The webConnect Rocket will retail for $99 (with 2 year contract) or $199 off contract. Customers who pay full price for the Rocket are eligible for the cheaper Even More Plus plans.

The new pricing plans include:

Even More webConnect data plan (two year contract):

• $59.99/mo. for 5GB per month ($0.20/MB overage)
• $29.99/mo. for 200MB per month ($0.20/MB overage)

Even More Plus webConnect data plan (no annual contract):

• $49.99/mo. for 5GB per month ($0.20/MB overage)
• $19.99/mo. for 200MB per month ($0.20/MB overage)

Unlimited nationwide T-Mobile HotSpot WiFi access is included in both plans and doesn’t count toward monthly data usage.

HSPA+ data is capped at 5 GB per month. By comparison, Sprint’s 4G WiMax does not include a data cap for mobile usage.

T-Mobile initially said they would have broad national deployment of HSPA+ by mid 2010, but it is now planned for the end of 2010. T-Mobile recently completed their upgrade to HSPA 7.2 across their entire 3G nationwide network and now they are working to put the necessary backhaul in place to support these faster speeds.

Keep in mind that all current T-Mobile Android phones support HSPA 7.2 which is compatible with the newer HSPA+ standard. We expect T-Mobile will have an Android handset with HSPA+ support by the end of this year.

Now T-Mobile has apparently decided to refer to HSPA+ as “Very Fast Mobile Web” according to some leaked documents on TmoNews. The flavor of HSPA+ that T-Mobile is using maxes out at 21 Mbps and they claim it will offer “home broadband like speeds on the go”.

The first device from T-Mobile to support HSPA+ will be the webConnect Rocket which launches on March 14. Initially, the device will only be sold in pilot markets where HSPA+ service is lit up. We believe this is part of the backhaul upgrade that T-Mobile revealed last month.

The pilot markets for the HSPA+ webConnect Rocket include:

• Dallas, TX
• Miami, FL
• Los Angeles, CA
• Chicago, IL
• and maybe Philadelphia, PA (current test market for HSPA+)

Pricing information for the webConnect Rocket and Very Fast Mobile Web data plans is currently unavailable.

Very Fast Mobile Web = HSAP+

Android fans should pay attention because T-Mobile is likely to launch a HSPA+ handset by the end of the year.

Huawei recently announced the world first HSPA+ Android smartphone model number U8800. The Huawei U8800 features the Android 2.1 operating system, integrates HSPA+ capabilities to support downlink speeds of up to 14 Mbps, and has a 3.8-inch wide screen.

We have no evidence this phone will come to the U.S., but T-Mobile USA already sells non-Android Huawei phones (like the Tap) in their stores today. Huawei is hoping to bring Android phones to the U.S. and this could be an opportunity for them.

Huawei U8800 HSPA+ Android phone.

Lately there has been a lot of talk about 3G vs 4G and exactly how fast each is. Sprint has been touting “The first and only wireless 4G network from a national carrier” while T-Mobile just completed their HSPA 7.2 upgrade and is moving to HSPA+ this year.

The whole thing had us curious about current, real-world network speeds so we decided to benchmark the two networks against each other.

Overdrive in the park.

This past week, Sprint was nice enough to send us a new Overdrive 4G Mobile Hotspot by Sierra Wireless. We took the opportunity to drive around Austin and get our hands dirty to find out just how fast Sprint’s 4G network is.

The Overdrive is a small black square, about 3 inches across and less than an inch thick. When powered up, the small screen on the front displays a unique network ID along with a password to a secure WiFi network. The Overdrive allows up to five devices to easily connect at a time. The device can seamlessly jump between 4G and 3G (when coverage might be spotty) and Sprint is promoting peak download speeds of up to 10 mb/s.

When we are on the road (or even around town) there are lots of times when available WiFi speeds just aren’t fast enough (I’m looking at you, hotel WiFi) so the appeal of a mobile hotspot is high. Usually we tether through our phones, using WiFi Tether or PDAnet, but in the past I’ve found these solutions to not always be the most reliable. They are surely a nice backup (and many times a life saver) but sometimes they just flat out don’t work.

To find out if boosted speeds and a more reliable connection could justify a dedicated device we drove around Austin testing speeds and performing tasks with both the Sprint 4G Overdrive (connected to my Asus eeePC netbook) and my Nexus One running on T-mobile 3G. The speed tests were run through Speedtest.net, our favorite web and Android app for doing so.

Overdriving Around Town

We are located in Austin, Tx, basically one of the most awesome places ever. With an ever growing tech community, it makes sense to expect some impressive network speeds and we found them driving around town.

We visited three areas spread around Austin and recorded the results of a speed test. At each location, the Sprint 4G bested T-Mobile 3G handily in both download and upload speeds. Sometimes T-Mobile 3G edged out the Sprint 4G in latency tests, but in terms of sheer transfer speeds there is a clear winner:

Believe it or not, we found the fastest speeds at the Northwest District Park (which is great news for me as we bike there frequently and hang out for extended periods of time). Sprint 4G was able to hit a speedy 5.3 mb/s. While still shy of the advertised peak speeds I’d take speeds like that any day.

At the cafe, having some gelato.

Another thing to note is how the T-Mobile speeds increased in spaces where the Sprint speeds dipped and vice versa. The numbers would suggest there are significant differences in the coverage maps even at a city level.

The real surprise was T-Mobile testing at almost 2 mb/s downtown. I’d heard others reporting 3G speeds that high but this is the first time to actually see them for myself. Like a true nerd I got all excited when I saw the little download meter shoot up towards 2 mb/s.

Clearly the 4G network is faster. Download and upload speeds surpass anything I’ve had access to in the past. The only bad thing is the fact that I have to return the demo unit. The Overdrive performed very well and I was pretty impressed with how easy it was to use. In fact, it seems like it might even be handy to keep around at home…

Home Sweet Home

When I first started home testing I was planning on including my home internet connection (Time Warner Cable) in the speed comparisons. I’d seen countless people online talking about increased mobile network speeds and joking Soon I’ll be able to cancel my internet.

After a few tests I saw my permanent connection was so much faster (30 mb/s down) that really there was no comparison. My home internet is much, much faster so really the two mobile data connections were competing for the spot of primary backup (for those unfortunate days when you wake up without internet). Again, the Sprint 4G bested T-Mobile 3G:

Another big area the Overdrive wins is reliability (sometimes my Wifi Tether and PDAnet simply will not work). To be fair, those programs aren’t really officially supported connection options and a 3G modem from T-Mobile would probably perform admirably. But most of us don’t have a dedicated mobile internet device, we cheat and use our phones. If I’m strictly comparing using a fancy dedicated device or a workaround hack, I’d pick the dedicated device.

Whether that’s enough to justify a new line or service or actually purchasing a standalone device is another story. If you are already with Sprint and live in a 4G coverage area, this could be a very worthwhile purchase for you. If you are already under contract with another carrier, you can probably survive without an Overdrive. That being said, the Overdrive has a lot going for it…

Looking over the Overdrive

This thing is quite the looker

The Overdrive couldn’t be simpler to use. Its got one button. You press it and the device powers up. Instantly the Overdrive starts up a WiFi access point.

The 3 inch glossy black square features beveled corners and a 1.4in LCD screen. Up to five devices can connect to share the connection. There is even a MicroSD slot on-board for shared storage between the connected devices. The Overdrive contains a 1830 mAh battery that will give you up to 3 hours constant use or 36 hours in standby.

So far every device I’ve tried to connect to the Overdrive worked just fine. I’ve connected a handful of Android phones, netbooks, and my desktop PC (all worked flawlessly). The Overdrive boasts a range of 150ft, which I didn’t exactly measure, but I had no range issues of any kind (through walls, across the park, etc).

The Sprint 4G network boasts peak speeds of up to 10mb/s but they say average use can expect to see speeds of about 3-6 mb/s, which is about what we found. The upload is supposed to peak at 4 mb/s but our tests had trouble getting anywhere near 1 mb/s. For most users that’s not exactly a deal breaker, but a mobile HD video uploading fellow like myself would like to see some higher upload speeds. That being said, this thing is still crazy fast.

Another thing I found it did well was hop between 3G and 4G with minimal effort. Just a small *beeboop* from the unit to let you know you’ve changed networks. It even held a connection while heading up I-35 at 70mph (with Angie driving, of course).

Contents of the Overdrive box.

The Overdrive comes in a glossy plastic box in a white cardboard sleeve and includes a MicroUSB cable and USB wall plug. I’ve been a huge fan of the USB wall plug so it’s good to see it finally catching on. You also get a quick start guide and manual with instructions for getting up and running (I doubt you’ll need them).

Let’s wrap this up

4G? 3G? WiMax? It’s all marketing speak, really. But for the time being the Sprint 4G network seems to be the fastest. The Overdrive is a perfectly capable device for making the most of it and if I was currently with Sprint I’d be mighty tempted to pick one up.

We expect to see a Sprint 4G handset later this year, but we should also keep an eye on T-Mobile for when their HSPA+ network is nationwide.

Last night’s Mobile Monday was not the most centrally located and when I arrived I found my Nexus One only had an Edge connection. I pulled the Overdrive puck out of my bag and had a steady, speedy WiFi connection all night (as did those around me). And I think that’s really the win here. Do you need a dedicated speed boost with you at all times? No. But it sure is awesome.

What do you guys think?

I know this isn’t an Android device but wireless network speeds always seem like a hotly contested topic on this site and we figured you guys would enjoy it. Do any of you have a dedicated mobile internet device? Would you ever consider buying one just for an insane speed boost?

The ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) defines 4G as International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced which is a cellular system that must have target peak data rates of up to approximately 100 Mbps for a high mobility connection and 1 Gbps for low mobility.

On the other hand, you have a carrier like Sprint which is marketing its WiMax network as “The first and only wireless 4G network from a national carrier”. Their WiMax network has a target peak of 10 Mbps, but real world tests place the speeds between 3-6 Mbps. It is still a heck of a lot faster than most 3G networks, so Sprint felt justified in calling it 4G.

So really, 4G is just a marketing term.

T-Mobile is set to launch their HSPA+ network nationwide by mid-2010. They currently use HSPA 7.2 and the upgrade to HSPA+ will be achieved by a software update to their network nodes and a massive backhaul upgrade.

The flavor of HSPA+ that T-Mobile is using features a theoretical max of 21 Mbps (and newer versions of HSPA+ can do 42 and 84 Mbps). Philadelphia is the test market for T-Mobile’s HSPA+ and early results show it can do 9 Mbps in real world tests.

Are you confused yet? T-Mobile’s new “3G” network is actually faster than Sprint’s 4G WiMax.

T-Mobile has sent out a few press releases to announce their HSPA+ upgrade, but they have yet to begin their marketing blitz.

“While other carriers talk about 4G plans and the promise of compatible devices, T-Mobile will speed ahead with HSPA+ deployments across the bulk of its 3G footprint this year, delivering 3-5 times the speeds of today’s 3G. And the best thing about the HSPA+ upgrade is that it’s backward compatible, so that T-Mobile 3G-enabled devices will be faster in 2010.”T-Mobile USA

We have openly wondered what name T-Mobile would assign to the HSPA+ network. Would they call it 3.5G or maybe 3G+ like some Canadian carriers with similar HSPA+ networks?

Believe it or not, it looks like T-Mobile will in fact use 4G when referring to its HSPA+ network. T-Mobile CTO Cole Brodman provided an update of their network plans at Mobile World Congress and he was actually billing HSPA+ as 4G technology.

Any why shouldn’t T-Mobile call it 4G? If their new network is going to be faster than Sprint’s 4G, they might as well jump on the bandwagon and use it too.

We reached out to T-Mobile to confirm the name they will use for HSPA+, but they did not respond in time for publication. If we hear back from them, we will update this story.

Update: We received a response from T-Mobile. They are not referring to HSPA+ as “4G” at this time. We are attempting to get a transcript from the Mobile World Congress event to see what Cole Brodman said and how he used the term 4G.

“In 2009, T-Mobile upgraded its 3G network to the faster, HSPA 7.2 standard and became the first carrier to launch HSPA+ with a deployment in Philadelphia. In the coming months, you will continue to see T-Mobile integrate HSPA+ into its 3G network with broad national deployment planned for this year.”T-Mobile USA

Either way, this is going to be a really interesting story later this year. T-Mobile should have the fastest mobile data network and it could be confusing with Sprint still using the term 4G to refer to its WiMax network.

What do you think T-Mobile should do?

[Image credit Inquisitr]

The T-Mobile webConnect Rocket.

The webConnect Rocket will hit stores in March which should coincide with T-Mobile’s backhaul upgrade to 25% of its towers. The HSPA+ network is already live in certain parts of Philadelphia and Kevin Tofel from jkOnTheRun has been testing it.

Even though the theoretical max speed of T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network is 21 Mbps, the best-case scenario for real world tests is normally half that. In his testing, Kevin was able to achieve 9.11 Mbps down and 2.76 Mbps up with the webConnect Rocket. This is almost 10 times faster than what I normally get on my phone and even surpasses Sprint’s 4G WiMax network.

Speed test results for webConnect Rocket on HSPA+.

T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network will also be backwards compatible with all their current HSPA 7.2 phones. This includes virtually their entire Android lineup (I’m not aware of any Android phones that don’t have it). Even though these devices max at out 7.2 Mbps, they should still see improved speeds and reduced latency over the new network. Kevin tested his Nexus One on the Philly HSPA+ network and recorded speeds over 4 Mbps down and 1.3 Mbps up.

The first markets to receive HSPA+ will be along the California coast and “major cities from Washington, D.C. to Boston”. We expect to receive a full list of cities next month as we approach the webConnect launch date.

We are starting to see the first phones with HSPA+ (like the Huawei U8800) and I’m guessing T-Mobile will have something in stores this holiday season. It remains to be seen if T-Mobile will continue to call their network 3G or pick another name to emphasize the faster speeds. I imagine there will be a showdown with Sprint 4G as they are also expected to release a WiMax handset this year.

T-Mobile recently completed their upgrade to HSPA 7.2, but many customers did not receive the dramatic speed boost they were expecting. We were wondering why T-Mobile was not doing more to promote the faster 3G standard and found out it was because the carrier had not finished upgrading the backhaul to their towers.

After a short breather, it looks like T-Mobile is ready to push on enhancing their nationwide network to make it the fastest in 2010.

GigaOm posted several new network details in an interview with T-Mobile’s Dave Mayo, VP of engineering.

• T-Mobile has currently deployed fiber to about 7 percent of its towers (with 20 Mbps of capacity on those fiber strands).
• The operator will turn on fiber to about 25 percent of its towers within the next few weeks.
• The first markets to receive HSPA+ (21 Mbps) will be along the California coast and “major cities from Washington, D.C. to Boston”.

T-Mobile chose to go with HSPA+ because it is easily deployed over their new 3G network and it will allow them to offer the fastest nationwide 3G in 2010. Other carries are focusing on new technology like LTE and WiMax, but T-Mobile will complete their HSPA+ upgrade by mid 2010.

According to some hands on reports, T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network might be faster than Sprint’s new 4G WiMax. It will be interesting to see how the carrier will market the network and if they will still call it 3G or 3.5G.

T-Mobile is still sitting in 4th place among the U.S. carriers, but I think their aggressive support of Android (first carrier with the Nexus One), cheapest smartphone plans, and the fastest network should help them close the gap in 2010.

We should be testing the Sprint Overdrive later this week so check back for some speedtests all over Austin.

p.s. Hey Tmo, if you let us know which cities are getting HSPA+ first, we would love to go test them with our assortment of Android phones.

On January 5th, I contacted T-Mobile to check on the status of the rollout and was given the following response.

“HSPA 7.2 (faster 3G data service) is now enabled across T-Mobile’s entire 3G network.”T-Mobile USA

We reported that the network upgrade was complete (as did many other news sites) and then asked our readers to test their 3G download speeds.

What did we find? Did the upgrade give T-Mobile the fastest 3G network in the U.S.?

For the majority of T-Mobile’s customers, the answer was no.

After doing some more research it appears T-Mobile did in fact “enable” HSPA 7.2, but they have not increased the backhaul speeds to many of their 3G nodes. This would explain why many users reported some of the benefits of HSPA 7.2 like decreased latency (ping times under 199), but most of the download speeds remained in the same range.

CIO.com recently questioned T-Mobile about their HSPA 7.2 upgrade and was told:

“[W]e are continuing to increase backhaul in-line with our network upgrades to support these faster speeds. We have not released additional details at this time, but I’ll keep you posted on T-Mobile network news as we have more details to share.”T-Mobile USA

A few select markets like New York and Philadelphia do have increased bandwidth and those users reported download speeds between 3-5 Mbps. However, the majority of the responses in our testing did not see download speeds that exceeded 1 Mbps.

By comparison, AT&T is still advertising they have The nation’s fastet 3G network and that claim is still valid. AT&T currently supports HSPA 3.6 in most markets and has started their own upgrade to HSPA 7.2. I have several friends with iPhones and they get download speeds of 1-2 Mbps.

What’s next?

T-Mobile’s new 3G network could still become the fastest in 2010. The carrier is already preparing for a nationwide upgrade to HSPA+ by mid 2010 (which supports download speeds up to 21 Mbps), but that means nothing without the adequate backhaul to provide the increased bandwidth for users.

We applaud T-Mobile for upgrading to HSPA 7.2, but it has been a letdown so far. Hopefully their work continues behind the scenes and we will see increased data speeds later this year.

We checked in with T-Mobile and they confirmed that HSPA 7.2 (faster 3G data service) is now enabled across their entire network. Now that HSPA 7.2 is available, T-Mobile will work to continue their upgrade path to HSPA+, which offers downlink speeds up to 21 Mbps.

The following is an official response from T-Mobile USA:

As data consumption by smartphone customers increases, T-Mobile continues to expand and upgrade its network to provide customers with an increased capacity and improved data speeds.  2010 begins with T-Mobile’s 3G network reaching significant milestones to support current and future smartphones:

• T-Mobile’s 3G network now reaches more than 200 million Americans
• HSPA 7.2 (faster 3G data service) is now enabled across T-Mobile’s entire 3G network
• T-Mobile is the first carrier to launch the even faster HSPA+ in the U.S.

While other carriers talk about 4G plans and the promise of compatible devices, T-Mobile will speed ahead with HSPA+ deployments across the bulk of its 3G footprint this year, delivering 3-5 times the speeds of today’s 3G.  And the best thing about the HSPA+ upgrade is that it’s backward compatible, so that T-Mobile 3G-enabled devices will be faster in 2010.

Over the last week I have been guessing the launch was pushed back till January 5, 2010 to coincide with the Nexus One launch. According to Phone Scoop, that is exactly what happened.

T-Mobile has yet to publish an official press release, but look for one later today. Phone Scoop is a reliable site and if they are reporting that HSPA 7.2 is live, they likely had access to an early press release from T-Mobile.

We have reached out to T-Mobile USA to confirm the network status, but you can help us test it in the mean time.

Grab the application Speedtest.net from the Android Market (or scan the QR code above) and share your results. For the sake of keeping everything simplified, please run the test with the default settings (kbps). If you are on another network (Sprint or Verizon), feel free to share your 3G speeds as well.

The key things T-Mobile customers should look for are:

• Improved latency: Ping times under 200 ms.
• Faster download speeds: Theoretical peak of 7.2 Mbps, but actual speeds should hopefully be around 2000 kbps +.
• Improved upload speeds: I believe most current model Android phones max out at 2.1 Mbps for upload speed. Anything over 500 kbps is good.

The following is an example of a speed test I ran. It is not exactly blazing fast, but there is an improvement in ping times and download speeds. I’ve only tested in one area of my city and I intend to run a lot more speed tests as we travel the country this week.

T-Mobile myTouch 3G
Corpus Christi, TX
Ping: 177 ms
Download: 800 kbps
Upload: 116 kbps

My speedtest.