When I saw a bunch of tweets (Twitter messages) go out earlier that a tethering application had been released for the iPhone, my immediate reaction was: “Yeah, for unlocked iPhones.” But I kept seeing the links to the supposed product, so I clicked one and sure enough it fired up iTunes and showed me an application called NetShare by Nullriver. I decided not to download it since it seemed almost too good to be true at $9.99. I wish I had.
Shortly after it went up, Apple apparently pulled NetShare down with no explanation. (A MacRumors forum user was able to get it and has a full tutorial on it.) Clicking on the link to its place in the store now returns the message: “The item you’ve requested in not currently available in the US store.” So what gives?
Tethering is the process that lets you use your phone’s data plan with your computer. Seeing as the iPhone has unlimited data usage and now has 3G speeds, this is obviously enticing for users on the go. The problem is that AT&T and Apple have never allowed such functionality. That’s why it was so surprising that such an application would show up in the App Store today.
Multiple developers have complained about the backlog of applications waiting for approval for the App Store because Apple is checking every one before it gets sent out to the world. It would certainly seem that AT&T would want them to check for two things: 1) VoIP apps and 2) tethering apps.
There has been a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol, the technology that lets you place phones calls over the Internet, bypassing your cellular talk minutes) application available for a little while, Truphone. (But it only works over a Wi-Fi connection and not AT&T’s 3G data stream.) And now a company has gotten a tethering application past the App Store guards. So what exactly is Apple taking all this time to check for?
Interestingly enough, Nullriver also appears to have pulled NetShare down from the product list on its own site. Following the link it was previously at takes you to a page reading: “We’re updating our site.” I wonder if the term “lawsuit” was used today?
Update: It now appears that NetShare is back in the App Store after its disappearance yesterday. What has two thumbs and is buying it pronto? This guy.
Still no word on why it vanished, if it’s legal or how it came back.
If you do download it, be careful though. As commenter Pete D points out below, he was using his Blackberry device tethered to his computer and somehow AT&T found out and charged him for it. In other words, use at your own risk.
Update 2: Apparently only the direct link (above) to the application will work, MacRumors is reporting. A search for NetShare brings up nothing in the App Store.
[photo: flickr/eric kilby and the MacRumor forum]
Tags: co:Apple, co:AT&T, co:nullriver
11:47 pm
Did Nullriver slide the iPhone tethering app past the goalie? said:
[...] admin wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptSeeing as the iPhone has unlimited data usage and now has 3G speeds, this is obviously enticing for users on the go. The problem is that AT&T and Apple have never allowed such functionality. That’s why it was so surprising that such an … [...]
8:10 am
Your Iphone As Your Computer’s Internet Connection said:
[...] VentureBeat postulates that perhaps the app was pulled due to lawsuit threats. The practice of using your iPhone connection as an internet connection is known as tethering and typically has been possible only using “jailbroken” iPhones. After all, AT&T doesn’t want you using your iPhone’s EDGE or 3G internet connection for your computer unless it can get you to ante up for it. August 1, 2008 – 9:09 am [...]
10:08 pm
nullriver | HotBlogSearch.com said:
[...] is available for $9.99 via direct link …iPhoniacs iPhone Blog - http://www.iphoniacs.comDid Nullriver slide the iPhone tethering app past the goalie?But I kept seeing the links to the supposed product, so I clicked one and sure enough it fired up [...]
12:53 pm
Plane B » Blog Archive » Tethering for the iPhone that Makes Sense for All said:
[...] after NetShare appeared in the App Store, it was removed. It then reappeared briefly only to disappear again shortly [...]
2:45 pm
Policing the boundaries of a “contingently generative” device :: The Future of the Internet — And How to Stop It said:
[...] Venturebeat is reporting that Netshare is no longer available in the iPhone Apps Store, and the link to its product page at Nullriver has only a message about a site update. [...]
11:02 am
The case of the vanishing iPhone apps: A security concern? » VentureBeat said:
[...] security issue was uncovered (which was corrected and the game came back to the store quickly) and the tethering app NetShare has been pulled, then put back, then pulled again with no explanation. There has been very little communication with the actual users who downloaded the [...]
9:05 pm
Apple, wake up or grow up. A $999.99 iPhone app that does nothing launches » VentureBeat said:
[...] old and already we’ve seen a number of applications sent out with security issues and one, NetShare, that appears to violate AT&T’s own terms of service. But today an app was released that trumps all of those: I Am Rich, a $999.99 app that does, get [...]
5:07 pm
May the force be with PhoneSaber: Another iPhone app vanishes » VentureBeat said:
[...] (technically Episode IV: A New Hope) PhoneSaber has vanished into thin air. It follows BoxOffice, NetShare and I Am Rich as apps that have been pulled completely from the store by Apple. Unlike those [...]
1:09 am
Jobs confirms iPhone application kill lever » VentureBeat said:
[...] “banned” apps include NetShare, a tethering app that allows you to use the iPhone 3G’s data plan on a computer. If any app is likely to be remotely terminated thus far, it would likely be this one as it would [...]
10:02 pm
BoxOffice returns to the App Store, but is hush, hush on the reason for the ban » VentureBeat said:
[...] The $999.99 app I Am Rich was removed because of a “judgement call” by Apple. The tethering app NetShare seems like it was pulled because it violates AT&T’s terms of service for data usage. But BoxOffice, who [...]
9:49 pm
iPhone aplikace za 999,99 dolarů: I Am Rich said:
[...] hned několik aplikací s bezpečnostními problémy, a jednu, která podle všeho porušuje smluvní podmínky AT&T. Největší poprask si ale vysloužila aplikace, která se v App Store ohřála pouhý [...]
10:37 am
Did AT&T have Apple kill NetShare to start its own tethering plan? » VentureBeat said:
[...] application called NetShare was the talk of the App Store back in July. The app, made by Nullriver, allowed users to connect their computers to their iPhone 3G to use the [...]