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A recent article in the New York Times points the finger at iPhone users for slowing down AT&T’s cellular network.
The article charges that iPhone users use Internet connectivity more than other smart phone users, creating a wireless logjam of Tweets, Foursquare updates and Uno challenges.
That we use more bandwidth should seem obvious to most iPhone users; we chose this phone because it makes Internet connectivity so easy.
Maybe the accusers have a point. After all, it’s not as if the iPhone has a meter we can consult to see how much data we’re using at a given time. It’s not as if we have a natural, built-in sense for how much we are using, as we do for drinking water or eating food. Still the amount of data consumed by iPhone users is pretty substantial compared to a regular cell phone. In fact, compared to other smartphones, the iPhone is a downright data hog.
According to research by Chetan Sharma Consulting, the average "feature-filled" cell phone user consumes 40MB of data during a month. The average smartphone, 140MB over the same time period. T-Mobile's G1 with the Google Android OS sucks down around 300MB on average per month. The average iPhone data sucked down during that same month? A whooping 500MB.
That's just the average, there is a good chance that if you're the kind of person that partakes in all the social media out there and tries a few new apps a week, it's possible you're downloading more than that.
So which of the most used apps are straining the network? Not every app needs gobs of data from a network.
We looked at 20 popular apps to get an idea of how much data each sends and receives in its first 30 seconds, and the in its first three minutes, to get a sense of whether the criticisms were on the right track.
We installed Wireshark, a network tool that lets us peek at network traffic, on a 3.06 GHz Core 2 Duo iMac. This iMac connects via Ethernet to our Airport Extreme router, which connects by Ethernet to our cable modem. Then we turned on Internet sharing on the iMac (System Preferences>Sharing>Internet Sharing), and told the iPhone 3GS to connect, via Wi-Fi, to the iMac. We trained Wireshark on the built-in Ethernet card and told it to capture all traffic to and from the iPhone’s IP address.
Additionally, we turned Push notifications off (Settings>Mail, Contacts, Calendars>Fetch New Data>Off) to try to cut down on background chatter to other apps and the iPhone OS itself during the testing.
We tested each app twice: once for 30 seconds, and a second time for three minutes.
This method lets us look at the iPhone 3GS’s data usage on a Wi-Fi network. A drawback of this approach is that apps may behave differently on Wi-Fi than they do on a 3G network: maybe some apps throttle their data usage to suit the available network. Under good conditions, Wi-Fi is often faster than 3G, especially in places where the 3G network is congested, so these data transfer numbers may be higher than what is possible over your local 3G network.
There are other caveats as well: We’re not you. Each of us uses the iPhone differently. We’ve noted the things we did during the three minutes, to give you an idea of how we got these numbers.
Though we’ve turned off Push notifications, it’s possible that the iPhone OS, or some other Apple apps still need to talk to the Internet now and then. So, the data from our usage sessions may be affected somewhat by this traffic, if it exists at all.
Finally, some of these apps may store information in caches, so they don’t have to be reloaded each time. Some items won’t need to be fetched from the network if they’re already cached, saving on bandwidth.
Use this information to get a sense of what actions chug the data like a beer funnel, and what actions gently sip it like a fine wine.
The iPhone is great for checking Facebook while at work, especially in work places that are hostile to social networks: by tapping into the 3G network, you can get around the company firewall.
30 Seconds after launch = 72kB
We had just enough time to look at notifications, and read a few comments on friends’ threads.
3 Minutes after launch = 1.546MB
After reading more comments, we looked at a friend’s profile, looked at
photos of her daughter, left a comment, checked out a local band’s
schedule, and followed some links to blogs.
The photos are probably what made us use so much bandwidth.
There are a lot of apps out there that check Twitter; Tweetie is a capable, functional Twitter app that includes the ability to search for nearby users.
30 Seconds after launch = 32kB
We looked at a few tweets, and tweeted once.
3 Minutes after launch = 807kB
We loaded more screens of tweets, looked at mentions, messages, favorites, trending topics, and loaded updates from nearby users. Also followed links.
The links to other sites are what made the second session use so much more bandwidth than the first. We have a feeling if we’d kept it all within twitter, we’d have used a lot less data.
As they said on Saturday Night Live, "Google Maps is the best. Tru dat. Double true." That’s why the Maps app that comes with the iPhone uses Google Maps as its underlying technology.
30 Seconds after launch =19kB
In map view, we told Maps to find our location, then mapped directions to a location across the river.
3 Minutes after launch = 5.65MB
In map view, we told Maps to give us directions from Elmira, N.Y. to Philadelphia. We checked each step in the turn, and pondered the weird shape of the highway north of Scranton. Upon arriving in Philadelphia, we switched to satellite view to get a sense of what landmarks we might look for.
This is no surprise. The 19kB session was so small because the map for our location was already cached. It didn’t need to fetch many graphics to get us to the destination, only a mile away. On the other hand, We’d never looked at Philadelphia from this phone, so all of the graphics needed to come from somewhere.
In days past, people used to dial on copper landlines to a number at the phone company in order to get the latest weather forecast. The Weather app that comes with the iPhone just contacts Yahoo! instead.
30 Seconds after launch = 6kB
Weather loaded the current conditions and six-day forecast for the six cities we’d already set up the phone for. Then it sent and received nothing for the remainder of the session.
3 Minutes after launch = 309kB
We added another city, then decided to tap on the Y! icon in the bottom left, which loads a Yahoo! Search page for that city in Safari. We spent some time looking at news and events in Seoul, South San Francisco, and Elmira.
Once again, a web link pushes data usage up. See how easy it was?
Millions of people use YouTube daily. The iPhone app downloads compatible versions of videos to your screen, if they’re available.
30 Seconds after launch = 109kB
We found that :30 was not enough time to get a video to play; the video we picked from the most recent uploads was very slow-loading. But, some data did transfer anyway.
3 Minutes after launch = 11.62MB
We watched three videos of glorious soccer playing.
Video is one of the big bandwidth-eaters, as you can see from how much data we caused to go all over the network. Do you remember when files of that size would have been segmented onto floppy disks and tied to carrier pigeons?
The confusingly named iTunes app doesn’t play your music library like iTunes on your Mac does. Rather, it’s the iTunes store, and it lets you grow your library, no computer required.
30 Seconds after launch = 1.20MB
It took a while to load, then we listened to one song sample.
3 Minutes after launch = 14.42MB
We downloaded the free single of the week, and listened to a bunch of samples (sometimes not listening to the entire sample, but skipping to another track).
Wow. We’re honestly surprised that iTunes somehow managed to use more data than YouTube. Maybe it was because we were skipping around a lot; perhaps much of the data transferred for our 30-second samples went to waste.
Arguably, the killer app of the iPhone is the app store itself. It’s the conduit to all the apps that make the iPhone do what you want it to.
30 Seconds after launch = 739kB
We spent some time searching and scrolling.
3 Minutes after launch = 28.47MB
We downloaded some free apps.
Wow. These free games we just downloaded better be good. Notice how all those pretty icons from scrolling around the app lists took up nearly a megabyte of data.
Marrying social media and consumerism, Yelp lets you see what others are saying about local businesses.
30 Seconds after launch = 34kB
We let Yelp find our location, then read a review or two.
3 Minutes after launch = 145kB
We read more reviews, looked for other things nearby, and looked at a photo someone had posted.
We have a feeling these numbers were so low because we ran our test in Elmira, N.Y., which is not exactly a metropolis.
Using algorithms kind of like Apple’s "Genius" playlists, Pandora streams audio based on the kind of music you tell it you like.
30 Seconds after launch = 3.03MB
A song was already playing when we launched, and we skipped it.
3 Minutes after launch = 8.51MB
We switched to our Frank Zappa station, so the songs were pretty long. We skipped one song.
Good-sounding audio requires a lot of bandwidth.
Sometimes, you can’t find nearby friends to play Uno. The Uno app lets you play against friends nearby or online, as well as against the phone.
30 Seconds after launch = 1kB
We launched the app, and poked around.
3 Minutes after launch = 555kB
We signed up for an account with GameLoft, then joined a game room.
Sorry, roller27, MJ4eva, and HanU0ldp1r8, for dropping out of the game after three minutes.
The New York Times was one of the earlier newspapers to make the leap to the web. It also has its own iPhone app, which puts an iPhone-friendly flick and tap navigation control on top of the web site, as well as some general wizziness.
30 Seconds after launch = 1.95MB
We spent most of the time in the menu looking for a story to read.
3 Minutes after launch = 408kB
Since the menu was already loaded, we spent most of the time reading stories.
We have no idea why the menu used so much data. We remember it being pretty wizzy, though. Also, time spent reading often means time spent not asking for more data.
If you’re on the go, but not near a movie marquee, or don’t know where the closest movie theater is, Now Playing can help. It can even show you trailers for movies.
30 Seconds after launch = 455kB
We told Now Playing our ZIP code and looked at movie listings.
3 Minutes after launch = 10.46MB
We watched a trailer or two and read a review.
Once again, video makes a bandwidth hog out of the iPhone.
If there’s not an app for it, there’s probably a web page about it. Safari is a major part of what makes the iPhone so indispensable.
30 Seconds after launch = 879kB
We loaded a newspaper’s front page after they first directed us to their mobile site.
3 Minutes after launch = 2.64MB
We loaded another newspaper’s front page after visiting their mobile site, read two news stories, then visited a blog.
What is it with these sites that say "oh, you’re a phone. Let’s send you to the mobile site?" Then when you click to go to the real site, you’ve loaded the site twice, wasting bandwidth. If they had served the site you asked for in the first place, maybe the network wouldn’t be so congested.
“6-oh-2 is twenty-three.” If that makes any sense to you, you’ll want Police Radio. It lets you listen to audio streams of police, fire, and emergency medical frequencies all over the United States.
30 Seconds after launch = 89kB
We navigated the menu, tried to load a stream, but never got around to hearing anything.
3 Minutes after launch = 574kB
We loaded a stream from Albany, N.Y., and gave it a long listen.
This used less data than music, because people can tolerate spoken words at low quality. (Music, not so much.)
This game’s been getting a lot of attention lately, and it’s much more fun than the old, frustrating Nintendo Entertainment System game of the same name. It’s a single-player game.
30 Seconds after launch = 0kB
We loaded the game and began the first mission.
3 Minutes after launch = 0kB
We played a lot of the first mission, then three minutes were up. So we finished the entire first mission.
See? Not all iPhone apps are data hogs. This one used none of your precious bandwidth while it was playing.
We did notice some bandwidth usage when we quit. It used a minuscule amount of bandwidth to "phone home" to an analytics company called Pinch Media.
For the sadist in you, there’s Stickwars. Use your finger to pick up the stick men attacking your wall. Kill them. Again and again. It’s a single-player game.
30 Seconds after launch = 21kB
We fired it up, and finished the first level.
3 Minutes after launch = 44kB
We played a few levels.
This app checked in with a server after every level, so it could register a high score.
AIM
Known as AOL Instant Messenger before it came to the iPhone, this chat program lets you send and receive messages to and from other AIM users.
30 Seconds after launch = 127kB
We looked at our buddy list for someone to chat with.
3 Minutes after launch = 147kB
We found someone to chat with.
We think the buddy list, with all of its icons, was why the :30 session was so close to the 3:00 session.
Hey! It’s a dictionary! It weighs less than a dictionary! And it’s all there; you don’t need to fetch a definition from the network.
30 Seconds after launch = 39kB
We launched the app, looked for a word, and tapped the "Web" tab to read more about it.
3 Minutes after launch = 33kB
We looked up a few works, looked up synonyms, and tapped the "Web" tab once.
It seems that the Web tab is what’s making this app use bandwidth.
Sharing photos online is fun; sharing them on your iPhone lets you pass pictures around.
30 Seconds after launch = 801kB
We looked at some pictures.
3 Minutes after launch = 6.70MB
We looked at lots of pictures.
More pictures means more data transfer.
Love it or hate it, Wikipedia is often a good starting point for basic information.
30 Seconds after launch = 40kB
We looked at the article of the day, and accidentally reloaded it twice trying to figure out the interface.
3 Minutes after launch = 380kB
We looked at an article about amoeba and about the Battle of Newtown. We tried to load a picture from the second article, but couldn’t get it to work.
Overall, Wikipedia is a lightweight.
Combining stock quotes, news articles, graphs, and a dynamic, customizable interface, Yahoo! Finance may be the app you need to make financial decisions.
30 Seconds after launch = 114kB
We poked around and wished we had money.
3 Minutes after launch = 294kB
We loaded all the financial information we could, read an article or two, and looked at some graphs.
There were no images in either of the sessions. The graphs must come from data instead.
It’s not always about the apps you use; it’s what you do with those apps.
Video and audio use a huge amount of bandwidth. Images use less. Text and other non-audiovisual data use even less. Cached data don’t have to be repeatedly fetched.
Time you spend reading instead of tapping is usually time you spend not downloading more data.
While this information shouldn't matter to much financially thanks to AT&T's all-you-can-eat unlimited data plan, if you happen to travel and you need to keep an eye on how much data you use, this information can save you money.
The next time someone blame iPhone users for slowing down AT&T’s network, pull out your favorite app, and ask, "Well, can you blame them?"
