Alright, this is getting to be a heck a lot of information processing. Without getting too technical, let's get this done.
If the signal is weak, and you get bad WiFi phone quality, it's not the problem of the WiFi signal. WiFi signal strength mean only one thing: channel capacity. As I said, Even at the lowest connection capacity (i.e. the worst signal strength), it is more than adequate for Internet voice calls. If your WiFi phone quality is bad at a weak signal spot, the problem can't be solved by "amplifying" the WiFi signal. Even if you manage to amplify the WiFi signal, all it does is increasing the total channel capacity between your Blackberry and the WiFi router, and that'll do nothing for you for your need. The only time when amplifying a WiFi signal for a WiFi phone calls is justified is when the signal is so bad, your WiFi connection drops. If the WiFi connection stays on, then amplifying the signal for a WiFi phone call will do absolutely nothing, although a hotel room situation it can be a bit tricky. There is a chance that amplifying a WiFi signal for a hotel room MIGHT improve your WiFi phone quality (although very likely not always): It might be worth giving a shot. (where would you place your WiFi amplifier in the hotel, however?)
Post #46 explains some pretty good reasons on why phone calls over WiFi can be shitty.
Also, amplifying the WiFi signal on your laptop to boost your WiFi phone quality on your Blackberry is a pretty faulty reasoning. It won't make an iota of difference in anything (your laptop would have to be somewhere between the WiFi router in hotel and your hotel room, leaving it unattended), not to mention that there's no laptop that does this, nor does it need to. This is why I initially thought you want to make a phone call on your laptop.
For your purpose, a Macbook Air or a Windows laptop mentioned by other users on this thread will do.
If you still want to brave the Blackberry/WiFi phone call situation, get an WiFi amplifier, and place it somewhere between the WiFi router in the hotel and your hotel room (you have to configure it right though). Again, placing a WiFi amplifier at the physical location of usage will do nothing.
Not to get technical, but if you look at just WiFi speed (I should've said bandwidth, but was trying to avoid technical terms), yes, the lowest speed is more than adequate. If we look at the network infrastructure behind the WiFi, the WiFi sharing status, the network infrastructure latency, yes, it's a different story.
playa_with_a_passport does a fantastic job explaining "the whole voice call" over WiFi situation in a hotel room.
If you want a better phone quality overseas over WiFi, get a dedicated Internet line that only you can use, or try other serviced WiFi network. There's not much you can do "at personal" to improve a WiFi quality at a T-Mobile Hot Spot or any other WiFi spot you have no personal control over. Using an WiFi amplifier cannot be a guaranteed solution.
Quote:Quote:I'm telling you, amplifying a WiFi at the point of usage will not make any difference whatsoever for your particular predicament, T-Mobile Hot Spot or not.
I do use the Wifi connection in the hotel. For the situations it is weak, I need it "amplified"
If the signal is weak, and you get bad WiFi phone quality, it's not the problem of the WiFi signal. WiFi signal strength mean only one thing: channel capacity. As I said, Even at the lowest connection capacity (i.e. the worst signal strength), it is more than adequate for Internet voice calls. If your WiFi phone quality is bad at a weak signal spot, the problem can't be solved by "amplifying" the WiFi signal. Even if you manage to amplify the WiFi signal, all it does is increasing the total channel capacity between your Blackberry and the WiFi router, and that'll do nothing for you for your need. The only time when amplifying a WiFi signal for a WiFi phone calls is justified is when the signal is so bad, your WiFi connection drops. If the WiFi connection stays on, then amplifying the signal for a WiFi phone call will do absolutely nothing, although a hotel room situation it can be a bit tricky. There is a chance that amplifying a WiFi signal for a hotel room MIGHT improve your WiFi phone quality (although very likely not always): It might be worth giving a shot. (where would you place your WiFi amplifier in the hotel, however?)
Post #46 explains some pretty good reasons on why phone calls over WiFi can be shitty.
Also, amplifying the WiFi signal on your laptop to boost your WiFi phone quality on your Blackberry is a pretty faulty reasoning. It won't make an iota of difference in anything (your laptop would have to be somewhere between the WiFi router in hotel and your hotel room, leaving it unattended), not to mention that there's no laptop that does this, nor does it need to. This is why I initially thought you want to make a phone call on your laptop.
For your purpose, a Macbook Air or a Windows laptop mentioned by other users on this thread will do.
If you still want to brave the Blackberry/WiFi phone call situation, get an WiFi amplifier, and place it somewhere between the WiFi router in the hotel and your hotel room (you have to configure it right though). Again, placing a WiFi amplifier at the physical location of usage will do nothing.
Quote: (04-03-2011 11:27 AM)playa_with_a_passport Wrote:
Quote: (04-02-2011 02:05 PM)Adventure21c Wrote:
Even at the lowest connection speed, a WiFi connection capacity (i.e. bandwidth) is more than adequate for Internet voice calls.
Not to nick pick on an overall excellent post, but this is technically not correct. VOIP(Internet phone calls) is all really about latency(the time it takes a packet to travel back and forth). If the latency between Gmanisfesto laptop and where he's calling is more 150ms, all the high tech laptops,wifi boosters and Fly honeys in the world will not make a world of difference. What matters is the quality of the underlying Internet connection that the Wi Fi router is connected on that makes a difference not the strength of Wi Fi singal, laptop, wifi boosters.
The problem is a lot of hotels in the third word and even in Western countries are cheap and use consumer grade connections to connect to the Internet(Cable, DSL, wireless, Satellite) rather than high quality, high reliability but expensive connections like T1, T3,fiber etc(these are the lines that land lines and pay phones phone calls are carried on). Consumer grade Internet tend to be oversubscribed(shared) at pretty much every fucking level. The hotel router level(with their shitty Linksys router), the ISP router level, The POP router level, The peering partner router level and so on. All this over subscription adds a shit load of overhead to the traveling packets which contributes greatly to latency that is just too damn high to be useful. In the US and Europe you don't really noticed it because the servers you are trying to reach more likely are a few high quality router hops away but overseas that's where you literally can hear every router hop in the call. If I need to make an important call and I am overseas, I won't chance it with wifi/cyber cafes phone booths. I'll go to a pay phone and pay the minute rate even if it is $3 a minute.
As for the Ipad, you can connect a blue tooth keyboard to it and type away. I own several tablets, to me they are more a compliment to a laptop rather than a replacement. I always travel with my laptop and my tablet. I use the laptop for business and the tablet to bullshit around(Reading ebooks, check email, facebooking, playing Angry Birds.).
Not to get technical, but if you look at just WiFi speed (I should've said bandwidth, but was trying to avoid technical terms), yes, the lowest speed is more than adequate. If we look at the network infrastructure behind the WiFi, the WiFi sharing status, the network infrastructure latency, yes, it's a different story.
playa_with_a_passport does a fantastic job explaining "the whole voice call" over WiFi situation in a hotel room.
If you want a better phone quality overseas over WiFi, get a dedicated Internet line that only you can use, or try other serviced WiFi network. There's not much you can do "at personal" to improve a WiFi quality at a T-Mobile Hot Spot or any other WiFi spot you have no personal control over. Using an WiFi amplifier cannot be a guaranteed solution.