Save Money Making Use Of Smartphone Internet Access With The Help Of Wifi

Technology companies constantly improve the technology being used to produce Smartphones, so much so that you can virtually use your Smartphone -- depending on the model -- for your personal digital assistant, GPS navigational device and email-checker, among many other things. It can essentially be a alternative to other electronic organizers as well as pocket calendars you might carry around.

Smartphones have, indeed, become increasingly popular across many of today's generations. Since 2005, the number of Smartphone users has grown exponentially. In fact, the November 2009 AdMob Mobile Metrics report found that the top devices used for WiFi were the HTC Dream, Motorola Droid, as well as the ipod touch, which is essentially in the Smartphone family of devices.

WiFi Technology

One of the most useful aspects of newer Smartphones is that they come built with WiFi integrated into the unit. Because of this, just like your notebook or netbook computer, you can access WiFi networks at just about any wireless hotspot or on any network as you're moving around and out and about. Unfortunately, there's also a downside if you wish to use the WiFi included in your Smartphone. Most wireless providers require you to purchase a monthly data package that carries a sticker price of between $30 to $50 or more per month. The most expensive of data plans provide you with unrestricted web usage and generally cost $50 and upwards.

Paying for WiFi on Smartphones

Though Smartphones constitute a great deal of the WiFi activity occurring in the USA today, there are two sides to the issue of paying for WiFi for your Smartphone and not paying for this service. The WiFi technology included in many of today's Smartphones give it the ability to connect with wireless networks anywhere, just as you can do so with your laptop or netbook. The main difference, however, is the fact that a compact version of an operating system -- Windows and Android happen to be the most common -- runs on the cell phone and acts as the gatekeeper for the Internet. Only after you pay the required fee every month to the wireless service provider are you able to use both the mobile web and WiFi service on your phone.

Many individuals would rather prefer only using WiFi networks to surf the web instead of paying for access to the wireless carrier's 3G or 4G cellular network. Along with paying for access to the 3G or 4G network, you also are able to use the phone's WiFi. The fact that wireless carriers make you pay to gain access to the WiFi with your phone is really because customers could, in theory, use a WiFi network to make phone calls rather than paying the wireless carrier. This is possible because of the various apps that are obtainable for your Smartphone, such as VoIP applications and programs like Skype. To thwart this loss of income, wireless carriers typically block or disable the Smartphone's WiFi functionality until you pay for a data plan for the web.

Though wireless carriers actually demand that you purchase a data plan in order to have a Smartphone, many technology-savvy users have discovered other ways to get around this. For example, many BlackBerry smartphones, like the BlackBerry 8820, are able to use WiFi without a data plan if you take a couple of steps to first delete the username and password specified in the TCP section, select "WiFi Browser" as your default Internet browser and select "Turn On WiFi Connection" in the "Manage Connections" section.

You can carry out comparable steps on a number of other Smartphones branded to AT&T and even T-Mobile. However, in most cases you have to find a way to actually disable the data service on your phone before you use the WiFi so that you aren't accidentally charged or billed for utilizing WiFi services. This can be done by installing third-party apps like APNDroid for Android-branded phones or by actually calling up the wireless provider to get this done.

Smartphone Data Plan Options

Overall, accessing the web over WiFi with your Smartphone is probably one of the smartest things you can do if you want a inexpensive way to make and receive calls as well as surf the Internet. Though paying for the required data plan and voice plan with any wireless service provider is usually pricey, you may be able to purchase a Smartphone and then make use of the WiFi over your own home network, all without contacting the carrier to sign up.