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Google Allows Carriers To Ban Tethering Apps

Posted by timothy on from the ultra-customizable dept.

iluvcapra writes "Google, in its continuing struggle to provide phone carriers (if not its end users) with an open platform, is now banning tethering apps from the Android market. These apps haven't disappeared and can still be sideloaded, insofar as your carrier doesn't lock this functionality or snoop on your packets."

3 of 328 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Damn. by MoonBuggy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Also, while I'm aware that this could only be considered 'on topic' by the most tenuous of standards, I'm surprised we got a term so positive as 'jailbreak' into mainstream usage. The connotation that the phone as-provided is trapped in a jail, and that the user is freeing it by hacking the OS, seems like a reasonable analogy to me, it's just that I would've expected the carriers to go for a bit of negative PR. Something along the lines of "Sure, you could install that evil communist app that hasn't been authorised by an upstanding corporation's store, but you'd need to terrorist-molest your phone to do so. You don't want to do that, do you?"

  2. Re:Damn. by mspohr · · Score: 4, Interesting
    This is my favorite feature of my Nexus One. Just a few taps and it turns into a WiFi hotspot. This one feature has saved me hundreds of dollars on hotel rip-off WiFi prices. Nice also in the car to have WiFi for your passengers.

    This is a feature of 2.2 (and above) unless your evil phone carrier disables it. (T-Mobile is happy with me using it.)

    --
    I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
  3. Re:VPN + tethering works & why we like cryptog by Aighearach · · Score: 4, Interesting

    You just have to have the vpn server on port 80 or 443 and you'll look a lot like https :)

    That's what I do to get on my vpn from the library.