Provides mobile workers an alternative to 3G with seamless and secure access to more than 150,000 Wi-Fi hotspots worldwide from their Android smartphone
SAN FRANCISCO — September 30, 2010 — iPass Inc. (NASDAQ: IPAS) today announced at the GigaOm Mobilize conference that it is extending its enterprise mobility services to support Android smartphones with iPass® Open Mobile™ for Android™. Open Mobile is simple to deploy, provision and manage – giving mobile employees an alternative to 3G with seamless and secure connectivity to more than 150,000 Wi-Fi venues worldwide.
iPass Open Mobile for Android:
- Runs as a background application on Android OS 2.1 or higher smartphones.
- Notifies and connects the user when the iPass Mobile Network – which includes 20,000 free OpenAccess hotspots – corporate networks, or personal networks are within range.
- Helps mobile workers simply connect to an authorized Wi-Fi hotspot without the need to enter credentials.
- Allows enterprises to determine which networks are offered to which employee based on role within the organization.
- Provides IT managers the ability to track and log user activity with detailed metrics and reports through iPass Mobile Insight.
According to Gartner, Android will become the number two worldwide mobile operating system this year. This is not just a consumer phenomenon. According to a recent Forrester report titled Insights for CIOs: Make Mobility Standard Business Practice, the Android platform is beginning to make inroads into businesses, with 13 percent of organizations supporting this operating system.
At the same time seamless Wi-Fi access is essential to every smartphone user regardless of platform. In its recent Mobile Workforce Report, iPass found that nearly half of workers use Wi-Fi on their smartphones, 31.8 percent because it is faster than 3G and 15.6 percent because it is cheaper.
“Android is well on its way to becoming a top player in the enterprise handset market,” said Craig Mathias, principal with the wireless and mobile advisory firm Farpoint Group. “And iPass is building on its position of leadership in enterprise connectivity with support for this important platform. Enterprise network managers now have a powerful new tool for managing policy and cost, and end-users get the enhanced convenience and simplicity so critical to productivity.”
“We are seeing growing enterprise demand to provide a client for Android devices,” said Steven Wastie, senior vice president of marketing and product management at iPass. “Enterprises want assurance that Android is enterprise-ready. They require enterprise mobility services that not only provide seamless and high performing connectivity, but also provide management and reporting capabilities like service quality metrics, 3G data usage offloading and cost controls.”
About iPass Inc.
Founded in 1996, iPass (NASDAQ: IPAS) is a leading provider of enterprise mobility services with 3,500 customers, including more than 420 of the Forbes Global 2000. Additional information is available at www.iPass.com or on Smarter Connections, the iPass blog.
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iPass® is a registered trademark of iPass Inc. Other company names and product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.