Google Bans Tethering App From Android Market

narramissic writes "Maybe Android and the Android Market aren't so open after all. A developer who contributed to the WiFi Tether for Root Users app reports that Google has banned the application from the Android Market. The developer writes in his blog that Google cited a section of the developer agreement that says that Google may remove applications if they violate the device maker's or the operator's terms of service. T-Mobile, the only operator to offer an Android phone, expressly forbids tethering phones to a computer. This incident raises some interesting questions, the developer notes in his blog. 'Does this mean that apps in the Market have to adhere to the ToS for only T-Mobile, even when other carriers sign on? Will all apps have to adhere to the ToS for every carrier that supports Android phones?'"

Re:If only

[fractoid]

From TFA:

The application lets users connect their G1 Android phones via Wi-Fi to their laptops and then access the Internet from the laptop using the phone's cellular connection.

Duh

[jmorris42]

Google isn't going to allow apps that annoy the carriers. In that respect they will be no better than the iPhone. On the other hand they probably won't be banning apps simply because they don't fit into Google's view of what you 'should' be doing on Android so that is a step up from Steve's Iron Fist.

Bottom line, get an unlocked develoopers handset unless you want the cell company and/or Google to tell you what you can and can't run on THEIR hardware. Because that's the bottom line, get a contract phone and it isn't yours and you shouldn't think it is.

Not a problem

[Anonymous Coward]

Fortunately, Android phones can install applications that aren't on the Android Market. You can find Tetherbot (not the application mentioned in TFA, but it has similar functionality and, wasn't available when I checked a minute ago) at http://graha.ms/androidproxy/ [graha.ms], with step by step instructions to using it at here [gridserver.com].

you can buy Android apps from outside the market

[YesIAmAScript]

Unlike the iPhone, there is more than one market for the Android platform. Developers can sell their apps directly on their own websites.

Perhaps the app will remain on the developer's site for purchase.

Re:T-Mobile does support tethering

[bahwi]

No, the MDA had the tethering app removed. You could download the missing .exe file off the web but it was removed from the base system. I spent many hours trying to get it working.

Can't vouch for the wing.

--Joseph

Re:No crazy restriction for Windows Mobile Apps

[John Hasler]

You don't have to sell through the Android App Store if you don't want to. You are free to distribute your Android software however you see fit.

T-Mobile BlackBerry tethering

[UnixUnix]

I have been using my T-Mobile BlackBerry as a tethered modem for years. Not only is it allowed, there is no extra charge for it -- tethering is included in the $20 per month I pay for regular Internet access by the device.

Just a little mistake, it's already been fixed

[Virak]

Quoth Ars Technica's article [arstechnica.com] on this same thing (which was updated well before Slashdot's was posted):

A Google spokesperson tells Ars, "We inadvertently unpublished the applications for all carriers, and today we have corrected the problem so that all Android Market users outside the T-Mobile US network will now have access to the applications. We have notified the affected developers."

And while I'm sure some people will complain about it being blocked to anyone at all, the fault here lies with T-Mobile. While it'd be nice if Google could dictate terms as it pleased to the carriers, I somehow don't think that'd go over too well. And on top of that, you don't even *need* to get software from the Android Market to install it (insert jab at iPhone here).

Re:Real?

[evand]

It's not Crestron Mobile [apple.com] (iTunes Store link), is it? Because, if so, congratulations; it looks like you've passed Apple's inspection.

Re:Not a problem

[zaffir]

Here's the app in question, hosted by none other than Google.

http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/ [google.com]

Re:T-Mobile does support tethering

[RebootKid]

I just called T-Mobile. Tethering is allowed depending on the plan you've got. If you use too much bandwidth (operator did not know what the # was, and has promised to follow back up with me) then they throttle down your bandwidth. You must have a 'smartphone plan' with unlimited everything (internet, minutes, messages) to qualify, which is a non-issue for me. The guy I spoke to was named Marish (Spelling could be off.) Additionally, I've had smart phones with them ever since I had a Treo 600. Not only did they support tethering then, they gave me a walk-through of how to configure my Treo650 as a Bluetooth modem, complete with APN info, and dialing strings. Again, I pay for the premium package, but it saves me from having to carry around an extra data card. and yes, I've got G1.

Re:Real?

[Asdanf]

I thought anything could run on Android granted it compiled and you distributed it but I guess I was wrong, according to this.

Did you even read TFA? It said:

G1 users can download applications directly from developers, circumventing rules that may prohibit apps from the Market.

So yes, your original belief was correct.

Re:Real?

[shutdown -p now]

This is the single most insightful comment in the whole story, which also happens to make it a non-story (and therefore all other comments, redundant). Bravo.

There's also more than one iPhone store

[SuperKendall]

What's weird to me is that people like to get all high and mighty about how other phones can download any app they want - when the iPhone can too [tuaw.com].

The reality is that all phones will end up with a primary centralized store, and then a much greyer area where you can easily make the phone do whatever you like - for any phone.

Re:T-Mobile does support tethering

[Anonymous Coward]

Dude, it's my job doing tethering for every device under the sun for TMO.

There are a specific set of phones that "can't" be used due to their disruptive behavior on the network. That's limited to just about four phones right now and the G1 is one of them. We know it can be used with hacks. It's just that we're not allowed to do it for the G1 and the others on the list.

Posted anon, sorry, can't speak officially because well, I like my job. :)

Re:If only

[russ1337]

The "dumb pipes" analogy doesn't work terribly well.

In the case of terrestrial phone and data lines, capacity can be improved either by improving bandwidth along existing lines, or installing additional lines.

In the case of cellular, this isn't so easy. The amount of usable EM spectrum is finite, and most speed improvements using the already-allocated frequencies will either break compatibility with existing devices, or require a reallocation of the spectrum. Improvements are possible, though they're much more difficult to implement.

A WiFi access point with lots of clients connected tends to be quite slow, regardless of the speed of the WAN that it's connected to. Cell towers operate on that same principle.

I understand what you are saying, but you didn't refute the "dumb pipes analogy", you just mentioned the difficulty with various types and speeds of pipe.

Wi-fi, WAN, G3, are all just 'dumb pipes' using different portions of the EM spectrum allowing them slightly different characteristics such as range and bandwidth, but they are still 'dumb'.

The GP argues "Offering unlimited data plans is a really major step that fundamentally changes the way people use data on their phones. In time, that will become cheaper, mobile devices will become more ubiquitous and cheaper, and that's when I think you'll start to see more "dumb pipe" type plans being offerred."

And I agree, the RF services the telco's provide will one day end up as transports for internet traffic - 'dumb pipes'.

Re:No crazy restriction for Windows Mobile Apps

[mjwx]

Here's what people are forgetting about Android, you can install applications from any source.

I can write my app, I don't have to pay anyone or tell anyone.
My app can do whatever I want, to the limits of possibility.
I can sell my app or give it away to enrich the platform.

This describes Android to a tea. This is being driven by T-mobile and has already been undone by Google in the rest of the world (Singtel/Optus still have the app). The platform is open but the phone companies are still arseholes, that will never change.

Just compile

Have coding skills? SDK is free.

run,

You can run android in a VM, although the developers phone is better for testing.

and distribute

You know how to set up a web page dont you?

There's a great deal of FOSS stuff for Android already, not all of it is on the Android Marketplace like Tetherbot (sorry, don't have link handy, please use this [google.com]).

Now when it comes to Apple and the official AppStore being the only place you can get Apps then I agree with you 100%.

Re:T-Mobile does support tethering

[smoker2]

You didn't mention "in the USA".

I tether my Trinity with a laptop and I use T-Mobile, in the UK. I don't have unlimited anything - I have a sim only contract, with 50 min talk included, plus HSDPA plus tethering for less than £20 per month. (The HSDPA tethering option is 10/month)

Re:If only

[igaborf]

Satellite systems were tried (Google "Iridium") and found unable to compete economically with cellular except in locations where cellular is impractical. You need either a constellation of low-earth orbiting (LEO) satellites or you need to live with the quarter-second propagation delay (and higher power requirements) of geostationary satellites. Also, the larger footprint of satellite signals means much less frequency reuse is possible than with the cellular network, requiring massively more spectrum to accommodate the same number of users. So, no, satellites do not promise a cheaper, faster solution. They work OK for mass broadcasting, not for mass two-way comms.

Open OS not open Market

[Walker_Boh_Druid]

Just because the project and OS are open source doesn't mean Google's Marketplace have to be. Anyone who's used the phone knows it's incredibly simple to install apps from the web without using the marketplace at all. Banning it from the marketplace isn't banning it from the phone, it's merely Google's way of saying they're not condoning this type of use. It's still possible to tether.

Re:Gadgetry

[Anonymous Coward]

Just to rehash another AC: "Fortunately, Android phones can install applications that aren't on the Android Market. You can find Tetherbot (not the application mentioned in TFA, but it has similar functionality and, wasn't available when I checked a minute ago) at http://graha.ms/androidproxy/ [graha.ms], with step by step instructions to using it at here."

Re:Android not open, news at 11

[Mr2001]

You can't even write native apps (well you technically can, but its not supported)

You can use JNI, which is documented but not yet part of the SDK; a native SDK is in the works. There's even an official forum [google.com] for native development.

Manpower is the limiting factor in Android's development, and if you'd like to help work on it, the code is out there and I'm sure your efforts would be welcome. Try that with iPhone or even Windows Mobile.

Re:If only

[ilo.v]

You are assuming that it is an undifferentiated or commodity market an that all sellers are price takers. That is not the case here; the competitors differentiate in an attempt to maintain prices

I'm talking specifically about SMS, which was the topic of the parent post. The service is essentially identical between providers. Yes, there is a difference in coverage area, so I would be fine with the price being Verizon > ATT > T-Mobile/Sprint > MetroPCS (or whatever) That is not what we see, though. More importantly, everyone recently DOUBLED their per-SMS fee. There is no cost of service justification for the price increase, and no "supplier differentiation" that suddenly applied to all of them. It is clearly the act of an oligopoly.