Over the last two weeks, I've been trying out Globe Telecom's Visibility, a mobile broadband service powered by HSDPA, on a laptop Lent to me by the service provider.

Though I didn't try out the service with a smartphone or PDA, I still found out how fast HSDPA can be. In certain areas (Globe is in the process of upgrading its 2G network to 3G), I was actually able to attain a data transfer rate of 1.8 Mbps, as promised to me by my contact in the company. It only took 30 seconds to download this 4MB file, all while sipping over-priced coffee in a busy mall!

Though there were some reliability issues (for the same reason listed above), experiencing Visibility's speed has made me excited about smartphones and PDAs with HSDPA built-in. Once service providers around the world (Globe is one of the first to release HSDPA to consumers) work the kinks out, users with HSDPA-equipped gadgets will be able to do so much more, if only because of the fast connectivity allowed. And HSDPA has an advantage over WiMax: while providing the former involves the relatively simply process of upgrading an existing network, the latter requires in an entirely new system.

Thanks to Globe for letting me try out Visibility for free!