Tethering Coming to the T-Mobile G1

There's good news for the people who are holding off getting a T-Mobile G1 until this new smartphone can be used as a modem for their laptop: this feature is on its way. The first device running Android can't currently be tethered to another computer, but a third-party developer is stepping in to add this feature.

June Fabrics Technology may sound more like a textile plant than a software developer, but its PdaNet line of tethering applications let users turn a wide variety of smartphones into external modems. There are currently versions for iPhone, Windows Mobile, and Palm OS, and this company is currently working on one for Android.

As a company spokesperson told Brighthand, "we do not support G1 currently. However, we do plan to support it in the future." 

A tethering application would allow users to make use of the G1's 3G cellular-wireless access with other devices.

When this will be available is not yet known, nor is exactly what form this software will take. The versions of PdaNet for Windows Mobile and Palm OS are a pair of applications, one on the smartphone and the other on the laptop, that work together to create a wireless Internet connection. The version for the iPhone, on the other hand, turns this smartphone into a Wi-Fi access point.

A Developing Platform

Android debuted with the release of the T-Mobile G1 last month, and because it is so new there's not a very wide selection of third-party software available yet.

Still, companies are working to fill in some of Android's more notable gaps. In addition to June Fabrics' upcoming tethering software, Aardvark Labs is working on software to allow smartphones based on Android OS to synchronize with Microsoft Exchange.

Related Articles:

• T-Mobile G1 Review
• Exchange Synchronization Coming to Android
• PdaNet Review