I got PDANet for my Droid. It's better than the cable service around here and comparable to most DSL speeds. 2/mbps down, 1 up. One time charge of $30 was worth it.

Where can I get it?

Told ya.

Thanks Tom. I'm currently connecting to the phone wirelessly, do I need a USB connection for this, since my laptop has no bluetooth?

Also, what does this mean?

"Note: Once trial expires, you can continue using PdaNet for free. The only difference is that free edition blocks secure web sites."

I have no idea on the USB thing Jim, I just happened to find the software.  I do not have a cell phone that can be used like this.

Shhhh.....Yrag might hear you!! 

It actually means that you can't access https sites like logging into Email or Facebook, but you can still access things that you don't have to log in for - i.e. search engines, wikipedia, reading forums (Just can't log in) etc, youtube browsing and streaming.

Also, I have a first generation Android and PDANet works fine with it - I believe there are versions coming out for Blackberry and iPhone platforms in the future, maybe even Windows Mobile, but not certain - Haven't looked at the site in a while.

You just need the USB charger cable to use the tethering. You activate PDANet on the phone, enable USB Debugging, and then hit "Activate USB Tether" - Then you just plug it into the computer and run the program on the computer. It's pretty simple, and once USB debugging is enabled you can leave it toggled.

One note - Depending on your phone's power pull and signal strength in the area, sometimes PDANet uses slightly more power than the USB cord can replenish, so you'll have a slowly dying battery, but I can use my connection for eight hours at a time on some days, and my phone's battery life hasn't suffered for it. It routinely runs for days at a time when I'm not actively calling people, and I've been using PDANet for six months now.

There _is_ an option to enable bluetooth tethering, but you do have to root your phone for that option, or at least on the version I originally started with. Then you can use it as a bluetooth hot spot, depending on if your device is compatible. Again, I have a first gen phone and it's fine, so it should be fine with consecutive versions.

So what I am gathering by all this is that it is illegal to use your cell phone as a WiFi hot spot then?

Ahhhh, OK.  Thanks Doc!

Correct. Most all smartphones require a data plan anyway.

BTW, my wife bought me a tablet, gets here tomorrow. 

.....you'll fuck it up.................

Illegal, no, however it is generally a TOS violation and can get you terminated if you don't have an appropriate plan which allows tethering or hotspot functionality. Some providers prohibit tethering altogether even if you are paying for unlimited data (it makes it much easier to reach "excessive" levels of usage, the consequences of which vary by provider).

Simply having a data plan may or may not include such, so check your TOS before doing this.