Tethering Your SmartPhone - Whatever that means
Image Source: http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/images/4/2009/03/tether-3g.jpg
Tethering…a term unknown to me. I know what it means to “tether” something but what did it mean in terms of my mobile device? Apparently, it can be defined in this way:
Using an application that allows your PC to take advantage of your Smartphone’s data plan, allowing you to access the Internet on your laptop/netbook anywhere there is cellular coverage.
Source: Adapted from the Tether Blackberry site
Wow, what a neat idea! So, obviously, you can use the Tether Blackberry program to accomplish that on a Blackberry, but I have an Android and many others have iPhones. How do you tether on other machines?
Image Source: http://androidguys.com/wp-content/uploads/tether\_g1.png[
](http://androidguys.com/wp-content/uploads/tether_g1.png)
On Android, I found one app called “EasyTether.” It’s also available for Mac.
EasyTether turns your BlackBerry smartphone into an Internet access point for an Apple computer. With this app you can tether your BlackBerry to a Mac. EasyTether implements Bluetooth PAN profile.
- Standard Bluetooth PAN support
- Requires only a basic data plan
- Simple setup without any custom desktop software
- Free lifetime upgrades
- 3G grade speeds with Bluetooth 2.0**+EDR**devices
- USB support and Bluetooth DUN are under development
EasyTether is also available for Android phones and Windows (Vista,7,XP) users. Another alternative for Android phones is PDAnet.
PdaNet allows your computer to go online through the Android phone’s data connection. Supports USB Tether and Bluetooth DUN. No root access needed. Works on ALL Android phones. Mac&PC.
Update: PDanet works great on Macintosh, but I haven’t tried it on Windows yet (or on UbuntuLinux running WINE).
Be sure to read this short tutorial…or this one for Windows.
For iPhone users, you may want to read these possibilities…
What solutions are you using on your smartphone? Gizmodo has a fascinating article on tethering Android G1 and iPhone that appears to have it all worked out.
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