I don’t talk on the phone much so it boggles me how much I pay for voice minutes every month. On the flipside, I use a lot of data and AT&T’s 2GB data cap is limiting me. For a month I’m going to try the following: switch to a prepaid per-minute voice plan and use a Verizon LTE hotspot for data. I use Google Voice so I don’t need a text plan.
I received the hotspot at Google I/O and had free service for 3 months. The speeds were incredible; at times it was faster than my home broadband connection. I can get a 5GB plan for $50.
Pros:
* Savings of $10-20 per month
* 5GB data cap instead of 2GB
* Much faster data with LTE
* More reliable signal. Verizon’s LTE is 700 MHz which allows it better range.
* No contract. I didn’t have one anyway but turning service on/off is simpler this way.
* Easier tethering with other devices. I could tether my phone but this makes it even simpler and hitting the data cap is less likely.
Cons:
* Battery life. The hotspot only lasts about 4 hours. Not a problem when I’m in the car since it can charge over USB. But I will have to carry an external battery (or an extra internal one) when I’m going to be using this away from a plug or public WiFi for extended periods (such as football games). But I usually carry one for my phone anyway so I can use it on both.
EDIT: The hotpspot has much better battery life than I anticipated. And a bigger extra battery was under $10 on Amazon so I went that route. But I have yet to need to switch it out.
* Have to carry 2 devices (and sometimes 3 with a battery). The hotspot is pretty small so it won’t be a big deal.
The increased speed is going to come in handy this weekend while I’m streaming the Texas A&M/OK St game on my phone at a wedding. They are getting married during football season, they should be lucky I’m even at the wedding. But I’ll rant about that elsewhere. Grr.
I’ll report back next month with my results.
http://wyldtek.samsession.com/2011/09/tech-experiment-mobile-data.html
