postings reveal the mind of … a bone-head.
Ilene
So David, are you saying that you still stand behind the following statement:
“But in America, however, original iPhones are throttled back by Apple’s software”
Did that come from your AT&T source, or your Apple source?
By the way, there’s nothing to “get” about the fact that the EDGE network in the US is not as fast as the EDGE network in Europe. That’s not news – that’s been known by anyone with even a passing interest in this business for a very long time indeed.
I absolutely agree with Gerald — you have made a very specific, tin-foil-hat kind of claim there that Apple has intentionally crippled their phone via software in some way (well, in relation to throughput at least). I believe that as an emmy-award winning journalist, you would want to post a retraction on that … lest you receive a call from Apple’s lawyers. Frankly, I highly doubt anyone at Apple told you such a thing.
Perhaps you need a 3rd blog post. The phrase “I was wrong” just seems to be outside of your vocabulary, doesn’t it?
Here’s another point where you seem to be operating under a misconception – EDGE is not 80kbps for many people in the US. Just googling up a few words like “iphone speed test” might have led you to this site …
http://www.inetworktest.com/results
See that? The lifetime “average” speed for users that have used that test site via EDGE is 207kbps. This is quite in line with what I experience all the time here in DC – where you are as well (apparently) – so I am completely baffled why you think EDGE for US AT&T users is 80kbps???
This is still nonsense. You do not seem to have any technical understanding of what you are talking about. 3G comparable speeds? What is your definition of comparable?
I was in Washington DC last week and 3G pushed 1200kbps (I get 1400kbps in Toronto). This is not possible via EDGE here or in Europe. Even Nokia’s Dual Carrier EDGE initiative will push it to 590kbps, and that is not deployed in many places.
I appreciate you were surprised to find out that EDGE networks were faster in Europe. Well, they’re faster in parts of Canada too, such as Toronto where we have a fast data network (it didn’t used to be the case).
Your assertions that this had something to do with Apple restricting data speeds is absurd, as this revised idea that you can achieve 3G “comparable” speeds.
I don’t know where you’re getting these mysterious 80kbps data speeds. I think you need to get yourself an iPhone 3G. At the very least you’ll stop having to complain about data speeds.
You stated in the opening paragraph (indeed, the second sentence) of your article, the place where any journalist beyond high-school level summarises the article’s core idea, that:
“In fact, the iPhone original is a quad-band cell phone, and capable of operating on 3G networks.”
This is absolutely definitively wrong. Nothing about that statement is true. This is the opening gambit of your article, the basis for all that follows, and it is not true in any way.
If you make a statement like this, and it’s proven wrong, the honest thing to do is admit that you were mistaken or misled, and then report a more accurate version of the story. Not to attempt to argue, from the language of paragraphs buried far further down the article, that you said something else, nor to accuse your readership of not being able to decode the riddle and obtain your “real meaning”. Or to claim that it was a sarcastic attack on AT&T’s network performance. Or any of the other ad hoc defenses you have jumped to. And deleting the criticisms from your comments box makes it worse. I would expect this of a teenager trying to argue that the Xbox 437 is superior to the PlayStation 4, not an experienced journalist such as yourself.
The underlying truth here – that the 3G networks in the US are congested and therefore using the iPhone 3G there comparatively slow – is so mundane and well-reported that you would do well to just drop the whole thing, though. You don’t want to become the laughing stock of the technology blogs.
Doug,
Read my post again. I never said Apple; I quoted an AT&T data network person.
David
mmmiles,
I seriously doubt your assertion. I tested EDGE today on my iPhone original and got data speeds from 14.2kbps to 131.4kbps. Most readers, however, ranged between 14.2 and 61kbps.
Sorry but reality about EDGE sometimes is a bitter pill.
David
Sorry, Alex, but you are incorrect. The iPhone original in quad band.
He clearly meant the part where you asserted that it is capable of operating on 3G networks.
Rob,
Thank you for your comment. Please read my posting dated today.
David
Quad band does not mean a device can connect to a 3G network, though, which is the basis of your entire article.
Doug and Gerald,
I wrote no such thing about Apple. Are you political spin-meisters?
David
Alex,
According to ATT, it will when nothing else is available.
David
David: “Read my post again. I never said Apple; I quoted an AT&T data network person.”
Actually, you /did/ say Apple. You said they wrote software into the iPhone specifically to “throttle back” the 1st gen device.
David: “original iPhones are throttled back by Apple’s software”
Which goes to my previous point…
Doug: “you have made a very specific, tin-foil-hat kind of claim there that Apple has intentionally crippled their phone via software in some way”
I’m starting to think the parsing problem is entirely on your side, David … as your response to Alex was:
David: “Sorry, Alex, but you are incorrect. The iPhone original in quad band.”
No. Alex was correct, it is you that are wrong. The statement of yours that Alex was challenging was that the original iPhone was a quadband device ***and*** (your words) capable of operating on 3G networks.
The first part of that sentence is accurate, the 2nd part is wrong. The “and” in the middle means that the statement – in its entirety – is inaccurate.
The comment in your previous blog post was spot on – once you’re in a hole, it’s really best to stop digging.
Looking forward to your 3rd blog post on this subject.
Doug,
Thanks again for your posting. Are you associated with a PR company and/or iNetwork Test or AT&T?
David
So very interesting … when some shrill commenter is asked if he/she is working for a PR firm and/or special interest group, they go silent.
My apologies for not replying to your comment /immediately/ (yes, I got it via email as well) … but I do have other priorities that keep me away from the computer, from time to time.
But, to be clear, I do not work for any of the following:
AT&T
Apple
iNetwork Test
Verizon
Nokia
Samsung
T-Mobile
Motorola
Sprint/Nextel
LG
Research In Motion
Microsoft
…or any “PR” company
Better?
See my response to your 3rd blog entry. My results – about 20 miles away from you – are different from yours.
David -
“Doug and Gerald,
I wrote no such thing about Apple. Are you political spin-meisters?
David”
WHAT?
You are now claiming that you didn’t write -
“But in America, however, original iPhones are throttled back by Apple’s software and forced to operate only on AT&T’s aged, outdated and antiquated Edge data network…”?
You are now claiming that you didn’t write -
“I was astonished by the speeds while in Germany and Switzerland and checked with my sources at Apple and AT&T here in America.”?
It seems someone took away your shovel, only to put you in the seat of a JCB.
How utterly bizarre.
Only one side is spinning here, David. However, I’ve heard that political spin-meistering can be very well paid, so if you think I’d be good at it and want to hook me up with someone willing to pay me lots of dosh, please don’t hesitate to make the connection.
” David | Sep 15, 2008 | Reply
Alex,
According to ATT, it will when nothing else is available.
David”
We have to assume that this is a factually accurate statement, that someone from AT&T did say that.
They’re wrong though, it is 100% physically impossible. It wouldn’t be the first case of someone above 1st line management in a technology company not fully understanding the detail of what they sell.
I don’t understand what “bitter pill” you’re referring to.
At this moment I get 145kbps on EDGE, and 1330 on 3G – in Toronto, on Rogers. This is average EDGE speed, and high for 3G, according to DSL Reports, which by now has polled tens of thousands of phones. Your handful of readers don’t represent a statistically accurate group to base connection speeds off of. Furthermore EDGE is not capable of achieving 3G “comparable” speeds. It is beyond the capability of the signal.
I suppose if you were used to much worse EDGE speeds, and went somewhere with a proper network, you would be in for a surprise.
But it should be obvious that a subjective, personal experience is not the basis for coming to some very wide ranging conclusions. Network speeds vary around the world, from city to city and block to block.
European EDGE networks are pretty clear of traffic, because many phones run on UMTS. Population density there encouraged carriers to invest in 3G earlier, as the pay off was greater (the licenses are expensive). The US and Canada have pretty hopeless population density, it makes it tougher to justify the investment. Toronto represents 1/6 of the population of Canada, so we are fortunate enough to have good investment in networks here.
The iPhone is physically incapable of connecting to UMTS networks, period. There are much more competent and intelligent people who have physically ripped the iPhone to pieces, and hacked every piece of code in the system. If it were possible to use the iPhone on a 3G network, it would have been worked out a long time ago.
You seem to be taking a very layman’s approach to a technical issue. Research would have helped you understand what you were experiencing and why some of your claims sound absolutely absurd to people that do understand the subject matter.
And yes, Europe is covered in EDGE – it isn’t talked about much because most European phones run on UMTS. Nokia was one of the companies responsible to enabling EDGE on existing UMTS networks in Europe. As they stated, it was just a software upgrade to make EDGE available (every tower installed since 1995 was software upgradeable to handle EDGE).
This can easily be worked out with limited research – it’s all online!
Seems as though after being proven very wrong, on a multiple of points, on a repeated number of occasions … our dear blog author has left us.
I guess he assumes we all must be PR flacks of some sort. I guess that mindset fits in with the same tin-foil-hat conspiracy theory that Apple intentionally loaded software on the iPhone to cripple its throughput when on AT&T…
Doug,
Aside from the gamers who have piled-on the blog posting, I disagree with your entire approach and position. Please don’t take this personally … but you have no idea what you are talking about.
Ralph
Doug,
The only person wearing a “tin-foil-hat” is you. You are so full of crap. Not only will the original work nearly at 3G speeds all over Europe but here in New York, both the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G can be quickly and cheaply hacked to run on the Verizon network.
P.G.
After a week of being on vacation, I came home and found it amusing that this blog post is still getting comments (even though the blog author has – probably, wisely – chosen it’s best to just leave things alone at this point).
So, to our latest entrants …
“Aside from the gamers who have piled-on the blog posting, I disagree with your entire approach and position. Please don’t take this personally … but you have no idea what you are talking about.
Ralph”
Well, Ralph K – you do have a small flaw in your argument … that being that you don’t know me. Therefore, you can not make any sort of credible claim about what I do and do not know about in life. Perhaps if you really wanted to drive that point home … a follow-up with a pointer to something that I was actually wrong about would have helped. Then, you’d have a much stronger basis for your claim.
But don’t worry – I won’t take it personally.
“The only person wearing a “tin-foil-hat” is you. You are so full of crap. Not only will the original work nearly at 3G speeds all over Europe but here in New York, both the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G can be quickly and cheaply hacked to run on the Verizon network.”
Well, Phil – gosh – there are so many flaws in your posting it’s hard to know where to start. But did you read all of the comments in this blog post, and its predecessor? Do you fully understand the differences between CSD, HSCSD, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA and all the subclassifications of the IMT-2000 … and still want to make that claim?
Secondly, the iPhone has not – EVER – been documented to be converted, in it’s 1st or 2nd generation – to work on a CDMA network. HOWEVER, it’s a trivial exercise to alter the firmware files and change the carrier tag on the screen to read “Verizon” instead of “AT&T” … as a matter of fact, some folks who tinker around with these things (read a site like hackint0sh from time to time) like to have fun with clueless Verizon retail store reps by doing exactly that. Sounds like someone was having some fun with you as well … because if it was so simply done in NYC, a lot more people would know about it than just you.
By all means … do share more with us please.