Yes, 1XEV is Verizon's "3G" service. It's considered 3rd generation (or arguably 3.5 generation) and is equivalent to AT&T's 3rd generation UMTS/HSPA service. AT&T calls their service "3G"
The Storm will display 1XEV when on VZW 3G EVDO; 3G is for GSM networks.
This has been asked and answered many times (e.g., please search).
...just a tad off topic but I can say that I have tested two identical Storms; one using 1XEV on verizon and one using EDGE on T-mobile. Both have identical data speeeds implying T-Mobiles American network is operating at 3g. I confirmed with with a T-Mobile rep that T-Mobile has been on 3G since the release of the G1 and you can utilize it with an unlocked Storm.
...just a tad off topic but I can say that I have tested two identical Storms; one using 1XEV on verizon and one using EDGE on T-mobile. Both have identical data speeeds implying T-Mobiles American network is operating at 3g. I confirmed with with a T-Mobile rep that T-Mobile has been on 3G since the release of the G1 and you can utilize it with an unlocked Storm.
Yes, T-Mo has 3G in North America, but I think you're fairly wrong about everything else.
The Storm is not compatible with T-Mobile's 3G service. T-Mobile uses 1700 MHz, and the 9530 only supports 850, 900, 1800, and 1900 MHz. You should be able to pick up EDGE on the Storm without problems. EDGE is not 3G.
Quite possibly your "speed test" was not correctly configured, as you likely went through RIM's proxies to "measure" your speed. EVDO is typically much faster than EDGE, and should be approx the same as T-Mo's 3G.
