Tethering

Some AT&T iPhone customers were shocked to see that the Verizon iPhone includes a Wi-Fi hotspot for up to five devices. Now that Apple has released the latest developer beta of iOS 4.3, it looks like all iPhones will be getting the feature. According to a report in BGR, Personal Hotspot is listed right under Wi-Fi under the Settings menu.

AT&T has not stated whether or not they plan to support the feature. For its part, Verizon hasn't mentioned data plan pricing yet, or whether or not tethering will cost extra. The app featured on the Verizon iPhone is actually native to iOS 4.2.5, the firmware running on the Verizon iPhone.

What if you could just plug your iPhone directly into a router with a USB cable and share the 3G data connection with every Wi-Fi device within 200 feet? Now you can, with Nexaira's Business Class 2 tethering-ready router. The router is compatible with the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.

Of course, if your iPhone is not jailbroken, you'll need to enable official tethering with your cellular carrier. AT&T offers iPhone owners tethering for $20 per month. With tethering, simply plug in the Nexaira BC2 router, connect the iPhone via the rear USB port and you're all set. Anywhere with power and a 3G signal becomes a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Now that Geohot has released the blackra1n RC3 jailbreaking tool, activating tethering on an iPhone 3G or 3GS is a snap. Many international users already have tethering, meaning they can share their iPhone data connection with a computer. AT&T does not offer this option in the US.

Fortunately it's never been simpler to tether if your iPhone is running the latest firmware (3.1.2). Follow these steps to activate tethering, just keep in mind you are breaking all kinds of agreements with AT&T and Apple in the process.

AT&T does not currently allow tethering on the iPhone even though Apple's iPhone OS 3.0 includes the feature. The company is still deciding what a tethering data plan for iPhone would cost and how it would be structured.

Tired of waiting? If you have an iPhone 3G or 3GS running OS 3.0 and a computer running iTunes 8.2 on Mac OS X here's how to activate tethering. You will be able to connect your computer to the AT&T data network using USB or Bluetooth via your iPhone.

In the brief hours that Nullriver's NetShare iPhone app was available on the iTunes store it generated quite a buzz. Apple quickly had the application pulled, even though Nullriver claims it never violated Apple's developer guidelines. Some have cited AT&T's terms of service as the likely reason for Apple's action. According to new rumors, a tethering solution may be on the horizon for iPhone users with no interest in jailbreaking their phones.

An online forum user allegedly received a brief email from Steve Jobs himself, stating that Apple was currently discussing iPhone tethering with AT&T. The carrier already offers tethered data plans for Blackberry devices on their network at an additional cost of $30 per month.