I'd like to know this too. I asked in another thread but got no reply.
From what I've been able to gather, its for faster internet browsing and making calls over the internet where you don't get cell coverage. I'm wondering if those are the only benefits.
As for making calls, I'd like to know if you have to subscribe to some service like Skype or something.
Biggest benefit is being able to use the device without a plan. Surf the web, music, videos, skype for phone calls... Not sure about browser speed. The wifi looked G-d awful slow on the video, but maybe some Bold users can chime in.
Biggest benefit is being able to use the device without a plan. Surf the web, music, videos, skype for phone calls... Not sure about browser speed. The wifi looked G-d awful slow on the video, but maybe some Bold users can chime in.
Except if you are a Verizon customer and they won't sell you a smartphone without a data plan.
Definitely can. I had a Curve 8900 before and on wifi always got all my data, bbm, im, email, txt and even going on the interenet. You can do anything requiring data through wifi. Great for people like me who dont get solid coverage in my house no matter who the carrier is.
This phone will not have UMA support however correcy? Therefore you can't make phone calls over the wifi right? This is the part I'm confused about.
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no that doesnt matter. UMA is a wireless protocol that Tmobile chose to use. It is already confirmed people who have say the omnia on verizon with wifi are able to make calls over wifi, however those calls are still taken from the minutes they have in their plan.
I do not understand why you would need wifi on a cell phone? what is the big deal? can someone please explain?
Because cell signals sometimes do not penetrate into buildings. At my desk I have no cell coverage from any carrier. Not a shred of signal, but I have access to two wifi SSID's from my desk. Having wifi on my phone would mean my phone is not a paper weight from 8-5.
BB has mostly been focused on business users. These people rely on their phone not just for calls, but also email etc. In many places, just no phone service. For instance, all the airlines are in a rush to get wifi going quickly. I would bet a huge percentage of business people flying many times a month would like to be able to get email on a 3-6 hr flight. Or on a sales call where you are in an office blding that cellular can't get thru. Or anyplace like this.
I am amazed that vzw would NOT want to put wifi on every smartphone. You need to have a data plan with all their smartphones, if they had wifi, you would be using less of their network and still paying for it.
Everyone keeps saying "to make calls where cell phone coverage doesn't exist" but still not one has said how this is done. Do you have to subscribe to some service? If so, is it free or an additional cost which would negate any benefit?
I can see myself using it for internet access...especially at home and those of friends but i'm thinking only a minority of people use it or phone calls from office buildings with no cell coverage or when they're in the middle of the desert...neither of which is an issue for me.
Another benefit of wifi is that international data rates can be very expensive. If you travel overseas, it would make sense to use wifi whenever possible to save on data costs.
Everyone keeps saying "to make calls where cell phone coverage doesn't exist" but still not one has said how this is done. Do you have to subscribe to some service? If so, is it free or an additional cost which would negate any benefit?
I can see myself using it for internet access...especially at home and those of friends but i'm thinking only a minority of people use it or phone calls from office buildings with no cell coverage or when they're in the middle of the desert...neither of which is an issue for me.
So you are at your house barely getting 1x on your phone. You pop on your wi-fi and you can make a call out getting incoming calls get all data also. No you don't have to subscribe to anything. Instead of making the call through a connection to a cell tower, your phone is using wi-fi kinda like Voice over Ip into Verizon's network to make calls/receive data.
Also if it supports wireless n, it would be way faster than 3G
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I doubt it will be wireless n but just so you know, a b/g is faster than 3g regardless. There are device restrictions that limit this performance enhancement, but any sort of solid wifi connection on standardized freq will perform faster than 3g EVDO on the device itself
Last edited by RicanMedic78; 08-20-09 at 10:31 PM.
