Actually, I was surprised how little I use. I tethered my iPad to my Android phone and used it for four hours while I waited on Black Friday lines. I watched an hour-long TV show on Netflix, did lots of browsing and IMing, and found I used... 250MB. I thought I would at least use a gig.
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Tether Says Apple Pulled iTether App Over Carrier Burden
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Actually, I was surprised how little I use. I tethered my iPad to my Android phone and used it for four hours while I waited on Black Friday lines. I watched an hour-long TV show on Netflix, did lots of browsing and IMing, and found I used... 250MB. I thought I would at least use a gig.
How to get my money back
Okay, how much money did Apple and iTether make over the last 12 hours or so, at $14.95 a pop?
With it pulled, it may still work, but no update forthcoming for any bugs.
How do I get my money back? Such a nice get rich scheme for these guys...no support, no service, just grab my money and run?
Okay, how much money did Apple and iTether make over the last 12 hours or so, at $14.95 a pop?
With it pulled, it may still work, but no update forthcoming for any bugs.
How do I get my money back? Such a nice get rich scheme for these guys...no support, no service, just grab my money and run?
I guess to sum up my argument - with such a fragmented cellular market in the US (IE devices for one provider will not work with another's), users can't switch between providers as easily (as other countries) and thus carriers use this to their advantage and charge higher fees.
Who the £$£$ they think they are…? Apple called THEIR HEAD OFFICE?? For God's shake as if we are talking about an achievement… What's the big deal, the app is one of the easiest things you can make in objective c… Not even talk about the crappy interface.. I doubt that the guy that made this app is older than 18 years old…
I think I should start seeking a building to house the head office of my company too and all the personnel of it.. I mean.. me..
I think I should start seeking a building to house the head office of my company too and all the personnel of it.. I mean.. me..
100% AGREED!
And(partially) f'd (stuck it to) the carriers with iMessage, no? Too bad most folks are probably already on an overpriced unlimited texting plan. (I myself eventually caved due to pre-iMessage social life pressures). But iMessage could in theory prevent texting overages from folks on limited plans, satiate (for a while) kids with iPod touches (who may otherwise get an iPhone sooner), or encourage folks (if enough of their friends/family are on iOS 5 devices) to move to lower-tier texting plans, IF the carriers continue to offer them.
I'm sure someone will say tethering is somehow different than texting... But my point is, if
I only text to people with iPhones. I won't pay $60 a year to send simple text to people.
I am also going to use as close to my 2 GB limit this month using my iPhone... It shouldn't matter if I choose to use the 3.5" screen or my 17" MacBook screen.
There needs to be an open source version that people can compile on their own to 'test' and get around the iTunes store if Apple and the carriers keep this up. I even asked the salesman at the Verizon store if I could tether, and he said there might be an app for that. Why am I paying $30/month for data, and then have to find free wifi for my computer?
It cause more network traffic because it's a lower cost to entry.
It goes without saying that a tethering user uses more bandwidth than a non-tethering user. It also goes without saying that more users tethering is a higher load on the network.
You are absolutely correct. I guess in my opinion, and what I hear Mr. Pink saying in some of his posts, is... that's just how the market is. That's why consumers must educate themeselves as much as possible. A smart buyer will purchase based on needs instead of wants and will look at the big picture of costs, meaning hardware + monthly fees over the course of the entire contract.
Would I like to have tethering? Sure. Is it a feature I'm willing to pay for? Nope.
True, but it also could prove that AT&T's, Sprints, and Verizon's network are not as efficient as they could be due to plenty of other carriers allowing it free of charge with no issues.
Just reminds me of the MMS issue AT&T had when iOS3 was first released, claiming it was a burden on their network while plenty of other carriers had no issue....
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)
2 gig is not 2 gig. As Jtara explained the data prices are based on average utilization. People who tether use more data, on average. To just freely include it means they would have to increase the price for everyone to maintain the same level of profitability.
If the average user uses 400 Meg's a month and then 20% of people start tethering and using 2 gigs a month the average utilization goes up to 720 megs a month
Their data cost nearly doubles because of tethering and those example numbers. The real numbers are probably even higher.
This is why data is not data. If people wanted a guaranteed / gigs of data a month they would likely be charged $100 a month.
Amazing Iceman said:
2 gig is not 2 gig. As Jtara explained the data prices are based on average utilization. People who tether use more data, on average. To just freely include it means they would have to increase the price for everyone to maintain the same level of profitability.
If the average user uses 400 Meg's a month and then 20% of people start tethering and using 2 gigs a month the average utilization goes up to 720 megs a month
Their data cost nearly doubles because of tethering and those example numbers. The real numbers are probably even higher.
This is why data is not data. If people wanted a guaranteed / gigs of data a month they would likely be charged $100 a month.
If you read my original argument that Mr. Pink replied to - I was responding to a person stating that companies could respond if the outcry was large enough (stating that big banks went back on the debit card fees due to the outcry they received).
I simply stated it's tough to compare this to the debit card debacle because it's easier to switch your bank then it is to switch your mobile carrier, further stating that switching in this case does nothing - no major mobile carrier offers tethering.
Good luck. The only reasonable use of this application is to get tethering when you are on a plan that doesn't allow it; if your plan allows tethering then the iPhone can do that already. So that will raise a few eyebrows if it ever reaches a court.
It's hard to understand an argument, no matter how reasonable, when it argues against someone's interest.
I think the real problem is that you would have to pay for your usage, and then for the cost of measuring it, the cost of getting an individual bill, a different amount every month, handling complaints from people who think they are overcharged, and so on. So if all the customers paying for "up to 2 GB" use say 800 MB on average (just a random number), then someone paying for their exact usage would have to pay more for 800 MB actual use than they pay for "up to 2GB".
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Not that I'm a fan of US carriers, but every time I read one of these threads I wonder if I'm the only person who understands usage and pricing models.
Edit: Thank you Jtara and marksman!
Edit: Thank you Jtara and marksman!
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Yeah because the ~$100 a month to get the iPhone data plan that millions pay that just isn't enough money to support their poor networks, not to mention the other millions that don't have a iPhone paying into the system.
Wireless carriers are completely ripping consumers off, for the price some of you pay you could get a nice 4-5 year-old used car for the monthly payments they are trying to charge.
I really think the government needs to look into these businesses...
Wireless carriers are completely ripping consumers off, for the price some of you pay you could get a nice 4-5 year-old used car for the monthly payments they are trying to charge.
I really think the government needs to look into these businesses...
the real reason
Translation: "We're in tight with the carriers, and the carriers were pissed as hell that we approved an app that would let customers use their devices and data plan as they see fit. These carriers would rather trip over a dollar to save a dime ($20 tether plan) than allow customers to increase their data consumption to the point where they'd incur overage charges and/or be encouraged to move up to the next tier."
Translation: "We're in tight with the carriers, and the carriers were pissed as hell that we approved an app that would let customers use their devices and data plan as they see fit. These carriers would rather trip over a dollar to save a dime ($20 tether plan) than allow customers to increase their data consumption to the point where they'd incur overage charges and/or be encouraged to move up to the next tier."
No - if there was true competition in the US cellular market then they would find other ways to reclaim the lost profitability - such as innovating ways to make sure they are using current resources more efficiently.
Sorry Diode, I wasn't specifically addressing your conversation with Mr. Pink, just echoing some of what he has said in some of his posts throughout this thread. Again, you are correct. It's not easy to simply jump carriers in the immediate when they tick you off. That being said, this again speaks to why consumers should be educated about their purchases. Some people elect not to go with long term contracts for that very reason.
I just think before we call out the "big bad corporates" we need to take responsibility for the choices we make as consumers. No one is ever forced to have an iPhone or to go with Sprint, AT&T, or Verizon. It's always a choice. If you later believe that you've made the wrong choice then change when your contract expires or pay the termination fee and change in the immediate. That's business, ultimately the only voice that matters is how you spend your dollar.
I am pretty happy with this and am thinking of cool uses. My laptop has the Intel My wifi tech, which allows a personal wifi hot spot. So when I get a chance, I should be able to connect my laptop via itether, and then use the laptop to allow an ipad/ps3 to connect.
Anyone else have any cool uses?
Anyone else have any cool uses?
The fact that you want to use a lot of data does not make it incumbent upon the carriers to supply you with as much as you want for a low flat rate. They have a right to charge what they want, just like Apple. You can sit there an complain about it all you want, but the carriers are not some co-op. Carriers have to try to make a profit, and the path to that does not include letting people stream Netflix two hours per day on the bus and calling it "normal use" for $25 per month.