Sprint's EVDO Service in Hawaii?

[pzarquon]

Anyone have any experience on Sprint's EVDO (higher speed data over cellular) service here? I know they rolled it out last year and that after a wobbly start, it's getting better. Does anyone use an EVDO-capable device on Sprint? Is the speed increase that noticable? Any idea about its coverage areas (I get the feeling it's not islandwide)?

The Palm Treo 700p is out, just in time for me to turnover my trusty, well-worn Treo 650. But the primary improvements are EVDO capability, more memory, and a slightly better camera. I use my Treo for web and email a lot, though, so EVDO wouldn't be anything to sneeze at, if it's that much faster.

[hinokei]

Re: Sprint's EVDO Service in Hawaii?

I have a sprint ppc-6700 pocket pc phone and the Novatel Wireless S620 data card.

Speed tests show averages of 500/96 with d/l bursts of 860.

Coverage is very good in metro honolulu, pearl city, mililani and hawaii kai.

I've been using the ppc-6700 to tether to my macbook pro, and it works great.

The speed increase over the old 1XRTT network is very noticable. You won't go wrong by getting a 700p.

[pzarquon]

Re: Sprint's EVDO Service in Hawaii?

Thanks for the real-world observations. I'd be primarily downtown or Mililani, so EVDO coverage in those places is very good news. (Any dead spots you've become acquainted with?) I don't think I can afford to spring for the phone-as-modem plans, but at present I already do a lot in-phone... so just being able to browse the web or download mail faster will be a great improvement over the 650 without any increase in monthly charges (I'm already on the $15/mo. in-phone unlimited data plan).

[pzarquon]

Re: Sprint's EVDO Service in Hawaii?

The speed increase over the old 1XRTT network is very noticable. You won't go wrong by getting a 700p.

Once again, thanks for sharing your experiences. I upgraded to the 700p last night (staying up way too late setting everything up), and you're right -- the difference between the old data connection and EVDO (via "Power Vision") is obvious. Anything online happens faster, from displaying web pages to accessing e-mail. And I have a strong signal both at home and at my office. Yay!

Of course, they charge more for EVDO access, but they offered a service credit for at least a year to bring the cost down to what I was paying before for plain "Vision" -- $15/mo. Even at the higher rate, though, it might be worth it, considering how much more I might do online via the device (whereas before, just anticipating the wait for web downloads was enough to discourage me).

The price for Phone As Modem (PAM) is still too steep for me, but again, I probably can do what I need to do without a laptop anyway.