[soleimam]

How is it going everyone?

As you may know i could not make myself to buy the the HOLY MIGHTY STORM only because of lack of wi-fi, and after 24 hrs and doing a lot of thinking i am just wondering "HOW IMPORTANT THIS WIFI THING REALY IS?" and i mean both for THEE Storm and in general?

I am in a kind of dilemma as i am so in love with THEE Storm especially having had the privilege playing around with it, but i still can not overlook the wi-fi?

And why i feel i am happier stickin to my old 8310 with no wi-fi and 3G at all rather than having THEE Storm and only missing wifi?

Maybe something is wrong in my head. Please educate me. Thanks a lot in advance.

[Crucial_Xtreme]

Wifi is very important. Regardless of the network it's on. No network is sufficient enough for Wifi not be an advantage. That said, the Storm not having wifi isn't a deal breaker. If you need wifi on a Verizon BlackBerry wait for the Niagara.

[notabun]

I originally thought it was a big downfall. But then I started noticing that all the WiFi hotspots around here seem to becoming not so free anymore. I would rather use the VZW network than pay $10/mon. to use WiFi hotspots.

[Sooks]

notabun is right ... rather pay 10 bucks a month then having to pay at random hotspots .. it would be nice for my home wifi but i have my laptop

[Primate#CB]

For me it is not important at all. I can't see why I would ever use it. It is going to be a personal needs thing I guess. If you do a ton of web surfing and downloading from you phone then it might be important. Or, if you are frequently in areas with a bad signal such as at your home / office and you need your phone to check email or surf the web around firewalls then you would want it. I do not fall under any of those categories so I say no biggie.

[soleimam]

You have a point there Crucial Xtreme. How about vodafone UK. seriously i think i am mentaly sick i am even happy to wait for 8900 with no 3g?
can somebody fix my brain please?
Where can i read a bit more about Niagara?

[buxleyp]

YMMV. Having wifi would be great, but lack of wifi will not stop me from buying the Storm.

I've had wifi-enabled phones for a few years; luckily for me everywhere I go I have good EVDO coverage. Even at home, it's easier for me to use the default EVDO than to switch my phone to use my home's wifi. For normal email/web, I don't notice a huge difference. Wifi is great though for streaming video from my slingbox.

[sgtmilstack]

Wi-Fi can be important in many situations, the biggie being in poor signal areas.

With that said, if the area you are in has spotty coverage, then Wi-Fi is great.
Me being on VzW in NYC, the coverage is excellent. Therefore, the absence of Wi-Fi won't sway my decision.

It all depends on what you consider is more important.

(This is just my opinion and there are other advantages to Wi-Fi other than coverage).

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[NFLBlitze1]

Yeah, its definatly something id prefer to have on the phone. But it doesn't really make a difference to me. Even at a wifi hotspot, ill still be using the 3G, the only thing that i would even USE wifi for is, if i can't get reception, otherwise i wouldn't use it.

its not really like i'll be downloading anything on the better other then webpages. and i managed to do it with 56k for so many years so im all good. Although like i said before, wifi would be prefered just because its convenient, and you would expect it on a phone of this caliber

[Sooks]

is their some external wifi adapter we can use ?? lol long shot buy maby ?

[Ultrafied]

At first I was really bummed about not having Wi-Fi on the Storm. It would be nice, but since I've been a VZ customer for so long, I've never had the opportunity to use Wi-Fi. So .... no Wi-Fi isn't a deal breaker, it just would have been nice to have it. My coverage is pretty good so I won't be missing something I never had.

[VoltaicShock]

I wanted Wi-Fi so I went back to AT&T and got the Bold.

I have heard the Storm is coming to AT&T and should have Wi-Fi so I am just holding out until then.

[shooptek]

Would it be nice to have WiFi? Of course. Am I still going to get the Storm even without WiFi? Of course. WiFi would be nice, but most of the time when I am in a place that has WiFi where I would be using the storm I also have my Macbook Pro with me, so its not a big deal.

[JonnyIreland]

I think the importance of wifi is totally dependant on how good 'high speed' coverage is where you live or spend most of your time with your BB (be that 3G or whatever you have in your country/area). People who dismiss wifi as unimportant though are kidding themselves in my opinion (just my opinion though -again, if you live in a super-duper 100% 3G area, wifi isnt as necessary for somebody who lives in the wild countryside!).
Finally, as somebody already pointed out -i dont think ANY phone network can allow surfing as fast as wifi, so of course it would be a welcome addition to any internet-enabed handset.

Like i said, just my opinion. However, i live in an area with poor network coverage, yet i'm ditching my wifi enabled iPhone for a Storm after one day -so that should tell you just how good the Storm is. Figure that one out.

[notabun]

I just moved to Grand Rapids, MI, so I haven't been able to check around here yet, but in the Detroit area it seemed like every WiFi hotspot was bought by T-Mobile or someone else which means you needed an account that would cost $10/month.

Is anyone else experiencing this same thing with WiFi becoming a pay service?

[soleimam]

I wanted Wi-Fi so I went back to AT&T and got the Bold.

I have heard the Storm is coming to AT&T and should have Wi-Fi so I am just holding out until then.

Woow are you sure about tha?i twould be great if you can give us some mor information on that.

And to the rest of my friends, I am on vodafone in London and vodafone is generally very respected for its mobile broad band and 3g signal.

so you think i should buy THEE Storm? is not there any better upcoming phone from RIM? All the foss is because of these lengthy contracts and the fact that the fone you buy you have to live with it for 18 months, that's what makes it even more difficult.

I feel i so need a freash and up to date phone.

[CelesteB]

Wifi came in handy for me as i am on tmobile and i get spotty coverage. The thing about it is that i only picked up a wifi signal at home, near a starbucks (ect) or at school. So i guess if verizons coverage is better then i dont need wifi. Guess it depends on what you need to make your phone work best for you.

[JMB 23]

This is how I think about it. Where are the places you are most likely to be out of service range? Now ask yourself, in these places, are you likely to be around a WiFi hot spot? For me, the answer is, sadly, no. So this makes WiFi pretty unimportant to my decision making process.

If you live in a place with ubiquitous WiFi access, then maybe this should be of concern to you. I work in midtown Manhattan, and for me, there are not enough free WiFi hot spots that exist in areas where I have no other coverage (especially because my coverage is so good in this area). The only time I ever lose service is when I'm underground at Penn Station, but even then, my service is in and out... and there sure isn't any WiFi down there.

At home, my service can be a little spottier, but I prefer to use my laptop there anyway.

[soleimam]

This is how I think about it. Where are the places you are most likely to be out of service range? Now ask yourself, in these places, are you likely to be around a WiFi hot spot? For me, the answer is, sadly, no. So this makes WiFi pretty unimportant to my decision making process.

If you live in a place with ubiquitous WiFi access, then maybe this should be of concern to you. I work in midtown Manhattan, and for me, there are not enough free WiFi hot spots that exist in areas where I have no other coverage (especially because my coverage is so good in this area). The only time I ever lose service is when I'm underground at Penn Station, but even then, my service is in and out... and there sure isn't any WiFi down there.

At home, my service can be a little spottier, but I prefer to use my laptop there anyway.

That made sense to me JBM 23. Thank you all very much to be honest here only mcdonalds an sturbucks and libraries give free wifi access at which i hardly think i would have bad reception.

[bigbirdlarry]

wow it doesnt have wifi?

[moosc]

didnt take long to bring up WIFI again... with most places not having it doesnt bother me my laptop has wifi and a rev a card ive found some places slow so flip on my aircard its much better

[goesquik]

I would have to say wifi was an initial feature I was hoping for but when I come to think of it, I very rarely used it on my iphone. It wasn't much faster than EDGE, IMHO. I used it mainly to purchase some itunes songs, proper web surfing is alwasy best on my laptop. Don't get me wrong wifi is good, when you need to pull up something fast or are board at work/school. But in the end, wifi is not going to affect my purchase of a new phone.

[Thomas-C]

I currently have a windows mobile phone with wifi and even when I'm at home. . I don't even use it, even with the poor data coverage. I think it's not extremely important. Of course with every other radio in this phone. . .you'd think wifi would be included

[st3v3]

Not important. I've noticed that it's hard to find free wifi a lot of the time anyway. When I'm walking down the street I will be most worried about the best 3g connection, not the best wifi.

[stanfna#AC]

would be nice....but not even close to a deal breaker for me. but then again...i have never had it (Palm Treo 700p).