I respect JK’s opinions, so I am giving this some thought. But I do have concerns.

I am not getting any younger. Consequently, my old eyes have some difficulties reading a small screen, even one as crisp as the iPhone’s.

As a practical matter, when doing a quick web search, it’s just more convenient for me to use my phone. My phone is already on. It’s also always on me. By contrast, I don’t always take my tablet with me.

Finally, my phone is always connected to the Internet. With a WiFi tablet, if there is no available WiFi, I need to tether, use a MiFi, etc.

Thoughts?

Not so, according to the redoubtable James Kendrick in Verizon 4G LTE network outage: not all devices are created equal (picture source). This lucky guy has 4 Verizon 4G LTE devices, 2 phones, 2 mobile hotspots:

HTC Thunderbolt
Droid Charge
Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot
Novatel 4G LTE MiFi

The HTC Thunderbolt wouldn’t connect to an available EVDO network, only to the slow lane of the 1xRTT network.

The Droid Charge was worse – no data network connection.

The Samsung Mobile Hotspot worked correctly, connecting to EVDO.

The Novatel MiFi couldn’t see the EVDO network either so had no data network connection.

JK’s verdict (with which I concur):

“No network is going to stay up 100 percent of the time, and Verizon’s 4G network is no exception. That’s why the devices that access the networks are designed with redundancy to allow connections to slower networks. Slower connections are better than no connection, and mobile professionals depend on that to work. My experience shows that is far from the case, and Verizon and its partners need to get this straightened out so in the rare instance of a network outage, customers can depend on devices to deal with it properly. Only one device handled the stoppage properly out of the four currently available to work on the Verizon 4G network; that’s a pretty poor success ratio in my book.”

I told you almost 2 years ago – May 2009 – I had ordered Novatel’s MiFi 2200, which ran on Verizon’s 3G data network. 2 years is a lifetime and then some when it comes to gadgets. With LTE, time for a change.

Today I ordered the Novatel MiFi 4510L 4G LTE. I had waited for it instead of springing for the Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot SCH–LC11, which had been available a couple of weeks earlier. Why? I just trust Novatel more than Samsung when it comes to mobile hotspots, primarily because mobile hotspots and USB data modems long have been Novatel’s specialty, as opposed to just another side business for Samsung.

I chose month-to-month for the data plan and therefore paid full retail rather than locking myself into a 2 year contract. Did I say that 2 years is a lifetime and then some when it comes to gadgets?

I’m receiving the 4510L tomorrow and will put it into use. I’ll let you know how it feels to be driving down the LTE fast lane.

Phandroid has obtained what it believes to be Verizon’s roadmap for the release of phones and other devices (MiFi, USB modems) this Spring. I want to replace my MiFi and my phone. So what’s on my shopping list?

Verizon LTE MiFi told you that I plan to replace my Novatel MiFi 2200, which is limited to EVDO rev. A, with a 4G LTE MiFi. I explained in that article why, all things being equal, I prefer the Novatel to the Samsung MiFi. If so, I may not have long to wait. Per the roadmap, the Novatel MiFi is out tomorrow. We’ll see.

I’ve also written recently that I plan to replace my venerable but long in the tooth Droid Incredible. However, I will pass on both the Thunderbolt and the Incredible 2 because they are single core processors. Those processors are up to task currently. However, given the two year upgrade period, I want to future proof my phone to the extent possible. That means a dual core processor.

All three May phones – Motorola Droid Bionic, Droid X 2 and Galaxy S 2 – apparently have dual core processors. I have a bias towards HTC phones. However, I don’t know of a HTC dual core model coming to Verizon soon.

So which to choose among the Motorola Droid Bionic, Droid X 2 and Galaxy S 2? Well, my musings on that question will be the subject of another article soon.

Verizon previously has offered LTE USB modems. But because of driver issues, these often only work with certain (e.g., Windows) devices. Android and iOS would be SOL. No such problem with a MiFi as there is no driver issue; the MiFi simply is just another WiFi access point.

Finally Verizon is offering a LTE MiFi. Maybe two.

Samsung’s 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot SCH–LC11 just became available. It’s backwards compatible with 3G, important when you’re not in an LTE area. Dimensions: 2.32”(H) x 3.54”(W) x 0.45”(D). Unknown if it has a storage card slot as some MiFi’s do.

Novatel’s 4510L should be available soon, perhaps March 31 if rumors are correct. The 4510L seems similar to the Samsung MiFi, including backwards 3G compatibility.

There’s not enough information yet to really compare these two MiFi’s. All things being equal, I’m likely going to choose the 4510L simply because MiFI’s are Novatel’s specialty more than Samsung’s.

[via Slashgear]

I brought my Samsung Galaxy Tab with me to stay connected while waiting … and waiting … and waiting. Doctor offices usually don’t offer free WiFi (or validate your parking either). But my Tab has 3G (through Verizon). So I was connected.

My main application workhorse that morning, not surprisingly, was email. I was able to arrange, via a flurry of emails, a conference call next week with three other attorneys and an expert witness.

Of course, my phone also is connected, and its screen size and works fine for email. However, it’s easier to type on the virtual keyboard on a 7” screen than a 3.8” screen; larger keys for my fat fingers.

But the difference in functionality that morning between the Tab and a phone is more than just the size of keys on a virtual keyboard. I also needed  to review PDF and Word documents sent to me. Reviewing Word and PDF documents on a small (e.g. 3.8” screen) can be a challenge. Much easier on a 7” screen.

Continuing the Tab vs phone comparison, to relax, I used Google Reader (the app, not the website) to read my feeds, and reduce my unread count from 376,175 to 286,934 (just kidding, but I do have a lot of posts I need to read). Again, a lot easier to read feeds on the 7” screen. Also, if I want to review a link, the resulting web page likewise was easier to read.

Of course, a phone is more mobile than a tablet. But the Galaxy Tab is mobile enough. Indeed, I can fit the Tab, not uncomfortably, in the pocket of my slacks.

But would my experience have been better with a larger screen tablet? 8.9”, 9.7”, 10.1”. While the larger screen size would have been a benefit, the greater weight and size would detract. I’ll be writing more soon about these trade-offs.

She warned me that if I was planning on switching her forthcoming iPad 2 with my Galaxy Tab, it would be over my dead body. Being into self-preservation, I assured her that wasn’t my intent. Rather, as a writer of this blog, I was curious about her reasons. Still suspicious, she explained. You may find her explanation of some interest.

My wife’s primary reason for preferring the iPad is that she really likes its large, beautiful screen. She told me she had used the iPad that very day, taking it to the hair salon (where you sit a long time) and the doctor’s office (where you wait a long time). She commented on how she was able to easily view the Web on the large 9.7” screen (the iPad is a 3G version so she’s connected even if no WiFi is available). Of course, she could also view the Web on a 7” screen. But admittedly viewing the Web is a better experience on the 9.7” screen. And it is a beautiful display, even with no retina.

She conceded one issue with the iPad; portability. For men, portability means whether a device fits in their pocket. For women, portability instead may mean whether the device fits in their purse. I helpfully pointed out that while the iPad is rather large for her purse, the iPad nevertheless would fit if she put less in her purse and cleaned it out more often. She was surprisingly ungrateful for my helpful advice. But I digress. Her concern was that since the iPad didn’t fit in her purse, she was more at risk of leaving it somewhere.

This dialogue illustrates the trade-offs between the form factors of different devices. I value portability more than quality of my view, my wife the opposite, so we make different choices.

Being a guy, I have a fear of commitment – to carriers. So I’ll explain how I have my cake and eat it to, avoid any long term commitments but still use the GSM or CDMA radio.

Carriers often offer a subsidized price (e.g., a few hundred dollars less) if you sign up for a two year commitment. My response: “Just say no!” Instead, I just cough up the extra money to pay full price but commit only to a month to month carrier contract.

Of course, carriers don’t always provide the alternative of month to month to their usual 2 year sentence. But some do. When I purchased my Galaxy Tab, one reason I went with Verizon, besides its excellent network, was it offered the month to month option.

Month to month is more expensive than a 2 year contact if you are going to keep the tablet for 2 years with the ability to use the GSM or CDMA radio (i.e., not cancel the month to month). But with the rapid pace of technology, I very much doubt I will keep a tablet for 2 years. Probably not even 1 year. Instead, in 6 – 9 months, I will move on to the next sexy, sleek tablet, and sell or gift my existing tablet.

If I had a 2 year contract, I could shift the contract to the new device. However, I likely would have to extend the term of the contract for an additional 2 years from that date. Also, I’d be locked in to that carrier, which may not offer the tablet I want in this day of carrier-exclusive devices. Further, with increasingly stingy upgrade policies, I’d likely have to pay full price for the next one unless I could persuade the store to permit me to upgrade early (the so-called “manager’s upgrade”).

So instead, I just cancel the month to month plan on the “old” device and get a month to month plan on the new one. Much more flexible! Maybe not a “one night stand”, but no more than a one month one.

I’d be interested in your thoughts on my strategy.

Yesterday I was at court all day for hours of oral argument of several legal issues in a complex multi-party construction case. A veritable forest had been slain for all the papers filed by the various parties. However, I did not have to lug pounds of paper with me. Instead, I saved PDFs of all the papers on my Dropbox account, which is synced with my various computers, including the Lenovo X201t Tablet PC I had with me in court.

I also saved on my Dropbox account electronic copies of several key cases among the scores cited. However, I did not save all of the cited cases; that would take too much time.

As fate would have it, one of the opposing attorneys characterized, in my opinion incorrectly, a case which I had not saved on my tablet. The case was readily available online. But that of course requires online access.

Not surprisingly, the court does not permit you to plug in to its LAN. The courthouse does have WiFi access. It is pricey. More important, like many things run by the government, it doesn’t work real well.

I do not have embedded 3G on my tablet. Having embedded 3G on each of my myriad devices would put me in another Court; Bankruptcy Court.

However, I do have a MiFi. I quickly fired it up, connected my tablet to it as a WiFi access point, went online and grabbed the case. When it was my turn, I was able to quote from the case to explain my disagreement with the comments of opposing counsel. Being able to quote from the case was much more effective than having to tell the court what I thought or recalled the case said.

Of course, a USB modem would also provide online access. However, a MiFi is more flexible. I can’t use a USB modem with my Android devices, such as my Galaxy Tab. Also, a USB modem can be used for only one device at a time. A MiFi can support up to five.

Currently the carriers each promote their own flavor of “4G.” There are some 4G USB modems available, but no 4G MiFi devices quite yet. But there should be soon, my guess being February 2011. Then I will trade in my MiFi to attain LTE nirvana.