So the iPhone works on EDGE networks. But what does this mean and is it good enough?
The iPhone has been designed to work on GPRS, EDGE and Wi-Fi networks but doesn’t include 3G support. Apple has stated this has to do with the power requirements of the 3G chip.
EDGE provides higher download speeds than the 2G network and GPRS (2.5G) but less than what can be achieved with Wi-Fi and 3G. and it has been labeled 2.75G.
The coverage of the EDGE networks around the world is very sparse, some places only 10s of percent actually. And that is disappointing numbers and not good news for the users of iPhone.
Trying to talk up the iPhone’s Wi-Fi compatibility and its deals for free hotspot are not doing the trick either.
EDGE is the existing standard for GSM data networks. GSM is a direct rival to CDMA. In the US, Cingular is the largest GSM provider.
EDGE offers service rated at about quarter Mb/sec. That’s about twice the speed of ISDN (.128 MB/sec), but significantly slower than even the slowest offerings of DSL (.3 to 1.5 Mb/sec), and a fraction of the throughput of 802.11b WiFi (typical: 6.5 Mb/sec).
EDGE is far faster than GPRS or old dialup networks however (both are about .03 Mb/sec), so while EDGE not capable of supporting iChat style video conferencing, it is useful enough to browse web pages, receive HTML emails, and support the other web service features demonstrated on the iPhone such as Google Maps.
EDGE is also widely deployed in the US. Newer generation technologies, including HSUPA and EVDO, are not. If the iPhone supported newer networks at launch, it would offer users less data service coverage at higher service fees. HSUPA does promise a future path for faster data, and will no doubt unlock new applications for future phones.
Along with the confusing acronym soup of HSDPA and HSOPA, HPUPA competes against other mobile 3G standards. Wikipedia says the next set of standards are edging out existing CDMA2000 and EVDO rollouts in some markets.
In addition to the factors of availability and cost, another reason for Apple going with EDGE rather than a faster network is that the iPhone won’t have to rely solely on mobile phone networks for data. It’s designed to use WiFi wherever it’s available.
WiFi is far faster than any mobile networks now in place, including EVDO and HSUPA (2.5 – 5.76 Mb/sec). Typical 802.11b and g offer 6.5 Mb/sec and 20 Mb/sec transfers. WiFi is so much faster because it is designed to serve a much smaller range of local service.
For iPhone users in a school, home, or office with existing WiFi service, automatic use of WiFi for data service will not only be far faster, but far cheaper: free in many cases.
Getting EDGE to work on your iPhone is simple, but require some knowledge about application set up in your iPhone.
You will need iBrickr to browse the file system of your iPhone (www.ibrikr.com)
There is a video turorial available for iBrickr if you want to learn how to use this system (www.i4u.com/article11028.html)
Once you have downloaded the iBrickr and the PXL files installed on your iPHone, you can launch iBrickr.exe. You will be able to see the main interface and click on files to browse your phone file system.
Locate your /private/var/root
Launch notepad and paste this code;
Function FindProxyForURL(url, host)
{
If (isInNet (myIpAddress(), “10.0.0.0”,
“255.0.0.0”))
Return “PROXY 216.155.165.50:808”;
Else
Return “DIRECT”
}
Save the file as proxy.pac and upload it to /private/var/root
Right click this file and select “save link as”, you need to save the file as
Preference.plist, you will then upload preference.plist into the following iPhone directory:
/private/var/root/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/preferences.plist
NOTE! If you are on firmware 1.1.3, upload the preferences.plist to this directory;
/private/var/preferences/SystemConfiguration
This will overwrite the current file that is already in that directory.
Now grab your iPhone and tap settings – General – Network – EDGE. The APN you will use is wap.voicestream.com, username and password will be guest. Reboot your iPhone and there you are, you should be able to browsw online using EDGE.
NB! After performing this hack you will notice that EDGE will interfere with your WIFI connections whenever it sees it. IF this happens to you, there is a solution for this as well.
Click on the Browse Application button, this will launch a list of 3rd party applications you can install at your will. For our purpose we will install an application called Services. Basically what this does is allow you to turn off the WiFi, Bluetooth and EDGE according to your needs.
Once you are done with the installation, iPhone will reboot and on your Springboard you should see a Services icon, tap on the icon and here you can toggle between EDGE and WiFi connection.