JoikuSpot Premium, funny name, serious application, is now available for Symbian^3 devices such as the Nokia N8 and C7. It takes the internet connection that your operator pumps into your mobile device and then blasts it out over your smartphone’s WiFi chipset to enable other devices to connect to the internet. In geek circles this is known as tethering, and it’s something both the Apple iPhone and Google’s Android operating system are capable of doing for free, without the need to install anything. Now granted, the iPhone doesn’t really turn into a WiFi hotspot, it instead allows you to get your laptop online, but Android, since version 2.2, has had this portable hotspot capability built in.
Anyone who has tethered in the past using Bluetooth knows how painful an experience that can be, and besides, most devices on the market don’t even support Bluetooth tethering. You’ll have to cough up $10 for JoikuSpot Premium, and having used it back in the day when I had a Nokia N82 and E71 jumbling around in my pockets, I can whole heartedly recommend it. If you use devices such as the iPad or Amazon Kindle, both of which have cheaper variants that don’t include built in 3G functionality, then you’ll want to snatch this up.
Will Nokia bake this feature inside future MeeGo and Symbian devices? It’s tough to say. Operators don’t like it when they lose revenue, which is why many of them who sell Android devices disable the hotspot feature and ask customers to pay an additional fee. Yet another reason why I’m firmly committed to purchasing factory unlocked devices. Competing with the same developers you’re trying to lure to your ecosystem is never a good thing, but customers these days are expecting a baseline of features that if companies fail to achieve, will immediately lose out when it’s time to upgrade to a new handset.
In short: Buy this. Now.
[Via: The Nokia Blog]