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“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?” The great poet Robert Browning would have done well working for eFusion, the developer of a free application called eWiFi for the iPod Touch.

The premise of eWiFi is terrific. It promises to extend the reach of the iPod’s wifi capabilities and locate networks that would otherwise remain unseen. I put eWiFi to the test and it immediately located four networks in my office where I normally get zero networks.

Two networks were from outside the building and were password protected. One was outside the building, but open. One from within the building was locked but I knew the password.

So it was with some excitement that I tried to login to the two potential WiFi networks. But sadly, eWiFi’s reach exceeds its grasp. Although it is consistently able to recognize far-off networks, I’ve been generally unsuccessful in connecting to any that are outside the normal range for the iPod.

eWiFi didn’t fit the bill I was looking for, but I could see it being useful in certain, specific circumstances. It could come in handy when searching for a wifi hotspot. You could theoretically use it like a compass to narrow in on the router.

While I was disappointed with the application, I do need to add two caveats in the interest of fairness. First off, eWiFi is a free app. Mom always said ‘you get what you pay for’. Second, the current release is version 1.0.1. It’d be worth keeping an eye on to see if the product is enhanced in future releases.

eFusion’s website is www.efusion.co.jp and the eWiFi application is available for free at Apple’s App Store.