iPhone 5 Release Date: Sprint Data Speeds Struggling With Massive Influx of iPhone 4S Customers?

Users Complain of Low Data Speed With Sprint's iPhone 4S

By Katherine Weber, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The Sprint network, the most recent carrier of Apple’s iPhone, affirms that the network is handling the massive influx of iPhone clientele with efficiency and most importantly, speed.

“We are looking into a small number of reports of slow data speeds when using the iPhone 4S, however there are also reports showing that Sprint’s network is the fastest,” Sprint said in a statement on Monday evening.

Users in various areas of the United States have complained of slow connection speeds, posting their quandaries on the Sprint’s Community Forum thread entitled “iPhone 4s and 3G data network too slow to be useful.”

According to tech blog Appolocious, in a series of data speed tests conducted between iPhone networks Sprint, Verizon Wireless, and AT&T, Sprint generally came in last.

Although Sprint promotes the benefit of unlimited data, such a benefit loses its appeal with data speeds averaging as slow as 100-200 kbps per hour.

In their statement, Sprint also attributed slow performance times to the possibility of fickle weather, proximity to a tower, and time of day.

The iPhone 4S flaunts desirable new traits like the Siri personal assistant, an 8 megapixel camera, and an A5 two core chip, which maximizes 2x more power with faster graphics.

The iPhone 4S broke sales records when Apple sold 4 million in the first three days of release, which started on Oct. 14. This is twice as much as its predecessor, the iPhone 4, and Apple contended that it broke the record for phone sales.

The great success of the iPhone 4S is especially surprising because Apple made its most updated operating system, iOS5, originally exclusively for the iPhone 4S, available to old iPhone models, iPads, and older iPod Touches.

However, it seems most are willing to spend their earnings on Apple’s hottest product, the iPhone 4S.

Forbes Magazine contends iPhone 4S sales are “heading for the Guinness Book of World Records.”