Google Bans Tethering App From Android Market

narramissic writes "Maybe Android and the Android Market aren't so open after all. A developer who contributed to the WiFi Tether for Root Users app reports that Google has banned the application from the Android Market. The developer writes in his blog that Google cited a section of the developer agreement that says that Google may remove applications if they violate the device maker's or the operator's terms of service. T-Mobile, the only operator to offer an Android phone, expressly forbids tethering phones to a computer. This incident raises some interesting questions, the developer notes in his blog. 'Does this mean that apps in the Market have to adhere to the ToS for only T-Mobile, even when other carriers sign on? Will all apps have to adhere to the ToS for every carrier that supports Android phones?'"

Comments

Re:If only

[fractoid]

From TFA:

The application lets users connect their G1 Android phones via Wi-Fi to their laptops and then access the Internet from the laptop using the phone's cellular connection.

Duh

[jmorris42]

Google isn't going to allow apps that annoy the carriers. In that respect they will be no better than the iPhone. On the other hand they probably won't be banning apps simply because they don't fit into Google's view of what you 'should' be doing on Android so that is a step up from Steve's Iron Fist.

Bottom line, get an unlocked develoopers handset unless you want the cell company and/or Google to tell you what you can and can't run on THEIR hardware. Because that's the bottom line, get a contract phone and it isn't yours and you shouldn't think it is.

Not a problem

[Anonymous Coward]

Fortunately, Android phones can install applications that aren't on the Android Market. You can find Tetherbot (not the application mentioned in TFA, but it has similar functionality and, wasn't available when I checked a minute ago) at http://graha.ms/androidproxy/, with step by step instructions to using it at here.

you can buy Android apps from outside the market

[YesIAmAScript]

Unlike the iPhone, there is more than one market for the Android platform. Developers can sell their apps directly on their own websites.

Perhaps the app will remain on the developer's site for purchase.

Re:T-Mobile does support tethering

[bahwi]

No, the MDA had the tethering app removed. You could download the missing .exe file off the web but it was removed from the base system. I spent many hours trying to get it working.

Can't vouch for the wing.

--Joseph

Re:No crazy restriction for Windows Mobile Apps

[John Hasler]

You don't have to sell through the Android App Store if you don't want to. You are free to distribute your Android software however you see fit.

Just a little mistake, it's already been fixed

[Virak]

Quoth Ars Technica's article on this same thing (which was updated well before Slashdot's was posted):

A Google spokesperson tells Ars, "We inadvertently unpublished the applications for all carriers, and today we have corrected the problem so that all Android Market users outside the T-Mobile US network will now have access to the applications. We have notified the affected developers."

And while I'm sure some people will complain about it being blocked to anyone at all, the fault here lies with T-Mobile. While it'd be nice if Google could dictate terms as it pleased to the carriers, I somehow don't think that'd go over too well. And on top of that, you don't even *need* to get software from the Android Market to install it (insert jab at iPhone here).

Re:T-Mobile does support tethering

[RebootKid]

I just called T-Mobile. Tethering is allowed depending on the plan you've got. If you use too much bandwidth (operator did not know what the # was, and has promised to follow back up with me) then they throttle down your bandwidth. You must have a 'smartphone plan' with unlimited everything (internet, minutes, messages) to qualify, which is a non-issue for me. The guy I spoke to was named Marish (Spelling could be off.) Additionally, I've had smart phones with them ever since I had a Treo 600. Not only did they support tethering then, they gave me a walk-through of how to configure my Treo650 as a Bluetooth modem, complete with APN info, and dialing strings. Again, I pay for the premium package, but it saves me from having to carry around an extra data card. and yes, I've got G1.

Re:Real?

[Asdanf]

I thought anything could run on Android granted it compiled and you distributed it but I guess I was wrong, according to this.

Did you even read TFA? It said:

G1 users can download applications directly from developers, circumventing rules that may prohibit apps from the Market.

So yes, your original belief was correct.

Re:Real?

[shutdown -p now]

This is the single most insightful comment in the whole story, which also happens to make it a non-story (and therefore all other comments, redundant). Bravo.