Wi-Fi Finder (for iPad)

Sometimes, being on 3G or 4G is just not enough, and I find myself prowling, searching for an available wireless network. Maybe this café? How about that copy shop? It's so much easier to fire up JiWire's Wi-Fi Finder app and search for the nearest hotspot. Take a look at the map, find a network, and then head over that way. It's that easy.

If I was using a competing app, such as Boingo Wireless Wi-Finder, I would first need to be online in order to search for an available network. JiWire avoids this difficulty by letting users download a copy of the hotspot database, with more than 150,000 locations worldwide, to use in offline mode. That feature alone makes this an Editor's Choice among hotspot-seeking iPad utilities.
JiWire actually has two Wi-Fi Finder apps on the iTunes App Store. Wi-Fi Finder app helps you find both free and paid wireless networks anywhere in the world. The other app, Free Wi-Fi Finder  (listed as Free Wi-Fi), provides you with a list of only free hotspots. I downloaded Wi-Fi Finder for this review.


Hotspot Finder
The app has three views, the map, a list of hotspots, and details about the selected hotspot. When I launched the app, I saw the map on the full screen with little dots representing all available networks. Green dots on the map stood for open networks, red dots for networks with a password, and blue for paid networks.
Tapping on the right triangle opened up the list pane, which displayed all hotspot locations in a scrolling list. I could filter the list to see only free hotspots, paid hotspots, or both. I could also filter by location type, such as restaurant, airport, car rental, barber, salon, bus station, etc. When open, the list pane covered the right half of the map.
Tapping on a hotspot on the map opened up a bubble with the name of the location operating that network and an icon designating its location type. Tapping for more information opened up the hotspot detail page on the left side of the screen. The pane displayed the location's address and phone number along with the Bookmark and Get Directions buttons. I saw the same detail pane when I tapped on a hotspot from the list pane.
The side panels were distracting, as when they were both open, it obscured the entire map. Considering the detail pane didn't have a lot of information, I would have preferred the information be included in the bubble on the map.
The "Bookmark" button added the hotspot to my list of shortcuts, handy if there were certain networks I used on a regular basis. The "Get Directions" button required me to have GPS locations enabled. I couldn't enter a starting point and have the app calculate directions from there.

Searching for a Connection
The menu bar at the top of the app has six buttons: Near Me, Recent, Bookmark, Database, Key, and Information. Tapping on Near Me opened the map to my current location and displayed all nearby wireless networks. Recent opened up a list of the last few connections I'd used. Bookmark displayed a list of hotspots whose information I'd saved. Database allowed me downloading the hotspot directory for offline use. Key was just a static box displaying all location types. Information allowed me to add hotspots I knew about to the directory. There was also a search box to specify parameters, such as a specific address, business name, or just a zip code.
Wi-Fi Finder's best feature was the ability to download the hotspot directory to use offline. Users have to plan ahead and download it beforehand, while still on a network, but once it is saved locally, they can look at the map and search the database without having to be online. This is really useful when I need to get online and I have no idea where the nearest hotspot is. It makes me wonder why other competitor apps don't offer this capability.

Getting Online Just Got Easier
JiWire's Wi-Fi Finder app simplifies the task of finding a hotspot whenever you need one, wherever you are. It has an advantage over the Free Wi-Fi Finder because it has a bigger database. Sometimes, you don't want a free hotspot, and Wi-Fi Finder shows you all your options.
The Ji-Wire's offline access is fantastic, but the perfect app would be one that has offline access and a VPN service such as the one offered by Boingo Wireless. If you don't need Boingo's VPN (although everyone should be considering it), JiWire's Wi-Fi Finder is the way to go. JiWire's Wi-Fi Finder gives you the information you need right away, making it our Editor's Choice for hotspot-finding tools.


Review by Fahmida Y. Rashid