All the cool mobile operating systems are adding mobile hotspot features to let you share your smartphone’s cellular data connection with other devices over WiFi. Google Android does it. Apple iOS does it. So it should come as no surprise that RIM’s BlackBerry OS will soon get the feature. The folks at n4bb have a first look at how the mobile hotspot feature will work in BlackBerry OS 6.1.

In a nutshell, you’ll be able to connect up to 5 devices over WiFi. You can also configure the hotspot to automatically shut down to save battery life if there’s no activity for a set period of time.

Uses will also be able to share an internet connection over a tethered USB connection without first installing desktop software — something you currently need to do to tether a BlackBerry to a PC.

Verizon and Apple today announced that the iPhone 4 will be available from Verizon starting in February. For the most part, the Verizon iPhone is exactly like the AT&T version, but there are two key differences. First, the antenna has been tweaked to work with Verizon’s WCDMA service. Second, Verizon users will be able to use their phones as portable hotspots, sharing their 3G internet connections with up to 5 other devices.

When you go into the Settings menu of the Verizon iPhone, you’ll find a new option labeled “Personal Hotspot.” The reason it’s not simply labeled “WiFi hotspot” is because you can setup a WiFi, Bluetooth, or USB connection,.

TechCrunch has a few photos showing what the new settings look like. If you go the WiFi rout, you can also password protect your connection.

The process looks pretty simple. It’s worth noting that the Verizon iPhone is running iOS 4.2.5. It’s possible that Apple could issue a software updated for AT&T users offering similar functionality.

Neither Verizon nor Apple have commented on how much it will cost to use the Personal Hotspot feature — but I doubt it will be free with the price of an unlimited data plan. Verizon has a long history of charging extra for hotspot capabilities.

Plenty of coffee shops, airports and other locations grant you free access to WiFi — as long as you open a web browser and check a box saying you agree to to the terms and conditions. That’s easy enough if the first thing you do after connecting to the internet is open a web browser. But what if you’re on your phone and you want WiFi access to use an internet-connected chat, video, news, or VoIP app? You might not even realize you need to open the web browser until you notice that your phone says its online but you can’t actually seem to do anything with it.

Scan to download

Enter WiFi Browser Login. This app automatically detects when you connect to a WiFi hotspot that requires further action before you can get online. You can set the app to send you notification, or to open the web page you need to click before you continue.

This is a feature that’s already built into iOS, so iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users are probably familiar with it. But if you use your Android device to connect to public WiFi hotspots regularly, WiFi Browser Login may be able to save you a little time and/or headache.

The app is available as a free download from the Android Market.

via Lifehacker

So you’re wandering down the street in a strange city looking for a WiFi hotspot. You could do what I usually do and fire up the Google Maps app on your phone and search for coffee shops or libraries and hope they have WiFi. Or you could fire up the new Lookator augmented reality app that shows you nearby WiFi access points.

The user interface is pretty simple. Basically the app turns on your camera and then shows a list of WiFi hotspots plotted roughly where they would be in real life. There’s also a little radar in the corner with dots representing hotspots, so if you don’t see any at first, just move your phone’s camera toward the dots.

Out of the box, Lookator will only show you hotspots within range. But if you have the free WeFi app installed, Lookator will also show nearby hotspots that aren’t currently within range, letting you know which direction to head to find a working hotspot.

Of course, you could just use the WeFi app without Lookator, since it’ll show you all the same information minus the camera overlay. But where’s the fun in that?

Lookator is available as a free download from the Android Market.

via MobileTopSoft

Want to turn your Android phone into a portable WiFi hotspot without installing a custom ROM or waiting for Google to officially roll out Android 2.2 Froyo? If your phone is running Google Android 2.1, then you can.

This only works on phones that have been rooted (giving you access to settings and files that are otherwise off limits), but if you’ve already got root privileges on your phone then enabling WiFi tethering is about as easy as downloading and installing an app.

The folks at the xda-developers forum have posted instructions. In a nutshell, all you have to do is create a directory on your SD card called android.tether and download and install a wireless tether app. That’s it.

When you’re done, you should be able to enable wireless tethering to share your 3G data connection with a laptop, iPad, or other computer.

Instructions for rooting your Android phone will vary from device to device. Make sure you know what you’re doing before getting started, as there’s a good chance that rooting your phone will void your warranty.

Google has a pretty awesome trick up its sleeve for Android 2.2 (code-named Froyo). TechCrunch reports Froyo will ship with built-in tethering capabilities. In other words, you’ll be able to connect a laptop or desktop computer to your Android phone via a USB cable and share the 3G mobile broadband connection. You’ll also be able to turn your phone into a mobile WiFi hotspot, sharing your internet connection with any laptop or other WiFi enabled device with just a few taps.

It’s possible to do both of these things today. You can install an app like PdaNet to share your internet connection with a computer over USB or Bluetooth. And if you have a rooted Android phone, you can install software that turns it into a mobile hotspot. But having those features built into the OS is a pretty awesome move.

Of course, it’s not at all clear how kindly the telecoms will take to this. Right now most US mobile carriers offer unlimited data plans for mobile phones — but charge $40 to $60 per month if you purchase a 3G modem to use with a laptop. And the laptop plans usually have data caps of about 5GB. In other words, if you use the built-in tethering too much, wireless carriers could decide that they’re losing money — and may impose restrictions on your mobile data plan. Or maybe they’ll just charge you extra to use tethering on your phone.