Tethering is NOT a game Changer

[yodaxl7]

Tethering was cool idea in the past, when wifi was not so readily available everywhere. I got 8 mbps wifi at home and work. There are plenty of hotspots like mcdonalds, starbucks, chickfila, malls. I think tethering may become a need in the future when there are 4g everywhere. The wifi in these hotspots are slow. Also, to tether, it will drain the phone battery and you reducing the bandwidth, too. However, if 4g is around, it may not reduce much bandwidth in sharing. Plus, the cap in the bandwidth from ATT gives another reason why tethering is pointless. There are androids phone that can tether, but that is just a marketing tool. Tethering is just not a need when wifi is plenty. Tethering is become cool in 2 to 3 years when hotspots are slow and 4g is faster.

Do you think tethering is a need?

 

[GoCubsGo]

Tethering for many is a want not a need. As a business user with a blackberry tethering is more of a need. Without work I don't really need tethering.

 

[JediZenMaster]

Nope tethering is not a need IMO. But some people feel like they are entitled to it. It's a waste and it would be abused. I can imagine if AT&T did have tethering people would use it to replace their Home internet connection

 

[CooKieMoNs7eR]

I just realized the other day that I dont even need tethering, the only place I use my laptop is home, and I already have wifi at home so I'm in no need of it.

 

[B Gallagher]

Do you think tethering is a need?

I'm lucky - my carrier here (Vodafone) has allowed tethering since 3.0 came out.

Is it a need? No. I've used it on two distinct occasions that I can remember in the past year or so. That being said, on those two occasions, it was incredibly useful to have.

It's not a game changer for me by any means. But it's always a great feature to have there just in case you need it.

 

[The General]

Tethering was cool idea in the past, when wifi was not so readily available everywhere. I got 8 mbps wifi at home and work. There are plenty of hotspots like mcdonalds, starbucks, chickfila, malls.

I never go to McDonalds, Starbucks, Chick-fil-a or malls. I use tethering in carpools. Wifi does not move with me.

I think tethering may become a need in the future when there are 4g everywhere. The wifi in these hotspots are slow. Also, to tether, it will drain the phone battery and you reducing the bandwidth, too.

Wifi will always be faster than cell networks. 4G is not faster than wifi. It is only marginally faster than 3G.

However, if 4g is around, it may not reduce much bandwidth in sharing.

What are you talking about?

Plus, the cap in the bandwidth from ATT gives another reason why tethering is pointless.

I would say it has 2GB of "points" and is not "pointless" at all. Though I would prefer not to pay extra or be capped, it is hardly pointless.

There are androids phone that can tether, but that is just a marketing tool.

Are you saying Android phones don't actually have tethering? It's not a marketing tool, it's a real feature on the phones. People actually use it.

Tethering is just not a need when wifi is plenty. Tethering is become cool in 2 to 3 years when hotspots are slow and 4g is faster.

4G is slower than wifi. Wifi does not move with me when I am on the road.

Do you think tethering is a need?

Yes.

 

[ucfgrad93]

For me, tethering is not a need.

 

[McGiord]

We are 2010. Tethering is a thing from the past.
Yes, it is not a game changer.

Having a nice piece of technology crippled is a shame. And that AT&T is a trying to make it like a new hype thing is even more shameful.

Almost all the things I need to do I do on the road I already do them on my iPhone.

I personally see tethering feasible with an unlimited data plan, and if you really get decent speeds.

But as pointed out there are plenty of wi-fi spots that you can use instead, many are free and decent.

And when I travel abroad the USA is when probably I will need tethering the most, but the data roaming fees makes it even more difficult to justify.

Besides tethering a decent international data roaming package is needed.

 

[cobie454]

Tethering is a big deal to some people but not to all!! I don't think its a game changer at all!

 

[realeric]

Tethering should be free for all with 2G data cap. Why does it matter how we use the data?

 

[AbSoluTc]

I never go to McDonalds, Starbucks, Chick-fil-a or malls. I use tethering in carpools. Wifi does not move with me.

Wifi will always be faster than cell networks. 4G is not faster than wifi. It is only marginally faster than 3G.

What are you talking about?

I would say it has 2GB of "points" and is not "pointless" at all. Though I would prefer not to pay extra or be capped, it is hardly pointless.

Are you saying Android phones don't actually have tethering? It's not a marketing tool, it's a real feature on the phones. People actually use it.

4G is slower than wifi. Wifi does not move with me when I am on the road.

Yes.

Lol. You must be a super duper POWER USER to be tethering while you carpool. You also must get a TON of work done on your way to and from work huh?

While some still think they "need" tethering, it's pretty much not needed today. There is WIFI abound and how many times are you going to be in a stationary spot to whip out a laptop, hook it up to your phone and start doing what you need to do? All for what 5/10/15 minutes of work? If you are in a social gathering that requires a laptop, 9 times out of 10, there is WIFI nearby.

I don't own a laptop and have no need for tethering. I have an iPhone

 

[einmusiker]

Tethering should be free for all with 2G data cap. Why does it matter how we use the data?

EXACTLY

ATT is ridiculous I hope for the worse for them

 

[kas23]

No, it's not a gamechanger. But, I bet those greedy, backwards basturds at AT&T will present it as such. Tethering is going to be their last hurrah in their feeble attempt to keep people on with them. However, legal tethering on AT&T is just going to cripple their already weak network as it is. My Mom finally came up to visit me after a year. She received 3 missed calls and 1 dropped one in the Cincinnati area during her 2 day visit. I asked her what network she had and yep, she said AT&T. She wants to take the technological leap to the iPhone. We all told her to wait for a Verizon announcement.

 

[Dammit Cubs]

The iphone WAS the game changer.

We are still playing the same game. We don't know who's winning. They haven't posted score.

 

[kas23]

duplicate post.

 

[samiwas]

To say tethering is pointless and that wifi is everywhere and always available is just plain ignorant. I will give you one example where tethering saved me in the past.

I work in lighting, sometimes for corporate events. On one occasion, I was the lighting programmer for a Microsoft corporate meeting in a convention center. There was no wifi yet available, and we ran into a situation where I needed to download a software update for our console. Since there was no wifi, I would have to leave work and go find somewhere with wifi available. Instead, I used my then-hacked iPhone to tether my laptop and quickly download the update needed. So, not pointless.

Is it a revolutionary game-changer? No...it shield have been available from the beginning. But there should be a cap, as i have no doubt too many people would abuse it easily.

 

[kdarling]

Lol. You must be a super duper POWER USER to be tethering while you carpool. You also must get a TON of work done on your way to and from work huh?

Silly response. Perhaps you don't live somewhere that people commute for hours both ways?

Here in NYC, millions of people do work in carpools or trains or buses while commuting. Quite a few of those tether. Some people even get a MiFi for their car so everyone in the carpool can share.

I don't own a laptop and have no need for tethering. I have an iPhone

Okay, so you don't have a job where tethering is extremely helpful. It doesn't mean that you can proclaim that no one else needs it.

To say tethering is pointless and that wifi is everywhere and always available is just plain ignorant.

+1

I get the feeling that posters who claim WiFi is everywhere, are living at home, or are students on a campus, or live in some idyllic world.

In real life, there is no WiFi while traveling. There is no free WiFi in many parts of major cities. There is no free WiFi in most airports. And there sure as heck is no free WiFi out in the boonies where I live. The last time our power got knocked out, we used a phone to tether the laptops in the house to get work done.

 

[akhentek]

tethering has changed my long rides over the ferry system in bc, both for productivity, communications and plain old macrumors reading

 

[yodaxl7]

Wifi is not always faster than 3g or 4g. I was at a starbucks yesterday and tested the speed. On wifi, I got 1.4 mbps. On 3g, I got 2.1 mbps. 3g was faster! Sure it wasn't much faster, but it does point out that wifi is not always faster than 3g. I was expecting more from commercial sites like starbucks to have a stronger bandwidth like I do at home. My work place has a super duper wifi network. Carpools !! Well, most business people have wireless express cards which their companies paid for them. I don't think I would like my job that requires a long carpool to work. You must work 12 hour days. Anyways, I know most android phones have or will have tethering, esp. with froyo. Bad thing on open sys. platform is too much traffic, too much captains. Some apps will be chalk full of bugs.

 

[i-John]

I don't see what the big deal is about. Verizon charges extra, and Sprint will too once they get their software sorted.

 

[Dammit Cubs]

Wifi is not always faster than 3g or 4g. I was at a starbucks yesterday and tested the speed. On wifi, I got 1.4 mbps. On 3g, I got 2.1 mbps. 3g was faster! Sure it wasn't much faster, but it does point out that wifi is not always faster than 3g. I was expecting more from commercial sites like starbucks to have a stronger bandwidth like I do at home. My work place has a super duper wifi network. Carpools !! Well, most business people have wireless express cards which their companies paid for them. I don't think I would like my job that requires a long carpool to work. You must work 12 hour days. Anyways, I know most android phones have or will have tethering, esp. with froyo. Bad thing on open sys. platform is too much traffic, too much captains. Some apps will be chalk full of bugs.

latency is more important than mbps. that wifi connect = 90ms latency vs 200 to 300ms on the cell phone.

 

[flynz4]

I currently use a Verizon MiFi at $60/month because I absolutely need an internet connection for my job. It is not optional.

The vast majority of the time, I have internet access while I am traveling... but the problem is that is not universal. When I am changing flights at an airport, I need to connect to upload/download email. Sometimes a connection is tight, and I go directly from one plane to the other... but still have a few minutes to connect before they close the door of the plane. Sometimes I am at a meeting at a customer site, and I cannot connect to their internal network. I use my Verizon MiFi in those situations as well. Other times, I choose to work at the coast for a few days, and often the condo or house that I am renting does not have an internet connection.

For me... I typically only use ~300 MB/month using my Verizion MiFi. On a $/MB basis, it appears to be a total rip-off at $60. However, even if I only use it 1% of the time, it is really a bargain because it enables me to be productive on my job.

I know many will say that I am being foolish for not using MiWi... but I am not going to JB my phone. That is fine for some people, but my iPhone is a business critical tool, not a hobby.

Having said all of that.... by paying an extra $20/month for tethering, I can drop the $60 Verizon MiFi. I'll lose a bit of flexibility (the MiFi supports 5 simultaneous devices)... but it is not a big deal. I can bluetooth sync my laptop to my iPhone... get my work done, and get on with life. I view this as a $40 monthly cost savings. It is not a lot of money... but I think it is a positive step... especially considering that I will now have one fewer device to carry and one fewer battery to care for.

BTW: My monthly iPhone data usage is about 250 MB, with the highest in the past six months at 279 MB. Throw in my ~300 MB/month tethering usage... and I am still well within the new 2GB limit. My history shows that I will probably never need to pay ATT and extra $10 for a GB of data overage. If I do, then I am still ahead.

I have every intention of buying the tethering plan and dropping my Verizon MiFi.

/Jim

 

[army91c]

Nope tethering is not a need IMO. But some people feel like they are entitled to it. It's a waste and it would be abused. I can imagine if AT&T did have tethering people would use it to replace their Home internet connection

It's not a need for you..... great! As far as people feeling entitled lol, what are you talking about? People want the ability to tether why do you care? You don't need it anyway. Your arrogance is pretty astounding.... of course at&t IS getting tethering and I hope your wish comes true and every one with an iPhone in your area replaces their home internet with at&t 3g tethering. Good luck!

Lol. You must be a super duper POWER USER to be tethering while you carpool. You also must get a TON of work done on your way to and from work huh?
While some still think they "need" tethering, it's pretty much not needed today. There is WIFI abound and how many times are you going to be in a stationary spot to whip out a laptop, hook it up to your phone and start doing what you need to do? All for what 5/10/15 minutes of work? If you are in a social gathering that requires a laptop, 9 times out of 10, there is WIFI nearby.
I don't own a laptop and have no need for tethering. I have an iPhone

Not every one drives in a carpool...... surprised you didn't know the meaning of the word
Some of us adults actually have jobs and real lives and can't hang out at the UC or the local watering hole where wifi hot spots abound. As with the above "poster", your arrogance astounds.

 

[i-John]

To put it simply, the people who tether use the most bandwidth... if you use more, you pay the premium price for it the ability.

It's either everyone has to pay a higher price to get data or the people who use more pay more, and the people who use less pay less.

Why do AT&T charge extra for tethering? Because it's their service, they can charge for whatever they like.

 

[jw12345678]

Tethering essential

I cannot believe how ignorant some of these posts are. Just because you cannot see the need for something doesn't meant it is not essential to many other people.
As someone previously stated, not everyone lives in cities, Starbucks, or airport terminals. I travel for work, and outside London, New York, or other big cities you just cannot rely on finding wifi. Last week I visited a third world country where there were almost no working phone lines, and certainly no wifi. The mobile phone network, and tethering was my only means of communication. Many countries (including some parts of the States) have invested only in their mobile phone networks because they are cheaper to install than cable based landlines. Outside the US wifi is almost never free either: later last week I stayed in a hotel who wanted $25 to use their wifi - on top of their $400 room rate! That's practically a months phone subscription for some!
Its true that these days dongles and Miwi are cheaper and easier to buy and run, but that wasn't always the case. Tethering has been available for more than a decade and nearly every other mobile phone manufacturer offers it as standard. Only Apple placed software restrictions on its use (for commercial reasons). This attitude that the customer's needs are less important than the drive to make money makes me mad.

Does this issue make it a game changer? For me, certainly! For millions of others? Sure! I didn't buy an iPhone until I was sure I could tether (first through jailbreaking and then through the BenM hack). If that stops working then I'll go back to my Nokia, or buy a Blackberry and rejoin those millions of other business users for whom tethering too is a game changer!