Devicescape releases the Q3 2011 Wi-Fi Report

Posted on November 22, 2011

Chalk it up as another banner quarter for Devicescape.  On the heels of growing to over 4 million hotspots globally, Devicescape just released its Q3 2011 Wi-Fi report.  What’s interesting about this quarter’s report is that I’m seeing some wavering in service provider loyalty.  Being a long-time Verizon Wireless subscriber myself, I assumed that most people were like me and would be resistant to carrier switching.  Unless of course it’s a hardware matter such as getting an iPhone but that has become irrelevant since Verizon now carries that smartphone. Data capping has become more and more of a subscriber concern over the last year with major carriers announcing intentions to get rid of unlimited data plans.  Although the reality is that most people don’t come close to the proposed plan caps, the idea of taking away consumer value from their plans is perceived as a hit to the consumer experience.  In the Devicescape report, 88% of respondents said that unlimited data plan offers would sway purchasing decisions.  If the mobile operators want to avoid carrier switching, they better come up with some solutions and educate their subscribers.  Data usage is only going to increase over time as rich content such…

The State of WiFi beyond 2015

Posted on November 11, 2011

I’m sure many of you have heard that the World Broadband Alliance just released their report titled “Global Developments in Public Wi-Fi”.  If you haven’t seen the report, you may have read one of the many articles that cite its many statistics.  The most significant statistic that’s been brought to our attention is the projected number of hotspots by 2015.  WBA projects 5.8 million hotspots. (We at Devicescape can confidently say there are significantly more but that’s a whole different discussion).  The point being is that WiFi is pervasive.  We all expected that though. Blogger Kevin Sandlin on the CWNP blog  poses an interesting question.  What will the state of WiFi be like beyond 2015?  He cites the WBA report, a Cisco report on their Networking Index and Forecasts, and IDC data.  In my view he doesn’t make any bold predictions but he does point out something interesting. From the Cisco report, he states that by 2015, WiFi will consume 37.2 exabytes of data versus 37 exabytes for wired and 6 exabytes for cellular.  The traffic over WiFi is 6x that of cellular.  So “mobility” as we know it today will really just be WiFi down the road. I think…

Q1 2010 WiFi Report – A Wish List

Posted on April 23, 2010

We just completed the Q1 survey for our quarterly WiFi Report, where we probe into the opinions of our membership about WiFi.  I thought I would share a few of the interesting findings. Check these charts out (sorry for the squeezed font size): Bit of an obvious response, perhaps, given that the survey was done to the Easy WiFi membership, but it’s still a big datapoint for device manufacturers.  With so much attention on 3G connectivity it’s great to know that there’s such demand for WiFi. So, if users want WiFi enablement, what types of devices do they use today? Today it’s a PC and smartphone market.  What’s in the shopping wish-list though? The iPad is a runaway hit with almost 59% of respondents wanting one!  This could have something to do with the survey being conducted right at the peak of the iPad launch, of course.  Number 2 is for digital cameras.  Interesting.  Having lost an SD card full of vacation photos last year I love the idea of photos being stored up on the web! Check back later for more insights.  If you’re interested in getting a copy of the WiFi Report you can request it here and…

Where's Easy Wi-Fi?

Posted on October 3, 2009

The Easy Wi-Fi multi network application (white icon) is temporarily unavailable in the Apple App Store.    It will be restored on or around October 20th. So, why is it unavailable?  Well, we’re working on a big new release, version 4.  Due to the odd behavior of the App Store we can’t have the old version available while we also have a newer version with restricted availability.  We’re not quite ready for prime time on the new app so we want to get it out to our partners and friends who will check it out and give us great suggestions.  This forces us to halt broad availability and control access via Apple’s “promo codes.” Sorry for the delay.  Meantime you could use another version of Easy Wi-Fi (they’re all extensible to any hotspot provider). What does version 4 contain?  Well, it’s a secret!  But we’re quite excited as it adds a revolutionary capability that many of you have asked for.  Here’s a graphic from the app to tickle your imagination.  Can you guess? Want to be among the select reviewers of the new app?  Send us an email request.  We have 10 promo codes available and we’ll allocate them based on…

iPhone OS Update: 3.1 works!

Posted on September 14, 2009

We’re happy to announce that Easy Wi-Fi works fine in the latest 3.1 firmware for the iPhone and iPod touch.  Yay!  Thanks to our friends at Apple for helping accommodate us. Having got that out the way, there are a couple of things you might need to know.  First of all, Apple’s special support only applies to the original Easy Wi-Fi multi-network application (the one with the white icon).  If you’re using any of the other Easy Wi-Fi apps, like the AT&T or T-Mobile version, you’ll need to install the original version too.  It’s free in the AppStore.  You don’t need to use it: just the act of installing it has the effect of telling the iPhone OS not to do “smart” stuff with your Wi-Fi connection in hotspots. Finally, if you’re one of the many iPod touch users who never upgraded from 2.x firmware, ignore all of this.  You’re fine.  The issue only occurs with iPhone OS 3.0, and if you upgrade you’ll be jumping past that version from now on. We’re relieved to be back working better on the iPhone and iPod, although it’s clear that Apple hotspot support is still a work in progress.  They did a…

The Devicescape Wi-Fi Report

Posted on March 26, 2009

Having a user base in excess of one million enthusiastic members gives us a great opportunity to query the habits, desires, and problems facing Wi-Fi users today.  With that in mind, we’ve decided to conduct regular surveys of our membership, where we can ask insightful questions of this leading-edge community.  We plan to conduct the survey quarterly, and publish the results in a piece of original research that we call “The Devicescape Wi-Fi Report”.  Catchy huh? 😉 We conducted our first survey in January and have now published the first Devicescape Wi-Fi report for Q1, 2009.  Some of the things we learned were quite surprising, while others simply confirmed what we already knew.  Here’s a sample of what we learned: Most users want Muni Wi-Fi and (surprise!) they’d be willing to pay for it like a utility Most users prefer Wi-Fi to 3G and want it built into all phones and bundled with cellular plans People like iPhone Wi-Fi best while on the road (no surprise!) Now that the first one is done, we’re working hard on the Q2 report.  We plan on probing more deeply and hope to invite our friends in the industry to participate through crafting good…