The Sprint AIRAVE is finally here and Chris and Vincent over at SlashGear had the chance to review this femtocell and it packs quite a punch. And though the AIRAVE by Samsung may look like your standard WiFi router, it’s anything but.

Right off the bat, it takes about 60 minutes for the system to stabilize, which isn’t so bad if you’re going to be stationary, but if you plan on unplugging and plugging in this device, that could be a real problem. The good thing here though is that once you plug in the AIRAVE, you’re done. No set up required and you have your very own CDMA coverage area.

Call quality is excellent and all Sprint handsets that were tested really showed vastly improved signal strength. Three calls or data sessions can use the AIRAVE at a given time. The only real problem here is that anyone with a Sprint phone in the area can use it, which could clog it up in a time of need. You can limit the phones that use the network, but that requires a call to Sprint; it’s not a setting you can change at home.

The biggest drawback was the cost: $99 for the box itself and $4.99 a month service charge, which could go up to $24.99 for the unlimited in-home family plan. Not bad by itself but tacked onto your monthly cell phone bill is a bit steep.

[via SlashGear]