[digg-me]According toPhoneScoop, “tethering is connecting your phone to a laptop or similar data device using a data cable, usually for the purpose of connecting to the Internet on the laptop, via the phone’s wireless connection to the cell phone network. Carriers usually charge more money for accessing the Internet via tethering, as opposed to on the phone itself. Sometimes this is enforced via technology in the phone, although often it is simply the honor system and not strictly enforced”.
At first there wasNetshare, that quickly wasbannedfrom the App Store. TheniPhoneModemcame along but we haven’t heard much about them… Given how uneasy it was to set it up, I didn’t even give it a try.
But here is some hope from a new app called PDAnet by June Fabrics.PDAnetis actually not new as it has been one of the most popular software for Windows Mobile phones and Palm OS phones. It is now ported to the iPhone! The 1.2 version turns your iPhone into a true WiFi router for your computer (MAC or PC), and allows your laptop to go online wirelessly through the 3G network on the iPhone.
What are the benefit of usint PDAnet to tether your iPhone?
How to set up PDAnet?
This is a PDAnet tutorial for Windows XP. I assume steps are very simmilar on Vista. I don’t have a Mac so I can’t help you set up PDAnet on a Mac. I also posted a quickvideo on YouTube. The video + this tutorial should help you install PDAnet without any issue.
First, you need to create an ad-hoc network.
Ok, now, the not-so-cool stuff… Although it looks pretty easy, it took me a while to have it set up. For some reason, my “iPhone” network wouldn’t show up on my iPhone in WiFi settings. After doing the steps over and over again for like 20 minutes, it finally worked. I’m not sure what I was doing wrong.
The way I did it is that I completely deleted my home WiFi network from both my PC and my iPhone, so there was no conflict between my ad-hoc network and my Wifi network. It now works like a charm. It is very very fast too. I was actually amazed at how fast it was.
PDAnet will drain your battery like crazy so you may want to plug it to your computer to charge the battery. When you’re done using it, don’t forget to turn it off…
