Speed
On the bandwidth front, it promises to provide 3.1mbps which means a download speed of at least 400KB/s which it fails to deliver and not more than 130KB/s at best which is about 1mbps can be achieved. The upload speed in contrast to the download speed is rather slow which hovers around 30KB/s i.e. around 256KBps.
~For browsing: Browsing is never an issue with Tata photon unless you have poor signal strength. Most pages load as fast as wired connection. But Flash and script heavy sites takes time and that is due to not so effecient pings and jitters in the line quality
~For Streaming: Occasional streaming can be ok considering the limit in usage but most times streaming videos in popular streaming sites in youtube is dismal as the speed falls continually back and forth making your viewing experience terrible but live channels like ndtv and ibn cbn should would work optimally due to their low quality bit rate. Not recommended as it would eat up your bandwidth.
~For Gaming: It would be a big no no. Multiplayer games eat up a lot of bandwidth and with below par ping rates. Online gaming is not recommended
~For IMing and Voice Chats: IMing and Voice Chat are quite good. That can be assumed why. IM consumes very less bandwidth and if thats your only need Tata Photon comes handy But Voice apps like Skype, you need to have a good signal strength plus all depends on line quality and the nearest tower. My personal experience has been quite good so far considering its just a usb device but when there is fluctuation in speed, frequent disconnection during voice chats are common
Use
Tata photon cannot be used for downloading or streaming youtube videos. The main purpose is to facilitate mobile broadband for checking emails, news stock, chatting and voice conversations. The Unlimited plans fall back to 155Kbps once the Bundled usage limit is breached. The Limited plans starts charging anywhere from 0.50p to 1Rs/MB when the bundled usage is breached.
Connectivity
Connectivity in major cities are good but chances are that tata photon may switch to slower CDMA 1X when your signal strength goes down and browsing would be practically impossible at this speed. But you should be getting connectivity anyhow.
Price
The device is priced around 2000Rs and the plans start from 200 to 5000Rs. The unlimited ones fall back to 155Kbps but actually its even less. limited ones are cheap but low on bandwidth.Postpaid plans cannot be trusted because you have no control over your usage or their billing service. Heard of cases of customers getting bills upto 20, 000Rs in just one month. I personally think the the prices are on the expensive side but people with no other option. This will be a not so bad way of accessing the net.
Pros
Portability
Average speed of 60kb/s
Surprisingly good ping rates for a usb device
Not so bad looking
Cons
Frequent Disconnection
Occasionally Unstable Hence unreliable
Speed is fast but only in short burst
Expensive
Poor Customer Care
Conclusion:== Being a Heavy user, no plan in any ISP will satiate my thirst for High speed connection. But what surprised me about Tata photon is, although a bit fancy and expensive, it actually works in some form and I purchased this during the short period in which my Reliance WiMax was down for few days. My experience weren’t all great but was not bad. The ping rates and jitters are quite good considering its wireless but speeds were never constant and that frustrated me. I would never use Tata Photon as my primary source to connect to the net when you have wired and wimax options from different ISP at reasonable rates. For college students and users with limited options in hand, I would suggest to get BSNL evdo because its the cheapest wireless out there and speed is not that bad but ping rates are not that good. Its always better to opt for wired connection whenever possible. Only if you are out of options, opt for the expensive tata photon with unlimited/limited prepaid plans because postpaid-plans may tear holes in your pocket when you find out your monthly bills