According to the Metrico report released March 7,
differences it discovered between the Verizon iPhone 4, which is based on CDMA
technology, and the GSM-based AT&T iPhone 4 depend on how the smartphone is
being used.
"The AT&T iPhone
experienced double the mean data download speed of the Verizon iPhone,"
the firm said in a statement, " but the mean load time for an average Web
page was about the same on both devices."
Metrico also found differences
when the devices were being used in motion in a car, say. "The
AT&T iPhone successfully completed around 20 percent more data download
sessions than the Verizon iPhone," reported the firm. "The results
were opposite when the iPhones were stationary; the Verizon iPhone was more
consistent uploading data when stationary in comparison to the AT&T iPhone,
with a 10 percent success rate."
The
findings echo those of early
reviewers. The Wall Street Journal's Walter Mossberg, in a Feb. 3 review,
reported that he performed "scores of speed tests" on the two
iPhones, which he mostly used in Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland and, for a
day, Chicago. "Despite a few Verizon victories here and there, AT&T's
network averaged 46 percent faster at download speeds and 24 percent faster at
upload speeds," wrote Mossberg. The differences were most notable, he
found, when the phones were being asked to perform labor-intensive tasks, such
as downloading large numbers of e-mails.
"AT&T's speeds varied
more while Verizon's were more consistent, but overall, AT&T was more
satisfying at cellular data," Mossberg concluded.
David Pogue's experience,
reviewing the iPhones for The New York Times, was one that has made so many
folks look forward to the iPhone on the Verizon network. He drove around San
Francisco an Achilles' heel for AT&T iPhone coverage dialing a
landline number. Over the course of 30 minutes, the AT&T iPHone dropped the
call four times, while Verizon's held it continuously.
Metrico additionally compared the
iPhones to other devices on their respective networks. It found the AT&T
iPhone to rank near the top on download and upload speeds, "with
comparable performance to the Sony Ericsson Xperia, the LG Quantum and the HTC
Surround." The Verizon iPhone, however, ranked "below average in data
download speed relative to other Verizon smartphones like the HTC
Incredible."
The Smartphone Mobile Experience evaluation
testing that the phones underwent offer carriers and original equipment
manufacturers information with which they can establish a scientifically
derived user-experience baseline, Richard McNally, Metrico vice president, said
in the statement. Metrico's performance evaluation included performing more
than 10,000 Web page downloads, more than 2,000 upload tests and placing nearly
4,000 voice calls.
"The mobile industry is
competing on performance, and anecdotal performance information isn't good
enough to drive management and marketing decisions," McNally added.
The Verizon iPhone 4 has inspired
a number of organizations and Web sites to
run performance tests of their own. Consumer Reports found that having a
finger on various parts of the phone can cause a "meaningful decline in
performance," and so was unable to recommend it. Tech site iLounge
held the Verizon iPhone in various bear-hugging ways and noticed a
"dramatic, dramatic slowdown" in upload speeds. Analysis group
AnandTech, in its testing, found the death-grip issue to have been addressed.
"Getting a case still makes
sense," the site reported, "but using the phone without one is no
longer something that will dramatically affect phone usability.
Enterprise Mobility News & Reviews 
