If you need a quality and consistent mobile internet experience on the Mac, you want to go for Vodafone‘s modem. They have great network coverage and their software works. Shame on TIM for wasting such great network service, with awful software. You may consider them only if you’re on a PC.

If you’re just looking for mobile internet to use once in a while and don’t need blazing fast speeds, Wind is indeed the choice for you.

I’d not reccomend H3G to anyone actually. It doesn’t work where they don’t have coverage (still lots of spots outside largely populated areas), but they’re still more expensive than Wind. It’s definitely not worth it!

My personal podium is:

1. Vodafone
2. TIM
3. Wind
4. H3G

Vodafone USB modem is the neater of the four. It has a sleek white design and the USB connector retracts while disconnected, a nice touch that gives the device a compact look and avoids the risk of loosing the cap while on the go.

Neat also the design chosen by TIM and Wind for their devices, even if it’s less original, while I didn’t like H3G‘s idea of stamping the Yahoo! logo on the modem.

On the whole there’s not much to say about hardware, also because they share the same manufacturer (Huawei) except from TIM’s one that’s produced by Onda. Moreover Wind and H3G share the same exact hardware, while Vodafone’s Huawei modem is newer, leaving the whole battle to be won over network performance and software customization.

It’s nice to notice that all four modems came with an USB cord, very useful as connecting directly the modem to the computer could be difficult, especially if you’re on a desktop or if you have USB ports close one with each other.

I’m on a Mac and I do care a lot about software design and performance. I’ve to say I’ve been extremely disappointed by all four products.

TIM has the worst software of all, which is a true shame considering the great quality of his service. Onda wrote a sluggish, unpleasant and unstable piece of crap software. To try their service I had to use my Option data card.

Along with TIM also H3G didn’t spend a lot of time on software development, delivering a mediocre user experience, even if I encountered less stability problems.

Vodafone and Wind were the only two of the group that spent some time designing their applications, but while Wind managed to succeed only partially (as the sw suffered from some crashes), Vodafone achieved a good overall result.

The Mac platform is still underestimated by many legacy developers, even if it’s increasing its market share despite the economic crisis. In my opinion it’s a very stupid to keep such an attitude, especially considering that Mac users are often influencers in their community.

It’s about time to wrap up my USB modems test and share some opinions about what I’ve experienced during this time. During the coming week I’ll post feedback about hardware, software as well as a final wrap up! Today I’ll talk about network quality.

As previously stated, I tested the four state of the art USB modems from the four Italian Mobile Network Operators: TIM, Vodafone, Wind and H3G. The operation was carried out by PromoDigital.

The modems shared the same high speed broadband technology (HSDPA), so the challenge was all about network capabilities, hardware and software quality.

I’ve tried all four SIM cards both on their USB modem as well as on my Option GEO 301 data card, in order to be sure hw/sw faults wouldn’t affect network performance.

TIM and Vodafone came out as the fastest and most reliable data connection I’ve ever experienced. I’ve tried it in Milan’s urban area and in some rural areas nearby. When in HSDPA the connection is really blazing fast, like an entry level DSL line.

H3G was fairly good too, but its coverage ceases to exist when you leave largely populated areas, shifting into national roaming with other operators. As the data traffic generated in roaming is not covered by the data plan, you’re screwed up!

Wind turned out to be a very slow, inconsistent and unreliable mobile internet experience. Even in a large city such as Milan it’s hard to get HSDPA coverage, so you’ve to rely on the much slower UMTS or even EGDE if you’re inside a thick building. Outside urban areas 3G coverage disappears, leaving you begging at least for the EDGE to pop out.

I have to say that network quality is aligned to operator’s pricing policies. TIM and Vodafone were the best, but they’re also the most expensive while Wind offers a worse service for much less money. At least the price/quality relationship is honored!

I never had USB modems, as since now I used Vodafone’s HSDPA/HSUPA PCI Express card produced by Option that I successfully used with my MacBook Pro.

After a quick glimpse at the new toys I’ve found out the different manufacturers of the modems:

• TIM had its dongle produced by Onda Communication, an Italian manufacturer
• Vodafone had its Internet Key produced by Huawei
• Wind and H3G share the same hardware made by Huawei (but a different model from the Vodafone one)

After a first look I have to say I like very much TIM‘s USB modem look and feel, while I really appreciate the idea of a retractable USB connector in Vodafone‘s one.

All the four have also a microSD slot, which is great as they can also be used as external memories as well as readers for your camera’s memory cards.

Wanna see all the photos from the unpacking? Jump to my set on Flickr!

In the coming weeks you’ll read updates about me using these modems, especially on Twitter! Tune in and share this experience with me, if you have questions or specific tasks you want me to do with the modems please ask!