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back to article Internet tethering spotted in iPad iOS beta

Today's iPad rumor is that when iOS 4.2 is released for the iPad later this year, it may include the ability for 3G-capable versions of the "magical and revolutionary device" to provide internet tethering. But only for some users — and not for stateside fanbois suffering the spotty slings and unhurried arrows of their …

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  1. JaitcH
    Jobs Horns

    Nothing beats discriminating against & alienating your best market

    Apple Marketing must be nuts, as in crazy.

    There are few markets as receptive to Apple things than the USA, yet they intend to degrade the iOS for it? Given the Lemon 4 pricing in China the US will likely remain Apples prime sales arena.

    Still, no doubt the real Apple software experts will devise a workaround for this latest bit of Jobs control freakery.

    2 7
    1. RichyS
      Reply Icon
      Stop

      Yawn

      Christ, you're getting boring.

      5 0
    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      FAIL

      *sigh*

      Here he is. Spouting his bile. Again.

      I think you'll find that the tethering issue is caused by AT&T, but hey, you get to rail on Jobs again, so that's ok. Did he steal your sweets when you were a kid or something?

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    3. Chris Pearson
      Reply Icon
      Jobs Halo

      AT&T

      I suspect it has a lot more to do with the AT&T deal than apple wanting to screw the US customers. It would also be less work to not have to do a 'If AT&T then remove feature' every 3rd feature.

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    4. Raumkraut
      Reply Icon

      Customers schmustomers

      Apple's market in the US is AT&T. It's only they that Apple needs to not alienate.

      Right now, the general public would buy CrApple products even if they did a worse job than shouting really loudly.

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    5. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Thumb Down

      Talk to AT&T

      I'm guessing this ain't an Apple decision. AT&T are saying no (much like the reason Facetime is only available over wifi), why should that affect the rest of the world? I'm willing to bet that more iPhones are sold outside the US than inside.

      USA > Rest Of The World? OK then...

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    6. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Happy

      I am filled with insecurity and self-loathing

      Bla bla iPhan bla bla lemon 4 bla bla Steve Jobs stole my bike bla bla my life is so empty, bla bla and so on </cracked_record>

      Oh, I forgot the marked inability to apostrophise too, but just drivelling on was soul destroying enough alone.

      1 0
  2. Matt Thornton
    WTF?

    Hope so

    This is a feature I really want and have been trying to avoid the jailbreak route.

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  3. Jon Lamb

    Not showing on mine ...

    ... unfortunately ... 4.2b2 on Three

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  4. Anonymous Coward
    Boffin

    So...

    What's to prevent the US users from downloading and installing the European firmware? Surely US iPads aren't so different from UK ones that they brick out from a firmware region change?

    I'd prefer to see Bluetooth Modem and Bluetooth PAN support tho. Since my iPad is the 16G non-3G type. I already have two cell lines. I don't want, don't need, and don't wish to pay for a third. Joikuspot is great, but I don't want to pay for a second copy since both cells I have run vastly different operating systems.

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  5. Charlie Clark Silver badge
    FAIL

    Apple - Innovation first?

    Having "tethered" mobile phones to notebooks for the last ten years, starting with serial cables and null-modems. I don't understand why this isn't standard for Apple. OTOH given how difficult it is to set up tethering via Bluetooth on Mac OS I shouldn't really be surprised...

    Setting up my Samsung Wave to run as an access point is easy-peasy lemon-squeezy.

    0 1
    1. DaveMTL
      Reply Icon

      Options for Tethering

      I strongly suspect we are about to see iPad tethering to the Iphone very soon here in Canada since all iPhone packages here appear to have tethering free. Also, we currently have the option of paying an additional 10$/month (CDN) to share our iPhone's 6G/mth. So pay 14.95 for 250mb/mth no contract or 10$ to share 6G/mth on the existing iPhone contract. The 10$/mth can be removed at any time. Not bad if you ask me. I think we'll here more in November.

      As for the US.... APPLE MOVE TO OTHER TELCOs QUICK!!!

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  6. Piloti
    Jobs Horns

    Tethering.....

    ...... still not sure why I am not allowed to do with my device what I want to do with my device. If I want to shove a laptop on my Nokia why the hell not ?

    Oh I can. I do!

    Just another reason why I will never, ever, buy an Apple anything.

    Turing I am sure will be turning in his grave.......

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  7. LPF

    No Offence

    But anyone wanting to use their mobile for ineternet tethering must be nuts. I dont know about the states but here in blight , on the Oragne 3 network, its barely usable on my HD2, and the data rates are nothing to shut about, plus only 500MB linmt a month, You need it that bad get a dongle!

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  8. David Perry 2
    Jobs Horns

    Tomorrow

    "Tomorrow never comes. What kind of a fool do they take me for?"

    (Tomorrow, from Bugsy Malone)

    0 0
    1. William Towle
      Reply Icon
      Go

      "Tomorrow...": I believe it's...

      Shakespearean plumbers: "tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow ... or call us again if we've not come by Thursday".

      --And Now in Colour

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  9. John Robson Silver badge
    Go

    Tethering

    should be a default option on all such devices (iOS, Android, RIM etc..)

    Or we should be allowed* multiple SIMs on the same contract so that we don't need multiple line rentals for each device.

    --

    * I mean that providers should be compelled to offer additional SIMs for a given contract at a sane rate (50p/month/SIM?).

    Optional extras could then include SIM based call limits (so you can stop kids calling Australia, but still have them on a cheap phone contract)

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  10. Ivan Headache

    I'm not sure if it's been mentioned elswhere

    I received my first iPhone a cpouple of days back (32G G4)

    In the general control panel there is a network setting and in there ther is (among many other things a 'Internet tethering' panel

    Opening it up gives the option (and instructions how) to tether to a 'another computer' via USB or Bluetooth .

    Not having had an iPhone before I don't know if this was around previously.

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      It's been mentioned

      My 3Gs running iOS 4.1 also has tethering capability as you described. I believe this was added in iOS 4.0 or 4.0.x

      The catch is that you have to pay AT&T an extra monthly fee for the privilege of using the tethering option. You'd think AT&T would make plenty of money without that extra fee from people going over their monthly data allowance while surfing on their laptop.

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  11. Si 1

    When is 4.2 out anyway?

    It's really annoying to go from multi-tasking on the iPhone to "single-tasking" on my iPad.

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  12. Fuzz

    Why?

    I don't get it, what would I want to tether to an ipad?

    A laptop? If I'm carrying a laptop why would I be carrying an ipad, if I want to tether a laptop I can use one of those phone things.

    I could tether my phone, no hang on that's not right.

    Anyone know how this is useful? Is there really a situation when you are carrying an ipad, no phone and another device that needs to get on the Internet and there's no wifi in the place but there is 3G?

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    1. The Other Steve
      Reply Icon
      Boffin

      Fuzzy logic

      As it happens, because the iPad is a complement not a replacement, I for one often pack one alongside a net book*. So I can see why it's useful (and cheaper) to be able to share a single 3G connection..

      At the moment if I need to do this (rare, as I am generally near some WiFi in any case) I use ad hoc wifi and the dongle on the lappy, so why not the other way around ?

      OTOH while I can't say much about the state of the two betas we've seen so far, lets just say I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that this is a rogue iPhone setting that isn't supposed to show up at all. Then again, history tells us that even fully paid up devs don't know the ffull eature list until at least the GM seed, and often the final public release, so you never know.

      *sorry net book jihad, the iPad is just better at some things, get over it.

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  13. D@v3
    FAIL

    im surprised no one has mentioned this.

    but surely, if you have a 3g iPad (with which to have a connection to tether to) why do you need another device to tether from?

    Surely, the "magic and revolutionary" iPad shouldn't need to be used as a modem for a laptop.

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  14. TeeCee Gold badge
    Joke

    Yay!

    You can use an iPad as a modem.

    Anyone found another serious use for one yet?

    0 2
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Coat

      Well, in this hub of western media..

      ..it has its uses for chopping out coke. That screen is easy to clean, and hard to scratch, and it's big enough that you don't lose any.

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