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Feature: How to Spot a Hotspot

Public wireless access points are popping up everywhere, from street-corner pay phones to gas stations to doctor's offices. Pretty soon, in fact, Donald Trump's hair will be declared a Wi-Fi hotspot.

But other than The Donald's imposing bangs, how do you know when you're near a hotspot? You could try locating one with a metal detector, I suppose. But the only things you'd pick up would be strange looks and an occasional quarter.

Here's a better solution: Check out a Wi-Fi directory on the Web before you head out with your wireless notebook or PDA. The Web has plenty of searchable sites that can help you locate a hotspot near your destination.

The following Wi-Fi directories cover U.S. and international locations, providing information on free and/or commercial wireless hotspots. I've graded them according to the usefulness of the information provided, their search filters, and other criteria. And I've ranked them from best to worst.

By the way, PC World's Web site offers a hotspot locator. I've not graded the PC World service, which uses JiWire's Wi-Fi search engine, but I have reviewed Intel's Centrino Mobile Technology Hotspot Finder, which uses the same technology but with a different interface.

Intel Centrino Mobile Technology Hotspot Finder

Grade: A

What's Hot: Intel's site offers the most complete directory of global hotspots I've seen. You can search for hotspots by address, city, state, country/region, distance (from 0.2 to 100 miles), business or hotspot name, location type (such as hotel or airport), and service provider. You can also search for free or commercial hotspots, or both.

Clicking a location name (such as Starbucks) gives you even more information, such as Wi-Fi service rates, pictures of the location, and comments about amenities and wireless signal strength. The location is also displayed on a MapQuest map.

In addition, the site provides solid information about commercial wireless service providers, including troubleshooting guides, instructions on signing up for a particular service, phone numbers for tech support issues, and more.

What's Not: Intel's search results weren't always as complete as other sites. For instance, it listed 200 hotspots within 10 miles of my San Francisco zip code, compared to Wi-FiHotSpotList.com, which found 363. Still, if you could only bookmark one Wi-Fi directory, this is it.

WiFi411

Grade: B+

What's Hot: WiFi411 offers almost as many filters as the Intel/JiWire site. You can search by country, state/province, city, U.S. zip code, distance (from 1 to 25 miles), network provider, and location type. Results can be filtered between free and pay hotspots, too. Within the results, clicking a hotspot location name provides even more information, such as address, phone number, customer support number, network standard supported (such as 802.11b), coverage area description, and roaming partners.

The site includes a useful directory of Wi-Fi service providers, plus a Wi-Fi introduction section for beginners that provides FAQs and tips on choosing a provider.

What's Not: Free hotspots aren't well represented. For example, this site found only four free hotspots in San Francisco, while Wi-Fi-Freespot listed 36.

Wi-FiHotSpotList.com

Grade: B

What's Hot: Calling itself "the definitive" hotspot directory, Wi-FiHotSpotList.com often provides extensive search results. As I mentioned earlier, it found 363 hotspots in my zip code compared to the Intel site, which found only 200. The interface is straightforward and clean. Hotspot locations are displayed on a MapQuest map.

What's Not: The search engine fields are pretty basic. You can search by street address, city, state, zip code, distance (from 1 to 10 miles), and network provider. But you can't filter results by hotspot type, such as hotels, or search only for free hotspots.

Wi-Fi-Freespot

Grade: B-

What's Hot: As its name implies, Wi-Fi-Freespot is focused entirely on free, public hotspots. The listings cover cafes, restaurants, libraries, airports, downtown business districts, malls, retail stores, and other public areas. I found free Wi-Fi hotspots in this directory that didn't appear in others. For the uninitiated, there's also a helpful FAQ page. A separate but related directory provides a listing of hotel chains with free Wi-Fi access.

What's Not: This site is designed for browsing rather than entering search criteria. You click a state's name, for instance, then browse a list of all the free hotspots, organized by city. Despite that drawback, this is a handy site for budget-minded hotspot jumpers.

Four More to Go

Hotspot Locations: At this site you can search for Wi-Fi service providers with roaming agreements, which is a nice touch. Also, the site's "hotspot of the month" features some funky locations around the globe, such as a Polish cellar said to be "the deepest hotspot in Europe." Otherwise, this directory doesn't offer much you wouldn't find elsewhere.

The HotSpot Haven: This relatively new directory promises user rankings and reviews of hotspots. At press time, however, I was unable to find any. The search fields are more limited than most directories, though search results are fairly extensive.

Wi-Fi Zone Finder: This site is operated by the Wi-Fi Alliance, a nonprofit association that certifies the interoperability of 802.11-based wireless network products. The directory requires you to enter initial search criteria (such as country, then state) one at a time and doesn't let you search by zip code.

WiFinder: The chief benefit of this directory is its ability to filter hotspot searches by the 802.11b and 802.11g wireless protocols.

Your Favorite Hotspot Finder?

Do you have a favorite online Wi-Fi directory or tool that I didn't mention? If so, tell me about it.