Tethering May Return to iPhone, Says Report

Using your iPhone as a modem may once again become possible -- at least, if you believe an e-mail said to be from Steve Jobs.

The e-mail, forwarded to tech blog Gizmodo, has the Apple CEO saying his company is in talks with AT&T to develop a tethering plan for the device. In short, that'd mean you could pay a monthly fee to be able to connect your phone to your computer and surf the Web through its 3G network. The option is already offered on other AT&T phones. A third-party app called Netshare did provide the service for iPhones for a while, but then Apple killed it without explanation on the final day of July. Oddly, it returned to the App Store a day later -- then disappeared again within hours.

Fake Steve Jobs Makes a Comeback?

So could the supposed Steve Jobs message be real? It's possible. Remember that a similarly short note said to be from Jobs surfaced in mid-August, promising a software patch to fix connection problems on iPhones. It's hard to say if that prophecy's come true or not, though. On the one hand, there was a software update distributed shortly after the e-mail was reported. On the other hand, many users said it did nothing to correct their connection issues. On the third hand, an Apple spokesperson indicated it was meant to improve 3G communication. On the fourth hand, how do you even have a third hand?

Hand counting aside, the odds certainly seemed stacked against the message being authentic and Steve Jobs having personally e-mailed two users within a matter of days. Stranger things have happened, though. I know -- Bill Gates called me up a few minutes ago and told me some crazy tales.

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