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We suspect Unlock With Wi-Fi is set to join their ranks of Android apps many of our friends and colleagues rave about — not the spectacular, all-multimedia, guns-blazing pieces of software, but the simple, one-use applications that make your daily life easier.
It’s currently available in beta, having been posted by its developer Ben to the XDA Developers forum for people to test and give feedback on. He explains its core use:
“Unlock with Wi-Fi unlocks your device when you’re connected to your home Wi-Fi network. What does ‘unlock’ mean? It means you don’t have to enter your password/pattern/PIN when you turn on your phone. When you’re at home, or work, you don’t need to worry about losing your phone, so why should you have to enter your password?”
We’ll venture an assumption here that Ben doesn’t have any toddlers in his household, but never mind. The app does require you to enter your password once, the first time you connect to your Wi-Fi network — “this is so that if someone steals or finds your phone, they can’t just bring it to your house to unlock it,” he explains.
The app is also capable of turning off your handset’s Wi-Fi when you leave your home, turning on its GPS when you leave, and turning off GPS when you get home. Interestingly, the commenters on Ben’s forum post seem more excited about the first of those — the ability to switch Wi-Fi off when leaving home, which could save hours of battery life.
The beta lasts until 15 April, when it will expire. Ben is planning to make the app available through the Android Market after that, and possibly other app stores too. You’ll need a device running Android 2.1 to try it, mind.
