An expensive fancy phone does not always guarantee the best E-GPRS (EDGE) results. This brought me a welcome surprise during EDGE optimization contracts with one of Pakistan’s biggest cellular networks. Their mobile internet advertisement campaign is too rigorous, and for obvious reasons their respective authorities have been pushing the vendor (for better internet speeds) to utmost limits.
As opposed to voice data, packet data is dependent on the handset to a certain extent. One may expect the latest smartphones to be equipped with the entire required arsenal to give users the best mobile internet experience, but reality is, thus far, surprising.
As much as it depends on the mobile phone company, the maximum speed which a user can experience while using mobile internet, also depends on the user’s mobile phone. If you check in your handset’s specifications, there is an indication to the maximum speed it can entertain. Phone which can provide maximum speeds on mobile internet are, technically, termed as GPRS Multislot Class 30 and above supportive phones.
The “designed for humans” Samsung Galaxy S III fails to match the maximum possible downlink a mobile can sustain (as laid out initially by ETSI and now maintained by 3GPP). Last I checked, even Apple’s iPhone 4 has the same limitation. Precisely noticing, these devices can peak up to a date rate of 236 kbp/s on downlink in conditions where there are very few number of users, and the coverage is excellent.
Most of the vendors seem to have adopted the strategy to cloud this information from customers. The old friend, Nokia – however, displays it vividly and also has the maximum number of phones which can run, technically termed, GPRS/EDGE Multislot Class 30 and above. Taiwanese vendor HTC also has majority of its phones Class 30 compatible.
Cursorily noted, a few of the compatible phones:
Nokia: Nokia Asha 302 and above; Nokia N series, Nokia E series
HTC: Desire models; Incredible S; Salsa
In good conditions (as mentioned above), with these phones, one can have data rates more than that reached on home internet connection of 256 kbp/s. Knowing the maximum limits of your phone helps in knowing why applications like Viber and Skype do not run smoothly over mobile internet, only if one is curious.
