AT&T iPhone beats Verizon in nationwide 3G speed tests

The AT&T iPhone's average download speed was 1,769 Kbps. The Verizon iPhone's average download speed was 848 Kbps.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Verizon iPhone and AT&T iPhone go head-to-head in broadband tests
• You should get a Verizon iPhone if you really care about voice quality and calls
• AT&T iPhone is better as a media-consumption device

RELATED TOPICS

• AT&T Inc.
• Smartphones
• Verizon iPhone

(WIRED) -- The Verizon iPhone and AT&T iPhone have gone head-to-head in thousands of broadband tests, and the numbers tell the story you'd expect: AT&T's network is much faster.

Ookla, creators of the Speedtest.net broadband test, compiled data from tests run by iPhone customers using the Speedtest.net app on both AT&T and Verizon.

On average, the reported AT&T iPhone transfer rates were roughly two times faster than the Verizon iPhone's.

The AT&T iPhone's average download speed was 1,769 Kbps, and the average upload speed was 730 Kbps. By way of comparison, the Verizon iPhone's average download speed was 848 Kbps, and the average upload speed was 506 Kbps.

The results come from 43,000 AT&T iPhones and 14,000 Verizon iPhones all over the United States. Most Speedtest.net app users ran the tests multiple times, totaling 106,000 results from AT&T iPhone users and 49,000 results from Verizon iPhone users.

The Speedtest.net results did not provide data on coverage reliability or dropped connections.

From my benchmarking of the Verizon iPhone versus the AT&T iPhone, I also found that the AT&T iPhone's 3G transfer rates were much faster than Verizon's.

However, the AT&T iPhone sometimes could not complete tests because it did not have a connection, whereas the Verizon iPhone successfully completed every test. In short, I found the Verizon iPhone to be slower with network transfers but more reliable with coverage. Reviewers at other publications had the same results.

"I think that's the story I expected to see," said Doug Suttles, co-founder of Ookla. "Verizon has never talked up their speed, but they always talk up coverage and reliability.... I think the story is quality versus throughput: What are you after?"

Speedtest.net's nationwide results back my verdict: You should get a Verizon iPhone if you really care about voice quality and calls, but the AT&T iPhone is better as a media-consumption device (Netflix movies, photo downloads and uploads, etc.) because of its faster speeds.

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Copyright 2010 Wired.com.

Mobile phones: How to 'keep your brain away from the antenna

Some doctors encourage people to keep phones away from their heads as a way to reduce radiation exposure.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• New study says cell phones change how brains process sugar
• The study draws no definitive conclusions about cell phones and brain health
• But study author still says people should keep heads away from phones
• CNN offers tips on how to accomplish this, without looking silly

RELATED TOPICS

• Cellular Phones
• Environmental Public Health
• Environmental Working Group
• Technology

(CNN) -- Ah, the what-do-I-do-about-this frustration of science.

A government-funded study published Tuesday says radiation from mobile phones can change the way brains process sugar.

Is that a big deal? The scientists aren't sure, according to CNN Health's report. But our story has scary tidbits.

Like this quote, from Dr. Nora Volkow, the Journal of the American Medical Association study's lead author and a neuroscientist at theNational Institutes of Health:

"The human brain is sensitive to the electromagnetic radiation emitted by cell phones, but for the brain to be impacted the cell phone has to be close to the antenna. So keep your brain away from the antenna."

In layman's terms: It's better to be safe than sorry, she says.

Despite years of research, there's still no conclusive proof cell phone radiation causes cancer and other health problems in the brain. Studies, some of them funded by the wireless industry, have produced contradictory findings.

But the nearly ubiquitous devices haven't been proven 100% safe either.

So, for the sake of argument, let's say you are worried about this and you do want to "keep your brain away from the antenna."

How do you actually do that?

Here are a few options, taken from an earlier CNN tip sheet and influenced by another from the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization:

Quit talking on the phone

In the age of "can you hear me now," this won't be easy. One workaround , however, is to send text messages instead of calling. Not only will this keep the phone in your hand and away from your brain, it may help you connect with that pint-sized niece of yours who has given up "verbaling" completely.

Wear headphones when you talk

Wearing headphones -- or those Bluetooth headsets -- when you're talking on the phone can cut down on your exposure to mobile phone radiation. The only downsides to this are sociological: It looks weird if you're talking to yourself in public; and tech-savvy friends may judge you for wearing a Bluetooth earpiece.

Buy a phone that emits less

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission sets a radiation threshold that all cell phones sold here must fall below. Industry groups say this level is plenty strict, maybe even too strict. But others say consumers should be informed about how much radiation their phones emit and, if they want, they should be able to purchase a lower-radiation phone.

San Francisco last year started requiring cell phone manufacturers to advertise radiation levels in stores. If you don't happen to live in the Bay Area, however, don't fret. The Environmental Working Group and CNET News both have posted online lists of cell phones and their radiation levels.

General rule of thumb: The smarter the phone, the more radiation.

Use the speaker function

This one is easy to forget. Say you don't have headphones with a built-in microphone and you don't want to buy a geeky Bluetooth headset. The obvious solution: Just use your mobile phone's speakerphone feature.

Bonus tip: This probably works better when you're alone than when you're sharing your conversation with the entire room.

Don't talk as much

Take this as literally as possible. It's not just how long you're on the phone, but how much time you spend talking in a phone conversation that actually contributes to the amount of radiation your phone emits, according to the Environmental Working Group.

Maybe it's a good time to work on some listening skills.