[Droymac]

Is it relatively easy to tether an android smartphone to the chromebook? I have a galaxy s phone with unlimited data plan and was hoping to tether instead of buying the 3g chromebook.

Thanks!

You have two options:

Your first option is to add T-Mobile's Wi-Fi tethering plan to your account, which is an extra $15/mo. Your second option, which is what I did (I have a Galaxy S 4G), is to root your phone and install an app that allows Wi-Fi tethering with root access. I had no clue what I was doing when I rooted my phone, but it turned out to be a lot simpler than I expected.

I assumed you are with T-Mobile. That in mind, know that T-Mobile has a data cap of 5 gigabits. Fortunately they don't charge extra for going over, but they will switch you from 4G to Edge (aka 2G) for the remainder of that billing cycle if you do happen to cap out.

 

[Droymac]

Droymac is talking about turning your phone into a wifi hotspot. The phone would act as a wireless router, you would log in and be connected to the web via your phone's data plan. There are ways to do this without paying the $15/month. Again, YMMV.

Wireless tethering is the only way to access your phone's data connection via Chromebook at the moment. PDAnet works great for Windows machines, and is also a lot easier than rooting your phone, but Chromebooks don't have the driver support needed to use such a program.

I wrote a full review on my experience with my new Chromebook that can be read here. It covers data tethering and more.

 

[Droymac]

I actually have ATT - I had the unlimited data grandfathered into my plan.because I had the iPhone.

Is pdanet available too ATT subscribers? I have had trouble finding it?

PDAnet is available to anybody who is with a carrier that allows third-party apps. The app used to be available via Android Market, but was removed due to the whole tethering controversy.

Thanks for your review. So is the general consensus that the only way to tether by rooting your android phone? I was hoping there was an easier way

Unfortunately rooting is the only option at this point. All of the popular tethering apps that don't require root do require client software to be installed to your computer, which Chrome OS doesn't support.