Our iPhone/iPod touch/iPad users and 5th Edition Nokia users got to see a new feature in their apps this week: Venue Information. I thought I’d take a little time to explain what we’ve added, and why it matters. And don’t worry if you use us on an Android device, or access our map via our web page, the same features will be coming to those places too soon.

What Is It?
For now, we’re collecting only some basic information about each venue:

• Its name
• Its type (via a set of tags)
• A rating (1-5 stars)

Obviously, we have a geocode as well. At the moment, you will see an address, but that is always generated today by reverse geocoding the coordinates. Over time, we hope to be able to collect addresses too and pin locations down based on that data.

How Do I See This Information?
You will notice in the map callouts, as well as for some rows in the history screen, that a new icon has appeared to the right of the information. Tap that and you will be taken to the venue information for that venue, if we have any.

 

If we don’t have any, then you will be taken to a simpler screen that asks you to tell us the name of the place, and set the initial tag (the venue’s primary type):

We’ll tell you all we know, typically just the network name (SSID) and perhaps the Wi-Fi operator. In the example above, you can see the network name is “Mama Art Cafe” but we don’t really know the operator (it is assigned to one of our Easy WiFi Network placeholder IDs).

If you’d like to help us improve our service, fill in the name and pick a type, then tap Save and your information will be added to the map. Tap the big red ‘No Thanks’ button if you want to skip this and return to the map.

WiFi Experience Rating
Our automated system for mapping Wi-Fi networks indicates, by means of the signal bars on the map pins, how likely you are to get connected at a specific location, but it doesn’t tell you anything about the overall WiFi experience.

Perhaps the location connects you every time, but is slower than a 300 baud dial up connection (anybody remember those?). Perhaps it is super fast, but there’s no where to sit down and surf. Or maybe it has everything you could ask from a hotspot (if you find one with free wifi and free beer, please let me know - that kind of location might need personal testing!).

Tap the stars to add your rating from 1 (no good) to 5 (great). If you’ve already rated a location, the stars will be red. If not, you’ll see the average of everybody else’s ratings in yellow (or no rating, if nobody has ever rated the place, giving you the honour of being the first to rate it).

Reporting Errors (or Abuse)
We strive to keep everything in our database as current as possible, and we have magical algorithms running all the time tracking changes and status, but every once in a while we suspect the information might become out dated (venues change names), or just have been entered incorrectly. For that we have a reporting mechanism at the bottom of the venue detail page.

Tap the button, tell us in a few words what’s wrong (and if possible what it should be), and classify the error so we can send it to the correct place to be fixed, and we’ll do our best.

As I mentioned above, at the moment the addresses are being reverse geocoded from the coordinates, and while they’re normally close, they don’t always match exactly. If you want to tell us the right address, we’ll be very grateful, but it will take a while for it to be reflected on the map. Rest assured, we are keeping all the information you send us like that safe in our database, and will make sure it does get added.

Your Venue
If you’re a venue operator, and would like to make sure we have all your information correct on our map, please ping us. We can be contacted via Twitter (@easywifi or @devicescape), through the comments on this page, via our forum or just email me directly (I’m john ‘at’ devicescape.com).

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 great job by automating the operator’s Wi-Fi so that sign-in on AT&T (in the US) is seamless.   But their support for other hotspots is really poor and we’re glad that we can help a little with an automated solution.

For those who hadn’t already found it, Serengeti is a free app from Devicescape that includes the Easy Wi-Fi functionality and streamlines access to the web while in a hotspot that needs a web based login.

How does it work?

Serengeti is a very simple front end to Safari. On the cellular network, or your home Wi-Fi, it runs a quick check that you can connect to the internet, and then launches Safari with your selected home page (a side benefit is that you can now define a home page too).

The magic comes if you are on a hotspot network, like the AT&T one in Starbucks. When Serengeti encounters a hotspot network like that, it will use Devicescape’s Easy Wi-Fi technology to log you in before it launches Safari.

What do I need to use it?

You need two things to use Serengeti:

1. A free Devicescape Easy Wi-Fi account, which you can sign up for on the web, or directly from the app’s setup screen;
2. Access to the hotspots you plan to use. Devicescape can handle logging you at lots of commercial networks if you have an account that works for them (e.g. your AT&T iPhone number, which can get you free access at AT&T Wi-Fi locations from your iPhone); it can also get you connected at lots of free networks around the world, such as coffee shops where you normally have to click a button to enable access, and at university networks where there is a web-based log in form. And we’re growing that list all the time!

Can it start other apps?

Some other apps can be started instead of Safari, but not all. Applications that register themselves as a URL handler can be started. That list includes many popular apps like IM clients and Twitter clients, so you can start those by simply changing the Serengeti home page (in the main iPhone Settings app) to the appropriate URL. I use Serengeti to start my favorite Twitter client app, TwitterFon, which can be started using twitterfon:/// as the Serengeti home page.

Why Serengeti?

Serengeti is named after the large grassy plain in Africa that includes the Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Maswa Game Reserve, the Maasai Mara Reserve and more. The Serengeti region of Africa is perhaps the world’s most popular destination for safari vacations. So, the Serengeti is where your Safari begins.

Yesterday AT&T finally announced the free Wi-Fi access for their iPhone customers in the US. That opens up the Wi-Fi networks in Starbucks, McDonald’s and many other places to iPhone users, giving them high speed access from their phones while they sip coffee or enjoy a their lunch. Using Wi-Fi is much better than EDGE (as those of us with first generation iPhones, or who live in areas that don’t yet have 3G coverage can confirm), but it is also usually faster and more reliable than the 3G network as long as you have a strong signal.

Unfortunately, the official AT&T way to get this free access involves jumping through hoops each time you want to connect in a new location. Assuming you have the attwifi SSID already in your preferred networks list (i.e. you’ve connected to it once before, and not told the iPhone to forget the network), then you will need to do this:

1. Fire up mobile Safari and load a page so that you get the special iPhone captive portal page.
2. Enter your 10-digit mobile number and check the box to agree to the Acceptable Use Policy. Tap ‘continue’.
3. Wait for a (free) text message from AT&T containing a link that is only valid at your current location for 24 hours.
4. Switch to the SMS app, and view the link in the text message from AT&T (which will close the SMS app and take you back to Mobile Safari.

That’s a lot of steps just to get some Wi-Fi access! Luckily, Devicescape’s Easy Wi-Fi knows how to get you online using your phone number too. For a simple one-time setup, you get much faster access to the AT&T network:

1. Install the app, tap the ‘My Wi-Fi’ tab to get to the Wi-Fi accounts panel, tap ‘+’ to open the search.
2. Search for iPhone.
3. Choose ‘AT&T Wi-Fi (iPhone)’ from the results and enter your ten digit phone number.

Now, each time you want Wi-Fi at an AT&T location, simply tap the Easy Wi-Fi icon on the iPhone and you’ll be logged in within a few seconds in most cases. No need for SMS messages, no need to enter your phone number each time.

If you have an iPod touch too, then sign up for a Devicescape account, register both devices to it and you can use your iPod touch instead of your iPhone when you’re in the hotspot, leaving your phone free for making calls while you surf (just remember that you can’t connect both at the same time - the accounts only allow a single device to be logged in at a time, and even after logging out on the AT&T network it can take up to 15 minutes for them to allow a different device to get online using the same user name & password).

One of the questions we’re asked most frequently in our forums is how to use Devicescape with Truphone on a Nokia S60 device like the N95.

There are a couple of ways you can use Truphone with Devicescape on the N95, which you choose is really down to your personal preference:

1. Using the TruWizard, you can set up Devicescape to be one of your automatic connection networks, and prioritise it above or below any other networks as you want. This allows you to use Wi-Fi when you’re in range of a network that you can connect to, even a hotspot one, but fall back on your 3G network when you don’t have Wi-Fi coverage.

2. Or, if you live in an area without 3G coverage like I do, you can ignore the TruWizard completely and just use the Nokia’s built in VoIP tools for connecting via Wi-Fi whenever it is available, using Devicescape to aggregate all your Wi-Fi networks into a single Wi-Fi IAP. The Truphone installation process will set up a standard Nokia VoIP connection (a combination of SIP settings and Internet telephony settings). Once installed, the standard Nokia VoIP tools can be used to connect and disconnect the TruVoip service instead of the TruWizard application.

In both cases, if you spend much of the day within range of Wi-Fi, you’ll probably want to disable the automatic connection to save on battery life - with Truphone connected over Wi-Fi, my N95-1 lasted around 2 hours which is much too short to be practical! My personal preference is to use the Nokia VoIP application to connect to Truphone when I need to make a VoIP call. Remember to disconnect the service again when you hang up, otherwise you’ll drain the battery again.

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For those who have registered their Starbucks card and signed up for the 2 hours of free access and got your AT&T username, here’s how you can get your Devicescape account set up to use it automatically:

1. From the My Wi-Fi page, choose AT&T Wi-Fi as the account type to add.
2. Enter your new AT&T Wi-Fi user name with @attwifi.com added after it (so, for example, mine would be devicescape_john@attwifi.com the user name AT&T had assigned me was devicescape_john).
3. Enter the password for your Starbucks account.
4. Check the roaming box, and add the account.

And that’s it. You should be able to log in automatically next time you visit a Starbucks location.

Note: if you have another account type that works on the AT&T Wi-Fi network, such as Boingo Mobile or an AT&T DSL account, you will be better off using that and not adding a Starbucks AT&T Wi-Fi account since you are limited to just a single two-hour session each day with the Starbucks account (and remember you need to use the Starbucks card at least once every 30 days for it to stay active).