With the iOS update 4.3, my iPhone 4 was transformed from just a smartphone to a super-smartphone. This is because the iOS update included a “Personal Hotspot” feature which turned your iPhone into a portable wireless router.

Yes, the iPhone used to have a “tethering feature” through an older iOS. And tethering allowed you to hook your iPhone up to your laptop turning it into a modem - but this only allowed a one-to-one connection. With the personal hotspot, your iPhone can become a wireless router for multiple devices, so not only can you surf the 'net on your laptop, your friend (or business partner) can set their device to use your connection as well. Smart hey!

Now let’s see how to get going…

(You may need to contact your service provider in order to get the feature working.)

Launch the Settings app. Click on the Personal Hotspot tab.

Slide the Personal Hotspot tab from "off" to "on".

Select your most preferred *connection method. (An iPhone 3 or 3GS may be limited to a connection method of only Bluetooth or USB.)

You will then see that a blue bar appears at the top of your screen. You will also be able to see how many devices are connected to your iPhone. If no devices are connected, the hotspot will power down after 90 seconds and will no longer be available to connect to.

To connect your device (laptop, iPad, etc), you will need to click on the Internet settings on your device, input the password created by Personal Hotspot, and connect to your iPhone. (You can easily change this password to something you can remember. Just click on the password tab and type in a new password.)

When you want to turn off your hotspot, simply return to the Settings app, click the Personal Hotspot tab, and then slide the tab to be “off”. With Personal Hotspot on iPhone 4, you really don’t need a WiFi connection to surf the web from your computer - you can now, just as easily, use your Apple iPhone.