A new report from Metrico Wireless looked at how the brand-new iPhone 4S performed on the three major U.S. carriers currently offering the device…and found some variations that might be significant for anyone still up in the air over what carrier they might want with their iPhone. Overall, Metrico found Verizon edges out AT&T and Sprint for success placing and maintaining voice calls; however, Sprint edged out Verizon and AT&T for voice call quality, and AT&T beat both Verizon and Sprint for data upload and download and general Web browsing.
However, it’s important to note that Metrico generally found the iPhone 4S very reliable across all carriers, with 100 percent or near-100 percent success rates on downloads, uploads, and Web browsing, particularly when stationary. And, in Metrico’s tests, the iPhone 4S outperformed more than 70 percent of competing 3G smartphones tested on all three major providers.
Metrico says it performed over 21,000 Web page loads, uploaded and downloaded more than 8,000 files (both while mobile and stationary), and placed about 6,000 voice calls as part of its testing. Interestingly, although AT&T’s iPhone 4S generally won in Web browsing speeds, the company found the iPhone 4S on AT&T substantially outperformed the iPhone 4 in download speeds by “a considerable margin.”
Unsurprisingly, Metrico also found that staying in one place helps a bunch with download speeds, especially with the iPhone 4 available on AT&T and Verizon.
A virtual private network (VPN) encrypts your internet traffic and routes it through a server run by the VPN provider. Websites see the VPN server’s IP address instead of yours, and you can get around geo-blocks, censorship, and ISP throttling. The best VPN services are paid, but there are still a handful of free options that do the job well.
Most free VPNs come with a hidden cost, because running servers isn’t cheap and a company that doesn’t charge you has to make its money somewhere else. Many do so by logging your browsing activity and selling it to advertisers, while others flood you with ads and track you across apps.
There's nothing quite like curling up with a good book on a cold evening. As much as I love the feel of a physical book, books take up a lot of space, and carrying more than one on a trip quickly becomes a chore. That's where e-readers come in, and the Amazon Kindle remains one of the best options.
Amazon just refreshed its Kindle lineup with thinner, lighter designs, a new flush-front display, and colors that wrap from front to back. Add the Kindle Scribe and the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft to the mix, and you have more choices than ever before.
A good Android app should earn its place on your phone. It might make an everyday task easier, handle something the built-in software can't, or let you change an experience that never quite worked for you.
These 20 apps cover everything from quick notes and password management to automation and local file sharing. Some are free, others charge for advanced features, and a few take some effort to figure out. The point isn't to install them all. It's to find the ones that make your phone work better for you.