The promise of global data is finally becoming a reality for modem users on Verizon today with the release of its Novatel-sourced USB1000, a USB stick (hence the "USB" in the name, we're willing to bet) that features EV-DO Rev. A for domestic use plus triband HSPA when you're roaming around the globe. The stick itself runs $149.99 on contract after a $50 rebate, while monthly global data plans run from $129.99 for 100MB of data in 31 countries to $219.99 for 200MB; both plans include 5GB for use in the US and Canada. It'll be available online starting tomorrow.

[Via Phone Scoop]

What one CDMA carrier can do, another can do better, right? Eh, not quite, but they can stare each other down holding the exact same weapon, just daring each other to make the next move. Just a week after Verizon Wireless launched the MiFi 2200 portable EV-DO router, Sprint has decided to offer up the exact same product for use on its network. The battery-powered box, engineered by Novatel Wireless, enables users to connect up to five WiFi-enabled devices to Sprint's EV-DO Rev. A network, and it'll be marketed in stores as the Sprint Mobile Hotspot. According to the carrier, its unit will be the first in the US to support MiFi's GPS capabilities, allowing users to take advantage of select location and mapping applications. It should be noted, however, that Sprint's service plans differ quite significantly from those offered up by VZW. The up front cost is the same at $99 after a $50 mail-in rebate (on a two-year agreement), though the only two options for getting it connected are as follows:

• $59.99 per month mobile broadband only plan (excluding taxes and surcharges)
• $149.99 per month Simply Everything Plan + Mobile Broadband (phone plus device connectivity -- excluding taxes and surcharges)
• Both plans include up to 5 GB per month and 5 cents per megabyte overage for the MiFi 2200. [Ugh, disgusting.]
  
• Available in early June.
  

[Via phoneArena]

We've been following Novatel's MiFi with bated breath since its December announcement, and the totally pocketable 3G / WiFi router has finally graced a US carrier. Though it'll ultimately come in a variety of physical designs, bands, and radio technologies for different carriers and parts of the world, the MiFi 2200 for Verizon naturally packs CDMA with EV-DO Rev. A, which means uplink speeds should be reasonably speedy to go along with your 1Mbps-plus downloads. Obviously, the concept of a credit card-shaped object connecting up to five WiFi-enabled devices to high-speed internet from wherever the road takes you is an incredibly intoxicating one -- but does the MiFi 2200 deliver? Let's have a look.

Gallery: Verizon MiFi 2200 review

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It was hardly a secret 'round these parts, but Verizon Wireless is finally ready to confess to that MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot we've heard so much about. Like the Novatel unit it's based on, the device harbors 802.11b/g and EV-DO Rev. A radios, and can share a 3G Verizon connection with up to five different WiFi devices simultaneously. Battery life is pegged at four hours of active use, and 40 hours of standby on a single charge. Data plans include a $40 monthly subscription for 250MB and 10 cents per MB overages, or $60 for 5GB and half the overages price. If you want to forgo the subscription and pay full-price for the MiFi, you can pick up a 24 hour "DayPass" for $15 -- any way you slice it, you'll be paying good money for the privilege of using the thing. The MiFi 2200 itself hits stores May 17th, and will run you $100 after a $50 rebate.

Novatel's sleek little MiFi is undeniably one of the coolest mobile routers ever to hit the market, and something tells us it's going to sell pretty well -- but naturally, it's got to... you know, go on sale first before that can happen. We don't have an exact date, but our tipster believes it could happen shortly after the 10th of this month -- possibly around the same time of the Samsung Alias 2 launch which is slated for the 11th. What we know with more certainty, though, is the price: $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate. That's less than we would've guessed, and we're thinking it could be a real sweet spot for this type of device; now, let's just get those nasty 5GB caps abolished and we'll be ready to rock and roll.

[Image via PhoneArena]

It's not quite as sexy as the brushed aluminum version we saw back in December, but these leaked images showing a Verizon-branded Novatel MiFi 2200 personal hotspot are certainly enough to get the blood pumping. If you don't recall the concept, the MiFi is a battery-powered EV-DO router the size of a credit card that can provide network access over WiFi for up to four hours on a charge. There's still a lot of details up in the air here, like how many devices can connect at once and the max data rate, but if this thing comes in anywhere close to its estimated $200 price tag we'd say a lot of those answers might not matter. Couple more pics at the read link.

There aren't terribly many surprises in the latest roadmap docs leaked out of Sprint, but there are a couple -- and we finally have some target launch windows around a few of the more anticipates devices we've been expecting this year. Perhaps least surprisingly, the Palm P100 -- that's the Pre for you lay folk -- is still on track for the second quarter of the year, which could mean anything between April and June. Staying in the landscape QWERTY smartphone realm, we'll see the HTC Cedar (or Willow, depending on which slide you're looking at) and a new Samsung Ace -- creatively named the Ace II -- in the second and third quarters, respectively. The landscape HTC Rhodium will likely replace the Touch Pro in the third quarter, and the hotly (and we do mean hotly) anticipated BlackBerry Niagara will be hitting in the same three-month period.

Things are getting interesting down in the dumbphone realm, too, with both the Instinct Mini and a true Instinct successor -- the Dash with an HVGA display -- in the pipe. The Sanyo 2700, dual-slide Samsung Cello, and the Samsung Chianti (which looks suspiciously like a Propel) will all follow the Rumor 2 down the text-centric path, and a handful of new ultra-basic devices will fill in the bottom of the range. For data, Sprint will be launching Novatel's totally awesome MiFi portable hotspot, which warms our hearts. What doesn't warm our hearts is the utter void of Android devices here -- but we can hold out hope, and as always, all of this is subject to change. Stay tuned!

[Via Boy Genius Report]

We're not going to even try to hide our enthusiasm for Novatel's upcoming MiFi router; honestly, what's there not to love about a credit card-sized sliver of metal that routes 3G over a little cloud of WiFi for a few hours on a charge? Nothing, that's what -- but you sure couldn't detect any enthusiasm out of the lab that dryly put a prototype through its paces in preparation for FCC approval. This one's a little weird and not entirely appropriate for North American use, featuring 850 and 1900MHz EDGE plus 1900MHz HSPA (there could be some foreign bands thrown in there, too, but the FCC doesn't give two craps about those, so they typically aren't listed). We're not sure why there wouldn't be any 850MHz HSPA if they're doing 1900, but there'll undoubtedly be a number of MiFi models released for different locales and carriers, so we're not going to break a sweat about it. Yet.

Our EV-DO ExpressCards are looking a whole lot frumpier (and less functional) today now that Novatel's shown off this hot little metallic number, the "MiFi" mobile 3G hotspot for getting high-speed data to you and your closest friends on the go. Routing your choice of EV-DO Rev. A or HSPA over WiFi, the slab is about as wide and long as a credit card -- goodness -- and features an internal battery that'll allegedly be good for four hours of use or forty hours of standby on one charge. The MiFi is scheduled to blast off in the first half of 2009 for roughly $200 through carriers and retail channels, which means we can finally look forward to ditching our N78 with Joikuspot and a couple hundred dollars worth of spare batteries.

Rogers seems set to sponge as much cake as they can out of your overtaxed mobile pockets with the announcement of two new HSPA data devices, the Novatel X950D and MC950D. We've seen the USB-friendly MC950D pop up before, but as a refresh: it rocks 7.2 Mbps triple-band HSPA, supports most popular OSes, quad-band GPRS / EDGE, and may well still be the world's smallest HSPA USB modem. The X950D, however, will be making its worldwide debut on the friendly Canadian provider's network, and we're sure a goodly pile of Canadians will be whooping it up at this news. Sporting triple-band HSPA, Mac and Windows-friendly, quad-band GPRS / EDGE, Novatel's newest express port product also features backwards compatibility with a handy PCMCIA adapter. Pricing on both is apparently the same: $49.99 on a three-year contract. Of course, with data rates what they are, that $50 is definitely gonna get you in a whole heap of trouble if you don't mind your bits.