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Boingo And Asus Hook Up In Netbook Deal

// January 19th, 2010 // No Comments » // cool

This is really a cool thing – two of my favorite companies have hooked up to help netbook users get the most out of their devices. Today, Asus announced that its new EeePC netbooks will soon be preloaded with Boingo‘s software, which makes it simple and easy to connect to WiFi hotspots around the world. I’ve used Boingo on nearly every one of my laptops and love it – especially while traveling.

In addition to having the Boingo software already ready to roll when you open your new Asus EeePC netbook, Asus owners will also receive 50% off the Boingo service, which makes the deal even sweeter. My Asus 1000HE is getting a bit long in the tooth, so I’m really pleased to find out that I won’t have to download and install Boingo myself when I buy a new netbook.

On a related note, there’s a TON of new netbooks hitting the market really soon – most of them with beefed up processors and that sort of thing. If anyone has a link that can help me make sense of it all, I’d be appreciative. What netbook has caught your eye?

Boingo Makes Bank From Verizon

// July 30th, 2009 // No Comments » // Mobile, technology

I’ve praised Boingo here before – they’re simply awesome, specifically if you travel and need to stay connected. Recently, Boingo signed a 4-year extension with Verizon to offer free WiFi to Verizon’s FiOS and High Speed Internet customers. This is a big deal, and here’s why:

For starters, this would be an even bigger deal if the deal included access for Verizon’s wireless customers. Unfortunately, it doesn’t, and the deal apparently only includes Boingo’s Windows client – no dice for smartphone users or Mac users (though that could change, obviously). Unfortunately, it’s not, but it’s still cool anyways.

Verizon’s wireline services is competing with the likes of Clearwire, who is pushing into more and more markets every day. I used Clearwire in college, after dumping Cox Communications for our high speed internet, and could hardly tell a difference. The benefit of Clearwire – and one that Cox couldn’t match – was that the modem only needed power. I could plug it into any outlet in our apartment and have high speed internet – no need to be locked down to the coax connections already there. Take this one step further, and I could have taken that modem anywhere in Abilene, TX, and had the same connection speed – the library, the coffee shop, heck, I could plug it into my truck’s cigarette lighter port and power it from there, to get mobile high speed data, theoretically.

Verizon knows that it can’t do that with FiOS or its High Speed Internet package, so it’s partnering with Boingo to entice the growing number of laptop users who may not really use their home internet as much as they used to.

So, why doesn’t Verizon just offer these users a discounted EV-DO dongle, to make use of its extensive mobile network? Because Verizon, smartly, is cautious of falling into the same trap that AT&T has. AT&T’s 3G network, burdened by a nation of iPhone users, is stretched so thin that I have to switch my phones to EDGE-only in order to hold a phone call in my office.

By leveraging an expansive WiFi network like Boingo’s, Verizon can keep those customers without putting extra strain on its EV-DO network. AT&T is doing similar, both with its hardline customers using Uverse, and with its iPhone users, offering them free access to a nationwide WiFi network.

The king of this, however, is T-Mobile. Rather than spending quickly to build out an expensive 3G network, the company invested in UMA technology, which allows cell phones to seamlessly transfer calls from a 3G connection to WiFi. This not only allows them to offer extended services to their customers, it also serves to help plug up low-coverage areas, as affected customers can simply use a local WiFi hotspot instead. Brilliant.

With Femtocells coming from Sprint already and AT&T soon, it will definitely be interesting to see how the various ISPs – mobile and hardline – will handle the increasing traffic load. Either way, it seems like Boingo is well-positioned to make bank from the opportunities.

Boingo Knows Good PR

// May 25th, 2009 // No Comments » // cool, marketing

A few weeks ago, the Sling Player for iPhone was released through the App Store, though unfortunately users quickly discovered that it was barred from using the 3G cellular connection – only WiFi. Obvious iPhone-bashing opportunity aside (I used Sling on my unbranded phones over 3G with zero issues), that just plain sucks for iPhone users. So what does Boingo have to do with it?

Their PR folks took a bad situation and turned it into an awesome PR opportunity by offering iPhone owners one free month of their unlimited smartphone WiFi plan – a $7.95 value. Yes, I’m aware that Boingo already offered a free month, but they went to the effort to publicise this for iPhone/Slingbox owners.

AT&T already offers iPhone owners free WiFi on their WiFi Hotspot network, but Boingo adds a whole slough of connection options. I’ve used Boingo several times when traveling, and would highly recommend it if you’re a frequent traveler, specifically through airports. It’s a great feeling to be able to turn your laptop on and see that friendly ‘A Boingo Network is Available’ box pop up and know you’re connected.

If you’re an iPhone/Slingbox owner, you can get the hookup here . If you’re not, but are interested in checking out Boingo, you can of course use the same link. Props to Boingo for making themselves relevant as problem solvers for an otherwise unrelated problem.

The Trip Is Over

// November 2nd, 2008 // No Comments » // cool, Mobile

Mrs Guru and I took off for a week to cruise around San Francisco and northern California last week. It was definitely a great trip, and I wanted to bring a little bit of it back here. You can check out all 300+ of our photos here, at Share on Ovi.

First up – San Fran – we stayed at the Cathedral Hill Hotel, at Van Ness and Geary street. It was much cheaper than most of the places online, and it turned out to be really nice. Sure, the rooms were kinda small, but it was safe, the staff were super-friendly, and it was conveniently located. The WiFi sucked, but that ended up being true through the weekend, and I have unlimited 3G on my AT&T SIM card, so I didn’t really care too much. Tethering FTW. Note, if you do stay there (and we will, next time we go that direction), you should know that the outlets in the room are only for 2-prong plugs. We had to scout out a RadioShack and get a 2-pack of 3-prong-to-2-prong adapters for $6. Other than that, I’d recommend the place. There’s a restaurant down in the lobby with KILLER coffee and desserts, and Boingo didn’t care that the WiFi was through AT&T.

Next up – Monterey - we stayed at the Best Western Beach Resort. It’s slightly outside of Monterey – like, the exit before, and it’s literally *right* on the beach. You can sit in the lobby in these really nice big wicker chairs and look out over the ocean and use the *free* WiFi all day long. Brilliant. It was also cheaper than most of the places online, and well worth the small extra drive. The rooms were really nice, complete with 32″ flat screen mounted on the wall.

Also, my FAVORITE thing about this hotel – next to the bed, on the wall, was a little box with 2 switches. These switches controlled the windowshade. You can choose between the sunshade, which allows you to see out but others can’t see in, or you could use the blackout shade (which we did at night) to really make it a cozy sleeping arrangement. All in all, a really nice hotel, and also highly recommended.

Boingo was a welcome addition, at least on our laptops. No fumbling about with which hotspot to connect to, you’d just get a friendly little popup box letting you know that a Boingo hotspot was around, and did you want to connect? Easy as easy could be, really. It worked at the DFW airport before we left, and at both hotels (even though WiFi was free at the Best Western). However, when I activated it on my N95-3 at the San Jose airport to test it out (with unlimited 3G, WiFi on my phone is rather useless, honestly), I found that it annoyingly kept the connection open – even when I didn’t need data, or was already using the cellular connection. As a result, my N95-3′s battery was dead within half an hour of sitting in the airport. I was unable to find a way to switch it off and still have my cellular connection, which was also frustrating. So, on the laptop – WIN. On the mobile – Not so much of a win. Unfortunately, while I had Boingo setup on my N800, we never got around to powering the thing on, not even on the flight, lol.

Overall, it was a great trip, as you can see on the photos. Boingo made things happen easier, and the two hotels, while I was skeptical, were awesome, and are now highly recommended if you want to save some $$ but still stay comfortable.