Is AT&T's newly launched HSUPA data network upgrade leaving you feeling unimpressed? Well, worry not, fellow 3G network surfer, AT&T's got the just the thing to help quench that wireless data fiend within all of us. Just a handful of days before Apple and Steve Jobs is scheduled to showcase the next-generation iPhone on the WWDC [...]

Apple's bringing 3G to the iPhone-table, there's no doubt about that. But, just how did Apple manage to solve the battery-drain issues that they claimed kept the current-generation iPhone from sporting a 3G radio? By allowing the user to disable 3G data access for those times when super-speedy data speeds (or more battery uptime) are [...]

[Update] The network seems to be back up in Los Angeles. At least these outages are short-lived. What's this? Another outage for AT&T's data network? We've been getting reports (confirmed on our end) of AT&T data blackouts in the Los Angeles area. It looks like the EDGE and UMTS/HSDPA networks are out of commission as of the [...]

Right, we all know just how much faster 3G data speeds are in comparison to EDGE speeds. Theoretical speeds are one thing, straight-up throughput numbers are impressive, but what about the most important aspect of any device’s wireless data connection - actual web-browsing performance? Unless you’re one of the harder-core mobile warriors that uses their mobile phone as a wireless modem (tethered to a laptop), chances are your cellphone’s data connection is predominantly used to serve up webpages on your handset’s display. So, just how much faster does a 3G data connection allow you to surf the web? Or, conversely, just how much does the iPhone’s EDGE-only data connection slow down the web-surfing experience? (Hint: not that slow) Well, we set to find out exactly what kind of load-times you can expect in real-world situations and with real-world devices. For this test we used an AT&T Tilt 8925 ( HTC Kaiser TyTn II ) on AT&T’s 3G network, and squared it off against an Apple iPhone on AT&T’s EDGE network. Webpage load-times were the focus of this test, and load-times were rounded down to the nearest second. Load-times were recorded from the moment the page started to load until the status-bar indicated that the page was finished loading (until the progress indicator-bar disappeared). Hit the link for the video. Hypothesis: Webpage load-times are bottlenecked by the device’s processing power and page-rendering technology. This should result in similar load-times between the iPhone and the Tilt. Results: What we found was completely expected. There’s more at play then just throughput. The iPhone’s web-kit based Safari browser allowed it to load pages almost as fast as the AT&T Tilt. We used the Pocket Internet Explorer that comes pre-installed on the Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional-based AT&T Tilt - and it proved to be the device’s downfall. Both devices had similar processor speeds, so that aspect was fairly controlled for in this test. Check out the video below to get an idea for real-world load-times. Summary:

• The AT&T Tilt loaded the ShopBop.com webpage in 37 seconds, whereas the iPhone took a whole 26 seconds.
• IntoMobile.com took 51 seconds to load on the Tilt and 83 seconds on the iPhone.
• Load-times for CalBar.com were the most comparable - 15 seconds on the HTC Kaiser and 18 seconds on the iPhone.

From a purely objective standpoint, the iPhone is an incredibly competent web-browsing device - especially given its EDGE-only limitations. The AT&T Tilt is most definitely the faster web-surfer, but only marginally so (the load-time gap is more pronounced for image- and javascript-intense webpages such as IntoMobile.com). Interestingly, the iPhone beat out the Tilt in loading the ShopBop.com webpage. The rendering engine combined with good processing power keeps the iPhone nipping at the heels of 3G devices. From a subjective standpoint, we’d have to say that the iPhone’s web-browsing experience is clearly superior and is worth waiting a few extra seconds. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to test any Opera browsers. We expect that Opera on the AT&T Tilt would blow the iPhone out of the water. On that note, keep your eyes peeled for a follow-up test with the Opera browser! We can’t wait for the 3G iPhone… ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Use your iPhone as a wireless modem - tether your iPhone to your Mac laptop with TinyproxyApple: 1 million iPhone sold in next three monthsT-Mobile Germany leaks 16GB iPhone with 3G HSDPA - may launch November 12Microsoft Announces The Beta Release Of Their Deep Fish Mobile BrowserAT&T / Cingular improving EDGE speeds [...]

No, this has nothing to do with AT&T’s EDGE data network. It seems that AT&T has decided to pull the trigger and fully take over Pacific Northwest wireless carrier Edge Wireless. Now, AT&T already had a minority (35.7%) stake in the small-time network operator, but that just wasn’t enough for the nation’s largest carrier. Continuing the No. 1 US carrier’s spending spree (they just plunked down $2.8 billion to buy Dobson Communications ), AT&T presumably wanted access to Edge Wireless’s 172,00-strong subscriber base by folding Edge’s operations under the Big Blue umbrella. The move, if approved by the Feds, will give AT&T a wider GSM network to push its flagship handset - the iPhone. AT&T must have some massive cash on hand. They’re going through greenbacks like there’s no tomorrow - and the 700Mhz frequency auction is still on the horizon. We’re sure AT&T’s already considered their maximum bid and set aside a healthy chunk of change for the auction, but it’s still amazing to see just how much money the carrier has been spending recently. [Via: Electronista ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Verizon buys Ramcell network in Oregon and Kentucky - expands rural network coverageAT&T announces International Calling for AT&T Unity customersCalling all Apple iPhone owners - is your AT&T EDGE network still down?AT&T launches Sierra Wireless USBConnect 881 HSUPA USB modemSierra Wireless Apex 880 USB HSPA modem gets official