WifiTrak (Find FREE WiFi) – Review
By App Type: Uncategorized
Our rating: 
By: WifiTrak (Find FREE WiFi)
Version #: 2.5
Date Released: 2009-02-04
Developer: Thomas Middleton
Price: 0.99
User Rating:
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In anticipation of upgrading my iPhone this July I took a bit of a leap of faith and sold my iPhone 3G while it still has a premium value attached. Yup, no 3G speeds for me for a while.
As a result, I’ll be using an original iPhone for the next 6 to 8 weeks and will be relying more heavily than ever on WiFi for a speedy connection with my iPhone.
That’s where this app comes in. Sure, you can check out what WiFi is available by going to the "Settings" and selecting "WiFi" but it’s about as rudimentary a WiFi sniffer as you are going to find. This application takes it to a whole different level.
The flexibility and configurability is tremendous and the variable autoconnect feature is great!
You can choose whether or not you want the application to automatically scan for a WiFi signal and, if you do, you can determine the frequency of scanning from every second to every 60 seconds. The app tells you whether the network is open or closed and you can configure it to automatically connect when an open WiFi signal is found.
What I especially like is the ablity to select the signal strength threshold at which the application automatically connects. After all, why have the device connect to a network that is so weak that it doesn’t offer any real benefit?
You can also determine whether or not you want to be notified through audible signal whenever a connection is made. All of this takes the iPhone’s seemless handoff between a cellular data connection and WiFi (one of the main things that initially sold me on the iPhone!) to a whole new level.
Finally, you can determine how much information you want the application to give you– from "a little" to "a lot". "A little" means he gives you the name of the WiFi network and whether or not it’s an open network. "A lot" means it tells you the signal strength, the channel being used, and, if there is encryption, what type of encryption is being used.
In short, this inexpensive $.99 application makes it easier than ever to scout out available networks and connecting them based upon a number of predetermined configurations.
I can see it being quite useful with the iPhone classic over the next 6 to 8 weeks and see it as a must-have for anyone using an iPod touch since that of his depends only on WiFi for connection.
Quick Take
Value: HIGH
Would I Buy Again: Yes
Learning Curve: Low. Easy to use and configure
Who Is It For: Anyone who wants to jump on more WiFi networks
What I Like: Works well with enough configurations to make it truly useful
What I Don’t: Because it can;t run in the background the app has to be open to work. (hanks Apple!)
Final Statement: Leaving aside the issue of using an open WiFi signal without permission (and it IS an issue)… I love this app.
O U R T A K E . . .
