Question

I'm tired of paying for a smartphone that has Internet access and then paying for highspeed Internet for my laptop separately. I want a tethered smartphone (a tethered smartphone lets your laptop use its Internet connection).

What is your experience with your tethered smartphone? Happy or sad?

Related Post(s) - Has Anyone Had Any Success With Tethering The iPhone?

Answer 1

I have used JoikuSpot on a Nokia E71 to allow tethering via wifi. I do not recommend that setup, it's really slow -- my impression is that the Nokia just isn't fast enough to do this properly.

This is using a Vodafone Blox "Zorgeloos Internet" account in the netherlands, which should in theory support 3,6 Mbps downstream.

Answer 2

Bad news kid - most tethering plans will set you back as much, if not more, as a basic Cable/DSL internet connection or a 3G card.

Answer 3

I've set up bluetooth dialup networking on a Nokia smartphone (forget which, probably an N90), which worked fine. This was before 3g was widely available here in the US, but it was fine once the connection established.

Answer 4

Be warned: mobile internet is very reception dependent. I find trying to use 3G on a moving vehicle to be such an infuriating experience that I avoid it as much as possible.

I'd recommend trying out some pay-as-you go mobile internet access before committing yourself to a contract with it in.

Answer 5

I had just moved to a new location and had no internet access for my laptop. I had net enabled on my N95. So I tried to connect to the internet with N95 and use the net via my laptop. Though my laptop showed internet connected, I was unable to open the pages.

Answer 6

I'm always surprised more people don't do this.

I connect my laptops via my relatively ancient Nokia N73 quite a bit when out and about. It's allowed by my UK mobile provider, and usage comes within my (quasi)unlimited phone data allowance. I haven't checked but maybe that's unusual?

I do find Bluetooth rather slow for anything other than email, so tend to carry a USB cable with me. On the downside, it runs the battery down very rapidly, even more using Bluetooth, and the phone doesn't charge over USB.

Answer 7

Try Azilink. It does not require root access. Works just as advertised, and there is now a Debian/Ubuntu startup script that automates the whole tether setup/teardown process. And Azilink works on Windows and Macintosh to - in fact on any platform that supports OpenVPN. Just don't forget to circumvent the lame HTTP user agent blocks that your ISP's might have put in place.

Answer 8

I sometimes use my old SonyEricsson mobile to go online with my laptop. I have a Thinkpad running linux, and access the phone via bluetooth. That works really well: As long as the phone is on, the laptop can use it automatically.

I had to set up the connection manually, but that was quite easy, and is well documented in various places.

The only technical problem is that reception quality varies a lot from place to place, so I sometimes lose signal, particular in moving vehicles. But that would be the same for a data card (maybe worse, because its antenna is close to a EMI-noisy laptop).

As to cost: I have a prepaid plan for my mobile; I pay 0.24 Euro per MB, with no monthly minimum or recurring charge. Fine for me, as I mostly only use it for mail checking and occasional browsing.

I'd recommend you find and use a simple pay-as-you-go plan for a while to see how much you use it. Then take a suitable flat fee plan.