The team at www.HandiWi.com have launched a new Wifi connector for Symbian S60, 3rd generation Nokia (E51, E60, E61, E61i, E65, E70, E90, N80, N81, N81, N91, N92, N93, N93i, N95). Now it's easier then ever to connect to FON. HandiWi features:* Filtering of hotspots, separated view for public WLAN networks (FON/Zebra)* HandyWi clearly shows which access point is secure and which is not* Single internet access point (HandyWi APN) for all applications (mail, web browser, char etc.)* Easy account management, several user accounts possible (scratch card, prepaid etc.)* Access to the location based media information, loaded each time you connect (works on selected WLAN networksonly)* Automatic hotspot discovery and alert feature* Automatic connection to the hotspot which has stronger signal* Secure RSA encrypted communication with HandyWi server* Automatic application startup after install and on boot
CBS has just announced that the launch of its CBS Mobile Zone project to “Light Up Midtown Manhattan with Free Wireless Internet Access”. This is great news for WiFi, free access and for everyone that loves NY. FON was one of CBS’ partners to make this new project a reality. Other partners include the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New York City Transit, as well as several next-generation companies including Tropos, BIG, Ning, Goowy, Veoh, Yelp, 1020, Aptilo and Can-Do Entertainment.The “CBS Mobile Zone” or “Wi-Fi HotZone” is already up and running in certain areas in Midtown and will be fully operational by the end of the month with a footprint of more than 20 city blocks from Times Square to Central Park South and from 6th Avenue to 8th Avenue.New Yorkers who access the “CBS Mobile Zone,” will be greeted by an ad-supported homepage that includes hyperlocal content such as breaking local and national news, sports highlights, weather reports, music discovery, wallpapers, ringtones, maps, a social network and the ability to search for nearby restaurants, shops and entertainment complete with geographically-targeted community reviews.This is another great step forward for WiFi!
San Francisco, CA November 12th, 2007 -- FON’s is mission is to make WiFi universal and free worldwide through a global community of ‘Foneros’. In less than two years since its launch, FON has built the world's largest Wi-Fi community with over 530,000 members worldwide. Since opening its US office in San Francisco last year, FON has been focused on growing the base of its ‘Foneros’ (FON Community Members) in the US.“We are a tech savvy nation whose expectations for internet access are high. People want fast, easy WiFi access - anytime, anywhere. As FON is poised for explosive growth in the U.S. this is an excellent opportunity for our new affiliate partners to contribute to this growth and be rewarded handsomely fortheir efforts.” says Joanna Reese, Chief Fonera USA.The FON concept is simple – people share a portion of their WiFi internet connection at home and in exchange can roam on any other FON hotspot around the world for free. FON’s ‘La Fonera’ wireless routers have been designed to enable ‘Foneros’ to share their home Internet access in a completely secure manner by creating two distinct channels – a private channel for the hotspot owner, and a shared channel for the Community.FON is eager to grow its U.S. membership through its newly launched Affiliate Partner Marketing Program offered through Commission Junction, a ValueClick company based in Santa Barbara, California. The program pays its affiliates (or Publishers as they are known on Commission Junction) a referral commission of 15% to 18% for each sale of FON’s WiFi Router – the device needed to securely share and get free access in the FON Community.For more information about FON’s new Affiliate Program, go here: http://www.fon.com/en/landing/marketingpartnerThe URL for the FON Commission Junction sign up form is: https://signup.cj.com/member/brandedPublisherSignUp.do?air_refmerchantid=2094316The program is being managed by Jim Gribble of LinkProfits who has been managing affiliate programs for its select group of clients since 1999. Interested parties are encouraged to contact Mr. Gribble with any questions they may have about the program.Contact:Jim GribblePartner Marketing ManagerEmail: affiliates@fon.comPhone: 301 916-3900FON WiFi201 Post Street, 11th FloorSan Francisco, CA 94108Phone: 415 558-8600www.FON.com
As you already know, we have joined forces with BT to offer Internet users in the UK WiFi everywhere. We are asking Britons to "Join IN" the BT FON Community!!!And now we're proud to show you that FON is "IN" at BT's headquarters in London!For more about BT FON, visit www.btfon.com
The City of Geneva and FON have officially announced a joint project to provide WiFi access to the city’s residents and visitors. Starting next week, 500 La Fonera WiFi Routers will be distributed to residents who have a broadband connection at home and have signed up for the project at: http://geneve-fon.org. Residents who want to become Foneros and share some of their broadband with the rest of the FON Community will gain free and unlimited access to more than 250,000 FON Spots around the world. Once the 500 La Foneras have been installed, Geneva’s residents and all of your Foneros visiting the city will enjoy WiFi coverage.This project is part of FON’s strategy to provide WiFi coverage in major cities worldwide, such as Tokyo, San Francisco and Munich. This initiative together with ChuecaWiFi in Madrid and FON’s partnerships with BT in the UK and Neuf Cegetel in France, give Foneros even more FON Spots around the world to connect to and give non Foneros more reasons to join the FON Community.
We had so much fun creating our Matador videos, we want to share the fun by inviting you to create your own video. The winner will get two roundtrip tickets to Madrid, Spain, a tour & visit with the FON team at our HQ offices, and a three night stay at Martin Varsarsky’s (FON’s founder and CEO) farm in Menorca, Spain! You can find all the details and rules here!
The Fon Labs team is at it again. This time they've created unfoldingnews.com. This tool is designed to track news as it's reported. Today when major news organizations (finally) picked up the story of Comcast blocking BitTorrent I used it to see who broke the story first. It's still in the experimental stage so any suggestions are appreciated!
All I can say is wow! I liked the N770. When the N800 came out I thought it was great but needed a full qwerty keyboard. Today Nokia surprised us with N810! Of course it has wifi and lots of other goodies including GPS, Bluetooth, VGA Camera, Skype and a full slide out qwerty keyboard! I want one! Now to convince the wife we need one! Let me know if you have actually put your hands on one!
Hello Foneros, I thought it would fun to bring you some details on the people who make FON run. I'll chase down more of my co-workers in the coming weeks to bring you some insight into what makes FON tick. This week I'm sitting down with Iurgi Arginzoniz, our Firmware Manager.Q: When did you join FON?A: Before it even began. I was working on a project by the Swiss market incumbent, Swisscom. It was called air bites and we did something similar to what fon is. But much more rudimentary. FON and Swisscom were about to go for a joint venture and we had already been working on it for 3 months, when everything went wrong and the deal was turned down. I left my company and joined the unborn FON at the request of Martin Varsavsky. This was November 7, 2005!Q: What is your greatist accomplishment at FON?A: Hard to tell. Probably the launch of La Fonera was the biggest thing till now. I went to Taipei, Taiwan, and worked day and night with Felix (from OpenWrt.org) and Jordi (our hardware expert) for 17days in a row. It was insane. When we came back, La Fonera was ready to be born. Of course, we improved lots of stuff afterwards.Q: What lessons have you learned?A: Well, probably, the most important one is that a good job is almost always rewarded. I worked hard and I'm very well respected at FON. FON is working hard and we're getting our results and keep growing atunbelievable speed.Q:. What are you working on now?A: Part of my work cannot be disclosed, but we have 4 different projects in the hands of my department. They're all so exciting and I hope we can finish them on schedule. I think many people will be happy when we show the results.Q: What would you like to see in the future?A: Even if it sounds like an obvious reply: a free WiFi network that will permit us to be connected anywhere in metropolitan areas. I hope it's FON doing that, but the real wish is that it happens, whoever is behindit. Internet is the cheapest luxury nowadays and WiFi can make it available for even more people.
FON and BT have partnered to create the BT FON Community to cover the entire U.K. with hundreds of thousands of BT FON hotspots.You already know who we are, the world’s largest Wi-Fi Community, and BT is one of the leading broadband providers in the world, and the birth of our BT FON Community means something uniquely special for broadband users in the U.K. and all over the world. We have integrated FON in BT and now more than more than 3 million Total Broadband customers are invited to join the enormous global community of people sharing their WiFi. The fact that a market leader like BT supports FON’s revolutionary model for a massive Wi-Fi community built for and by the people marks a bold step in the communications industry. Every person in the UK who agrees to share a small portion of their home broadband connection will be able to share the connection of any other member. Anyone joining in will be able to use those FON hotspots across the world and all the new BT FON hotspots free of charge.From the very beginning, all of you, Foneros, believed in the concept of sharing and in people’s ability to build something important that would benefit everyone. BT is one of the most important telcos and ISPs in the world, so with BT FON those beliefs have proved to be well-founded!And of course, the best news for all your Foneros around the world is that you can connect to the new BT FON Community Wi-Fi hotspots for FREE!Thanks to all of you, and welcome to the U.K.!
FON was just featured in the CNBC European Edition with this photo on the cover! It took a split second for me to realize the photo was our very own Martin Varsavsky. I couldn't help but chuckle as I read the article. There were some great points but the paragraph I liked the best was; "With the latest laptops and top-end mobile phones coming Wi-Fi-enabled, FON appears to be in a strong position to beat anything the mobile operators can come up with. Moreover, established hotspot providers cannot hope to compete on price. Emerging high-speed technologies like WiMAX will require huge investment, and the costs will inevitably be passed on to the consumer. FON’s future appears to be as bright as Alcobendas’ sun-dazzled streets."It didn't end there though!"Established hotspot providers like T-Mobile and Swisscom, operating at hotels and cafés, have enjoyed a virtual monopoly, splitting their income with the venue. FON is to them what Linux is to Microsoft."Just when I thought it couldn't get any better I thought back to the headline. In case you missed it the title of the article was Wi-Fi hotshot! Go FON!
The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project has just announced the Give 1 Get 1 promotion. Beginning November 12th you can purchase the XO Laptop! Actually, you're purchasing two, one for yourself and one for a child in a developing nation! The promotion will only run for a limited time and your $399.00 will insure you and a needy child will get one. Yes, the XO Laptop has wifi!
We have launched wouldtheyshare.com, a website about whether Britain is a sharing nation. We want to spread the word about FON in the UK, and for that reason we created wouldtheyshare.com. Our site reveals the Brits' attitudes towards sharing, and we are giving away 100 La Fonera+ among people who answer our daily sharing question and register at fon.com. And there is more! Amongst this month's voters, we are giving away a trip to Madrid (flight + hotel) for two people. Check the details here: http://www.wouldtheyshare.com/win.php
