Dec 15 2009
Tethering with the HTC Hero
One of my complaints about the Android operating system is that none of the tethering options are simple. For the standard USB connect method your laptop or computer has to have the HTC Sync installed which until recently didn’t support Windows 7 and then you have to drill down into the phones settings and enable ‘Mobile Network Sharing’.
Well for the last couple of days I have been laid up in hospital with a severe throat infection. I’m a lot better now but that’s a different story.
I was lucky enough to have a few of my gadgets brought in for me which included my Asus EEE 1000H but not my gadget bag which contains my Palm Treo Pro. The Palm is perfect for tethering as it uses the Windows Mobile operating system. With it, I simply connect it to my laptop via the USB cable and open the internet connection sharing application which is built into Windows Mobile as standard and the computer is online, no additional software or configuration required.
So I have a laptop, I have a mobile but no cable to connect them. I had a look on the application market but the only real option is an app called ‘Wifi Tether for Root Users’. This turns your Android device into a router using the mobile network as a connection to the internet. It would have been perfect but I unfortunately couldn’t get it to work on my HTC Hero. A little searching later using the Hero’s browser and I stumbled across this forum entry on the applications Google Code pages. Its actually a Sprint Hero user with the same problem but the result was a beta version from the developers which works perfectly and finally allows my laptop to connect via wireless and access the internet!
Speeds from my hospital bed are in the region of 2Mbps which is perfect for catching up on feeds, emails and the of course this post. 
The beta version is available here to download but the usual rules apply, it is beta code and so be wary of that when installing on your device;
http://android-wifi-tether.googlecode.com/files/wireless_tether_1_61-pre1_htc.apk
The only complaint about using this method is of course the battery drain on the Hero, with both Wifi and HSDPA radio under heavy usage I can’t see the phone battery lasting more than 5 hours. I have a phone charger here so its not so much a problem but if you spend a lot of time on the move and require your phone to last I would suggest maybe another method of connectivity.
Also whilst typing out this post, the doctors have told me I can go home today which is great news.
3 responses so far
Does anybody know which sort of video information are supported? I keep in mind the Instinct solely could dl 3gp using opera mini. I downloaded the twist ap, perhaps that’s the issue? How can I watch movies from sites apart from youtube? Which file sorts? Often I am given the option of 3gp or mpeg4. Can’t get either to work. Thanks on your time! Damn I want I used to be eligible for the improve to EVO!
Thanks for the great article, I am very excited. I have had my telephone for just over a month now and am in reality playing the entire loose apps from the android market, being able to have the internet and navigation at my fingertips all the time. The only less than thought function is the image/video text messages, as they don’t seem to be downloading properly.
Here in the uk we have to send an mms before we can receive one. Also if your WiFi is switched on that may disruptthe devices ability to receive messages.