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AT&T Confirms Personal Hotspot Support Alongside March 11th iOS 4.3 Launch
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Well, guess I'm in the minority.
I took the 4GB with tethering deal over my grandfathered unlimited plan.
Here's the deal. I looked at my bills for the past year and I never used more than 2.5 GB of data. I was already paying $30 a month for unlimited. Now I'm paying $45 and have the capability of tethering and will have wifi hotspot next week. My iPad already has unlimited data and I'm more likely to watch streaming video on that anyway. Oh, and my Macbook Pro will like this as well.
Before anyone asks, no jailbreak for me. Tried it, didnt' like it.
And Im paying 9.90 /mo for an unlimited data (speed and amount) and the telco has nothing to say on whether I tether or not. Or use VoIP apps (or whatever) on the phone or not. Thats here in the wonderland where phones and carriers have always been bought separately (these days carriers are allowed to offer bundles too).
Seriously. Looking at the US (and other) carrier locked mobile markets from the outside I can only hope that crap never comes here. You are being scammed your socks off
.About this tethering thing Its been possible to tether via IR, serial cable, USB cable, bluetooth, whatever the phone supports, ever since the days of GPRS (even before) and it really makes no difference for the network how you use your data.
Some commenters say things like before you only used 200mb but with tethering you use 1.8gb. That is completely missing the point. If your carrier sells you a 2gb/mo plan then you get 2gb/mo, period. Overages may apply or the data is simply cut whatever. But it makes no didly difference how you use up your allotted data amount at the speed your plan has.
Here's a scenario for you:
Remember when ASCAP went after the little girl (and others) who downloaded some pirated music and slammed her Mommy for $400K in damages? Downloading music without paying required fees was easy, simple and a free lunch.
Oops. That was an expensive lesson. $.99/song doesn't sound so bad now, does it?
One of these days, AT&T, Verizon, Apple, or some other 'harmed entity' is going to wake up and decide that they can sue the crap out of anyone who has JB'd their phone. Cynda and other companies will have their records supoenaed. The 'free lunch' is over and there's nowhere to hide. Remember that credit check you initially went through when you first signed up your cell phone contract? Suddenly, you find yourself blacklisted from every major cell provider because you have violated your contracts. Good luck getting ANY service contract or maybe you'll pay "high risk" prices like auto insurance for DUIers.
All because you felt you had the right to change the specifics of the contract you willingly agreed to with AT&T/Verizon/Apple. Because in the end, that's all this boils down to....
Good luck with that. I'll stick with my plan or pay the tethering charge at my discretion. I can't wait for all the whining if the above scenario comes to pass.
Flame suit on.
Remember when ASCAP went after the little girl (and others) who downloaded some pirated music and slammed her Mommy for $400K in damages? Downloading music without paying required fees was easy, simple and a free lunch.
Oops. That was an expensive lesson. $.99/song doesn't sound so bad now, does it?
One of these days, AT&T, Verizon, Apple, or some other 'harmed entity' is going to wake up and decide that they can sue the crap out of anyone who has JB'd their phone. Cynda and other companies will have their records supoenaed. The 'free lunch' is over and there's nowhere to hide. Remember that credit check you initially went through when you first signed up your cell phone contract? Suddenly, you find yourself blacklisted from every major cell provider because you have violated your contracts. Good luck getting ANY service contract or maybe you'll pay "high risk" prices like auto insurance for DUIers.
All because you felt you had the right to change the specifics of the contract you willingly agreed to with AT&T/Verizon/Apple. Because in the end, that's all this boils down to....
Good luck with that. I'll stick with my plan or pay the tethering charge at my discretion. I can't wait for all the whining if the above scenario comes to pass.
Flame suit on.
I think the important point is not whether or not they can win such a lawsuit - the question is would any individual want to have to defend such a lawsuit?
Looking at it realistically, the costs alone would lead to bankruptcy.
So the good news is you spend five+ years fighting it and eventually win. The bad news is you lost everything along the way paying to defend it. Yippee!
Yeah, we live in a crazy world where people who wish to actually pay for services need to defend themselves. Something is backwards.
I apologize if this has been answered, but if I got grandfathered in to unlimited data on my AT&T iPhone 4, can I use the Personal Hotspot to get 3G on a wi-fi only iPad and save the $25 a month? Or am I better off getting a 3G iPad?
Thanks for the time.
Thanks for the time.
Just proved my point. Your choice between a cheapo throw away phone and pay as your go service is the only alternative. As I said, your choices are severely limited.