Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
Not just a think tank. An entire army of think.

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


                                 

Please log in.
Before you can vote, you need to register. Please log in or create an account.

WireFi

Wireline internet for smartphones, tablets, netbooks and laptops (all of which, for the purposes of this idea, shall collectively be referred to as "mobile devices")
 
(0)
  [vote for,
against]

I don't really know about laptops, netbooks, and tablets because I've never owned any of them, but I'm assuming that if smartphones (and, in fact, many non- smartphones) have built-in modems for tethering, then so do at least most of their larger, generally more-capable technological relatives. The idea is to be able take a mobile device which has no access to a wireless signal (such as GSM, CDMA, or WiFi) and plug it into a phone jack in a wall to provide cable internet service to it.

Yes, it still requires having a (probably paid) internet service running to the jack, but it does away with the need for a modem and/or wireless router by taking direct advantage of the mobile device's built-in modem.

I guess the invention here is a mobile device feature that allows it's own internet browser and other features that require data connectivity to utilize its own tethering modem via wall jack, using an ethernet - microUSB* adapter (also part of the invention, hehehe).

I'm not sure if a software modification would be sufficient for this purpose, but my experience with unlocking hidden capabilities in an Android device (including but not limited to Bluetooth and USB tethering, multitouch, 360-degree screen rotation, and flash) by rooting it and installing a custom ROM leads me to believe it is highly possible to achieve this, at least on certain devices, without a hardware modification.

Devices which lack a tethering modem would have to plug into a regular cable modem, but would still be able to do away with a computer.

This is similar to ideas I've seen for reverse tethering, but they all seem to involve plugging into a computer's USB port. My idea is to do away with the need for a computer.

*Or miniUSB, or whatever kind of port your mobile device happens to have if it lacks any sort of USB.

(note: if it turns out that laptops can do this already, then please just focus on the other devices. Smartphones are my main focus here.)

21 Quest, Oct 30 2010

[link]






       3 problems:
  

       1. The only internet connectivity that all phone lines support is dial-up internet, some also support DSL but you can't count on it. You can't get cable internet through a phone jack (or are do you mean a ethernet jack, they do look similar.)
  

       2. Smartphones do not contain any conventional modem hardware and will not support DSL, cable or telephone dial-up without additional hardware and drivers.
  

       3. In the US at least, what you can do with your cell phone is tightly controlled by the service providers. Their sanctioned method for this sort of thing is either USB tethering, or a device called a femtocell. A femtocell is basically a miniature cell phone tower that uses your internet connection (it connects to your router via ethernet) for the data transport. They like this method because they can charge you again for, effectively, using your own internet service.
Spacecoyote, Oct 30 2010
  

       as spacecoyote points out, you won't get anywhere with a cable/dsl modem unless you make previous mind-numbing arrangements with a high-speed provider that serves that particular connection (if available).
  

       For dialup though, there's plenty of adapters or adapter/modem combinations to plug a mobile device into the wall from its headset or usb port. That's the hardware taken care of.
FlyingToaster, Oct 30 2010
  

       Dial-up internet is better than no internet, and I think you misunderstand what femtocell is. Femtocell lets you make voice calls AND access data over your landline internet connection. For data only all you need is wifi, and carriers have no control over that.
21 Quest, Oct 30 2010
  

       //Smartphones do not contain any conventional modem hardware and will not support DSL, cable or telephone dial-up without additional hardware and drivers.//
  

       Do you have any technical specifications to support that claim? The post included an adapter, and drivers can be downloaded to the memory card via USB and installed with a ROM manager application (there's actually an app on the Android market called ROM Manager, used for installing custom ROMs, SPLs, and radio updates).
  

       What hardware mods would be needed that a line adapter wouldn't suffice for? Can you outline the differences between a standard DSL modem and a cellphone tethering modem that make my idea unworkable?
21 Quest, Oct 31 2010
  

       I'm sorry [21Q], I don't quite understand. (please bear with me)
  

       //The idea is to be able take a mobile device which has no access to a wireless signal (such as GSM, CDMA, or WiFi) and plug it into a phone jack in a wall to provide cable internet service to it.//
  

       Ok - so I have a smartphone that can do Internet related stuff - but I'd rather not use the GSM/CDMA/WiFi interface for some reason (high data tariff? or poor reception/data rate). If only I could plug it in to the 'standard' phone socket (to use dial-up or ADSL...)
  

       Is that the gist of the idea?
Jinbish, Oct 31 2010
  

       Add lack of a computer to the list of reasons and yes, yes it is, Jinbish.
21 Quest, Oct 31 2010
  

       Yep - gotcha.
  

       So it's a request for a PSTN modem for smartphones. Fair play. My old laptop has a modem (as well as an ethernet port) - so the idea is a bit old hat for laptops... but then again that just means that my new laptop is no use if their isn't a WiFi router or ethernet port to connect to...
  

       I don't think that a PSTN socket on a smartphone is a super-difficult thing to include - it's just not politically likely (because it's a cell phone, the provider wants you to use the cell connection), nor does it have a good hard-effort/reward ratio.
Jinbish, Oct 31 2010
  

       As far as the carrier is concerned, it would be no different than WiFi.
21 Quest, Oct 31 2010
  

       Hmmm... ok, maybe, but dial-up bit rates will be at 56K, and charged per minute, whereas a GSM cell connection running GPRS/EDGE will give you 60K/200K and charged per Mb.
  

       I guess that then comes down to contract types.
Jinbish, Oct 31 2010
  

       not having a cellphone I've no idea what all those things are: "cellphone tethering modem" sounds like it's what you want, but what's it tethered to ? and which way does the connection run: is that to use your cellphone radio as the connection media ?
FlyingToaster, Oct 31 2010
  

       Tethering is using your phone as a modem to provide internet access to your computer, using your wireless data service.
21 Quest, Oct 31 2010
  

       So, you're too cheap to pay for internet service and you want to steal it if that's at all possible? Doesn't surprise me.
infidel, Oct 31 2010
  

       //so, you're too cheap to pay for internet service and you want to steal it if that's at all possible? Doesn't surprise me.//
  

       You really are an idiot. Did you even read the post, infidel? Who said anything about stealing? Read the second paragraph, which states:
  

       //Yes, it still requires having a (probably paid) internet service running to the jack, but it does away with the need for a modem and/or wireless router by taking direct advantage of the mobile device's built-in modem.//
21 Quest, Oct 31 2010
  

       So you want to use your cellphone and its features on a physical line instead of the radio. Any reason you couldn't have just said so ?
  

       You've a USB port on yours so from a physical point of view you should be able to just plug it into an external (powered) modem: either dialup or DSL; phone handset operation might be available also.
  

       Good luck finding software though: I doubt smartphones have been around long enough to have evolved out of the strictly fanbois stage and there's a possibility the manufacturer has gone out of their way to make it impossible to do.
FlyingToaster, Oct 31 2010
  

       The difference is that wifi functionality was for the most part popularized by the iPhone, creating demand for the feature on other phones and networks. If a certain carrier refused to allow phones that support wifi, there would be protest. Had the feature not been popularized by Apple, it would have never been introduced as it goes against the carrier's business models (which are, basically, charge as much for every thing you can possibly charge for, like how they often charge 10 cents or more for each text message even though it costs them basically nothing to carry the message.) If Apple and AT&T had designed the iPhone to use unsigned software (like a PC does) rather than a "walled-garden" app store, you bet your ass the other networks would have eventually followed suit.
  

       Eventually as technology progresses and consumers wise up, cell phone companies will have to face the music and become what they truly already are under the current facade: nothing more than mobile ISPs and transition to technologies like VOIP (phone numbers WILL become a silly artifact of a past age, like they should be already), removing their tenuous connection to Ma Bell and putting the nail in the coffin for their former business model of a "mobile phone service provider." Or, at least, one can hope.
Spacecoyote, Oct 31 2010
  

       well it's all a matter of physical "bundling" in't it: you've got a digital gizmo, easily subbable as a personal computer and of course the manufacturer wants to dedicate its comm aspects to something they can make more money on even though using it on a landline connection, or allowing it to operate on a wireless LAN, or even as a CB radio(/walkie-talkie) is pretty well a no-brainer.
  

       21q, since you asked so nicely, there's mucho difference between dialup, DSL and cellphone modems: the cellphone stuff isn't even a modem per se, dialup can run on any pair of wires, and DSL requires a shitload of equipment on the telephone company's side which is why you can't just plug any DSL modem into any phone jack. And of course they're all totally different electrically.
FlyingToaster, Oct 31 2010
  
      
[annotate]
  


 

back: main index

business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle