ReadWriteWeb

There is little in the world that provokes the fury of smartphone consumers more than when one of the major carriers institutes a data cap, eliminates tethering or makes customers pay an exorbitant rate to use their smartphones as hotspots. Users want to be able to use their mobile bandwidth unhindered by any restrictions.

Prominent mobile developer Koushik Dutta has an answer. He created an app that allows users to tether their Android smartphones to their computers and use the data connection as a mobile hotspot. The greatest part, it is nearly untraceable by the carriers.

It appears that Verizon is starting to block hotspot tethering for consumers using jailbroken devices without data plans. A ReadWriteWeb employee using a jailbroken tethered Verizon Motorola X without a data plan was sent to this page outlining Verizon's hotspot data plans today when trying to access a hotspot. This is a new development, since the employee used her jailbroken device as a hotspot two days ago.

The move from Verizon comes the day after AT&T started moving jailbroken hotspot users without data plans involuntarily to tiered data plans. Verizon hotspot plans start at $20 for 2 GB of data when added to a data plan of $29.99 or more. Every GB after the 2 GB threshold is an additional $20. The move corresponds with U.S. carriers closing loopholes in their pricing structures to maximize revenue from data as voice and text messaging revenue decreases.

Palm's new Pre smartphone is supposed to be remarkably easy for developers to work with but this weekend the company reached out to one such community and demanded they shut down any discussion of one of the most hoped-for software developments - tethering the Pre to laptops for mobile wireless internet access. Apparently, you will pay for multiple internet subscriptions and you will not use cell networks for regular internet access without paying an additional subscription beyond your phone's voice and data fees!