Mike,
I have not experienced any problems with the volume on the phone. I've tried playing you tube videos and a built in game and was very satisfied with the volume. Even when I put it down on a flat surface (which covers the rear speaker) the volume was fine.
I've heard that using your phone as a mobile wifi hotspot really eats up battery power. Incidentally, Verizon states in their instructional videos that you must plug in your phone when using it as a wifi hotspot due to battery consumption.
Sorry I can't answer your question concerning how the phone functions as a wifi hotspot. Verizon charges an extra $20 per month (for 2 GB of data useage) to use that feature. In addition, someone told me that the 2GB data maximum applies to all data useage once you activate the wifi feature. So you have to pay $20 more per month AND you go from an unlimited data plan to a 2GB maximum. No thanks. I suppose you could also jailbreak the phone but I wouldn't want to do that.
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