Do You Wi-Fi on Your Phone?
It wasn’t that long ago that phones did what they were designed to do, connect to phone networks. Having Wi-Fi on a phone was a pipe dream, and why would you even want that? Then phones started to appear with integrated Wi-Fi, and everyone took notice. Formerly the domain of laptop users while on the run, Wi-Fi was quickly noticed to be not only desirable on phones, but mandatory. With Wi-Fi onboard almost all smartphones on the market, it is not surprising that over half of the connections to Wi-Fi hotspots are made by phones and other handheld devices, not laptops.
Mobile ad distributor JiWire has reported that 56 percent of all ads served over its Wi-Fi networks are dished up by handheld devices — phones in particular. The JiWire network consists of hotspots in hotels, coffee shops and airports, normally the domain of laptop users.
I suspect a couple of things are at play with this wide-spread usage of Wi-Fi on phones. Cost is likely one factor, as phone data plans are still expensive and many have monthly data caps that must be respected. Then there is raw speed — Wi-Fi networks are almost always faster than even the best 3G phone networks. When faced with a limited amount of time, the faster the network, the more that can be done.
I admit that when phones first started getting Wi-Fi capability, I kept it turned off most of the time. I was concerned about unnecessary battery drain, so I only turned it on when needed and quickly disabled it when I didn’t. Now I don’t think about it, Wi-Fi is usually on most of the time as I find it is actually gentler on the battery than 3G data connections. How about you? Do you use Wi-Fi on your phone or other handheld device? If so, what drives that usage?
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I have a Palm Pre+ and I use WiFi a lot because it is faster than any 3G network.
I have a great data plan, so that’s not really an issue, but I do like to use the WiFi because of speed. I have WiFi at home, in some places at work, and a lot of places around my home because of Optimum WiFi so it’s nice.
Dave
http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com
Yes I do, and on the Nexus One, it’s a joy.
I used to, but for some reason when i enable wifi on my palm pre it blocks all other wireless devices from connecting to my router. Thought it was the router at first, but after messing around with it the only common factor is the phone =(
Brett, I’ve noticed some odd Wi-Fi problems as well. In my case I tried setting up my main router for g only. I thought that the Pre should connect just fine and maybe go faster, and it does sometimes. But mostly it tries to connect to my secondary b-only network which is a weak signal coming from the other end of the house, or one of my neighbors. No matter how many times I tried resetting the phone and the router I couldn’t get reliable connections until I switched the router back to b/g and now the Pre works great. (This is a Belkin router.)
I use wifi with my Droid whenever it’s available. The speed difference between EVDO and wifi is usually noticeable.
no phone wifi in public areas. 3g connection is available everywhere, worldwide, paid for, and fast enough for phone browsing. wifi is faster but is tied to a location, needs logging in everytime i change location/hotspot and is often not free. and if it is free, many people share the router so speed drops to 3G levels anyway (never mind timeouts). moving often around, 3G is the only “always on, always there” internet access. i only use phone wifi at home/at work when it really is needed.
i only use wifi on the phone at home, every where else just seems like a chore as you have to enter username and password etc in most UK places every time, by the time ive faffed around doing that, i could have done what i needed to do on 3g. i suppose those without unlimited data plans would use the wifi hotspots all the time seeing as MC Donalds and some other chains have had free wifi for the past few years over here in the UK
I use my home and some other familiar wi-fi networks on my Blackberry, but have essentially given up on hotspots (like at Starbucks) because the need to swap to HotSpot Browser and the challenges of signing-on to these sites via the device leaves a LOT to be desired.
Yes all the time. For faster browsing, downloading apps, and streaming video mostly.
I’m with the “mostly at home” crowd but not so much away from home. I’m not usually doing anything with the phone that requires a faster connection than the integrated 3G. The only exception is when my 3G signal strength is less than optimal and there’s Wi-Fi available.
I use WiFi at home primarily. WiFi has come in handy on my Palm Pre when traveling to Canada, since roaming data access is expensive.