Palm Pre no longer features data tethering on Sprint website
By Nilay Patel 
posted Feb 19th 2009 3:29PM
posted Feb 19th 2009 3:29PM
[Thanks, Christopher and Evan]
posted Feb 19th 2009 3:29PM
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
I don't tether, never need to and don't foresee needing to. But this is BS. Enough with the nickle and diming, soon they'll just be Verizon.
I cant say I didnt see this one coming...
Sprint is really pushing SEPARATE data and voice plans, not the whole Phone As Modem we all love and adore. With the new plan coming out (which to me is a slap in the face to loyal customers), its no surprise they would revise this thing, kick in a new software revision (which is why its delayed) and push it out onto shelves totally crippled of doing PAM.
Im pretty sure someone will hold a Class-Action suit against carriers disabling features (regardless if its beneficial for the customer/carrier or not), on phones they purchase, in or out of contract. Roam only options removed from users phones, some who have paid full price (like my BB), only to have a carrier later say "you may own the phone but we have the right to cripple it for our network benefit" - where is my benefit?
Anyway, this is about PRE - and to see a nice phone like this HAVE that capability (like the Instinct did on launch) now taken away, makes the price drop for me, about 1/4th of what they might be asking... $299 now becomes $225 worth to me.
As long as Spring does not advertise tethering as a capability of the phone when selling it, a lawsuit will have no claim.
I agree - total bummer. I agree - no surprise at all. I do see service providers tending toward limiting tethering for all sorts of reasons. The primary reason is that when they sell us a smartphone, they accounted for a "smartphone's worth" of data usage each month. Verizon actually has a caveat to their Unlimited Data Plan that makes it really a 5GB data plan just to prevent some guy tethering his home computer or running his Slingbox through his phone (those were the days).
I also think Palm might have some reason for stopping the tethering. A little more about that here http://palmprefix.com/2009/02/20/palm-pre-loses-tethering-sprint-website-say-yes/
You mean profitable?
Maybe they're just trying to not point it out? They've typically been pretty passive agressive about PAM. That is, not encouraging it or talking about it, but it's usually there one way or another if you're savvy.
Doing THAT much is fair enough as they'd completely bog if everyone and their mother was using PAM all the time. Here's to hoping...
that's what i'm thinking. i tether with my Treo now but i dont have a tethering plan from Verizon (using PDANet). if a phone can run 3rd party apps, has a data plan, and has a way to connect to a PC (mini/micro USB, Bluetooth, etc.) then there should be a way to tether it. the Pre has all of those requirements so i doubt they would really be able to take it out. it should be able to happen one way or another, i just feel like they are protecting their new plan which people don't necessarily have to use in order to tether.
Palm's website states (details section): "Phone as laptop modem: Bluetooth tethering" and "Connector: MicroUSB connector with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed"
How many Sprint handsets DON'T feature Phone-As-Modem?
Really, now...
100% deal killer for many.
R.I.P. Palm Pre, we hardly knew ye..
Whatever! Engadget just being the old Sprint bashing Engadget. No one in their right mind would pay an extra fee for a 5GB capped PAM plan. Even for the ones willing to it's as simple as buying PDA Net or other similar program and just tethering. Besides the usability would be limited since it is still not capable of simultaneous data and voice.
totally disagree this time. Facts are facts and with a 1.3 million customer loss Q4 2008 they deserve every bit of the bashing they get, because its all true!
Carlos -
Spending $15.00 for the ADD-ON that some people get, some dont is actually WORTH the price even if it is 5GB. I have AT&T DataConnect with Wifi and the wifi never was able to work on that account, and I use maybe 600MB per month and pay $75 after tax.... so.... $15.00 HELL TO THE YES!
Although, paying $50 extra to use the phone as modem, over getting a separate USB modem a'la Simply Everything+Broadband is totally not worth it, and I 100% agree with you on that one!
Im a loyal Sprint customer - I seem to keep coming back to them the most for their network quality, voice quality, data speed, awesome plans, but hey, they do lack a lot of things, and unfortunately a little bashing some people take too seriously, even if they do need it. Its a comments forum, not a politically correct feel sorry for the big company who does poorly.
Buzzkill man. Maybe that will show people not to compare what is "better" about a product not yet released to one that has been released. "Data Tethering" was one of those "The Pre is going to be so much better" Bullet Points. IMHO, I don't use Data Tethering, so this doesn't really change how much I like the Pre. I still like my iPhone, but I am scared, Palm has done an incredible job with this.
Absolute deal killer for me if true. This is a mission critical function for me. No Sprint, I'm not going to switch AND buy a laptop card also.
Why do all the comments keep disappearing from this thread? More than fifty have disappeared since this afternoon.
Are you sure you're going to the same site??
Engadget has the same piece of news and they have 69 comments so far.
This is a perfect example of why AT&T is better than Sprint: no BS tethering restrictions. I can tether with my WinMo phone up to 5GB per month without signinng up for an "Add-On"
I have Sprint and tether my Moto Q all of the time.
(with no add-on btw - sorry, forgot to add that in the first reply)
Considering that ATT charges much more to use that WinMo phone, go aheed and stick with them, but I wouldn't call them better
i apologize for not knowing that Sprint users could tether without signing for an add-on. I figured it was a little more "closely watched" than ATT.
And point well taken about the cost of Sprint vs ATT. Those data packages over at sprint are tempting but i just cant bring myself to leave a GSM carrier.
I'm more concerned about sprint forcing me onto their 70-100 dollar plans. If that's the case I'll probably go with the G1.