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A Wired.com study concludes that is is most likely not the iPhone itslef that is to blame for reports of poor 3G reception in parts of the world.

2,600 iPhone users in the study determined that 3G outperforms EDGE in most cases, in some regions achieving data speeds seven times faster. But in other areas, 3G performed just as slowly as EDGE, and in still other regions, users couldn’t even connect to 3G at all. While participants in Australia reported the slowest average 3G download speeds–about 759 Kbps–the vast majority of 0 Kbps speeds came from U.S. users, home to 63 of the 80 participants who reported network connection failures. Users in Germany and the Netherlands fared far better, reporting the fastest average 3G download speeds of about 2,000 Kbps.

In the U.S., even in major metropolitan areas, service is spotty at best. Ten of 30 participants from the San Francisco area reported 3G speeds almost as slow as EDGE.

The Wired.com study strongly suggests its hardware is not to blame for the iPhone 3G’s problems. Unfortunately though, this is not an issue that’s going away anytime soon, or a dilemma the computing giant can solve by means of a software update. This will have to be addressed by operator partners.

This makes me wonder is it’s the huge popularity and media coverage the iPhone reveives that is just now calling this to our attention. What about other AT&T 3G devices, that have been out for sometime?… are they disappointing as well?