AT&T 3G: No Worky? July 6th 2010
In a July 7th 2010 article AT&T admits that iPhone 4 users have been susceptible to slower speeds due to a programming issue with back hardware in certain areas of the US.
“”AT&T and Alcatel-Lucent jointly identified a software defect — triggered under certain conditions – that impacted uplink performance for Laptop Connect and smartphone customers using 3G HSUPA-capable wireless devices in markets with Alcatel-Lucent equipment,” said Jenny Bridges, a spokeswoman for the company.
Since the iPhone is currently the only smartphone that AT&T offers that is using HSUPA, AT&T said that the problem only affects a small number of its wireless customers, which includes some laptop data sticks users, who also use the HSUPA technology.” — taken from CNET article July 7th 2010
My girlfriend (Jessica L. Titus) and I were at the Apple Store in Leawood, KS on July 6th 2010 trying out the AT&T based iPhone 4 and found that we couldn’t connect to anything internet based without the help of wifi. We tried the app store, itunes store, pandora and many other web based apps on the iPhone 4. Without a good connection to AT&T’s 3G we pretty much found the iPhone 4 useless for anything other then text messages. At iPhone 4′s $199 and $299 subsistized pricing and based on a unlimited AT&T plan running at over $100 a month texting is expensive!
We made a little video of our experiences with the iPhone 4 and AT&T’s lack luster service found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTy5ZniH9d0