29$hotspot fee or tethering app

[choij2000]

is the 29$ tethering fee an add on to the sprint bill, monthly? or do you have to sign another long term contract?

the cnet article mentions looking at some tethering apps....are there any apps out there that will convert your phone to a hot spot? i'd rather pay for an app than root my phone (or pay $29/mo).

thanks in advance.

 

[Rigmaster]

Sprint told me it was an add-on that can be added and removed as needed. If that's the case, that would be good because I can see the fee being coughed up more easily if it's not ongoing.

 

[choij2000]

Sprint told me it was an add-on that can be added and removed as needed. If that's the case, that would be good because I can see the fee being coughed up more easily if it's not ongoing.

that's good to hear.
but i wonder if 'easy tether' or 'pdanet' will work with android 2.1? i looked in appbrain.com and found these two apps that let you use your phone as a modem/hotspot. there wasn't much of a description. maybe i'll try the 29$ add on fee at first, and then see if anyone w/ an evo reviews these apps.

 

[neodorian]

There are lots of free and cheap tethering apps. Only problem is that without Wimax dev hardware I would guess they don't have any out that will share the wimax connection over wifi or USB or whatever just yet. Still, you will be able to tether with 3G on day one and probably there will be 3rd party apps that do this with the wimax radio down the line.

Think of it like how Sprint would sell PAM (phone as modem) addon plans for smart phones that support it but you could just use WMWifiRouter or PDANet or whatever for cheaper as long as you don't go over the 5gb soft cap too much. With the $10 addon for uncapped data I can't see that mattering anymore.

The Sprint option is essentially a premium service that they will have working with 4g out of the box if you need it and find it worth paying for. It's not the only option though.

 

[jamesdean]

that's good to hear.
but i wonder if 'easy tether' or 'pdanet' will work with android 2.1? i looked in appbrain.com and found these two apps that let you use your phone as a modem/hotspot. there wasn't much of a description. maybe i'll try the 29$ add on fee at first, and then see if anyone w/ an evo reviews these apps.

PDAnet works on 2.1. It worked on my Droid, it worked on my Incredible and it will work on the EVO which will replace the Incredible that I just returned.

 

[skinnyguy]

maybe by the time you need to use the hotspot, 2.2 will be out

hopefully it won't be crippled or left out by sprint...or any additional charges added on...

 

[KARbabee]

Does anyone know if you have 2 phones on the account will you have to pay $30 for each phone to have it? Or is it just $30 a month & both phones on the account can use it?

 

[Lindseybp]

This is at probably twice as expensive as it should be in my opinion. If this was $14.99 there would be a lot more takers, myself included. If it was $9.99 I think a LOT of people would get it even though they might rarely use it. I just can't see paying $29.99 a month, especially if you don't have 4g in your area. I think if they had bundled the wifi hotspot as part of what you get for the extra $10 charge then a lot of people wouldn't mind the additional charge.

 

[jamesdean]

Why would anyone pay for this service when tethering is so easily available?

 

[katmandoo122]

Does anyone know if you have 2 phones on the account will you have to pay $30 for each phone to have it? Or is it just $30 a month & both phones on the account can use it?

The fee is per serial number, so it would be per phone, not account. I'm guessing, though, that the $30 charge will go away or diminish substantially within 6 months. Total conjecture, but I just think that Sprint is trying to dissuade massive wireless hits in the first couple months (a la iPhone and iPhone 2).

 

[VGPOP]

I hope I don't get flame for this question, but what exactly does the hotspot do? And what do they mean you can connect to 8 devices?

 

[KARbabee]

This is at probably twice as expensive as it should be in my opinion. If this was $14.99 there would be a lot more takers, myself included. If it was $9.99 I think a LOT of people would get it even though they might rarely use it. I just can't see paying $29.99 a month, especially if you don't have 4g in your area. I think if they had bundled the wifi hotspot as part of what you get for the extra $10 charge then a lot of people wouldn't mind the additional charge.

But compared to someone paying $60 a month for a 3g hotspot connection, $30 isnt so bad! Plus when 4G comes out in your area (or if it is already out) It really isnt bad!

And I don't understand how People can pay $600+ for a new phone but complain about a $10 a month charge!

 

[KARbabee]

The fee is per serial number, so it would be per phone, not account. I'm guessing, though, that the $30 charge will go away or diminish substantially within 6 months. Total conjecture, but I just think that Sprint is trying to dissuade massive wireless hits in the first couple months (a la iPhone and iPhone 2).

Oh ok thank You!

I hope I don't get flame for this question, but what exactly does the hotspot do? And what do they mean you can connect to 8 devices?

It means pretty much you can turn your phone into a wireless router. Like a lynksys type thing. And say if you have the service and are at a friends house who doesn't have internet. You can hook your laptop or any other device that needs the internet wirelessly to your phone and have 3g/4g internet service on those devices!

 

[jamesdean]

Who is paying $600+ for the EVO?

 

[KARbabee]

Who is paying $600+ for the EVO?

I know of some people who are paying that much because they are getting it out of contract. Or some people have deposits to pay & some even have cancellation fees from other carriers + the price of the phone.

 

[ImmaSlave4U]

Why would anyone pay for this service when tethering is so easily available?

Personally, I don't find rooting phones easy. If there's a way to tether the EVO w/o rooting, it's not exactly well known. I keep hearing things like "PDAnet" thrown out there, but I'm new to Android and am not even sure how to get PDAnet.

 

[jamesdean]

I guess I got lucky, my deal with a national partners program yielded me $400.00 in port credits for 4 lines, 3 Hero's free, the EVO for $100.00 and 23% off the monthly plan charges. That will more than cover my ETF with Verizon and the $100.00 for the EVO.

 

[jamesdean]

Personally, I don't find rooting phones easy. If there's a way to tether the EVO w/o rooting, it's not exactly well known. I keep hearing things like "PDAnet" thrown out there, but I'm new to Android and am not even sure how to get PDAnet.

PDAnet is a market application. Download it from the market. Free for 30 days and then $30.00 if you want https access. It just installs as any app, you connect your phone to the PC with the USB cable and viola, it works. Actually it works quite well. Rooting is another option to tether but is not necessary with PDAnet.

The website for pdanet is http://www.junefabrics.com/android/index.php

 

[IOWA]

Why would anyone pay for this service when tethering is so easily available?

Personally, I don't find rooting phones easy. If there's a way to tether the EVO w/o rooting, it's not exactly well known. I keep hearing things like "PDAnet" thrown out there, but I'm new to Android and am not even sure how to get PDAnet.

Pdanet is in market.

Tapatalk. Samsung Moment. Yep.

 

[KARbabee]

I guess I got lucky, my deal with a national partners program yielded me $400.00 in port credits for 4 lines, 3 Hero's free, the EVO for $100.00 and 23% off the monthly plan charges. That will more than cover my ETF with Verizon and the $100.00 for the EVO.

Damn how'd you get ALL that!!??? What's a national partners program???

 

[nycbhh]

With PDAnet do you have to connect the phone via USB or can it be used to create a hotspot? If it's not able to create a hotspot, is there another app that can? I'm basically trying to figure out how I'm going to be able to tether my iPhone 3G off of the EVO. I doubt I would be doing this enough to justify the $30 a month fee.

 

[jamesdean]

Damn how'd you get ALL that!!??? What's a national partners program???

One of our vendors is a well known national company. They have a partners program affilated with many natiional companies to save us money, one of which is Sprint.

 

[jamesdean]

With PDAnet do you have to connect the phone via USB or can it be used to create a hotspot? If it's not able to create a hotspot, is there another app that can? I'm basically trying to figure out how I'm going to be able to tether my iPhone 3G off of the EVO. I doubt I would be doing this enough to justify the $30 a month fee.

PDAnet works with either blue tooth or wireless. You have to install it on both the phone and the pc. I don't think you will be able to tether the iPhone to the evo without rooting one or more devices. Why would you want to tether an iPhone to the evo anyway? Are you going to have both AT&T and Sprint as providers or are you just wanting to share the Sprint data plan with the IPhone?

 

[KARbabee]

One of our vendors is a well known national company. They have a partners program affilated with many natiional companies to save us money, one of which is Sprint.

Oh ok! Wow Congrats to you!!

 

[nycbhh]

PDAnet works with either blue tooth or wireless. You have to install it on both the phone and the pc. I don't think you will be able to tether the iPhone to the evo without rooting one or more devices. Why would you want to tether an iPhone to the evo anyway? Are you going to have both AT&T and Sprint as providers or are you just wanting to share the Sprint data plan with the IPhone?

The iPhone is jailbroken if that makes a difference. I'd like to tether it on occassion so that I can still use some iPhone apps that aren't available yet on Android. So yes, I'd like to share the Sprint data plan with the iPhone.