The BlackBerry 7130e will be available in stores soon and as we wait for it, I wonder if one of it’s features will fundamentally change how many of us CrackBerry addicts fundamentally use the BlackBerry.

This really cool feature that I am talking about is high-speed modem tethering. Tethering your BlackBerry to a laptop is not a new feature. In fact, I have done it many times with my T-mobile 7100t. The problem with the ‘old tether’ is that it is painfully slow. Slow like draining a swimming pool through a coffee straw. The ‘new tether’ on the other hand , using the new BlackBerry 7130e that runs on Verizon’s high speed EvDO network will offer broadband speeds of 400-700 KBs. This is like draining a pool by tipping it on its side and letting the water run out.

If you walk through any airport during the week it is fairly common to see dozens of business travelers head down in the BlackBerry prayer, thumbing away on their devices while their laptop sits idly by in the computer bag. Will we start to see more of these folks with their laptops open and the BlackBerry next to it allowing them not only to send and receive the same email that they get on the BlackBerry, but connect back to their office, surf the Internet with a full screen browser, or even play game of World of WarCraft online all from their laptop that has a fast Internet connection thanks to the high-speed modem tether?

Some would say that you could already do this if you had a wireless broadband card, however, many would argue the the expense of the card and the service weren’t worth it when you would still need to own a BlackBerry for those times when pulling your laptop out is not as convenient as when you are sitting in an airport. That argument goes away when you can add unlimited BroadBand Connect to your BlackBerry for as little as an additional $15 a month.

I am so… getting one of these when they come out.