Archive for the ‘Products’ Category
Thursday, April 25th, 2013
Karen Ambrose Hickey, Editor
Our Technical White Paper: iPass Open Mobile Overview has been updated.
The paper describes all of the policy options available to customers when deploying iPass Open Mobile. It also details how the entire authentication process to the iPass Mobile Network operates, which can be a source of questions. We cover other areas such as Network Selection Policies and setting Control Policies from the Portal; connection options, usage and controls for mobile devices; and available Mobility Usage Reports.
You will find that the paper is organized with sections for Open Mobile client capabilities for smartphones and tablets, Open Mobile client capabilities for Laptops, options available in the Open Mobile Portal and the more in-depth discussion on the iPass Mobile Network.
Read the Technical Overview >>
Updated Technical Overview of iPass Open Mobile >>
Monday, April 8th, 2013
Karen Ambrose Hickey, Editor
Let’s say you are at a meeting at a hotel and you are given a preferred set of Wi-Fi credentials to use. However, if the hotel is also an iPass hotspot, you may have had a problem with iPass Open Mobile wanting to log you into the iPass hotspot.
The manual login addresses a scenario where an end user has an alternate set of credentials that they would like to use on an SSID which is also a part of the iPass network. Another example is that frequent flyers might have a set of credentials with their frequent flyer program that allows them to access the airport lounge free of charge. In this case, they would not want iPass to handle the login for the airport lounge SSID.
This release allows a manual login process when the user has valid iPass credentials but wants to use alternate credentials to access a particular Wi-Fi hotspot. The user would enter the SSID in the client’s manual login list so that our client would skip trying to log in even if the SSID was in our directory. The end user can then use the normal captive portal web page to type in their other credentials for access.
Remember: if you want to use the iPass network instead, you will need to go into the Manual Login Settings and remove that network entry.
Manual login override for Wi-Fi network with iOS >>
Monday, February 4th, 2013
Chris Witeck, Director Product Marketing
We just recently released to our customers and partner the Open Mobile Client v2.2 for Macintosh. One of the key features we added in this release is a “Speed Test” that helps users understand the quality of the Wi-Fi connection they are connecting to.
This is part of an ongoing trend that we started back in 2012 centered around adding usability features to the Open Mobile clients that do more than just connect users to Wi-Fi, but help them understand how to get the best connection experience possible.
We want users to see iPass as a useful tool when connecting anywhere, not just to iPass hotspots. For example, we’ve added to all of our smartphone clients the ability to track how much data you’ve used through Wi-Fi and 3G/4G connections in order to better manage and choose which type of connection to make.
The Speed Test feature fits into that mold by allowing a Macintosh user to test their current connection and see what the current latency, download and upload speeds of the connection are. This information can help the user determine if their current connection is sufficient for video conferencing or video and audio streaming for example.
This can be incredibly useful for mobile workers. Wi-Fi quality can vary based on a multitude of factors- how far the user is from the hotspot, how many users are using the hotspot, interference from other Wi-Fi enabled devices and many other factors. Providing users with tools to determine if they can do what they want to do with that current connection is just part of the overall iPass strategy to provide both usability and diagnostic tools to users for any type of connection. Look for iPass to continue in this vein of product development for all of our Open Mobile clients in the coming year.
To take advantage of this new feature, the Open Mobile client for Macintosh must be running client version 2.2 or greater as well as having this capability enabled by the Open Mobile administrator.
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Network “Speed Test” for Mac users >>
Thursday, January 24th, 2013
Karen Ambrose Hickey, Editor
Are you traveling through SFO tomorrow? Meet up with Chris!
Chris, iPass VP of Product Management & User Experience, will be at the Starbucks before security at Terminal 2 at the San Francisco Airport. Come by and ask any iPass questions, provide feedback, get started on downloading the iPass client for your mobile device and get a free 24-hour Wi-Fi pass. You can also ask her about her Wi-Fi diet and any tips for saving on 3G/4G costs.
iPass employees will soon visit some hotspots around the world, giving away passes and answering questions. We will be sure to let you know when the next one is.
And, here’s a little information about the newest SFO terminal, which reflects the region’s character:
Terminal 2: Foodie Culture Hits SFO Airport
A First Look at SFO’s New Terminal 2
Introducing: Wi-Fi Hotspot Live! This Friday, SFO >>
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013
Tom Truong, Product Manager
“Your app status is Ready for Sale.”
As any iOS app developer knows, there is an indeterminate mixture of excitement and relief when these words show up in your inbox. It’s often the culmination of weeks and months of friends, colleagues, and customers asking when the app will be available. It feels like you cannot get to the next phase until this notice of approval.
And getting approval isn’t a one-time event, as we start all over again for every upgrade or bug fix. The anxiety for a major upgrade can be incredibly high–one that our merry band at iPass had just survived with the arrival of iPass Open Mobile v3.0 for iOS.
So what’s the big deal with v3.0? For iPad and iPhone users, the basic matter of knowing which networks to use is almost the entire user experience. With v3.0, iPass networks are now labeled in the standard iOS Wi-Fi network list.
The new world for our users is simply this:
- Get iPass on your iOS device.
- The iOS Wi-Fi network list will now tell you which networks are iPass and will log you with a single tap.
- Now every time your device sees the same networks, it will automatically connect you just like at home and on corporate networks.
Other than finding more hotspots and checking on your data usage, our users no longer even have to launch iPass Open Mobile to get online at any of our hotspots.
At over one million hotspots, our users can now expect a seamless auto-connect experience across Windows, Mac, Android, and now, iOS operating systems.
Being able to guide our users to the iPass service by integrating right into the normal user experience on Wi-Fi is a huge win for the end-user and a fantastic milestone for our team. Well done team, and happy connections to everyone in 2013!
Get the app today! >>
Wi-Fi on the Apple iPhone and iPad will never be the same again… >>
