kindle fire - Realview

Pricing + Speed
MINIMUM
AMOUNT OF
MINUTES TEXTING DATA
COST OVER
TWO YEARS
450 Unlimited 2GB $2,240
tested
SMARTPhones
SPEEDTEST
.NET
UPLOAD/
DOWNLOAD
1.05 Mbps/
250 Kbps
FOR 85% OFF
THE COVER PRICE,
FIND OUT WHY MILLIONS OF
READERS RELY ON
LAPTOP MAGAZINE
TO STAY ON THE CUSP
OF MOBILE TECHNOLOGY.
450 Unlimited Unlimited $2,120
160 Kbps/
290 Kbps
Recreated PMS
450 Unlimited 2GB $2,360
140 Kbps/
380 Kbps
By comparison, Verizon only mustered 380 Kbps on
the download, and Sprint was even slower at 290
Kbps. Verizon’s iPhone 4S consistently offered the
slowest upload speeds, with an average of 140 Kbps
versus a not-much-better 160 Kbps for Sprint.
Winner: AT&T. While all three iPhone 4S models
trail true 4G phones by a mile, the AT&T iPhone
4S consistently delivered the fastest download
and upload speeds.
Web Browsing
Our Speedtest results were backed up by our
real-world testing: the average times it took to
load different websites. It took an average of 19
seconds for the AT&T iPhone 4S to load the full
website of The New York Times on the AT&T iPhone
4S, 20 seconds faster than Verizon’s overall average
time (39 seconds) and 40 seconds faster than
the average time it took for the Sprint iPhone 4S
to load the page (59 seconds). It loaded the full
website of Laptopmag.com and ESPN’s mobile
website fastest as well, at 20 seconds and 10
seconds, respectively. The only site it did not
load faster than the other two carriers was CNN’s
mobile website, which it loaded in an average
of 10 seconds, compared to Verizon’s average
of 9 seconds.
Winner: AT&T. The AT&T iPhone 4S loaded sites
considerably faster than the Verizon and Sprint
versions of the device.
Call Quality
We found the call quality on Verizon’s iPhone 4S to
be top-notch. Sound was loud, clear, and exhibited
no choppiness. In the first
and third locations where we
tested for call quality (a noisy
coffee shop in New York and
a private residential area in
New Jersey), our callers had
the same comment: We sounded the loudest, and
background noise was present. On our end, we
heard some scratchiness and static during calls,
but there was less of it compared to the AT&T
experience, and none during silences.
On Sprint, calls weren’t as loud, which some
people said they appreciated, especially after two
very loud calls (AT&T and Verizon). With Sprint,
background noise was less of an issue. One caller
from our second location even said we sounded
like we were in an office cubicle; initially he
couldn’t tell we were using a mobile phone at all.
However, in every location where we tested for call
quality, callers commented that the Sprint iPhone
4S sounded choppy. On our end, we sometimes
heard a strange sort of echo to our voice.
Winner: Verizon Wireless. Verizon beat out AT&T
and Sprint with the clearest and loudest call quality
on both ends of the line.
Overall Winner: AT&T.
AT&T has shaken its
reputation for poor
service on the iPhone in
this shootout, offering better data speeds than
both Sprint and Verizon. And while Sprint offers
unlimited data, AT&T’s 2GB plan is cheaper than
Verizon’s. Verizon wins out for best overall call
quality, but that’s not why people buy smartphones.
Whether you’re asking Siri to find nearby
steakhouses, downloading an app or sending a
tweet, AT&T’s iPhone 4S is just faster. And that’s
why it’s your best bet.
■
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www.laptopmag.com Laptop | January 2012 37