[The Final Dakar]

Steve Jobs thought it would look silly?

[Simon]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

Pass on the 3G or pass on the iPad? I can see someone going with a WiFi only model instead, but I doubt many would cancel the entire purchase.

I guess I just don't see the big deal. It's not something that exists on the iPod touch now and people aren't complaining about it.

Let me serve as an example. I already have a 3G phone with tethering. Would I buy an iPad with 3G for casual use? Heck no. So AT&T loses, but Apple can still make the sale. Would I buy an iPad with wi-fi for casual use (via BT tethering)? Possibly. But would I buy it if I know I'll never be able to use it when I'm away from wi-fi (IOW w/o tethering)? Heck no. So now Apple loses.

I see what you're saying with the example of the iPod touch, but I still believe it's a different case. If I had been in the market for an iPod touch and wanted to tether, I would have just gotten an iPhone and thrown the old phone out. But now with the iPad, should I get the 3G version and throw away the iPhone? Heck no, I need a phone. So I don't really think the two situations can be considered identical.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Simon 

But can we agree that technically, enabling the iPad to tether off BT is nothing special?

Agreed.

If indeed the iPad cannot tether off of BT it's just incredibly lame.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by Simon 

Absolutely. Right now we're just wondering if it will be possible or not.

I guess I started it by tacitly assuming the iPad would be able to tether off of BT. Several people then chimed in to point out that this is not at all a given. I guess they have a point. Apple could chose to omit it, it's not like they've never pulled a greedy stunt before.

Yup.

But if they indeed end up really omitting it I just find that incredibly shortsighted considering that it's not Apple but AT&T that rakes in most of the extra profit from selling 3G to people a second time. OTOH it's Apple that loses when people decide to pass.

IIRC there were some analysts out there that claimed Apple got a small cut of the plan revenue. Dunno if there's any truth to that though.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Eug 

The other possibility is that Apple will implement tethering support on the iPad, but only sometime in the future. That way Apple's PR dept. can claim they're responding to consumer desires, while still pushing the upsell for the early adopter crowd.

You think Apple cares if we tether? It is all AT&T causing the problems. It already works here in canada with the iPhone and the americans are still waiting.

And for that silly Wifi hotspot maker idea on the palm:
"Creating and using a mobile hotspot easily killed the battery within an hour. This made us question the practicality of that feature"

Palm Palm Pre Plus vs. Palm Pixi Plus | Wired.com Product Reviews

[Eug]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

You think Apple cares if we tether? It is all AT&T causing the problems. It already works here in canada with the iPhone and the americans are still waiting.

Tethering wasn't initially supported on the iPhone.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Tethering wasn't initially supported on the iPhone.

Aren't we talking about two different kinds of tethering?

iPhone tethering means sharing your iPhone's 3g connection with another machine. The discussion here is about allowing the iPad to use the connection of a tethered cell phone.

I just wouldn't expect there to be an option for this on the iPad simply because there is none in the current iPhone/iPod OS and I doubt the demand for it is very high.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Tethering wasn't initially supported on the iPhone.

Ya it was a long 2 month wait from what I remember. Americans are still waiting.

We also got MMS before them.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by Eug 

IIRC there were some analysts out there that claimed Apple got a small cut of the plan revenue. Dunno if there's any truth to that though.

$110 per new customer plus, iirc, 10% per month.

Not exactly a "small cut".

[Eug]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

Aren't we talking about two different kinds of tethering?

Yes we are. But he brought it up, and then I pointed out that Apple didn't support tethering on that either initially.

I just wouldn't expect there to be an option for this on the iPad simply because there is none in the current iPhone/iPod OS and I doubt the demand for it is very high.

I agree. However, I still think they could add it later if demand became higher. The point for Simon though is that we shouldn't count our Blue eggs before they're hatched. I think it's unlikely the iPad will support tethering at launch.

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

$110 per new customer plus, iirc, 10% per month.

Not exactly a "small cut".

If those numbers are accurate, the Apple will try hard not to include tethering in the iPad, if their deal with AT&T for the iPad is remotely similar.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Ya it was a long 2 month wait from what I remember. Americans are still waiting.

We also got MMS before them.

Actually, it was a two-YEAR wait if you didn't catch the ten-hour window where that proxy app was available.

[Eug]

aS was talking about Canada.

The iPhone came out a year later in Canada, and the OS has the "Internet Tethering" option included a bit later, and fully supported by Rogers & Fido. (The iPhone started with the 3G in Canada. No EDGE iPhone.)

Which reminds me... I have to try this again. The last time I tried it, it didn't actually work. However, I do know it works, because I know others on Fido and Rogers who have gotten it work just fine on their machines, with no hacks whatsoever. I wonder what I was doing wrong.

[Spheric Harlot]

Here, it needs to be enabled for your contract in order for the option to work.

[Eug]

My contract doesn't forbid tethering. I have a data plan which isn't locked to the iPhone.

They told me it should work but I didn't pursue it, because my workplace was paying for half my hotel WiFi costs when I went on business trips, and I was forced to use WiFi for trips outside Canada anyway because my data plan is Canada-only.

[slugslugslug]

Originally Posted by Simon 

But can we agree that technically, enabling the iPad to tether off BT is nothing special?

There’ve been a bajillion other posts I haven’t gotten round to reading yet since you posted this, but: absolutely, we can agree on that. I wasn’t arguing it from a technical standpoint in the first place and I imagine that Eug wasn’t either. I just don’t think it very likely that Apple will expose this functionality anywhere in the UI (even while it may very well be compiled into the layers beneath).

[slugslugslug]

Originally Posted by Eug 

I agree. However, I still think they could add it later if demand became higher. The point for Simon though is that we shouldn't count our Blue eggs before they're hatched. I think it's unlikely the iPad will support tethering at launch.

This is why I lurk here more than I post: eventually somebody will say what I meant far more clearly than I would have.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by slugslugslug 

This is why I lurk here more than I post: eventually somebody will say what I meant far more clearly than I would have.

Same with me.

Everything that I don't post is just because someone else can say it better.

It's not like I didn't know about it

-t

[Simon]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

I just wouldn't expect there to be an option for this on the iPad simply because there is none in the current iPhone/iPod OS and I doubt the demand for it is very high.

How can demand be so low? Why would somebody not want to tether their iPad? Do you really believe most people will rather pay twice for 3G than just tether their iPad off their cell phone for free? Keep in mind that outside the US and Germany many carriers include tethering with their unlimited 3G data plans.

If Apple would make so much more money with the 3G version I could see their incentive to omit it. But why should consumers not want it?

[The Final Dakar]

I don't think the average consumer understands or maybe even knows about tethering.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

$110 per new customer plus, iirc, 10% per month.

For the iPad? Link?

[Simon]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

I don't think the average consumer understands or maybe even knows about tethering.

If that average customer is the kind that buys unlimited 3G data plans I'd be surprised if he/she didn't even know about it.

[The Final Dakar]

Maybe not unlimited, but there's also the $15 one.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

$110 per new customer plus, iirc, 10% per month.

Not exactly a "small cut".

That's unbelievably high.

Just think: this means that AT&T only breaks even after 8 months of the lowest $15 plan.
Since the plan is pay-as-you-go, I doubt AT&T is going to recoup their money.

-t

[Oisín]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

Same with me.

Everything that I don't post is just because someone else can say it better.

It's not like I didn't know about it

-t

Another reason would be, of course, that with your posting rate, if you actually posted all those times you chose to lurk instead, the MacNN hamsters would keel over and die from exhaustion twice a week.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Oisín 

Another reason would be, of course, that with your posting rate, if you actually posted all those times you chose to lurk instead, the MacNN hamsters would keel over and die from exhaustion twice a week.

-t

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Eug 

My contract doesn't forbid tethering. I have a data plan which isn't locked to the iPhone.

They told me it should work but I didn't pursue it, because my workplace was paying for half my hotel WiFi costs when I went on business trips, and I was forced to use WiFi for trips outside Canada anyway because my data plan is Canada-only.

If you turn on tethering on the iPhone and it says right away "contact Fido" you have to call them and tell them to turn it on as it only applies to 1gig/month data plans.

If it doesn't say that it should work just fine. Get it to work with USB first and then Bluetooth. Never failed for me.

[Eug]

Yeah, I already called them when I first tried it and they said it should work.

Anyways, I'll try it again after I update the OS.

[Eden Aurora]

how do you turn on tethering on the iphone?
where is that setting?

[Cold Warrior]

Originally Posted by Eden Aurora 

how do you turn on tethering on the iphone?
where is that setting?

It's only available on some providers, not at&t. You'd have to jailbreak it to get tethering if your provider doesn't support it.

[Eug]

So I updated the iPhone and tried tethering again. Works fine over Bluetooth.
(Natively supported with Fido in Canada. As mentioned, this is not a jailbroken iPhone.)





The main issue for me now is that tethering only makes sense in Canada. I have a 6 GB plan for $30. However, when I go to the US I'm still going to have to pay for hotel WiFi. If I roam on US carriers for data, it's gonna cost a fortune. So, I won't. There are some Canada/US data plans they just started offering, but they're insanely expensive for data amounts that would be useful for tethering.

[slugslugslug]

Why don’t you vote with your CAD and only stay in hotels with free Wi-Fi? I think they’re getting less rare these days.

[Eug]

When I look, most of the nicer hotels have paid WiFi. And often I don't have a choice anyway, since the meeting or whatever is at a specific hotel.

[Cold Warrior]

wow, that must be a Canada thing. I've stayed in hotels throughout the US, some dumpy and some really nice, and have never encountered paid wifi except, rarely, in their business conference rooms.

If they have free ethernet though, you could always pack an Airport Express. I do, even in hotels with wifi, because I want convenience (wifi) and security (wpa2).

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior 

wow, that must be a Canada thing. I've stayed in hotels throughout the US, some dumpy and some really nice, and have never encountered paid wifi except, rarely, in their business conference rooms.

If they have free ethernet though, you could always pack an Airport Express. I do, even in hotels with wifi, because I want convenience (wifi) and security (wpa2).

I find that the nicer the hotel is (up to a point), the more chance internet access will cost money, and in my experience that's true in both the US and Canada. Furthermore, that applies to both wired and wireless, so having an Airport Express doesn't help. I do recall seeing some "business" packages include free internet access when regular rooms in the same hotel didn't, but the business packages were more expensive anyway.

For example, I'm going to the Big Island of Hawaii next week, and the resort hotel rooms have paid WiFi.

Room Features

All presented in the trademark Rockefeller style of "understated elegance," you'll discover these exciting features in every guestroom:

Private lanai
32 - 40 inch Hi-Definition television
Media hub
iPod clock radio
Wireless high-speed internet (fees apply)
Mini refrigerators stocked with bottled water replenished daily
Coffee maker and Kona Blend coffee service
L'Occitane toiletries
Luxury linen
Safe for valuables
Robes and slippers
Iron and ironing board, hair dryer

BTW, with Fido, to get tethering, the data package must include at least 1 GB of data. However, I'm thinking if I'm going to be spending a couple weeks in a month on tethering, even 1 GB might not be enough unless I ration my usage. These days it's very easy to burn through lots and lots of MB quickly on the net, unless in my case it's strictly for work related stuff.

Oh and I just looked into the one-time US data travel packs. It's only $60 for 75 MB.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior 

wow, that must be a Canada thing. I've stayed in hotels throughout the US, some dumpy and some really nice, and have never encountered paid wifi except, rarely, in their business conference rooms.

On a business trip last fall I was staying at the Grand Hyatt in San Antonio TX. Even though I was paying over $250 a night they seriously wanted to charge an extra $14/day for wifi in my room. Note that throughout downtown San Antonio there's free wifi all over the place sponsored by the city and local business. Also, every crummy motel I came across in the past few years offered free wifi.

I vowed never again to stay at a Hyatt. IMHO wifi should be included with a hotel room just like a TV or phone. Even more so when I'm paying $$$ for it.

[Cold Warrior]

That's crazy.

[Simon]

To make matters worse those $14/day didn't include my MBP and my iPhone. It was one OR the other. They hand out one IP to one MAC address. End of story. No discussion. I ended up having to connect my MBP to the network through Ethernet and sharing that connection to my iPhone over wifi.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Simon 

On a business trip last fall I was staying at the Grand Hyatt in San Antonio TX. Even though I was paying over $250 a night they seriously wanted to charge an extra $14/day for wifi in my room. Note that throughout downtown San Antonio there's free wifi all over the place sponsored by the city and local business. Also, every crummy motel I came across in the past few years offered free wifi.

I vowed never again to stay at a Hyatt. IMHO wifi should be included with a hotel room just like a TV or phone. Even more so when I'm paying $$$ for it.

LOL, sounds like Europe to me.

I agree, I wouldn't take that crap in the US Free Wifi in hotels is a must.

-t

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Simon 

On a business trip last fall I was staying at the Grand Hyatt in San Antonio TX. Even though I was paying over $250 a night they seriously wanted to charge an extra $14/day for wifi in my room. Note that throughout downtown San Antonio there's free wifi all over the place sponsored by the city and local business. Also, every crummy motel I came across in the past few years offered free wifi.

I vowed never again to stay at a Hyatt. IMHO wifi should be included with a hotel room just like a TV or phone. Even more so when I'm paying $$$ for it.

Funny you should mention that. One the last hotels I stayed at was a Hyatt, and yes they wanted I think $12.95 or something.

BTW, the Mauna Kea where I'm staying next week is $349 a night on Expedia.com... and yes, internet access is $@#^@*! $14.95 a night.

And of course since I'm at a resort, AFAIK there are no cheap internet cafés nearby. I guess I shouldn't complain though. This is a work related conference so they're paying almost half of the cost of both the hotel and the internet access... at a 5-star resort in Hawaii.

[Spheric Harlot]

Perfectly normal.

Touring productions have taken to buying an Airport Express out of tour budget and using that as a wired access point for the entire production crew.

[Eug]

That works? I can't even consistently use my AE one floor up in my house because the signal is unreliable. I use my AE only for Ethernet --> stereo iTunes streaming, and use a 3rd party wireless access point for WiFi in my house. (Actually multiple WiFi access points. I don't mind though since I just bought a bunch of $20 refurbs which work fine.)

BTW, to get back on topic... Like my iPhone, it seems like an iPad alone wouldn't be advisable for such a trip, even I could tether cheaply (or had a cheap 3G data plan for the iPad). I've been doing some looking around and some of the travel sites are partially Flash based. Thus, laptop preferred.

[Simon]

[click on image for link]

[Eug]

Link





There's probably a bit of bias in the voter selection though, since they are geek site readers.

About Retrevo Pulse Report
Data for this report came from a study of more than 1000 randomly selected Retrevo users. A first random sample of users were surveyed between Jan 16-20, 2010 before the Apple Tablet was announced. A second random sample of users were surveyed between Jan 27 – Feb 3, 2010, after the announcement. The sample was distributed across gender, age, income and location in the United States. Most questions had a confidence interval of 4% at a 95% confidence level.

Also, the number of people saying they'd buy an iPad increased after the announcement, according to the pie-chart in Simon's post.

[turtle777]

9% would like to buy one ?

That's not bad at all.

-t

[The Final Dakar]

I have absolutely nothing to compare those stats to. I'd love if there was something similar from when the iPhone was announced.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

9% would like to buy one ?

That's not bad at all.

Actually, that's 9% of a group that is probably at least partially outside of the target demographic - even more impressive.

[Simon]

Norwegian shops overwhelmed by iPad pre-orders | Electronista

[The Final Dakar]

Those scandies and their technology.

[Spheric Harlot]

Virtually *every* Norwegian household has a weekend cabin somewhere on the fjell or on a fjord. There's electricity, there's excellent cellphone reception, but probably no second computer.

Do the math, and it's an ideal market for the iPad.

[turtle777]

I did the math.

Where can I order my cabin + iPad combo ?

-t

[Oisín]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

I did the math.

Where can I order my cabin + iPad combo ?

-t

Any time you wish.

That’ll be $999 for the basic iPad (Norwegian version), and $6,000,000 for the cabin. $6,500,000 if you want a welcoming fruit salad on the table when you get there.