Google wigged out by volume of iPhone traffic
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Feb 24th 2008 11:38AM
posted Feb 24th 2008 11:38AM
[Via Macworld UK]
posted Feb 24th 2008 11:38AM
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WiFi or EDGE?
EDGE!
its not always slow.
Does it matter? The point is they are using their DEVICES to go to Google. Wifi or EDGE the end result is the same ... It is surprising to see this many people using an iPhone to go to Google.
It's not that surprising as I use Google Reader for my RSS feeds via my T-Mo Dash (over Edge and Wi-Fi). Also, a comment like this has great timing to bring in more partners and investors for Android. It also signifies how much revenue can be generated by Google (through advertising) and its presence throughout the mobile landscape for advertisers.
I wouldn't take this as some sort of great comment on the iPhone, but rather a "heads up" for those that are thinking about partnering with Google in the immediate future.
I get very quick edge speeds depending on the area I am in. Full bars doesn't always mean good data speeds but when it is good I have no complaints with the load times. Other times it is sluggish but I can get the info I want in not too long of a time. I'm not about to go browsing around on it though at the slower speeds. Google maps is always fairly quick.
I wonder if that includes visits by iPod Touch's as well.
Not that it's relevant, but most of the data is probably EDGE. I think that many of you people who live in larger cities tend to forget that unsecured WiFi has a microscopic footprint compared to GSM coverage. I live almost 2 hours away from anywhere that has WiFi coverage.
It's not that surprising, really. I think it boils down to two reasons:
1) Ease of use. It's easier, by far, to browse the web on the iPhone than any other smartphone (admittedly, only WinMo devices) I've ever owned. It's too easy when you're out and about to "Google" something you want to know or find out about a restaurant, etc.
2) The search field on the iPhone browser defaults to Google. So if significant numbers of people do their searches from there (makes the most sense) then of course Google is going to reap the rewards of site hits from iPhones.
Finally, the comment about EDGE browsing - for the most part, the speeds are pretty decent, actually. I came from 3G phones and Smartphones and was skeptical about giving HSDPA up, but I haven't really been disappointed. I'm getting faster speeds on EDGE with my iPhone than I've ever gotten on any other phone I've owned. I suppose if I tethered my phone to my laptop I wouldn't be happy, but I've only done that once in my life (years ago, with a EDGE V551, oddly enough) and for web browsing on the go, EDGE is just fine. There's a little delay, but nothing like the old days of dial-up.
For those skeptics, I'd suggest you do what I did before purchasing and visit an Apple store and turn off WiFi on the phone and give it a try. It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.
I tipped you guys to this like a week ago. =p
Anyway, if you ask me, it just goes to show you that the only thing holding back mobile data use is the fact that we are only now starting to see decent mobile browsing on devices this small. I was pretty ho-hum on the iPhone initially, but after a friend tossed me his to look up something, I was impressed. Apple really nailed the full browsing experience, and the new Opera is looking awesome too. Everything else I've seen is a watered-down, frustrating experience, nothing people would want to use for long periods of time.
it's because most everybody who bought an iphone is a lame drone who will accept whatever apple MAKES them use. so of course they're using google because they have no idea what live search, or yahoo/yahoo go are.
oh, i used edge for 2-3 agonizing years, and now that i've tasted 3g i will never go back. there is no beating opera with hsdpa.
Wow, you're wrong on so many levels. I'll just address the most important one.
I am not saying there aren't good alternative depending on what you're looking for but you cannot flame Google as a search engine. Try researching esoteric topics (like the history of certain theories of DNA replication) and tell me it's not a great search engine.
Google, FTW!
don't get me wrong, i love google and think it rocks! when i want to look up porn or free mp3s on my tilt i use google. but when i actually want to FIND something or GET PROPER ANSWERS, i use live. google can't even come close.
You've never used an iPhone. How do i know? Because I've used both 3G technologies, EVDO, and HSDPA on Windows mobile smartphones, including models from Palm, HTC, Moto. Now tethering may be a different story (haven't compared), but when it comes to mobile browsing, the iPhone on EDGE has actually been FASTER at page load times and especially against my Treo 700WX. I have used 3G in different areas and my experience seems to be the same wherever I go. I'm not sure if there is a limitation on the received bandwidth of phones, or if the processor and RAM limitations create the subjective experience of a slower data rate because of page drawing delays.....
I was really surprised by finding this as I was definitely one of the people really chiding Apple for not putting a HSPA chip into the iPhone in the first place.
Bottom line, in my limited experience, The objective page load times and subjective experience of web browsing on the iPhone is FASTER than any 3G smartphone I have used. It sounds crazy, I know, but I stand by my claim. Until everyone gets to try one, I think this actually hurts Apple because current 3G smartphone owners, used to the slow loading speeds of their phones, hear the word EDGE and shudder to think that the iPhone browsing *should* be slower because of the data rate.
As a poster above said, before you write off the iPhone because of EDGE, you should definitely go try it in the AT&T/Apple store and see for yourself.
hmm, i have gone into a store and tried it. it was the same day i bought my tilt. ive applied a crap-load of registry tweaks on my tilt and using opera 9.33 with hsdpa (7.2 mbit/s) the iphone cant touch it.
before you write off other phones, try other browsers with phones that arent bloated and weighted down by the phone companies. you will be surprised.
This really is not big surprise. The iPhone is the only phone whose plan requires the user to have an unlimited data plan. Coupled with its awesome browser and having a QWERTY input method, this makes perfect sense.
Actually, Blackberrys used to require a data plan.
for Verizon, they still do :(
oh yea, you're all going to be crushed by the apple revolution!
You mean the one that doesn't have 3G, GPS or flash support. Oh yeah, crushed. All the iPhone has going for it is the nice big perty screen and the web browser. That's it.
I use edge with my N95 (provider in area has no 3G support) and it isn't all that bad, at least compared to 1xRTT back in the day.
I hate the mobile search. I don't have an iPhone, but I always use desktop Google on my phone. As far as mobile searches, Google has been the worst for me.
I assume the iPhone is pre setup to go to Google, whilst Windows Mobile devices often use Live Search, where the access figures are likely to be very different. It doesn't mean that iPhone users use the internet 50x more than WM or Symbian devices.