Jobs says no to tethered iPad
Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs has reportedly quashed the hopes of prospective iPad buyers who thought they might be able to access the Internet with the new devices using their iPhone data plan.
Swedish record producer Jezper Soderlund reports that he asked Jobs about the practice known as tethering in an e-mail:
"I'll keep it short.
I'm Jezper from Sweden, a long time Apple fan, currently about to replace the very last computer at home with a brand spanking new iMac i7. I'm also awaiting the release of the iPad. However, I have one question:
Will the wifi-only version somehow support tethering thru my iPhone?
Two devices, based on the same OS, with already built-in technology to share one data plan suggests a secondary contract could possibly be redundant.
From the look of your keynote, where the iPad sits well between my MacBook Pro and my iPhone, I was hoping the three of them could interact as seamless as possible.
All the best,
Jezper Söderlund"
Jobs' reported one word answer: "No."
That means that U.S. iPad buyers will have to pay for separate data plans for their iPhones and iPads. No piggy-backs allowed.
Filed under: term by Guru