[DrSoupDragon]

good afternoon

a friend is interested in buying a PB but wonders if OS 2.0 will allow any phone other than a BB to tether to the PB ?

any wise owls out there ?

cheers

Liam

[Fubaz]

any phone with wifi hotspot can share its data with the PB
it terms of tethering no, but sharing internet yes.

[slalom]

any phone with wifi hotspot can share its data with the PB
it terms of tethering no, but sharing internet yes.

...isn't the purpose of tethering to share internet...?

[Thachoc1]

For US, Playbook owners no tethering is not just about sharing internet. Many people(non-owners) confuse tethering and bridging. So for the sake of the word, tethering has also meant "bridging" which for us is connecting our Blackberry to our Playbook thus allowing access to emails, internet, bbm, memos, calendars, and files. As Fubaz said, ANY phone with the hotspot capability can tether, however only Blackberries can Bridge.

[VerryBestr]

a friend is interested in buying a PB but wonders if OS 2.0 will allow any phone other than a BB to tether to the PB ?

People usually say it the other way around. Yes, the PB can be tethered to non-BB phones (Android, iPhone) via BlueTooth. Look around on the forum and you'll find people who are doing this. The PB can be bridged only to BB phones. Bridging and tethering both allow the phone to share its data connection with the PB. Sharing a phone's wifi hotspot does that too. Bluetooth tethering and hotspot sharing are also different things. The wifi hotspot connection can be faster than tethering or bridging (which both use bluetooth).

[slalom]

For US, Playbook owners no tethering is not just about sharing internet. Many people(non-owners) confuse tethering and bridging. So for the sake of the word, tethering has also meant "bridging" which for us is connecting our Blackberry to our Playbook thus allowing access to emails, internet, bbm, memos, calendars, and files. As Fubaz said, ANY phone with the hotspot capability can tether, however only Blackberries can Bridge.

That is what I thought....and the purpose of tethering is to give internet access to another device.

[Thachoc1]

That is what I thought....and the purpose of tethering is to give internet access to another device.

Right, just think of it like this. Our phones, BB, Android, and iphone are the HOST, the PB will only act as the CLIENT.

[alnamvet68]

...isn't the purpose of tethering to share internet...?

It is. Any smartphone with hotspot capability activated (at extra cost for an additional data plan) will tether fine with the Playbook. Bridging, for all practical purposes, is like tethering, but only between a BB phone and the PB. To date, only AT&T treats Bridging as tethering, hence, they want to pry out of you an additional $20.00 monthly data plan for the privilege.