Wi-Fi Comes to Smartphones

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.techworld.com/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=displaynews&NewsID=746' target='_blank'>http://www.techworld.com/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=displaynews&NewsID=746</a><br /><br /></div>"The arrival of Wi-Fi on smartphones has been a racing certainty for some time, but the pieces in the puzzle are coming together, with an SDIO card in development, and the future convergence of Microsoft's PDA and smartphone operating systems in prospect. Chip design company SyChip is testing software for its SDIO (secure digital I/O) WLAN (wireless LAN) card so it can be used to add Wi-Fi capability to smartphones. With the card and the software, smartphones can use a WLAN to transmit data and double as a cordless VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone when linked to a corporate IP telephony service, said Navi Miglani, SyChip's director of marketing.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Microsoft's two mobile operating systems have been recently rebranded to give an appearance of convergence: PocketPC is now known as "Windows Mobile Pocket PC 2003" and Smartphone is now called "Windows Mobile Smartphone 2003". They are still separate products, with different user interfaces determined by their heritage as data and voice products, and different capabilities (Pocket PC has Wi-Fi and Smartphone doesn't for instance). However a closer merger is on the cards, with many differences ironed out, which should bring Wi-Fi to Microsoft smartphones eventually."<br /><br />My biggest concern with this would be the battery life - Smartphones aren't known for their superb battery life, and WiFi would, I think, decimate the battery in a matter of several hours. Would it be worth it to have WiFi on board I wonder?

[HailFire]

Would it be worth it to have WiFi on board I wonder?

In a word, YYYYEEEESSSS!

VOIP is going to revolutionize telecommunications and I can't wait to start using it.

[Macguy59]

Plus with the hi-capacity battery that comes with the i600 it shouldn't be much of an issue. I see this mostly for home use but for those users that frequently travel outside of their coverage area and can find a wi-fi enabled hot-spot (like Starbucks) it could be a godsend.

[Ramin]

My biggest concern with this would be the battery life - Smartphones aren't known for their superb battery life, and WiFi would, I think, decimate the battery in a matter of several hours. Would it be worth it to have WiFi on board I wonder?

Carry a spare battery perhaps? :wink: I tend to always keep a spare cell phone battery in my car just in case. Besides, if I really wanted to surf the net for hours, I'd be using my Tablet PC instead of my Smartphone.

Where I live, mobile carriers don't offer a flat-rate, unlimited GPRS plan and existing GPRS charges are exorbitant. So, just to be able to quickly access data on the go with my Smartphone at the numerous Wi-Fi Hot Spots would be excellent, rather than having to pay for expensive and slow(!) GPRS access.

Wi-Fi on Smartphones = Good news! 8) Now, if only Microsoft and its Smartphone OEM partners would focus on getting a decent Bluetooth stack implemented on these Smartphones. ;)

[Macguy59]

My biggest concern with this would be the battery life - Smartphones aren't known for their superb battery life, and WiFi would, I think, decimate the battery in a matter of several hours. Would it be worth it to have WiFi on board I wonder?

Carry a spare battery perhaps? :wink: I tend to always keep a spare cell phone battery in my car just in case. Besides, if I really wanted to surf the net for hours, I'd be using my Tablet PC instead of my Smartphone.

Where I live, mobile carriers don't offer a flat-rate, unlimited GPRS plan and existing GPRS charges are exorbitant. So, just to be able to quickly access data on the go with my Smartphone at the numerous Wi-Fi Hot Spots would be excellent, rather than having to pay for expensive and slow(!) GPRS access.

Wi-Fi on Smartphones = Good news! 8) Now, if only Microsoft and its Smartphone OEM partners would focus on getting a decent Bluetooth stack implemented on these Smartphones. ;)

Bluetooth is a seperate rant unto itself :wink: