How many times have you gone to use your blackberry as a modem and sat there for some time trying to find out those VPN settings? I know I have and its frustrating. Stop being confused and annoyed; There is finally a solution and its called Tether. Tether, formerly Tetherberry, was introduced in early 2009 for blackberry users as an alternative to carrier options which cost extra on your monthly bill. Why should we have to pay extra to use the data we already pay for? This is the mentality the guys over at Tether have demonstrated and this is definitely the reason behind why Tether is so easy to use. They understand what we, as a blackberry nation, want and need.
A few months ago I used the Tether app on a CDMA Blackberry Storm 9530 and was surprised at the speeds I received, knowing that the CDMA network is considerably slower than a HSPA or GSM network. I thought I was going to experience circa 1999 internet speeds but I was pleasantly surprised when my laptop started to receive speeds equivalent to a high-speed lite service from a wired connection. Fast forward to today, we were given the latest copy of Tether to play with and though there are mild UI changes, the app remains pretty much the same easy to use application, but now with the added support of Bluetooth.
Tether’s two part installation is straight forward. Open the URL in your blackberry browser and install the on-device app, then open the URL on your Mac or PC (yes, you read right, they offer Mac support) and that’s it for the installation (like I said no VPN settings for this app). With the Mac installation if you are planning on using the USB cable instead of Bluetooth to connect your Blackberry to Tether, you cannot have BlackBerry Desktop Manager installed at the same time. This question was brought up to Patrick from Tether and his response was with “USB on the Mac we are still having issues as there is a bug with RIM’s driver. Users would be able to use the Bluetooth version with no problems.” This is something I am sure will be corrected in the coming releases. If you are planning on using Bluetooth as your connection method just a warning that it isn’t as fast as the USB connection because Bluetooth has a lower transfer rate than USB does.
While I was using Tether on my Mac I received an error message from my BlackBerry and then it shut down Tether. After relaunching the app I was back in business with no issues. Using Tether is simple, just plug in your Blackberry and launch the app on your BlackBerry and then on your computer and you now have Internet anywhere. I put Tether to the test using speakeasy speed test with my BlackBerry Bold 9700, first the VPN settings provided by my carrier were used then ran the same test using Tether and to my surprise I actually saw a speed increase with Tether. With Tether I saw speeds of 1.5mbs to 2mbs. For internet anywhere, I’ll take those speeds, thank you VERY much.
With every app, accessory or BlackBerry device there are ups and downs. With Tether there are a few things I would like to see in the next release; the ability for the computer application to automatically launch when you connect your device, for the application to remember your last connection settings, whether it is Bluetooth or USB and lastly to work when I have Mac Desktop Manager installed. With Tether, the few negatives I have experienced pale in comparison to the great things Tether brings to the table, and hey, now my BlackBerry can truly do just about everything.
So If you are looking for a alternative to paying your carrier extra for using your data on your computer, give Tether a try. They let you try the app first and then buy, Tether is competitively priced at 49.99, which is a one-time fee.
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