so why use WIFI?

[takeshi]

WiFi typically uses less power (for the same amount of data) than 3G.

If you are really getting the same speed in 3g as your wireless, you must have dialup!

Or WiFi configuration issues, possibly.

What data charges? The required data plan is unlimited.....

While that's true for the Droid, not everyone here is with Verizon. Some are even outside the US where unlimited data plans aren't typical.

 

[iPirate]

WiFi typically uses less power (for the same amount of data) than 3G.

If you are really getting the same speed in 3g as your wireless, you must have dialup!

Or WiFi configuration issues, possibly.

What data charges? The required data plan is unlimited.....

While that's true for the Droid, not everyone here is with Verizon. Some are even outside the US where unlimited data plans aren't typical.

Wifi should only use less power if you are in an area with bad 3g signal and great wifi signal.


Wifi is/was required fro some apps, I think uploading to youtube is one.

 

[gatecitycanes]

On Speedtest it says that my wifi is 10x faster on downloads and twice as fast on uploads. When I'm at home I just stay on wifi.

 

[noorigin]

iirc it was discovered wifi uses less power for data transfer than 3g. ie downloading a large file with wifi will use less battery than doing it with 3g. however 3g uses much less power to remain on than wifi. but when 3g starts actual data transfer the power spikes way up.

for me, the 3g is pretty good. not as fast down as my isp at home (DSL) but the 3g upload speed trumps my DSL by a large margin. my dsl can upload, at best, around 50-60kB/s. my 3g will hit 300kB/s no problem, sometimes even 400kB/s if the stars are lined up right.

 

[hookbill]

You should notice it in downloading things. For example, download from the market in 3g vs wifi. It downloads faster in wifi then it would in 3g.

Try it on something big that you download, you will definitely see the difference.

While I agree that there is a big difference in speed, "Free" WiFi can spotty. Most places I've been to with free Wifi won't let me access the Market, Amazon, Savvy Shopper, Speed Test or even Bettr Flickr.

I downloaded from the Market just the other day with wifi, no problem.

 

[aaf709]

You should notice it in downloading things. For example, download from the market in 3g vs wifi. It downloads faster in wifi then it would in 3g.

Try it on something big that you download, you will definitely see the difference.

While I agree that there is a big difference in speed, "Free" WiFi can spotty. Most places I've been to with free Wifi won't let me access the Market, Amazon, Savvy Shopper, Speed Test or even Bettr Flickr.

I downloaded from the Market just the other day with wifi, no problem.

And where were you when you downloaded?

 

[mitchb2]

My home wifi is comparable to 3g but at the college where I teach I can get over 9Mbps on my phone.

 

[dylanthecat]

Better battery life and faster speeds for me. I am on WIFI 90% of the time.

 

[dmacleo]

If you are really getting the same speed in 3g as your wireless, you must have dialup!

I know that isn't the case, but the wireless should be much faster than 3g on anything but the absolute slowest provider.

I get a kick out of blanket statements....

out here we are serviced by TDS telecom and they are ONLY broadband provider in the area. and due to telecom rules no other phone company can use their poles to run services. no cable, no fios, no uverse, and wildblue/direcway services are not acceptable due to draconian FAP policies.

until last month 3Mbs was fastest dsl we could get, download transfer speeds were slightly slower on 3G but upload speeds were just under double.
so I used 3G usually.
they just upgraded some stuff so I can get 5M now and for most part its always better then 3G, except at night when the overloaded edge router that will be replaced in 2 months drops me to ISDN speeds.
so during night I swap back to 3G. this has been an issue for better part of a year and I finally proved it was not my end so I get some huge breaks on prices right now

course once I step off my property its ALWAYS 3G as there are NO wifi hotspots.

I get a good signal, usually -80db, and wifi has always been slightly better on battery usage. not enough to make me care a lot one way or another, but slightly noticeable.

 

[GrillMouster]

Assuming you have a fast ISP, Wifi is faster and uses less of the phone's battery (and generates less heat) than 3G for equivalent data amounts. However, when not actively downloading data, 3G consumes less power than Wifi.

Many of the market apps are so small in size that a user may not notice a huge difference in speed between using 3G and Wifi for downloading. However, I do notice a difference in general web surfing (pages load faster). Where I really notice the difference is when I'm viewing streaming video, like YouTube, and downloading large files, such as audio & video podcasts with DoggCatcher.

 

[jntdroid]

I get 35 up/down on my home wifi, (the phone limits that though) but holding the wifi signal clearly sucks more battery than 3G, so most of the time I just leave wifi off until I need it. Not sure why it works harder holding wifi, we're not in a big house or anything.

edit: I can also say I have similar issues with the Market, even on my home wifi... it seems to take forever to connect to the market, and sometimes I get an error and have to try again... once i'm in, it's fine, but it's weird

 

[droid77]

wifi calls

I am thinking about dumping bb and getting new x on 15th. Verizon service at my house is non existent. Is there a way to use wifi to make calls from my house similiar to Toktumi line 2?

 

[TampA2DreW]

What are the benefits of using wiring? I have pretty good 3g coverage, never go over my usage and really can't tell a speed difference between the two.

So why?

I used to ask myself this question all the time because Verizon is usually great, but I just moved and the coverage here s*cks so now i can see a use for the wifi. Just a side note..... my brother n law has t-mobile and can't get any signal here and at&t ...... well i dont need to say anything lol. For some reason when they built this area people didn't want a bunch of towers around....... there changing there tune now but it still isn't great, so using wifi would be great .. except untill i get my X I'm stuck with a storm with no wifi. Also if your wondering why i dont just jump on my computer since im at home...... well I go on mlb.com to check scores and rarely use my computer at home. Sorry for the babbling.

Drew:icon_evil::blackberry::icon_evil: dancedroid

 

[A_Droid]

here at home, my wifi is 5 times faster than my 3g. I just retested it and got 1 ghz down with 3g and 5 ghz down with wifi...

oops. Try again. :tongue:

lmao!!!!:d

 

[BayouFlyFisher]

here at home, my wifi is 5 times faster than my 3g. I just retested it and got 1 ghz down with 3g and 5 ghz down with wifi...

oops. Try again. :tongue:

lmao!!!!:d

I've read this about ten times and simply do not get it??? What's so funny???