Wired iPhone 3G Survey Reveals Varying Network Performance

Many vocal iPhone 3G adopters have been unsatisfied with the device’s performance in 3G coverage areas, sighting the phone’s technical limitations as the achilles’ heal of the famous cellphone, with some even saying that the connectivity issues were unfixable due to the phone’s immature 3G chip.

However, Wired.com’s tests indicate that cellular performance varied from area to area, a fact that was somewhat expected, but difficult to determine. By country, Australian users reported the slowest speeds which averaged to 759 kbps, while Germany and the Netherlands tied for the fastest speeds with an average of 2000 kbps. In more congested areas that were 3G-rich, users reported slower speeds and more dropped connections, which is a common issue with the infrastructure.

The iPhone’s connectivity issues have prompted much debate over the exact cause. In fact, Swedish researchers conducted a test and came to the conclusion that the iPhone reception is “normal,” and comparable to other phones. Despite this, Apple released a new firmware upgrade 2.0.2, to help solve some of the related issues, while being served with a class action lawsuit from unhappy customers.

Recently Wired.com asked iPhone 3G users all around the world to participate in a study, which involved testing their 3G speeds and entering their data on an interactive map. The purpose? To gain a general idea of how 3G was performing — where it’s best and where it’s worst — in light of widespread complaints about the handset’s network performance. More than 2,600 people participated (wow!) and we’ve diligently cleaned up the data to present it to you here.