Verizon finally released Windows Mobile 6.1 for my phone a little while back, and they bundled a few other updates with it, including EVDO rev A support for higher speed. Higher speed indeed! I finally got around to re-hacking it for free tethering and pulled up speedtest.net: 1174kbps downstream! Over a megabit on a cellular connection? Yes, please! 343kbps upstream isn't too shabby, either.
I strongly encourage all my highly mobile friends - especially those always questing for free hotspots (
ecmyers!) - to Google how to hack your phone for free tethering and start really getting your money's worth. You don't even need a smartphone/Blackberry; I was doing the same thing with my old LG Chocolate and Verizon's $5/month wireless web service.