Palm Pre data tethering is a go, Sprint be damned

by Nilay Patel posted Jun 15th 2009 at 2:46PM

Well, that was fast. Just a couple hours after we noted Palm warning against hacking webOS to allow data tethering on the Pre, the first set of instructions has popped up. It's not the cleanest hack we've ever seen -- you need to root your phone, enable SSH, and then configure your browser to run through a SOCKS proxy -- but it'll certainly get the job done in a pinch. Just don't go crazy, alright? We've got a feeling Sprint's watching Pre accounts with an eagle eye.

Filed under: Handsets, Palm, Sprint, webOS

Tags: data tethering, DataTethering, hack, hacking, palm, pre, proxy, socks, socks proxy, SocksProxy, ssh, ssh tunnel, SshTunnel, tethering, web os, WebOs

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

big_psirex @ Jun 15th 2009 2:58PM

Is it really worth it???

Neutral

thescrooge @ Jun 15th 2009 3:54PM

Yes, it is worth it. Im tired of these greedy carriers.

They want to charge you for a smart phone data plan then they want another 60 a month for you to access the same damn EVDO network. The aircards get IPs from the same damn IP pool that the smart phone does. And these greedy a-holes dont give you any price breaks for for data plans if you have one on your phone and an aircard.

Screw em.

Neutral

rubenk @ Jun 15th 2009 4:42PM

@thescrooge: I believe you get a $10 discount for an aircard if you also have a phone with sprint. I don't understand why non of the carriers give a better discount, but this is surely going to hurt the homebrew world if sprint gets pissed (for lack of a better word). I liked it back in the day when I had a $40 Phone as Modem plan that let me tether AND get internet access on my phone. This made sense. (I used to pay $35 base + $40 internet). Now it's set up completely opposite. You don't have that option but while losing PAM connectivity, I get sprint navigation, limited sprint tv and sprint radio, unlimited texts and MMS.

Is navigation, text, and mms worth $50 it costs for an aircard plan? no, but maybe $20 - $30 for unlimited PAM is a reasonable value. Still, I think $5 to have to option to have PAM connectvitiy up 500 mb (1gb may be pushing it) would probably be reasonable. the idea is for people like me who may use it in "emergencies" or when truly necessary. Really, a sliding scale makes the most sense, but if water and power utilities have trouble explaining this to customers, I highly doubt a cell phone company can.

Neutral

celz @ Jun 15th 2009 5:13PM

umm.. yes free tethering is good sparingly.. and if you use it a lot paid tethering is good too.. 2.5 mbs on the road with a sprint touch pro can never be bad...

Neutral

SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread - XBL: SoCoolCurt) @ Jun 16th 2009 9:10AM

my feeling is that tethering should be free anyway if you have a data plan. i feel like if i have a data plan, the phone can already tether, so why do i need to pay extra for something i already paid for? Sprint is being very heavy handed with this cause i can tether for free using my Verizon Treo. sure they don't advertise that you can do it for free since they offer a paid tethering option, but they don't stop you from doing it either (as long as you don't go over the 5GB soft cap).

Neutral

stiltskin @ Jun 16th 2009 5:37PM

I can tether to on my Sprint Mogul it has the bult in windows mobile Internet Sharing app of course that's nothing special that isn't the Pre or BB Storm it WM.