A rumor is circulating that Apple and AT&T may be in talks about a data plan for sharing your iPhone’s internet connection with your laptop. This process, known as tethering is often an option on PDAs for users that pay for data connections. Gizmodo has a fairly legitimate looking email that Steve Jobs may be considering the move. Otherwise users that want to tether their laptop to an iPhone must jailbreak the phone in order to make it work.
It’s very surprising that Apple would close off this functionality on the iPhone. Although the recently released iPhone 3G has already been having problems with data connectivity on heavily loaded cell towers, it’s a feature that many smartphone users have come to expect. This becomes even more of a roadblock since AT&T’s recent upgrade to a 3G data network means that the data speeds are actually worth using to work on your laptop.
Could it be that this is a limitation put in place by AT&T when they subsidized the data plan for the iPhone? They’re likely already smarting as subsidized iPhone users also happen to be the hungriest devourers of mobile data in the US.
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I'm Dave and I like to share news about gadgets, gear, careers and design for a mobile world.
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