We recently decided to deemphasize iOS and withdraw our Easy WiFi apps from the App Store.  Sadly, the iOS platform has become less and less capable of supporting our product and we felt that the functionality had become so marginalized that it frustrated users.  It was doing more harm than good to keep them available.

This is somewhat ironic given that iOS was the first mobile platform we supported.  For a while, Easy WiFi was a top app in the App Store, making it to number 4 in popularity.  We felt like rock stars for a while!  This was during the days when AT&T needed you to jump through hoops to get connected at Starbucks and users quickly discovered we were a one-click solution to that problem.  Soon after, iOS 3.x rolled out and not only made the platform hostile to Easy WiFi (and similar apps from our peers) but AT&T locations gained built-in authentication (via WISPr, for those of you who care).

This wasn’t an easy decision for us.  Apple is very relevant and we certainly feel we have huge value to add.  Their current solution for hotspots – other than the single carrier network – is truly horrible and so, well, un-Apple!  Perhaps they hired some people who designed Windows Vista’s UAC?  My guess is that most iOS users are just so sick of clearing the “auto login” popup that they simply switch WiFi off and stick to cellular, adding further to the carrier data congestion woes.

So, our apologies to those of you out there with iOS, especially the loyal enthusiasts that have helped us with Easy WiFi over the past few years.  We hope to see you again, perhaps on iOS or maybe Android…which is powerful enough to support us fully

My news feeds have been alive today with reports that Apple is tracking all users of iOS devices, or at least recording information about where a device goes on the local file system. From an article at ZDNet to the original article about the software that can extract your location history and plot it on a map, there has been a lot written about the tracking aspect, and questions about the purpose of the data.

The FAQ on the Pete Warden site even has this question & answer:

Why is Apple collecting this information?

It’s unclear. One guess might be that they have new features in mind that require a history of your location, but that’s pure speculation. The fact that it’s transferred across devices when you restore or migrate is evidence the data-gathering isn’t accidental.

What I find interesting is that nothing I’ve read so far mentions that the majority of the tables in the database (it is an unencrypted SQLite database for those wondering) concern cell tower and WiFi access point locations. Of particular interest are these two tables:

CREATE TABLE WifiLocation (MAC TEXT, Timestamp FLOAT, Latitude FLOAT,
Longitude FLOAT, HorizontalAccuracy FLOAT, Altitude FLOAT,
VerticalAccuracy FLOAT, Speed FLOAT, Course FLOAT, Confidence INTEGER,
PRIMARY KEY (MAC));

CREATE TABLE CellLocation (MCC INTEGER, MNC INTEGER, LAC INTEGER, CI
INTEGER, Timestamp FLOAT, Latitude FLOAT, Longitude FLOAT,
HorizontalAccuracy FLOAT, Altitude FLOAT, VerticalAccuracy FLOAT, Speed
FLOAT, Course FLOAT, Confidence INTEGER, PRIMARY KEY (MCC, MNC, LAC, CI));

Looking inside the WiFi one (which is obviously the most interesting for me as a WiFi person), I can see basically a list of WiFi access point BSSIDs (slightly misnamed as MAC addresses in the schema) and their location on the planet.

Also not mentioned is the full path of the database file on the device: Library/Caches/locationd/consolidated.db

So, given those two pieces of information, I would hazard a guess that this database is simply a local cache of cell tower and WiFi access point locations to speed up the initial network accuracy location fix given to applications that need to know your current location. If the cache doesn’t contain a match, we know that these devices will reach out over the network and ask Apple’s servers for a location based on the cell towers and/or WiFi access points they can see too.

Why Cache It Locally?
Two reasons spring to mind:

1. Having a local cache of the cell tower and WiFi BSSIDs for the places you visit a lot makes the initial location report fast, and for WiFi based ones likely sufficiently accurate for most purposes;
2. The local cache eases some of the load on their servers, and as somebody who oversees a service for mobile handsets, offloading some of those lookups into a local cache makes a lot of sense to me!

Is It Uploaded To Apple?
My guess would be no. They don’t need to upload the cache since it is just that – a local cache of the data they have on their servers. We do know that when a GPS-enabled device gets a good fix, they send the location & the relevant cell tower and WiFi AP information up to their server to maintain that database. In the same way that Google likely does from Android devices, and Nokia likely does from S60 handsets.

Of course, I could be wrong, but given everything I see in the database from my handset, and the full path name of the file, I would think this is just a local cache of data that Apple already has for the most part.

On a quarterly basis Devicescape partners with friends in the industry to tap into our consumer base to better understand their wants and needs. This last quarter, Devicescape partnered with Eye-Fi, the creator of the world’s first wireless memory card and a Devicescape Easy WiFi customer (thank you Eye-Fi).

One of the items we wanted to ask about this time was the issue of data capping of cellular data plans.  We figured that in light of all the  recent news around this hot topic—AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon are all talking about data capping and tiered pricing—we should hear from our users.

Wow!  What a response: the majority of respondents (77.9 percent) would consider switching service providers if their current plan was data-capped. Clearly it’s a contentious issue.  Almost 79 percent indicated data capping would impact their use of applications (particularly, and unsurprisingly, how much video they stream).

Some other highlights:

Almost 91 percent of respondents feared their service providers would pass along to them costs associated with data traffic surges.

A majority of respondents (61.2 percent) indicated they would not pay a premium price for an unlimited data plan.

Still, a fair number of respondents (38.8 percent) indicated they would pay a premium price for unlimited data plans. Almost 60 percent of this group indicated that they would pay less than $25 per month, while 33.1 percent would pay up to $50.
Beyond issues around carriers and data capping, Devicescape also took the opportunity to use this survey and peer into general attitudes around WiFi. If you want to read the full report to learn about WiFi usage while traveling to photo sharing favorite best practices, click here for all the rich data and interesting tid bits.

It’s going to be very interesting to see what happens downstream.  Clearly the mobile operators have a challenge on their hands managing the explosion of traffic and dealing with much higher costs, while users expect unlimited and cheap access.  To quote Scotty from Star Trek (showing my age here): “Something has to give, Captain!”  WiFi data offload, anyone?

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).

AT&T announced yesterday that they’re creating a WiFi “hotzone” in Times Square, NY.   While there is speculation that this might be linked to the upcoming launch of the 4th gen iPhone, which is rumored to make video calls only over WiFi, I think it’s simply indicative of the mega trend towards WiFi offload and free (or bundled) access.

There’s always been a lot of free WiFi around, but now we’re seeing it being embraced strategically by the big networks, in locations where many people are concentrated.  Corporate altruism?  Perhaps.  More likely a way to push out good services, especially multi-media, to users without devastating the cellular infrastructure or requiring billions of new dollars in new investment.

It’s great to see WiFi pushing to the fore as a strategic complement to cellular.  Our recent WiFi report highlighted that users understand 3G and WiFi and want them both, together!  But, it’s clear that WiFi as a service complement will only work if it’s as reliable and easy to use as cellular, and that’s where WiFi still has a long way to go.

Here at Devicescape we’re very energized by this trend as our specialty is automating the WiFi experience.    We completely support the AT&T network so that iPhone or AT&T home broadband users, and users with free Starbucks-card WiFi accounts,  can get logged in quickly on their devices.  Even better, all the locations which don’t need accounts (like Barnes and Noble) are part of our Easy WiFi Network, so everyone gets instant connections there without doing anything.

Over the coming months we’re going to see more and more networks going free.   3G offload?  Amenity for venues?  Anti-churn?  Whatever the reason, it’s good for users!

iRiver announced today that they are using Easy WiFi to provide global hotspot connectivity for their eBook readers!  The announcement showed the iRiver Story as a first recipient.

Of course eReaders are just one category of emerging WiFi devices, but a good one for Easy WiFi.  The devices typically don’t include web browsers and need to be simple for all types of people to use.  Manually logging into public networks is so incredibly painful it’s doubtful users would really subject themselves to it.

Easy WiFi gives iRiver’s users the capability to choose the WiFi providers they want, and be logged in automatically.  And, since Easy WiFi supports thousands of providers all over the world, iRiver get a single solution for a global market.

Eye-Fi announced today that their new X2 cards are being upgraded with Easy WiFi!  If you don’t know Eye-Fi, they make super cool SD storage cards for digital cameras which contains a WiFi chip that can automatically upload your photos to the web.

What this means for users is that they can now upload their pictures all over the world, at the many hundreds of Easy WiFi Network locations!  Imagine being able to share your photos quickly, have “endless storage” because your card is never full, and have a web backup in case you lose your camera.  The Eye-Fi card does all that!

We’re very excited to be working with Eye-Fi.  Aside from a great product, it’s an amazing example of what Easy WiFi can do.  An SD card is a challenging environment to say the least – despite the lack of UI and limited resources, Easy WiFi still allows the X2 card to access a world of WiFi automatically.

Congrats to our partners at Eye-Fi for this groundbreaking new product!  Learn more at eye.fi.

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 download older reports immediately.

First the good news: Easy WiFi is back in the Apple App Store.  Yay!  Now the bad news: Easy WiFi is out of Nokia Ovi  Huh?!

Yes, it’s been quite interesting recently with these App Stores.  In the case of Apple, we’ve been out of the store for a while, reworking the app and resubmitting to conform to their every changing policies.  Still, we’re very happy to be back and looking forward to getting some real development done that adds value in a future release.

For Ovi, distribution was halted because of a policy change for products containing encryption.  Quite draconian.  We’re not alone in being impacted, and it’s probably going to take a month or two to sort out.  Meanwhile, Nokia users can download the app directly from us at www.easywifi.com/download.

Although we’ve been quiet for a while, there lot’s of new development activity at Devicescape.  There will be a bunch of new releases coming soon, and you’ll see them first on Android.  See if you can guess why!

You might notice that the main Easy WiFi application is not currently available in Apple’s app store.  We actually removed availability of the app a few days back because the behavior wasn’t quite right on some devices and networks and we wanted to ready a new version.  Ironically, we got hit in the much reported “WiFi scanner” purge that Apple did yesterday, so Apple removed our already unavailable app!

Now, the Network version of Easy WiFi isn’t a WiFi scanner, although it does try to do smart stuff with WiFi on the iPhone OS, and this may have triggered Apple’s action.  Nonetheless, we’re working on a new version which should calm their concerns and it should be in process within the next few hours.  All being well, we’ll have a new app approved and available soon.  Watch this space.