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So my Verizon LTE Samsung 4G LTE modem arrived today. Unlike my iPad2, the "need it now, want it all the time" feeling isn't quite here with the new way to "stay connected."
While I have no "buyers remorse" my initial feelings are sorta like, this. "It's nice. It's faster than 3G. But their network is far from developed, built out or fully deployed."
For example, at my house in Del Mar, CA there's only 3G coverage. I need to drive almost to the 805/I-5 split before the 4G network kicks in. But when it kicks in, boy does it ever. A fast speed test showed a download speed at times of almost 10 megs, and an upload between 6 and 7 megs. That's great, but a less than a mile from the San Diego Airport my speeds are very variable. The download wavers between 3 and 5 megs while the upload is under 500K, so I attribute that to network rediness.
The variability in speeds aside there are some very interesting benefits. Web pages load rocket fast. I mean fast. An attempted VoIP call worked, but the network was choppy back to me. I think it's more the provider than Verizon's network as the recipient said "it sounds like a cell phone call without the choppiness."
More testing here will be done.