A couple of years ago, Apple was rumored to be on the verge of completely eliminating iPhone Wi-Fi apps from iTunes. Apparently, this assumed decision was taken soon after the Cupertino company had announced that it would eliminate all applications with explicit content from the App Store. It was also being said that the latter decision was based on user complaints and that it led to the elimination of about 5,000 software options. On the other hand, the pronouncement about deleting Wi-Fi applications was supposedly limited to those which discovered hotspots and was supported with technical concerns. Nonetheless, if you scour iTunes today, several of them are still available. So we decided to pick the best of the lot and bring forth a compilation which introduces you to the various possibilities this wireless medium of connectivity has to offer.
1. Wi-Fi Finder –
The first addition to our list of apps might help you make the most use of this connectivity option. Disappointingly, it does not transform your phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot. But it helps you find some accessible ones, at least. One positive highlight of the aptly named Wi-Fi Finder is its international availability. The firmware is capable of detecting up to 650,000 existing hotspots in over 144 countries around the world. Due to this attribute, the app seems to work for keen travelers as well as individuals who might be comfortable within the confines of their own locality. Equipped with the software, your iPhone should easily be able to detect whether there is a Wi-Fi location within reach or not. In addition to this, you can also set your preference and filter types in terms of providers, location and other details. This makes it easier for the service to find the hotspots of your choice.
Price: Free
2. Skype Wi-Fi –
Assuming that we have a hotspot detector similar to the first entrant in the Wi-Fi apps compilation, we would be fairly aware about most active locations across the globe. But as far as usability is concerned, we can’t be so sure about that. Not all good things seem to come for free. Most of them bear a bold price tag. But if not free, Skype has made provisions since late last year to make this access easy and pretty much cheaper. You can download the Skype Wi-Fi app on your iPhone and get effortless access to over one million hotspots on this planet, or at least the description says so. With this app, you can go online, make Skype calls using Wi-Fi, checks mails, Facebook or other SNS profiles and more. It allows you to pay for the minutes you have used by means of your Skype credit, provided you have an active Skype account and some credit balance too. That saves you the hassle of buying vouchers for hours or days.
Price: Free
3. Walkie Talkie –
Didn’t we hint that we’d shed light on the various possibilities of wireless connectivity at the start of this journey? There are several offerings in iTunes which promise free calls, but this one adds a nostalgic, yet refreshing twist to it. As the name aptly suggests, Walkie Talkie converts iPhones geared with this app, into mobile communication devices between two people. But as you would expect, to enable two-way communiqué, each of the iPhones in use would have to be loaded with the application. Designed with a simple one button interface, the software can be used on the iPod touch as well.
Price: Free
4. Acrosync Pro –
This particular app seems to be one of the many good examples about how wireless connectivity makes our life hassle-free and a bit physically uncomplicated too. Earlier, streaming multimedia content like photos, music, videos, and even documents from a desktop to a mobile phone would mean continuous sessions in front of the PC with the handset engaged for that amount of time. But Acrosync Pro for iPhone lets you do that over Wi-Fi. However, it will work only on your Mac or Linux desktop. You can use this to remotely access your PC and transfer your favorite images, songs, and other data to your Apple handset without a USB cable. Plus, you won’t even need to install any server software on the desktop. Although a free edition is available, we would recommend shelling out some bucks for the Pro version because it will let you send files to other applications as well.
Price: $4.99
5. Air Photo Wi-Fi Printing –
All those fun and beautiful memories stored on your iPhone in the form of photos do look visually pleasant, especially on the Retina display. But sometimes, we would also like to see them splashed across papers in the form of prints. The last contender in our apps list should help you get through this task easily. The Air Photo Wi-Fi Printing software made available by Sudobility, connects to almost any printer that can be detected on the local Wi-Fi network. All you have to do is select the image you want to see come alive on paper and simply hit ‘print.’ The smart app detects whether it should be printed in portrait or landscape mode, and also auto-connects if there is only one printer on within the location. This one however, will only allow printing single photos at a time. But if you want to work it out in bulk, try out the Plus version of the app which is available at $1.99.
Price: Free
After taking a look at what Wi-Fi based software alternatives have to offer, we surely wish that the number of iPhone Wi-Fi apps in the Apple App Store goes on increasing with time. And as tech aficionados, we would also like to witness more utilization of connectivity options like these. What do you think about it? Do drop in a comment about your favorites from the list.
