I bought the Verizon USB760, advertised as "wireless broadband" and it's been hell. I even popped for a signal accelerator from a third party company but still, if I try to watch net video it plays for ten seconds, stalls for a full minute, plays another ten seconds, stalls another minute, and so on and so on. Thing is, I have a damned strong signal but apparently that means nothing.
I called Verizon and the service rep told me, "Well, wireless broadband isn't the same thing as actual broadband." This is like being suckered into an ad for a jet-powered Volkswagon. "Wait a minute...I've been in a jet but this thing is spluttering and clunking down the street..."
"Well, Volkswagon jet-powered is not the same as actual jet-powered."
Then the guy tried to sell me on the fact that the G4 network will be coming out at the end of the year, which supposedly promises to replicate cable broadband. But, hello, this is only fucking February and the end of the year is a long way off. Plus, I'd have to buy a new G4-compatible toy to get it to work.
Thing is, the Verizon Droid is an awesome phone and streams net content without skipping a beat. Why can't they use the same technology for the modem as they do the phone? It's amazing, but the USB 760 is the dictionary definition of rip-off. Apparently this thing is good for checking your e-mail but that's all it does. It's not broadband in the slightest; it's dial-up circa 1990.
I'll be returning this piece of shit tomorrow. Buyer beware.
UPDATE 3/3/10: Ditching Internet Explorer for Google Chrome has made this worlds more practical. Video sputters a bit during the first minute, but then plays fine for the duration of the show. Google Chrome is way faster, so in the chance I might wind up somewhere without Wi-Fi or net access I'm keeping the gizmo and the account after all.
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