Kindle 3 WiFi + cell phone = true?

[Kumabjorn]

So what kind of cell phone should I get to use as a WiFi hot spot with the WiFi only Kindle 3? iPhone 4, HTC Desire, SE Xperia 10?
Has anyone tried connecting through a cell phone yet?

[dsip]

I'm not too sure, but I think if you want an Android phone, you should make sure that they can run froyo, that is Android version 2.2 - I think only that version supports tethering. But there might be third party tools that you could use for tethering for the other versions. As I said, I'm not really sure.

[TomeRaider]

My Galaxy S supports tethering and that's running 2.1

[dsip]

Thanks for the correction then.

Interestingly enough though, wikipedia states "# USB tethering and WiFi hotspot functionality" as a new feature of 2.2

[Kumabjorn]

I discovered an iPhone app called Handy Light that is actually a disguised tehering app. It was obviously taken down from the iTunes Store, but once it is out there it won't really disappear, will it? So now the quest turns to the darknet for iApps. Uncharted territory.

[HarryT]

Is "tethering" the same thing as a mobile WiFi hotspot? I thought that "tethering" referred to using your mobile phone as a Bluetooth or USB modem for a PC.

[Ben Thornton]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Is "tethering" the same thing as a mobile WiFi hotspot? I thought that "tethering" referred to using your mobile phone as a Bluetooth or USB modem for a PC.

Tethering is used to describe the ability of a mobile phone to provide internet access for another device, such as a PC. Although typically done in the past by explicit connection between the two devices, some phones - and some specialised "mifi" devices - create a wifi router instead, which devices can access in the same way as a home router. Because they get the same result, people call it the same thing.

[Ben Thornton]

And as to the OP, I haven't tried it, but there is absolutely no reason why it wouldn't work.

[matt314159]

The kindle page says it can only connect to infrastructure mode hotspots, no peer-to-peer (ad-hoc) networks are supported at this time (again, according to their page).

So to the OP, you need to find a phone whose wifi internet sharing broadcasts in infrastructure mode. One I know of is a Rooted HTC Evo (or the legit sprint mobile hotspot app on that device). But the EVO is one of the few exceptions to the rule. A lot of other wifi sharing programs, like WmWifiRouter which I personally use on my Touch Pro 2, set up their connections in ad-hoc / peer to peer mode, and according to the amazon literature, won't work.

I'll get my kindle monday (so much for release-date delivery...I'm not at all bitter) and can test it on my Touch Pro 2 to make sure.

But be careful, because not just any wifi internet sharing application will work.

[ngrant]

I see the OP is in Sweden so I can't speak to that location; but in the USA, Verizon offers for "free" the mobile hotspot feature on the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi phones. This feature creates an infrastructure mode wifi network which can be open or secured with a password. I have the Plus and it works great. There is a 5GB per month cap; not an issue for transferring ebooks which are small files, or occasional browsing.

Other smartphones do have the mobile hotspot feature (I cannot say offhand which models) but it costs an additional $20 - $30 per month. Verizon has the "free" offer (probably for a limited time, we don't know for sure) to help move the Palm phones.

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by matt314159

So to the OP, you need to find a phone whose wifi internet sharing broadcasts in infrastructure mode.

But be careful, because not just any wifi internet sharing application will work.

Thank you, that was very helpful. I was getting overly excited watching some YouTube videos on people connecting their iPads through their iPhones through some jailbreaking and and some app that allowed them to tether.

Is the infrastructure mode in the chip, or software?

[jetfin]

I've been using joikuspot for some time now to turn my mobile phone into a wifi hotspot (infrastructure) and it works great.

If you have a nokia (symbian) or windows mobile phone, this is a really solid choice IMO.

http://www.joiku.com/

[Kumabjorn]

That will not work with an iPhone 4 will it?

My present cell phone is basically old crap. So in a month or so I am going to purchase a modern Smartphone. The iPhone 4 has a lot of appeal outside its pricing. So I have begun to take a closer look at Android phones since they seem to cost a lot less. I might still dole out the dineros for an iPhone 4, but before the arrival of the Kindle 3 WiFi tha ability to act as a structured WiFi hotspot was not on the required feature list. Now it is right up on top of that list.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

I discovered an iPhone app called Handy Light that is actually a disguised tehering app. ...

This particular one wont work, I think. It requires ad hoc WiFi network & socks proxy to function.

There are other apps, like MyWi, that can turn your iPhone into proper WiFi Hot Spot. As you can guess they are not in iTunes Store

Android phones running 2.2 are your best bet right now.

[Kumabjorn]

Discovered MyWi as well. That one seems sophisticated, but it doesn't say whether it is a structure or ad hoc hot spot.