14 DAY TRIAL // One highly appealing feature that Microsoft reportedly packed inside its upcoming Windows Phone 7 operating system was tethering. According to the company, this feature is expected to be available right from launch day, though it's up to wireless carriers around the world to decide whether they will enable users benefit from it or not.
Brandon Watson, Microsoft’s Director for Windows Phone 7, is the one who broke the news on this, during a radio interview on the TWiT podcast Windows Weekly.
According to a recent article on WMExperts, the news would be somehow disappointing for those eagerly waiting for Windows Phone 7 to arrive on shelves.
Most probably, the news site refers to the fact that wireless carriers will decide on enabling or not tethering for their users, but, in the end, this might not be too much of a deal breaker, especially with many operators already offering this feature on a great deal of devices.
On the other hand, Microsoft does need support from wireless carriers for the launch of Windows Phone 7, and it makes sense that the company enables them to take this kind of decisions.
Many wireless services providers already had a series of issues with their networks not being able to support the entire amount of data traffic their users would be able to generate, and they will certainly welcome Microsoft's decision on tethering.
Of course, enthusiasts will be able to find a way to get the feature up and running on their handsets even if their carrier will block it, but, in the end, operators will be those to decide on the matter.
One way or the other, users will be able to learn more on this as soon as the first Windows Phone 7 devices arrive on shelves.
This should happen before October is over, as Microsoft is expected to launch the new mobile platform officially on October 11th, during an event in New York, with handsets hitting the shelves soon after.
Update: According to a recent article on Engadget, Windows Phone 7 won't come with tethering. Microsoft themselves reportedly said that, and this is the company's official position on the matter.