Verizon's Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot review: Fast, not so furious
CNET Editor Dong Ngo's take on Verizon's Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot SCH-11 cellular router.
In our experience, Verizon's claim about offering the fastest 4G network has been consistently correct in CNET tests. Its
Measuring just 3.5 inches by 2.3 inches by half an inch, Verizon's compact and good-looking Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot SCH-11 is about the same size as Sprint's
However, the similarity ends there. The Samsung device doesn't support most features available in the other two, such as GPS, Wi-Fi Protected Setup, an external antenna port, microSD slot for network storage, and so on. The router doesn't even allow Wi-Fi clients to communicate with one another. It's just a simple router that shares a very fast connection to the Internet.
So how fast is it? In the San Francisco Bay Area, the Samsung SCH-11 consistently offered download speeds of around 9.5Mbps and upload speeds of around 7.3Mbps, about two or three times the speeds of the alternatives from T-Mobile and Sprint. Basically it's fast enough to justify the lack of features.
What the Samsung mobile router can't justify, however, are the data plans Verizon offers with it. There are two of them that cost $80/month and $50/month with the monthly data allowance of just 10GB and 5GB. When these caps are reached, users will be billed another $10 for each gigabyte.
Considering the fact that the device allows you to burn through 10GB of data in just less than two hours, these caps are just way too low for the speed the router offers. So you just need to watch your usage carefully.
To find out if the Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot SCH-11 is the right mobile Internet solution for you,