Used my new Bionic with a laptop, using both the wi-fi hot spot, and a USB cable.

In both cases speeds were around 9 Mb/sec, which is actually better than I get at work or at my parents' house. I tested this both on the main floor and in the basement of my house, without much difference between them. I live in a moderately rural area twenty miles outside Kansas City.

Occasionally in the basement the phone would shift to 3G.

The hot spot is nice but less than stable. I would lose connection every forty minutes or so, which requires fiddling with both the phone and the laptop to get things running again. Also consumes a lot of power.

USB cable is less convenient in one way, but very convenient in many others. the laptop was able to use the phone as soon as I selected "USB Tethering" on the phone's options, no need for drivers, identifiers, or anything else, literally plug and play. The phone will not allow you to select USB Tethering until it is actually hooked up to a computer. It also draws charge from the computer, so it doesn't run down the phone's battery. Also it has never dropped, unlike the hot spot.

All in all, I am very happy with this.