Database Info

WI-FI versus BLUETOOTH

I have just setup a wireless network in my home. Compared to bluetooth it is absolutley brilliant, I have fast internet on my laptop downstairs, wifi card in ipaq working great and it was a doddle to install, whereas bluetooth presents nightmares to configure, wont work with lots of devices, is short range and very slow. For anybody who is in 2 minds I would suggest wireless is the best by far in all ways.

Hi,
Apologies if I misunderstood you, but I think you missed the point of Bluetooth/WiFi. They really are completely different technologies.
Bluetooth is designed to be short range and lower power and to be able to communicate a multitude of devices wirelessly (i.e. keyboards, mice, GPS, headsets as well as forming mini networks). It's also not really designed to be "high speed" as in the same sort of levels of WiFi.
WiFi on the other hand is ONLY for networking and compared to Bluetooth it IS much faster as you've realised and it is designed for bigger distances, but the power drain is also considerably more as well.
That's why your device has both technologies, so that you can choose which method suits you best. Personally I use the WiFi for networking, but the Bluetooth for talking to my GPS and Handsfree. I've ran a Bluetooth network before and found them quite stable (driver/firmware versions will assist here) and they're okay in an emergency, but they're really not that speedy at all.

So wifi is limited in its capabilities? So no chance of wireless gps or wireless headsets for phones?

I wouldn't say it's limited. Wireless Fidelity is wireless networking. That's what it was designed for and that's what it does.
You do get network webcams as well as network printers etc which could directly or indirectly take advantage of WiFi, but that's about as diverse as I think it goes and even then it's not really WiFi doing the work. The devices themselves have built in network cards.
Technically you could have a headset with a built in network card/wireless tranceiver, but I think since they can already do that with Bluetooth in very small sizes/low power/low cost... I can't see a WiFi implementation happening anytime soon, if ever. More likely it'll skip WiFi and that sort of thing will go in whatever wireless technology comes out next.
But aside from possibly a headset with longer range and faster networking, what else would you want to use with a range more than 10m or needs faster speeds?
I suspect mobile phones will start including 100m Bluetooth when they work out how to get the power down, but I don't believe that'll increase the speeds. But hey I didn't write/design the spec, so who knows?

I was also quite surprised and pleased by the simplicity of setting the wireless network, on the desktop I took about 1 minute, no added software, just a couple of clicks and a reboot, on the laptop I installed the software, plugged in the card and it immediately found the network and asked me politely if I would like to use it, brilliant implementation of a superb system. I also saw an advert for a long distance network connection, 3 miles I think, that would be a cheap way of all your family using a single high speed broadband connection in the same town.

The answer is simple:
Can you use high speed WIFI for more than 3 hours with any PPC with standard battery? BT does that well.
You should compensate the high speed of connection and simplicity in configuration (not very sure about this) to the longer usage time.

Reduce Wifi Tx power via wlan_cu (or other config)?

Hello,
I am looking to reduce the maximum transmit power of the wifi module from 100mW to 50 or 10mW. Unlike iOS (iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad) Android does not seem to reduce the Tx power of the wifi radio as needed. On Nokia devices you're able to set the maximum Tx level of the Wifi module / antenna from the "Show advanced" menu in your wlan configuration. After pressing yes to 'blah blah advanced blah blah blah. On Android it seems to be at a constant 100mW regardless of Rx decibels. Not only wasting more batter than ever, but also subjecting you to unneeded amounts of radiation.
Reading online some users have tweaked the wlan power saving mode using wlan_cu. Also another posting indicated options might be in tiwlan.conf (but this seems related to tethering only).
I couldn't find either wlan_cu or tiwlan.conf on my 2.2 android desire.
Code:
which wlan_cu
find / -name tiwlan.conf
find / -name wlan_cu

On my Android 2.1 tablet, you can reduce tx power on the command line using iwconfig.
iwconfig wlan0 txpower auto
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At home I've found this reduces the power (according to iwconfig) from 16 dBm to 1 dBm. However, this setting is lost when wifi is disabled.
I haven't yet tested whether this results in a significant improvement to battery life, but if it does I'm planning to write an app to set it automatically whenever wifi is disabled.

StevePER said:
On my Android 2.1 tablet, you can reduce tx power on the command line using iwconfig.
At home I've found this reduces the power (according to iwconfig) from 16 dBm to 1 dBm. However, this setting is lost when wifi is disabled.
I haven't yet tested whether this results in a significant improvement to battery life, but if it does I'm planning to write an app to set it automatically whenever wifi is disabled.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did it give any good results?

[REQ] WiFi Enhancer/Booster

Hi my device is HTC HD2 EU running this ROM:[29.Apr.11][ZIP]★★★★★HyperDroid-CM7-v2.0.1[a2sd+][CyanogenMod7 LEO 2.3.3][Tytung_R9]
, I need an app that will enhance my WiFi reception because my friend have an iPhone and he & I cant received a WiFi that broadcasting outside of our building from a router.
So,he installed an app that enhance his WiFi reception and now he can join to this web from inside the building and I can't.
There is an app that can help me?
Thanks.

any help?????

trying editing build.prop for your phone and increase wifi tx/rx power... more power=better reception=poor battery life/backup..its your call but it should work..

your wifi connections are only as good as your device's hardware will allow. Some devices are better at it than others.

Art-Project: WIFI, GSM, Mobile Communication, etc. Signal Tracking/Monitoring

Hi there,
I am a student and artist from Berlin without any experience in android related stuff. I am looking for simple signal tracker that monitors Wifi, Telephony, SMS, Email, GPS, etc.....all sorts of mobile communication signals around me with the help of an smartphone on the go. I was thinking of an android smartphone solution which tracks all these networks in both strength and quantitiy and transfers the sum of it to an arduino board. I guess thats probably very simple from a developers point of view. The android smartphone + programe should be able to communicate with an arduino board which triggers a LED. Maybe a connection through audio cables from smartphone to arduino would be also a good solution because this signal would be not disrupted by anything. The LED visualizes the existing networks. I only found very simple wifi + GSM shields for arduino so I came up with this idea of using a smartphone, because it has everything I would need on board. Do you know any good programs which are simple to hack or to use. Dont forget its an art project ... so not a new app for the app-store It will be some sort of functional sculpture. So all the technology will be inside (not visible) the scuplture.
I would like to monitor these frequencies here...
Tx Frequency
(A)TX frequency 845-975 MHz (Mobile Voice)
(B)TX frequency 1785-2000 MHz (Mobile Voice)
(C)TX frequency 2100-2170MHz (Mobile Data)
(D)TX frequency 2400-2485 MHz (WiFi)
(E)TX frequency 1300-1550 MHz (GPS)
Any advice/help would much appreciated.
Thanks

Standalone Hotspot (MiFi) device vs. Tethering via smartphone benefits

What are the comparative advantages and disadvantages, when needing a hotspot to connect several devices, between choosing to use a dedicate hotspot (MiFi type) device versus using a dedicated smartphone that has a hotspot feature?
If using the smartphone option, the smartphone will be dedicated for hotspot use only and will not be used for any other purpose (such as voice calling, texting or even using data directly on the smartphone itself.) The smartphone will remain plugged into a power-outlet at all times and remain unmoved.
Some thoughts to consider are whether there are different limitations on the number of simultaneous connections between a dedicated hotspot versus a smartphone hotspot. Do devices built as a dedicated hotspot generally give a larger WiFi range coverage than the hotspot feature of a smartphone. Do one of these two options tend to have a higher speed connectivity for attached devices. Is there any downside to purchasing a used device. And, of course, cost-wise which can be procured least expensively and/or is a better cost-value. And any other important or relevant factor worth considering.
Whichever device is chosen would be LTE capable. (In this case to be used over the Sprint network.)

Which LTE capable (Sprint) smartphone with a built-in hotspot feature would be most suited for use as a dedicated device that will only be used as a hotspot (and have no other use)? The phone will remain in one place, attached to a power outlet, unmoved.
I would like to use the device on the Sprint network on an account without the hotspot feature enabled on the account level. So I would need to modify the device to be able to work in this manner. What modifications would I need to make on the phone so that it can be used as a hotspot (either directly on Sprint or on an MVNO such RingPlus or FreedomPop) without hotspot being active on the account? And how difficult would it be to make those modifications?
And what will be the effect on the battery considering the phone will remain connected to the wall plug 24/7, and how best to mitigate any battery issues?
Which LTE smartphone models are known to have better reception or range for hotspot use, in terms of best WiFi range, speed for connected devices and number of devices capable to connect to it? If desiring to keep costs for the device at a minimum, would a used device work any less well than a new one? And, of course, which specific models have the best cost/value proposition for use for this purpose? (Or, perhaps, for LTE hotspot only use there is little differences between most models?)

Moe Ginsburg said:
Which LTE capable (Sprint) smartphone with a built-in hotspot feature would be most suited for use as a dedicated device that will only be used as a hotspot (and have no other use)? The phone will remain in one place, attached to a power outlet, unmoved.
I would like to use the device on the Sprint network on an account without the hotspot feature enabled on the account level. So I would need to modify the device to be able to work in this manner. What modifications would I need to make on the phone so that it can be used as a hotspot (either directly on Sprint or on an MVNO such RingPlus or FreedomPop) without hotspot being active on the account? And how difficult would it be to make those modifications?
And what will be the effect on the battery considering the phone will remain connected to the wall plug 24/7, and how best to mitigate any battery issues?
Which LTE smartphone models are known to have better reception or range for hotspot use, in terms of best WiFi range, speed for connected devices and number of devices capable to connect to it? If desiring to keep costs for the device at a minimum, would a used device work any less well than a new one? And, of course, which specific models have the best cost/value proposition for use for this purpose? (Or, perhaps, for LTE hotspot only use there is little differences between most models?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you intend to only use the device for WiFi, you are better off just buying something like MiFi.
The phone uses more power from the wall, doesn't have a dedicated antenna (so less coverage), may use it's network for checking for messages or calls, is more expensive, has useless components for it's purpose (speaker, BT, mic, camera, screen...)...
Benefits of a phone: you can program it to turn on/off hotspot at different times, ban someone for a specific amount of time, dynamic password changes (for ex. per day), capture traffic and analyze it (make sure this is legal)...
The decision is up to you really.

janekmuric said:
If you intend to only use the device for WiFi, you are better off just buying something like MiFi.
The phone uses more power from the wall, doesn't have a dedicated antenna (so less coverage), may use it's network for checking for messages or calls, is more expensive, has useless components for it's purpose (speaker, BT, mic, camera, screen...)...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How much of a difference in a) power usage and b) WiFi range coverage is there between a phone hotspot and a MiFi?
janekmuric said:
Benefits of a phone: you can program it to turn on/off hotspot at different times, ban someone for a specific amount of time, dynamic password changes (for ex. per day), capture traffic and analyze it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How can the phone be programmed to automatically shut off the hotspot at certain times or ban certain devices and automatically change the password or capture traffic logs?

How much of a difference in a) power usage and b) WiFi range coverage is there between a phone hotspot and a MiFi?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no way to tell because different phone models and different WiFi Access Points all have different antennas and designs, however WiFi APs are designed strictly for the purpose of sending WiFi signal so it's expected that they are giving out different results.
How can the phone be programmed to automatically shut off the hotspot at certain times or ban certain devices and automatically change the password or capture traffic logs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can do it with Java. You can create Android apps with Java and install them on the phone, it's not easy and it's definitely a learning curve, but once you know how to use it you will find it very useful.

janekmuric said:
You can do it with Java. You can create Android apps with Java and install them on the phone, it's not easy and it's definitely a learning curve, but once you know how to use it you will find it very useful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There aren't any generally available apps in the Play store that can do this?

Moe Ginsburg said:
There aren't any generally available apps in the Play store that can do this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really. Not sure if it's because nobody thought of that before, or it's banned (changing passwords and stuff). There are definitely APIs for this.