Lame. Looks like I will have to write it down somewhere... or something? Weird. Copy and paste would be damn useful!
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iPod touch Cloud for UK iPod touch users
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Lame. Looks like I will have to write it down somewhere... or something? Weird. Copy and paste would be damn useful!
This brings an image that I can see appearing in a cartoon in a daily paper.
The lack of microphone might annoy you when you try to make a call on skype...
The Cloud have OK coverage in Manchester, but it's mixed with Tmobile so much that you just never know. I am glad I can use my BTopenzone with this - it will mean that I can actually get some browsing done in airports and coffee shops.
The cloud have a hotspot search thing on their site, but I would not trust it, it has not been very reliable in Birmingham!
If you have a touch why not just walk around and see what signals you pick up? Leave your touch on the set up wifi page and it will constantly update showing you the wifi you can see.
Tadunne
you have found a mistake in the hotspot database that has not been updated correctly. We just started a big exercise this week to clean up the database and track down any sites that are not functional. I know customer service have seen your mail - it was shown to me this evening. They are listening, and are getting back to you with a formal answer. I will chase to make sure this happens.
We currently operate nearly 9,000 locations in the UK, and are getting some new processes in place to ensure we dont get errors in the future.
Please keep the feedback coming - we are pretty keen to work with everybody here to offer a service that works for ipod touch owners. I am really interested to understand form people here what kind of coverage is most important to you - indoor or outdoor?
thanks
Owen
you have found a mistake in the hotspot database that has not been updated correctly. We just started a big exercise this week to clean up the database and track down any sites that are not functional. I know customer service have seen your mail - it was shown to me this evening. They are listening, and are getting back to you with a formal answer. I will chase to make sure this happens.
We currently operate nearly 9,000 locations in the UK, and are getting some new processes in place to ensure we dont get errors in the future.
Please keep the feedback coming - we are pretty keen to work with everybody here to offer a service that works for ipod touch owners. I am really interested to understand form people here what kind of coverage is most important to you - indoor or outdoor?
thanks
Owen
Does this mean that all the hotspots that I've found not to be functioning will not be repaired? if so this leaves a huge hole in the coverage in Birmingham? Did you see the list of hotspots that didn't work? The email from customer services suggested that they now know they are not functioning and were getting someone to look at it? is this not the case?
It would be a shame if the Wifi coverage you offer in Birmingham will be crippled. I remember seeing a news item from 2006 touting that there will blanket coverage in Birmingham, London and manchester? This is something that BT openzone seem to have achieved? I see their signal everywhere. Is it no longer a goal of the cloud?
Offering access for 3.99 is a brilliant move as it finally brings public wifi access to a reasonable price, BT openzones 11 quid a month for 250 mins deal is just a joke and I and many others would never pay that.
i was finally hoping that I could be a step closer to my goal of internet anywhere! coupled with the excellent ipod touch it could have made a good match. I guess I'm going to be still waiting.
For me outdoor coverage is important. I work in Birmingham and don't want to be able to check my email etc as I'm travelling around the city centre from my place of work to home.
So access along the main streets in Birmingham and train stations is required to capture the commuter market. Have you seen how many people have ipods on the train? I'm sure there will be plenty of users wanting to surf while they make their (sometimes) long wait for the next train
Unfortunately all I see is BT and their too expensive to bother with signal.Tim
Tim
I need to get to the bottom of those specific sites tomorrow and get back to you. I am keen to understand the issue. I will also get back to you with a clear answer on exactly what coverage is available in Birmingham and where.
I really appreciate the feedback, and we will do our best to give you good answers tomorrow.
thanks
Owen
I need to get to the bottom of those specific sites tomorrow and get back to you. I am keen to understand the issue. I will also get back to you with a clear answer on exactly what coverage is available in Birmingham and where.
I really appreciate the feedback, and we will do our best to give you good answers tomorrow.
thanks
Owen
Owen, I too am keen to get this working. If there is anything you want myself to try let me know.
Might be helpful to look at my reply in the other thread as well? As your explanation of the 15 min session explains a few of the hotspot failures.
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=4278745#post4278745
Did you manage to find out what's going on? lack of access seems to be happening mostly in the east of the city the west seems better. Coverage in from the middle part of new street from the ramp at new street station to the bull ring seems fine.
Are there any plans to introduce any access at Birminghams major stations?
New st, Moor st and snow hill?
By the way, it's most excellent that a representative from any company would not only read the forums for this sort of thing but respond at all, much less in detail. Very cool.
I agree
It's really nice to see Owen posting and helping people out with the service. Cheers!Now that I've seen there is *some* coverage around this part of the City I'm quite tempted to pick up an iPod touch during my trip to the US next week and come back and sign up to this deal. There's no minimum contract, right? So if I find the coverage isn't that great after a month or two I can just cancel it?
I would personally prefer Cloud coverage inside than on the street. Using the internet whilst walking down a busy street is just annoying, both for yourself and others. On the other, if Cloud were to be in train stations, bus terminals etc then it would be much easier and safer to use. The best thing would to get Cloud in Starbucks, department stores, large stores etc, though I know much of this is wishful thinking. Coverage in parks would be great too, due to areas to sit and relax. I know you get benches etc on busy high streets, but who wants to sit down there and check facebook when there's people bustling past.
Well prety much everyone whos spotted my touch and has placed with it, checks their facebook.
Must say that I've been disappointed thus far. Visited a few of the hotspots reported by their locator and didn't have any luck getting access. Ah well, guess I'll cancel it.
Personally I'd go for indoors, predominantly in pubs, bars, restaurants and coffee shops where people spend either a) a lot of time congregating with mates or b) a lot of time sitting around waiting for meetings/mates to arrive. I'm sure most people will be using the service to either check webmail/facebook when they're on their own, check movie/gig times or impress their friends and colleagues.
Get a hotspot in every (s)wanky bar in London and you'd sell the service hand over fist. Ditto for if you could (somehow) get it on the tube/buses
Being able to clear your (web-based in my case) email before you get to work in the morning would be a Godsend... Good to see you guys taking an interest in customer feedback.
You could just get up a little earlier and clear it before you leave for work
I'm not so keen on having it in bars since then I'm usually drinking with friends. I'd rather see it in cafes, parks and around transport hubs where I'm likely to be hanging around. Railway platforms would be a godsend...
In somewhat related news, McDonalds have announced all of their stores will have free wifi. Not a fan of them but I applaud this move. Hopefully every large corporate chain will follow suit.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/06/internet?gusrc=rss&feed=technology
McDonald's to offer free Wi-Fi in restaurants
* Rebecca Smithers, consumer affairs correspondent
* The Guardian
* Saturday October 6 2007
The fast food chain McDonald's is to introduce free high speed wireless internet access at most of its 1,200 restaurants by the end of the year in a move which will make it the UK's biggest provider of such a service.
Customers will be able to go online via their laptops, compatible mobile phones and games consoles for hours on end if they wish. The initiative goes a step further than existing services offered by some coffee shops and cafes, which provide Wi-Fi hotspots but charge users a fee.
McDonald's said its service would benefit a wide range of customers, from business people making a "pit stop" to check email between meetings to those looking for a leisurely break at the weekend to download music. It claimed a hotspot user who pays to log on for just an hour a week in a coffee shop could stand to save as much as £260 a year on premium Wi-Fi charges by using McDonald's free service. It has already introduced the free scheme in 8,000 of its 13,000 outlets in the US.
The company's president and chief executive officer, Steve Easterbrook, said: "We hope that this will be a breath of fresh air and give greater choice for Wi-Fi hotspot users who have had little choice but to pay by the month or hour to access the internet on the move." Faced with the prospect of young people spending hours surfing the net after buying just a single cup of coffee, a spokesman for McDonald's said: "We would be comfortable with that. There will be no restrictions."
The editor of Computing, Bryan Glick, said: "The future of technology is in secure, wireless, mobile, go-anywhere computers and anything that helps people achieve that is a step in the right direction."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/06/internet?gusrc=rss&feed=technology
McDonald's to offer free Wi-Fi in restaurants
* Rebecca Smithers, consumer affairs correspondent
* The Guardian
* Saturday October 6 2007
The fast food chain McDonald's is to introduce free high speed wireless internet access at most of its 1,200 restaurants by the end of the year in a move which will make it the UK's biggest provider of such a service.
Customers will be able to go online via their laptops, compatible mobile phones and games consoles for hours on end if they wish. The initiative goes a step further than existing services offered by some coffee shops and cafes, which provide Wi-Fi hotspots but charge users a fee.
McDonald's said its service would benefit a wide range of customers, from business people making a "pit stop" to check email between meetings to those looking for a leisurely break at the weekend to download music. It claimed a hotspot user who pays to log on for just an hour a week in a coffee shop could stand to save as much as £260 a year on premium Wi-Fi charges by using McDonald's free service. It has already introduced the free scheme in 8,000 of its 13,000 outlets in the US.
The company's president and chief executive officer, Steve Easterbrook, said: "We hope that this will be a breath of fresh air and give greater choice for Wi-Fi hotspot users who have had little choice but to pay by the month or hour to access the internet on the move." Faced with the prospect of young people spending hours surfing the net after buying just a single cup of coffee, a spokesman for McDonald's said: "We would be comfortable with that. There will be no restrictions."
The editor of Computing, Bryan Glick, said: "The future of technology is in secure, wireless, mobile, go-anywhere computers and anything that helps people achieve that is a step in the right direction."
We already use them for free toilets. Now we can extend it to free wi-fi! (perhaps while sitting on the loo...
)