iPhone coverage at 11,000 feet
Go ahead, make the call.
(Credit: Kent German/CNET)Last weekend I traveled to Mammoth Lakes in California's eastern Sierra Nevada. If you've never been I highly recommend it for its spectacular mountain scenery (Convict Lake is a highlight).
My family has visited the area for at least three generations, but the last time I went (give or take 20 years), the concept of a cell phone barely entered my mind. This trip, however, I took along CNET's iPhone 3GS. Not only did I want to use some of the travel-friendly apps, but I also wanted to gauge AT&T's service in the relative wilds of California.
As any iPhone owner can tell you, coverage is on the device is far from perfect. While that would be understandable in rural areas, it's rather frustrating that in major cities like San Francisco you can suffer from a weak signal right in the middle of town. Indeed, the poor reception is a major reason reason why any iPhone version has failed to win our Editors' Choice award.
I even got it here.
(Credit: Kent German/CNET)So you can imagine my astonishment at receiving a perfect AT&T signal on the very top of 11,000-foot Mammoth Mountain. I had taken the gondola up one morning and I wanted to use Facebook to upload a few photos of the fantastic view. Though I fully expected to receive no reception at all, I actually had a solid signal with five bars. I snapped the photos (check out my slideshow from the trip), uploaded them and updated my status without a hitch.
Though I later spotted a cell phone tower on top of the gondola station, I couldn't get over the fact that I had a stronger iPhone signal there than on my patio in San Francisco. Sure, the tower was no doubt installed to benefit winter skiers, but I still thought it was pretty cool. I even got a signal while hiking in Devil's Postpile National Monument, which is 6,000 feet below Mammoth Mountain but outside a line of sight.
So I ask you this, AT&T. If I can get a perfect iPhone signal in a rugged valley and on a mountain peak, why do I drop a call on the corner of 18th and Sanchez in San Francisco? That's just not right.
Kent German is a senior editor for cell phone reviews at CNET. When he's not testing the newest handsets on the market, he's blogging about cell phone news for Crave. In his On Call column, he answers reader questions and gives his take on the rapidly changing mobile industry. E-mail Kent. 
Anything goes wrong above this altitude and Apple will blame it as user error... just like getting discolored 3GS in hot climates.
What about inside a plane?
In San Francisco, it's tricky because of all the buildings and not all buildings are created equal. Some are "friendlier" to cellphone signals than others.
Also, that's a sensational title "iPhone coverage at 11,000 feet". It should read "AT&T coverage at 11,000 feet".
+1
Nice work. Clearly this could not have been accomplished on any phone *except* for the iPhone! </sarcasm> But who wants to read "RAZR coverage at 11,000 feet"?
Still, if you compare apples to apples, it's lame that cellular customers in major U.S. cities have far crappier reception than customers in Western European cities.
Metropolitan iPhone users harshing on AT&T is completely justifiable.
- by rsfinn July 21, 2009 8:58 AM PDT
- "If I can get a perfect iPhone signal in a rugged valley and on a mountain peak, why do I drop a call on the corner of 18th and Sanchez in San Francisco?"
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
(23 Comments)Because from the top of an 11,000 mountain, you probably have line of sight to dozens of cell phone towers. In the middle of a city, you keep getting blocked by tall buildings (because AT&T has apparently not placed enough cell sites).
This has been another episode of Physics You Should Have Learned in High School. Recommended for all tech reporters and AT&T executives. :-)