Mobile Tethering
Recently I just switched cell phone companies to get a lot more talk, text and data at a much reduced cost which is something I need right now. (Side note: I was with the other provider maybe 15 years and they were *quite* curt with me on my departure. Cringe . . . )
Anyway, I had to look into using my cell as a mobile “hotspot.” I prefer carriers that can use GSM phones (you can now deduce my move) so I can buy unlocked phones to get new features, or replace broken ones for cheaper than the insurance cost. My current phone is a Huawei u8800 and its a cheap 4G phone I bought for $150 last year and runs for about $114 via Amazon prime today. Its a great backup. It runs a lower version of Andriod, Froyo or something, but I don’t care. It replaced an slick Motorola that I had consistent problems with (I loved the Motorola but it was sooo undependable).
Anyway, back to these hotspots. In the old days I could hook a USB line to my phone and use it as a modem. Same thing here. I am currently looking at two pices of software –
- FoxFi
- Tether
Both are comparable for my uses, both have free licenses with limited (like 1/2 hour use then shuts off). FoxFi is a bit cheaper, Tether makes a few more support gurantees.
Setup
Setup is easy. There’s an app for your Android (or whatever OS) phone, and an app for your computer (I use Windows 7). Install was painless.
Use Cases
My network somehow blocks me from using an unlocked phone as a WiFi or Bluetooth hotpot, but it works with a USB tether. But it works fine.
Something to keep in mind though: if you are doing this, are you really going to need to be streaming tons of data the whole time? Probably not .
For me, I can start it up, do some emails and a Dropbox sync, and then stop. Unless I am on vacation in a remote area I cannot see a use for me to need this all the time. Also, most places have WiFi so you won’t need to use it.
Also, even a 4G LTE network is a lot slower than most WiFi. So do you really want to live like that? I can almost hear the modem noises going off.
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Still, this fits the bill quite nicely for my needs of occasional mobility. A salesperson might need it a bit more, in which case throw these companies some cash (which I may do soon once I decide on which software I like).
Last to note, one of the software sites said they could not guarantee your cell provider wouldn’t find a way to shut off this type of tethering/hotspot solution. I understand, and also think its too bad. We can’t find new use cases without blowing away the old barriers. I mean, just now some of the older providers are coming up with features like “get a new phone once a year instead of every two.” I have no idea why they think that is a feature or a revelation, we’ve all been talking about it for 20 years. I guess — why does a dog lick his balls?