Many smartphones support Wi-Fi.
If you are in the market for a new cell phone, there are many factors to consider, including Wi-Fi. All the popular cell phone providers carry multiple Wi-Fi enabled phones ranging from Apple's iPhone to the HTC Evo Shift and MyTouch 4G (both Android phones). Currently, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile are focusing their Wi-Fi capable smartphones and this can make it difficult to choose a new phone.
Background
Wireless Fidelity, which is popularly known as Wi-Fi, is a wireless networking protocol that uses radio waves to broadcast network signals through the air. In many homes and small businesses, Wi-Fi provides Internet access to devices such as laptops, video game consoles and even cellular phones. When you have a phone that is Wi-Fi capable and you are within range of an access point, you can then rely on the Wi-Fi Internet connection to power your email, streaming video or radio and other applications.
Benefits
If your cell phone plan limits how much data you can download (and upload) per month, you can still use your cell to access online applications without going over your limit and having to pay a fee. In addition to this, you may experience faster download speeds from a Wi-Fi network, which results in less choppy streaming content. Furthermore, as Darren Meehan from AppStorm explains, Wi-Fi connections use less battery than relying on your provider's network to use the Internet. This requires you to charge your Wi-Fi-capable smartphone less frequently, thus extending the life of the battery.
Considerations
Even though you can reduce the amount of data that you use on your cell package, by using Wi-Fi, the Internet connection that powers a wireless network may still have limitations. Therefore, you should familiarize yourself with your plans and track usage, to avoid going over your limits. Cost effective and free phones such as a camera phones (what some providers call "feature" phones) may not include Wi-Fi support so you should focus your attention on smartphones. When choosing between cell phones that use Wi-Fi, you may want to consider other features such as camera quality and effects, application availability, touch-screen versus physical keyboards, internal and external media and call quality.
Wi-Fi Phones
Both AT&T and Verizon carry the Apple iPhone that you can connect via Wi-Fi to download various applications from the App Store. The iPhone's front facing camera supports video chat (via Wi-Fi) and this phone includes the functionality of the iPod for playing music or videos. HTC's Evo Shift (on Sprint's network) incorporates a physical keyboard for users who prefer actual keys. This Android phone can connect to the market to download new applications for your device and is compatible with Flash applications. If you are shopping on a budget but still want a smartphone with Wi-Fi support, you may consider the MyTouch4G from T-Mobile which has a price of $79.99 (with contract) on Amazon, as of April 2011. All three phones have earned a four out of five star rating from CNET editors; however, CNET has slowly lowered its rating of the iPhone as Apple has released new generations of the phone.
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