Monday, March 30, 2009

G1 Apps: One Down, Two to Go

The three applications I've been most wanting for my G1 Android phone are a word processor that doesn't (like Google Docs) require an internet connection to work, a tethering application that I can use to connect my laptop to the web through the phone, and software to let me use an external bluetooth keyboard with the phone.

Thanks to Dataviz.com, my first wish has now been fulfilled. DocsToGo for the G1 cost me $20 to download, with a spreadsheet application thrown in for free. It feels a little clumsier than the version I had for my old Symbian smartphone but that may just be because I'm not yet used to it.

5 comments:

Joshua Kronengold said...

There are a number of tethering solutions, actually. But they mostly involve rooting your phone (which you might not want to do).

Vijay said...

Looks like tethering is now available. See the bottom of page.

Pace said...

I dont have a G1 but I saw this on tethering from a smple google search

http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/04/first-t-mobile-g1-tethering-solution-comes-to-light/

Anonymous said...

Google bans tethering app from Android Market

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10208323-94.html

"Google pointed out that T-Mobile, the only wireless carrier shipping an Android phone, doesn't allow tethering."

...

"Google's apparent refusal to allow a tethering app is also confusing since Android handsets are expected to be eventually available on carriers around the world"

David Friedman said...

Following up on adam-selene's post (emailed from Luna, I presume), I learned two things I didn't know:

1. There is an open source tethering app currently available, although not from Google marketplace. Using it requires that you have root access to the phone, but there seems to be a fairly straightforward way of getting it.

2. Unfortunately, T-mobile explicitly forbids tethering in their Terms of Service, to which I think I am morally bound. The language leaves open the possibility of contracts that permit it, which I may investigate. Tethering would be useful to me mostly for one month in the year, and I would be willing to pay extra for it then.