I recently was hooked up with a copy of Tether for BlackBerry by a buddy of mine. I will refrain from listing his name here so he doesn’t get inundated by people begging for a hook up. To my friend…thank you! I had no idea what I was missing!

Here’s the deal. I had heard about Tether many times before. I actually looked into purchasing it more than once, but I just couldn’t justify the price. Especially since I have a non-3G phone. There is little in life as painful as loading a full web page over a 2G connection. If you ever do have the chance to load a full web page over a 2G connection, jump off a f-ing cliff. It will be far less painful.

Due to my stance on paying for an insanely slow internet connection, I opted to go with the even more painful solution of tethering my BlackBerry manually. Great idea.

And, by the way, I got it to work exactly one time.

Now, as I stated before, I only have 2G, so my connection speed is roughly half the speed of a slug, especially at work where I only have GPRS coverage. I can get full EDGE signal from the parking lot 50 feet away, but not at my desk (you figure that one out). However, despite the speed, I can still access my email. I know…kind of pointless since I have a BlackBerry, but this post is not about what I can accomplish at work or my connection speed, it’s about the app itself.

As I installed Tether on my PC, I marveled at the ease of installation. No complicated network connection settings. No dreaded modem strings. Just as simple as installing Solitaire.

I downloaded the BlackBerry app. Simple. When I started both of the apps, again I was amazed at the ease. Just start the app on your PC and BlackBerry, select your connection method, and you are done.

From someone who has attempted the manual connection, I must say Tether is the only way to go. Manual connection involves creating a connection, adding a startup script to the modem launch, pairing the device, and combating the urge to either slit your wrist or gouge out your eyeball with a spoon.

Tether takes that all away. It is literally as easy as installing the app and hitting the “do it to it” button. The only “technical” part is setting up the APN on your BlackBerry, which will differ from carrier to carrier.

For T-Mobile, in case you are wondering, the APN is wap.voicestream.com.

Take this for what you will, but Tether is worth the investment. Like I said before, the speed of your connection is not the determining factor here. The time, stress, and money you will save is. If you travel a lot and just need email access, there is no better money saver than Tether. After one airport layover and a two night stay in a hotel, the app will have already paid for itself — assuming there is no free WiFi.

And no, I am not saying that Tether is only good for email. It creates a full internet connection. I am just too impatient to wait for 2G to load pages. If you have 3G (or even better, 4G) or a lot of patience, you will have the interwebs anywhere your phone has signal.

Long story short, buy Tether if you need mobile connectivity. You won’t be disappointed.

Published from my beloved BlackBerry.