Wrap-up

Verizon has "the nation's most reliable wireless network." You've heard it time and again. The company's had over seven years to build out an EV-DO network, and it's hard to expect Verizon to perfect LTE at the drop of a hat. You could also argue that we're expecting too much out of LTE. Verizon's pricey service plans currently max out at 20GB per month, a pittance compared to the data buffet many expect from their home networks. I don't know about you, but I'm currently brushing up against my 250GB AT&T U-Verse cap right now. Besides, LTE's not designed for high-speed access 24 hours a day, seven days a week anyhow, right? Tell that to Verizon, which is planning to launch fixed residential LTE connections by the end of this year to supplement its FiOS fiber optic network. It's only a matter of time before we expect wireless connections to replace physical cables, and Verizon isn't quite there yet.

But blaming our failed experiment on Verizon's airwaves (or our unfettered expectations) wouldn't be completely fair, because it seems likely that hardware and software issues with these devices were also to blame for some of the failings here. Qualcomm, LG, Samsung and Motorola all have their own LTE radios in these devices, and save Motorola, we've now tested at least two of each. Each demonstrated its own particular quirks, many of which inexplicably kept us from enjoying LTE's blazing fast speeds. Even if Verizon's network was magically made perfect tomorrow, these devices might hold you back.

We're also not sure why such an advanced technology has such an iffy software client for its USB modems, or why hotspots can't tether to save battery (unlike many of their 3G counterparts) or, for that matter, why Verizon's forums are filled with complaints marked "solved" when they're not. By pushing LTE so far so fast without addressing issues head on, Verizon's counting on consumers to beta test its service and possibly leaving an opening for rival networks to woo customers not immediately taken with the new network. Verizon's way ahead of the competition with LTE, and we're hoping reliability will follow — we don't have reason to doubt that it will — but AT&T's gunning for Verizon now, and Big Red's lead isn't bulletproof. We saw very passable speeds on the HTC Vivid, AT&T's first LTE smartphone, and even HSPA+ and WiMAX are delivering respectable rates on the download these days, as we noticed in our reviews of the Amaze 4G for T-Mobile and the Photon 4G for Sprint.

Verizon LTE isn't what we'd hoped it'd be right out of the gate, but the future is bright indeed. Cheaper, cooler, faster next-gen chipsets are due early next year from vendors like Qualcomm, and later in 2012 Verizon can start phasing out some of the legacy network (and thus issues switching between networks) as it migrates to Voice over LTE. Then starting in 2013, carriers are looking to start rolling out LTE-Advanced, promising theoretical transfer rates of up to one gigabit per second. Cellular networks are undergoing a major transition right now, but unless the world adopts fiber more rapidly, cellular prices stay sky high, or LTE issues are deeper seated than we expect, there will indeed come a time when a wireless network could replace your home internet connection.