I absolutely love being able to tether my laptop with my Treo 700p on Verizon to get broadband on the go. Does anyone know whether a) the Droid supports that and b) Verizon is going to offer the option?
I know you can hack Android to do this, but I'm looking for a supported solution.
It seems like a no-brainer, but I was stunned to find out that Sprint didn't offer their equivalent Phone As Modem (PAM) plan with the Palm Pre, even though they did for much older phones in their product line like Treo Centro. Their solution was to either get an old phone or pay for a second $100/month line for a separate data card. Uh, no thanks.
Thanks,
MB
Solved! Go to Correct Answer
belanger wrote:I absolutely love being able to tether my laptop with my Treo 700p on Verizon to get broadband on the go. Does anyone know whether a) the Droid supports that and b) Verizon is going to offer the option?
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The answer is a) not yet. However tethering will become an option in b) 2010!
I want to know this too as I'm very willing to pay $15 additional to be able to tether to my laptop. I just don't want to have to buy a MobileBroadband card in order to get service and pay an additional $60 for that.
You said " want to know this too as I'm very willing to pay $15 additional to be able to tether to my laptop. I just don't want to have to buy a MobileBroadband card in order to get service and pay an additional $60 for that.".
I am in the same boat. If Droid cannot be tethered, then I will be forced to get something else or stay with current phone.
From everything I've read Tethering will not be available when the phone first gets released
Oh, why oh why would they not release that...
I've had bluetooth tethering on my Treo 700P for three years and it's worked great.
Please tell me Verizon is going to follow Sprint's stupid lead of trying to force people to buy a data card and a second line...
No tethering is a deal-killer for me.
The Verizon rep at the store at first said it would tether. I then told him that I heard it didn't and he checked on his computer and then came back and said that it doesn't tether. I did see online somewhere that tethering is coming, but no date was given.
I don't think it will tether at launch. If tethering is a requirement, you better wait until it is confirmed/added.
Jason
There are apps for that but the market has removed them. I don't understand why if it can they won't since the idea is either you are open or you aren't right. It might be that it will be one of the Verizon apps in the Verizon App store for Droid. My understanding is verizon is going to have a special Verizon only app store of stuff they are developing. Probably ported versions of the stuff you can get for feature phones and maybe a few special features. Quite possibly expect a subscription type app for that from Verizon if you want a supported version.
Oh but there is a phone coming and it was supposed to be the next phone but more likely it will be a few down the line but it is coming to Verizon rumor has it in Q1 (I heard March) that is a Verizon phone from an unknown smaller manufacturer Android based that will offer wifi or as we know it mifi. So it will kind of put tethering to shame but I guess all that depends on how all the launches go between now and then. It has passed FCC.
I can't believe that Vrz is going to bring this phone out without it being full featured!
Tethering is said to be coming early next year probably my guess anyway is with the introduction of the VZW app store for VZW only apps for Android. VZW isn't the only one. Because of all the carriers the tethering apps are pulled from the store everytime they are loaded in. This isn't a Verizon crippling the phone this is all carriers pressuring Google to cripple the phones so they can offer their own options.
It really does tax the systems a lot when you tether and they don't want an AT&T happening on our network. Neither do we lets be real.
fezzik wrote:Tethering is said to be coming early next year probably my guess anyway is with the introduction of the VZW app store for VZW only apps for Android. VZW isn't the only one. Because of all the carriers the tethering apps are pulled from the store everytime they are loaded in. This isn't a Verizon crippling the phone this is all carriers pressuring Google to cripple the phones so they can offer their own options.
It really does tax the systems a lot when you tether and they don't want an AT&T happening on our network. Neither do we lets be real.
Complete and utter nonsense. I've been legally using EVDO tethering for the 3 years I've been with VZW and have never had any slowness. Couple that with the dozens of *pure* data cards VZW sells and it's abundantly clear that they can handle another cell phone release that's tethering-capable.
belanger wrote:
fezzik wrote:Tethering is said to be coming early next year probably my guess anyway is with the introduction of the VZW app store for VZW only apps for Android. VZW isn't the only one. Because of all the carriers the tethering apps are pulled from the store everytime they are loaded in. This isn't a Verizon crippling the phone this is all carriers pressuring Google to cripple the phones so they can offer their own options.
It really does tax the systems a lot when you tether and they don't want an AT&T happening on our network. Neither do we lets be real.
Complete and utter nonsense. I've been legally using EVDO tethering for the 3 years I've been with VZW and have never had any slowness. Couple that with the dozens of *pure* data cards VZW sells and it's abundantly clear that they can handle another cell phone release that's tethering-capable.
That is what At&t thought and iPhone nearly crashed them and has turned their 3G network into the slowest even behind Tmobile and Sprint also at least one smaller lesser known network. They are dumping billions into upgrading their systems because of the resource drain of iPhone. We haven't had to deal with anything like that and the Droid phones have the potential to severly tax the system. Tethering will be coming next year but they want to get things in order. Verizon will be the first to allow tethering on an Android device when that happens. Expect another attack on iPhone when that happens since iPhone still lacks that ability.
fezzik wrote:That is what At&t thought and iPhone nearly crashed them and has turned their 3G network into the slowest even behind Tmobile and Sprint also at least one smaller lesser known network. They are dumping billions into upgrading their systems because of the resource drain of iPhone. We haven't had to deal with anything like that and the Droid phones have the potential to severly tax the system. Tethering will be coming next year but they want to get things in order. Verizon will be the first to allow tethering on an Android device when that happens. Expect another attack on iPhone when that happens since iPhone still lacks that ability.
The iPhone represented a sea-change in what had been offered in consumer phones until that point. Combined with Apple's untouchable marketing aura, it led to a perfect storm. No Android offerings will *ever* have such an impact. Frankly, I don't expect another phone will have a similar impact again because iPhone was the first to show the mass-market what a phone could be. Everything since has been another shade of the same color or an incremental improvement at best.
Go to the Motorola website to find the answer. I am legitimately tethering with software purchased elsewhere. Hey, everything is supposed to be "open sourced", so why doesn't VZ want anyone discussing third party apps that work and work quite well!
Save your monthly add'l $ for better things.
belanger wrote:I absolutely love being able to tether my laptop with my Treo 700p on Verizon to get broadband on the go. Does anyone know whether a) the Droid supports that and b) Verizon is going to offer the option?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
The answer is a) not yet. However tethering will become an option in b) 2010!
So what you are saying that many local phone companies can give you internet access( and one wireless company here).. Good speed that you can use for your whole house no matter how many PC's you put on it for $19.99 a month. Which in my house is about 10 pc's . They cant afford to help you have a phone with data connected to one pc per phone for the $30 extra per phone you have to pay?
I went to get my droid today we have 4 smart phones they told me that the connect plan that has unlimited data wouldnt work under that plan we would have to go to a new basic plan and add 30 per phone plus the 9.99 per phone. Takes my 220 dollar a month and goes to almost $300 with taxes and they can't afford to let you tether one pc? Wow.. This is just amazing!.. Well as you guessed I didn't upgrade. I think that the flyers and pricing is very misleading ..(yes I found it in the small print) But you know data is data.. they may send differant types of data to a phone but unlimited data is still data..
They should put that in bold letters or have this a separate plan altogether one listed under smart phones and one listed under standard phones. But still what little data goes thru the smart phones for $30 in comparison. wow unreal.... yes you get people that abuse this but you get that under dsl, cable and the such some will use it more other less it balances out. Plus they get a whole lot more for voice than the local phone companies get. Look how rich they are off of one phone per house. Cell phone companies have a phone to almost everyone walking anymore. And if you really think they subsidize the droid $400 per phone then you have to be off your rocker.. I havent got a clue what they pay but you know google o/s probably doesnt cost much(if any) Microsoft they have to pay a little and hardware is probably less then $100 they set that end price and make you think you get a deal for signing up.
I dont grudge anyone for making a profit the world only turns when money changes but $30 dollars a phone extra because it has true unchanged internet? Cost more to convert data to a standard phone then let internet just flow. Well that is really misleading and really overpriced.
According to Verizon rep and tech there is NO tethering capabilities. Also on the motorola site tech specs no tethering.
Here is the Email I received at 1700 hrs 11-9-09
Dear Mr Doc832
I hope you are having a great day! My name is Tony, and it is my pleasure to assist you today regarding the Motorola Droid ability to tether to a computer as a modem.
I have checked my resources and I learned that the Motorola Droid does not support tethering. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Please note that we have other devices such as the BlackBerry Tour that do support tethering. For your convenience you can see a complete line up of our equipment online at the following Internet link:
Obviously the phone can tether, but the question is whether or not the users are allowed. I suppose it is initially a question of bandwidth, but I don't see the difference between someone using the internet on their phone and someone using their phone to connect their computer to the internet.
On the whole, I think it would be silly to charge people for tethering and that it would only discourage business opportunities. One of the guiding forces of the information economy has been a policy of openness toward acquiring data. The provider with the best unlimited access generally becomes the top dog.
I've heard that Verizon is blocking the ability to tether and instead charging for the privilege, but that will only limit the customer base to those willing to shell out the cash. Instead why not build a market around the open use of tethering, and thus bring more technologically literate users over to Verizon networks?
Start a new topic or ask questions in the open forum.
