Posted on May 26, 2007
I found three free Wi-Fi networks in Stockholm. One was an independent cafe, Café Edenborg, where there is both open Wi-Fi access and available power points for those battery recharge moments. The coffee was good too. The next one was in a local burger chain called Max. I saw two Max locations during my stay, but could only detect Wi-Fi in one of them. The one where the Wi-Fi was present did have a sticker on the door though indicating that WLAN was available. At that location, the connection was open to the internet without any need to sign in, or even accept terms & conditions. Finally, the most common of the free networks I found was SkypeZones. These free networks, which appear to be sponsored by Skype, are all over the city. They provide reasonably good strength outside on the street, and two networks: SkypeZones and SkypeZones_Phones. As with the other two networks, they are entirely open – no sign in page or terms and conditions page at all. I was able to surf the web, make Skype calls and even make SIP calls through VoiceStick at a number of these locations with no problem at all.
Posted on May 26, 2007
In every 7-Eleven store I found in downtown Stockholm there was a wireless network provided by Rover Rabbit. These had a very strong signal outside the store too (I believe that the dipole antenna over the doorway is in fact the Wi-Fi antenna, which would explain the signal quality!). They are a pre-paid only provider, selling access in units of 1 hour, 24 hours or one month. Unlike most pre-paid services though they expire on calendar time after first use, irrespective of the amount of use. These hotspots are now supported through Devicescape now – just enter the username & password from the scratch card, or, if you buy online, activate with your browser and use the random looking username/password from the popup window (your Rover Rabbit website username & password will not let you get online sadly).
Posted on May 26, 2007
Walking around downtown Stockholm on my first night there, I came across a McDonalds location where, in addition to The Cloud Wi-Fi service that is available in all McDonalds locations in Stockholm, there was also a FON access point visible. I saw three or four FON access points around Stockholm, though I only managed to get connections to two of them using the N95 – the others were too weak for the N95 to associate with successfully.
Posted on May 25, 2007
SF Beta boasts gourmet catering, music throughout the night, a dozen startup demos, and great people all night long. It sounds too good to be true, but honestly this is $10 well spent! And at this months Beta-fest at the “uber-chic” 111 Minna Gallery, Devicescape will be strutting its stuff and showing off all the latest enhancements and offerings from our start-up, including first public appearances of our new feature “Personal Networks.” In addition, we’ll be showing our software running on Nokia phones and Windows Mobile 6 smartphones – bringing the total numbers of devices we run on to hundreds of millions. (There were more than 40 million s60 Nokia phones alone in 2005.) Come by, grab a cocktail and drink in the exciting atmosphere of tech start-ups showing off their wares to early adopter fans. Devicescape will be showing: Table 1 in the front room from 6 – 7:30 Table 5 in the back room from 7:30 – 9pm* (unless otherwise booked) Tickets: $10/20 Online, $15/$25 Door » RSVP Now » Order Tickets Online
Posted on May 25, 2007
The next city in the trip is Stockholm, in Sweden. Here at the airport there is a hotspot with pre-paid credentials (network name is LFVPUBLIC). The minutes that you buy remain valid for up to 30 days from first use, so frequent travelers through Arlanda Airport can buy time through a scratch card, add the credentials to their Devicescape account and get online automatically while sipping coffee waiting for their flight. I did also find a Telia Homerun location in the Sky City area (where the Roberts Coffee stand in the photo is located), and you can just about get a connection to the Radisson hotel’s Netpoint service too from the same area.
