So you’ve got an iPhone (we’re talking future tense here, obviously) and you’re not thrilled with the speed of EDGE. Well, no problem! Wi-Fi is much faster. Only… where’s the nearest Wi-Fi hotspot?
Glenn Fleishman, Macworld contributor and Wi-Fi expert, has a good rundown of the options, from free hotspots to paid monthly access to large networks.
The strangest thing? AT&T has its own Wi-Fi network, yet there seems to be no synergy with the iPhone:
AT&T's blandly named AT&T WiFi network-formerly the more brand-y FreedomLink-has 10,000 locations in its network, although 8,000 of those are McDonald's stores. Don't laugh! Even if you're not a McDonald's aficionado, they're everywhere, and the network signals may be strong enough you don't have to purchase a Big Mac to get close enough to the transmitter. The locations also include a few thousand stores in other chains: The UPS Store, Barnes and Noble, and Coffee Bean & Tea. AT&T's DSL customers pay just $1.99 per month for unlimited use; others, $19.99 per month.
Read the rest at Macworld.com.
On AT&T's pricing page, they mention there are also voice only plans. My big question on the iPhone is if I get just a voice plan will I still be able to use the WiFi feature? I don't see spending $20 a month for speed that is like a dial up connection. I'd rather do without and wait til I'm near a WiFi network...
"if I get just a voice plan will I still be able to use the WiFi feature?": There are no voice-only plans. Every iPhone plan includes unlimited cell data (EDGE is the name). Wi-Fi service is not included, but the Wi-Fi technology is always enabled, and you can use most Wi-Fi networks. Read my article.
I know where you're coming from WiFi, but among the features you loose without a data plan is Visual Voicemail. Judging from the activation video, you can add more minutes, but you can't opt out of the data plan. Maybe you can call at&t or go to an at&t store and work something out. I'd be interested to know.
I'm going to hope that there is an easy way to find out the iPhone's MAC address so I can use my wireless router at home for it as I may need....
I'm gonna bet that I'll find it if I look in the "settings" area tomorrow.
~C
To get the MAC address, you could also turn off MAC address limitation, connect to the base station, and use its administrative software to see what the connected address is.
MAC address filtering is ineffective against anyone with about 1 ounce of Wi-Fi knowledge, though, because you can use simple software to monitor a network, find MAC addresses, and then clone one onto a device you're using to crack in.
Does anyone know the ubs string info that goes into windows when an iphone is associated with windows?
How about a typical iphone mac address?
Kyle