Motorola Droid now just a (hacked) firmware update away from WiFi tethering
By Tim Stevens 
posted December 23rd 2009 8:34AM
posted December 23rd 2009 8:34AM
posted December 23rd 2009 8:34AM
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Droid does what iPhone doesn't
@AA Alex
Droid does... with a firmware hack, of course.
THE most annoying thing about Android, is not being able to install apps to an SD card without rooting your phone and voiding your warranty.
@AA Alex that's a joke, right? iPhones have had tethering since right after the first jailbreak apps started coming on to the scene, and now even have tethering built in to the firmware itself (of course, it's a hack to enable it on AT&T because they suck, but other carriers have it).
@AA Alex
Yeah, sucks.
@r34p3r That tired complaint again? I have a Droid. I have not run out of space. It's a non-issue. Applications store data on my SD Card. I have folders with data for several apps on my SD Card....
Did I tell you I haven't run out of space yet? Did I mention that it's a non-issue?
@AA Alex
LOL, and my Symbian phone has been doing this for years.
@AA Alex Actually, check out MyWi. Turns the iPhone into a WiFi hotspot and shares the connection. Yeah, you need to jailbreak, but if you need to hack the firmware on the Droid to do it also, then we're on even ground here, no? Also, I've been doing it for about 2 months now.
yeah. paid retail for my droid. I think I will stick with PDANet for now.
@christopheraven
just how exactly does PDANet work?
@ale
For PDAnet you have to install a program on your computer and on your phone, and you have to connect them with a usb cable (or maybe bluetooth also? I haven't used it in a while). It is good if you aren't comfortable rooting with your phone.
Does anyone know where I can get the "Drrrrrrroidddd!" sound for my iPhone? Thanks!
@xCrunk heard of google? http://media.gdgt.com/etc/droid-alert.wav
@xCrunk http://beta.ivancover.com/blog/2009/11/02/droid-message-sound/
@xCrunk the comment above me links to the wav file for the sound, if you follow the link I posted there is an AIFF file renamed to .caf, which is required for it to work as a SMS alert on an iPhone.
@xCrunk
NO! Get a droid. Its better anyway.
@pagell19 "better" is a subjective term. Most of my friends and family are on AT&T, and I am more than comfortable jailbreaking my phone (been doing it since it was alllll terminal and only OS X, shortly after the phone came to market), so the iPhone is a logical choice for me (especially because AT&T has no Android phones at the moment, and I am not fond of Blackberries). Want a sweet phone on Verizon? Get the Droid, it's easily the best phone they have (worlds better than the Storm 2).
Computers (even the miniature ones we carry in our pockets these days) are tools, and different people prefer different tools for similar jobs. I never understood the platform evangelism that some people have for OSes, devices, or manufacturers.
Isn't the phrase "paying through the nose for it"?
Damn would I love to be able to replace my iPhone and Verizon Mifi with a Droid that could support infrastructure wifi hotspot tethering...
@Leindurstit
I guess I need to re-read the article because I didn't see anything about
it being a hotspot but rather allowing the phone to be tethered via WiFi.
@Leindurstit
MyWi on iPhone turns it into an actual 3G wifi router.
There's PDAnet as well for iphone but it works over ad-hoc wifi so it's only one device can connect.
I thought Droid was supposed to be wide-open for consumers to do
whatever the wanted to the phone? Hmm...sounds like Verizon didn't
want users to have full-control after all. Shocker...
@dand
I thought Democracy in USA was supposed to be "power to the people" and freedom of everything. You still don't carry nuclear weapons or store them at home. Hmm...sounds like USA government didn't want people to have full-contrl after all. Shocker...
Rooting the Droid consists of putting a .zip file on the SD card and holding down three keys when you boot it up.
*shrug*
So I did.
@ethana2
And Jailbreaking the iPhone only requires you to click once the big button on Blackra1n, (and it's the only button on the application)
@(Unverified) Jailbreaking requires doing a full update, rooting the Droid only takes a minute or two.
@dand - You're an idiot. Typical iFail failboy. With the exception of the ADP1 and ADP2 (look it up, I hope you can atleast Google...) ALL Android phones don't come with root access. It's not about Verizon. It keeps morons like you from going "Hmm, I wonder what happens if I type rm -f *.* into my Terminal Emulator" and killing your entire phone.
It's people like you that make the devices come without root access.
Lol...windows mobile has been able to do this for years now, and you don't need to "hack" your phone either. You just need to install WMWifirouter, and soft reset. That's it.
This article however -- is rediculous, all these restrictions placed on phones these days. Fuck android and it's claim of being "open" -- how can something be OPEN that #1 doesn't come out of the box with root access (wait -- a device that you paid for yourself doesn't come with full access...what!?!?! -- yes it's true) and #2 requires you to use a hacked firmware just for something as simple as wifi tethering? Jesus christ. Looks like "droiddoes" is just a re-packaged iphone...I'm not seeing more similarities than differences...have to "jailbreak" the device to use it how you want it (lol), no wifi tethering out of the box, no custom UIs without root...sucks.
And you know what's the ultimate irony? Alot of mobile phones sold in europe come with wifi tethering software out of the box.
@surgex
JoikuSpot for S60 has been around doing the same thing, way to join the party droid!
@kenosando
Good point! JoikuSpot does not require a hacked firmware to do the same exact task on Symbian, and alot of Symbian phones COME WITH IT out of the god damn box...so WHY are these restrictions placed on devices in the USA, but not in the rest of the world? It really pisses me off!
@surgex No, the ultimate irony is you don't even know how to spell "ridiculous".
This was never "diculous", then became "undiculous", then once more became "diculous", or "rediculous" as it were.
@StormX
A Spelling error? That's your post? Wow.
A douche bag, you are.
@surgex Yup, a spelling error. That's the only thing you said worth replying to. The rest was just typical whining. =)
@StormX
*Sings real men of genius song* Mister Internet Spelling Policeman....
@surgex You are being dense. Which is not shocking. Several posters here are dense. Adroid IS an open platform per Google. You can take it and do whatever you want with it. If a carrier does not want tethering, the handset maker does not include it. THAT has nothing to do with Android.
On your subject of hacked firmware. Google supports that open heatedly it is in the nature of being open. What they do not support is the inclusion of closed software (Market, Gmail etc) that carriers pay money for to have on their phones.
For the record, there are apps to modify your UI, enable tethering without root. Research a bit before you speak. The open nature of the android platform is not at question here. Your phone carriers are the one at question. You mentioned international phones having tethering by default. Of course they can! Those guys pay an arm and a leg for data and sms. It's a money making ploy for their carriers.
So it would seem like with the iphone --- and with this -- there is some douche bag overseer pulling the strings saying "you can do this, but you can't do that...I have full control!! of your device Muahahahaha" -- so it's either steve jobs or some douche bag at google..but I ask you all..what is the difference? Doesn't anyone care about a REAL open phone anymore?
@surgex No. People mostly don't. Because 9/10 people don't want to SSH into their phone. Those that want to... can. If you had everyone and their mom installing shit willy nilly, and then the phone starts running like crap due to something the USER did... who do you think pays for the support when those uninformed users need help? Carriers do. And if the carriers end up spending a disproportionate amount of time on 1 particular phone or platform, guess which ones they don't purchase anymore?
EG: If they let people do whatever they want with the Droid, and start getting all kinds of calls for support, and support costs for the Droid go through the roof, whats the incentive to continue supporting it past this generation?
@icase81
I don't buy that argument totally, but let's say you're right.
How about having a special option to enable "developer" mode that requires some know-how, and right when that happens, a disclaimer message comes up that says warning no support beyond this point. Wouldn't that be reasonable then? But no one does that or anything close to it...Google offered developer's versions of the Dream i believe, but they were in huge demand and short supply and it was only one per household or something lame like that.
@surgex developer mode is rooting your phone. If you are smart enough to root it, you are free to do whatever you want, I mean, it's not like it's even that hard.
@Demios
how hard or easy it is; is not the point.
there should be an option for it out of the box.
that is what "open" truly means. I see your point about carriers; but even with unlocked models you don't have access to the root account out of the box.. That is not open by any definition of the word..sorry!
@surgex
swimming through menus or holding down 3 buttons at reboot. I'm not understanding why you're adamant about a menu based, easily abused by stupid people function. Unlocked models are still made to be carrier specific, hence why. You won't see what you are asking for unless Google itself gets into the carrier business. Even then, root will be tucked away, so idiots don't screw it up. Go search a linux forum and see how many people have screwed up quite a few stupid things,cause they wanted to be root. It is how linux works, NOT being root adds an extra layer of security. Just cause mobile phones are not the targets of malicious activity yet, does not mean they never will be.
@Demios
"Just cause mobile phones are not the targets of malicious activity yet, does not mean they never will be." The terrorists are coming! Ahhh!!! That was the same agrument apple used when defending their position on making jailbreaking illegal...they claimed a jailbroken iphone can take down a network of cell towers (rofl). Sorry, but I'm with the EFF on this one. There are too many restrictions as it is. If you go fucking with your phone, make a backup first. Not that hard :)
@surgex
I'm not talking about attacking devices from without. I'm talking about YOUR device being attacked. The first signs are already rearing their heads, and guess what, it only affects jailbroken iphones.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/08/first-iphone-worm-rickrolls-jailbroken-phones/
@surgex
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/03/dutch-hacker-seeks-out-jailbroken-iphones-for-fame-and-fortune/
@Demios
I hate to seem callous and mean -- BUT...I am well aware of those, and my opinion is this...the people who didn't change their default PW deserve to get owned. Heh!!
@surgex
It is a security risk, you don't run root in userspace. Quit being a dolt. It is standard linux practice.
I have downloaded PdaNet from Android Market and it is AWESOME!!!
It does not require any root access on the phone (I have heard bad stories about people bricking their phone when they try to hack it or install a different ROM). Installed and connect instantly at 1200kbps, even faster than my phone's browser when I do the same test.
I don't know why people would want to wait for Verizon's tethering solution, which will for sure charge you an extra $30 a month, while using PdaNet it is practically free.
@novicej
You'll be paying more than $30 when Verizon catches you. It's against their terms to tether without their 5GB tethering plan. I'm sure Verizon will start doing something when illegal tetherers start bogging down their network.
Sorry I have to say this but, that thing isn't very attractive.
Wow another load of comments spammed with stupid spelling dictators.
To add I agree with Scape3d that its not very good looking. Then again neither is my N95 8gb :(
@bucketnut
mister internet spelling policemannnn...I'm making a youtube parody of it right nao :D