Does new Prius have direct wifi connection ?

not even guessing, just throwing it out there. or else lost in translation. what would wifi do?

 

I don't understand why Chevy Advertises Wi-Fi Hot Spots in their cars.... Why pay :

• 200 MB: $5 per month (OnStar subscribers); $10 per month (non-subscribers)
• 1GB: $15 per month (OnStar subscribers); $20 per month (nonsubscribers)
• 3GB: $30 per month
• 5GB: $50 per month

For a hotspot in your car when your cellphone already most likely has a data plan??

 

I don't think that it is worth it but you could use it if your passenger has a wifi only tablet and wants to go online.

 

how does wifi reach the vehicle when you're driving?

 

In the Chevy's, it's 3G or4G cell service via OnStar. In our Prius, it's via the Verizon Jetpack we have. We could also turn our phones into a hotspot, but the jetpack battery lasts longer (we don't keep our phones plugged in). The advantage to in-car service, at least with OnStar, is the potentially better reception range as well as no battery to deal with.

 

i understand cell service, but not wifi.

 

Another advantage of the cellular stick: it can be used for your laptop when not driving.

 

Chevrolet talks about it in their adds. because everyone thinks it's "cool". Brings them into the showrooms? The cost IS NOT "cool"!

I might die of a heart attack if Toyota did nav. updates that easily. Currently they cost about $250 -each-!

You are confusing WiFi with cell data. You don't get updates and traffic data over WiFi as there are no WiFi hotspots you can stay connected to long enough when driving. You use cell data for that. WiFi is only for the occupants of the car, and is a bridge from cell data. You can do the same with many "smartphones" for a lot less.

Remember, -some- G4 models will have the cell charger built in (wireless). Whether you can use the phone while charging or not depends on the phone.

 

Your smart phone (with hotspot capability), jetpack, OnStar, etc., are basically wifi routers that simply create a wifi network within the vehicle just like your router does within your home. The differences are it uses a 3G/4G cell signal vs a cable/DSL signal, it only works when you are within range of a 3G/4G signal and it is generally slower than your home network.

 

When you say you don't understand wifi, I hope this clarifies:

Do you have a smart phone? If so, you receive 3 kinds of communication: Voice, Text and Internet Data via cell towers.

Just like wifi at home or at a hotel, your phone can be set up to send out a wifi signal so that other devices such as a laptop or a tablet (that is not built to connect to cell towers but has wifi receiving capability built in) can connect to the internet. Using your phone to receive and then send out wifi internet signals is called "tethering" or turning your phone into a hotspot.

As others have noted, you can get a separate device from your cell provider to act as a hot spot.

The Chevy system uses the same concept, just has a cell connected wifi hotspot built in.

In all cases you pay a cell provider to provide the connection to the cell tower to receive internet data, either by paying a flat fee for "unlimited" data, or by paying for a set amount of data.

Edit: I was composing my reply while Double Daz was composing his. I hope his and my explanations help.

 

And you can always buy any number of devices with multiple USB ports to plug into the power outlet, so the fact that Honda/Ford have 2 USB ports is no big deal. Like you said though, some phones don't let you use the phone while it's wirelessly charging and some may not let you send/receive calls while it's being used as a hotspot. I think it's expensive and just a gimmick too, but then I think the same is true of OnStar in general and I'm sure there are those who think the same of SiriusXM. I can also make the case that built-in navigation is also just a gimmick because there are cheaper ways of accomplishing that too, but some folks like built-ins and don't care about the costs. I'd be amenable to built-in wifi if it had the capability to simply share MY data plan, not require a separate subscription. The same is true of navigation. Provide a port for me to connect my GPS device of choice and integrate it with the audio system. The problem is there are no standards and the display is used for more than just navigation.

 

thanks guys. i don't see how 'hot spots' are going to help with traffic reports, are there enough to keep you updated?

 

Nearly continuous data on traffic is available through several sources - sensors on the road, google collecting position data from users of google maps, and reports to apps like Waze. And, yes, it's remarkably accurate and up-to-the-minute.

 

This site gives an overall view of how things work. As Tideland Prius said, "hotspots" don't really help with traffic reports. As far as there being enough updates though, that all depends on where you're traveling and how you and your GPS system uses the data.

For example, we got to Baton Rouge going East back in Feb and traffic signs said to expect up to a 2-hr delay. However, traffic was moving, including the 18-wheelers, so I decided not to trust the signs. That turned out to be the right decision because there was no delay at all. I wasn't using real-time traffic at the time, so I don't know what it would have told me.

Earlier on that same trip, we happened on an accident and got delayed for 1.5 hrs. In that case, real-time traffic was no help because the accident had just happened and wasn't in the system yet. Had we turned around, we would have been no better off because the only detour added that much to the drive-time.

We have hit delays in LA, Houston, New Your City and Washington DC where real-time traffic might have helped. We took detours in some cases, but had we been using traffic, we might have found we'd have been better off just waiting it out like we did with the others. I think if we lived in a place like LA and drove a lot, real time traffic might be a big help because there are multiple routes one can take almost everywhere. Then too, real time traffic might have told me how far I needed to detour to avoid the delay whereas we just took a detour until we felt it was safe to head back to our original route. We've done a lot of traveling all over the country since 2009 and have never used real time traffic, so I'm pretty ambivalent about it. Since my Garmin is broken at the moment and no longer computes routes, I use it for finding POIs and addresses while we're moving and use the Prius for navigation.

 

Wase is not relying on reports only, it collects data from users positions as well.