AT&T’s CEO Ralph de la Vega made the announcement at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Fransisco this month that tethering for the iPhone 3G is coming “soon.” While the exact dates of “soon” weren’t defined, I think this time it actually has some truth to it. We’ve waited for more than a year now for AT&T to get their act together and prepare their network, and they’re well aware of our growing impatience. Although I fear that it may harm their network even more, it could cost them more in bad PR if they never even get around to giving the feature a chance.

There are plenty of reports of various App Stores popping up that promise to offer iPhone applications in a way other than through the actual iTunes App Store. Just this week, the Cydia store was made available for jailbroken iPhones. These App Stores—which are completely illegitimate in Apple’s eyes, I’m sure—offer to bring numerous applications that Apple won’t allow in the store, such as tethering (which is already available on the Cydia store). Should Apple care?