tethering
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AT&T adding an extra 2GB to phone tethering plans, launching Mobile Hotspot app February 13th
What, 2GB of monthly data isn't enough for your laptoppin' needs? Yeah, us either -- fortunately, AT&T's tweaking its phone tethering plan a bit with an extra 2GB that can be shared among all devices for a grand total of 4GB. As before, you'll need to start off with the $25 DataPro plan and tack on an extra $20 for tethering, bringing the total to $45 a month. In conjunction with the move, AT&T has announced that it'll begin rolling out a Mobile Hotspot app starting with the HTC Inspire 4G at its launch on February 13th, which means these guys are finally coming around and embracing the data revolution that's been taking hold the last year or two across the industry -- a trend that began with its first launch of a MiFi a few months back. Existing DataPro tethering customers will get the extra 2GB automatically added to their accounts, so there shouldn't be anything you need to do; obviously, we would've preferred something closer to unlimited, but something tells us that ship has sailed. Follow the break for the press release.
RIM shows PlayBook living in sweet harmony with BlackBerry Torch in new video
It's no secret that RIM's PlayBook is going to need a connection to a nearby BlackBerry phone to do much of its corporate heavy lifting, and a new video posted by the company today shows a little more detail on exactly how that'll look. The one-minute, 54-second spot spends much of its time in the tablet's email app, demonstrating how the Playbook and the Torch beside it are perfectly in sync -- read an email on one, it immediately shows read on the other, and so on. We also learn that any secured corporate data that you're using on the PlayBook while tethered is essentially on loan -- it'll disappear as soon as you disconnect, which is one of the reasons RIM's touting this as a bolt-on for any corporate BES environment that won't require any additional configuration or lines of data service. The video certainly doesn't do much to appeal to the casual BlackBerry user -- you know, the Curve and Pearl types of folks -- but it's an interesting watch nonetheless. Check it after the break.
Hack brings USB tethering to HTC Windows Phone 7 devices, Dell Venue Pro
Cutting through the back and forth surrounding Windows Phone 7 tethering are two new hacks, with one being markedly easier than the other to implement. After discovering the option in Samsung's Focus and Omnia 7 late last year, engineering minds over at xda-developers have now uncovered a method to allow USB internet tethering on HTC's smattering of Windows Phone 7 handsets. Unfortunately, you'll need to unlock your device before any of this will work, but the case is definitely different for Dell's Venue Pro. For that one, you'll simply need to modify the .INF file -- no unlock required. Hit the links below for the devilish details, and try not to set up a P2P farm using your phone's 3G connection. We hear carriers are none too fond of that foolhardiness. [Thanks, Lake]
AT&T 'evaluating' support for iOS Personal Hotspot, no plans yet
Although you'd think AT&T would be all over the Verizon iPhone's new personal hotspot feature if only just to keep feature parity with its biggest competitor, the carrier is taking a more measured approach -- an AT&T spokesperson just told us that they're "evaluating the feature, but have no plans to announce at this time." Given that the iOS 4.3 beta just brought hotspot support to the GSM iPhone, we're guessing that the holdup is more tactical than technical -- Verizon still hasn't announced its iPhone data plan pricing or hotspot tax, and we're assuming AT&T's just waiting for some numbers before announcing support sometime around, say, February 10th. We'll see. P.S.- We're also thinking it would be sweet it AT&T supported WiFi hotspot with 3G iPad and its contract-free data plans, but we're just wishing one wish at a time here.
Verizon iPhone 4 will have 3G mobile hotspot (update)
It'll probably be subject to an additional fee as usual, but Verizon and Apple have just revealed that the new CDMA iPhone 4 will act as a mobile WiFi connection for up to five devices. It'll come with an iOS-specific version of the Verizon 3G Mobile Hotspot that folks have been enjoying on their Droids for many moons now. That should allowing for laptops, tablets and the like to get online via iPhone without a pesky cord, and almost certainly make the long-verboten iPhone - iPad tethering connection finally attainable. Joy to the world! Update: Verizon called it an app, but getting hands-on we can see that's not the case at all -- Personal Hotspot is built right into the CDMA iPhone 4's build of iOS 4.2.5. Perhaps we'll see it migrate to other devices as well?
Tether your iPhone with the Nexaria BC2 router
The Nexaria BC2 router is a rather ugly 802.11b/g/n router that will allow tethering on the iPhone 3, 3GS and 4. Unfortunately, you must plug the thing into an outlet to power it up, providing somewhat limited use. Typical use case for tethering is using your phone as a modem and connecting to your Mac on the go. Here, you are chained to your desk. But if you're willing to uglify your work space, the router will grab that bandwidth from your iPhone (using your data allotment from AT&T) and beam it around your room via Wi-Fi for the low price of $189. Ideal? Hardly, but it works for what it does.
T-Mobile's $15 tethering option, tiered data available this Sunday
The $14.99 monthly unlimited tethering / mobile WiFi hotspot add-on for your phone that T-Mobile promised in time for the holidays will be getting real this weekend, hitting on Sunday, November 14th. Of course, owners of myTouch 4Gs, G2s with the latest firmware update, and a couple other models in the T-Mobile stable have already been enjoying the option, gratis, for a couple weeks -- so it'll be interesting to see how many subscribers they convert for the $15 upcharge. Certainly makes those roots seem a little more appealing, doesn't it? Available at the same time will be the new 200MB data option for $10, though it won't be available (smartly) in combination with tethering. On a related note, Big Magenta will be rolling out two promotional Even More plans on the same date: a 1,500 anytime minute individual package for $79.99 and a 3,000 minute family plan for $149.99, both including unlimited text and web. Both require re-upping your contract and will be available "for a limited time," though the carrier isn't saying just how long that "limited time" may be. Follow the break for the release.
Windows Phone 7 USB tethering uncovered on Samsung phones
If you're the proud owner of a Samsung Focus or Omnia 7, you can scratch a pretty major item off the list of basic features missing from WP7: USB tethering. A couple of sites have come upon a quick and relatively easy hack to enable using your handset as a 3G modem on Microsoft's new platform. You'll need to dial up ##634# to get into a diagnostics menu, switch over to a "Modem, Tethered Call" mode and deal with a few more prompts along the way, but the end result is that you'll have a pretty much automated USB tether setup on your hands. Our own testing on HTC's Trophy and LG's Optimus 7 hasn't been quite so productive, perhaps because those devices require a different route to achieving it, but it seems like Windows Phone 7 is perfectly capable of performing the USB tethering task. Let us know how you get along in the comments below!
T-Mobile offering unlimited tethering 'this holiday season' as $15 add-on
This one comes as no surprise, but T-Mobile has announced today that the availability of tethering and WiFi hotspot capabilities for "select smartphones" in its lineup in time for the holidays -- and as is often the case with Big Magenta, they're offering the service at a much more aggressive price point than its larger competitors: $14.99 a month on top of your $30 unlimited data plan buys you unlimited tethering on T-Mobile's glorious HSPA+ network (and in its non-HSPA+ areas as well, of course). We still don't know whether this'll start to roll out on November 3rd as was rumored, but that'd be a nice way to get into the holiday spirit, wouldn't it? Don't get us wrong -- we'd prefer if they offered it for free as part of your $30 package, but in our post-apocalyptic world of streaming video and incessant browsing on the go, that just wasn't gonna happen. Separately, T-Mobile is also announcing an alternative to that $30 smartphone data: a new 200MB plan clocking in at $10 on a new two-year deal or $15 a month without a contract extension. As you might imagine, tethering isn't available with this one -- we suspect it's just an answer to the new fad adopted by AT&T and Verizon of offering a tiny-bucket data plan alongside your regular gluttonous-bucket package.
T-Mobile launching data tethering / wireless hotspot plan on Nov. 3rd for $14.99?
T-Mobile said it was "working to deliver" hotspot support to T-Mobile G2 users, and now we might know the reason for the delay -- an allegedly leaked document details Magenta's scheme to offer a comprehensive data tethering plan for a $14.99 monthly fee. According to the convincingly worded internal memo, the new feature will let you tether over WiFi, Bluetooth or a physical USB cable at both 3G and HSPA+ speeds, though only on a $20 or higher unlimited data plan -- so if you've got just 200MB, you'll have to spend them on the small screen. The doc also says it's subject to T-Mobile's recent throttling efforts, so don't expect to enjoy HSPA+ on your tethered tablet for long: "Customers who purchase a T-Mobile mobile broadband product like the upcoming Galaxy Tab should activate with a webConnect plan to ensure the best experience," the document specifically suggests. The plan's apparently coming November 3rd, a date which is associated with another likely rumor, too -- TmoNews has a leaked email of its own suggesting the new myTouch will hit November 3rd as well. With Verizon, AT&T and Sprint all already charging for connection sharing, we suppose the writing was on the wall. The days of ambiguous wireless freedom are just about over, folks.
T-Mobile won't confirm the G2 OTA update, says it's working to deliver WiFi calling and tethering 'in the future'
We're still not sure what's up with the few reports of G2s receiving OTA updates that add WiFi calling and native hotspot support, but T-Mobile isn't fessing up to them just yet. In a statement issued to Phone Scoop, T-Mobile said that these features "are not currently supported" on the handset, although T-Mobile thankfully added that it "knows these features are important to consumers and we're working to deliver them to G2 users in the future." It's hard to tell if that means an update is just minutes away from widespread distribution, or if we've still got weeks or months to wait for these features. Familiar story?
T-Mobile G2 getting an OTA update to add WiFi calling and tethering?
It almost sounds too good to be true, but apparently some G2s are getting an official (if stealthy) OTA update from T-Mobile that adds the inexplicably withheld Android 2.2 native internet tethering back into the phone, along with the UMA WiFi calling T-Mobile plans to offer on all of its forthcoming Android handsets. What's not to love? Well, so far our G2 hasn't been offered the update, which is, like, totally unfair. Also, if you've been messing around with a "soft root" on your G2, you'll probably want to hold off for now. Still, if this is legit and meant for the masses it's a pretty major score for current and prospective G2 owners: WiFi calling is basically a beautiful dream short of a desirable handset, and of course tethering is becoming a requirement in this Android-age.
Microsoft: Windows Phone 7 actually doesn't support tethering
We're not exactly sure how this message got so confused, but Microsoft's come out today to let us know that Windows Phone 7 officially doesn't support tethering at all, despite earlier comments by Brandon Watson that it'd be a network operator call on whether to enable it. If we had to guess, this is probably a feature that was "on the bubble" as Microsoft moved toward RTM, and it simply didn't make the cut for version 1.0 -- we'd definitely expect to see it in a future release, though there's no guidance from Microsoft at the moment on whether (or when) that'll happen.
Windows Phone 7 has tethering support, up to carriers whether to enable it
Sound familiar? For Windows Phone 7, seems like Microsoft's taking an angle shared by both Apple and Google on a feature that enjoys a tenuous relationship at best with network operators, saying that data tethering will be available but it'll be up to carriers to decide whether to offer it. Though feature removal rarely goes over well with potential buyers of Windows Phone 7 devices, it's actually a pretty easy call from Microsoft's perspective: the company needs as much carrier support as it can get right now to ramp up a fresh mobile platform going against entrenched giants with several years' head start, and enforcing the availability of a feature that tends to choke 3G networks probably wouldn't be a great way to get that. Needless to say, we've little doubt that the dev community will find a way around any roadblocks in short order -- but officially, anyhow, the ball is in the operators' courts.
How to use your iPhone's volume buttons for shutter control in Camera+
If you use Camera+ -- and you should; we love it -- you might have been excited by the recent talk of using the volume control buttons on the side of your iPhone to take pictures with. We've all found fumbling with the touchscreen button a little fiddly from time to time, right? I've come worryingly close to dropping my iPhone on occasions, shooting one-handed, fingers contorted into a claw, trying to curl my pinky over to the centre of the screen. Camera+'s developers tap tap tap must feel my pain, because they recently added this much-requested feature to a new version. Unfortunately, Apple rejected it from the App Store, because repurposing the volume controls could "potentially result in user confusion." Tap tap tap is philosophical about this decision, saying they understood Apple's position and that they hoped they would change their minds in the future. Although a few other camera apps do offer the use of volume control as a shutter release, these were either only available via the jailbreak store or the developers smuggled the feature through under Apple's nose. However, it turns out the current version of Camera+ (v1.2.1) has this feature, albeit hidden away-- but it's a snap to activate (pun intended). (Thanks to Dan at UneasySilence and everyone else who sent this in!)
Spin your plates, it's time for TUAW TV Live
In keeping with my earlier theme about today's TUAW TV Live being like an old TV variety show, I submit this awesome shot of people spinning plates on sticks. Yes, that was the sum total of TV entertainment when I was growing up. Today on TUAW TV Live, I won't be spinning plates on sticks except in the metaphorical sense, as we've got a lot of fascinating Apple news to cover this week. To join in from your Mac or PC, just go to the next page by clicking the link at the bottom of this post, and you'll find a live stream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to join in on the fun by asking questions or making comments. If you're driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you're stuck in traffic, please don't -- keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone by downloading the free Ustream Viewing Application. We haven't forgotten about iPad users, as you can tune in to TUAW TV Live on your iPad! That link will send you to a non-Flash page, although you won't have access to our chat tool.
Handy Light for iPhone's dirty little secret: tethering (update)
You may ask yourself, why on earth would anyone pay 99 cents for an iPhone app whose sole purpose is to flash bright, solid colors? We certainly wouldn't recommend it, but Handy Light has a great little Easter egg that undoubtedly doesn't jive with the folks at Cupertino HQ. Like Nullriver's Netshare app before it, this little piece of software allows for SOCKS proxy tethering, without having to sign up for AT&T's tethering plan. Instructions available via the video below, and if you're looking to pick up the app yourself, better hurry -- we can't imagine Apple will let this one stay in the store for very much longer. Update: Looks like the app's been pulled. Ye who snoozes, ergo must lose. If you did manage to nab and the video below isn't working (we see it just fine), check out App Shopper for more detailed, text-based instructions.
HTC EVO 4G gets unlimited WiFi hotspot skills, courtesy of root
The root, the root, the root is on fire! Well, not quite, but you just got another pretty splendiferous reason to hack your EVO: android-wifi-tether, an app doing exactly what its name suggests, has now been confirmed to support HTC's 4G-capable phone. There were apparently some compatibility issues at first, but those have now been ironed out and superuser-empowered folks have been successfully pairing the free app and supersonic phone since. Might as well jump on board with this one -- Google has already said Froyo's native ability to do this might be circumscribed by carriers, meaning Sprint's likely to package any official firmware upgrades in such a way as to keep you paying for hotspot capabilities. And who wants to do that?
Apple won't support iPhone to iPad tethering
If you thought that when iPhone OS 4.0 gets released and you can buy the 2GB "Datapro" plan for $25, along with an additional $20 per month to tether your iPhone's WiFi connection to your iPad, think again. It's just not going to happen. This is consistent with Steve Jobs' answer to an email asking him about this possibility. His response was a terse "no." According to Apple, once enabled, you will be able to tether your iPhone to a PC or Mac either via WiFi, Bluetooth, or a USB cable, but they didn't make mention of the iPad. It turns out that WiFi isn't possible on the tablet: the required Bluetooth profile isn't enabled, and using the camera connection kit to connect to a mini-USB port on your camera won't work either, although it will work with a USB keyboard and headset. Not allowing iPhone-iPad tethering doesn't seem to be an oversight. It seems like a carefully planned decision on Apple's part to keep AT&T happy. It is very possible for Apple to make tethering work via a software update perhaps along with a new connection cable, but I really don't see that happening since it will interfere with AT&T's iPad cellular connection plan pricing while maintaining the value of charging an extra $130 for a 3G-enabled iPad. I understand that this is a business decision and that making as much money as possible warms shareholders' hearts, but to me this premeditated decision is dirty pool and another good reason to Jailbreak your iPhone. [via AppleInsider]
Same as it ever was: you can't tether an iPhone to the iPad
This isn't so much news as it is a public service announcement: even in markets where iPhone tethering has launched, you've never been able to use it to connect to an iPad, and you won't be able to when AT&T flips the switch on tethering with the release of OS 4. That's clearly not AT&T's fault, it's Apple's -- the iPhone inexplicably supports only USB and Bluetooth for sharing its internet connection, even though jailbroken apps like MyWi prove that a WiFi connection is totally doable and countless other handsets already support WiFi routing. And iPad doesn't support using another device as a Bluetooth modem, either. And as long as you're paying the tethering fee, there's no reason why AT&T wouldn't want you tethering the iPad; you'll certainly be able to do it with any phone in AT&T's lineup that can create a WiFi hotspot, after all, and we're sure they'd be happy to take your overage cash once you hit 2GB regardless of the device you're using to gobble the data. In the meantime, you know what you can tether to an iPad? A phone running Froyo, for one -- Google was certainly happy to show off that capability back at IO. Or pretty much any device running S60 from the last several years. Or a Palm Pre Plus... yeah, you get the idea.
