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Google Brings Instant Tethering To 3rd-Party Chromebooks (venturebeat.com)

Posted by msmash on from the it-just-works dept.

Google today rolled out Instant Tethering to third-party Chromebooks. Fifteen additional Chromebook models and over 30 cell phone models now support the feature. The move is part of Google's strategy of bringing Chrome OS and Android closer together. From a report: Tethering requires switching on your hotspot that uses your phone's mobile data, connecting to it from your other device by entering the password, and disconnecting when you're done. Instant Tethering skips those steps by putting you through an initial set-up process and then just showing a notification with a Connect button when your Chromebook detects that it has no Wi-Fi access. As long as tethering is enabled on your mobile data plan, and you have the data to spare, your Chromebook can always be online. Instant Tethering will also automatically disconnect if it detects 10 minutes of no activity.

2 of 27 comments (clear)

  1. Too bad most carriers disable it by Solandri · · Score: 3, Insightful

    As long as tethering is enabled on your mobile data plan, and you have the data to spare

    This is a scam. You shouldn't have to pay to enable tethering on your mobile plan (unless you have unlimited data). You're paying for x GB/mo of data with your plan. It doesn't matter to the carrier whether you use that data on your phone or on a device tethered to your phone. x GB is x GB.

    Charging extra to be able to tether to your phone is like a supermarket charging you one price for a carton of milk that you'll drink straight from a cup, but adding a surcharge if you want to use that carton of milk in a bowl of cereal. Milk is milk. As long as you're buying the same quantity of milk (using the same GB of data per month), the price should be the same no matter how you use it.

    1. Re:Too bad most carriers disable it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Even if tethering isn't "allowed" it turns out they can't stop you from doing it. I was tethering for years before I even knew what tethering meant. I was just using my phone as a router and didn't even know that the new jargon "tether" meant that. (Why did they make a new word for that? All it did was confuse people.)

      Carriers don't even have the ability to disable it, as long as you're in control of your phone.