The iPhone 3GS is marketed by Apple as a worthwhile speed improvement over the iPhone 3G. While the bumped up processor and better still graphics chip have easily noticable speed increases over the older 3G model, the actual data speed side leaves much to be desired. In actuatlity, clever marketing jargon and coy business tactics helped Apple push the 3GS as much faster than it really is. What exactly are the dirty secrets? It all has to do with upload speeds…or the lack thereof…
We all know that the new iPhone 3GS supports 7.2 Mbps HSDPA. However, here in the U.S., AT&T’s procastinating in their 3G rollout and over all suckiness means that the footprint of 7.2 Mbps coverage areas can be counted on a few phalanges. The slight speed increase you’ll notice in web browsing is due more to the upgraded processor than network speeds.
Ok, so the download speeds in the US won’t really be any different than the older 3G. But, with the added perception and marketing of “speed” being the new iPhone’s main draw, one would think Apple would upgrade all aspects of the phones speed. What am I talking about? It appears Apple neglected to give any speed upgrade love to upload speeds. Gasp! Go ahead and run a speed test with any speed testing app or website. You’ll notice that uploads top out at a god awful slow 384 kbps UMTS — not the 1.4 or 1.9 Mbps HSUPA speeds that *usually* accompany a 7.2 Mbps downstream network rollout.
So the blame is on AT&T since it’s a network thing? Wrong. Users of AT&T 3G laptop cards can enjoy faster HSUPA speeds. Whether it be cost, negative battery impact, or temperature issues, Apple decided against bumping the iPhone 3GS’s uploading speeds. While many may write this off as uneccessary, think about that write off next time you go to send a boat load of pictures or video to a friend(s) and it takes you a day and a half.
Some may point out the fact that no where on Apple’s site does it make note of HSUPA being included. While this is true, it again comes back to how Apple is marketing the device. To your average consumer, upgraded speeds is an all encompasing term. The technologically illiterate won’t know the difference. This is how they get trapped.
Overall, the lacking of faster upload speeds is somewhat of a letdown given the phones emphasis on speed. Though, we all know that a future model will come with this feature labeld as a big improvement and new to the game (Apple’s game anyway). I guess it is one more thing to entice users to upgrade to iPhone 4.0 next year.
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