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I am trying to make a connection between smartphone and Arduino. I found a method which uses an Ethernet shield. Ethernet shield is connected to the router.

I wonder is Wifly shield is also a kind of wireless "Ethernet shield".

Is the only difference between Wifly and Ethernet shield is that one is wired to the router and the other is wireless connected to the router?

Can I use Wifly instead of Ethernet shield?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Ethernet isn't ususally shielded. \$\endgroup\$
    – Olin Lathrop
    Apr 19, 2012 at 23:08
  • \$\begingroup\$ @OlinLathrop, I think you were making a joke, and I laughed assunming so, but as you have aptly brought to attention, many people do not realize that a shield for arduino is what pic calls daughter cards. They are pieces of hardware designed to plug into the arduino to add functionality. \$\endgroup\$
    – Kortuk
    May 26, 2012 at 16:10
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Kortuk: It was meant to be funny to some, but also point out to the OP that he should learn to use the right terms. Just because some arduino marketing guy thought to give something a non-standard cutesy name doesn't make it right to use it, especially outside it's native context. I don't like to see the arduino folks get away with making up new terms and hijacking old ones for their own private benefit. Use that nonsense on arduino forums, but don't expect others to tolerate it otherwise. \$\endgroup\$
    – Olin Lathrop
    May 26, 2012 at 23:28

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Yes, you can use the wifly shield. However there are a couple of things to bear in mind. The most common ethernet shields are SPI based whereas the wifly is uart based. Your throughput will be reduced when using the wifly.

Also note that the hardware UART in the arduino is used for programming sketches and communicating with the pc, so you're going to have to use software UART if you want to use both at the same time.

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YES you can. WiFi just a wireless ethernet port. I saw one supplier make this card obsolete ( http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9367 )

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Readers should understand Arduino cards that "piggy back on the mother board" are the same size and called "shields" but are not great RF shields. \$\endgroup\$
    – Tony Stewart EE75
    Apr 20, 2012 at 2:49
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    \$\begingroup\$ What's the point in linking to a product which isn't available? -1 \$\endgroup\$
    – Federico Russo
    May 26, 2012 at 16:02

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