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42% Of iPhone Data Sent Via Wi-Fi
The latest stats on smart phone data use
AdMob has published some interesting data on smart phone data habits. According to the firm, 8% of total requests in November were on Wi-Fi networks instead of carrier 3G networks, a number that's up from 3% in August. That number jumps to 42% among iPhone users, significantly more than any other smart phone vendor, most of which average around 10-20%. The report has a few other interesting statistical nuggets, including the fact that the The G1 (HTC Dream) represents 7 percent of all T-Mobile traffic, while Android overall has a 2% share of smartphone operating system traffic in the US. For those interested, the full report (pdf) is here.
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ptrowski
Got Helix?
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join:2005-03-14
Woodstock, CT

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ptrowski

Premium Member

Wifi is a must...

It just goes to show why any new smartphone really should have wifi capabilities.

SSX4life
Hello World
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join:2004-02-13

1 recommendation

SSX4life

Premium Member

Re: Wifi is a must...

wifi > 3G any day. If you are at home / work where there is wireless i'd choose that 1st as well.

Not to mention skype runs great on wireless /zing!

ptrowski
Got Helix?
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join:2005-03-14
Woodstock, CT

ptrowski

Premium Member

Re: Wifi is a must...

said by SSX4life:

wifi > 3G any day. If you are at home / work where there is wireless i'd choose that 1st as well.

Not to mention skype runs great on wireless /zing!
Bingo!
jc1350
join:2004-09-23

jc1350 to SSX4life

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to SSX4life
said by SSX4life:

wifi > 3G any day. If you are at home / work where there is wireless i'd choose that 1st as well.

Not always. As with any Internet connection, it depends on what's on the other side of the wi-fi LAN "connection" that matters.

My only real connection at home is cellular (laptop card used in a Kyocera KR2 router). So wi-fi = 3G for that system. No cable or dsl service is available and I dumped satellite as soon as the contract expired.
macaholic
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join:2003-08-31
Jackson Heights, NY

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pandora, aol radio all have iPhone apps that are meant for wifi use... so these types of network intensive apps make the iPhone a better fit in a Wifi environment...
also the safari browser while not perfect by any means is a pleasure to use on the iPhone compare to the other smartphone IMO. This is going to drive up network demand as well.

I need the minimum monthly data rates to come down in price in order for me to drop a dime on it...

jmn1207
Premium Member
join:2000-07-19
Sterling, VA

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jmn1207 to ptrowski

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to ptrowski
said by ptrowski:

It just goes to show why any new smartphone really should have wifi capabilities.
It makes sense to have this option, especially on any new smartphone. It's not surprising that iPhone users spend a great deal of time using Wi-Fi, it is one of the main drawing points of the device, and the reason many people purchased this phone.

I guess the iPhone users hang out at more places with Wi-Fi. The idea is still a bit on the "hip" side, so perhaps they go together. However, I would think that BlackBerry users would demand Wi-Fi in their products since most users are in a business office, hotel, or some convention site. All of these locations can and should offer Wi-Fi in a majority of situations.

ptrowski
Got Helix?
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join:2005-03-14
Woodstock, CT

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ptrowski

Premium Member

Re: Wifi is a must...

said by jmn1207:
said by ptrowski:

It just goes to show why any new smartphone really should have wifi capabilities.
It makes sense to have this option, especially on any new smartphone. It's not surprising that iPhone users spend a great deal of time using Wi-Fi, it is one of the main drawing points of the device, and the reason many people purchased this phone.

I guess the iPhone users hang out at more places with Wi-Fi. The idea is still a bit on the "hip" side, so perhaps they go together. However, I would think that BlackBerry users would demand Wi-Fi in their products since most users are in a business office, hotel, or some convention site. All of these locations can and should offer Wi-Fi in a majority of situations.
For me I connect to wifi at my house as I don't have 3G service in my town. At work and at the families house is all 3G. Wifi is nice for the added speed.

Also forgot that when we were in Aruba we could connect to the wifi there which was free.
schwarzwald
join:2001-12-24
Severna Park, MD

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to ptrowski
I think these results also uncover truths about whether or not to retain a data plan for the iPhone. It might be that if 42% of data is wifi that it could cost effective to drop the $20/month extra.

I'm going to check my usage statistics on my iPhone to see how much Edge data I use.

FFH5
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join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5 to ptrowski

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to ptrowski
I agree that a smartphone without WiFi is a non-starter for me. I don't want or need 3g data capabilities on a phone. But I would like a cellphone without a data plan that had WiFi where I could use it for free data at home, in airports and in restaurants & malls, etc.
k1ll3rdr4g0n
join:2005-03-19
Homer Glen, IL

k1ll3rdr4g0n

Member

Question to all DSLR folk

Am I the only one questioning how they gathered such data?
I mean sure they could analyze the logs from ads and such, but even then your results will be off a little due to testers who have the useragent of a iphone/smartphone set.

And also I don't think you can change the useragent on the iPhone, but I am almost sure you can on a Windows Mobile device. I don't see this data as very reliable statistic, at least when it comes to smartphone usage.
At least that is just my opinion, take it for what its worth!

No to ESPN
@comcast.net

No to ESPN

Anon

It's the Network!

Or lack of a robust one that drives the need for WiFi in smart phones.

For those of you who are security conscience how long do you think that unsecured WiFi will be allowed in this country? Something to think about.
fenix_jn
join:2006-12-28
Miami, FL

fenix_jn

Member

Re: It's the Network!

WPA2 FTW!! (at least until someone cracks it)
hroo772
Darkness Fears Me
Premium Member
join:2002-04-05
Mclean, VA

hroo772

Premium Member

First Gen iPhones

Since I've owned both a first gen and currently a 3G iphone, I know how much wifi came in handy with the first gen. Since edge was real slow for doing most of the exciting things that the iphone offered, I was always connected to a wifi hotspot when I could be. It was just real slow in comparison.

When I got the 3G iphone, I still connected to the wifi at my house and work, but never went too far out of my way most of the other time. 3G allowed me to do whatever I would normally do, except for those apps that only wanted to work over wifi.

I think that since there are still a ton of first gen phones out there, the wifi use numbers are still going to be high till ownership of 3g iphones starts to edge out the first gens.
b10010011
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join:2004-09-07
united state

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b10010011

Member

3G is barely faster than dial-up

Sure in theory it's faster but IF (that's a big IF) you can even get a 3G signal, data crawls at a snail pace compared to WiFi.

Besides free WiFi is everywhere!

powerspec88
Premium Member
join:2007-03-11
Lees Summit, MO

powerspec88

Premium Member

Re: 3G is barely faster than dial-up

said by b10010011:

Sure in theory it's faster but IF (that's a big IF) you can even get a 3G signal, data crawls at a snail pace compared to WiFi.

Besides free WiFi is everywhere!
I don't see how this is "barely faster than dial-up"


EV-DO is "3G"

I don't get 3G at my house on my iPhone but i get about the same speeds driving into town....

WiFi is faster but on the go, 3G is fast. I stream a 192k radio station to and from work w/o any problems. And free WiFi everywhere? I only get free WiFi at work or at McDonalds/Starbucks b/c i have a iPhone and a AT&T DSL line. Other than that its 3G all the time.
beaups
join:2003-08-11
Hilliard, OH

beaups

Member

Power

Don't forget the even bigger advantage of wifi...MUCH lower power consumption than 3G. As far as speed goes, I don't notice wifi to be that much faster, browsing speed appears to be quite limited by the processor.

Blueboy
@sbc.com

Blueboy

Anon

I have a theory

I only download apps at home when I'm on WiFi because it's so much faters. My wife does the same thing. She only browses for new iPhone applications while we're at home.

If a lot of people do the same thing it may be greatly distoring the 42% figure.

Metatron2008
You're it
Premium Member
join:2008-09-02
united state

Metatron2008

Premium Member

Iphone is great for home use!

I sit on my bed at night and use...

Or rather lay on my bed, whatever.

The damn thing is alot better then a hot laptop on your lap.
macaholic
Premium Member
join:2003-08-31
Jackson Heights, NY

macaholic

Premium Member

Re: Iphone is great for home use!

I do the same with my iPod touch... youtube is a breeze. Net radio, video. Imagine if it did flash... ~
pabster
join:2001-12-09
Waterloo, IA

pabster

Member

Shock Poll!

How is this surprising? Even the crappiest WiFi generally beats 3G.

They both eat battery, WiFi perhaps slightly less, but either one will kill you off a lot faster than EDGE.

The beauty of the iPhone and similar devices with WiFi is the ability to switch between them as needed. It's definitely a feature any modern "smartphone" needs to have.

Link Logger
MVM
join:2001-03-29
Calgary, AB

Link Logger

MVM

Surprised - nope

All of my Pocket PC / Smart phone devices since my iPAQ 3870 in 2002 have had wifi capabilities which have been used way more then telco provided services simply because of the cost of telco provided services. I must admit I question the 10-20% claim for smart phone wifi as I don't know anyone who doesn't use the wifi capabilities within their smart phone (I guess it comes down to a question of frequency).

Of course I expect these numbers to show huge increase as the availability of wifi and wifi enabled devices has increased over the years. If the telco's want some of this market then they have to reduce the cost of their service.

Blake
stufried
Premium Member
join:2003-10-13

stufried

Premium Member

Hmm

Apple and ATT have intentionally blocked certain trafffic from going over 3g (e.g. films from the iTunes store, etc) and pushed people towards wifi. It doesn't seem surprising to me that a huge percentage of the traffic is over wifi.

Moreover, once connected to wifi, everything goes over wifi.