Verizon Wireless EV-DO review by PC Magazine

Verizon Wireless EV-DO review by PC MagazineVerizon Wireless EV-DO
REVIEW DATE: 03.02.05

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The Verizon Wireless EV-DO network is the clear leader among 3G high-speed wireless options. Already available in 32 U.S. metro areas, it's your best bet for getting the mobile Internet from anywhere at any time. It's powerful and addictive, and it's our Editors' Choice.

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Verizon isn't just faster than the competition; it is also way ahead in building out its network. Its impressive 32-city coverage area typically includes more than just a core city. For example: Its New York and Philadelphia coverage areas stretch out through New Jersey and nearly join in the middle, and its Washington, D.C., area extends all the way to Annapolis, Maryland. Verizon has committed to covering 150 million Americans by the end of 2005.

We used Verizon's unlimited EV-DO plan, called BroadbandAccess, to connect to our corporate network while riding on Amtrak from New York City to Philadelphia and to avoid the daily broadband charges at Las Vegas hotels. In all cases, we connected quickly and easily. BroadbandAccess can change the way you work, untethering you from traditional hot spots and poky cellular connections.
Devices that use Verizon Wireless EV-DO
• Audiovox XV-6600
• LG VX8000
• Sierra Wireless AirCard 580

Verizon's technology, properly known as CDMA 1xRTT EV-DO, opens a wide channel on an existing CDMA network just for data, which can travel at very high speeds. Verizon quotes average speeds of 300 to 500 Kbps, but the technology can theoretically reach speeds of 2.4 Mbps. EV-DO coexists with, but doesn't alter, a carrier's existing CDMA 1xRTT voice network.

UMTS, on the other hand, completely replaces older GSM systems with a new, combined voice/data system. UMTS is actually a more radical technology, but it's slower than EV-DO for data because of differences in spectrum usage and signal power management strategies.

On tests in New York, northern Virginia, and Las Vegas, we got speeds averaging 677 Kbps, with highs up to 1.1 Mbps and lows down to 216 Kbps. In other words, our slowest EV-DO connection was just about as fast as our fastest EDGE connection. We even got up to 693 Kbps on a moving train. Upload speeds were much slower, averaging 90 Kbps.

As for service plans, Verizon has very few options. The BroadbandAccess plan for PC Cards is a pricey $79.99 per month, but it's very easy to use—just pop a PC Card into your laptop. The PC Cards sell for as little as $49 with a two-year contract.

BroadbandAccess for PDAs makes you pay more up front for an expensive PDA/ phone, but costs less monthly. It currently works solely with the $549 Audiovox XV6600 PDA/phone. For $45 a month, you get unlimited Internet on your PDA or laptop, using the XV6600 as a Bluetooth or USB modem. There's one big catch: Bluetooth speeds seem to be capped around 400 Kbps, and the USB function isn't supported, so you must configure the USB modem based on hobbyist Web sites if you want a faster connection than Bluetooth offers.

V Cast, Verizon's $15-per-month consumer EV-DO service, is much less compelling than BroadbandAccess. V Cast currently comes on three phones (priced with one-year contracts): the Audiovox 8940 ($299 direct), LG VX8000 ($269), and Samsung SCH-a890 ($319). There's no e-mail, no Web browsing, no laptop connections, not even the ability to view video clips other than the ones Verizon chooses to bring you.

To its credit, V Cast includes a range of 2- to 5-minute clips from providers like CNN, Comedy Central, Fox Sports, NBC, PBS, and VH1, and about 300 new clips arrive per day. The clips are smooth and clear, the best we've seen on a phone, although talking heads sometimes lose lip sync. Still, despite the variety, we got bored with V Cast pretty quickly.

Verizon isn't the only carrier going with EV-DO. Sprint will roll out its EV-DO service later this year, and we expect Nextel to go the EV-DO route as well, now that it has merged with Sprint. Virgin Mobile, Qwest, and the new AT&T Mobile will also use EV-DO, as they're on Sprint's physical network. Sprint says its prices will be competitive with Verizon's for similar services.

If you are willing to pay, Verizon EV-DO—specifically BroadbandAccess—is the best high-speed wireless access you can currently get in the U.S. You'll be surfing speedily while the folks around you hunt for hot spots.