Windows Phone 7: No Tethering at Start

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010/09/24/windows-phone-7-will-not-be-able-to-tether-after-all/' target='_blank'>http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010...ther-after-all/</a><br /><br /></div><p>The headline says it all folks. A couple of weeks ago the <a href="http://windowsphonethoughts.com/news/show/100245/will-windows-phone-7-have-tethering-at-no-extra-charge-maybe-maybe-not.html" target="_blank">question about tethering</a> was up in the air, but it seems this is another casualty of Microsoft starting over from scratch: they haven't enabled tethering functionality in Windows Phone 7. Here's where it gets a bit confusing though: when a guy like Bradon Watson, a Director on Windows Phone 7, <a href="http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010/09/23/windows-phone-7-can-tether/" target="_blank">says the OS can do tethering</a>, you'd think he'd know what he's talking about. So is this feature ready to go, but no carriers are going to allow it, and Microsoft is playing the role of a good partner by saying it doesn't support it? I don't know Watson, but I'd be shocked if he got such a core detail about the OS wrong. My hunch is that Windows Phone 7 can indeed do tethering, but no carrier wants to enable it right out of the gate. When the final devices ship, I'm sure some enterprising code-spelunker will get to the bottom of this.</p><p>Does this announcement change your desire to purchase a Windows Phone 7 device?</p>

[Fritzly]

"no carrier wants to enable it"....

And what about people, the minority in the US but quite the opposite in the rest of the World, that buy non crippled, SIM free phones?

When the G3 iPhone launched the ones sold in the US were unable to send and receive MMS, I bought mine in Europe and the functionality was enabled by default.

[V-iPAQ]

iPhone started with no tethering. Let's copy that, since it copied the no multitasking and no copy&paste already...

Who's in charge of this? Innovation by copying someone else's 3yrs ago?

[Jason Dunn]

iPhone started with no tethering. Let's copy that, since it copied the no multitasking and no copy&paste already...Who's in charge of this? Innovation by copying someone else's 3yrs ago?

On the other hand, the lack of tethering - and even copy/paste - didn't exactly slow down the sales, did it? I think there are things that the phone needs to nail right out of the gate...tethering isn't one of those things, even though it's something I'd like to see on the product.

[Fritzly]

On the other hand, the lack of tethering - and even copy/paste - didn't exactly slow down the sales, did it? I think there are things that the phone needs to nail right out of the gate...tethering isn't one of those things, even though it's something I'd like to see on the product.

True, the lack of those features did not slow down the iPhone whe it launched but.......
the iPhone was a "Copernican revolution"; it completely change the paradigm of how to interact with a smartphone. Arriving years later with the same shortcomings.................. does not seem a receipt for an assured success.

Besides, while I am not a heavy user of tethering, I know a lot of people that would consider it a primary feature.

Bottom line is that the lack of one feature would alienate a certain percentage of potential buyers and you could, at least temporarily, handle it but when the list become longer and longer the effect increase exponentially.

I am a perfect example of it: I will surely skip WP7.00 and wait to see as it evolves

[GuSo]

No tethering no windows phone 7 for me thanks, i was a long wm user since the beloved iPAQ 3630, i waited and waited but no cdma at launch and now this, thanks i think im gonna give a chance to Android

[MadSci]

I'll be keeping my HD2 until the lack of software development for the platform bugs me too much. Then I'll either migrate it over to Android or possibly go over to the White Side and get an iPhone - jailbreak it and customize it. By the time I've had the opportunity and motivation to sample the Competition, perhaps WM7.5 will have caught up - to WM 6.5 - and be worth my attention. But unless it can blow the others away, why would I bother?

Loyalty? - to Microsoft? C'mon, these guys are not Apple, even if they are copying all of the iPhone's deficiencies at launch!

[Gerard]

On the other hand, the lack of tethering - and even copy/paste - didn't exactly slow down the sales, did it?

While on a level playing field this might be true for impending WP7 sales, and Microsoft could theoretically compete for sales with Apple given similar deficiencies of functionality, the field in real life is anything but level. Apple has a) a huge head start in this game of GUI-focused marketing, b) the lion's share of 'cool factor' which is hardly about to change, and c) more devices with cooler features coming out all the time, retaining their several years head start.

While of course you know from my past comments that my personal take on WP7 is rather negative (a betrayal, to put it bluntly), I do appreciate that the iPhone has sold well and continues to gain market share, and if Microsoft cannot come up with its own radically improved set of features and stability, the next best thing is to copy a winner. And yes, many companies have made their millions, perhaps billions, by ripping off ideas from front-runners. It just seems sad that these various failings all add up to a second-rate copycat device. A sort of Radio Shack version of the iPhone.

Specifically to todays news - that something as basic as modem functionality is being held back from consumers deliberately - I am again not surprised. The North American cellular corporate mindset is married to the notion that stealing vastly excessive profits from consumers is acceptable behavior, where in many other markets it is understood that providing better service assures customer loyalty and word-of-mouth advertising. North America, the US in particular, is an ad-driven culture. Sell sell sell, and that's where profit comes from. Not service as a priority, just sales, raw numbers. The customer's interests are way down the list from that perspective.

So if Verizon or whoever wants to maximize profits on the first wave of WP7 devices, what recourse does the average consumer have? The choice is obvious. Pick an Android phone or an iPhone or a Blackberry. Find a device and a plan which offers reasonable use, including tethering, including copy and paste functions, and preferably including a card slot for memory expansion (nix the ridiculous iPhone with their $100 per memory doubling nonsense).

In the past few years I've seen a lot of iPhone-clone devices popping up on craigslist, and almost from the start these much cheaper devices have offered more features than an iPhone possesses. This continues, with dual-SIM slots and advanced video functionality, memory expansion slots, unlocked radios, and numerous other extras included, usually $100 or more discounted compared to 'equivalent' model iPhones. These things sell like crazy! Why? Because they're not just copies, they offer more. Sure, average Joe consumer might go for the iPhone because it's advertised massively, but savvy consumers dig a little deeper and find better devices, often made using the same components as the top dog. For Microsoft to compete with the iPhone's huge popularity they will have to do more than just copy, and especially do more than copying failings of the iPhone. I'm not seeing that so far. Seems with this lack of tethering thing that they're trying to push the Bing button, for on-device browsing rather than modem use of the phone.

[Paragon]

To say that yet another feature is missing from WP7 is ok because the iPhone didn't have it at launch is rather flawed. First, the iPhone launched about 4 years ago. That is about half the lifetime of Smartphones. What was acceptable then and what is acceptable today are entirely different. Secondly, with WP7 launching with so many missing features, regardless of whether they are deemed as important or not, means that WP7 will be seen as always trying to play catch up. Not a great confidence builder when you are trying to build market share.

If this is the best that 1000 people can come up with after 2 years of effort I think WP7 has hard time ahead of it.

I'm sorry, I've been a longtime supporter and evangelist of Windows Mobile, I just can find much here worth supporting.....

Dave

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

I do think this is an option that most people will not care about. Seriously. The iPhone was a huge paradigm shift in the way phones operate. I think MS is trying to do that here as well. I do think analysing the features on a paper spec sheet alone will not be enough to determine the success or failure of this platform.

[Jason Dunn]

I do think analysing the features on a paper spec sheet alone will not be enough to determine the success or failure of this platform.

But what else would the Windows Phone 7 critics do then? :rolleyes:

[Fritzly]

But what else would the Windows Phone 7 critics do then? :rolleyes:

Is not it the same that WP7 fans do?

Besides when shopping for a new computer or a smartphone or anything else reading the specs is an integral part of the process to determine if the item fitted my needs.........

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

But what else would the Windows Phone 7 critics do then? :rolleyes:

They can go call a WAAAHHMBULANCE. :P

[Gerard]

Is not it the same that WP7 fans do?

Besides when shopping for a new computer or a smartphone or anything else reading the specs is an integral part of the process to determine if the item fitted my needs.........

But what seems to be expected by this new team at Microsoft is that sheer enthusiasm for cool-factor qualities is going to sell the new OS. We're not supposed to pay attention to mere hard facts, mere technical specifications, as those unimportant aspects are not Microsoft's intended focus for their intended consumers. And hey, they may well be right! When I see people who used to push hard for MS to make improvements, back in the day, now downplaying the many shortcomings of WP7... all I can think is that a tide has turned, and meaningful, versatile performance of a pocketable computer is no longer of interest to the mainstream. We've slid into a media consumption culture, where practical versatility in such things isn't on the table for discussion. Hence no copy & paste, no tethering, no un-approved freeware (developers must pay a fee to MS in order to give away their apps, unless I've been hearing that one wrong), fewer buttons for reduced quick access to frequently used apps and locked-in functionality for the couple of remaining buttons, no memory expansion (or non-storage accessory expansion for that matter), and on and on the list grows.

But I'm a basher, right? That's all just so much hot air, without substance, right?

[Paragon]

If this is the best that 1000 people can come up with after 2 years of effort I think WP7 has hard time ahead of it.

Dave

I'm going to reword this because it doesn't sound fair to the multitude of individuals who likely worked very hard doing their job. What I should have said was:

If this is the best Microsoft could manage with 1000 people's best efforts for two years I think WP7 has a hard time ahead of it.

Dave

[Jason Dunn]

But I'm a basher, right? That's all just so much hot air, without substance, right?

No, you're an Android phone user who hasn't figured it out yet. Go buy one. :D

[Gerard]

No, you're an Android phone user who hasn't figured it out yet. Go buy one. :D

No thanks. Ignorant of my true nature as an Android user or not, my Kaiser works just fine with Windows Mobile 6.5.3. Thanks anyway for the free psychological consult. I'll keep using the rather versatile Kaiser until either the Toshiba TG-02 becomes available for use with Rogers or the Kaiser gives up the ghost and I have to go to Android. Unlike some here, I don't hold out a lot of hope for WP7.5 being a significant improvement over WP7.

[Craig Horlacher]

the iPhone was a "Copernican revolution"; it completely change the paradigm of how to interact with a smartphone.
Let's not give Apple too much credit. They make products that a well trained monkey could use and a lot of people end up liking them. They market their products extremely well. I don't know why everyone raves about the UI of the iPhone. It sure looks the same as the one on the Wii to me...nothing new there. We could argue over who has a better interface but with widgets and live tiles Android and WinPhone 7 sure have a more powerful/flexible/advanced interface.

I think the good Apple has done has been to make mp3 players and smartphones main stream. They're not just for geeks anymore. So for that I say "Thank you Apple".

[cshields1]

I don't get it. I'm a mid-level geek and the crowd I hang with all have wifi, 3.5/3.75G, WiMAX, LTE 4g access. No one tethers to each other in starbucks, etc. We tried it once and the host phone slowed to a crawl that it wasn't useful for the owner. I don't get it.
What is the big hype with tethering? Some market feature invented that we don't really need. I personally don't care if Win 7 ever comes out with tethering unless someone can convince me what the value proposition is of it.
Takers?

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010/09/24/windows-phone-7-will-not-be-able-to-tether-after-all/' target='_blank'>http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010...ther-after-all/</a><br /><br /></div><p>The headline says it all folks. A couple of weeks ago the <a href="http://windowsphonethoughts.com/news/show/100245/will-windows-phone-7-have-tethering-at-no-extra-charge-maybe-maybe-not.html" target="_blank">question about tethering</a> was up in the air, but it seems this is another casualty of Microsoft starting over from scratch: they haven't enabled tethering functionality in Windows Phone 7. Here's where it gets a bit confusing though: when a guy like Bradon Watson, a Director on Windows Phone 7, <a href="http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010/09/23/windows-phone-7-can-tether/" target="_blank">says the OS can do tethering</a>, you'd think he'd know what he's talking about. So is this feature ready to go, but no carriers are going to allow it, and Microsoft is playing the role of a good partner by saying it doesn't support it? I don't know Watson, but I'd be shocked if he got such a core detail about the OS wrong. My hunch is that Windows Phone 7 can indeed do tethering, but no carrier wants to enable it right out of the gate. When the final devices ship, I'm sure some enterprising code-spelunker will get to the bottom of this.</p><p>Does this announcement change your desire to purchase a Windows Phone 7 device?</p>

[Fritzly]

While I am the first to say that the iPhone UI is "dated" we have to remember that when it came out it introduced the paradigm to interact with the phone using fingers instead of a stylus. A big change.
I cannot comment about Android because I do not use it; as for WP7 I personally like the GUI but I do not know how "productive" it could be in a day by day scenario yet.

[Jason Dunn]

While I am the first to say that the iPhone UI is "dated" we have to remember that when it came out it introduced the paradigm to interact with the phone using fingers instead of a stylus. A big change.
I cannot comment about Android because I do not use it; as for WP7 I personally like the GUI but I do not know how "productive" it could be in a day by day scenario yet.

Indeed. I personally thank Apple for kicking the entire industry in the head and forcing them to accept that using a stylus is a largely stupid way of interacting with a small device.

[Jason Dunn]

I don't get it. I'm a mid-level geek and the crowd I hang with all have wifi, 3.5/3.75G, WiMAX, LTE 4g access. No one tethers to each other in starbucks, etc. We tried it once and the host phone slowed to a crawl that it wasn't useful for the owner. I don't get it. What is the big hype with tethering?

It's typically used for laptops - meaning you can get wireless data through your phone without needing WiFi access on your laptop, or a 3G USB stick. It's quite useful sometimes, but it's a pretty "geeky" thing to do especially since it's rarely easy to implement for a non-technical person (HTC implementation on the HD2 is pretty slick though).

[Paragon]

Tethering nowadays is usually a very simple task on most devices. Often as easy as clicking on an app.

I think tethering is becoming a very important feature with the onslaught of tablets hitting the market in the coming months, many being non 3G. Why pay the extra cost of a cellular capable tablet and carry an additional 3G account if you can simply tether?

Here in Canada most carriers are now giving away 5gb of data a month at no additional cost. This is making tethering very appealing.

Geez.....Blackberry just announced a tablet built specifically to tether with its phones.

Once again another piece of marketshare Microsoft has simply given away.

Dave

[Sven Johannsen]

Personally tethering is a feature that I can do without, though I do understand the perceived appeal. As has been mentioned, it is primarily a way to get your laptop on line, when you need to connect and you have no alternative. The most ubiquitous alternative of course is WiFi. With the preponderance of free WiFi, I would think you would have to a be a terminal connectaholic to be in a situatiuon where you just had to get online, right now, and couldn't get to some WiFi. Sure, it probably happens, and at that time it would seem reasonable to be able to use the cell data plan you already pay for. You could just use the cell to feed that addiction. Not a lot you can't get done on these small devices these days. If, though, you are one of those that just has to be on a laptop, and you are devoid of WiFi coverage, and this happens a lot, get a MiFi.

I even bought an app for my WinMo phone to make tethering in any manner a piece of cake. Works great, but most of the time, as I said, if I am in a position to get out and boot up a laptop, I'm sitting somewhere where I have WiFi. If not, I just do it on the phone. So, to me, tethering is just another, 'we have it, they don't', so what, marketing feature.

[Jason Dunn]

Here in Canada most carriers are now giving away 5gb of data a month at no additional cost. This is making tethering very appealing.

Which carriers are these? I've seen the carriers move away from 5 GB data caps to 1 GB and 2 GB data caps; they did the 5 GB data caps with the launch of the iPhone, then ratcheted them back last year. 5 GB of data used to cost $30 in 2008, and now with Rogers that same plan costs $60. And you're saying there are carriers giving it away for free? :confused:

[Jason Dunn]

With the preponderance of free WiFi, I would think you would have to a be a terminal connectaholic to be in a situatiuon where you just had to get online, right now, and couldn't get to some WiFi.

I think "free WiFi" depends very much on where you live. I have free WiFi at the homes of friends and family, and church, largely because I've implemented it myself by buying and configuring routers at those locations. Beyond that though, if I'm out and about, there is no free WiFi. Heck, my local airport doesn't even have free WiFi - you have to pay for it. So while there's often a WiFi signal in different places, it's rarely free where I live.

[Gerard]

Which carriers are these? I've seen the carriers move away from 5 GB data caps to 1 GB and 2 GB data caps; they did the 5 GB data caps with the launch of the iPhone, then ratcheted them back last year. 5 GB of data used to cost $30 in 2008, and now with Rogers that same plan costs $60. And you're saying there are carriers giving it away for free? :confused:

I was wondering this as well. I bought into the Rogers 6GB/month for $30 plan about a week before that sale ended in the summer of 2008, though with my phone at the time being 2.75G I wasn't able to take much advantage of it right away. Once I bought a lightly used Kaiser that changed. For the past year or so I've been enjoying worry-free browsing and email while out of the house, with decent reception and speed just about anywhere around Vancouver. West of Victoria it's not usable, as for some reason the phone wants to connect to a US provider (roaming charges? no thanks!), but anywhere else in Rogers' coverage area I've travelled to the service is quite good and email even with big attachments is quite close to painless. Even Youtube through CORE Media Player works sort of well. I'll stick with this 'grandfathered' 6GB/$30 plan until something better comes along. So far, I've not come across any of this cheap/free data he's talking about.

[Gerard]

I think "free WiFi" depends very much on where you live. I have free WiFi at the homes of friends and family, and church, largely because I've implemented it myself by buying and configuring routers at those locations. Beyond that though, if I'm out and about, there is no free WiFi. Heck, my local airport doesn't even have free WiFi - you have to pay for it. So while there's often a WiFi signal in different places, it's rarely free where I live.

Between about 2002 and 2005 in Vancouver I was able to connect to hundreds of open home and business Wi-Fi connections with my iPAQ, then Dell X5, then Toshibas, using a CF Wi-Fi card from Socket. Walking down just about any residential block there would be 1 or 2 un-encrypted connections available, and I could grab mail or a webpage usually without breaking stride on a walk, sometimes having to slow down just a little to hold the signal long enough.

Starting around 2006 I saw more and more blocked APs, and by 2007 the open connections were rare. I left my home AP open until about a year ago, when I found one MAC address (and then the user kept changing the address by one digit once blocked) kept grabbing major bandwidth, so had to resort to allowing only a limited MAC address list. Shaw doesn't care how much bandwidth I use, so it makes sense to share with polite neighbours.

As for the airport, they charged for their Telus service until last year I think. Last couple of times I've been out there the Wi-Fi has been open and free, though I didn't discover this with my phone, rather with the netbook when I was considering tethering to the phone to bang out a longer email. The Asus just connected without my trying.

The City of Vancouver keeps bringing up the notion of a San Francisco-style public access setup, but so far it's not moved to the hardware level. Eventually they may, but it seems likely that with cellular provider competition gradually heating up (Wind isn't quite what was promised, but it's a new face at least) Wi-Fi will cease to be relevant within the next couple of years.

[Paragon]

Which carriers are these? I've seen the carriers move away from 5 GB data caps to 1 GB and 2 GB data caps; they did the 5 GB data caps with the launch of the iPhone, then ratcheted them back last year. 5 GB of data used to cost $30 in 2008, and now with Rogers that same plan costs $60. And you're saying there are carriers giving it away for free? :confused:

Only a month ago I bought a new Desire from Telus and received 5gb in addition to the 1gb that came with my plan. At that time I believe all three majors had a similar deal. If I'm not mistaken it coincided with the iPhone 4 launch and quickly allowed on other plans as well.\

[EDIT]

TELUS offers up Bonus 5GB Data on Clear Choice Voice & Data plans above $65 | MobileSyrup.com (http://mobilesyrup.com/2010/07/30/telus-offers-up-bonus-5gb-data-on-plans-above-65/)

Rogers and Fido extend 6GB/$30 promotion until October 5th | MobileSyrup.com (http://mobilesyrup.com/2010/10/01/rogers-and-fido-extend-6gb30-promotion-until-october-5th/)

Rogers brings back the $30/6 GB plan... offers iPhone 4 HUG for $159/$269 on 3-year | MobileSyrup.com (http://mobilesyrup.com/2010/07/29/rogers-brings-back-the-306-gb-plan-offers-iphone-4-hug-for-159269-on-3-year/)

Bell releases iPhone 4 details: $30 6GB plan plus $159.95/$269.95 on 3-year | MobileSyrup.com (http://mobilesyrup.com/2010/07/29/bell-releases-iphone-4-details-30-6gb-plan-plus-159-95269-95-on-3-year/)

Dave

[Jason Dunn]

Only a month ago I bought a new Desire from Telus and received 5gb in addition to the 1gb that came with my plan. At that time I believe all three majors had a similar deal. If I'm not mistaken it coincided with the iPhone 4 launch and quickly allowed on other plans as well.

Interesting! But it's just a repeat of history - offer people fat plans to encourage them to buy an iPhone 4 (or another smartphone), for only for a couple of months. By the end of the year all those data plans will be gone, and only the people who were in the right window of time (contract renewal or new contract) will have been able to take advantage of them.

My original point that carriers - short-term promotions like this notwithstanding - are still in the 1GB to 2GB range on most plans. Heck, I wanted to keep my $30/6GB data plan, but it wasn't "compatible" with the family plan I moved myself and my wife over to, so they forced me to give it up.

I don't see a change in the basic behaviours of the carriers here, I see a short-term promotion. :(

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

See, that's another thing; do people really tether given that free wifi seems pretty common in North America?

[Fritzly]

See, that's another thing; do people really tether given that free wifi seems pretty common in North America?

WP7 will be sold Worldwide therefore I wuld say that it does matter. Plus consider that public WiFi are not secure.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

WP7 will be sold Worldwide therefore I wuld say that it does matter. Plus consider that public WiFi are not secure.

See, that's the thing; how many people tether in other countries? I feel this is more a North America thing with high prices and restrictive carriers.

[Sven Johannsen]

WP7 will be sold Worldwide therefore I wuld say that it does matter. Plus consider that public WiFi are not secure.
And you think your data is safe over the cell network and their interface into the same network the free WiFi goes to?

[Jason Dunn]

See, that's another thing; do people really tether given that free wifi seems pretty common in North America?

I'd argue that free WiFi *used* to be quite common - in terms of people having open access points - but that's really not the case any more in my experience. Most people have gotten it through their thick skulls that locking down their WiFi is smart.