tethering

Apple rumor site MacBlogz is claiming to have details on the iPhone tethering plans that were announced by AT&T CEO Ralph De La Vega last week. Not surprisingly, the plans for the iPhone are in line with the data plans they offer for other 3G devices. The source, which they claim is from within the company, says it will be an additional $30/month for 5GB worth of tethering for iPhone users. Plans with the tethering option built in may debut in the future as well. More details after the break.

Tethering your iPhone for internet use can be a real life-saver when there's no Wi-Fi around, but for those who aren't the most tech-savy, the tinkering with proxy settings and the like can be a little too complicated. Thankfully those times may be coming to a close. Unofficial tethering app iModem has just released an update that lets you tether your iPhone via USB cable.

AT&T recently confirmed rumors that they would soon be offering a tethering program for the iPhone 3G. AT&T Mobility President/CEO Ralph De Al Vega commented at the Web 2.0 Summit earlier today that AT&T and Apple are working together to let the iPhone serve as a wireless modem for laptops.

A few months ago, a curious iPhone user decided to go straight to the top and ask Steve Jobs why there was no tethering plan for the iPhone available. Steve replied to his email saying they were working on it, but an inside source says AT&T is afraid their network won't be able to hold up to it.

As thrilled as we were to see an app that allowed the iPhone to share it's 3G network with a laptop, Apple and AT&T weren't crazy about the idea. Now, however, it looks like Apple may have an alternative solution in the works that may or may not involve the iPhone.

The reason NetShare was so great was that for the first time it was possible for people who don't hack their iPhone to share its "unlimited" internet capabilities with a laptop in the absence of a Wi-Fi. But, now that it's gone, it can only be done by jailbreaking, and the ones playing it safe are left in the dark. One user decided to share this information with Steve Jobs, and it looks like he got a reply.

NetShare, the app for tethering your iPhone to your laptop for use as a wireless modem, was removed yet again, but NullRiver, Inc is making progress to try and get it back up. They announced on their website that they are actively working with Apple to try and get it available to the public again.

We're not sure why, but as mysteriously as it left last night, Nullriver Inc.'s NetShare is back on the App Store and available for download once again. Strangely, it's only available via this direct link here- NetShare- App Store, and it will not show up in searches. At first glance at it's iTunes page, it does not appear to have any noticeable differences and it still says it's version 1.0, so we don't think they edited it in any way to comply with demands from Apple. Let us know if it works for you in the comments.

In an unexpected twist of events, Nullriver has officially released NetShare, an Apple-approved iPhone tethering application, onto the App Store. The purpose of the application is to share an iPhone's Internet connection with other devices over Wi-Fi, essentially making the iPhone into an on-the-go Wi-Fi hotspot. A similar solution exists for hacked iPhones, although it requires jailbreking and Terminal knowledge to implement.

Now that there is an iPhone that runs on the much faster 3G networks, one of the things we want to do with it is naturally plug it into our laptop and use it as a modem when Wi-Fi isn't around. After all, we're paying for "unlimited" 3G data, right? Well if you're one of those people, you're in luck. Nate True has put together a method for tethering your iPhone 3G to a laptop for use as a 3G modem has been found.