Cell phone tethering is fast and convenient with the myTouch 4G.
Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
The T-Mobile myTouch 4G is the follow-up to the T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide. As of March 2011, it's one of the few smartphones compatible with 4G networks, so it has faster data speeds than most phones. If you have the myTouch 4G, you can tether it with your Toshiba laptop wirelessly or using a USB cord.
Tethering
A 3G or 4G cell phone with a data plan has full access to the Internet through its cellular network. The connection is similar to that of a computer that's online using a wireless router; the computer sends and receives data via the router, and your phone sends and receives data via cell phone towers. Since you can connect a cell phone to a computer and exchange data like syncing music and calendar items, it stands to reason that you can use the phone to get the computer online. Tethering a cell phone to a computer allows your computer to request data from the Internet, such as an e-mail or a specific website, and then your cell phone relays the request to the cellular network, receives the data and transfers it to your computer. The term "tethering" often means the phone connects to a device with a cord of some kind, but some phones can use wireless tethering by broadcasting a wireless network.
T-Mobile myTouch
The T-Mobile myTouch 4G is an Android smartphone manufactured by HTC with plenty of features included in its hardware and software. The myTouch 4G ships with the Android 2.2 Froyo platform, which does support USB and wireless tethering. If you have the right data plan with T-Mobile, you can tether your myTouch 4G to your Toshiba laptop to provide Internet access anywhere that you have a 3G or 4G cellular connection.
USB Tethering
You need to install one piece of software called a "driver" on your computer before you can use USB tethering. Connect your phone to your Toshiba laptop, then click the Start menu and double-click your phone, which is displayed as a drive there. Double-click the "HTCDriver.exe" file and follow the prompts to install it. Your phone should be displaying the "Connect to PC" screen; just select "USB Tethering" and wait a moment for the tethering connection to be established.
Wireless Tethering
To tether wirelessly, your Toshiba laptop must have a Wi-Fi antenna and be able to connect to standard wireless networks. Tethering wirelessly is a slightly different process than USB tethering. On your phone, press the "Home" button to go to the "Home" screen if you're not there already, and then press the options button, which is the button with the three horizontal lines in the middle-left of the phone. Tap "Settings," then "Wireless & networks." You ought to configure the wireless network before broadcasting it, so tap "Portable Wi-Fi hotspot settings," then select "WPA2 PSK" from the drop-down menu and enter a password. Note the name of the network and then tap the "Portable Wi-Fi hotspot" option to check the box beside it and turn on the hotspot. Your Toshiba laptop can now connect to the network using the password you entered, and you can get online using your T-Mobile myTouch 4G.
Photo Credits
- Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
