One cool difference between the Verizon iPhone and its AT&038'T counterpart is the addition of mobile hotspot capabilities &8212' which allows you to share your 3G connection with up to five other devices.
I got a chance to see the hotspot functionality in action today at Verizona4‚¬a4„s unveiling of the phone, and it certainly looks like a feature that subscribers will enjoy lording over AT&038'T customers.
As you can see in the video below, turning on the hotspot involves a quick jump into your iPhonea4‚¬a4„s settings, much like turning on internet tethering on AT&038'Ta4‚¬a4„s iPhone 4. The hotspot was enabled quickly, but unfortunately I didna4‚¬a4„t have a chance to connect to it. Turning off the hotspot was just as quick.
Verizon wouldna4‚¬a4„t say how much it will charge for the feature, but I suspect it wouldna4‚¬a4„t be much different from hotspot pricing for the Droid X and other Android phones. The carrier charges $20-per-month for the Droid Xa4‚¬a4„s hotspot, which comes with 2 gigabytes of data.
I also tried to load a YouTube video on the phone to stress its data capabilities. As you can see below, the YouTube video started playing quickly, and I was able to easily jump to another portion of the video and have it resume playback. I didna4‚¬a4„t get a chance to record my iPhone (which is on AT&038'T, of course) loading the same video, but I can report ita4‚¬a4„s significantly slower while trying to do so both in Manhattan and my Brooklyn apartment.
Calling all developers: We want your apps for VentureBeata4‚¬a4„s Mobile App Spotlight! If you have a cool mobile app that hasna4‚¬a4„t been featured on VentureBeat yet, sign up! Submissions end on January 12. The Mobile App Spotlight is sponsored by The Intel AppUp developer program.
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Companies: Apple, AT&'T, Verizon
Companies: Apple, AT&'T, Verizon
Devindra Hardawar is VentureBeat's lead mobile writer and East Coast correspondent. He studied philosophy at Amherst College, worked in IT support for several years, and has been writing about technology since 2004. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can reach him at devindra@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @Devindra.
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