DROID tethering? It's coming early 2010, says Verizon

DROID tethering? It's coming early 2010, says Verizon. The Droid already does so many things the iPhone doesn't, it stands to reason that Verizon and Motorola would also get tethering right. AT&T is so upset with the "We've Got A Map For That" ad that they have sued Verizon. They should probably spend their money figuring out ways to allow iPhone users to tether their notebooks to the iPhone. For the unititiated, tethering allows a wired, or bluetooth, connection to a smart phone, allowing a computer to use the phone as a pathway to the Internet. I have done this for years with Verizon, using Palm OS smart phones. It is a little slow, but an effective backstop alternative to situations in which Internet access is unavailable. AT&T alleges in its lawsuit that the Verizon ads wrongfully infer that AT&T doesn't have phone access in the blank areas of the map. Actually, I think that the ads quite clearly show that the red and blue areas are areas in which there is 3G access, required for data transfer, and Internet access at an acceptable speed. Maybe the large blank space is the reason AT&T doesn't permit tethering. Either way, Verizon is the superior carrier, and tethering will give the Droid another advantage.

Comments

[Brian]

Been reading your blog religiously for the last couple of months. Good stuff.

So happy my wife busted her smartphone (HTC Touch) so I can give her mine and fork over the dough for a Droid. I almost considered breaking my Verizon contract for an iPhone, but luckily the Droid showed up just in time to save me from AT&T, which is spotty at best where I live. Map seems accurate to me... Thanks for the tech updates.