Jul 12 2007

iPhone: EDGE vs. Wi-Fi test results

Photo of iPhone running Safari web browser.

Guess what? EDGE sucks.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze / CNET)

After two days of timing and comparing the iPhone's download speed between AT&T's EDGE network and Wi-Fi, our CNET Lab has just released its official results.

EDGE averaged a download time of 15.69 minutes for a 9.4MB file, while Wi-Fi required a mere 1.18 minutes. In the end, our test results indicate that the iPhone's Wi-Fi connection is about 13 times faster than using EDGE.

Tests were run at different points throughout the day to account for changes in network bandwidth, and the iPhone was reformatted after each download to ensure that Safari's browser cache wouldn't skew results. Still, there are a lot of network-dependent variables for both EDGE and Wi-Fi that can affect download speed. We did our best to be thorough, but your results may vary.

Anyone had a surprisingly good experience using EDGE?

Posted in: Gadget news, Music, PDAs, Phones
Tags: Apple, iPhone, Safari, browser, download, CNET Lab, EDGE, Wi-Fi
 

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Add a Comment (Log in or register) 9 comments (Page 1 of 1)
Not sure about big files but...
by bigmc6000 July 12, 2007 8:02 AM PDT
I get a good 25 - 30 KBps on EDGE. Of course I've had times when it's really sluggish but I was sitting in the movie theatre last week waiting for Transformers (had to wait 45 mins since all the other ones sold out) and I was actually quite surprised at how quickly You Tube videos buffered up. I don't think I waited more than 5 or 10 seconds before they started playing...
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Surpizingly happy with Edge
by rubingr July 12, 2007 8:08 AM PDT
So far I have seen consistently good download speeds withe Edge. Not that it is great, but even streaming music from my laptop to my iphone has been fast enough to never trip. Of course i would love faster speeds, but so far I can accept the limitations.
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Seems obvious
by brianld July 12, 2007 9:35 AM PDT
Is it just me, or is this the most obvious "conclusion" possible? How is it blog-worthy (I won't elevate it by calling it news-worthy) to deduce that wi-fi is faster than EDGE?
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Big news..
by texasags July 12, 2007 9:37 AM PDT
In other news, a new study shows that the sun is hot. Also, Motor Trend just released a test showing that a Ferrari 599GTB is more expensive than a hamburger. WOW! What a waste of time. Why not also test EDGE vs. 3G and WiFi vs. 3G. It would be interesting to see the real world differences there as well.
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Can anyone say built in obsolescence?
by antnyc.com July 12, 2007 9:59 AM PDT
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Surprisingly Good EDGE Result
by iMacUser July 12, 2007 2:29 PM PDT
According to iphonenetworktest.com, my EDGE connection is typically 150kbps. This is nearly 6 times faster than dialup for my area (crappy phone lines usually limited dialup to 28.8Kbps), but YMMV. Since 3G is unavailable where I live anyway (but WiFi is plentiful), EDGE is an excellent back-up connection that doesn't give me any of the battery life problems that some 3G-enabled phone users experience. I'd like to have long battery life and 3G, but if given a choice, I'll take long battery life everyday and twice on Sunday. I was also shocked that WiFi "edged" out EDGE by a margin of about ten, as I recall. <sarcasm>Just like C/Net, I was expecting EDGE to trounce WiFi.</sarcasm>
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Since when Is a good experience on EDGE possible??
by itsastckup July 13, 2007 7:42 AM PDT
EDGE sux. Enough said about that. The new version of the iphone will have the higher speed internet. Regardless of that, I still wouldn't get an iphone with its half rate voice codecs.
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When Is EDGE Experience Good? Here's When...
by iMacUser July 13, 2007 10:31 AM PDT
You can get EDGE in most of the nation. Where can you get 3G or EVDO? Most of the nation? Not even close! EVDO is very limited, and 3G even more so. Anyone who travels better not rely on 3G or EVDO. Also, which network has the best reliability, EDGE, 3G, or EVDO? Oops! EDGE wins again! Any business travelers out there? Better not rely on 3G or EVDO! EDGE has the two best abilities... availability and reliability. Does it really matter that you have a high-speed connection if your browsing experience is crappy BabyNet? I'd rather wait a little longer than deal with WAP/CRAP. Many people seem to think speed is the only factor that matters. This is a load of WAP. While speed is nice, it's not the most important factor. Your phone can download garbage much quicker than my iPhone can download the real deal. So what?
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edge is not there
by Cherif Sabry February 17, 2008 11:27 AM PST
can't find edge ... someone was playing with my iphone and it is not there anymore if i go to install .. i get this message: Package download failed : can't find host
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