My comparison of PDANet & NetShare

[fsartono]

The iPhone continues to amaze me.

I've just found a way to connect my computer to the internet via my iPhone and I'm amazed at how simple the configuration is.

I'm sure other phones out there can accomplish the same thing, albeit through more complicated configuration settings.

I've tried 2 apps: NetShare, which was available on AppStore, and PDANet, which is still available on Cydia through jailbreaking.

A quick comparison here:

PDANet:
- Easier to configure
- No need to install additional software on your computer
- Uses DHCP
- WEP authentication available
- Connection still alive even with your iPhone in lock (screen-off) mode
- Relatively faster than NetShare

NetShare:
- Relatively harder to configure
- Need to download Proxifier on your computer
- Uses Static IP, which means that you have to manually set your IP when using it, and turn it back to Auto when not
- Connection drops when your iPhone is locked (screen-off) mode
- Relatively slower than PDANet

* I did my testing on my Window Xp with my 1st gen iPhone's GPRS SingTel network. I'm sure things are similar if not even easier on the Mac & 3G iPhone.

 

[zhenya]

Another important difference between the two is that because PdaNet is not a proxy, all applications get internet access (rather than just your browser) and VPN connections work.

 

[spamdumpster]

I never could get Netshare to work on a pc or on my mac. I was able to get pdanet to work right away with no problems.

Keep in mind that nethsare had tp conform to the SDK, this probably explains why it's an inferior application (IMO).

 

[ellsworth]

coolio