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ryan

Did you get iTether before Apple pulled it from the App Store? What do you think?

I snagged it this morning, but haven't yet had a chance to check it out. Will post impressions later!

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45 replies
rossrubin

I downloaded it. I knew that baby wasn't long for the app store. Haven't tried it yet, though.
3 like dislike
ryan

Yeah, that was my thinking. Watch this stuff long enough and you can tell. I especially loved how on Twitter they said "We were very clear with Apple what our app did. They asked us a bunch of questions and then approved us." (https:­/­/twitter.com­/­#!­/Tethercom­/status­/1414151593...) I mean, I believe that that happened, but it was still a very obvious mistake that Apple was bound to quickly correct!
1 like dislike
rossrubin

For some time, "the one that got away" for me was iDOS. But I was ok with how they brought it back.
0 like dislike
dav1dz

I feel bad for you guys south of the border. Canadian carriers all offer tether for free, so long as it's a data add-on higher than 1GB (required by 1 of the 3 national carriers).
3 like dislike
ryan

Yeah, it's pretty pathetic. I've long held that if you're going to make me pay by the bit, then I should be able to move those bits any way I want and on any device I want (like your home internet connection). Charging extra for tethering only feels appropriate for unlimited plans -- but those were all a joke anyway, since most of US carriers had soft limits on "unlimited" plans.
4 like dislike
connorg

I didn't download it (still waiting on an iOS 5 jailbreak to give me MyWi back... I already paid $20 for it after all). I'd really like to know what kind of stuff goes on in the App Review department that lets something like this through. Someone bored at work just hitting the Approve button over and over again?
2 like dislike
baileylo

robo approving
0 like dislike
grunneg

Do apps that get yanked like this eventually disappear from your itunes library...or once we've purchased it, is it ours for good?
1 like dislike
ryan

No, they stay in your local library. Apple can remotely disable an app, but to the best of my knowledge this has never happened for a non-nefarious app accidentally approved (and later pulled). So you should be fine.
4 like dislike
wmgolden

I did try it and it worked just fine. Now I'm really questioning whether to jailbreak or not when the time comes. I hope AT&T will not be able to figure out who is using this.
1 like dislike
grunneg

Was it as fast as 3g can be?
0 like dislike
wmgolden

Yes, there was no difference tether'd or not :)
0 like dislike
grunneg

man this is nice. I was waiting for the Galaxy Nexus for what seems like forever, but this is a welcome cherry.
0 like dislike
eagle63

how does an app like this even make it through? Given what I read about how controlling and exhaustive Apple is with their app-approval process I don't understand how this happens? Especially with a name like iTether!
1 like dislike
atomictrick

I thought about it for a hot minute, then realized it didn't provide WI-FI hotspot capability to my iPhone.
1 like dislike
patdodd

Got it before it was pulled. Seems to work as advertised, I'm going to be staying in my in-laws condo for a couple of days where there is no interent access, so I'll hit it hard for a couple of days and then be done. Then I'll sit back and wait for AT&T to send me a friendly reminder. I only need something like this once or twice a year, so I'll be interested to see if it continues to work in the future.
1 like dislike
ryan

Agreed. I don't really need it regularly, it's just a few-times-per-year thing that I know will come in handy at some point.
0 like dislike
english06

Wokrs absoutletly great. One time fee and I am off and running.

Side note: I am seeing 10 down and about 2 up on AT&T 3G, outstanding numbers.
1 like dislike
grunneg

10 down? Serious?
1 like dislike
english06

Yeah I was as shocked as you are. Numbers like that rival most available public wifi and even some home connections.
0 like dislike
lungfish

I just confirmed the same speeds. Download between 12 & 14, upload between 2 and 4. Pretty amazing.
1 like dislike
patdodd

So, are you using a 4s? The only way I can see getting those speeds is with HSPA+. I do have to say that when I tested it today I unplugged my 10 Mb ethernet connection and did not see any significant drop in speed. Didn't run a speed test though. I assumed I don't have HSPA+ since I Iive in the WV but maybe so (Verizon does offer LTE here)
1 like dislike
lungfish

Yes I am. And where I'm at has a very strong signal.
2 like dislike
english06

Nope, just my good old iPhone 4.
0 like dislike
MadHat

Was your phone disconnected from WiFi? When I first tested it I got similar numbers and realized that my iPhone was sharing it WiFi connection rather than 3G. Once I disabled WiFi on my phone, I got predictably crumby numbers given the crumby reception I have at home.
1 like dislike
english06

Yeah, I rock 150-200 down and 100 up (college campus). I would have red flagged numbers like that quickly.
0 like dislike
lungfish

Yes I did. It works as advertised. A couple of thoughts.
  • Need to run a dedicated app on your PC - not really a deal breaker, but...
  • Dosen't work in the background on iPhone. In fact, switched to another IOS app will close the connection.
  • I don't use tethering through carrier, so I couldn't really compare speed. But it was by no means a dog.
Was nice while it lasted though. Damn you Apple App Police!
1 like dislike
hawkwood

Those that have bought the app, also post when you start getting letters from you carrier saying you are illegally (well, against your contract) using tethering, and you're contract is about to be altered against your wishes.
1 like dislike
grunneg

I will be waiting for your impressions. Hopefully it's $15 well spent. Glad I grabbed it either way. Maybe great use with a 4g Iphone someday.
0 like dislike
Turbomac

Noooooooooooooooo!!! Just saw it on Twitter an hour ago and it was already gone.
0 like dislike
grunneg

Yeah, sometimes twitter is just awesome...but yeah it sucks just missing out though.
0 like dislike
darkknight

I saw the news stories and managed to get it before it was pulled.
0 like dislike
will5

Got it on my iPhone 4 this morning as I knew it would be pulled, but have not used yet. Downloaded the Mac desktop app without issue, but Windows desktop version does not seem to want to download.
0 like dislike
wunch

I had the opportunity, but decided it wasn't worth the $15. I already spent too much this weekend, and I have the jailbreak app to do this. Also, I don't like that this app does a "call home".
0 like dislike
klooney84

Purchased is this morning. Its definitely a no thrills tethering app. My only concern is it has no feature to attempt to hide your tethering activity like other jailbroken tether apps.
0 like dislike
gtmako

I think about getting, but I'm not sure how much I would use it. the Q is how long will it be in the store
0 like dislike
theattack

What I really want it to tether to my Touchpad and this could not do that. If it could I would have grabbed it this morning. I'm a newbie to iOS and still not comfortable jailbreaking (I used the freetether app on my palm pre previously).
0 like dislike
joseary15

No luck! Around 6 pm EST yesterday it was no longer available.
0 like dislike
amasand

I thought the app was a waste of money for $14.99 for anyone who has an iPhone that isn't an iPhone 4S... considering you can jailbreak and get a slew of apps from Cydia that offer the same exact feature (and then some).
0 like dislike
ryan

I find it weird when people are of the attitude that jailbreaking your device is a realistic, viable solution. I started jailbreaking in 2007 and kept my phone jailbroken for a long time, and while it's fun for hobbyists, it is absolutely not a consumer solution.

It's certainly gotten a lot better, but even still the amount of ongoing time, maintenance, and research required to keep your phone jailbroken (despite being constantly behind the latest updates) is pretty enormous.

tl;dr if I wanted to jailbreak my device, I'd have done so.

Side note: last I heard, MyWi was $20 (i.e. $5 more than Tether).
3 like dislike
english06

Yeah jailbreaking is almost more trouble then it's worth. It's really hard to beat an app of app store quality. (don't read into that last sentence)
1 like dislike
amasand

I heard the app crashes often and doesn't support multitasking either though.

For the jailbreak, I completely agree with you but if you want to do more things with your device, putting in the effort to get more out of it makes 100% sense. It isn't for the average consumer though for sure. Also, don't you have an iPhone 4S? There is no jailbreak for that just yet, so for someone in your position, this app would be a good pick-up.

There are also many alternative apps for tethering when jailbroken too, ie. TetherMe (which is just $2 on the BigBoss repository).
0 like dislike
tommychen

It does what it says it does.
0 like dislike
Lvaughn3

I missed it, Is there another location to obtain this App?
0 like dislike
majik

No, however we are lucky in Australia (If you are on Telstra) they allow you to tether and use your included data... no extra charge...
0 like dislike
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