Working Anywhere

DeviceScape Study Reveals More About WiFi

Om Malik yesterday posted about his iPhone and WiFi, relating the study to some of HIS favorite apps. Two he highlighted are two clients, Truphone and Boingo.

At SFO Airport last week and again earlier this week I made a series of international calls using my iPhone using Truphone. I also made some domestic ones as a test. The cost savings alone on the first call to the UK paid me back for my $7.95 a month Boingo Mobile account alone.

One think I also noticed was that at SFO the 3G signal level in some parts of the airport is not that strong. With Boingo my connectivity was faster and stronger to the 'net. As Om points out, many people are using WiFi on their iPhones to make up for the deficiencies of the AT&T network which needs more and more shoring up as more new users come on line.

First hand experience isn't wrong. Om and I both are pretty heavy users of devices, and putting the client relationships aside, I've been using both Boingo and Truphone almost since each company launched. They provide me the ability to be working anywhere and to save a ton of money. In addition to the iPhone I have the Boing mobile application on my Nokia N and E series phones as well as my Nokia N810. With Boingo on the N810 I can make real Skype calls over WiFi, as well as Gizmo calls. I can even connect to my OnSip.com hosted PBX using WiFi at the airport.

Bottom line. More and more there are neat ways to cut out the high cost of roaming, without skimping on quality.

The Regus Poster Boy Is A Familiar Name

It looks like the folks who run the Regus Business Center operations around the world know that a discerning and informed business person is someone to highlight. Just this week they issued a press release about one of their new, and very useful business person's essentials for types like me who need to be Working Anywhere.

This isn't the first time Regus has quoted me. Over the past few years I've gotten to know their first rate management team well, as I make suggestions and interact with them, often talking to their team, not only their booking operations folks.

To be totally transparent I am NOT PAID by Regus, nor am I some kind of pitch person who you see on the morning news programs who have been paid by a company to tell a story. I'm a paying customer of Regus/HQ and have for sometime had their Network Access product and now carry their newer product whenever I travel. Their business centers and the added benefits it brings (access to some airport lounges) are essential for my maintaining my busy and global nomad lifestyle.

As a work from home type, I don't have an office per se, but I do hold meetings, and prefer not to hold them in my living room. The Regus/HQ locations provide me that at a very reasonable per hour or by the day price. What's more, I can use their more than 900 centers at any time, and drop in versus sit in a noisy coffee shop and drink all the coffee I want, for free as part of my low monthly fee. When I need a conference room, Regus is where I go first, not always some unknown hotel where I'm unsure of just what level of service I'll receive.

I'm honored that out of all the Regus/HQ customers around the world they have again me as their "Poster Child." Why do I endorse them? Because their service works and delivers a super value that is an essential part of the business person's tool set that's needed today in the world of working away from home or the home office.

I've used their service in Airport Lounges, in locations here in the USA and in foreign lands. My best experience was in Lisbon, Portugal of all places. I strategically chose my hotel to be within two blocks of their downtown office. Not only was a great wine bar a few blocks away, but their location was along the avenue where all the better shopping was, meaning my wife could shop while I did some work. One morning, I woke up to a fire across the street and a crowd of fire trucks and police cars. The hotel Internet was cut off, but the two block walk and the open Regus center made it easy for me to make a SightSpeed call, Skype calls and the cup of "bica" as they call coffee.

To me, having the Regus/HQ card in my wallet is really more than having the AMEX card it bills to. It's like having a key to an office in every major business location around the world that lets you in without any reservation required.

More In Flight WiFi

Last week another airline joined the flying WiFi brigade. United.

So what!

Given the limited number of planes which GoGo is installed in, and the risk of an equipment change, the hype outweighs the availability.

With roughly two dozen planes in the skies with WiFi before the United announcement last week, it means that the chances of being on a WiFi plane are few and far between.

Southwest, the airline I fly more than any other, has only four planes with the service in their Row 44 trial.

Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to use WiFi in the sky, but to really be something useful the technology needs to be installed and available on more jets and sooner.

You'll also note that most of the airlines (American and United) are launching the service between JFK in New York and either SFO or LAX on the west coast.

That makes me wonder if the coverage via the ground reception sites for other routes from Aircell are in place yet which would explain the phased in deployment as well.

Want To Tether?

Ted's musing on tethering got me thinking, and reminded me to always carry my Nokia N95 which has an AT&T SIM when I'm in the USA or whatever SIM I'm using from T-Mobile in London or Yoigo in Spain.

You see, I can tether today with that, and given the cheap data plan I have with AT&T on that phone, I can even make VoIP calls over 3G via it from my IPhone.

How? Simple. A very inexpensive app called Joikuspot. Don't be cheap. Spend the bucks and get the premium edition and as we like to say on KenRadio.com's World Technology Roundup "Stay Connected."

New MiFi Means More Internet for More Users In More Places

At ShowStoppers last week in Las Vegas one of the best products I saw was the new Novatel Wireless MiFi. It lets you set up an instant WiFi hotspot for up to five users. Think Cradlepoint but the size of a credit card. It's small, light and a perfect way to make Truphone calls over 3G from an iPhone or iPod Touch.

Expect availability later in the first half of the year, first on CDMA and then on HSPA platforms around the globe.

Really Watch TV in Your Car

AirCell's Competition Takes Flight

Row 44 will be the supplier of in in-flight Internet access for Southwest and Alaska Airways which means the short time that AirCell's GoGo held the position as the only in-flight Internet provider's days are over.

I'm a regular passenger on SouthWest and given their understanding of the business market feel this will be a very big plus for their travel public. Southwest has been leading the way with the creation of airport work station locations, and now is showing that they get the complete picture, offering, as they gear up for WiFi in the Sky...

San Diego Airport--Where's The Work Stations?

It's been over a year since Southwest Airlines began installing workstation and power charging locations at airports where they have heavy traffic.

For San Diego's International Airport, the Dallas based airline offered to install what they have been installing around the country, a series of useful work stations, comfortable chairs with power outlets and charging stations for their traveler who need to work. Over time Southwest has been attracting the business traveller who needs to be Working Anywhere, yet in San Diego, they're still not installed.

When I asked about a year ago about the installation, the very courteous and always clear agents of Southwest said that the airport had a local supplier who was going to install those amenities for the traveling public.

Well, it's a year later and nothing has been installed. Perhaps San Diego's Airport authority may want to take Southwest up on their offer.

How TeleWork Can Work

CIO Today has a story about "How To Make Telework Work."

What I find interesting is that governments are jumping into the act and providing grants and tax credits.

Where do I sign up?