Network access provider iPass announces Wi-Fi hotspot backing for Nokia's Communicator devices

Network access provider iPass is adding support for Nokia’s Communicator devices – a move that will enable easy access to thousands of Wi-Fi hotspots worldwide for staff using these handsets.

IPass announced it has been working with Nokia to develop clients for Nokia’s 9500 and 9300i handsets, and for the forthcoming E-Series business phones. Nokia is running a pilot deployment with its own staff, according to Smith.

The iPass client for the 9500 and 9300i will ship by this summer, and E-Series support is planned for the second half of 2006.

Though the iPass service already lets laptop users get internet access via numerous networks worldwide and pay through a single subscription, this is the firm’s first real drive into the mobile handset market.

IPass senior technical consultant Ray Smith said that the Wi-Fi capability of Nokia handsets and the fact that these devices have a full-blown web browser and a screen of a reasonable size, had prompted the latest initiative.

“A key driver for these devices is mobile email, but uploading or downloading attached files is often an issue [on a mobile network],” he said. Instead, the iPass client lets Nokia Communicator users seamlessly authenticate into a public hotspot to synchronise email or surf the web, and could also be used to make voice over IP (VoIP) calls.

IPass said it also plans to introduce a client for Symbian devices with the UIQ user interface, such as Sony Ericsson’s P910 handset. “This is an obvious next step depending on how the market reacts to the Nokia client,” said Smith.