All iPhones reported to get Personal Hotspot with iOS v. 4.3

[zevahcnet]

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The very main reason of me having thoughts of jailbreaking my iphones, is because of MiFi. But now this one gives me a second thought.

All iPhones reported to get Personal Hotspot with iOS v. 4.3
Feature will be available for Verizon iPhone launch on Feb. 10, could come after March for AT&T
By Matt Hamblen

January 12, 2011 11:25 AM ETComments (6)Recommended (5).Computerworld - All iPhones will reportedly have the Personal Hotspot capability similar to what Verizon Wireless announced Tuesday for its iPhone coming Feb. 10.

Carriers will have to support the feature giving Wi-Fi access to up to five devices. It is not clear how soon the capability would come to AT&T, which had exclusively sold iPhone in the U.S until Verizon's announcement.

The Personal Hotspot feature is enabled in all iPhones in the impending iOS version 4.3, according to a Wednesday posting in Boy Genius Report.

Apple officials could not be reached to comment on the report, but BGR relied on an unnamed source to confirm the existence of the Personal Hotspot capability in iOS 4.3. BGR showed screenshots that included the Personal Hotspot feature under Wi-Fi and Airplane Mode settings in an iPhone interface.

Technical acceptance of the feature is planned for March, meaning Verizon would have a head start on other carriers, including AT&T.

Pricing for Personal Hotspot has not been announced for the Verizon iPhone, although Verizon currently charges $20 a month for 2GB on Wi-Fi connections on its Android phones and through USB and MiFi modems on laptops. Personal Hotspot will connect the Verizon iPhone to up to five Wi-Fi capable devices.

Some analysts say Verizon might combine the cost of its unannounced data fees for the iPhone with the Personal Hotspot capability. One analyst, Rob Enderle at Enderle Group, said the monthly cost for both unlimited data and Personal Hotspot could reach $120 a month on top of voice and texting charges.

A Verizon spokesman on Tuesday said the company will announce all service charges for iPhone later but did not give a date. However, another Verizon spokeswoman said Wednesday that hotspots currently cost $20 monthly for 2GB, adding, "and to my knowledge that won't change."

AT&T could not be reached to comment on when or whether it will support Personal Hotspot in its iPhones, although it supports similar capability on other devices.

[kwoshunli]

ang question is, if dri sa pilipinas, naa kaha na ang personal connection? ky sa AT&T US mana xa.

[zevahcnet]

mahitabo ani mahog naman ni siya ug feature sa phone, for sure local telecommunications like Globe and Smart (i'm not sure kung naa ba lain provider sa PI) ila gyud ni i-offer kay additional mani nga kuarta para nila... hehehe... pero una sa tanan huwaton lang sa ni nato kung matinuod bani. kay murag wala may comment ang taga apple...


Edit:

Update: Screenshots Hint All iPhones Could Become Wireless Hotspots | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

i really don't like to hear when a company makes a comment like this “This is a brand-new software feature from Apple,” AT&T said in a statement. “We are evaluating the feature, but have no plans to announce at this time.” come on...