Same thing is happening in my area. Coffee shops that once proudly boasted free wi-fi have now shut it out completely. I guess they can't figure out how to charge for it so they just shut it down.
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Free AT&T Wi-Fi Access for iPhones
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Same thing is happening in my area. Coffee shops that once proudly boasted free wi-fi have now shut it out completely. I guess they can't figure out how to charge for it so they just shut it down.
Sweet! That's great to hear(I'm in Dublin... haha)
Actually the Safeway in Livermore has free WiFi (guess for small eating area)
The problem is still that they're hanging out taking up space and not buying much or anything.
I note from the linked article that some of these coffee houses have figured out how to increase turnover without pulling the plug on their WiFi. I also suspect that San Francisco isn't a good example. Most other cities aren't home to hundreds of shoestring Internet startup operators. OTOH, I haven't been in a corporate bookstore in years where dozens of people weren't obviously poaching the books and magazines.
maybe this is a sign that AT&T's contract for iPhone exclusivity isn't as long as we thought? It seems that AT&T is trying more and more to make the iPhone agreement more attractive. I already have AT&T so I'm stoked to have Wi-Fi speeds at Starbucks when I get my 2nd Gen iPhone (READ APPLE: I won't buy a iPhone till the next gen comes out- so hurry up already!). This might make more people less against AT&T's wireless plans- if for $60 you get access to Edge and all their WiFi spots, thats not bad. Better than T-Mobile!
The different accounts of free wi-fi always surprise me. Some people say that in their city, wi-fi is practically free everywhere. And then someone else says that it isn't.
Here is my take from my various travels. When you're not intimately familiar with an area it is often pretty hard to find free WiFi. If you live there and it is your "hood", you certainly know that Coffee Shop X has FreeWiFi.
Secondly, many hotels (oddly, the most expensive ones) still charge an arm and a leg for Internet access.
These things being said, if you know that you can get free access at any Starbucks nationwide with your iPhone, that is a Good Thing. Personally I think it is a good angle to sell iPhones and AT&T service. I have no problem with this. I'm sure some other retailer with partner with Verizon and RIM or something. And some retailers will calculate that it is better for them just to give free service to everyone. And, you can vote with your dollars and do business where you see fit.
Here is my take from my various travels. When you're not intimately familiar with an area it is often pretty hard to find free WiFi. If you live there and it is your "hood", you certainly know that Coffee Shop X has FreeWiFi.
Secondly, many hotels (oddly, the most expensive ones) still charge an arm and a leg for Internet access.
These things being said, if you know that you can get free access at any Starbucks nationwide with your iPhone, that is a Good Thing. Personally I think it is a good angle to sell iPhones and AT&T service. I have no problem with this. I'm sure some other retailer with partner with Verizon and RIM or something. And some retailers will calculate that it is better for them just to give free service to everyone. And, you can vote with your dollars and do business where you see fit.
Man, I am glad I decided to read this thread. I have been planning to move to an iPhone once my prepaid phone runs down on minutes, and I thought I'd have internet access anywhere from within the ATT&T data network. If I have to find access points as if I am on a laptop it ain't worth the trouble.
Simple but Great!
You'd think this wouldn't have much impact on me, but it does. In fact, it will probably affect me more than a new iPhone jailbreak feature!
It's so ridiculous to have to sign up for Wi-Fi in a coffee shop and pay for it. In fact, I have to spend time turning off Wi-Fi on my iPhone, just so I don't get the welcome screen when I'd willing to surf on Edge.
So, thank you AT&T.
You'd think this wouldn't have much impact on me, but it does. In fact, it will probably affect me more than a new iPhone jailbreak feature!
It's so ridiculous to have to sign up for Wi-Fi in a coffee shop and pay for it. In fact, I have to spend time turning off Wi-Fi on my iPhone, just so I don't get the welcome screen when I'd willing to surf on Edge.
So, thank you AT&T.
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)
works for me at Altoona, PA starbucks!
works for me at Altoona, PA starbucks!
The iPhone has internet "everywhere" = EDGE (cellular data)
It also supports Wifi = need to find access points... but is faster than EDGE.
arn
They might be doing it based on the MAC address of the iPhone's wifi card. There could be a separate range of addresses reserved by Apple for iPhone specifically.
I think you're confusing Wi-Fi with Edge. You do have access to the AT&T Edge network wherever you go/it's available.
If your iPod Touch happens to have an AT&T account and password then yes. But then not many iPod Touches have that do they?
Saw this today at Raleigh, NC McDonalds
Same exact screen popped up today at the McDonalds on Falls of Neuse in Raleigh, NC. Just entered my phone number and I had WiFi. Not sure if the signal was actually from McD's or somewhere near there, but I assume it was McD's. It was definitely the same as the screen capture though. Looks like its more than just B&N and Starbucks.
Same exact screen popped up today at the McDonalds on Falls of Neuse in Raleigh, NC. Just entered my phone number and I had WiFi. Not sure if the signal was actually from McD's or somewhere near there, but I assume it was McD's. It was definitely the same as the screen capture though. Looks like its more than just B&N and Starbucks.
Guess I picked the right day to go to Winchester, MA Starbucks!
I really dislike Starbucks coffee, but I had heard about wifi there months ago and didn't know the details, figured I'd try it and that I'd get a warning if I had to pay. I was in Winchester, MA on Main Street, near the train station.
Well, I fired up the iPhone and it found a "tmobile" hotspot under the usual "open" premises, that is, every web hit redirects you to a registration page, I saw "AT&T" and clicked it, and I was on.
I spent a pleasant 20 minutes browsing from my iPhone in a comfy armchair with Starbuck's new Pike's whatever coffee. (Less dark roasted and bitter than other Starbuck's, but still not to my liking.) Bought two songs from iTunes store, too, that probably pleased the providers.
The way the wifi and registration worked, it sort of looks like it should work the same way wherever there's a tmobile Starbucks...
I really dislike Starbucks coffee, but I had heard about wifi there months ago and didn't know the details, figured I'd try it and that I'd get a warning if I had to pay. I was in Winchester, MA on Main Street, near the train station.
Well, I fired up the iPhone and it found a "tmobile" hotspot under the usual "open" premises, that is, every web hit redirects you to a registration page, I saw "AT&T" and clicked it, and I was on.
I spent a pleasant 20 minutes browsing from my iPhone in a comfy armchair with Starbuck's new Pike's whatever coffee. (Less dark roasted and bitter than other Starbuck's, but still not to my liking.) Bought two songs from iTunes store, too, that probably pleased the providers.
The way the wifi and registration worked, it sort of looks like it should work the same way wherever there's a tmobile Starbucks...
You can find local AT&T wifi spots here:
http://attwifi.know-where.com/attwifi/cgi/index?design=default
Seems to include:
Starbucks
Barnes & Noble
Airports
McDonald's
Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
"Additional" locations
arn
http://attwifi.know-where.com/attwifi/cgi/index?design=default
Seems to include:
Starbucks
Barnes & Noble
Airports
McDonald's
Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
"Additional" locations
arn
Edit: Yeah -- what HE said! ^^^^^^
I'm betting that it's free wi-fi access for iPhone at ANY AT&T wi-fi hotspot. Which means SB, BN, McDonald's, Coffee Bean, etc...
http://attwifi.know-where.com/attwifi/cgi/index?design=default
At least, that's what I hope it means!
And it's a great feature. I don't know why anyone would gripe about added value to the (US) iPhone.
I'm betting that it's free wi-fi access for iPhone at ANY AT&T wi-fi hotspot. Which means SB, BN, McDonald's, Coffee Bean, etc...
http://attwifi.know-where.com/attwifi/cgi/index?design=default
At least, that's what I hope it means!
And it's a great feature. I don't know why anyone would gripe about added value to the (US) iPhone.
Ok. Disagree all you want. But since getting an iPhone, the dang thing just won't shut up about asking if I want to connect. Every dang restaurant, coffee shop, doctors office, whatever. And of course just driving down the road sometimes I can mooch off residents unprotected wifi. In fact Starbucks is the only place I've gone in years that tried to charge for wifi. Sorry, no thanks. I was gonna buy a second cup of coffee with that money, but now I'm just going to sit and surf edge and then leave. Either have free wifi or don't have any. I just can't see how having potential customers sit all day in your store is ever a bad thing. Attracting people to your store is a retailers main goal. And if they don't drink coffee or like your food, they aren't going to hang out there every day just for the free wifi. Hell, if they own a laptop, you'd think they have access at home or school or somewhere more convenient.
One of my pet peeves. I think the theory of the hotel operators must be that these premium hotel clients are mainly businesspeople on expense accounts. They won't mind paying $10 a day for internet access -- because they're not actually paying. So if that's logical, then why don't they charge extra for soap and hot water?
I'd like to try using my AT&T mobile number (not an iPhone) on my iPod touch and see if that doesn't work in Starbucks.