It would appear our beloved "Phone as modem" feature has vanished! Engadget has just brought to our attention that a new "Connector" field has taken the spot of the lovely tethering.
What does this mean? Well, it could mean nothing. It's possible Sprint just didn't want to advertise tethering anymore or that they wanted to add more information about the actual device rather than a service plan feature. Interestingly, it also appears from the old screenshot that the "Connector" information has mistakenly been jumbled into the "Phone as modem" part, suggesting that Sprint may have just decided the quickest way to fix that would be to remove the tethering information rather than having to go deeper in their web code and add a new row.
However, it could be that Sprint has removed tethering support all-together. That would make sense given Sprint's new Simply Everything + Mobile Broadband doesn't cover tethering, only data transferred via their USB adaptor. Doesn't really seem like a very smart decision however, as Sprint is banking on this device being their saviour and really needs a home-run device.
This website change could be nothing, or it could be a subtle hint of what's to come.
Comments
I hope not...I may have to keep my Centro. I use this feature all the time.
Yeah, that's a deal breaker for me, I don't connect to the net with my laptop through my N95 often, but when I do, I'm glad it can do it. I'm afraid that is one of my requirements for the Pre.
sprint/palm has not found a way to lock this feature and enable it only for those who pay the full $60, it was either include it, or drop it. Welcome to webOS, with no real low-level access.
When you go to the Palm website, it still shows that you can still tether via bluetooth. Like the article was saying, Sprint just took it out, because they want to promote their new promotion (Simply Everything plus Mobile Broadband). Honestly, I would rather use the new promotion than use my Pre to use on my laptop. Of course, I would like the function to be there just in case I change my mind.
On the plus side, the USB 2.0 is now 'Hi-Speed'!
:)
who uses sprints tethering anyway? I have a sprint centro, and I use pda net to connect. if no one like pdanet releases a 3rd party tethering option for the pre, I will have a pre AND keep my centro just for use as a modem.
Without hard cable tethering, it's no pre for me. Bluetooth is a far from perfect technology, always a pain to setup, and erratic performance. Then again, as soon as the pre is jailbroken, it won't take long before a linux RNDIS driver is installed.
Lose another 1.3 million subscribers.
Lose $1.6 billion for the quarter.
Remove Phone-As-Modem / Tethering.
Priceless...
I'm of the impression from the various demos I've watched that there is more to it that just PAM. Correct me if I'm wrong but both bluetooth and USB cable can be used to provide data/net connection to a PC/laptop etc. So PAM is sort of obsolete because it appears to me anyways that you aren't dialing a service but using the pres data connection be it EVDO or wifi to provide a connection for PC/laptop etc. Again this is my impression and would explain the change to the page because PAM is not needed if this is indeed how the pre works. My guess is originally the page was coded based on other smartphone info which uses PAM to provide data/net connection.
I hope it's still perfectly possible to tether and Sprint just isn't advertising it. It's sneaky and cheesy of them, but better that than removing it entirely.
Wow. Every week since the Pre has been announced seems to bring more troubling news- and the thing hasn't even been released yet!
No expandable flash memory, no emulator, small battery, and now possible removal of tethering (at least reliable USB)? You'd think Palm would have had he sense to offer at least the features available back in the circa 2003 Treo 600!
More and more it's seeming like just an iPhone with a keyboard grafted on. Hope Sprint supports the Treo 755s for a long, long time....
I hope it's still perfectly possible to tether and Sprint just isn't advertising it. It's sneaky and cheesy of them, but better that than removing it entirely .
I have a sprint centro, and I use pda net to connect. if no one like pdanet releases a 3rd party tethering option for the pre, I will have a pre AND keep my centro just for use as a modem.
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