iPhone + AT&T Fastest Smartphone/Carrier Combo in PCWorld Test

By Rene Ritchie
last updated

If PCWorld's second 3G, 13-city performance tests are to be believed, AT&T's investment in their network just might be starting to pay off:

  • 84% better download speeds than 8 months ago
  • 64% faster than Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon
  • Average download speed of 1410kps
  • 3x faster in Chicago, 40% faster in San Francisco
  • 94% connection reliability (up from 68% last spring)
  • iPhone on AT&T had the fastest downstream/upstream performance of any smartphone/network combo (worst was Verizon/Droid)

The representative cities chosen for the test were Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New Orleans, New York City, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle.

Here's hoping AT&T can keep it up, what with those sweet iPad data deals, and most likely a 4th gen iPhone heading their way this summer.

Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.