Here at Devicescape HQ, we’re hard at work preparing our next software release for S60 handsets. We’re not quite ready to share it with the whole world yet, but we’d like to show it to some of our more technical users to get their feedback and suggestions. If you’re interested in helping us design new features and make our product better, leave us a comment and we’ll email you back with setup instructions.
Devicescape is proud to announce that we’re now offering technical support contracts for any developers working with the open source wpa_supplicant software. As a developer, you know that there are times in a project when it is too late to switch from open source to a commercial product, but you are facing problems you just cannot resolve. The open source community is a great resource, and there are a lot of people out there who are very willing to help when they can, but sometimes you want a guaranteed response (or you don’t want to let your competitors know you’re working on a Wi-Fi device).
Or maybe you just don’t need any of our advanced features (Wi-Fi Protected Setup, Cisco Compatible Extensions or remote management) in your current project, but would prefer the security of knowing that you had a place to turn for technical support should you hit a problem integrating the open source supplicant with your system.
That’s where our WPA Supplicant Support comes in!
Those who visit here regularly (that’s all of you, no?), might notice that we’ve added three big buttons to the sidebar inviting you to connect with Devicescape through three popular social networking tools: Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. So, if you’re already a member of one or more of those services, why not click the link(s) and connect with us.
Of course, you can still communicate with us through the comments right here in the blog, or for more technical questions through our support forum. We’re just trying to make it as simple as possible for you to keep up with all the exciting things we’re working on, and to be able to get us feedback on our products and service.
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:
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 questions and help promote Wi-Fi issues exposed in the report. Anyone can make use of the Report, provided that they refer back to Devicescape and don’t sell the data.
If you’re interested in reading more, check out the Devicescape Wi-Fi report at devicescape.com/wifi_report …and do get in touch if you’re interested in participating in future reports.
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:
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.
We just released a brand new product called Serengeti for iPhones and iPod touches. Shockingly, Apple moved it through the approval process in just a few days, catching us quite by surprise! We’re pleased about the app because we think it’s a neat workaround to the “Black Hole” problem that John mentioned a couple of posts back. But, more significantly, it represents a new capability for us:
Easy Wi-Fi for Application Developers!
Serengeti is the first application that’s Easy Wi-Fi enabled. It embeds a small Easy Wi-Fi library which is used to ensure you have a network connection and log you into your Wi-Fi provider if it’s necessary. Serengeti does this to streamline your web surfing, but it’s easy to think about the applicability of this approach for many other iPhone apps that benefit from Wi-Fi.
Integration of the library is very easy. The binary itself is small and simple to use. Each user of an enabled application needs to have an Easy Wi-Fi online account so there is an initial process to link the application to the users account. That can be done by showing a simple form for signup/signin or - more likely - by throwing the user to our signup/signin web forms directly from the device. Pretty simple.
At this point in time we plan to approve any app developers who are interested on a case by case basis, before rolling this out more broadly. Licensing is free. If you’re interested, please get in touch with us at dsbizdev@devicescape.com.
With a lot of (much appreciated) help from our enthusiastic user base, Devicescape’s network list is growing every day. New networks from around the world are being added all the time; everything from campus networks to small coffee shops; independent hotspot network operators to aggregators.
Most of the time we can get these networks added and working quickly once the required information is sent to us, but every once in a while we come across a network that is either harder to get working, or very rarely impossible. When we contact the operators of a network like that for help we get mixed responses. Some are incredibly receptive and get it straight away, others less so, sometimes with good reasons (which we’ll get into later). So, I wanted to write up something that explains the value of Devicescape to a smaller network operator, and also lets you know how you can get your network added to our list and working easily.
If you’re a network operator, whether you understand the advantage of Devicescape or not, this post is especially for you!
Why Be Part Of Devicescape’s Network?
Increasingly, people are getting online with devices other than their laptops. When they’re picking up coffee in the morning, or hanging out in a bar or restaurant after work they may not want to get their laptop out, assuming they even have it with them (who takes a laptop to a bar?). Their smart phone or iPod touch is right there in their pocket or bag, but getting it connected to the internet is another matter.
The web portal is OK on a laptop, but try it on a handset and it is much more frustrating. Enter Easy Wi-Fi - a one tap solution to getting connected for networks we know about. Your customers can get online and enjoy the Wi-Fi service your providing painlessly, and that means they’ll come back again (especially those iPod touch users who need Wi-Fi to get online).
What About My Venue Information Page?
We hear you, and we’re working on something that we think will resolve this. If you’re a network operator (free or otherwise) who has concerns about smart clients bypassing their information landing page, please get in touch so we can discuss your requirements in this area.
How Much Does It Cost?
Nothing. Nada. Nil. Being added to Devicescape’s network list is free. All it takes is a little time to send us the information we need, and to test it once we’ve set you up.
How Can You Get Your Network Added?
Submitting the information about your network through our web form (account needed) is one way. But if you have a lot of locations, or support inbound and/or outbound roaming, get in touch directly.
The basic information we need is the SSID (or SSIDs if you have more than one), a list of locations and how to log in on your network. The how to log in can be one of two things:
It’s that simple.
Oh, if your credentials roam onto other networks too, then let us know that list and we make sure we add those as well so your users can get online anywhere their account lets them.
What Should I Avoid When Setting Up a Network?
We can handle most things these days, but there are a few things that will make it impossible for Devicescape to support your new network:
In general, if you can support WISPr (and most of the commonly used hotspot access points and controllers out there can do this), then do so. It makes it much faster to add support, much faster for your users to log in and also makes it easier to join an aggregator network, like Boingo or iPass, in the future if you want to.
Can I Get A Custom Client?
Sure, if you’re interested in getting a custom branded client, or clients, for your network contact us through dsbizdev@devicescape.com.
Devicescape is all about Wi-Fi, and I’ve been using Wi-Fi on an iPhone ever since we got our first one on June 30, 2007. Over that time, we’ve learnt a lot about the iPhone’s Wi-Fi experience.
If your thinking is limited to home networks, Apple’s decision to make the switch to a known Wi-Fi network happen automatically seems pretty smart. You walk into your home (or office, etc), the iPhone switches to your Wi-Fi network and everything is good.
But, the iPhone is a mobile device, and one that people tend to have with them all the time (unlike a laptop). Increasingly, those devices are being connected to other Wi-Fi networks, including public hotspots like AT&T’s network in the US Starbucks locations. So now my iPhone knows the AT&T Wi-Fi network as well. And therein lies the problem: every AT&T Wi-Fi becomes a black hole for data access until I log in.
Daily Annoyance
Every morning I walk from the ferry terminal to my bus stop. In between the two, very conveniently, there is a Starbucks where I stop to buy a coffee and check my email and catch up on my Twitter stream before the bus comes. As I walk towards the door, my iPhone switches from the cellular network to the Wi-Fi one, and in doing so disconnects me from the internet. Now I am stuck in the AT&T walled garden. My email no longer works. I can no longer update my Twitter stream. I can’t connect to the App Store.
Sure, I can launch Easy Wi-Fi and within a few seconds the connection is back (or, I can launch Safari, enter my phone number, jump through a few hoops and get online that way). But that’s annoying. I just wanted to check my email. It’s even worse on the days when I’m tapping out a quick reply as I walk, only to find the send fails because the network switched. That slick automatic switching from 3G to Wi-Fi, intended to do away with the need for me to think about the type of network my phone is using, just disconnected me from the world!
Known Problem
Oddly, Apple should be well aware of the problem since their original launch of the iTunes store in Starbucks, back at the end of 2007 when Starbucks still used T-Mobile for Wi-Fi, did exactly the same thing. Glenn Fleishman wrote a great description of this over at Wi-Fi Net News.
T-Mobile hotspot subscribers noticed the problem before this was launched, but by giving others a reason to connect to the Wi-Fi signal in Starbucks, Apple made the problem affect a much larger group of people. And with the addition of free access at AT&T’s Wi-Fi network for all AT&T iPhone users, the problem just became much larger.
What can be done about this?
There are really two things that Apple needs to change to make this black hole a thing of the past:
The first means that when a device latches on to a Wi-Fi signal, it won’t automatically switch all traffic to that network until it knows that it can actually get to the internet, and is not just stuck in a walled garden.
The second provides a way to support the thousands of different networks out there without having to have them all built into the firmware. The default option here could be to ask the user whether they want to sign in using Mobile Safari.
Beyond Switching
The holy grail when it comes to handling Wi-Fi and cellular data networks is that the selection and transition is totally transparent to the user. Even if the black hole issue is resolved, the iPhone still switches from one network to another. When that happens, any connections open on the old network are dropped (especially going from Wi-Fi back to cellular).
Applications can try to resolve that by catching the error, re-opening the connections and carrying on where they left off, but that’s very dependent on the application and may not give the best user experience. A nicer solution is to include a mobile IP solution so that data connections can move between the radios without interruptions. Of course, some applications (esp. streaming media apps) might need to adjust to the new network’s capabilities, but at least they stay connected.
Devicescape passed a cool milestone this week: 1 million registered users for the Easy Wi-Fi application. Of course, as I write this, I’m immediately reminded of the scene in Austin Powers where Number Two has to disabuse Dr Evil that his $1M demand is impressive. In the web world, 1M is “no big deal”. After all, Facebook just published their user base and it was something insane, like over 130 million!
Still, in the world of Wi-Fi, we think 1M is a good number, and we’re certainly quite proud and even a little surprised. It wasn’t that long ago that we were monitoring single digit daily registrations and logins.
So, many thanks to all of our membership out there. Your feedback, enthusiasm and, yes, criticism, has been much appreciated and truly helpful in making more and more out of our service.
Now that we’re at this milestone, we’re thinking “what’s next?” and planning for the future. We have lots of cool ideas in mind. Please do try to drop us a line on what you’d like to see: leave a post in our forums, on the blog, or even PM us directly. Thanks again.
First off, we’d like to say thank you to everybody who has downloaded the Easy Wi-Fi application, in either version, and especially to those who have left reviews at the App Store. Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t provide developers with any way to respond to the reviews that are posted there, so to those asking questions in that forum we’re sorry, we have no way to respond to you. If you’re still looking for an answer, please try our own discussion forum where we try to answer every question in a timely manner.
On to the reviews now though… I wanted to highlight some of my favourite reviews from the App Store, and perhaps answer some of the questions I see in there frequently.
Favourites:
From martino13:
Awesome
Incredible time saver. A must-have app.
From KennMSr:
It’s About Time
It’s a shame AT&T didn’t provide this app themselves when they release[d] the service, considering how many time the[y] released a teaser then retracted the service. …
From CieloBrezza:
Much needed for Wifi users
Awesome app, truely a must-download for AT&T iPhone users. Saves time and trouble.
And finally, from TradeYourselfIn:
Exactly as advertised
People need to read the damn description, before giving a perfectly fine app negative reviews
And now some common questions, starting with the new version for AT&T iPhone users:
Why Does It Not Work On My iPod Touch?
This application was specifically tailored to work with the free access to Wi-Fi hotspots that AT&T is including with their iPhone data plans. The plan is not available to anybody else yet. But, we haven’t left iPod touch users out: our original, multi-network version of Easy Wi-Fi does run well on the iPod touch, and supports AT&T Wi-Fi (including the free Starbucks accounts).
Why Do You Need My Telephone Number?
We need your AT&T iPhone number because that is your user name for connecting to the AT&T Wi-Fi network. We’re not going to share it with anybody, call you or send you text messages. We just give it to AT&T’s authentication system each time you try to log in so that they can confirm your account is enabled for free Wi-Fi and let you on to the internet.
Can We Have A Location Aware Hotspot Finder?
Consider it added to the list of enhancements. Not promising anything, but we’ll certainly look into it. The advantage to linking to the AT&T site is that, in theory at least, it should be the most up to date place to find a location near you.
For the multi-network version:
Why Doesn’t It Work on AT&T?
The short answer is that it does, and very well. The difficulty with AT&T is that they have many different user name formats and you have to get it right otherwise their authentication system will reject you. Perhaps the most common one we’ve seen comments about is the free access via the Starbuck’s loyalty cards. For that, enter your username followed by @attwifi.com (so, for example, mine might be john@attwifi.com had I been lucky enough to get ‘john’ as my Starbuck’s/AT&T user name - I wasn’t!). For everybody else, the domain you need to add is the same as the one you select from the drop down list on the login web page (other common examples are @att.net and @sbcglobal.net).
Does It Work On My Campus Network?
If your campus has a web form for you to log in with, then it is possible. If your campus is using IEEE 802.1X, then no (but your iPhone/iPod touch should be able to connect to those using its built in Wi-Fi software now). If you want to check before buying, drop by our forum and leave us a question, or perhaps download the free Windows or Mac version and try that. If your network is not in the list, we do have a form where you can submit new networks to us for addition (we have around 2000 networks that we support already, and we’re always happy to add more).
It’s Not Working For Me, Where Can I Get Help?
Head on over to our forum to see if anybody else has asked the same thing, and if not post your question there. We try to respond to everything within a business day, though sometimes it might take us a little longer.
