Working Anywhere

Boingo Mobile and Truphone = A Real Winner

Today I mashed up the recently updated Boingo Mobile client (which works on Nokia N and E series phones, the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet and Window Mobile devices) on my Nokia E71 Smartphone (North American Edition) from inside my hotel room.

The hotel is powered by iBahn, one of the Boingo roaming partners. I grabbed the E71 and booted up the Truphone client, identified Boingo's hotspot SSID as the one I wanted to latch onto. That fired up the Boingo Mobile client which works automatically. No entering usernames, passwords or anything.

Next I dialed a number, and voila, instant connectivity and the calls go through, with no muss no fuss. In many ways this is just like the way the T-Mobile@Home with UMA works.

I then made a Skype Out call on my MacBook Air to my Truphone number, and within less than a second the Nokia E71 was ringing.

So here's the use case for this one. You're an International traveler. You're working inside your hotel room. Roaming rates are such you switched SIM's to a local SIM or even a travel SIM like MaxRoam or SIM4Travel (from Truphone now.) Those help keep cost down when you're out and about, but when you have WiFi access on your phone because it has that capability this is the rate buster.

Now you're making calls for .01 cent a minute back to the USA or Canada from anywhere, or taking advantage of Truphone's cost saving rates to call anywhere else.

Now that's a Working Anywhere Approved Combination

(Full disclosure Truphone, Boingo and Nokia are all clients of mine).

Hotel Broadband In Bensalem, PA

We're at the Courtyard by Marriott, just outside the Philadelphia city limits and the broadband is fine and dandy.

How fine?

Just a tad under 3 megs in both upload and download speeds. Granted it's a weekend, but still, that tells me this iBahn locations needs to be Working Anywhere Approved so far. We're here for a few more days so the test will be Tuesday, after the holiday weekend.

Denver Airport Barely Makes the Grade

Denver has this "ad supported" WiFi service. Some content gets blocked. Speeds are inconsistent and most of all the lag time is horrendously slow.

Sure I got about 800 k down and 1.5 up, but the ping time to a local server was 183 milliseconds. I'll compare that to my SureWest connection in Sacramento to a local ISP's POP. 4 milliseconds.

Basically, Denver is not as good as it was when it was a paid for WiFi service. Then again, you get what you pay for, and ads don't really cut it.

Sacramento Airport Fails The Speed Test

I fly in and out of Sacramento airport alot, as my second home is there due to my wife's medical practice. You don't move a doctor that easily.

I've never been a fan of their bandwidth when a private company ran the WiFi concession. About two years or so the Airport realized they weren't either and didn't renew the agreement. Unfortunately, their idea of bandwidth delivers a pitiful 768 down and a bit more that 1.1 megs up.

That means Sacramento International Airport ISN'T Working Anywhere Approved.

They fail the test, not only because of speed, but because of how poor the transport is. It takes up to 30 seconds for pages to load and with some aggregated sites that serve up all kinds of content, you can wait longer than that.

If you're flying in and out of Sacramento, you may want to think about your own data card.

How To Tether You Computer To Your Cell Phone and Not Pay A Lot

David Aiello has a great solution to those of you who have a cell phone and a laptop and want to stay connected. It's called tethering, and with the Nokia E71 it's been made easier by JoikuSpot, a Working Anywhere Approved solution.

Why is this important? Simple. When you don't have WiFi nearby you can connect and be Working Anywhere there's a 3G connection.

Dave takes us through not only why it works, but how to save some money too, as long as you're in the right AT&T Go Phone enabled markets. Unlike AT&T's full rate plan, Go Phone isn't all across the USA so if you're not in a major market, you may not find coverage as plentiful.

Sounding Good-New Wireless Headsets

As more people cut the cord from landlines to cell phones, other are using their laptops and desktops for more than just computing.

With music and video being heard and seen on them by more people all the time, new wireless headsets have come to market that offer better sound and no more wires.

New ones from Logitech and Creative have hit the market. These are also great when on an airplane as they'll likely help you not hear the screaming baby in the back or the non stop talk in the seat behind you.

Just TripIt

I was turned on to TripIt by pal Jonathan Greene the other day.

All I can say, for someone who is Working Anywhere and regularly traveling the reports are a blessing, especially for those that need to share the information.

Based in two days of use, TripIt is a real Trip!

Phoenix Sky Harbor Aiport Gets It

Unlike Denver or Philadelphia International Airports, the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport gets speeds right.

How right?

Try 10 megs down and over 18 megs up.

That's a Working Anywhere Approved Airport. Add in the very cool Southwest Work and Power Stations and you have a perfect layover location to get things done.

Airport WiFi in Philly--Not!

I grew up in Philadelphia and was saddened to see how bad the WiFi was.

How bad? Less than 300k. What's more a few of the power outlets in the Southwest Concourse D weren't working either.

Luckily I carry the Novatel 950 and an AT&T 3G card. That worked fine with over 1.5 megs down and at least a meg up...

Seat 2B on Aircell

Joe Brancatelli, the world's best business travel writer, has a very candid perspective about Aircell. I call it candid because Joe pulled no punches and gave the in flight WiFi provider an opportunity to respond. They chose not to.

I too have asked to speak to their CEO or CTO as I have some questions and concerns about the service, but now more than 24 hours since I proved VoIP works over their network and told the world how to do it (see post below) they're still not talking.

We're now in a PR 2.0 world. Any company that wants to be in the news has to get past the 1.0 message point world they are living in. I remain hopeful that the Aircell folks will call me back and am willing to talk over the weekend.