WiFi Finders Get You Connected Faster
Wireless fidelity internet is great; cheap, portable and fast. But you can't get on the web with out finding a hotspot. These are like invisible plugs where you can connect onto the wireless network. It's just like picking up radio waves with a radio - sometimes you need to move the whole device around quite a bit before you get a strong, steady signal. Since your time is money, the importance of getting on the Internet as quickly as possible means you can spend more of your time productively. Finding WiFi hotspots is far easier and less stressful with the use of a WiFi finder.
The Online Kind
There are many websites run by places like Microsoft that lists all of the hotspots in the area you want. These kinds of WiFi finders are easy to use and easy to read. If you go to your favorite search engine and type in "WiFi finder", you'll be presented with a long list of them. If you want to narrow the search down a bit, you could do two things:
Enter "WiFi finder (name of town here)" and see what comes up
Go to ZONE Finder (http://www.wi-fi.jiwire.com/search) and enter the town you need a WiFi finder for.
The only disadvantage of online WiFi finders is that you have to be online already in order to find a hotspot in order to get online. So, since you can't find a hotspot without already found a hotspot, these kinds of WiFi finders need to be used before you travel.
The Gadget Kind
Say you are traveling and need to find a hotspot and forgot to check an online WiFi finder web site out. Or perhaps you are in a coffee bar and want to find the best place to sit with the strongest reception. Then you would need a little gadget that fits in your pocket that locates WiFi hotpots like a metal detector can detect old coins. A couple of the most popular of these devices are Smart's WFS-1 and Kensington's aptly named WiFi Finder. These gadgets only cost about $30 (US).
These are first generation devices, so their results have been reported as inconsistent by users. But they are better than nothing when you are trying to find something that's undetectable than any of our natural senses. Perhaps you can soon train your dog to sniff out hotspots. Until then, your best bet is to use a WiFi finder and cross your fingers.
