While some carriers in some countries allow for free tethering on the more expensive data plans, many countries, including the US do not. That means those carriers make extra money charging for tethering plans, and apps like Netshare and iTether threaten that extra money (or double-dipping, as you may wish to call it.)

I don’t know if Apple has carrier agreements in place to prevent tethering apps and protect revenue streams, the way they once did to prevent VoIP over 3G, but should that really be the users problem? Should it be Apple’s to police? If you get a tethering app and stay beneath your data cap, shouldn’t that be between you and your carrier? And if you’re on an unlimited plan, aren’t they already sending nastygrams if you go over a certain amount anyway?

TiPb Nation, what do you think? Should Apple allow tethering apps in the App Store?

The iTether app has arrived in the app store and it enables a user to tether their iPhone to a Mac or PC and use its data connection. The app does not appear to require a tethering data plan with your carrier so it is really a surprise that this app has been approved by Apple; it may be that its life is short lived. If you have been waiting for a way to tether your iPhone without the need to jailbreak or pay extra for the privilege, don’t hang about with this one.

Tether is an application that allows your Mac and PC to take advantage of your smartphone’s data plan, providing you access to the Internet on your laptop anywhere there is cellular coverage from your smartphone. Tether is easy to install, easy to use, works practically anywhere, and is very cost-effective.

iTether is available in the App Store for a price of $14.99.

[App Store link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

Popular tethering app MyWi recently received an update that adds compatibility for iOS 5. f you don’t currently own MyWi you can install a trial via Cydia. You’ll have 3 days to test it out in demo mode. After that you can purchase MyWi for a one time purchase of $19.99 when the trial expires.

It’s worth noting that carriers typically frown upon the use of unauthorized tethering apps. Some have even taken matters into their own hands. So if you’re an extremely heavy data user, you’d probably be better off just adding a tethering plan through your carrier.

We just saw BiteSMS receive a beta update adding iOS 5 compatibility as well. As we see the official iOS 5 launch get closer we will start to see even more jailbreak apps receive updates.

Intelliborn

Verizon Wireless has confirmed they’ll be ditching unlimited data and switching to tiered data plans beginning on July, with prices starting at $10 per month and going up from there.

New smartphone customers will choose from one of four options:

• 75 MB for $10
• 2 GB for $30
• 5 GB for $50
• 10GB for $80

Overage charges will be $10 per GB.

Existing Verizon customers will be “grandfathered in” and able to keep their unlimited data plans even when upgrading their device. Users who take advantage of their free LTE mobile hotspot feature on devices like the ThunderBolt or Droid Charge will also be seeing changes, as Verizon will begin charging for the service, starting at $20 for 2GB per month for new customers or $30 for unlimited usage for existing customers.

Although most data plans are less expensive on AT&T, the addition of 5GB and 10GB per month options offer more flexibility for users who consume large amounts of data on the go. AT&T also charges $15 for an additional 200MB ($75 per GB) in data overages under their lowest plan, compared to Verizon at $10 per GB. In addition, AT&T doesn’t currently offer an unlimited tethering option for grandfathered subscribers.

[FierceWireless via BGR]

According to All Things Digital, a Verizon spokesperson has said that they will be dropping its their Unlimited data plan option in July.

We will move to a more usage based model in July. We’ll share more later.

Verizon will be switching to a tiered data option for smart phone users on their network, and according to the source, the data caps and prices will be as follows,

• 2GB – $30/month
  
• 5GB – $50/month
  

• 10GB – $80/month
  

• Tethering is a $20/month add-on and includes an additional 2GB of data.

• Overages are assessed at $10/GB.

AT&T dropped their unlimited data plans last summer and switched to a tiered system, but allowed customers to stay “grandfathered” into their unlimited data plans (without the option to tether). Whether or not Verizon follows suit allow their existing users with unlimited plans to keep them, we don’t know yet.

If you’re on Verizon, what do you think of these new plans? If you’re not on Verizon, are you tempted to switch now before unlimited goes away?

[All Things Digital]

PdaNet, the popular (and free) tethering app in Cydia, has been updated to mask unauthorized data tethering. This comes after carriers like AT&T have started cracking down on iPhone owners who use MyWi to tether without losing their unlimited data plan.

AT&T has been flagging any packets that appeared to come from a secondary device before sending out a notice to users. PdaNet prevents this by using a method of masking packets sent through the network so your carrier can’t tell if the data is coming from a device other than your iPhone.

The app also includes features like USB tethering and basic Wi-Fi security in addition to controlling the broadcast channel and WiFi signal strength, just like MyWi. You can either use the free version, or upgrade to the full version for $15.95 (limited time deal, normally $29) to access secured websites.

Any readers out there using PdaNet? What do you think of it?

It looks like AT&T is continuing the crackdown on unofficial tethering as readers have reported another round of text messages from AT&T this morning:

AT&T Free Msg: We’ve noticed you’re continuing to enjoy the tethering feature with your smartphone service. Remember, you need a tethering plan ($45/mo, incl. 4GB) to use this feature, so we’re planning to update your line with the required plan soon. Visit att.com/dataplans or call 888-860-6789.

Last month AT&T sent out text and email notifications to iPhone users who used MyWi to tether their unlimited data plan. AT&T threatened to switch their plan over to the Data Pro 4GB tethering plan unless they called in, and some users reported success in keeping their unlimited plan when claiming they used large amounts of data from apps like Netflix and Pandora and weren’t using the tethering feature.

It appears AT&T is pretty serious about putting a stop to unofficial tethering at this point and won’t be letting up anytime soon. In addition, it was previously speculated that one of the tracking methods they used was simply targeting high data users (10GB seemed to be the threshold), but some users receiving the message have used tethering extremely sparingly, keeping their monthly data usage well below 10GB since the original message was sent last month.

Have you seen any new messages from AT&T regarding unofficial tethering? And more interestingly, do you think it’s fair for AT&T to strip users of their grandfathered unlimited data plans for using the data they’ve already paid for in an “unofficial” way? Let us know in the comments!

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Rene, Georgia, and Mickey Papillon, the Cell Phone Junkie, discuss more iPhone 5 rumors, iOS 4.3.1 bug fixes, the AT&T T-Mobile buyout and what it means for iPhone, when will we get LTE, AT&T’s war on Jailbreak tethering, lawsuits, Google, #dickbar, and more! This is iPhone Live!

Show notes and all the week’s iPhone news after the break!

Announcements

• White Diamonds artistic crystal cases for iPhone and iPad [Give away]

iPhone 5

• iPhone 5 NFC: Yes, no, maybe so?!
• More iPhone 5 metal back, 4-inch screen, NFC rumors

iOS 4.3.1

• iOS 4.3.1 coming within 2 weeks?

Carriers

• UPDATED: AT&T acquiring T-Mobile US, what does it mean for iPhone?
• AT&T to use T-Mobile spectrum for LTE
• UPDATED: AT&T cracking down on jailbroken MyWi users?
• More on AT&T’s war on Jailbreak tethering
• Second AT&T iPhone 4 commercial again shows off simultaneous voice and data

News

• Apple release three new “if you don’t have an iPhone…” ads
• Apple’s new iPhone ads should be called App Store, iTunes Store, iBooks Store
• Head of Mac OS X software, Bertrand Serlet is leaving Apple
• Apple to extend AirPlay video streaming licence to third parties?
• Microsoft announces remote device management… for iPhone and iPad?
• Apple sues Amazon over App Store trademark, Microsoft sues B&N over Android
• Sony Xperia Play videos get NSFW on iPhone!

Apps

• Google updates Latitude and Places apps, check-ins now included
• Controversy over the Apple approved ‘Anti-Gay app’
• Angry Birds Rio for iPhone, iPad released!
• TiPb Asks: What Twitter app are you using for your iPhone?

Hosts

• @reneritchie
• @GeorgiaTiPb
• @TCPJ_Mickey

Credits

Thanks to the TiPb iPhone accessory store for sponsoring the podcast, and to everyone who showed up for the live chat!

Our music comes from the following sources:

• I Called You — iPhone Remix by Pete Leidy
via Sneakmove iPhone Ringtone Challenge

Last night word broke that AT&T was sending SMS messages and email to customers who didn’t have tethering plans but AT&T suspected were tethering via Jailbreak apps like MyWi. In their messages, AT&T offers 3 choices:

1. Stop tethering
2. Voluntarily change to a paid tethering plan (and lose unlimited data if you were grandfathers in)
3. Be forcibly changed to a paid tethering plan by AT&T (and lose unlimited data)

It’s still uncertain if and how AT&T knows if a customer is tethering via Jailbreak. Theories include everything from deep packet inspection to use of WAP vs. ISP pipes to counting TTL numbers, to “they’re bluffing” and simply targeting high bandwidth users.

Regardless, AT&T seems fairly serious about it this time. We heard from one reader who called in and tried to explain away high data usage on Netflix and other streaming media services, only to be told the AT&T tethering team would look into.

Tethering team?

While AT&T is able to charge what they want for any services they offer, it hits incredible unfairness buttons in consumers when they feel they’re being charged double to use the same bits. With unlimited plans it’s somewhat understandable — AT&T’s network would likely collapse in a puddle if everyone tethered all the data they could. With a 2GB plan, however, bits should be bits. How about this?

1. Offer tethering for free on the 2GB plan
2. Offer an extra 2GB for $15.
3. Offer reasonable overage charges beyond that.

It lets bits be bits, it offers a fair way for power users to get more data, and it provides fair protection from the heaviest 1% of users who would put a huge hurt on the network.

(Disclosure: I’m on Rogers, they’ve so far offered tethering for free on any account with 1GB – 6GB of data a month since iOS 3, and personal hotspot is now free as well since iOS 4.3.)

Have you spoken with AT&T and their tethering team yet? What’s your situation right now?

Some AT&T iPhone users, Jailbroken and tethering via MyWi, are getting text messages and e-mails from AT&T that imply they know they are tethering even though they aren’t on an official tethering plan. One of our own writers, Andrew was one of those who received the message.

I use MyWi to tether as well but have not received anything yet. (I actually was just tethering today.) I’m not sure how they are detecting MyWi users but I can make some educated guesses.

1. Since AT&T offers Personal Hotspot under iOS 4.3, they may have access to data they didn’t before, and they’re choosing to use it in a pretty crappy way. So if you’re on iOS 4.2.1 still (almost all jailbreakers are) and they see you’re generating traffic that looks like Personal Hotspot, they know you’re doing so without a plan.
2. Like Chris says below, browsers use the wap APN. Tethering uses the ISP APN. As such, larger data is expected through ISP not through WAP. So if AT&T sees a lot of WAP data it may raise a flag.
3. As several people say in the comments and Twitter, if AT&T sees a TTL reduction that suggests a device like a laptop or iPad in between the connection, it may raise a flag.
4. They’re just going after heavy data users again and trying to bluff them into switching to a tethering plan and losing their unlimited data. Andrew tethers a heck of a lot more than me. I only consume a fraction of what he does. So that’s a viable answer too.

Originally Jailbreakers used MyWi because AT&T took a year longer to offer iPhone tethering than international carriers. Since then they’ve used it to get around AT&T’s ridiculous fees for tethering. (Tethering is free on some international carriers as well.)

Hit the jump to read the e-mail AT&T has been sending out as well as to let us know what you think! Anyone else been getting messages from AT&T? Anyone on iOS 4.3 using official Personal Hotspot? Any PDANet users?

UPDATED: AT&T spokesman Seth Bloom told Phone Scoop:

We’ve just begun sending letters, emails, and text messages to a small number of smartphone customers who use their devices for tethering but aren’t on our required tethering plan. Our goal here is fairness for all of our customers.

[ModMyi Forums and Phone Scoop]

Dear [Customer],

We’ve noticed your service plan may need updating.

Many AT&T customers use their smartphones as a broadband connection for other devices, like laptops, netbooks or other smartphones– a practice commonly known as tethering. Tethering can be an efficient way for our customers to enjoy the benefits of AT&T’s mobile broadband network and use more than one device to stay in touch with important people and information. To take advantage of this feature, we require that in addition to a data plan, you also have a tethering plan.

Our records show that you use this capability, but are not subscribed to our tethering plan.

If you would like to continue tethering, please log into your account online at Cell Phones and Cell Phone Plans – Wireless from AT&T, or call us at 1-888-860-6789 Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. CST or Saturday, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. CST, by March 27, 2011 to sign up for DataPro 4GB for Smartphone Tethering.
Here are details on the plan:

DataPro 4GB for Smartphone Tethering
• $45 per month (this gives you 4GB in total, combining both your smartphone data plan for $25 and the tethering feature, $20)
• $10 per each additional GB thereafter, added automatically as needed
• Mobile Hotspot capabilities are included for compatible Smartphones

If we don’t hear from you, we’ll plan to automatically enroll you into DataPro 4GB afterMarch 27, 2011. The new plan – whether you sign up on your own or we automatically enroll you – will replace your current smartphone data plan, including if you are on an unlimited data plan.

If you discontinue tethering, no changes to your current plan will be required.

It’s easy to track your usage throughout the month so there are no bill surprises. For example, we send you free text messages when you reach 65, 90, and 100 percent of your plan’s threshold. If you would like to monitor your account more closely, go towww.att.com/dataplans to learn about other ways to track your data usage.

As a reminder, our smartphone data plans also include unlimited usage of Wi-Fi at no additional charge. AT&T smartphone customers can use Wi-Fi at home or on-the-go at any one of our more than 23,000 U.S. hotspots already included in your data plan.

Thank you for bringing your account up to date. We appreciate the opportunity to continue to serve your mobile broadband needs.

Sincerely,

AT&T

We’ve heard rumors and gotten questions about whether the iPad 2 gains any GPS functionality when tethered to an iPhone 4 and, based on our tests (see the video above) — yes it does, albeit a little dumbed-down. GPS functionality seemed to be working in both Maps and Navigon, but it clearly doesn’t work half as well as the 3G enabled iPad with assisted GPS built-in. Still, if you’ve decided on purchasing the 3G enabled iPad 2 primarily for its GPS capability, you may want to consider tethering an iPad Wi-Fi to iPhone 4 as an option.

Keep in mind the test was conducted on an iPhone 4 running iOS 4.2.1 using MyWi to create a wireless hotspot, however the results should be the same when using an AT&T or Verizon iPhone 4 (running iOS 4.3 or 4.2.6 respectively) with the Personal Hotspot feature baked-in. Results should be similar on the original non-3G iPad as well, and make sure you have location services enabled on both devices for it to work properly.

So although this technically works, we wouldn’t suggest using it as a full in-dash GPS unit by any means. If you want to do things like location-aware tweets it should work like a charm by roughly pinpointing your location when Wi-Fi router mapping isn’t an option.

If you have a Wi-Fi-only iPad then pair it up with your iPhone 4 and let us know how it’s working for you in the comments below!

[Urbanape via Daring Fireball]

AT&T isn’t the only one confirming iOS 4.3 personal hotspot support, with Rogers (and subsidiary Fido) also letting us know their plans — and keeping it free!

Mobile hotspot on iOS 4.3 will be enabled on the Rogers network and will follow our current tethering policy. This feature will be available at no additional charge for Rogers and Fido customers who subscribe to data plans of 1GB and above.

That’s great for iPhone 4 users but what about iPad 2? Same deal as the original iPad with 250MB for $15 or 5GB for $35 (or you can use their data sharing but they aren’t great value for the $30 surcharge).

So great news for personal hotspot, good news for iPad 2!

[Rogers Red Board, personal hotspot]

AT&T confirmed yesterday that they will be supporting the Personal Hotspot feature that already is available to Verizon iPhone 4 customers with the release of the iOS 4.3 software on March 11th. To enable this feature you will need to subscribe to the DataPro Hotspot/Tethering plan which carries a $45 per month fee. For that you will get 4GB of data to share between your normal data usage, tethering, and the Hotspot feature.

At least AT&T did not make you wait for this feature as they did with tethering feature that made it’s debut around the word with iOS 3.0. So how many of you will are will to fork over some extra hard earned cash for this feature? And for those of you with grandfathered into unlimited iPhone data, are you willing to give that up?

[Electronista, Rogers Red Board, Thanks A!]

The Verizon iPhone is one of the most anticipated smartphones in recent memory, made even more so by the endless rumors and years of waiting those who wanted it had to endure. Now it’s here and while the radio has changed it’s still pretty much the same iPhone 4 Apple shipped on AT&T back in June 2010. A 7 month old phone on a brand new network is not something iPhone users have had to consider in the past. Is it worth the wait? Is Verizon really a better network? Does CDMA have important shortcomings you need to be aware of? Will the entire thing be rendered moot when Apple announces an iPhone 5 in June?

Figuring out the answers to these questions and more have kept all of us at TiPb extremely busy over the past couple of weeks. So hit the jump and on for our full Verizon iPhone review!

Since the Verizon iPhone 4 is still an iPhone 4 we’re only going to look at and compare the differences between the Verizon model and the AT&T/GSM model here. If you haven’t already, check out our original iPhone 4 review to see all the features that are similar including FaceTime video calls, Retina Display screen, 5mp camera and HD video recording, etc.

In the box

You’ll get the standard Apple headphones, the wall adapter, a sync cable, and your manuals. The only difference is really the phone and the back of the box.

The back of the box simply specifies the carrier. Other than that, everything should be the same. Oh let’s not forget that you won’t get a handy dandy micro-SIM removal tool, since CDMA phones don’t use them.

Hardware differences

The Verizon iPhone has different breaks in the antenna band than its AT&T/GSM sibling. Even though the antenna band was redesigned for CDMA, I don’t see any improvement when it comes to the “death grip” issue (see our explanation of “death touch” vs. “death grip” for more on this). If anything, I experience it more than I do on my AT&T iPhone 4. I’m not sure if attenuation on the Verizon version is worse because of a difference between CDMA and GSM or if it’s something else. I experience the issue on my AT&T iPhone but it seems that the signal doesn’t drop as quick and when it does, it goes up quicker when I’m not touching the break in the band. The Verizon version seems to lose bars a lot quicker and it takes a bit longer for them to come back.

As most people have already figured out, putting a bumper or a case on your phone will solve the death grip problem.

Other than the breaks in the antenna bands, the mute switch and volume buttons are moved down about 2mm on the Verizon iPhone 4. This is because of the break in the antenna at the top left of the phone. For users coming from an AT&T iPhone 4, this can be annoying as many current iPhone 4 cases will not work as the silent switch and volume buttons are positioned differently.

The only other difference I have found is that the Verizon iPhone 4 doesn’t have the FCC and other clearance marks on the back the way the AT&T/GSM version does.

Software differences

The AT&T/GSM iPhone 4 is currently running iOS 4.2.1. The Verizon iPhone 4 launched with iOS 4.2.6. The only major feature 4.2.6 adds is personal hotspot capabilities (called mobile hotspot on other devices). AT&T has announced that they will offer mobile hotspot as well but no dates have been given yet, and it will require an iOS 4.3 update. Currently AT&T offers internet tethering for iPhone users but you are limited to Bluetooth and USB tethering.

The Verizon version supports wifi tethering for up to 5 devices. This is extremely nice if you’re somewhere without wifi and need to access the internet from a wifi only device (like a wifi iPad). You can simply enable the mobile hotspot feature and it’ll show up as a wireless network on your other device. You can also choose to add a password if you’d like. We’ll cover that below.

Syncing data

If your’e coming from an AT&T iPhone, you’ll feel right at home. Actually, if you’ve ever used an iPod of any kind or an iPad, you’ll already know what to do. The Verizon iPhone is no different than its AT&T brother. Plug into iTunes, sync your content, and you’re good to go. Verizon also offers a contact transfer app for current customers that’ll easily bring down all your contacts wirelessly for you (given you use Verizon’s contact backup service). If you need more help:

• How to transfer data from your old AT&T iPhone to your new Verizon iPhone
• How to transfer data from your old Blackberry or Droid/Android to your new Verizon iPhone

There’s really nothing new here, both iPhones will sync and store data in the same manner.

Apps

All the apps that run on the current AT&T/GSM iPhone also run on the Verizon iPhone (with the sole exception of carrier branded apps, like AT&T Navigator.) Apple has hundreds of thousands of apps and games available for the iPhone and Verizon will be releasing some carrier-specific ones as well, hopefully something to tie into their NFL deal. Here are some good starting points:

• Top 10 best iPhone 4 apps
• Top 5 iPhone apps for Droid/Android switchers
• Top 5 iPhone apps for BlackBerry switchers

Call Clarity

CDMA is long known to handle calls better than GSM. But is that really true? When it comes to clarity, sure. But you do lose some features when using a CDMA iPhone. Conference calls are only good for up to 3 people, including yourself. The way calls are handled can differ too. On AT&T, if you initiate a conference call, you can merge the calls, split them off, and hang up separately. On Verizon, hanging up on one will hang up on both. This is also a downside of the current version of CDMA Verizon is utilizing.

In most of our Verizon voice tests, call clarity was always on par with AT&T or better.

Personal Hotspot

Personal hotspot is definitely a welcome feature to iOS. It’s also only available for Verizon customers at the moment. AT&T has stated they have plans to release it, presumably with the launch of iOS 4.3, but no date has been given yet.

This feature allows you to turn your phone into a wireless hotspot. Up to 5 devices at a time can connect and use your iPhone 4′s internet connection. We tested this pretty thoroughly and found that it works as promised. I was pretty impressed with the speeds and reliability.

Data Speeds

Verizon is offering their customers unlimited (though potentially throttled) data, while AT&T only offers 250MB and 2GB data tiers. This is a huge selling point for them. But can their network handle the traffic? From our experience, yet it can. Quite well actually. Leanna and I both conducted speed tests. Mine in the Chicago area and hers in the Denver area. While AT&T was much faster for me, in real world situations (even tethering), neither of us had issues with Verizon and it always loaded pages within seconds of our AT&T iPhones. Sometimes it even loaded them quicker.

Data speeds and network reliability will, of course, heavily rely on coverage in your particular area. AT&T typically handles well in larger populated areas while Verizon has been known to have a strong network in rural areas as well. We conducted several Verizon iPhone 4 speed tests and the results were more than respectable.

Verizon iPhone or AT&T iPhone?

That’s really a decision each individual person is going to have to make. As always, you should base it on what the coverage is like where you live. For some, AT&T and Verizon may both be strong players in your area. If you’re in that situation, take a look at each carrier and what benefits GSM has over CDMA and vice versa. We also did a Verizon iPhone 4 vs AT&T iPhone 4 comparison. We pitted them against each other, and both held their own. You’ll really have to weigh out what options are more important to you. Do you need simultaneous voice and data or are you more concerned with call clarity? The little differences can end up being annoying over time so it may be worth it to weigh your options and choose the carrier that’ll best fit your individual needs.

State of the Verizon Jailbreak

A lot of potential Verizon switchers have been asking if they’re able to jailbreak if they switch. The answer to that is a big fat yes! greepois0n supports the Verizon iPhone as well. I jailbroke mine on launch day without a hitch. We’ve also got a complete guide up on how to jailbreak the Verizon iPhone 4. So if you’re a jailbreaker (or want to be), make sure to give that a look.

Wrap Up

We had quite a week playing with the Verizon iPhone 4. We came away feeling that Verizon is definitely capable of delivering a great customer experience. I’d have no qualms about using the Verizon iPhone 4 if you don’t need simultaneous voice and data or don’t mind some of the little annoyances that come along with CDMA. The plans on both carriers are roughly similar with the exception of Verizon offering unlimited data while AT&T only offers tiered.

Now that Verizon finally has the iPhone, both businesses are going to have to compete for our business. For almost 4 years, AT&T hasn’t had to compete for iPhone revenue. If you wanted an iPhone, you were going to play by their rules. Those days are long gone and we have a feeling it’s going to get pretty interesting from here on out. Let the carrier wars begin!

The Verizon iPhone 4 and the AT&T iPhone look almost identical at first glance. There are, however, subtle differences between the two model’s hardware and software. The antenna band on the Verizon variant has been redesigned for CDMA and iOS 4.2.6 adds hotspot connectivity for Verizon users. Click through for a quick comparison and photo gallery.

What’s in the box?

The Verizon iPhone 4 is pretty much the same deal as the AT&T iPhone 4. You’ll get the standard Apple headphones, the wall adapter, a sync cable, and your manuals. The only difference is really the phone and the back of the box.

The back of the box simply specifies whether or not the phone is Verizon or AT&T. Other than that, everything should be the same. Oh let’s not forget that you won’t get a handy dandy micro-SIM removal tool, since CDMA phones don’t use them.

Hardware differences

The Verizon iPhone has different breaks in the antenna band than its AT&T sibling. Even though the antenna band was redesigned for CDMA, I don’t see any improvement when it comes to the “death grip” issue. If anything, I experience it more than I do on my AT&T iPhone 4. I’m not sure if attenuation on the Verizon version is worse because of a difference between CDMA and GSM or if it’s something else. I experience the issue on my AT&T iPhone but it seems that the signal doesn’t drop as quick and when it does, it goes up quicker when I’m not touching the break in the band. The Verizon version seems to lose bars a lot quicker and it takes a bit longer for them to come back.

As most people have already figured out, putting a bumper or a case on your phone will solve the death grip problem.

Other than the breaks in the antenna bands, the mute switch and volume buttons are moved down about 2mm on the Verizon iPhone 4. This is because of the break in the antenna at the top left of the phone.

The only other difference I have found is that the back of the Verizon iPhone 4 doesn’t have exactly the same certifications and FCC clearance marks the AT&T version does.

Software differences

The AT&T iPhone 4 is currently running iOS 4.2.1. The Verizon iPhone 4 launched with iOS 4.2.6. The only major feature 4.2.6 adds is personal hotspot capabilities (called mobile hotspot on other devices). AT&T has announced that they will offer mobile hotspot as well but no dates have been given yet, and it will require an iOS 4.3 update. Currently AT&T offers internet tethering for iPhone users but you are limited to Bluetooth and USB tethering.

The Verizon version supports wifi tethering for up to 5 devices. This is extremely nice if you’re somewhere without wifi and need to access the internet from a wifi only device (like a wifi iPad). You can simply enable the mobile hotspot feature and it’ll show up as a wireless network on your other device. You can also choose to add a password if you’d like.

Signal strength differences

I have noticed signal differences in both models. While the AT&T phone seems to keep a steadier signal when it comes to physical bars, the Verizon iPhone seems more finicky when it comes to maintaining and keeping a steady signal. I thought maybe this was just an issue at my home but after testing it out in several different environments, this does seem to be the case. It didn’t ever affect call quality so I don’t see it as a big issue. The picture above I took while writing this article, tethered to Verizon. The iPhone shows 3G with no bars yet I’m tethered on my MacBook, a friend is tethered browsing the web on her PC laptop, and my AT&T iPhone is connected. The internet is still functioning. I do not think the Verizon bars are extremely accurate.

The AT&T version, even with full bars, took quite a bit longer to connect a call than the Verizon version. The fact that CDMA has better voice quality is not a secret. This held true whenever testing call quality on both devices.


There were times when I had 2-3 bars on the Verizon iPhone and full bars on the AT&T iPhone and the Verizon version still seemed to have better call clarity.

This is one of those issues you’re going to have to look at closely before deciding which carrier to go with. While Verizon seemed to have better overall voice quality, AT&T did much better than Verizon when it came to data speeds. I’m still a bit freaked out by being able to tether with no bars. Extremely odd.

While testing personal hotspot, the Verizon iPhone faired extremely well. The connection was steady and barely ever cut out. When tethering on AT&T (using MyWi), the connection was faster but I didn’t think it was such a huge difference that Verizon users would be hindered by the slower data speeds. Unless you plan on downloading substantially large files or streaming media, the Verizon hotspot will work perfectly fine for browsing and basic internet use.

If you’re a frequent talker, Verizon may suit you better. If you rely heavily on e-mail, text, media, and web – AT&T is probably going to serve you better if you live in an area with 3G coverage. Again, this is really going to come down to what you want to use the phone for.

Syncing data

If your’e coming from an AT&T iPhone, you’ll feel right at home. Actually, if you’ve ever used an iPod of any kind or an iPad, you’ll already know what to do. The Verizon iPhone is no different than its AT&T brother. Plug into iTunes, sync your content, and you’re good to go. Verizon also offers a contact transfer app for current customers that’ll easily bring down all your contacts wirelessly for you (given you use Verizon’s contact backup service).

There’s really nothing new here, both iPhones will sync and store data in the same manner.

Conclusion

The Verizon iPhone is definitely a contender. AT&T should be concerned. Verizon is offering unlimited data and personal hotspot tethering. Their data speeds may not match those of AT&T 3G or HSPA+, but they’re going to be good enough for a majority of users. Likewise the Verizon CDMA iPhone can’t roam in anywhere near as many countries as the AT&T GSM iPhone can but many users are more concerned about a good network at home than abroad. Data hungry users could be swayed by Verizon’s unlimited data offering as well. I think it’s only a matter of time before we see AT&T bring back their unlimited feature. Unless Verizon switches to tiered data soon, AT&T will have to if they want to compete.

In the end, the Verizon iPhone is only going to benefit consumers in the United States. Up until now, if you wanted an iPhone, you had no choice but to be tied to AT&T. Now that we have a choice, things are only going to get better for the customer as two reputable carriers are going to have to compete for our business. So no matter how you look at it, the Verizon iPhone 4 is a winner.

AT&T announced today that beginning on February 13, their tethering plan will include an additional 2GB of data for no extra cost; in addition, the carrier will be launching AT&T Mobile Hotspot next to the HTC Inspire 4G (we’re hoping that means iOS 4.3 personal hotspot will be a go as well).

We want to extend the benefits of an additional 2GB to smartphone customers on our tethering plan. This delivers more value today for the price they’re already paying – and that’s what our customers want.

This brings the grand total to 4GB for the tethering plan. If you are already signed up for a tethering plan, you don’t have to do anything go receive the extra data – your service will be automagically updated and you’ll receive a text message informing you of the change.

Here’s what was in the press release:

Select smartphone customers will soon be able to connect multiple devices from their smartphone – via Wi-Fi – thanks to the new AT&T Mobile Hotspot application. The feature will first be available February 13, beginning with the in-store launch of the HTC Inspire™ 4G. Bundled with the AT&T Data Pro plan, customers will benefit from a total of 4GB for $45 per month.

So what do you think? Available only for the HTC Inspire at first? Or will it be available for the iPhone 4 soon.

Here is the pricing details on AT&T Mobile Hotspot:

• Connectivity for multiple wireless devices to AT&T’s mobile broadband network
• 2 GB of data usage for $20 a month, bundled with AT&T’s Data Pro plan ($25 / 2GB)
• The combined AT&T Data Pro plus AT&T Mobile Hotspot will provide 4GB for $45 per month
• 4GB applies to collective use among all devices
• Overage fee of $10 per gigabyte

Are you signed up for AT&T’s tethering plan and looking forward to this extra data? Was anyone switching to Verizon strictly for the mobile hotspot feature and now thinking of staying with AT&T? Sound off below!

[Engadget]

Verizon Wireless Executive Director of Corporate Communications Brenda Raney said today that Verizon would be charging customers $20 per month for the iPhone Wi-Fi personal hotspot feature. That’s on top of their regular data plan.

The extra $20 buys you an additional 2GB of bandwidth for the hotspot to use. AT&T subscribers on the other hand currently pay the same $20 per month for a wired tethering plan, however they aren’t allotted any additional bandwidth despite paying extra for the feature and it only allows for tethering one device via USB. The only major drawback with Verizon is you’ll be paying an additional $20 per gigabyte in overages — ouch!

In addition to Verizon announcing today that a $30 unlimited data plan will be available (for now), this announcement shows Verizon is taking clear steps to differentiate themselves from AT&T.

So you’re getting more bang for your buck if you go with Verizon, but do you think they hit the right price point given the massive overage charges they can apply? Let us know in the comments below!

[Macworld]

Unless the entire internet and print media are wrong, we’re just over 12 hours away from the Verizon iPhone announcement, yet many questions remain about unlimited data, tethering, mobile hotspot, simultaneous voice and data, and international roaming.

Will any of these be supported by a Verizon iPhone? Some of them? None of them? Let’s take a look.

Unlimited data

We’ve already had a leak about unlimited data on the Verizon iPhone. Despite rumblings to the contrary it looks like, for now, Verizon is confident enough in their network to use unlimited data as a way to compete against AT&T’s 2GB cap.

Tethering

iPhone has support tethering since iOS 3 but it took until iOS 4 for AT&T to offer support. With tethering you connect your iPhone to your computer via Bluetooth or USB and your computer can access the internet via your iPhone’s 3G radio. Will Verizon also try to be aggressive here and offer free tethering, will they take AT&T’s route and offer tethering for a monthly surcharge, or will they simply not offer it at all?

Mobile Hot Spot

Unlike tethering, mobile hotspot turns your phone into a wireless internet router, just like a Mi-Fi, so instead of one device via BT or USB, you can connect 5 to 8 devices over Wi-Fi and share the 3G service between them. Sometimes there’s also an additional charge for this, sometimes — like with the Verizon Palm Pre Plus — they’ve given it away for free.

iOS 4 currently doesn’t provide for mobile hotspot so if Verizon is to offer it, there will have to be an iOS update as well. Since there will no doubt be a new CDMA/EVDO radio stack on the Verizon iPhone, perhaps new/different firmware is a given — but will it be new/different enough to warrant a 4.2.2 or 4.3? Even if it does, would mobile hotspot come now and not be saved for an iOS 5 preview even in a couple months? And even with their network confidence, would Verizon want all iPhone users suddenly saddling up 5 to 8 other devices on an unlimited data plan?

Simultaneous voice and data

Currently Verizon’s EVDO Rev-A 3G network doesn’t support simultaneous voice and data. If you’re surfing the web — or doing anything else that uses data — and a phone call comes in, your data connection gets dropped. EVDO rev-B supports voice and data but Verizon chose not to roll it out, jumping ahead instead to LTE which also support voice and data. The Verizon iPhone launching tomorrow probably won’t have LTE and certainly won’t have EVDO Rev-B, and while there’s been some noise about simultaneous voice and data over an updated EVDO Rev-A network, there’s been no evidence to data that Verizon has rolled it out.

So the Verizon iPhone probably won’t support simultaneous voice and data which is bad news for anyone who likes to (or needs to) check email, look up directions, or just escape the boredom of a phone call by hoping on the internet. Since iOS 4 also introduced background data API for things like turn-by-turn navigation, it could limit the ability of cloud-based apps providing voice directions while you’re on a phone call as well.

International roaming

Will the Verizon iPhone be a “world phone”? CDMA can roam on other CDMA carriers, but those are few and far between in a mostly GSM world. Since they don’t use SIM cards, you can’t even unlock them, pop in a local SIM, and avoid costly roaming charges. Verizon has launched combination GSM/CDMA phones in the past however, that came with a SIM card for use outside the US. That’s a big plus for business travelers. Unless Apple has gone with a GSM/CDMA chipset like Qualcomm’s, fitting two radios in one ultra-slim iPhone is probably a non-starter. That means you’ll get to enjoy your Verizon iPhone inside the US but you won’t be able to take it across the pond as anything other than an iPod.

Tune in tomorrow

We might get all the answers, some of them, or none of them tomorrow during Verizon’s press conference. We may get them only before or even at launch. But until then, the questions remain. Are any of them deal-breakers for you?

iOS 4.2 beta 2 for iPad, when used on some European carriers, is popping up Internet Tethering settings similar to those on iPhone. Since it’s not showing up everywhere, and certainly not in the US, could this mean only certain geographies will be getting the feature, or is it just some accident in the firmware or carrier file update that’s causing it?

Either way, it does show the panel is built into iPad, so why isn’t it already there and for everyone, like on iPhone? We pay for the bits, we should be able to use them when, where, and how we see fit. (And we should be able to tether iPad to iPhone — just like BlackBerry’s doing with the PlayBook — but that’s rant for another day).

Apple should just flip the switch and turn it on and let the carriers scurry around in the harsh light of day and explain to us, their customers, why it should be blocked or surcharged. (And no, paying an extra $20 a month to share a $30 data plan — $50 total — is not a viable option, carriers).

For more on Apple’s latest iPad software beta, see our complete iOS 4.2 walkthrough.

Want to tether your iPad to your BlackBerry? Bla1ze over at CrackBerry.com found himself in just that situation, so he put together a quick how-to:

The process requires you to download a cydia app called iBluever and a BlackBerry application called PDANet. After a few setting adjustments you technically should be up and running using your BlackBerry data plan with your WiFi enabled iPad. That said, you should keep in mind that anytime something is interacting with your carrier data, you could incur extra charges. if you decide to set this up, you do so at your own risk.

Have you tried tethering your iPad to your BlackBerry? If so, let us know how it worked for you.

[CrackBerry.com]

The good news is, existing iPhone users with the $30 unlimited data plan can keep that plan even if upgrading to the next generation iPhone HD/iPhone 4G this summer — unless you want to tether, at which point you’ll need to switch to one of the new AT&T tiered pricing data plans for smartphones.

If you’re trying to decide whether or not you should make the switch, the first question that comes to mind is “how much data am I using now?” You can find out very easily from AT&T’s website and TiPb is here to show you how.

1. Login to to www.wireless.att.com
2. Select “Bill & Payments” from the “My Account” tab
3. Click “Billing Reports” from the column on the left
4. Choose “Data Usage Trend” as the report type and the bill periods of interest.
5. Click “Submit”

You will then be shown a nice bar graph of your data usage by the MB. Unfortunately, data isn’t available before November 2009, but this is still very helpful information when deciding on a data plan.

You can also check your usage with AT&T’s myWireless iPhone application [free - iTunes link], but it will only show data usage in your current cycle. This will be especially helpful after you’ve chosen a plan and you want to keep track of how much of your data you’ve used.

It looks like I’m generally under 200 MB and I’m highly considering the $15 plan. How much data do you use? Do you want to tether? Will you switch?

Android 2.2 Froyo updates started going live yesterday for the unsubsidized, unlocked, once-upon-a-time sold directly by Google Nexus One, and it seems to include not only tethering but mobile hotspot (think MiFi, or mobile Wi-Fi router to share your 3G with multiple other devices), usable right now on AT&T — just about the only carrier in the world that doesn’t allow iPhone tethering.

Sure, AT&T is likely running tens of millions of iPhones and only a relative handful of Nexus Ones, but that’s not the point. Apple introduced seamless, elegant tethering in iPhone OS 3.0 in June 2009, and while it looks like US iPhone users may finally get it in iPhone OS 4 in June 2010, that’s a year after the rest of the world and now — it’s even after Android.

The iPhone is popular, we get it. AT&T’s network probably couldn’t handle that many people trying to use their “unlimited” plans on tethered devices, we have no doubt. The situations are completely different, we grant the point.

But it’s so beyond ridiculous now that it can’t — and shouldn’t — escape mention.

(We’ll also note for the record we don’t know how long this will last, as AT&T may figure out a way to block it on unlocked devices and carrier-branded devices may remove it entirely or just bolt on a surcharge).

Video after the break.

YouTube link

Judging from the latest iPhone OS 4 beta that was released earlier today, it would appear AT&T may finally be gearing up to actually release internet tethering for all of their iPhone customers.

Under network settings in the latest beta you have a option that allows you to set up internet tethering. When pressed you are greeted with a popup that gives the options to call AT&T or send you to your online account to activate the tethering feature. There is still no official word from AT&T but if all goes well those of you who been patiently waiting for tethering may finally get your wish.

What do you think? Is tethering with iPhone OS 4 a reality or simply wishful thinking? Sound off in the comments below!

[MacRumors]

AT&T still remains reluctant to introduce US iPhone customers to tethering and judging from their latest response to Engadget’s inquiry, we wouldn’t expect it anytime too soon.

“iPhone tethering has the potential to exponentially increase traffic, and we need to ensure that we’re able to deliver excellent performance for the feature – over and above the increases in data traffic we’re already seeing – before we will offer the feature.”

Admitting their network is not up the challenge of providing tethering to iPhone users just yet gets them some points for at least being honest. However, with Verizon now offering MiFi-like free mobile hotspot service to all Palm Pre Plus owners, however, and Sprint intending to paid hotspot service for the EVO 4G when it arrives, the competitive ball is racing towards AT&T’s court.

Here’s an idea — how about this June/July when the iPhone HD/iPhone4G AT&T gives us a mobile hotspot app for that?

[Engadget]

Rogers (and subsidiary Fido) announced today via their RedBoard blog that the initial free tethering promotion for the iPhone would become the official policy going forward — free tethering for everyone. Almost.

Effective immediately, tethering will continue to be included at no additional charge for Rogers and Fido customers who subscribe to data plans of 1 GB and above (excluding those listed below).

“Those listed below” are:

Tethering cannot be used with data plans of less than 1 GB. Also, it cannot be used with the new 1 GB+ One Rate Roaming plans (except Rocket stick plans), Family Shared Data & Voice Plans and Smartphone & Rocket stick shared data plans.

Complaints are already piling up about some of those exclusion in the blog comments, of course.

This policy also applies to BlackBerry, Android (if supported by the OS), and all other smartphones with qualifying data plans.

Since I was posting via iPhone Bluetooth tether from a local coffee shop yesterday, I for one appreciate and will make good use of it. However, our frigid Canadian hearts go out to our US friends who, 9 months later, still haven’t heard word one from AT&T about official iPhone tethering…

[Rogers RedBoard via iLounge]

According to emails sent from AT&T employees to MacDailyNews readers, the network is working hard to enable iPhone tethering as soon as possible. Many of our readers are still waiting patiently to see when AT&T will flip the switch on iPhone tethering and if you contact AT&T the following are the contents of the cookie cutter reply you will receive in your inbox.

“Thank you for your recent email to AT&T. Tethering the iPhone is a priority for us and we are working hard to make it available as soon as possible. As you might imagine, we want to make sure that we deliver a quality customer experience from the start. We don’t have details yet but will be sure to make a news announcement when tethering becomes available. Thanks again for your feedback. We appreciate you taking the time to write.”

We know what you may be thinking but lets give AT&T the benefit of the doubt here and lets pretend we see tethering enabled in the near future, would you prefer to have it implemented right the first time or are you simply sick of waiting and want it enabled now? Or could you care less?

Sound off in the comments below!

[Via MacDailyNews]

9to5Mac has the full, header’ed exchange between a Swede who emailed Steve Jobs about iPad tethering, and the answer he received from Apple’s CEO.

First, the question from Jezper Söderlund:

Will the wifi-only version [of the iPad] somehow support tethering thru my iPhone?

And the answer?

No.

Sent from my iPhone

[Slashhat.se via 9to5Mac]

9to5Mac is yet again delving deep into the iPhone 3.2 SDK for iPad and this time they’ve turned up settings for internet tethering, voice mail, and MMS settings, as well as a search option for Wikipedia.

Again, whether or not this is legacy code from the iPad’s iPhone heritage, or potential future features we have no way of knowing. Being able to tether to the iPad would be good (at least for international users, since AT&T doesn’t even support iPhone tethering yet…) Being able to tether from the iPhone to the iPad would be even better, but we’re not holding our breath… Likewise voice mail and MMS are interesting to see on a data-only device.

Wikipedia, however, is a natural extension of the built-in, currently Google-centric search and on the popover-enabled iPad Safari would be especially handy. Can we have that for iPhone as well?

Still no sign of Bing, however, though the current Yahoo! option will soon be powered by Microsoft’s search engine anyway…

Video after the break!

YouTube link

AT&T is finally opening up and coming clean about their sub par service that is offered in areas of New York and San Francisco. Ralph de la Vega, chief executive of AT&T Mobility, recently spoke at a investors conference regarding the poor service.

“This is going to get fixed, in both of those markets, I am very confident that you’re going to see significant progress.”

Obviously this is good news for those of you in these areas. Worse news? AT&T might use “unlimited” to sell you your data plan, but they obviously don’t intend for you to use it. And if you do, watch out.

Wireless data hogs who jam the airwaves by watching video on their iPhones will be put on tighter leashes.

Video. The horror!

De la Vega didn’t say exactly how or when the carrier would change its policies, but he said some form of usage-based pricing for data is inevitable.

If one stops to think about the other carriers getting more attractive smartphone options and the fact that AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity is running thin… AT&T better figure things out and fast.

[Thanks to the Reptile for the tip!]

Could it be we won’t see iPhone tethering on AT&T’s network until 2010? 9to5mac recently posted a saying to expect tethering on the network before the end of the year. An AT&T spokesman responded with the following statement:

Just reading again – where did anyone promise tethering by EOY? Where did you see that? We promised MMS by end of summer and ended up being a few days late for that…

More bad news for all of us waiting patiently for the official service, but it’s hard to be optimistic after comments like that, isn’t it? Of course, international iPhone users such as Rene have had this feature for quite some time now making a lot of us AT&T users a bit jealous.

Feel free to vent your frustration in the comments below!

[Via 9to5mac]

AT&T, following the the reversal of their no-VoIP-over-3G policy, still has nothing new to offer with regards to iPhone tethering. Quotes the Wall Street Journal:

An spokesman for the wireless carrier, however, said that tethering remains unavailable and stuck with the company’s prior statement: “Whenever we offer new features, we want to offer the best possible customer experience. For tethering, we need to do some additional fine tuning to our systems and networks so that we do deliver a great experience.”

While international iPhone users have been able to connect their computers to the internet using the iPhone’s 3G network, via Bluetooth or USB tethering since the launch of iPhone 3.0 in June, for US iPhone users, no news remains bad news.

Then again, if you’re already complaining about poor AT&T signal, probably the last thing you want is every iPhone user on your tower trying to suck down 5GB of torrents… right?

Following up on today’s announcement that AT&T would be making MMS available to US iPhone users on September 25, TiPb asked the logical followup — tethering?

We expect to offer tethering in the future. By its nature, this function could exponentially increase traffic on the network, and we need to ensure that some of our current upgrades are in place before we can deliver the expanded functionality with the excellent performance that customers expect.

They’re likely referring, at least in part, to their ongoing rollout of 850 MHz 3G — most recently in New York and New Jersey — which should put more width in their bandwidth.

So are we happy enough with MMS to cut AT&T some slack on tethering, or do we want it all and now?

Has AT&T been delaying the US launch of iPhone 3.0‘s MMS and tethering services due to concerns about their network being able to handle it? Um, yeah, that would have been our guess… The New York Times, however, states it as fact:

[AT&T] has also delayed bandwidth-heavy features like multimedia messaging, or text messages containing pictures, audio or video. It is also postponing �tethering,� which allows the iPhone to share its Internet connection with a computer, a standard feature on many rival smartphones. AT&T says it has no intention of capping how much data iPhone owners use.

How big is the concern? AT&T claims they’ve diverted $18 billion to upgrade and expand their 3G network to handle the load, but that getting local approval to build towers takes time, as does upgrading existing infrastructure.

Analysts quoted seem to agree with TiPb readers that AT&T may just have been hit first and hardest by the iPhone, but other networks will face the same problem if/when they start to see iPhone class devices hitting their towers in the same numbers.

So, is AT&T doing the right thing delaying MMS and tethering until, you know, they’ll actually work, or do you just want your features and want them now? Or do you just not buy this whole “data usage conspiracy” at all?

The minute our iPhone calendars turned from August 31 to September 1, TiPb’s email box started getting many colorful variations of “Summer is over, where’s our [redacted redacted redacted... redacted!] MMS and tethering!

While Apple showed off the front-end for MMS and tethering back in March, released it along with iPhone 3.0 in June, and most of the rest of the world has been enjoying it ever since, AT&T is a notable, and increasingly infuriating exception. Late summer (and when is that exactly?), and that it will be no extra charge, is all they’ve said. And whether you personally would use MMS or not, right now you don’t even have that choice.

We’ve heard all the excuses, from AT&T’s network can barely handle the iPhone as-is, and MMS and especially tethering would bring it, crashing and burning, to its knees, to a rumor that AT&T had to manually turn on MMS for every single iPhone account on their system. We’ve also heard it may be announced as part of Apple’s September 9th event. That would be very late summer indeed.

But that’s all we’ve heard. There’s been no status update from AT&T that we can find, no attempt to keep their users in the loop, no expression of sympathy for the frustration their users are voicing (or emailing us!). AT&T is being almost Apple-esque in their lack of communications and for a company that’s in the communications business — and is charging high monthly rates to its consumers — that’s just not good enough.

Is it?

Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard does indeed have some “refinements and enhancements” for the iPhone, namely a brand spanking new iPhone logo in System Preferences > Network when you’re tethered via the iPhone.

Yeah, okay, we know — AT&T users need do nothing but raise their fists and yell out a “KAAAAAAHHHHHHNNNN!” like scream at the gaping lack of functionality they’re still enduring. But at least you can take the smallest, most infinitesimal comforts in knowing that — if you’re a Mac — you’ll get a spiffy new icon to go with your no doubt exorbitantly overcharged tethering option.

If it ever becomes available.

[Via jpcaine]

WhenWillApple has found another new goodie in the just released iPhone 3.1 Beta 3: Settings > General > Usage now shows Tethering Data alongside the previous Cellular Network Data counter.

Since countries outside the US, and carriers other than AT&T have offered tethering pretty much since the launch of iPhone 3.0, does this new addition, alongside the return of MMS settings in iPhone 3.1 Beta 1 released a month ago, hint that AT&T might finally be getting their iPhone offerings in order?

Insert your AT&T tethering rumor here!

Following up on last night‘ release of iPhone 3.1 Beta 2 firmware and SDK, developers are finding more changes and new features.

• TUAW reports that the AT&T IPCC hack, where the carrier file was modified to allow iPhone tethering sans official AT&T sanction no longer works. Bummer, given AT&T still hasn’t announced anything about legitimate tethering support or pricing.

• Engadget Mobile‘s been informed that new APIs have been introduced allowing for the manipulation of live video to produce “augmented reality” apps (where information is layered on top of the video).

• Ars Technica reports iPhone 3.1 Beta 2 allows developers to connect to test devices via Wi-Fi, rather than having to tether via USB as in previous releases, and still access instruments and other features.

We’ll just pass then the mic and let you tell us what you think in the comments!

Regarding MMS:

We absolutely will offer MMS on iPhone 3G S in late summer once we complete some system upgrades that will ensure our customers have the best experience with MMS.  These upgrades are unrelated to our 3G network.  When MMS is ready, we will let customers know.

Regarding offering a tethering plan:

We plan to offer one but we don’t have an announcement to make at this time.

Joe Chandler
Executive Director
AT&T Corporate Communications

[Thanks to Phil for bringing this one home!]

Although humorous for the crowd attending the WWDC Keynote today, when Apple VP of iPhone Software, Scott Forstall, announced MMS and Tethering, AT&T being deferred until later this summer on the first count, and totally glossed over on the second count, likely won’t be as amusing for US iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S owners who will miss out on fairly standard functionality other carriers and regions may get on 3.0 launch come June 17.

To learn more about iPhone tethering, visit Apple’s iPhone feature page. To learn more about AT&T’s support for these features–

Along with iPhone 3.0 Beta 5, which appears to hide away MMS functionality for AT&T, Apple also seeded the second pre-release version of iTunes 8.2, which looks like it blocks editing of the iPhone carrier file. In previous beta releases, developers were able to use the carrier file to enable tethering, something built into iPhone 3.0 by Apple but entirely dependent on as-yet-not-given carrier approval.

Did AT&T ask for the new lockdown? Perhaps the MMS stripping as well? Nothing but speculation so far…

(Thanks Andrew for the tip!)

Apple’s Senior VP for iPhone Software, Scott Forstall, said that Apple had already built Tethering into the iPhone software, shuffling the burden of “where the heck is it then?” neatly into the hands of the still-waffling carriers.

Well, according to MacRumors, an enterprising developer has gone and shown us that Forstall wasn’t just spinning tales. Tethering (where your laptop connects to the internet via a USB or Bluetooth connection to your iPhone) really is already built in there.

Of course, with the way the iPhone brought down AT&T’s network at SXSW last weekend, the thought of millions upon millions of iPhone users burning even more data must have AT&T execs quivering in their boots… Will they actually improve capacity before allowing it on their end, and how much of that will be pushed down to the user via Tethering “plan” increases?

Would you rather have cheap but unreliable Tethering, or would you pay more for rock solid service? Or do you just want all these heavy duty data users to get off your 3G lawn?

Could this be a sign of things to come with tethering and the iPhone? Will all of us who own iPhones be vulnerable to these overages if we choose to start using software like the upcoming SlingPlayer Mobile?

A Chicago man (Jamesus — hoping it was not you, buddy!) decided to watch a Bears game via Slingbox on his laptop before leaving for a cruise… Harmless enough one would think, but his AT&T wireless data card decided to pick up a international signal while he was still in Miami… end result: A $28,067.31 bill for international data charges. It’s safe to say the data card was picking up the wrong signal and with a few customer service calls he eventually did get the charges dropped down to $290.65.

So all of you travelers out there, take heed if you are traveling on a fringe area and take all precautions to avoid something like this happening to you…

*It seems that this story comes to us via the Chicago Sun-Times and their feature: The Fixer. The man who was charged could not get AT&T to remove the charges from customer service calls until the Sun-Times got involved and the story ended up in the paper. Knowing that, it makes AT&T look a lot worse then they already did… Ouch.

[Via EngadgetMobile]

Back in November Dieter told us about the Evil Empires (AT&T) plan to drain another $30 from all of it’s iPhone owners if they wanted to tether with a laptop. Well according to TUAW this may be the week you have all been waiting for.

It’s been under the rumor banner for some time now, but we’ve been told by a trusted source that the long-awaited AT&T iPhone-as-modem tethering plans (preliminary details in MacBlogz’ post from November: 5 GB data cap, $30/month supplementary cost) may be ready for prime time during Macworld Expo this week. The tethering announcement might not rise to a keynote-worthy level; it could simply be publicized as a press release during the show.

So what will you get for your $30 a month??? 5 GB data cap… A bit steep don’t you think? Then again would you expect anything else from AT&T? I know the few times I would actually be tethering, I’d willing to take that risk on the Jailbroken app. Are you willing to pay that much for this service or are you more willing to Jailbreak your iPhone 3G and roll the dice with a program such as PdaNet?

Sound off in the comments!

[Via TUAW]

When AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega dropped word that they have official iPhone tethering for data access in our future, we only had one question: how much?

Well, MacBlogz [via Giz] brings word that they expect it will be $30 a month. This certainly seems reasonable (the rumor, not necessarily the rate) as Giz notes that it matches the current tethering plan made available for BlackBerrys. It looks as though iTunes will further recede from being ‘just a music player’ as it will also handle your tethering setup.

As you might expect, it will be capped at 5gigs a month, which seems pretty anemic for $30 bucks to us. On the bright side, PdaNet has sent in word that they’re still hard at work on their excellent tethering application — we suspect that translates into “make it even tougher for carriers to detect that you’re tethering.”

So basically: AT&T wants to charge you $30 per month for a plan that can only be used for occasional tethering. It’s what we expected, sure, but it’s not what we’d hoped.

We hear from MobileCrunch [via] that official iPhone tethering will be coming soon to AT&T. How soon is “soon” we don’t know, whether data will be capped or unlimited is a mystery, and exactly what sort of plan will be involved is also up in the air.

It’s a safe bet to say that AT&T will not be including tethering in the standard iPhone plan. Tethering costs in the US generally run a minimum of an extra 20 bucks a month, depending on carrier, business, and the phase of the moon. In other words, you may still want to think about jailbreaking and tethering on the sly with PdaNet – just don’t tell ‘em we told you.

How much would you be willing to pay for laptop tethering?

Know how some people are complaining that they have trouble connecting to AT&T’s 3G network? How they drop calls? How they blame Apple? (Despite the phone working pretty dang well in other countries on other carriers). Remember the theory that there were so many iPhone 3Gs hitting the market that AT&T couldn’t handle the load? (That their network was basically rabbit ears tied to old antennas? — okay, we made that last one up!)

Now imagine that each and every one of those iPhones, especially in high-density areas like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York — where each tower is already slicing bandwidth to razor thin margins — suddenly found itself barraged by laptops tethering themselves on for the ride.

That might just be what’s keeping AT&T from allowing iPhone tethering: fear it will crush their already strained 3G network. MacBlogz claims to have a source saying just that (via Gizmodo):

“Regardless of how many billions of dollars AT&T pours into their 3G network, it hasn’t been stable enough to handle all you iPhone users.”

PdaNet has been hailed as the best reason to Jailbreak your iPhone. Why? Because it sets your iPhone up as a WiFi router that you can easily connect to with your laptop. This setup is ideal for a lot of users for a few reason:

1. It’s dead-simple to set up, as it doesn’t require any weird software or modem configuration on your laptop
2. Since the iPhone becomes a simple WiFi router, there are no blocked ports. Unlike NetShare, PdaNet is not a ‘SOCKS proxy,’ so you can use any internet protocol (like iChat or AIM) and not have to worry about whether or not it will work.
3. Although you’d take a big old hit on speed, you could theoretically share your internet connection with several computers.

There is one major caveat you need to be aware of with PdaNet, however. The Terms of Service on the standard AT&T iPhone contract and also on their standard Data Plans do not allow you to tether. Most people simply ignore this and go ahead and tether anyway — being careful not to overdo it to prevent AT&T from hitting them with extra fees or even a cancellation. If that doesn’t worry you, read on for a full how to on getting PdaNet setup to tether to your Laptop!

Step One: JailBreak your iPhone

This might be the most intimidating part of the entire process, but fret not. Jeremy has supplied us with easy-to-follow instructions that will guide you through the entire process. During this process, pay attention to the ‘Customize your firmware” section — you’ll want to make sure you check “Add Cydia” to your firmware, as that’s where PdaNet lives.

1. How to Jailbreak an iPhone 3G with a Mac
2. How to Jailbreak an iPhone 3G with a Windows PC
3. How to Jailbreak a 1st Generation iPhone with a Windows PC

After you’ve jailbroken your iPhone, you might consider a quick detour to the Top 5 Must-Have Jailbreak Apps to celebrate your newly Jailbroken iPhone.

Step Two: Set Up Cydia

Once your iPhone is Jailbroken, you’re going to want to install PdaNet. The place you install from is Cydia, which is an application that connects you to tons of jailbroken applications, much like the more-familiar installer.app. However, it’s very likely that Cydia isn’t going to be up-to-date yet when you first start it up, so we’ll need to get that going.

First, start up Cydia and you can go ahead and go through the introductory screens. It will ask you to make some “Essential Upgrades” and you should do that right away. It may also ask you to choose what sort of interface you want, I chose the most basic interface and suggest you do the same.

When the app is finally done with its first-run update stuff, you’re going to want to hit the “Changes” tab at the bottom:

Go ahead and hit the “Upgrade” button in the upper-right of your screen to install everything there. The reason you’re doing this is because PdaNet is hosted by ModMyi.com and you won’t be able to download it until that repository is updated. The short version: go ahead and do those updates.

Step Three: Install PdaNet!

Now that you have Cydia updated, you’re ready to use it to install PdaNet. Go head and tap the Search tab on the lower-right. In the search bar at the top, simply tap in “pdanet” (or just “pda”) to autofilter the list of all apps down to the one we want: PdaNet. Then tap PdaNet in the list.

You’ll see an info screen for PdaNet. Tap the “Install” button in the upper right, then the “confirm” button in the upper right on the next screen, then watch the magic install happen:

Congratulations! You’ve installed PdaNet!

Step Four: Set up an AdHoc WiFi Network

Although PdaNet is a full-on WiFi router, it doesn’t actually set up a WiFi network that your computer can just join. Instead, what you’ll need to do is set up an “Ad Hoc WiFi Network” on your computer and then join that network on your iPhone. What this essentially does is tell your computer to create a WiFi Network and allow computers on that network to share internet connections. Your iPhone will then become one of those ‘computers’ and your laptop will be able to use its network.

This seems a little intimidating, but in truth it’s very simple. The good news is you should only have to do the hard stuff the first time. The second time you want to tether you can just switch to that Ad Hoc network and turn on PdaNet!

One quick note: the PdaNet application has a convenient question mark button on the lower left which is a link to this How To at June Fabrics’ (the maker of PdaNet) website. If you’re setting up a new computer and don’t have access to this guide, that’ll do the trick.

Ok, another quick note: for those who are very security conscious, we should note that the network you’re going to set up will only be able to use WEP encryption for security. WEP encryption is kind of like a door made of paper: it will prevent the casual passerby from entering, but it won’t stop anybody with even a little bit of determination. If you’re concerned that a hacker could be within WiFi range or are otherwise security sensitive, PdaNet is probably not the tethering option for you.

How to set up an Ad Hoc WiFi Network on a PC

First, open up your Control Panel and then “Network Connections”

Now, you need to right-click on your “Wireless Network Connection” and then you’ll select “Properties” in the dropdown.

Now that you’re looking at the properties of your Wireless Connection, you need to switch to the “Wireless Networks” tab.

On this window, there’s an “Add” button there underneath “Preferred networks.” Go ahead an click that. You’re about to create your first Ad Hoc WiFi Network!

The window that appears after you click “Add” is where you’re going to enter all the info for your Ad Hoc Network. Give it a name like “PdaTether”. Set your “Network Authentication” to “Open” and your “Data Encryption” to “WEP.” Then set a “Network Key” to something easy to remember, but not too easy. This is the password for your Ad Hoc Network. We very strongly recommend you set a password, otherwise anybody in the area will not only have access to your internet connection, but also network access to your computer. Not Good.

Next, be sure to click “This is a computer-to-computer (ad hoc) network; wireless access points are not used.” Once you’ve done that, click OK. Congratulations, you have set up your Ad Hoc WiFi Network. Jump down to Step Five.

How to Set Up an Ad Hoc WiFi Network on a Mac

Try not to get too cocky about this, Mac-people, but your instructions are a bit easier than for the PC folks.

Step one, click on the Airport icon in the upper right of your screen and select “Add New network.” On the window that pops up, you simply need to enter a network name, leave the channel on automatic, and then click the box next to “Require Password.”

As the instructions on the window indicate, you should only enter a 5-letter password; we recommend a mix of letters and numbers. As mentioned in the Windows section, we very strongly recommend you set a password, otherwise anybody in the area will not only have access to your internet connection, but also network access to your computer. Not Good. Click OK and then, boom, you have created an Ad Hoc WiFi network!

Step Five: Connect your iPhone to Your Ad Hoc WiFi Network

Now grab your iPhone and head into Settings, Tap Wi-Fi, and then select your new network. Enter your password and smile a bit: you’re almost done!

Step Six: Open PdaNet

Now hit the home button and open up PdaNet –iIt will check to make sure that your WiFi connection is the right kind, and then once it is, pow, it will “Just Work.” You can tell because PdaNet will switch over to the following screen, which lists connected computers and data transferred.

At this point, we’re going to go ahead and recommend you plug your iPhone in to keep it charged, as you’re really going to be sucking down the battery. As mentioned at the top of the article, be careful you don’t use too much data or you might sent up a red flag at AT&T.

PdaNet does have a feature that allows you to exit out of it to check another app, but beware that it may shut down if you don’t head back to it fairly quickly. I haven’t tried it yet, but I suspect that Backgrounder might allow PdaNet to operate in the background indefinitely.

Step Seven: Turn off PdaNet and Celebrate!

When you’re done, just hit the toggle switch at the bottom of PdaNet and then head back to your computer and switch your network back to what you normally use. Huzzah — you’re now a mobile master!

Engadget brings the news: there will be an Apple event next week, on October 14th. Obviously, based on the invitation above (which we didn’t receive, sniffle), the focus is going to be on notebooks. Presumably there will be a new form factor or two to talk about here based on Apple’s rumored “Brick” manufacturing technique, where they carve the case out of a single block of aluminum.

The only possible iPhone angles we’re seeing here:

1. Steve comes clean about when we’ll see background notifications during a tiny aside about the iPhone
2. The rumors of a Glass Touchpad with iPhone-esque multi-touch and even an iPhone-like secondary display down there may be true
3. Tethering becomes allowed? Pretty Please?

We’re putting the above 3 possibilities in the “One More Thing” category — which is to say we haven’t really seen a real “One More Thing” moment from his Steveness in awhile now and have pretty much given up hope of seeing one at this event, but we haven’t given it up entirely.

Today on the forums I wanted to point out our new setup. We have cleaned up the forums a bit and have made it even more friendly for everyone. Don’t trust me? Take a look for yourself! If you feel so inclined and want to see something added or removed, start your own thread and tell us!

A lot has been said about the iPhone and tethering, heck even Dieter just jailbroke his iPhone to try out a tethering app called PdaNet. Mugunth wants to know why AT&T won’t allow tethering and VOIP on the iPhone, chime in on the conversation right here.

Are you fed up so much with your iPhone or AT&T that you are considering getting rid of it and going back to your old phone? Well NMprofessional is seriously considering doing just that and for a few interesting reasons… Say it ain’t so, NMprofessional! Head on into the forums and try to change his mind!

Rene let slip that we’re going to have a great new contest coming to the TiPB iPhone Forums soon, so along with our fresh new look, it’s time to get some fresh faces in there as well! Signing up is simple, I’ll even get you started, head on over and I’ll see you on the forums!

I’ve gone ahead and followed Jeremy’s excellent iPhone Jailbreak instructions for one specific reason: the ability to install PdaNet on my iPhone for tethering. PdaNet let us know, along with reader Lawton, that they’ve given up waiting for App Store approval (which will likely never come anyway) and have gone ahead and released their application for jailbroken iPhones. You can get the full skinny here.

PdaNet for the iPhone is heads and shoulders above their other offerings in that it doesn’t require any software on your laptop. You simply need to set up an ‘ad hoc’ WiFi network (here’s how) on your laptop and then have your iPhone join that network. Then, boom, you’re online.

PdaNet will also work in the background (yet another reason to Jailbreak — real background apps), although they caution that you’ll want to make sure that you get back into the app relatively quickly so it doesn’t idle. They’ve also implemented another neat accelerometer-based feature: set your phone face-down and it will turn off the screen, saving power. Truth-be-told, though, you should probably leave it plugged in, an active 3G connection and WiFi connection isn’t going to be very good to your battery.

One last note: over-usage of PdaNet’s tethering is likely to draw the eye and the ire of AT&T, so use with care!

Thanks to Lawton for the tip!

Seems like it’s been an eternity since the pulling of the NetShare application officially brought us into the age of Apple pulling apps from the App Store on an almost daily basis. Without NetShare, the only folks who have been able to utilize their iPhones’ 3G connection for Laptop connectivity have been the crazy ones.

For the rest of us, there’s just the teeniest, tiniest glimmer of hope, that AT&T will relent and allow official tethering.

Until then it’s a waiting game. While you wait, think a bit about folks on PalmOS and Windows Mobile, folks who can not only tether, but can tether in a special ‘proxy mode’ that’s actually quite clever. See, when you tether, your carrier can tell you’re tethering (and can therefore charge you more). What lucky users on these other platforms do is trick their networks into thinking they’re just browsing via their phone. They do this via an awesome piece of software called PdaNet.

So: PdaNet for iPhone? It’s still the waiting game:

Our latest response from Apple is that the PdaNet application will be given new “consideration”. But that was more than a week ago and it still has an “In Review” status. There is not much we can do at this point but just to wait.

Sadly, that response from June Fabrics is now three weeks old and still no sign of PdaNet in the App Store, so things don’t look so good.

Come on, Apple and AT&T, allowing us to tether our laptops to our iPhones would make an awesome “One More Thing.”

The trouble with Steve Jobs (or an anonymous iMinion thereof) sometimes mailing off blunt-force rejoinders to disgruntled Apple customers? The intertubes suddenly become awash in Jobsmail, making it impossible to sort the real from the decidedly not so. Case in point: a Gizmodo reader claims to have emailed Jobs about the possibility of maybe potentially one day considering tethering (allowing your computer to connect to the ‘net via your iPhone’s 3G or EDGE connection). The alleged response:

We agree, and are discussing it with ATT.

Steve

Sent from my iPhone

Yeah, we can has big old doubts as well…

Update: Macrumors lets us know that, strangely enough, it’s back in the App Store. It doesn’t show up in a search, but you can download it via this iTunes/App Store link.

Update 2: …aaaand it’s gone again, at least in the US. Le Sigh.

The Interweb is abuzz about this little program that popped up on the App Store yesterday, so aptly named NetShare. The concept of the app is to essentially use your iPhone’s 3G or EDGE (god knows why) connection for your laptop. It creates a proxy and establishes a pseudo-hotspot with your iPhone’s connection leaving you free to surf the web on your laptop. It’s tethering, more or less.

How this got passed Apple and AT&T who knows. But it looks like  has already been kicked out of the App Store. Did any of the TiPb faithful get their hands on this app while it was hot? Anyone get it to work? From what TiPb has been hearing, it’s really hit or miss. Let us know.

Maybe Apple wanted the developers of NetShare to get the app right before they put it out again…wish for it and it’ll come true…wish for it and it’ll come true.

Read

Depending on your carrier, their terms of service (TOS), and your willingness to break said terms and face possible consequences including death-by-over-billing, you can now tether you newly pwned/jailbroken iPhone 3G to your laptop to share the mobile 3G internet connection anywhere and everywhere you go (your coverage area, of course, may vary).

The process is a little involved, according to Macrumors (via Cre.ations.net):

Jailbreak your iPhone 3G. Install 3Proxy and Terminal. Create an ad-hoc Wi-fi network using your laptop. Join the network with your iPhone. Find the iPhone’s IP address Open Terminal and run the proxy program. Open Safari on your iPhone and open a web page. Configure your browser to use the proxy.

Not a 133t level hax0r? Don’t worry. AT&T (and other carriers) might just offer this option, complete with inevitable bandwidth cap, ‘natch, sometime in the next millennium…

Boo! One of the most popular things to do with a 3G smartphone is to “tether” it, which is to attach it to your laptop and use it as a modem so you can get online anywhere your phone has service. Windows Mobile and Treos have multiple options for doing this — some even via some sneaky software that works in a kind of “proxy mode” so you can avoid paying the extra costs associated with a full-on “Phone as Modem” plan (which usually runs in the neighborhood of $50 a month). Sadly, AT&T has let the official word out — you won’t be able to do this with the iPhone 3G:

However according to AT&T spokesman, Mark A. Siegel, who spoke with iPhone Atlas earlier this week, AT&T will not be supporting a PAM plan for the iPhone 3G. The only available data plan for the iPhone will be the new $30 consumer unlimited data and visual voice mail plan and the $45 business data plan. The latter is charged when a person makes an enterprise type connection to Exchange or a Blackberry server for email or messaging. — [iPhone Atlas]

Of course, this has already been done for Jailbroken phones and we hope it will be done again — just don’t expect to be able to purchase something like this from the App Store when it rolls out.