Short version: We’ve loved the MiFi mobile router since we first laid eyes on it back at CES. After a few days of playing with the Verizon MiFi 2200, we still love it just as much – but with one hangup: the nasty monthly bill. After a trivial hiccup with the activation, we had 4 computers up and running in minutes. Speeds in our area are about average for the local EVDO Rev-A network, and we’ve had absolutely no connectivity drops in our 2 days of testing.

We at CrunchGear love us some MiFi. From its first appearance at CES this year to the Verizon launch, we’ve been all like “I love you MiFi.”

Now you can love the MiFi even more because it’s available on Sprint. Here’s the important stuff:

Sprint plans to launch the Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 intelligent mobile hotspot device for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year service agreement (excluding taxes). The MiFi 2200, available in the first week of June on www.sprint.com, in Sprint retail stores and other select channels, will allow users to connect to the Internet by bridging WiFi-enabled devices like laptops, MP3 players and gaming devices to America’s most dependable 3G network* – the EVDO Rev A Sprint Mobile Broadband Network.

* $59.99 per month mobile broadband only plan (excluding taxes and surcharges)**

or

* $149.99 per month Simply Everything Plan + Mobile Broadband (phone plus device connectivity — excluding taxes and surcharges)**

Both plans include up to 5 GB per month and 5 cents per megabyte overage for the MiFi 2200.

May 17th is shaping up to be a big day for Verizon if this rumor is correctly stating the launch date of upcoming netbook. That day is also the launch date of the portable hotspot, MiFi. The HP Mini netbook comes packing integrated 3g wireless for Internet connectivity and will be available for $199 with a two-year data contract. Yeah, it’s a bit pricey.

We’ve had a special place in our hearts for the Novatel Wireless MiFi ever since we played with one at CES. Verizon let it leak via the MiFi’s online manual that the carrier was getting the portable EV-DO router sometime soon, but now we have info to fill in the blanks.

The Verizon MiFi 2020 appears to be all of the hotness that the pre-production Novatel was with ability to share a Verizon 3G connection over 802.11b/g to five WiFi devices simultaneously. The battery should last up to four hours when in active use, and 40 hours in standby mode. You would think that Verizon would charge a hefty premium for such a device, but actually, it’s not that bad.

It’s definitely not the first time we’ve seen the Novatel MiFi, or even the second – but they can keep cranking these things out in all sorts of different flavors and we wouldn’t mind a bit. A few weeks back, we found out that Sprint would be getting a MiFi of their own sometime in the next 3 months, and this latest leak indicates that Verizon will be getting one as well. No date is mentioned – but with CTIA 09 but a night or two away, we’d wager that an announcement is looming.

We first saw the MiFi 2352 Mobile Hotspot’s CDMA brother back at CES; we loved it then, and we love it just as much in its GSM form. Novatel announced yesterday that Telefónica would be the first carrier to launch the MiFi sometime during this quarter, so we figured we’d stop by their suite to give it a spin.

I’ve been eying FIOS for a few years now – I know Doug has it and likes it – and was just inspired by a commercial on cable to pop by the Verizon site to check on FIOS in Brooklyn. Almost immediately I was shunted into a chat with “Philip” who proceeded to offer me DSL. Phil then encouraged me to “check back” with some regularity, something that would be swell if I cared enough to check back regularly.