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:
- It's dead-simple to set up, as it doesn't require any weird software or modem configuration on your laptop
- 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.
- 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!
