Posted on September 29, 2008
I’m excited to announce the availability of Devicescape for iPhone and iPod Touch on Apple’s App Store. Thanks to all of our users out there who have been so patient: it took us a lot longer than we thought to figure out how to make this release! As you can see in this screen shot, the new version looks quite a bit different. Because of Apple’s current limitations on running in the background you need to launch the app to login. But you can manage your account and check your usage history directly, which I think is quite handy. If you’d like to check out the application, search for “Easy WiFi” on iTunes or download it directly from the App Store.
Posted on August 12, 2008
Wanted to keep you all posted that we’re working hard on an official release of Devicescape for Apple’s App Store. All being well this will make it out there in the very near future. The exact acceptance process and timeline is a little bit unclear. I’m very excited about the new application as it’s much improved, with plenty of handy new features which improve usability. The team here has done a very nice job. The current limitations of Apple’s SDK don’t allow us to work in the background so you need to start the application and hit “login”. Still, that’s a lot nicer than wrangling with Safari and tedious login pages. Many thanks to the hundreds of thousands of you with the current “hacked” version, for your enthusiasm and patience. Watch this space!
Posted on June 19, 2008
One of the things that always frustrates me when I travel is the high cost of Internet access, especially at hotels. Oddly enough, it seems to be the premium hotels that charge extra for access, while the lower end chains give it away for free. I checked into a hotel near Heathrow Airport in London a few weeks ago and noticed that they had an “Executive Upgrade” which included Wi-Fi access and breakfast for $20. When I asked about the costs for Wi-Fi alone they told me it was $30. I guess the thinking there was that executives would be so dumb they’d need big help figuring out which one to choose! Anyway, I went with the upgrade, but amazingly they warned me that I likely wouldn’t be able to actually access Wi-Fi from my room but I could certainly use it in the lobby. Now that’s great service. At least breakfast was ok. It’s long been a bone of contention for many road warriors to pay high access fees when traveling. The all you can eat cellular data and Wi-Fi plans we have enjoyed at home suddenly rack up enormous roaming fees, and we encounter high price “session islands”…
Posted on May 19, 2008
The Cloud, Europe’s fastest growing Wi-Fi network provider – and arguably the coolest (they own the access points in all the pubs in London) has partnered with Devicescape to provide their customers the great Devicescape auto-connect service relabeled as “mycloud.” We’re thrilled to be working with such a mover and shaker in the world of Wi-Fi – and oh yea – they had a great party at the chic SoHo trend-spot “24 Kingly” to kick off the fun. What this means for our Devicescape members: Right now it just means that you’ve hitched your wagon to a start-up that is in demand the world around. Pretty cool for you and it shows how technically savvy you are and what impeccable taste you have 😉 What this means for Cloud members: You’re in luck! The Cloud will automatically create Devicescape accounts for you so you can immediately start enjoying fast and easy Wi-Fi access in every pub you go to! (McDonalds and cafes in the UK too.) Just another step in our taking the world by storm…
Posted on April 2, 2008
Slacker, Inc, the maker of the new Slacker Internet Radio Service and the Slacker Portable Player, today released a new and improved version of their firmware that integrates Devicescape Connect. Nice – you say, but what does this mean? Well, for Slacker Portable owners this is pretty cool news. Now they have far more places out there in the world where their radios can refresh on Wi-Fi and get them fast access to more songs and other content. One blogger puts it simply: “Yaaay! Devicescape now on Slacker devices” For other device manufacturers and the network operators, this marriage between two California start-ups with innovative new technologies signals the coming of a new era of connected device – and some potentially disruptive forces in the field. As consumers come to expect to be able to access content and services from any device, everywhere they go – manufacturers will continue to add fast and easy Wi-Fi access to every device they make. We are beginning to see this already on Smartphones – and now with Slacker and the iPhone and iPod touch – we have some new devices that really take advantage of and grow the love for Wi-Fi and always…
Posted on March 24, 2008
Since we launched Devicescape we’ve tried to find the right balance of stability and experimentation for new features. As the size of our community grows, however, we’re aware that we need a better method to gain high value feedback before a wider rollout. With this in mind, we’ve created the Pioneer Program as a way for our members to indicate their interest in early access to new features and capabilities. Devicescape Pioneers will receive special invitations from time to time to try out new features we’re evaluating for the Devicescape service. There is no obligation other than trying things out and telling us what you think. You can decline to participate if you’re not interested in any test we invite you to, and you can also decide you don’t want to be a Pioneer at any time in which case we won’t bother you again. Easy! If you’re interested in becoming a Pioneer, go to the portal at pioneer.devicescape.com to read more and to sign up.
