Cregan89

April 06, 2010 at 2:17pm

The iPhone 3.0 OS "DOES" have the ability to tether. It's only disabled by AT&T in the US. I use tethering on my iPhone in Canada with Rogers all the time. You can't blame Apple for that one.

My guess is that this is true for two reasons. The first, AT&T has unlimited* data plans in the US. So if people are using their iPhone as a modem on their laptop, they can use up very large amounts of bandwidth compared to just iPhone usage. And then AT&T would have no way of charging for this extra bandwidth unless they went back on their claim of "unlimited data". The second reason, is that AT&T's wireless network simply can't handle the bandwidth usage that iPhone tethering would create. The US is too populated and AT&T is too greedy to substantially upgrade their network. In Canada you can't buy "unlimited data" plans, and our wireless networks are capable of handling all of the bandwidth.

And that's why Canada is the greatest ;). Were big enough, but not too big. So our networks aren't crowded at all compared to the US. With that being said, we don't have very much network competition. It's basically either Bell or Rogers, and all the other smaller companies use one of those two networks so they're limited to basically the exact same service. So in Canada we pay a bit more for our internet, tv, phone, and wireless services. 

codepath

April 06, 2010 at 8:52am

I find it curious that you think that the iPod Touch is great but the iPhone sucks when they are essentially the same thing, right. Except that the iPhone adds insignificant things like cellular, GPS, and camera.

A friend of mine gave me an extra iPhone that he had. But I do not the phone service (I am currently locked into Verizon), so I am basically using it as a iPod Touch. Well, more like a Super iPod Touch because I get the extra functionality of the GPS and camera. Unfortunately, he gave it to me just after I upgraded my Verizon phone to an LG Chocolate Touch which the touch recognition sucks BTW when compared to the iPhone (it constantly misinterprets a swipe as a tap, but I digress).

I do get a taste of what it would be like if I had AT&T (assuming I can get a 3G signal in the first place) when I am Skyping and it works great.

Now, I hate Apple and their oppressive, despotic death grip on which apps I have the unmitigated nerve to find useful. But, for the first time ever, I have a handheld computer that actually works, and works well. I have apps that do pretty much everything that I need when I am not in front of a desktop. Google something real quick? Done. Check for that email? Done. RSS feeds, all my media, banking? Done, done, and done.

I would love to play with and Android for a while and someday I will pick one up used just to play with it as a handheld computer.

Now, the iPad is useless without Flash and higher capacity. I want a Slate.

BAMT

April 06, 2010 at 1:45pm

The spam filter blocks me over half of the times I try to comment. Maybe it has something against Linux?

Anyway, I'm just hoping for flash. My mother wants one but won't buy it until it gets flash.

Keith E. Whisman

April 06, 2010 at 8:21am

What MaximumMac.com?

Cage

April 06, 2010 at 8:19am

There is no competition.

Laterz spammer.