Log in

View Full Version : How Important is WiFi to You?


Jason Dunn
09-03-2004, 03:00 PM
I was thinking about WiFi in Pocket PCs, and I was curious to see how important you felt WiFi was as a factor in your next Pocket PC purchase. Please note that I'm not asking if you prefer WiFi over Bluetooth, or another technology. This is simply a question of whether or not WiFi as a feature is important to you in your decision of which Pocket PC to buy. Since there are no 802.11g solutions yet, assume that I'm talking about 802.11b.

piperpilot
09-03-2004, 03:08 PM
WIFI is a critical application for me. I use it at home to avoid having to go down to my office in the basement to surf the web, and I use it at work to answer e-mails and entertain myself during long, boring staff meetings. I also increasingly use it at hotels, airports and other locations to keep on top of e-mail and news while I am traveling.

mhskateboarder
09-03-2004, 03:10 PM
i live on campus when i am at school and i use wifi all the time. a good example is on my way to class yesterday. i had forgotten what room my class was in when i was already half way there. since most of campus has a wifi signal, i just pulled out my pda and looked it up as i was walking. i can also take notes during class and then sync them to my desktop over the network. i gotta have my wifi! :)

collegea
09-03-2004, 03:17 PM
No WIFI, no Pocket PC. It is as simple as that. I initially only bought my IPAQ 4155 for the built in Wifi.

Wifi makes Pocket PC great.

To spend $400 for a Pocket PC without Wifi would be a waste of my money.

timbur
09-03-2004, 03:20 PM
I can't vote in either this or the bluetooth poll - both are essential to me & I have BT & WiFi CF cards - I won't buy a ppc without a CF slot

Can we have a poll on this please? :twisted:

dma1965
09-03-2004, 03:24 PM
Ever since WiFi made it to my Pocket PC Via the 4155, I no longer bother with booting up my laptop at home. What is really cool is getting that 7:30 AM phone call about a network problem and being able to use VNC or Terminal Services to connect to work and fix the problem, all with a pocket pc while still lying in bed. WiFi rules!

pr0vider
09-03-2004, 04:06 PM
I voted neither for or against; I'm ambivalent about wifi at this time because the 3.5" screen on my Ipaq 2215 causes me eye strain when viewed for extensive periods.

Maybe when VGA becomes the de facto standard on all new models I'll reconsider... :?

surur
09-03-2004, 04:10 PM
I voted neither here not there. I would really like wifi, but if my next pocketpcphone has 3G and VGA and Bluetooth, but no wifi, I would still buy it, as wifi is easily added via SD card (whereas something like 3G is not :( )

So yes, it would be very desirable, but I would not turn down the XDA IV if it had 3G, 624Mhz, VGA, megapixel camera and bluetooth, but no wifi.

Surur

The Yaz
09-03-2004, 04:23 PM
I agree with timbur, wifi is inportant to me but it is not necessary that it is intergated into the pda. I've made do with a wifi cf card for the last two PocketPCs, and as long as my next choice has a cf slot I am good to go.

Steve 8)

whydidnt
09-03-2004, 04:26 PM
Looks like I'm in the minority, here. Wi-Fi is a nice to have, but not have to have for me. I rarely use it for anything but syncing my PPC. It seems if I'm out somewhere where I would use WiFi, I have my laptop as well, and it just makes more sense to me to use that instead.

However, don't take away my bluetooth!!! :D

medic119
09-03-2004, 04:28 PM
I live by my wireless connection at home as well as elsewhere. I also use the bluetooth in my 2215 a lot while on the road.

Personally, the next PC I buy will have both BT and WiFi.
Now, if someone would come out with a 802.11g Wifi Pocket PC....

dmy
09-03-2004, 04:29 PM
I'd be willing to use a CF or SDIO WiFi card, but bluetooth needs to be built in for me to buy.

D.

PiatekHS
09-03-2004, 04:34 PM
You should combine the two questions since I'd guess you'd find a lot of people will require both in their next PPCs; I know I do.

One for when near a hotspot, the other to get access to email when you have to use you BT mobile and GPRS.

JonathanWardRogers
09-03-2004, 04:43 PM
While I do love my WiFi, I see no need to have it built in to my PPC. It is something that is invaluable when I am near a hotspot and need to get online, or at home for many many many things, but why would I need WiFi in my car? On a Bus/Train? Going for a walk/hike? For those occasions, I have my CF card (CF Rules!).

BlueTooth, on the other hand, is useful in all of those situations, and for more than one thing in many of them. With a BT headset I can listen to my audiobooks and turn-by-turn directions given by the BT GPS receiver for example, when WiFi is not even a consideration.

WiFi is a definite must, but not to be built-in. BT is a must too, and not just occasionally, therefore should be built-in.

IMO

guinness
09-03-2004, 04:57 PM
If it had WiFi ok, but surfing the web or checking my e-mail on such a small screen isn't that useful or enjoyable, IMO. However, on a laptop, built-in WiFi would be very handy.

MountDan
09-03-2004, 05:01 PM
I consider WiFi critical for any Pocket PC I would purchase. I had used the IPAQ 5500 for a while but then purchased the (non-WiFi) T-Mobile Siemens Pocket PC Phone because the phone/pocket pc combo was the most important at that time. I have been using Siemens T-moble phone for 18 months and have repeatedly wished I had WiFi (and wished that Compaq would make an IPAQ Phone). When the IPAQ h6315 was announced, I looked into it and ended up purchasing it a couple weeks ago. I am VERY happy with the phone, and the WiFi is absolutely great in our enterprise, at home, and else where. I strongly recommend getting a Pocket PC with WiFi

Stephen Beesley
09-03-2004, 05:02 PM
definately a confirmed wifi addict. Once I bought a CF wifi card for my Jornada I was hooked. Built in wifi was one of the major reasons I went for a Toshiba e755 as my next PPC and I just love the convienience of not having to carry around my wifi card and swap it in and out when I want. Having wifi built in is great for you find yourself at a wifi equiped coffee house or at in an office environment with wifi.

I just cannot imagine buying a PDA without built in wifi!

collegea
09-03-2004, 05:14 PM
I use Wifi on my Pocket PC to trade stocks online using Ameritrade's wireless menu. It's simple, quick and efficient. My wireless laptop gives me those streaming quotes and charts while I use my IPAQ 4155 to execute those trades while I'm lying on my couch sometimes.

There are so many tremendous uses for WIFI that I find it essential.

Duncan
09-03-2004, 05:18 PM
I would not now buy a Pocket PC without WiFi. If, however, I was forced to choose (such as when I bought the e800) - then I would choose Bluetooth - so WiFi is a conditional given for me...

JonathanWardRogers
09-03-2004, 05:33 PM
It seems that the question that is being answered is whether or not WiFi is a must, not whether or not built in WiFi is a must. I still have seen no comments that address why people think that they need WiFi built in and would be interested to hear the responses.

fmcpherson
09-03-2004, 05:35 PM
I'm pretty much on the fence with this one too. Built-in Wi-Fi is very nice and convenient. However, I can also use my Sandisk Wi-Fi card to connect just about any Pocket PC to Wi-Fi.

Now, if the question is, does the Pocket PC I buy require SUPPORT of Wi-Fi (meaning it at least has SDIO) then my answer to that would be yes!

Duncan
09-03-2004, 05:38 PM
It seems that the question that is being answered is whether or not WiFi is a must, not whether or not built in WiFi is a must. I still have seen no comments that address why people think that they need WiFi built in and would be interested to hear the responses.

In a nutshell - convenience.

alizhan
09-03-2004, 05:42 PM
When I can get it to work reliably (thank you ever so much, Toshiba, for making it nearly impossible to correct borked network settings :grumble:), WiFi is a god-send. My office is set up with WiFi, my home is set up with WiFi, and I use WiFi to transfer stuff to and from my PPC all the time. Using flash cards for this would be a major pain.

When I can get ActiveStink to cooperate, I also sync over WiFi. But WM has some pretty odd notions of how networks are set up, so I can only get this to work at the office, or at home, but not both. Did anyone at MS ever even try using wireless sync in a real-world setting?

Oh, and I occasionally surf the Web over WiFi. But PIE is broken enough, and so many websites expect much larger displays, that I rarely do it on my PDA when a larger screen is available.

That said, transferring files, sometimes syncing, and infrequently staring at misformatted websites on a screen too small to be suitable for the task are about all I can do with WiFi. No one seems interested in utilizing this technology for anything other than narrowly-defined "networking" type tasks. BT is the technology everyone is pushing as the Swiss Army Knife of interconnects. :razz:

But even though it's less useful than it should be, I still require it.

-- Mark

szamot
09-03-2004, 06:12 PM
I must agree that while both BT and WiFi are nice they are quite useless on a PDA for three reasons. Connection speed on iPAQ/PPC in general is absolutely deplorable, that coupled with a small screens and poor battery life makes it awkward if not unbearable to use. For an occasional recreational use – yes, for a serious business application for enterprise - good luck, thanks for playing, try again, NEXT! Those who want serious wireless, and push mail in the enterprise already use a Blackberry. Sorry guys but wireless PDA are still ages behind this simple concept of connectivity, in fact I would dare say that at the current speed it will take PDA’s light years to get to where Blackberry is already today. Yes, I know we have the XDA’s and the new 61xx and various other models and I would really, really, really like to get one. However, there has to be some sort of great underlying reason why it’s adaptation in NA is dismal. Perhaps it is the cost, perhaps it is the functionality, perhaps it is the unwillingness of Telcos to support the product, I don’t know, you tell me.

I also don’t understand the notion of “having to turn on my laptop/PC”, to fix the network, look up a restaurant, check the movies. I don’t know about you guys but my laptop and my PC’s as well as the server are never off, they are on because they are working. I bet I could get downstairs to my PC fix the network and be back in bed asleep before you can successfully connect to the network on your PDA and navigate the tiny screen, yes I know my PDA says WiFi but it is more like a snail running through molasses when it comes to wireless speed.

I think the problem with our consumer oriented society is that we are easily swayed by the corporate marketing machine, we buy into the dream, and then try to come up with justification and uses for the toys we just bought. I would like to see another poll that would go like this. Out of the 14 hours per day that you have your PDA on you how much do you use your wifi, and before you say all the time, please there are not PDA’s with batteries that will make it last that long, not even half the time. Second question, could I do my job without WiFi, I suspect majority of you could. There is a place and time for PDA’s and they are great at what they do, play music, keep your calendar, and contacts, show a video or two, play a game and read ebooks, use it for reference and carry some digital pictures of your loved ones.

So for your next PDA purchase what is it going to be? What you need or what you

collegea
09-03-2004, 06:24 PM
"It seems that the question that is being answered is whether or not WiFi is a must, not whether or not built in WiFi is a must."


That would depend in part on the signal strength. On the other hand, I would prefer not having a card stick out of one of my slots. But if the Wifi signal strength was much better, I'd put up with it.

I'm buying Palm's Wifi SDIO card for my Palm Zire 72 soon so I'll let you know if the IPAQ 4155 or Zire 72 is better for Wifi. When it comes to Bluetooth, the Zire 72 beats the IPAQ 4155 easy when it comes to speed and performance. But I sense that might be more of a Browser issue. Personally, I like Palm's Web Pro Browser over PIEPlus.

It is hard to answer the question properly until one has tried both ways to connect via Wifi. But built in Wifi is great on the Ipaq 4155. It is hard to imagine a card performing better. But who knows?

alizhan
09-03-2004, 06:27 PM
It seems that the question that is being answered is whether or not WiFi is a must, not whether or not built in WiFi is a must. I still have seen no comments that address why people think that they need WiFi built in and would be interested to hear the responses.

In a nutshell - convenience.
Exactly. CF/SD is all nice and flexible, but having to swap cards in and out all the time is a royal pain. It's easy to drop, lose, or otherwise damage cards while changing them out, and it seems like the card you just inserted is never the one you'll need in there in a minute or two. My laptop is like this: one PCMCIA slot, three PCMCIA devices. What. A. Pain.

If you know you want WiFi or BT, get them built-in; don't worry about obsolesence, as most people don't keep their PDAs long enough for this to be an issue. Leave the slots for memory, and more exotic peripherals.

-- Mark

alizhan
09-03-2004, 06:51 PM
Connection speed on iPAQ/PPC in general is absolutely deplorable
That depends greatly on the device. My Toshiba e805 does just fine, as did my e740 before that. Is it 100 Mbps? Of course not. But it doesn't have to be, either.
that coupled with a small screens and poor battery life makes it awkward if not unbearable to use.
Smaller than a laptop, sure. Smaller than a Blackberry, though? Not the Blackberries I've seen...
For an occasional recreational use – yes, for a serious business application for enterprise - good luck, thanks for playing, try again, NEXT!
I was not aware that we were restricting our conversation to business use.
Those who want serious wireless, and push mail in the enterprise already use a Blackberry.
Indeed, if all you want is e-mail, Blackberry kicks the PPCs butt up one side and down the other. But there is more to networking than e-mail, and there the Blackberry falls flat.

It's the same old "Jack of all trades, master of none" problem. The PPC can do lots of networking stuff, but it can't most of it as well as dedicated devices. This should not be news to anyone.
Sorry guys but wireless PDA are still ages behind this simple concept of connectivity, in fact I would dare say that at the current speed it will take PDA’s light years to get to where Blackberry is already today.
And I would not argue otherwise. But it's hard to beat the price point of a simple PPC with WiFi and MSPO, as compared to setting up a Blackberry infrastructure. Most of us cannot afford the latter (even when talking as a business); PPC gets us close enough without breaking the bank.
yes I know my PDA says WiFi but it is more like a snail running through molasses when it comes to wireless speed.
I think your PDA might be the problem. Mine takes five seconds to establish a connection, after which it runs about as fast as I can use it.
I think the problem with our consumer oriented society is that we are easily swayed by the corporate marketing machine, we buy into the dream, and then try to come up with justification and uses for the toys we just bought.
Of course we do. How else would we sleep at night? :)
Out of the 14 hours per day that you have your PDA on you how much do you use your wifi, and before you say all the time, please there are not PDA’s with batteries that will make it last that long, not even half the time. Second question, could I do my job without WiFi, I suspect majority of you could.
Here's your first answer: Less than one. I get in, get the job done, and get out again. My WiFi usually stays on for less than ten minutes at a time. This pretty well matches the amount of time it takes when I do these same tasks from my workstation with 100 Mbps UTP (which answers your second question: yes, I can do my job without it, but it is convenient nonetheless).
There is a place and time for PDA’s and they are great at what they do, play music, keep your calendar, and contacts, show a video or two, play a game and read ebooks, use it for reference and carry some digital pictures of your loved ones.
And for some people, use wireless networking. The PPC is a general purpose computer. What we do with it is up to our preference.

-- Mark

Duncan
09-03-2004, 06:55 PM
I must agree that while both BT and WiFi are nice they are quite useless on a PDA for three reasons. Connection speed on iPAQ/PPC in general is absolutely deplorable, that coupled with a small screens and poor battery life makes it awkward if not unbearable to use. For an occasional recreational use – yes, for a serious business application for enterprise - good luck, thanks for playing, try again, NEXT!

My experience is far different from yours. I suspect many others here can say the same.

I think the problem with our consumer oriented society is that we are easily swayed by the corporate marketing machine, we buy into the dream, and then try to come up with justification and uses for the toys we just bought.

*You* don't have a use for wireless on your Pocket PC - so those of us that do must be dupes...? Do you know how that sounds...?

I would like to see another poll that would go like this. Out of the 14 hours per day that you have your PDA on you how much do you use your wifi, and before you say all the time, please there are not PDA’s with batteries that will make it last that long, not even half the time. Second question, could I do my job without WiFi, I suspect majority of you could.

I see - design a scenario that makes no sense and is unrealistic, then test the validity of WiFi by those criteria. That sounds fair...! :roll: I could do my job without a PDA at all - but that would be a step backwards. The advantages of having WiFi and BT access in a PDA - as and when necessary - are many...

There is a place and time for PDA’s and they are great at what they do, play music, keep your calendar, and contacts, show a video or two, play a game and read ebooks, use it for reference and carry some digital pictures of your loved ones.

Frankly that sounds like imagination failure on your part (the desire to restrict the abilities of your Pocket PC unnecessarily).

So for your next PDA purchase what is it going to be? What you need or what you

Of course it will be what I need - and as such will have BT and WiFi.

david291
09-03-2004, 07:22 PM
I must agree that while both BT and WiFi are nice they are quite useless on a PDA .... for a serious business application for enterprise - good luck, thanks for playing, try again, NEXT!
Hmm, we install our PPC software into about 3 businesses a week that use a pool of handhelds all day long with WiFi. Works great and it is indispensible for the efficiency of their business.

I bet I could get downstairs to my PC fix the network and be back in bed asleep before you can successfully connect to the network on your PDA and navigate the tiny screen
OK, I'll take that bet. In our installations, resuming from sleep and connecting to the wifi network takes less than 2 seconds from the time you press the power button. Granted, we use a custom written wifi driver, but even with the standard stuff it only takes about 7 seconds.

I would like to see another poll that would go like this. Out of the 14 hours per day that you have your PDA on you how much do you use your wifi, and before you say all the time, please there are not PDA’s with batteries that will make it last that long, not even half the time.
The HP 2215 with extended battery will last 11 hours continuously on and continuously pounding the wifi before needing a recharge. In our installations, the handheld is allowed to suspend when idle, which happens just enough to allow it to last a full 18 hours being used almost continuously on, and when on, always using wifi.

mscdex
09-03-2004, 07:24 PM
Ok, since this answer wasn't in the list of possible answers for the poll, I'd say I'd only consider purchasing a PocketPC with WiFi built-in ONLY if the antenna and whatnot was powerful enough. Otherwise I'll just buy one without it and stick a WiFi card in there.

The way I see it is, if you buy a PocketPC with built-in WiFi, you should make sure it is going to have an excellent antenna and have excellent reception, otherwise you'll be stuck with a PocketPC with crappy WiFi. And nobody wants that :D

daS
09-03-2004, 07:25 PM
I still have seen no comments that address why people think that they need WiFi built in and would be interested to hear the responses.
For me the answer is simple: Most Pocket PCs only have one card slot and limited memory. So if you don't have Wi-Fi built-in, you have to remove your memory card - with most of your storage - in order to insert your wireless card.

What's the point in having a fast data connection if you don't have a place to store the data? :?

Sure, there are combo cards that combine wireless and storage, but that's not the ideal solution.

On the other hand, while all my new devices have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and I use Wi-Fi at home, the office and various hotspots, I don't use it much with my Pocket PC. I find that (given the size of the screen, keyboard or touch screen, and battery life) the speed benefit of Wi-Fi rarely outways the major battery drain. So I stick to GPRS and Bluetooth for most connectivity needs.

dean_shan
09-03-2004, 08:06 PM
WiFi is king. It is an absolute must.

trapper
09-03-2004, 08:20 PM
WiFi is king. It is an absolute must.

PPC with built in WiFi is a must. Anybody who doesn't see this is incredibly short sighted.

PetiteFlower
09-03-2004, 08:21 PM
From the article on tom's hardware guide a couple of weeks ago it seems like wifi with a card is a LOT slower then built in wifi. So that's a reason to go for built in over cards.

SpaceDust
09-03-2004, 08:46 PM
For me, the issue is threefold: maximize flexibility, ease and convenience of use, and carrying the minimum additional parts and pieces.

Flexibility: Having WiFi and Bluetooth BOTH built-in means the slot(s) for CF and/or SD are free to be used for whatever other devices I need. In my case, it's usually a large storage card - I have some of my non-essential software installed on storage, plus I tend to carry a library of ebooks, music and a video or two.

Ease/Convenience: Having WiFi (and Bluetooth) built-in means that I don't have to fish around for a card when I want to use either, and I don't have to make a choice over which I want to use at the moment. It is also easier to use because built-in components have been tested with the PPC hardware it is installed with, the drivers and software are designed specifically for the combination (usually) and I don't have to install additional drivers to make them work.

Minimizing parts to carry for day-to-day operations: I want to be able to carry the minimum necessary pieces and parts to do what I do during the course of a normal day. The last thing I need to do is add additional cards to carry - no, they're not bulky, but they ARE just one more piece to be forgotten or lost. With WiFi and Bluetooth built in, I stick my storage card in the slot, my headset either on my ear or in my pocket, and I'm good to go for a normal day.

Don't get me wrong; while I consider these necessities now, if the right device came along with all the other bells and whistles I wish for AND it offered two slots or spacious amounts of onboard storage, I would probably go for it. But we're really talking ideals here, not tradeoffs we make to get the best device available for how we work. I recently got the h6315, and that was a conscious tradeoff - my 2215 is faster, slimmer, CF as well as SD and has great battery life, but the h6315 lets me carry one device instead of a phone and a PPC, and it has the built-in WiFi.


SpaceDust
Currently carrying: h6315

daS
09-03-2004, 08:48 PM
WiFi is king. It is an absolute must.

PPC with built in WiFi is a must. Anybody who doesn't see this is incredibly short sighted.
And anybody that thinks that anybody that doesn't agree with them "is incredibly short sighted" is incredibly self-centered and arrogant. :roll:

Duncan
09-03-2004, 09:00 PM
WiFi is king. It is an absolute must.

PPC with built in WiFi is a must. Anybody who doesn't see this is incredibly short sighted.
And anybody that thinks that anybody that doesn't agree with them "is incredibly short sighted" is incredibly self-centered and arrogant. :roll:

Indeed - it is just the other extreme from szamot's position.

We are a spectrum of users with many different need and using patterns - but too many posters recently seem to be making these bold statements about what everyone must or must not have or find useful in their Pocket PCs...

szamot
09-03-2004, 09:21 PM
WiFi is king. It is an absolute must.

PPC with built in WiFi is a must. Anybody who doesn't see this is incredibly short sighted.

Wow really, you must know everything then!? Your comments are only a step short from "if you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem". All so very reminiscent of 1936 attitude in Europe.

To me it is a case of practicality so there is no need for the Spanish Inquisition, you don’t need to convert me to your way of thinking and looking at things. But do consider this - "The truth is ugly so they put our prophets in prison." A very famous quote by a very unpopular Character.

disconnected
09-03-2004, 09:42 PM
I agree with Duncan's earlier post -- PPCs exist that have both bluetooth and wifi built in, and those are the only models I consider buying; if forced to choose, I'd have to pick a bluetooth model.

ctmagnus
09-03-2004, 11:14 PM
Wifi = :rock on dude!:

If it wasn't for the battery drain, my next watch would have Wifi (since there's no SPOT coverage here).

trapper
09-03-2004, 11:43 PM
I must agree that while both BT and WiFi are nice they are quite useless on a PDA for three reasons.

That has to be one of the most ridiculous statements ever made in this forum.

All so very reminiscent of 1936 attitude in Europe.

That's a bit of an exageration. Nobody's calling for a "Spanish Inquisition". I wasn't saying everybody has to use WiFi or BT but they should be able to at least acknowledge their usefulness. And by the way have you checked the poll results - your views are in the extreme minority. Being a prophet you must be used to that. Of course we're all just victims of the "consumer oriented society".

ombu
09-04-2004, 01:52 AM
Just can't live without WiFi, at home, office, hot-spots (both, free and fee) and so on all day long.

The only thing that makes me think about getting a new device is the 2210 has no integrated WiFi radio and there's no straight method to turn it off with my SanDisk CF 128+ WiFi card.


Regards.

Thinkingmandavid
09-04-2004, 01:43 PM
Howdy,
I am soon to upgrade my Toshiba e355 to a wireless ppc because I need wireless access to email.
I considered a blackberry but I would be missing out on all of the features a ppc offeres me, plus the screen size is too small.
I am also considering upgrading my cell phone to either a NOkia 6820 or Ngage:)
Wireless did not use to be important to me, but now it is.

Rob Alexander
09-04-2004, 04:15 PM
I'm pretty ambiguous on the WiFi thing as I don't find surfing on the small screen to be very enjoyable. If I want to surf in my easy chair in the living room, I'm much happier with my (built-in WiFi) laptop than with my PPC. I bought a CF WiFi card for my 2215 when I first bought it, but it turned out to be more of a novelty and I rarely use it. That has shown me too that, if I did want WiFi, it would have to be built-in or nothing. The last thing I'd ever do is carry around the CF card just in case I ever find a hot spot that I want to use.

In comparison, BT has been useful on a daily basis for me. Before the 2215, I always had to buy a second cradle for syncing to my work computer, but now I just connect via BT and I won't have that extra piece of hardware to throw away when I move on.

I know this poll isn't about BT vs WiFi, but I don't see how you can separate them for discussion. Here's the bottom line for me. Any PPC I buy must have one or the other so I can sync wirelessly; there's no room for flexibility in that. As long as it had either one, I'd then choose to buy based on the other features of the PPC. If I had the option, I'd pay a bit extra for both, but if I had to choose between them, I'd choose BT.

MacBriar
09-05-2004, 09:39 PM
For me I won't buy another Pocket PC without built in WIFI. My primary Pocket PC (2210) doesn' have it and I would love to use it at school for terminal service into servers etc.

Sven Johannsen
09-06-2004, 01:50 AM
Wifi = :rock on dude!:

If it wasn't for the battery drain, my next watch would have Wifi (since there's no SPOT coverage here).

And there is ubiquitous WiFi?

Yo Boss
09-06-2004, 11:12 AM
It would be nice to have the same poll, but concerning camera-imbedded PPCs... I am personally tired of having a camera adding bulk to any electronic device I can buy :roll: I am curious to know what other think...

Jonathon Watkins
09-06-2004, 01:20 PM
It would be nice to have the same poll, but concerning camera-imbedded PPCs... I am personally tired of having a camera adding bulk to any electronic device I can buy :roll: I am curious to know what other think...

Well, we have had various threads about the topic, including this poll (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=29071&). I am working on a 'thought' post that may include a simplified poll like this one, so watch this space.

PetiteFlower
09-07-2004, 03:04 PM
And there is ubiquitous WiFi?

Well, they're saying that by 2006 there will be ubiquitous Wifi over my entire city :) If that goes through then a wifi PDA will be an absolute MUST by then!

don dre
09-07-2004, 04:23 PM
My next PPC must have wifi and BT. BT for the keyboard of course. While I probably wouldn't use the pda for surfing the web all that often, being able to connect and download email would be great. For times when I need to write detailed replies, I would use the keyboard. I would rather have the wifi built in so I don't need to carry arond a card and switch it with memory. another must is a 3.7" or bigger screen. I went from the 3970 to the 2210 and while it's nice that it's smaller, the .3" in screen size reduction were too much. it's amazing the difference so little screen makes at the margin. wifi may not be ubiquitous but it's enough places. perhaps it's because I live ina city (Philly) and at any given time I am usually near a hotspot, official or not. I also probably spend less time inside my home than someone with a 42" plasma screen and digital lobotomy service. Also, of course, VGA is a must so it looks like it's the Axim X50 for me next assuming it's substantially cheaper than the ipaq.

redraiduzz
09-10-2004, 04:59 PM
Having Wi-Fi critical? I don't know. At least not yet. I've only been able to use it at home, as the drivers for the Socket CF card don't seem to have a great deal of sniffing capability. I would have used it more, in airports, hotels and other places if my WiFi card could have adequately sniffed the SSID.

I think it runs great and syncs very quickly, and I have no problem surfing with it or using it as a tool, but would like to see it more readily available (ie on the highway in remote locales) before calling it critcal.

In response to your other topic about CF support...that IS CRITICAL to me!!

Agent_C
09-10-2004, 06:32 PM
Other then contacts and calender, WiFi is the most important feature on my PDA. I would not consider the purchase of a PDA or laptop without WiFi.

My typical posture is having the h6315 attached to the folding keyboard in meetings, where communication is truly seamless. People can TXT and email me without disrupting the meeting; and if I have to grab something off the web, I don't have to run back to my desk.

A_C

redraiduzz
09-10-2004, 08:05 PM
that you can't do without, then you must have a connection at work (authorized by your employer, no less; haven't seen many myself yet, no matter where I am or have been) or you must be in some city where it's extremely prevalent; I have no such luck here in the D/FW area yet.

lthevenot
09-10-2004, 10:48 PM
wifi is really essential for all users period.!

redraiduzz
09-12-2004, 05:28 AM
Well, maybe, but it does me basically no good if I can't hit any access points, correct? Which I usually can't except at home. :cry:

WyattEarp
09-14-2004, 10:23 PM
I have two wifi cards sitting at home because of my iPAQ 5555 and I don't miss carring either card at all. Integrated WiFi is a must even though I don't use it alot, but having it built-in beats the heck out of going into my pocket to dig out a wifi card just for a few minutes of use. Then having to put it back for fear of breaking it if left in my PPC.

minimage
09-23-2004, 05:57 PM
I"m going to have WiFi. I will accept no less. I plan on using my Axim X5 Advanced until it is unusable, but the next device will probably have built-in WiFi, so that I don't have to use up a precious slot...which brings me to my next point. I want both CF and SDIO; I will be looking for that in my next device for certain! What's really strange (as far as my requirements go) is that I've got a laptop, TabletPC, Handheld PC in tablet form, another tablet computer, a couple of wireless routers and cell phones (including one camera phone), but I haven't got anything with BlueTooth at all!

Stephen Beesley
09-25-2004, 12:06 PM
From the article on tom's hardware guide a couple of weeks ago it seems like wifi with a card is a LOT slower then built in wifi. So that's a reason to go for built in over cards.

I know that I was pretty impressed with the speed increase using wifi when I switched from my Jornada with wifi card to a Toshiba e755 with built in wifi. Okay so I know my experience is completely unscientific - soooo many variables particularly the different OS (PPC 2002 v WM 2003) but one thing that is for sure is that I love not having to worry about leaving my wifi card at home or losing it when out and about!