So Many Check-Ins, Not Enough Wi-Fi
Posted: Thursday 27 September, 2012
Emmaline McAndrew
I’ve been a huge advocate of new technology since I was given my first Atari Video Computer System in 1979 and an early adopter of all things Internet and more recently, social media. Since then I have enthusiastically jumped on almost every cutting-edge gadget bandwagon, bathing my consumerism in cool products as soon as they hit the shelves. I also like to travel, usually to visit friends and family around the globe, and I expect to take my technology stuffed, Internet-enabled gadgets with me.
I recently spent some time in the South of France for a friend's wedding and wanted to check into places of interest using Facebook, allowing my friends back home to see my travels in real time and, at times, find my way home! Whilst my network provider is more than generous with my data allowance in the UK, it’s quite a different story when travelling overseas, so unless I was willing to eBay the children’s bikes and PlayStation before leaving, I had to rely on finding some free Wi-Fi to avoid heavy data roaming charges.
I managed to get through a week of Côte D’Azur travel without paying any data roaming charges using the Wi-Fi Finder app by JiWire (available free on both Android and iOS). The app colour codes free or pay-for Wi-Fi on a map and will even give you directions to the hotspot, let you add to favourites or report closed Wi-Fi. The app also offers a download of the entire database to view offline for use in-between hotspots.
I’m really looking forward to the day when we have global Wi-Fi coverage – if my smartphone allows me to stream my once-in-a-lifetime volcano bungee jump in Chile to my social media channels, I really don’t want to my Twitter followers to miss it!
