Let the hive mind of Engadget get that for you.
"As someone who doesn't reside in the USA, I was wondering what would be the best way to get internet for my computer in the US for a couple of weeks? If it were Europe I know I'd look for some prepaid data. Is there anything similar offered by American carriers? A MiFi or a data SIM that I can tether from would work, but I'm trying to maintain a tight budget. Help!"
Why the hell does it matter how you use the data?! Tethering should be free...
@ROFL
Because they want you to buy a seperate plan for notebook and netbook use.
@ROFL
i dont get it either. im tethering for free on nexus one with froyo on t-mobile. before that i was still tethering after i root my phone.
is it GADGET OR APPLE SITE ?
i'm tired reading apple news.
@potretr
http://www.engadget.com/exclude/Apple
Problem solved.
@potretr Engadget is now an expanded version of TUAW. Sad.
@ROFL
I was just joking when I thought people would actually think that iPhone tethering would be free? Are iPhone users that oblivious to the other tethered options that AT&T offers that all cost extra? Is the iPhone suppose to get some sort of special treatment I was unaware of? This was a pretty easy thing to decipher that it'd be an extra cost.
@Pack11
That actually doesn't solve his problem since this story was not tagged apple :P
@Pack11
YOU'RE FAIL
i'm still this stupid article regarding iphone os.
@ROFL I'll stay with my 70 dollar unlimited everything plan from sprint. The most flexible/economical plan out there by far!
@ROFL
What I want to know is ... Will that 100% monthly data usage email warning I get from AT&T push me over the limit so that I get charged that extra $10?
The final warning email should be sent at 99.9%.
Here in Finland, I just ordered for 19,90 €/month (about 24,40 $) HTC Desire with plan that includes unlimited (up to 15 Mbps hspa) data, 3000 mins/month to same network, and 100 min/month to other networks (0,069 € for additional minutes), sms 0,069 €/message.
@lv2bll54 wish i could go to something like that but Sprint has the worst coverage here in MA (yes,wayyyy worse than AT&T)
@kevle30 Indeed you do - but I think that they are saying that Froyo's tethering will be a penny short of 30 bucks a month come the fall.
@jm1234567890 Granted, but the user doesn't have to click into a post read the post and then comment on how they are sick of news concerning the major gadget/computer manufacturer that the post was about. The user could have just skimmed the news and passed by anything Apple or iPhone
@ROFL
3gb??? I can do that in one day!!!! Wcat the fuck!!!! Now. Am forced to get an Android!!!!
@ROFL
Thank god for a competitive British telecommunications market. I phoned T-Mobile up and they said tethering would be free on my desire.
@weeman
*when 2.2 comes out.
@raphymartinez coverage is only bad westward of MA. And there is free roaming on verizon
@potretr You do realize that a lot of people have ATT this has little to do with the iPhone and all to do with ATT. Maybe Engadget shhould personally give you a call and ask what products you use so they can make sure they write articles you want to read. You sound like a whiny baby. Just dont waste your time posting in an article that you care nothing about or use the Apple free Engadget or both.
@ROFL
Agreed. You have a set amount of data. You should be able to use it how you want. If you go over, you pay the extra $10 per 1GB.
Most of my heavy use is at the house over Wi-Fi anyways.
I am actually surprised they did not go for a lower cap and or keep the monthly cost the same do I guess it could be worse as many people actually will save some money. Still, since I use wifi extensively and I am usually between 500-750 megs of usage each month I can see people getting close or going over if they don't have much acess to wifi.
I will say they need to work on thevwsy the iPhone handles wifi connections if they are going to start capping. If I am hooked into wifi then it should never use one kilobyte of data on the cell network. As it is now I can sit here at home all night with wifi goung the whole time but it still uses the network data oir email checking when the phone is locked evidently. Plus that would help with the stupid lag every time I try to use the phone and it starts the wifi radio back up.
@ROFL
because mobile data is based on shared connection by design.
and by making an estimate of the data used n each device (a mobile will use less than a PC due to it's size, ram...) and the average and peak subscribers at any time on a time, you can make the proper investments.
these lead to the current plan pricing. (although I agree they are quite expensive)
using a laptop, or tethering, causes you to use a lot more data , and the investment in towers and infrastructure is much higher.
it is not like landlines, where 10 people can have 4 MB/s unlimited, connected to an exchange, 10 exchange connected to a main exchange with 100MB/s links, then you have a connection to the backbone capable of supporting this. there you pay for the line, so the amount of data that transit does not matter.
NOTE: this above is a simplified view, and not totally correct, but provides the proper information for that example.
@ROFL The good folks at Verizon must laughing and laughing and laughing.
@Zucker why? I'm sure Verizon is next to dumping the unlimited plan.
@ROFL
Agreed. Esp. now that they've outlined a specific price for a specific amount of data. Whether I get the allotted data directly, or whether I then send it over a cable to my pc, what does AT&T care? It's still a fixed amount of data that I'm paying a fixed amount for.
@potretr It's AT&T news, dummy.
@Sherifftruman Yep, because as soon as you lock it or it goes to sleep by itself the wifi shuts off to conserve battery. If you're jailbroken there's a tweak available in Cydia to keep wifi connected persistently but the trade-off is battery hit.
These kind of prices make me happy that I have Sprint.
@ROFL
i totally agree. finally a plan in Canada is actually cheaper than one in the States.
I pay $30 for 6Gig with tethering at rogers.
I think if you jailbreak your phone you can get around paying for tethering.
@jm1234567890 this is ALL AT&T smartphones.
@Biopsidy It's not that iPhone users are oblivious to the fact that tethering is not free on other devices, it's that anyone with a brain realises that if you pay for 2GB of data per month, it should not matter which device you own is pulling that data... whether it be your phone, tablet, netbook, laptop, desktop PC, or anything else with a web browser.
Before I got in a tizzy over this, I looked at my data usage on my AT&T bills, and their "data trending" on their website (showing your data usage per month in a fancy bar graph) only goes back to October of 2009 for me.
Over the past 7 months, I averaged 542MB a month. The highest data usage I had was in April, 712MB, with October coming in close at 694MB; the lowest was November, with 283MB used. Seeing as I was in Jersey for Bamboozle at the beginning of May at a hotel without working internet, I wonder how my data looks while I was tethered; uploading photos to the interweb and the whatnot.
Now, my data usage over the past 2 years at AT&T (I started with the iPhone 3G in late September) was probably higher at the start, seeing as I was in a data-raging state with my first iPhone, so I've become more privy to managing my data (or just getting sick of quasi-mobile versions of sites and waiting til I get home, using Newsstand while I'm out). I'm only using between a fourth and a third of the proposed 2GB cap, so hitting that won't be a problem.
The problem is having to wait until my contract expires at AT&T before I can switch to Sprint...next summer.
@ROFL
Wow...every other site talks about the "iPad bait and switch" or "you know that data plan Steve Jobs was so proud of...well about that" or "AT&T just killed off iPhone/iPad hopes".
...and then here's Engadget: AT&T makes "sweeping changes"...Oh but look over there, shiny new iPhone OS 4 has tethering!!~1!
And buried deep in the article you finally find out in the last section that iPad and iPhone owners are getting screwed royally by the fact that they can't use more than 2G of broadband data before the overages come rolling in.
Ok, so AT&T realizes they can make some money here. Fine. Jobs sold us on some bogus "unlimited" plan. Fine. That stuff happens. But just because Jobs and AT&T are pulling a bait and switch doesn't mean that Engadget has to cover for them. Unless they want to change their name to Engapple or Appagadget.
Engadget: we're not dumb; we see what you are doing. It's like watching NCAA refs call it for the same teams every year--sure we keep coming back, but eventually (read: now) we stop liking you.
@Kanga
I an see how you would look at this as a bait-and-switch. I am not happy about additional cost to tether when the bandwidth limit is capped.
But I see the new data plans as a positive thing. The users who regularly stay under 2GB (like me) and even under 200MB (like my wife) no longer have to subsidize the heavy data users. This will save me $20/month and not affect my usage at all.
@potretr
http://www.engadget.com/exclude/iphone
dumbass.
@potretr,
I'm tired of reading your comments with poor grammar.
@Pack11
This is actually ATT news, but sadly ATT is the carrier for 'The Phone'.
@ROFL DO you know what AT&T is saying with this? "We can't handle unlimited data devices anymore."
@raphymartinez That's a bunch of crap.. Before there was ATT there was CellOne and they still have the worst coverage in Beantown. Sprint gets it done, but take my advice.. Don't forget the vaseline!
@D1Only1 I still don't agree that tethering should be an extra fee. Especially now, AT&T is selling me 2GB of capacity, if I use it off of my phone, or tethered to my laptop it shouldn't make any difference to them. If I tether my laptop and go over my 2GB, then I pay extra. $20 a month for the privileged of tethering with no additional capacity is ridiculous. That Extra $20 should include an additional 2GB of data (IMO)
Sprint here I come!
@tackhouse1 I've been tethering for free on tmobile for years now. Love it. Screw AT&T. Fapple.
@Pack11 I thought they were to announced that we finally decided to leave apple and support the verizon iPhone. But I guess it was really hard for them to do that. http://j.mp/iphone-from-red-v-reality
@ROFL
But but Dell Lightning is only for ATT and and TMobile, can this unlock to Sprint!?
@Kanga While you were digging in the article did you happen to notice the bit that current users do not have to change plans? I'm sure Engadget will be heartbroken that they're losing a reader who doesn't actually read the articles but who prefers to just bang on them instead.
@weeman
That's because T-Mobile isn't an evil machine run by big fat money grubbing suits smoking cigars, sipping on scotch in their offices and slapping their secretaries on the ass as they walk by.
@lv2bll54 I just switched from AT&T to Sprint and I am so happy.
@jm1234567890 So then... since it wasn't tagged "apple", it was easier/better to come in here and whine about it instead of just skipping over it.
seriously, that makes absolutely no fucking sense.
This is ridiculous. Say goodbye to any chance of Video Conferencing with a 2GB plan + $10 per each GB.
@Special Agent Steve So if you have an iPhone and an iPad you have to pay for TWO data plans? Boooo.