Surfing the internet at the touch of a button in the bus, the park, or the street corner is no more a fantasy. WiFi has made it a reality.

WiFi is the acronym for Wireless Fidelity and refers to any type of 802.11 network, which is the current technology being used to provide wireless access to networks. It enables you to access internet at broadband speeds.

Wi-Fi uses radio frequencies to broadcast an internet connection in all directions. The area of wifi can stretch up to the size of a football pitch depending on the thickness of walls and the quality of the aerial. In the UK there are now close to a million Wi-Fi users.

WiFi hotspots are created by using antennas. The source internet connection is provided by a PC or server, to which the antennas are connected. A hotspot receives radio waves allowing for wireless connections.

Now-a-days latest mobile phones come with pre-installed Wi-Fi chips, which enable you to connect to the internet and even make calls via the net using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). With a little luck and gymnastics you can easily tap into a nearby hotspot. As with mobile phones, wi-fi is blocked by thick walls and metal. Usually the signals travel better through glass, so if you sit by a window or outdoors, you can have a greater access to it.

To stay connected is the need of the hour and wifi allows business to deploy a network quickly, at a lower cost and with greater flexibility. It is ideal both for home and office use because of its wider range than the Bluetooth.

All good things have their share of good as well as bad. The downside of wifi is its security threat. Wi-fi systems are susceptible to attack from hackers intent on stealing personal information, such as passwords and bank information.

Even there has been concern about the possible health effects of such radiation like chromosome damage, increases in the number of cancer incidence, impact on the concentration capacity and decrease in short term memory, etc.

Today almost all the major players in mobile phone industry, incorporate wifi in their handsets. To name a few of the latest Wi-Fi mobile phones - Blackberry 8120, Blackberry Pearl Flip, HTC Touch Diamond, Nokia E65, Nokia N95 8Gb, Samsung i8510 INNOV8, Samsung i900 Omnia, Sony Ericsson C905 and O2 XDA Stellar.

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