WiFly 2008 - crap?

Life Technology
1

wifly.com.tw/Wifly6/tw (Doesn’t work without the ‘www’ part.)

So how many years has it been since this network was launched and how close is it to being citywide?

I bought the NT$500 Starbucks card a week ago, and since then I haven’t managed to get online from Xindian MRT yet. No service.

It works in most MRT stations, but how much time do you spend hanging around in those places anyway? I tried composing email on my phone while on the train between stations, but sending the damn things during passenger stops was nigh-on impossible due to the time taken to re-login. So you’re left trying to send mail while navigating out of the station, which is not really practical. So on the MRT it’s basically unusable, especially by people who are “on the go”.

It works OK in Starbucks, but not in Dante, and I don’t like coffee anyway so from a purely personal perspective it’s still no good - although others may find that more useful. I did manage to get a signal one time in Carnegies. But I never seem to be able to get online in any of the other places I usually hang out.

So basically I can’t use it while travelling, nor can I use it to catch up on stuff after lunch.

Does it work anywhere else?

And why is there no English-language information? I’ve been told that you need an ARC to sign up for a monthly account too, so it certainly doesn’t seem to be very foreigner-friendly.

What are the alternatives? I don’t want to commit to a 3G data-plan yet.

2

There don’t seem to be a lot of unsecured networks either. I’ve spent a lot of time standing on street corners trying each and every available network in turn, only to find that people have got a lot smarter about this these days.

3

WiFly is a bit irritaing especially since it a billed as the most connected city system in the world.

  • Not user friendly for foriengers.
  • Connection location seem to be random and do not seem to available where I need it.
4

You’re making a big mistake. In Taiwan, don’t forget, “we have a Wifi outlet” is reported as “Taipei is a Wifi city.”

5

WiFly’s “biggest city wide wifi” claim is now in the middenheap. Baltimore has launched citywide WiMax… even works in MOVING cars and trains… 2 to 4 Mbps connect speeds. As with its obsolescing predecessor, WiMax speeds are a function distance from cell center, ceteris paribus. Google: Baltimore WiMax.

Balto. as an IT leader. That’s a new one.

6

There is no alternative in Taipei if you want to be truly mobile (for the slower GPRS/EDGE you will also need a plan).

7

7-11, Starbucks and MRT stations are all supposed to have Wifly hotspots. I’m not sure if 100% of them do, but I’ve never been near a 7-11 or Starbucks that didn’t. There are hotspots at many other locations…
Overall I find Wifly pretty useful, although it not while in transit; just when you’re sitting somewhere with your laptop, PDA, etc. If you live right by a hotspot (e.g. 7-11) and don’t need a land line, you could just use Wifly as your internet provider (i.e. not apply for a phone line/ADSL)! I’m not sure but I ASSuME that all the hotspots would be available 24 hours/day (at least 7-11!)…

WIFLY HOTSPOT INTERACTIVE MAP: wifly.com.tw/wifly6/tw/Wifly … /HotPoint/

It’s all Chinese… But if you don’t know Chinese (& you’re pretty familiar with maps of Taipei), you could zoom out, drag the map to the desired location, zoom in, and see where the nearby hotspots are…
If you ARE able to use Chinese it very useful – you can put in addresses and other place names (like 台北火車站 tai2 bei3 huo3 che zhan4 for Taipei Main Station, or 台北101, etc.)
The website really has a lot of info, but I don’t see a link to any English pages :frowning:

RATES:

NT$400/month, or NT$350/month (if you sign up for a year)
wifly.com.tw/wifly6/tw/Wifly … /RateForm/

HOW TO SIGN UP:

I’m not sure how to sign up, but think you can do it at most 7-11’s or Chunghwa (Zhong Hua) Telecoms. A Taiwanese friend signed up, but she doesn’t use it too often, and gave me her id & password. So I just give her NT$200 every month! Sometimes if I can’t connect I’ll call her to ask if she’s using it and vice versa (2 people can’t use an account at the same time).

HOTSPOT LOCATIONS:

At the bottom left ( at wifly.com.tw/wifly6/tw/Wifly … /RateForm/ ) you’ll see (in blue):
WIFLY無線網路服務範圍 ( 無線網路 wu2 xian4 wang3 lu4 = wireless internet / 服務 fu2 wu4 = service / 範圍 fan4 wei2 = scope, range )
Underneath that there is a list of links to places that have Wifly. The only obvious ones are
台北市7-ELEVEN
全台星巴克(Starbucks)門市
Hmmm, it looks like you can use Wifly at Starbucks all over Taiwan (the Starbucks list is organized city by city).
The rest of the links in are all Chinese…
Wow - the one at the bottom: WIFLY無線網路熱點查詢 ( 無線網路 wu2 xian4 wang3 lu4 = wifi / 熱點 re4 dian3 = hotspot / 查詢 cha2 xun2 = search )
goes to a map where you can put in addresses, places, etc. I just put that link at the top of this post ( WIFLY HOTSPOT INTERACTIVE MAP: )

CHAIN STORES: Rose Garden (?), Royal Host, Burger King, Moss Burger, & IS Coffee

The link above the interactive map: 全台連鎖咖啡店/速食店/餐廳
( 全台 = quan2 tai2 = all Taiwan / 連鎖 lian2 suo3 = chain store / 咖啡店 ka1 fei1 dian4 = coffee shop / 餐廳 can1 ting1 = restaurant )
takes you to wifly.com.tw/wifly6/tw/Wifly … hainStore/
which has 5 different chains. When you click on the logo you get a list of addresses (yes, just in Chinese!)

CONNECTION PROBLEMS:

As long as I’m close enough to a Wifly hotspot (3 or more bars out of 5), I usually get connected without a problem. But sometimes I have had some problems connecting even when the signal is strong. Wifly shows up in my list of wifi networks, but when I open a browser the Wifly login page doesn’t come up. I usually get around it somehow… Close/re-start Internet Explorer, or try Firefox, Opera (I like the new version; also has built-in mail client, and BitTorrent client), or Chrome (the new Google browser). Sometimes I have to reboot. FYI: I use Chinese Vista Home…

8

The only thing I don’t like about Wifly is that you have to sign in every time you start using it. My username/password are automatically filled in, so it’s not that bad, though. I haven’t had a problem using it at the Xindian MRT station or any other station. I got a year’s subscription with my iPod Touch, and I’ve been using the account on another iPod Touch and now on my iPhone with no problems. 3G is so prevalent in Taipei, though, I’d think it would be more useful to find Wifly hotspots in other cities where 3G is harder to come by.

9

[quote=“Poagao”]The only thing I don’t like about Wifly is that you have to sign in every time you start using it. My username/password are automatically filled in, so it’s not that bad, though. I haven’t had a problem using it at the Xindian MRT station or any other station. I got a year’s subscription with my iPod Touch, and I’ve been using the account on another iPod Touch and now on my iPhone with no problems. 3G is so prevalent in Taipei, though, I’d think it would be more useful to find Wifly hotspots in other cities where 3G is harder to come by.[/quote]TC,

Next time I see you I need your help with WiFly on my iPod Touch. I’ve been using the pre-paid cards but they recently changed their web interface (WiCube?) and I can’t seem to get things to work…and I can’t read Chinese so I don’t know what to click.

Thanks!

10

is it possible to buy a Prepaid-1month-card for WIFLY at TPE International Airport ? that’s 400 TW$, yes ?

Is it easy for someone who can not read Chinese to get it initiated / connected ?

11

[quote=“WOLFinTHAI”]is it possible to buy a Prepaid-1month-card for WIFLY at TPE International Airport ? that’s 400 TW$, yes ?

Is it easy for someone who can not read Chinese to get it initiated / connected ?[/quote]
It’s NT$500 for a 31 day pre-paid card and they are available at all 7-11s. Just use the username/pass on the card for the webpage redirect and make sure your cookies are enabled. :slight_smile:

12

Compared to what I paid in the UK. That’s a good deal!

Kenneth