Perhaps we shouldn’t read too far into this, but here’s what happened. The technical specifications on Sprint.com for the Palm Pre used to list “Phone as modem” with Bluetooth and USB tethering as a feature. Now, however, that feature is gone. You’ll recall that earlier this week, Sprint announced its Simply Everything Plan + Mobile Broadband for $150 per month.
Hopefully the recent plan announcement and the supposed removal of the tethering feature isn’t a coincidence. If people had been thinking they could get a Pre for, say, $99 per month for voice, data, and tethering only to be saddled into shelling out an extra $50 per month just to tether, that’d be a big problem for Sprint. The company needs to make up for the 1.3 million subscribers it just lost. I’m no Dan Hesse, but touting built-in tethering as a feature of the Pre and then removing it might not be a great way to do attract customers.
Again, this might be nothing. The phone isn’t even out yet. Let’s hope you can tether with the Pre, though. Sprint desperately needs a gotta-have-it phone with a gotta-have-it plan.
I’m sorry but that pisses me off. I know 3 people at work that we’re going to get this because of the tethering. Maybe not so anymore.
Doesn’t Sprint have a separate addon for their Data Plan’s that provide you with a USB dongle for your laptop/PC? Could be they’re pushing that.
Heh — you didn’t even need to write the article :-)
The title could’ve been “Sprint removes data tethering from Palm Pre feature list? We’re shocked!”.
Hopefully this is just some technical/marketing modification and not a fairly significant (albeit shady) change to the phone’s standard features. I know what you are referring to rcesm, that USB product could be the explanation. Whatever the new method they use is I’ll read up on it at justaskgemalto to verify it’s secure.
Non of sprints new plans support phone as a modem ie simply everything.. Plus the phone will support it they are just not pushing it..
actually I have sprint for 10 years and a little hack to my old treo allowed my to use tethering for 4 long years then I got a blackberry curve 6 months ago which tethering is included part of the data plan. Nothing new for sprint and I don’t see why they would block this
Email response from Sprint Customer Solutions today when asked “Does the Palm Pre support ‘tethering’ (use it as a ‘modem’, where a laptop could connect to the internet via the Palm Pre”:
Response:
“- The Palm Pre is not compatible with Phone as a Modem and hence it cannot be connected with the Internet.
”
Dealbreaker for me – Won’t be buying the Palm Pre unless that changes! So close…
The data tethering was the main reason my wife & I were going to buy the Pre. Now we’re not going to. Hello other smartphones coming out soon!
Same here – no tethering no Pre for me. The whole reason why I have not bought an iPhone is I like the tethering on my Treo. I see an iPhone in my future..
I have the first Samsung Instinct, found a little hack using ##debugmenu# to tether it. Im on it right now. I bought the S-30 thinking I could do the same, I was wrong. The Pre was on my wish list, if I cant tether it, I wont buy it. Maybe wait and see what the Samsung Dash can do. Otherwise, Ill stay with my square Instinct until something tether-able comes along
no tethering no Pre for me