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Has anybody here ditched an internet connection because of the iPhone?
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Smallish town in Ohio
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I might be going to grad school soon and getting my own apartment. Since I have an iPhone and use it very often, I was wondering if it wouldn't be a bad idea to NOT pay 30-60 dollars a month on an internet connection and just use the iPhone's connection if I really needed it. I'm going to probably spend a lot of time in the library or around campus using the university wifi connection. Is anyone here in this situation? Since youre already spending 60 bucks a month for your iPhone, why spend another 30-60 for another internet connection?
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Isle of Manhattan
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I didn't think it was an option to not have the internet option. Isn't 3G mandatory?
(if I understand your question correctly, that is)
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"Faster, faster! 'Till the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." - HST
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: USA
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I think you're misunderstanding him. I take it to mean he's thinking of only using the iPhone for internet access.
That said, the iPhone's internet connection is only as good as the wireless, 3G, or Edge signal it can find. Not to mention the screen is crazy-small for day-to-day browsing -- and most Flash sites still don't work.
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Isle of Manhattan
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Gotcha.
yes, I wouldn't want to rely upon the small screen either.
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"Faster, faster! 'Till the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." - HST
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Caught in a web of deceit.
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Even if you can tether, I find it too unreliable to um... errr... rely... on the iPhone for all my internet needs.
You could save a few bux by getting a lower speed wired broadband connection. Stable 512 Kbps would be more pleasant than wildly variable 3G.
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: San Diego, CA, USA
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If you're happy only ever accessing the Internet via MobileSafari and MobileMail, I guess. You can't tether the iPhone AFAIK.
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Chuck
___
"Instead of either 'multi-talented' or 'multitalented' use 'bisexual'."
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Caught in a web of deceit.
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You can tether two ways:
1) Jailbreak
2) Using that tethering app that was on iTunes for a while. I think it still works if you have it, but I could be mistaken.
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Smallish town in Ohio
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If all you need to do is check your mail and some stocks, or the weather, and maybe some Digg headlines through mobile-friendly sites which load quickly, then I don't see what I would be missing out on. I still would have my Mac for playing games... offline..... damn that would suck 
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Moderator  Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Las Vegas, NV
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You may be able to find some open wireless networks from your apartment.
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"And after we are through, ten years in making it to be the most of glorious debuts."
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Senior User
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Lost in Thought
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It's not an iPhone, but I do use my 3G mobile phone for internet at my home. It's good enough for online banking, email and looking up information occasionally. Unfortunately tethering is not an option for me, and probably isn't for you too, unless you choose to hack your phone.
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Little children are savages. They are paleolithic creatures.
- E. O. Wilson
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cambridge, UK
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I used my 3G Sony Ericsson tethered to my MacBook for 2 weeks when my ISP stuffed up my connection, it was better than nothing but pretty slow.
You won't be getting OS X software updates over 3G, trust me.
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Smallish town in Ohio
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Originally Posted by seanc 
I used my 3G Sony Ericsson tethered to my MacBook for 2 weeks when my ISP stuffed up my connection, it was better than nothing but pretty slow.
You won't be getting OS X software updates over 3G, trust me.
Right, that's when I would bring it to campus and use the university wireless connection 
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Los Angeles
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What are you pursuing in grad school, macintologist?
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"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." TJ
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: England
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I used a 3G phone tethered for 2 months -- we were living in a temporary house and putting in a phone line for net access would have cost £180 apparently.
It was fine speed-wise, although the latency was rather shocking.
I also had it shared round via Airport, and we'd have multiple people using it at once. For browsing/chatting/email/MSN it was fine. (We did have a "no big downloads" rule just in case.)
However, you can't tether the iphone without jailbreaking it. If you're willing to do that, it does work (used that for a bit when on holiday), although the setup is a little fiddly. I wouldn't want to use it as a permanent thing.
Amorya
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What the nerd community most often fail to realize is that all features aren't equal. A well implemented and well integrated feature in a convenient interface is worth way more than the same feature implemented crappy, or accessed through a annoying interface.
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Smallish town in Ohio
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Originally Posted by Big Mac
What are you pursuing in grad school, macintologist?
Library science
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Addicted to MacNN  Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Cooperstown '09
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
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The nature of being a student is that of putting off stuff till the last minute, and then scrambling like crazy to get stuff done.
So, at 2 a.m. you're gonna need a fast connection and tethering isn't gonna suit.
You'd be better off thinking about sharing the cost of a fast connection among roommates and neighbors.
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