The benefits of Wi-Fi
 

So, I have the new 8320 from T-Mobile and love it. I have has Blackberrys before they where phones.

However, I don't quite get the benefits of the Wi-Fi other than that I am able to make calls thru UMA from another country to the US and only using plan minutes.

If I connect thru my Cable internet at home on my 8320 (I use a Linksys router upgraded to the latest firmware) it shows UMA and my network, but its not like its connecting at significantly faster speeds than on edge, or at least it seems so to me.

My question is:

WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST BENEFITS OF WI-FI/ UMA/ etc??? How would the T-Mobile@ Home benefit me?

Thanks for your responses...

I get a lot more speed out of my wifi than I do EDGE.

H@H just gives you unlimited minutes over wifi. Without it your UMA minutes come out of your regular minute bucket.

The download speed is also limited by device processor speed, so it can only get as good as the processor.

When you use the Browser are you using the Wi-Fi browser? When I first started using my 8320 (when I had it) I was connected via UMA but was still mistakenly using the regular Internet browser. Once I got my Browser bookmarks set properly to use the Wi-Fi browser, the speeds were much faster.

Yes, and if you're still using OS 4.2.2.171 you will see a speed increase by upgrading to 4.2.2.180 or .184.

yes, I am connected to the Wi-Fi Browser...dont notice a big difference?

Anything else that is a big benefit? Especially regarding travel?

I have 4.2.2.180

Wirelessly posted (BB 8860: BlackBerry8320/4.3.1.22 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

It'll do your taxes.

What else do you want it to do?

How much is TMO gonna charge me?

Wirelessly posted (BB 8860: BlackBerry8320/4.3.1.22 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

For what? There is no charge for wifi/UMA unless you want H@H. UMA works without it, though.

for my taxes....:)

Wirelessly posted (BB 8860: BlackBerry8320/4.3.1.22 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

:razz: I should've seen that one coming!

So i just unlocked my 8820 from AT&T, i heard that I can use my wifi now without a data plan. Although I'm not sure if when i'm using the browser now that if it's WIFI. How can i tell? THANKS

Welcome to the forums.

Well, if you don't have a data plan through your carrier (AT&T) then what else would it be using?

Well, I don't have a data plan. Therefore I thought that the 8820 just like the iphone and 8925,8525, had wifi that could be used without a data plan. Is that not true? I just got my phone unlocked and heard that that would allow me to use wifi without the data plan. Is that possible? Thanks and thank you for the warm welcome

My point was that if you don't have a data plan then the only data you could possibly be using was that of your wifi. Without a data plan, though, you won't be able to get push email or use any of the apps that require specific blackberry data like BBMessenger, PIN messaging, etc.

You should be able to use the wifi browser to surf the web and download applications. There are some apps that use wifi and some that don't.

Unlocking the device has no effect on this. All that unlocking does is allow you to use another provider's sim card in it.

Thank you very much.

Ok, lets say that I've connected to my school's FREE wifi(i don't have a data plan). Then i go to my browser, how do I know that I am using WIFI data? The thing is, I got charged last month for data (you can still use DATA without a DATA PLAN, but you get charged with a tremendous bill) because I was browsing and I thought i was using ONLY wifi, but apparently just because I'm connected to WIFI, doesn't mean I still can't get charged. I've been hearing all sorts of things lately so excuse me if I seem confused by what you said.

Basically, AT&T has told me that the WIFI on the 8820 is not meant to be used BY ITSELF. It's supposed to work complementary with the DATA PLAN that most blackberry users sign up for. I can technically BROWSE without a data plan or wifi on, it just costs me a whole bunch of money.

Sounds like you'd do good to get a data plan and never worry about data charges again.

For 20 bucks a month, why wouldn't you get unlimited data? Your basically neglecting 99% of the BB's functions w/o a data plan...

I believe it's 29.99 a month? Yes, I do understand that if I got a data plan this would probably solve my problems, however, I've been told through numerous sources that I can use my WIFI without having a data plan... but from my own personal experience, I haven't found that to be the case.

With T-Mo a BIS data plan (unlimited) is $19.99 with qualifying voice plan.