 Review by freethought 
UPDATED: 1.9 years ago
member for 9.8 years, 1386 visits, last login: 1 days ago
 Carrollton,Denton,TX
 $59 per month (24 month contract)
 about 1 days
 "Good Mac OS X support; decent speeds; no dropouts"
 "Does not include e-mail or Usenet servers with access account"
 "A good option for travelers or mobile info workers who don't want to depend on Wi-Fi hotspots"
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(ratings match consensus)
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After totaling up how much I was spending (and charging my company) for a Wi-Fi hotspot add-on to my T-Mobile cell phone bill ($19.95/month add-on) in addition to $10-15/night for hotel broadband connectivity in most better hotels ($80-4150/month), it made sense to try out the Verizon EVDO-Rev A-based cellular data broadband access.
I figured I could use the datacard for access everywhere I'd normally use the T-Mobile hotspots (American Airlines Admirals Clubs, Hyatt hotels, Starbucks) as well as everywhere T-Mobile doesn't have a hotspot. So, I'd get more connectivity, at a lower price.
I chose Verizon because they officially support Mac OS X with their software; Sprint doesn't, but gives customers a link to 3rd-party sites that provide utilities.
Account setup was quick with a single visit to a company-own Verizon Wireless store near my house. The sales rep worked with her manager to get me a discounted price on the ExpressCard34 access modem, saving $70 off the $159 price. After a week, I decided to exchange the ExpressCard34 modem for the Verizon Wireless UM150 USB modem, which is more useful since it would work on any laptop or desktop with a USB port, and not just my MacBook Pro with an ExpressCard34 slot.
The Verizon Access Manager software for Mac is very good. Install is done well, and once the software is installed, connecting using the wireless modem is easy. You can use either the Verizon Access Manager to initiate the connection, or simply choose the National Access connection profile in the Network System Preferences, and click Connect. Either way works fine -- using the VZAM software gives you connection stats including speed, bytes transferred up and down, connect time, and signal strength. The VzWireless Web site also shows you your total bandwidth used to date for the month, so you can keep an eye on your 5Gb limit.
So far, everything has worked just fine. I am able to use all the apps I want to through the connection, including Webcam with iChat under Leopard, streaming radio with iTunes, and even my company's VPN connection with a Cisco VPN client.
I'm about two weeks into my 30-day trial period, but I think I'll be keeping the gear and stay on the Verizon plan, even though the 24-month term is a bit odious to me. I expect to be needing to rely on a connection option like this when we retire in the middle of next year and begin traveling across the country in an RV, and again not need to depend on Wi-Fi hotspots.
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