Motorola Droid users, Froyo is here. We learned earlier today that the file is out in the wild, so you can download it and update your Droid manually. Just follow these instructions on Talk Android and you’ll be set. It might seem a little intimidating, but I did it with my Nexus One a while back and it was really no big deal. Soon you’ll be experiencing the newest Android OS. Of course, you’ll be missing what I consider an essential feature.
Since installing 2.2, I have used the mobile hotspot feature no less frequently than twice a week. It comes in handy, especially for someone like me who commutes. T-Mobile hinders me in no way on this front. It goes right with my data plan, so I just hit the mobile hotspot button and I’m connected within seconds. Yet we know that other carriers aren’t so kind when it comes to to tethering. Verizon is quite notorious when it comes to using your smartphone for internet access.
When Verizon announced Froyo for the Droid, it said that it did not have the hardware capabilities to include the mobile hotspot feature. Honestly, I’m not sure whether that’s true or not. It very well could be. But given Verizon’s tight policy of not allowing tethered devices without a tethering plan — which costs double a regular data plan — I’m not too optimistic that we’ll see the feature readily available for the Droid X, the Incredible, and the Droid 2 — which could drop next week.
This really isn’t new. Back in November, when the Droid first dropped, Tony Bradley of PC World walked through the tethering issue, noting that while the Droid could — or would be able to — tether, Verizon would still charge that $60 per month for the data plan. With an unlimited text messaging plan plus the cheapest voice plan, that adds up to $120 per month, far more than most of us are used to paying for cellular service. It’s even a bit odd to get a bill in the mail from T-Mobile in the $80 range. But that’s the price we pay for data.
There is no indication that Verizon will change this policy for its Android lineup. It has worked hard to market Android devices, and ha generally been successful. But to charge an extra $30 for tethering might be a mistake. Maybe it’s not a big deal for everyone, but for plenty of the people I know who are waiting for 2.2 are mainly looking forward to the mobile hotspot feature. To not have that is to lose out on the attractiveness and excitement of Froyo.
So why won’t Verizon just allow tethering on the Droid and charge the extra $30? A custom ROM developer opined to Wired, and it does make a bit of sense:
“It’s just a business decision,” says Steven Bird, who creates custom ROMs for the Droid. “People who have a Droid see this news. And Verizon can make them think that hotspot or wired tethering is a reason to now upgrade to a new phone.” When the companies finally do offer that upgrade, they are likely to charge for it, says Bird.
While Verizon has stepped up as a major proponent of Android handsets, their crippling of features like the mobile hotspot could hold them back. When I first got the Nexus One I had a twinge of buyer’s remorse, because the Droid Incredible launched just a few weeks later. But given the early updates for 2.2 and the free use of my data plan, I’m glad I went with T-Mobile. I have a feeling that before long they will be the tops in the Android game.
