This story and thread is very funny and intertaining to follow as a longtime Android user who's been able to wireless tether my crappy little overclocked $120 LG Optimus V smartphone that's been rooted and custom rom'ed with Gingerbread bumblebee 2.2.3.
I've never once had to pay a single extra dime to tether - being that my cheap but highly useful Android phones data plan is unlimited via Virgin Mobile. I pay 27.50 a month for my currently unlimited 3g data plan that allows me 300 anytime minutes (which I really never fully use each month since I mostly email and text). My totally contract-free, pay-as-you-go Android phone can easily operate at speeds that at leaat approach the performance of the older iPhone 3G, and even approach a 4G when I overclocked the phone's CPU up to nearly 60% more performance than it originally came stock with. I also has the neat little ability to quickly and easily side-load all of my phones potential content - bypassing any official iTunes/Android Market gauntlet, so that I can directly install my apps, music, movies, or whatever other content I choose via the phones memory expanding 32GB micro SD card. I also can swap out the battery anytime I need to for a freshly charged new one at will.
This last September while vacationing for several weeks in a remote seaside resort, I was able to exclusively use my LG Optimus V as my sole WiFi hotspot - providing enough bandwidth for myself and another friend visiting me for the last week of my visit. We were both quite able to very comfortably surf the web, email, text, do some light downloading --- also uploading to my dropbox, and even stream a bit of non-HD video on our MacBook Pro's without so much as a data hick-up, stall, or glitch. It was so impressive, that my die-hard iPhone iOS friend is now looking into getting an Android smartphone of his very own so that he can finally be completely free to use and abuse his phone data and it's wireless data capabilities as he so desires - without gimmicks, usb cables, fear of having any big bag AT&T TeleMonster looking over his shoulder and threatening him with having to pay extra $$$$ for more data BS charges.
There is now even an iPhone refugee forum @ VM that has countless other formerly self-imprisoned and price-gouged iOS/iPhone consumers that just can't believe how much more open and customizable they can get on a non iOS platform - being finally able to do the simplest of mobile tech things like: wirelessly tethering their Android phone to most any other WiFi and/or bluetooth capable device - even with most of Apple's WiFi capable devices such as any Macbook pro. I regularly wirelessly tether my WiFi only Motorola Xoom tablet to my LG Phone - instantly converting it to a 3g Tablet wherever I can pick-up a signal (which is almost always nearly 5 bars most anywhere I have traveled within the continental US).
It's really inconprehensible that there are still millions of folks out there paying Apple/AT$T/Verizon an average of nearly $100 a month (and much more for those who do officially use the outrageously over-priced tethering data plans via the exclusive iPhone carriers).
