I live in México, and here the carrier who sells the iPhone is Telcel. Telcel doesn’t explicitly forbide its users to use tethering on the iPhone, but the iPhones they provide don’t come with the Internet Tethering option available.

So after the release of iPhone OS 3.0 I found this guide about enabling tethering in countries where it is disabled by the carrier’s default configuration, and it has worked really well (I have an unlimited data plan, by the way).

With the release of iPhone OS 3.1 yesterday, rumors and early adopters say the firmware update would disable Internet Tethering on iPhones where the carrier doesn’t officially supports it.

I updated to iPhone OS 3.1 with certain precautions, and Internet Tethering is still functional for me.

So if you want to update to 3.1 without loosing the tethering capacity, this is what you should do:

DISCLAIMER FIRST: This worked for me, but I don’t have any way to know if it will work for you. Proceed at your own risk. If you already have enabled Internet Tethering and it is critical for you, I would recommend you to not follow any unsupported method like this.

Before updating to iTunes 9 make sure you have the last version of your carrier’s provisioning bundle:

1. On your iPhone go to Settings / General / About, and look for Carrier version. Take note of the version number. Mine was Telcel 4.4.
2. Download the list of iPhone OS updates from here, and find your carrier’s latest provisioning bundle available.
   My Carrier is Telcel México, so I found their last provisioning bundle is this:
   Telcel_mx 3.0 BuildVersion 4.4 BundleURL http://appldnld.apple.com.edgesuite.net/content.info.apple.com/iPhone/CarrierBundles/061-6937.20090803.3er5t/Telcel_mx.ipcc

   So, I’m up to date.

If you have the latest version of your carrier’s provisioning bundle you’re free to go; if not, you should first update it while you have iTunes 8.2, and possibly re-enable tethering using the aforementioned guide.

To install the iPhone OS 3.1 update:

1. Download and install iTunes 9.
2. Connect your iPhone, so iTunes 9 can search for updates. When iTunes says there’s an update for your iPhone DON’T UPDATE, choose to ONLY download the new firmware, but don’t install it just yet.
3. Sync your iPhone, so it is ready for upgrading (the backup can take several minutes sometimes). Then disconnect it from your computer.
4. Wait for iTunes to finish downloading your firmware update.
5. When the download finishes, enable Airplane Mode on your iPhone (first option of Settings). This will disconnect your iPhone from your cellphone network and WiFi.
6. Reconnect your iPhone and update your firmware (the one iTunes just downloaded). The operating system will be upgraded and your iPhone will restart. Don’t disconnect your iPhone until it shows up in iTunes, and you are sure it has upgraded to 3.1.
7. Disconnect your iPhone from your computer, disable Airplane mode and wait for your iPhone to reconnect to network.
8. Go and check in Settings if you still have Internet Tethering available as an option.

I have done this in two iPhones: First in my wife’s (she doesn’t use tethering, so I taught it was a good idea to test first on her iPhone) and later in mine.

Both iPhones showed the same carrier version after the firmware upgrade, but after a restart mine shows a different one (5.0). Anyway, tethering is still functional.

I suppose Internet Tethering option may disappear one of these days (when Telcel sends a new carrier configuration file to Apple), or they will start charging extra money, but in the mean time it is working well.

Good luck if you decide to upgrade.

DISCLAIMER: This information is provided AS IS, use it under your own risk. I’m not responsible if you broke your iPhone, or if your carrier charges you a lot of money, or if someone sues you.

From AppleInsider:

Microsoft’s new software will eventually be bundled on every new PC sold, outside of Apple’s, so there’s no need to worry about leaking features or showing off the flaws of an unfinished product. Microsoft doesn’t have to sell Windows 7, it only has to worry about market rejection. Due to the volumes of PCs it will eventually be installed on, it’s bound to be successful even if it is a marginal product.

You should read the full note; the approach taken by Apple to 64 bit processing in the upcoming operating system, Snow Leopard, is clearly explained.

Via Windows 7 vs. Mac OS X Snow Leopard: Apple ups the ante (AppleInsider)

New applications, new 17″ MacBook Pro, new iTunes prices… All of that is great, but what I would have enjoyed a lot if being there, is the presentation of Tony Bennett.

January is one of my favourite months since 2004, when I became a Mac user. Steve Jobs’ keynote at Macworld has been the podium for some of the most fascinating announcements in the personal computer world.

It all ends today, as Apple states 2009 will be the last Macworld they will attend, and Steve Jobs won’t address the keynote this time.

The end of an era.

Via Engadget.

A friend of mine (Victor Márquez) just asked me some questions about the iPhone intelligence in choosing the right connection when available (WiFi or cellular data).

The switch from WiFi to cellular network data is automatic, as long as you have WiFi activated. In the default behavior, the iPhone will constantly look for new WiFi networks while the device is not in standby, and will ask if you want to join when it finds one. You can easily turn off this feature to save battery (and to avoid nagging dialogs about unfamiliar WiFi spots).

When you get home (or your office, or any other place with a familiar WiFi network) the iPhone will join the WiFi and turn off the cellular data connection. You will only notice the iPhone is using WiFi and not GPRS/EDGE/3G by the icon next to the carrier name; there’s no notification dialog to confirm. If you daily visit 4, 10 or 20 distinct places and you have joined the WiFi networks of all of them, the iPhone will jump from cellular data to WiFi to cellular data to WiFi again each time you get to a different location (Try this, Windows Mobile!).

You can also turn WiFi off completely to save battery, and turn it on only when you know you are near an accessible WiFi spot; in that case, when you turn on WiFi the iPhone will look for familiar networks and if found, it will connect automatically (and turn off cellular data). Turning on/off WiFi is not so problematic, as the switch control is just 2 taps away from the home screen.

Another concern of Victor are the iPhone capabilities as a music player and voice recorder.

The iPhone is also an iPod, and the best iPod: I could say it is more an iTunes mobile (an extension to your iTunes library that goes with you). It can host your albums, music videos, movies, tv shows and classify everything in playlists, the same way iTunes does it.

There’s a downside for the iPod functions here, and is that you must control the play/pause/previous/next functions from the touchscreen (as any other application on the iPhone). That means when you are walking in the street and want to skip the current track, you must take the iPhone out of your pocket, unlock the screen and tap the “next” icon, then push the standby hard button (to lock the iPhone again) and return the device to your pocket.

However, the volume control of the iPhone is managed by a pair of hard buttons on the left border of the device; you change the volume here for a call, the ringer or the music, earphones or speaker. No unlock needed.

As for the voice recorder: There is no such thing on the iPhone. I remember a 3rd party application released last year for jailbroken/unlocked iPhones, but I don’t think I would try this. Maybe in the meantime somebody will release a voice recorder application developed with the official iPhone SDK. (UPDATE) Actually, there are various voice recorder / voice memo applications in the App Store; some of them are free (Thanks for clarification, Christian).

Hope this helps.