If you have a BlackBerry and don’t want to pay for a separate mobile broadband aircard or the additional fees charged by your carrier to use your BlackBerry as a modem this app will do the trick.  The new app Tether (formerly TetherBerry), is now available on the BlackBerry App World.  Even better, the software is on sale for $19.99, 60% off its normal price of $50.  It’s currently the number 1 paid app and they even offer a free trial.

Install

The install of Tether is simple, download the app on your BlackBerry and the software on your computer.  The PC software install is simple, and requires the BlackBerry desktop software, which the Tether installer will prompt you to install.  The install on a Mac is just as easy, simple mount the installer and click next until it’s done.  The Tether software for both Mac and PC creates a virtual network card, so do be alarmed if you see a new one in your network connections.

Connecting

Once everything is installed, simply open the Tether app on the BlackBerry and on your computer.  You’ll choose USB or Bluetooth and off you go.  It’s that simple.  You can move the Tether app to run in the background of the BlackBerry so you can continue to use it.

Speed and Data

You can expect the same speeds using Tether  that an aircard from your cell provider would give.  I’m using a Verizon Tour 9630 and SpeedTest.net gave me about 1 mbps download and 300 kbps upload.

For those that don’t have an unlimited data plan, the Tether software on the computer side will keep track of your data usage.  You can even set a range of dates, so you can see how much you’ve used that month.

Conclusion

Tether is deal at $50 compared to the monthly fees of $60 or more for a mobile broadband aircard, and at the limited time cost of $20 it’s a steal.  With a simple, clean, and intuitive interface it makes Tethering your blackberry a quick and easy and it’s a must have app for any Connected Commuter.