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Tethering Is Exhilarating (With the Nexus One)
timothy found this link (hat-tip to Tim O'Reilly) to a paean to the joys of tethering. "In a short post, Steve Souders explores the current state of tethering 3G connections via iPhone (on which he basically gives up, for the perfectly decent reason of not wanting to jailbreak his iPhone) and the Nexus One, with which he has great success. His writeup serves as a micro-tutorial ('use PdaNet's Android app') as well as an endorsement."
Well, it's true that there are only about 1500 fart apps for android as opposed to the iPhones 7000, but many people are willing to make that sacrifice. I noticed the misleading article on the screen was posted today on Wired ... but it's still misleading.
No it's very simple, its just AT&T that is not allowing it until some vague time in the future. Even then they will likely charge something obscene for it. The iPhone suffers less from being a closed system and more from a poor cellular partner for most of the things that really annoy me these days, not that a more open less convoluted app store wouldn't help.
Seriously, how is this interesting enough to make it here?
It might gave been interesting to watch his car being run over by a truck while he was so busy checking his ssh connection at stoplights.
Not a particularly interesting article, but I'm eating dinner and my brain is sizzled, so why not?
Then it all came crashing down. iPhone 3.1 came out. I had to choose between visual voicemail and tethering or consider jailbreaking my iPhone.
A search on Google points one to the website which holds mobileconfigs for most global cellular providers. Downloading and installing the appropriate profile enables whatever support is needed. (It's also how one enables T-Mobile's MMS and Internet support rapidly.)
I’m gearing up for some travel so revisited the topic of tethering. I was stunned when I spoke to AT&T tech support two days ago and they told me they support tethering. How did I miss this?! Then the guy said I had to jailbreak my iPhone. It seems weird to have tech support recommend jailbreaking. I guess that’s a result of the AT&T/Apple love/hate relationship.
They shouldn't be telling people that because (a) that doesn't require a jailbreak and (b) jailbreaking is technically a contractual violation. That could get that CSR in trouble. NOTE: I'm all for jailbreaking; my iPhone certainly is. I'm just being pedantic.
I tested it last night at home, but the real test was this morning. I stopped for coffee at Peets, booted up Windows, tethered my Nexus One, opened a ssh session, and drove to work. At every stoplight I verified my ssh session session was still active. I was reading email, surfing the Web.
Reading mail and surfing the web WHILE DRIVING? That almost sounds responsible. ALMOST.
I really don't see what all the fuzz is about in regards to jailbreaking iPhones. Doing so doesn't seem to cause substantial harm to daily operation. In fact, it enhances usability even more since it allows applications that would never make the App Store, but are incredibly useful, to get installed (ex. SBSettings, which makes toggling all sorts of stuff dummy-proof and FAST, MobileTerminal, Veency for remote control, OpenSSH for obvious reasons, etc. et al). It's not hard at all to do (though it does make upgrading more cumbersome; hardly a disadvantage, though --- wait, isn't jailbreaking an iPhone easier than rooting Android?).
I'm in Canada where tethering is possible but I thought AT&T began offering tethering last ... June? July? I could well be wrong... Actually, checking the Apple website, I see that I am wrong - it is not currently available in the US. Ah well, yet another example of AT&T sucking it up...
Anyhow, the point remains - tethering on the iPhone is effortless and easy. Apparently outside the US...
For Sprint, O2, you can use the one-time-purchase MyTether, which as of the newest version 2.10 is working quite well. From the site http://mytether.net/:
* Allows you to share your O2 UK, Verizon, and Sprint 3G from your Pre to your computer, iPod Touch or other WiFI devices.
* WiFi network name & WAP key customization options
* Makes your Pre into a MiFi-like Mobile HotSpot at your convenience to share your 3G connection.
* Converts Palm Pre into a Wireless Network adapter by letting you share the WiFi connection on the Pre instead of your 3G when tethering over Bluetooth or USB.
* Network usage graphs and total data usage for the session
* Reported to work with iTouch/iPhone, PS3, Xbox 360, Eye-Fi, and will probably work with your WiFI device!
* Ability to turn off the LCD without putting your device into sleep mode.
* Convenience features such as restoring the old WiFi connection when tethering is disabled, prompts to take care of pre-requesties to tethering, remembering settings and last tether options, restoring modifications to settings back to original value upon exit, and many more to list.
No apps. Crappy screen. Violates dozens of Apple patents. OS based on Lin-sux. Why bother?
I always knew that my general distaste for Apple Computer and its afficionados was based in fact. Thank you for the confirmation.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
Semantics. I can't do what I want with the iPhone. I don't give a shit about which part of the system is broken.
and it's virtually impossible to break/brick your iPhone in a way that it won't be restorable. In the rare event you manage to brick it, the only danger is losing the (in most cases useless) warranty. But that doesn't really matter because Apple support will check the humidity sensors and if they are not triggered, Apple will give you a replacement. They will not bother discovering whether the device was jailbroken or not. It costs Apple more to determine an unknown problem than to give you a refurbished or even new iPhone.
Tethering is built into the n900. I had no trouble providing internet for my home network via 3G during snowmaggedon last month, when my internet went down. I use Ubuntu, but I'm sure it would have been about as easy with Windows or Mac.
Property law should use #'EQ, not #'EQUAL.
this is a waste. why pay $30 when you can root for free and tether for free? Every market app works once you root. It's not like there's anything special other than that you get more up to date (and more stable) software.
I've been with AT&T for a while, and you go into any AT&T store and look around at anything resembling a smartphone, and every last one of them supports tethering. It's a simple monthly add-on. There are even things that in no way resemble smartphones that do tethering just fine.
All smartphones except, of course, for the iPhone.
Can someone please explain the logic behind this? Why would AT&T offer tethering on Samsung, Nokia, RIM/Blackberry (just to name the ones I have used personally over the years), and not the iPhone? What logical reason is there for this? They'll gladly take your money on every other platform and offer you tethering.
"This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
Oh, I dunno, could be the potentially voided warranty on a $600 item.
Or maybe it's Apple's habit of bricking jailbroken phones with updates?
Not to say that such things aren't possible with Android updates, but given the completely opposite culture the two come from, I feel much safer with my android.
Plus, as has been noted, rooting an android phone takes all of 20 seconds, and it gives less of an advantage for the simple fact that less is locked away from you in the first place.
Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. - Helen Keller
Many (non-US) iPhone carriers allow tethering but Apple strongly discourages it through technical measures.
FUD much? Tethering on the iPhone is blocked on the iPhone on AT&T. It is a carrier setting. Tethering has worked on the iPhone on Canadian carriers since the feature was released in a firmware update. The lack of tethering is an AT&T issue and the reason why they are blocking it is because the iPhone is actually popular whereas Android phones are a small niche so they are not worried about data usage on the Android platform.
Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
I always knew that my general distaste for Apple Computer and its afficionados was based in fact. Thank you for the confirmation.
So you admit prejudice then? Why do you care so much?
Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
Except the chance that things will stop working and Apple will un-jailbreak it with the next update, so your constantly fighting the vendor just to get what other phones consider basic functionality.
You shouldn't have to fight your phone in order to get it to do what you want.
Because things go wrong and it's a very expensive device. I don't recommend ordinary people root their android phones because of this (if you're willing to take the risk then good for you but on your head be it). Furthermore Apple is actively fighting you, most people don't want to fight their own vendor.
This is the difference between Apple and Google, Apple will fight you if you do things the non-Apple way where Google will simply ignore you (on some occasions they actually help modders).
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
I am using the free alternative way on my locked/unrooted N1, :)
http://code.google.com/p/azilink/
I remember doing this like ten years ago.
Or, the fact that only 3% of the T-Mobile network is even UMTS (3.0G) takes care of the situation for them.
+1 Wow, tethering. Been doing that with my Windows Mobile 6 phone for two years now. That may be considered dancing with the devil but actually it is one of the things that on WM6 actually works, works very well and right out of the box. Speeds on Vodafone have been great too.
http://virtualize.wordpress.com/
Parent is right, grand-parent is seriously confused.
In Spain tethering also worked from day one, using it is extremely simple (either via bluetooth or cable) and the connection is fast. I have a couple of friends (who obviously don't download gigabytes of movies each month) who gave up on their land-line ADSL to rely only on their iPhone Internet's connection.
The tethering thing it's a provider thing.
I.-
This will get you up and running with USB tethering - the only downside is that I don't see Cyanogenmod supporting multi-touch: http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php/Full_Update_Guide_-_Nexus_One_Firmware_to_CyanogenMod then custom compile and setup busybox, dropbear, ssh, etc. Not too difficult if you can read man pages and use 'vi'.
Just got back from a quick business trip to Thailand. I brought my many-years-old Nokia phone, a brand-new netbook running Ubuntu, and a USB cable (Bluetooth drains batteries fast).
When I got there I bought a SIM card (DTAC/Happy) for US$1.50 and then paid an additional $4 for 30 hours of online time (could have done one week unlimited 24/7 for $8 but I didn't think I'd use that much).
Stuck in the SIM card, connected the cable, and everything worked straight away. The Ubuntu wireless menu knew the name of the cell company and offered it as option alongside the wifi networks it saw. And that was it. I used it in the airport, on the bus, in taxis, hotels, restaurants, everywhere. Business hotels wanted $10 for one hour's access; I paid less than half that for all I could use in a week.
I used to hunt around for hotels with wifi; I don't think I'll be wasting time on that anymore. Even in expensive countries the mobile access is cheaper, especially when you start including airport wifi charges.
"Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it." -- GBS
The reasoning is that even when the iPhone doesn't do tethering on their network the user *still* uses ten times more bandwidth than any of the other phones. AT&T don't want to give tethering to people who will actually use it.
...and you must have missed the part where it's free for a trial period and then after that it's free forever for http, they only lock down https in the free version. Which seems pretty good value to me.
Wait, so if you pay for unlimited wireless and you use it you are stealing? So, if I pay for something and use it I'm stealing it. Wait... what?
Ditto Australia. Works on carriers that haven't specifically asked Apple to turn it off, incredibly easy to set up and use, nice and fast.
OR, Apple allows tethering, as it has no reason not to, and AT&T chooses to disable it. Ever think of that?