

Google bans tethering app from Android Market - abennett
http://www.itworld.com/mobile-amp-wireless/65504/google-bans-tethering-app-android-market
A developer is reporting that Google has banned his tethering application from the Android Market, one of the first hints that the store may not be as open as Google has promised.
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BenFeldman
Of course, you could just go download the APK from somewhere else.

I doubt many people (myself included) would have -any- issues with the App
Store's restrictions if, like the Android Market, it wasn't the exclusive and
only way for distributing applications, and you could distribute the binary
like you can distribute an EXE or DMG.

~~~
swapspace
Exactly. There's also slideme.org, an open alternative to android market.

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catz
> The application lets users connect their G1 Android phones via Wi-Fi to
> their laptops and then access the Internet from the laptop using the phone's
> cellular connection.

This is stupid. So T-Mobile has a problem with using their paid-for service
more?

I access my internet from a phone - this is just stupid. Why would they have a
problem with something that gives them extra revenue?

Connecting your phone to your computer as a modem is a standard feature for
all other phones.

~~~
jonknee
> Why would they have a problem with something that gives them extra revenue?

Because the data plan isn't metered. Tethering will cost them capacity they
aren't billing to anyone. Sort of how like you can get in trouble for using a
residential cable modem in a business--consumers get a price break and power
users pay more.

> Connecting your phone to your computer as a modem is a standard feature for
> all other phones.

Not totally true, the iPhone is just now getting this in the upcoming 3.0
release for example. Many times tethering requires a more expensive data plan
with the carrier and that may turn out to be the case with both Android and
iPhone.

~~~
catz
> Because the data plan isn't metered.

Fair enough. In my country it is (I did not think that there was a country
that did not charge for its data).I use a SIM with pre-paid on it which is
nice (no contracts, nothing).

> Sort of how like you can get in trouble for using a residential cable modem
> in a business--consumers get a price break and power users pay more.

This is actually just a devious scheme to rip companies off.

> Not totally true, the iPhone is just now getting this in the upcoming 3.0
> release for example.

Maybe. I only personally know of one person with an iPhone (again, it is more
popular in the states). Most newish (e.g. last 4 years) phones (from Nokia or
Samsung) have 3G built-in (when compared to iPhone's EDGE).

Also, connecting to the Internet using these phones' modems is straight
forward and the majority of them accept micro-USB (through which it also
charges).

~~~
jonknee
> Fair enough. In my country it is (I did not think that there was a country
> that did not charge for its data).I use a SIM with pre-paid on it which is
> nice (no contracts, nothing).

In the US it's common to require unlimited data packages for smartphones. The
G1 and iPhone are examples of that. It's also common with BlackBerry. It's
uncommon to pay by the megabyte here, you either don't have internet access or
have unlimited (well, "unlimited") access.

~~~
seren6ipity
It may be uncommon but there are limited data plan options where you pay by
megabytes. (T-Mobile has a couple)

~~~
jonknee
But those options are not available on all phones. The G1 for example requires
T-Mobile's unlimited data plan which costs $24.99/month. (FWIW the iPhone is
the same way, but AT&t's plan is more expensive.)

