Tag Archives: 3g Networks

As Android Nears, T-Mobile Boosts 3G Networks - InformationWeek

September 18, 2008 – 9:27 pm

ABC News
As Android Nears, T-Mobile Boosts 3G Networks
InformationWeek - 3 hours ago
The wireless carrier said it will have 3G networks in 21 markets by mid-October, and 27 markets by the end of the year. By Marin Perez T-Mobile announced Thursday it would be expanding its 3G services to multiple markets, just in time for the launch of …
Android Priced at $199: Can T-Mobile Mimic the iPhone's Success? PC World
T-Mobile readies 3G for Dream's arrival BetaNews
Apple Insider - unwir3d.com - Yahoo! Tech - CMSWire
all 568 news articles

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Second iPhone 3G Lawsuit Filed

September 4, 2008 – 10:11 am

Many are getting a bit weary of waiting for an iPhone 3G fix, which was previously promised in a supposed Steve Jobs email for sometime in September. A second lawsuit has been filed, joining the first which was filed last month by Jessica Alena Smith.

Just as in the previous suit, the plaintiff, William J. Gillis Jr., is asking for class action status for his lawsuit, according to freelance journalist Justin McLachlan.

Previously an “unnamed AT&T source” had disclosed that the issue with the iPhone 3G centered around power requirements for the iPhone 3G being too high, saturating towers.

The lawsuit goes on to say (basically) that because of the high volume of iPhone sales, the AT&T network has become overtaxed. In other words, the darn this is too popular for its own good.

Gillis wants Apple and AT&T to not just pay restitution to members of the class action (if granted), but also punitive damages.

Now, before people go on about this guy trying to get a big payday, remember that in class action lawsuits, there’s nearly nothing paid out to members. Usually just enough to make people (relatively) happy.

However, he’s building his case mostly around Internet reports, according to AppleInsider. And as I keep harping on:

  • It’s happening worldwide, even on mature 3G networks
  • The device isn’t dropping into EDGE; it’s staying in 3G even with nearly no signal
  • Other 3G devices in the same area (within inches) have no issues while the iPhone is nearly unusable (and no, I don’t mean “bars,” I mean being able to make calls, browse, get email
  • Even when forced into EDGE, the iPhone will sometimes fail calls while other devices are working fine - in 3G

So, while I appreciate anything that will give Apple a kick in the pants, I’m still waiting for the promised September fix. Please!

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Wired’s iPhone 3G Survey: What’s Missing?

August 26, 2008 – 10:57 am

According to Wired’s Gadget Lab, the problems with the iPhone’s 3G performance is all about the network. This is based on a (decidedly) unscientific study of 4,200 iPhone 3G users around the world, which they published on Monday. Besides the fact that this spreads the sample in any particular area pretty thin, worldwide as the survey was, there’s one thing I would love to see that wasn’t done with this survey. More on that later.

In fact, due to incomplete data, only 2,636 data points that were usable, a still thinner sampling. Conclusions were that users in areas with mature 3G networks had much better results. For example, Germany and the Netherlands reported the world’s fastest average 3G download speeds — about 2 Mbps. The most “0″ results (no 3G) came from — where else? The U.S.

Further data seems to indicate that a theory we’ve noted before may not be off the mark — areas where a large number of 3G phones propagate seem to have worse connectivity.

Now, although I personally believe that the iPhone’s problems are not network-only, I’ve never totally ruled out the network. At the very least, I believe the “congestion” problem noted above could have something to do with the issues.

However, in addition to this study, what we really need is a comparison of iPhones with other 3G phones. As I’ve indicated, I can place several 3G phones right next to an iPhone and they will have great signal strength while the iPhone barely gets one bar.

And yes, I realize that different manufacturers determine their signal strength differently, and that bars aren’t enough to determine signal strength — but it’s not just bars. The other phones browse just fine, don’t drop calls, don’t miss calls, on and on. Frankly, if the iPhone worked with one bar the same as a Q9h with full bars (which is what I see), I’d be perfectly happy, and assume it was a gauge problem.

But it doesn’t. The only way to get the iPhone to work well is to stick it into EDGE. And that’s not what I paid for. While this study is great, it’s missing that one point to make it really meaningful: comparison against other 3G phones, where the iPhone seems to fall flat on its face.

Still more: this survey was all about speed, and what some commenters noted and what users are really complaining about isn’t speed, but connectivity: dropped calls, missed calls, “Call Failed” errors, and the like.

Quite honestly, I also worry that Apple will fix this in hardware, and six month down the line buyers will be walking out of the store with much better experiences than early adopters.

Then again, if Apple would just open up (it must know what the issue is by now!), we wouldn’t be wondering, now would we?

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