While iPhone 4 adds 3G HSUPA (high speed uploads) to preview HSDPA 7.2 (high speed downloads) and is giving many users much faster data, others are filling our inboxes with complaints their speeds are so slow they border on 2G EDGE… or worse.

I know when I upgraded my iPhone 3GS to iOS 4 I had some data issues but almost immediately my carrier, Rogers, pushed out an OTA (over the air) Carrier Settings Update, taking it from 7.0 to 7.1. After that, I was flying.

AT&T seems to still be on 7.0, could a 7.1 update fix the woes of those currently suffering from poor 3G connections? We’ll have to wait and see.

iPhone 4 really is faster, but once again it’s confusing when many people have no problem and get to enjoy that speed boost, and others have nothing but problems and speed bumps.

Let us know which group you fall into, on what network, and where.

iPhone 4 – Faster 3G speeds or nothing but speed bumps? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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AT&T still remains reluctant to introduce US iPhone customers to tethering and judging from their latest response to Engadget’s inquiry, we wouldn’t expect it anytime too soon.

“iPhone tethering has the potential to exponentially increase traffic, and we need to ensure that we’re able to deliver excellent performance for the feature – over and above the increases in data traffic we’re already seeing – before we will offer the feature.”

Admitting their network is not up the challenge of providing tethering to iPhone users just yet gets them some points for at least being honest. However, with Verizon now offering MiFi-like free mobile hotspot service to all Palm Pre Plus owners, however, and Sprint intending to paid hotspot service for the EVO 4G when it arrives, the competitive ball is racing towards AT&T’s court.

Here’s an idea — how about this June/July when the iPhone HD/iPhone4G AT&T gives us a mobile hotspot app for that?

[Engadget]

AT&T network still hindering iPhone tethering? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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We’ve heard from a couple readers that they’ve received shipping notifications with tracking numbers for their iPad Wi-Fi + 3G so it looks like that Friday, April 30 release date is firming up.

For their part, AT&T posted a online PDF document that detailing their data plans for the new 3G equipped iPad.

Some of the highlights that you may not be aware of are as follows:

• Your service will automatically renew every 30 days to provide a more seamless data experience.
• If you choose to select the 250 MB plan and go over that amount of data in your selected plan before the 30 day period is over, you have the option to choose to purchase another 250MB of data, or simply select the unlimited plan and either choice will be good for 30 days from the date you activated the new plan.
• All data plans for iPad include access to more than 20,000 AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots nationwide at no additional cost.

If you’ve gotten your shipping notification, let us know in comments!

iPad Wi-Fi + 3G start to ship, data plan details posted on AT&T site is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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From the Forums is a great way to see all of the current hot topics within our forums are. In order to create any new threads of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is a simple process that will only take a few minutes out of your day, so if you have not already already done so, head on over and register now!

• The buzz continues on regarding the design on the soon to be released iPhone. What are your thoughts on the new design?

• If you own a iPad you owe it to yourself to try the latest game from Ngmoco, GodFinger. [iTunes Link - Free] Once you get up and running and are in search of some friends visit this thread right here to find people to add!

• It seems as if a lot of our readers are currently being charged for their iPad 3G. Are you one of them?

• Once the new iPhone is released do you feel that Apple will drop the 16 GB models all together? Make your vote count in this poll thread!

See you in the forums!

iPhone 4G design, GodFinger for iPad, iPad 3G credit card charges, 16 GB iPhones to be discontinued? – From the Forums is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

AT&T CEO, Randall Stephenson, has been quoted in saying that the Apple iPad will be a “Wi-Fi driven product” so no customers should be concerned with poor 3G data. But it did not end there, he also went on to say the following.

“My expectation is that there’s not going to be a lot of people out there looking for another subscription.”

All of the above really makes those of us here at TiPb scratch our heads. Are those the type of statements you expect to hear from a company ready to successfully sell iPads in their corporate stores across the country? Or would you think AT&T’s CEO would really want to hype up the product with positive comments to try and spark more 3G data subscriptions?

Your thoughts?

[Via TUAW via Reuters]

AT&T Not Banking on Selling 3G Data Plans for iPad? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona could see a joint conference being hosted by Skype and Verizon Wireless collectively. Such speculations would mean a gear up for Skype over 3G on Verizon’s network. By using special Skype phones, users of the U.K.-based network carrier 3 are a fortunate few who are already using Skype calling on their cell phone network, but if the rumor is true, then things may soon be changing for good for all you fellows using Verizon, but would it involve the use of special phones as well or would the iPhone and the like, with some software/firmware, be good enough to handle the calls. This is something we’ll have to wait and watch for, until the speculations are official.

Via: TMCnet Bloggers

Apple’s latest bulletin via the iPhone Developer News feed highlight how we really might see 3G connected SlingPlayer — and even Hulu — on the iPhone and iPad without melting the cell towers, courtesy of HTTP Live Streaming:

HTTP Live Streaming provides a state-of-the-art standards-based solution for streaming video over wireless networks. A key benefit of HTTP Live Streaming is the ability to dynamically adjust to varying network bandwidth conditions. It can store multiple video clips of different quality on a server, and then deliver the one that matches what the customer is capable of viewing on the network they are currently accessing.

Your application must use the HTTP Live Streaming protocol if it uses the cellular network to deliver video for any stream with a duration of 10 minutes or more. In addition, applications using HTTP Live Streaming over the cellular network must include a low quality stream of no more than 64 Kbps for your app to resort to when network conditions demand it.

The key here is that HTTP Live Streaming can dynamically increase or decrease video quality as you move from beefy Wi-Fi to 3G, standard or starved. Do we mind getting worse-looking video when the network is being strained? Years of putting up with blocky YouTube cat-on-piano videos likely points to “no”…

Apple: Want to Stream Video Over 3G? Use HTTP and Have a 64 Kbps Option for the Network is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Chris Foresman over at Ars Technica spoke with Sling Media regarding AT&T’s recent announcement that they’d now allow SlingPlayer to work over 3G, and general manager John Gilmore had this to say:

“We actually have been working very intensively with AT&T to get the 3G streaming approved,” Gilmore told Ars. “Over the course of the last couple of months, they have been testing the app in their labs.”

Gilmore said that AT&T was able to determine that SlingPlayer Mobile wouldn’t significantly impact network performance after extensive testing. “We always felt comfortable that that wasn’t the case,” he told Ars. “As we built our relationship with AT&T, we were able to prove to them that our app wouldn’t cause a negative customer impact. We always felt that our app was a ‘good network citizen.’”

Gilmore further said Sling didn’t change any code for AT&T but that they have, and will continue to improve it.

Huzzah!

Ars: Slingplayer Didn’t Change for AT&T, AT&T Tested and Got Comfortable with Sling is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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For those of you holding your breath for Skype to work over AT&T’s 3G network, you will soon be able to relax as Skype has told TiPb it’s only a matter of time. From their blog:

You may have seen other apps offering calls over 3G, but we’re holding ours back for a little bit longer. Why? So that we can give you the very best audio quality we can. When our 3G-capable Skype for iPhone app is released, it’ll let you make calls in wideband audio, giving you greater clarity and fidelity – because that’s what you expect from Skype.

We’ve been waiting since way back in November, when AT&T decided to allow VoIP over their 3G network, and Apple’s iPhone 3.2 SDK for iPad has now removed the last hurdle.

It’s no surprise we heard earlier that AT&T has been working with Apple to improve their network before the release of the highly anticipated Apple iPad. Perfect timing don’t you think?

More from Skype via video, after the break!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone Skype App Going 3G: “Real Soon”

The past few days our inbox has been flooded with emails from you, our readers, letting us know that you’ve experienced significant increases in AT&T 3G data speeds. And this makes perfect sense if you consider that all of the reported claims have come from the 6 cities that AT&T recently flipped the HSPA 7.2 switch on.

Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami, with capabilities being turned up on a site-by-site basis beginning last month. Further backhaul deployment will continue in these markets and begin in additional markets across the nation.

Located in Chicago I’ve personally witnessed a slight increase in data speed but I am still nowhere close to the 7.2 that AT&T has promised. Drop us a line in the comments and let us know — what speeds are you pulling from AT&T now?

[Thank to everyone who sent in their speeds!]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Some AT&T iPhone Users Seeing Increased 3G Data Speeds?