10-01-2010, 05:09 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 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.
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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.
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10-01-2010, 09:59 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 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?
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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).
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10-02-2010, 01:42 AM
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Magi
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,341
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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
Last edited by Paragon; 10-02-2010 at 01:53 AM..
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10-02-2010, 10:43 PM
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Editorial Contributor
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 5,411
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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.
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Sometimes you are the anteater, sometimes you are the ant.
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10-03-2010, 05:41 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Paragon
Here in Canada most carriers are now giving away 5gb of data a month at no additional cost. This is making tethering very appealing.
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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? 
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10-03-2010, 05:45 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sven
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.
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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.
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10-03-2010, 07:47 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,043
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason Dunn
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? |
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.
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Gerard Ivan Samija
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10-03-2010, 07:55 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,043
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason Dunn
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.
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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.
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Gerard Ivan Samija
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10-03-2010, 08:47 PM
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Magi
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,341
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Last edited by Paragon; 10-04-2010 at 01:02 PM..
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10-05-2010, 10:08 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Paragon
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.
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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. 
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