How Important is iPhone Tethering Anyway?

According to published rumors the next iPhone OS supports tethering. But how important is this feature?

Initially I thought, "Awesome! Now my Mac can access the Internet even when there's no Wifi! I'll use this all the time!" But when I tried to think of how often that happens I came up empty.

The only places I find myself without Wifi are actually places that do have it but charge for it: usually Starbuck's, airports, and hotels. And at a rumored $15/month for tethering, it would be cheaper just to pay for the WiFi.

At our cabin in Colorado we have great Wifi but no cell coverage. Same with most convention centers. (Have you ever tried to make a call from the bowels of Moscone South?)

So while Apple and AT&T have been figuring out the details of tethering, WiFi has become more ubiquitous than cell coverage—at least for me.

Comments

[epc]

If you have to pay extra for it, then I agree it's not worth it, however I've made great use of tethering using a Nokia e71 when hotels charge insane amounts for their wifi, or when conference wifi melts down.

I've also found that even if I can't make calls I can frequently make a data connection.

I wouldn't use it for large data transfers, but for checking email and syncing stuff it works quite well.

I use something called JoikuSpot (http://www.joikuspot.com/) which makes tethering no more complicated than connecting to a wifi access point. I’ve found it’s also faster than tethering over Bluetooth.

[Charlie Wood]

epc-

Interesting. I agree that tethering is nice to have as a backup, but the rumored price from AT&T will probably keep me away.

-c