EVDO: this, my friends, is the real deal. It stands for 'Evolution Data Optimized.' True wireless internet access, wherever you want, at DSL-type speeds. As far as I can tell, it hooks into the cellular satellite network, and is currently supported by Sprint and Verizon. I believe that you subscribe to one of them for the service. EVDO access doesn't exist everywhere yet, but in areas that don't have it, the connection automatically flips over to a slower but still faster-than-dialup connection (which is based on WWII military technology. Check it out. Nifty, huh?)
Now that is super-cool. It's also still new, so we're looking at prices around $200 for the hardware (usually a USB plugin card).
And I just went looking for the service subscription prices (which are laughably difficult to pin down; the latest word I can find is from last year and puts it at about $60/month), and I found that while they allow web browsing and email, Verizon strongly discourages any kind of uploading or downloading using their EVDO service. Last word--and this was the beginning of 2007, mind you--was that they were considering a tiered subscription package to charge high-bandwidth users more in order to discourage them from doing so. So, no amusing little web browser games about shooting penguins out of cannons, or downloading your cousin's photos so you can see how big the baby has gotten. No webcams or Pandora or YouTube, either. Ohh, Verizon! Sprint seems to be a lot more casual about it, being only concerned with the usual legal use issues.
Ah, and one more thing: Verizon promises to open their access to this medium late next year.
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