Foo - Phone with "wifi support"

Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.



PDA

View Full Version : Phone with "wifi support"

phantomcow2
02-27-10, 10:15 AM
My contract with AT&T wireless expires next week. As such, I'm going to try T-Mobile and see how it goes; I've got friends from all corners of the country who use their service and are satisified, so I thought I'm optimistic. That aside, I'd like to join the bandwagon and get a cellphone that is more like a computer :p

When a phone, like a blackberry, says that it has "wifi support," what exactly does this mean? Does the phone can access wifi networks for internet? I would assume so, but I want to be certain. I don't want to use 3G, EDGE, or any other wireless data service offered by T-Mobile -- it's simply not worth it to me.

Maelstrom
02-27-10, 10:42 AM
yes, wifi means the phone can work as a regular pc without spending money on a data plan.
If also means, if you CAN install the skype client you could have a phone that is free with no phone plan.

Lastly some providers are offering something phrased "free at home" which means the wifi phone uses you local wifi for all calls, and you phone, in theory, will hand over to GSM/CDMA etc once you leave you house. In theory this can offer a substantial savings.

cheers
cwathne
02-27-10, 02:12 PM
yup.

I've got a Blackberry 8900 from T-Mobile with a phone plan only; no data plan. I chose that to save money, and because I have wifi at home/school/and work which is where I am most of the time anyway.

phantomcow2
02-27-10, 02:49 PM
Well it looks like T-Mobile requires that I buy a data plan if I don't want to pay full retail for the phone. Since I love on a campus and hardly ever leave, I spend 9/12 months of the year with guaranteed access to wifi -- why would I need T-Mobile's data service? Oh well.

Thanks for the replies.
Juha
03-01-10, 04:09 AM
Well it looks like T-Mobile requires that I buy a data plan if I don't want to pay full retail for the phone. Since I love on a campus and hardly ever leave, I spend 9/12 months of the year with guaranteed access to wifi -- why would I need T-Mobile's data service? Oh well.

Thanks for the replies.Thanks for sharing, but this is really TMI. :D