Devicescape, iPass Simplify Wi-Fi Hotspot Access

Devicescape's Wi-Fi auto-connect solution is being integrated into the iPass OpenAccess Wi-Fi service in a move that will enable iPass customers to access an additional 13,000 hotspots, Devicescape reported Thursday.

In addition to solving the occasional agonies of accessing Wi-Fi hotspots, the partnership will enable users to take advantage of lower costs and higher bandwidth connections.

Devicescape said iPass chose a custom subset of hotspots from Devicescape's Easy Wi-Fi Network in well-trafficked locations. iPass primarily serves enterprise and business travelers.

"We launched the Easy Wi-Fi Network in late 2009 as a way to harness the huge number of Wi-Fi networks all over the world by monitoring their quality and improving accessibility," said CEO Dave Fraser of Devicescape in a statement.

The new product supports both Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac computers.

In an e-mail, Fraser noted that the Easy Wi-Fi technology has some 300,000 worldwide locations and those numbers are growing at a rate of several thousand new locations every week. iPass integrated Devicescape's Easy Wi-Fi technology into the smart client used by iPass customers to gain access to iPass hotspots. The Devicescape software solution resides "inside" iPass software.

The good news in this is that end users aren't hit with an additional charge, even though their online service can be greatly improved.

Previously, Devicescape's "auto-connect" software client provided easy one-click downloads for some Nokia smartphones.