John Gordon
Chief Technology Officer
Posted on May 25, 2007
One of the networks that I have been looking for on my trip around northern Europe is FON. Here, not far from Hackescher Hof, I found a FON location where I could get online with the Nokia N95 and make VoIP calls (using VoiceStick, my new favourite VoIP provider). I’ll provide a more detailed update of my FON experience at the end of the trip, but I have seen FON APs in every city I’ve visited so far on this trip.
John Gordon
Chief Technology Officer
Posted on May 25, 2007
In a busy social area, with lots of bars and restaurants is Hackescher Hof, which provides free Wi-Fi access (hh. freifunk.net or HH2.FREIFUNK.NET depending on whether you’re at the front or back). Next door, Starbucks provides the normal T-Mobile_T-Com network as well, so those with T-Mobile/T-Com/T-Online credentials can also choose that network (which was certainly stronger when sitting outside.
John Gordon
Chief Technology Officer
Posted on May 24, 2007
I mentioned Andy’s Diner & Bar earlier in the week as one of the locations where you can get online through Hotspot Deutschland. While out walking around the area behind my hotel in Berlin I came across this little Smart Car wearing an ad for said diner & bar. There are a lot of these little Smart Cars in Berlin, and many of them seem to be dressed up as mini advertising platforms.
John Gordon
Chief Technology Officer
Posted on May 23, 2007
The Grand Hyatt, Berlin is one of the locations where wireless connectivity is provided by M3 Connect.. As well as credit card on-demand usage, they also accept credentials from a number of aggregators/ISPs. For now, Boingo & iPass credentials are enabled for roaming onto the M3 Connect network. If you need one of the other partners, please let us know and we’ll do our best to get it added quickly.
John Gordon
Chief Technology Officer
Posted on May 23, 2007
As in the other cities I’ve visited, there are a number of locations that provide free access to the internet for their customers. Here’s the complete list of the ones I’ve used in my three days here in Berlin: Einstein Kaffee (open) Hotel California (open,weak signal outside) Hotel Mondial (open, weak signal outside) Melrose Bar & Grill (supported by Devicescape) Hotspot Sony Center (supported by Devicescape) MAXX’Bar (open) hh.freifunk.net/HH2.FREIFUNK.NET (open, weak outside) If you know of more, please add them in a comment.
John Gordon
Chief Technology Officer
Posted on May 23, 2007
Right next to Potsdamer Platz in Berlin you will find the Sony Center; a collection of restaurants, shops, museums and even a movie theatre. And, of course, a Sony Style store. In terms of Wi-Fi, there is a T-Mobile/T-Com hotspot in the Alex cafe (right next door to the Sony Style store), and there is a free hotspot in the Sony Store itself (network name Hotspot_SonyCenter). Both of these are now supported by Devicescape so you should be able to get online either while browsing the latest Sony gadgets, or while sipping a coffee at an outdoor seat in the forum.
John Gordon
Chief Technology Officer
Posted on May 22, 2007
While walking down a side street off of Kurfürstendamm yesterday looking for Wi-Fi access with my Nokia N95 (yes, that really is what I am doing out here in northern Europe) I chanced on the Melrose Bar & Grill where they operate a Hotspot Deutschland hotspot, as well as their own free access hotspot (‘melrose’). Unfortunetely, the Melrose was out of access cards, so I couldn’t buy time on the network; I was able to login using my Boingo account though (Boingo is one of their roaming partners). Today I found Andy’s Diner and Bar at Potsdamer Platz 1. Andy’s is another Hotspot Deutschland location, and here they had access cards: 2 Euros for 60 minutes. Hotspot Deutschland is now supported by Devicescape for Hotspot Deutschland credentials and also for Boingo users (if you have Boingo credentials and you connect to a HotspotDeutschland hotspot Devicescape will automatically log you in!).
Posted on May 21, 2007
If you’ve been reading our blog lately, you’ll have noticed that our own John Gordon is on the road in Europe adding wi-fi networks from pubs, cafes, city centres – and did I mention pubs? I think we need to do the same! Let’s hit the streets, add some hotspots and get them onto the Devicescape so the next time we circle back, our smartphones, tablets and other devices will connect automatically! It’s easy to do – just go to our submit a network form and fill in the fields. And don’t forget to tell us where your faves are – we might want to hit them ourselves! Happy Hotspotting!
John Gordon
Chief Technology Officer
Posted on May 21, 2007
An Irish pub with a T-Mobile/T-Com hotspot. Who could ask for more? And, since this is a Devicescape supported hotspot you don’t even need to be using a laptop. You can get online here with your Nokia 770 or 800 web tablet for a bit of more discrete surfing, or for maximum discreteness how about using that smartphone you’ve got in your pocket?
John Gordon
Chief Technology Officer
Posted on May 21, 2007
One of a few locations I’ve found here in Berlin so far with totally open Wi-Fi access. The Einstein Kaffee, located at Kurfürstenstraße 58, provides all the expected coffee drinks and pastries. They have indoor and outdoor seating and a fast internet connection. Next door is Sopranos, and Italian restaurant serving pizza, pasta and salads. They have their own T-Mobile/T-Com hotspot, but you can easily get on the Einstein Kaffee network, even from inside the restaurant, if you don’t have a T-Mobile subscription.
