Free Nokia Wifi Zone on Singapore Buses Fri 09 Nov 2007
Free Nokia Wifi Zone on Singapore Buses
The Nokia Wifi Zone is now available on 12 buses running across the island allowing commuters to surf the internet literally on the go for free. The newly launched wifi initiative will include Ang Mo Kio and Toa Payoh Bus Interchanges by the end of next week with more locations following in the future.
Singaporeans can now hop on to any of the 12 buses plying service routes 12, 14, 30, 51, 65, 72, 80, 88, 96, 143, 147 and 179 to enjoy free and instant access to the internet, where you can surf, chat online, download music, play games or catch up on emails.
A first in Singapore and Asia Pacific, the Nokia wifi buses are part of Nokia's initiative to enable consumers to gain access to high speed internet connection on the go. Commuters can use the bus ride to catch up with their social networks, check emails and confirm an urgent meeting even before reaching office, or download the latest news and favourite sports updates while traveling to school or work.
With mobile devices fast becoming the main platform for people to enjoy digital content and share their experiences, a boring commute will be a thing of the past. Mr. Chris Carr, General Manager of Nokia Singapore, says, "We see the launch of the Nokia Wifi Zone initiative a natural extension of our goal to connect people - to the internet, to their favourite web applications on the move, given the proliferation of mobile gaming, digital music consumption and online social networks like Facebook and Friendster among Singaporeans."
"I believe this is the first of its kind in Singapore and we are excited by the possibilities of what our consumers can do with the free Wifi access on the buses as they commute on a daily basis. We want consumers to have a seamless mobile internet experience on the go, especially with the added speed and convenience offered by our wifi-enabled devices under the Nokia Nseries such as the Nokia N95, Nokia N95 8 GB, Nokia N80 Internet Edition, Nokia N81, Nokia N81 8GB, Nokia N800 Internet Tablet, Nokia N810 Internet Tablet, and the Nokia Eseries such as the Nokia E51, Nokia E61, Nokia E61i, Nokia E65 and the Nokia E90 Communicator," he added.
Mrs. Jayne Kwek, CEO of Moove Media said, "We are extremely excited and happy to be part of creating this first-in-Singapore innovation with Nokia and their partners, thereby delivering a ground breaking Internet experience to Singaporeans."
Consumers using their Nokia devices to enjoy the free internet access at the Nokia Wifi Zone only need to go to their Active Standby screen, click on their WLAN Wizard and connect to "Nokia Wifi Zone".
Surf the Net on your bus ride home
You may be able to get free Wi-Fi almost anywhere in Singapore with the Wireless@SG initiative which aims to wire up the whole island state, but that is surely insufficient for the true Internet junkie. For up to two hours each day when traveling on a bus, a Net addict has to undergo cold turkey as his notebook becomes nothing more than a slab of plastic and silicon without wireless access. Well, a fix has been found. Nokia has brought Wi-Fi onto 12 buses in Singapore so that commuters can surf for free when riding them.
This feat is achieved by using the existing cellular HSDPA service. The best thing is that users don't need a HSDPA-enabled phone or modem as the equipment dishes out the access using regular Wi-Fi within the bus. So, this moving hotspot will give you your YouTube and Facebook fix as long as the cellular network is healthy along the bus route.
Unlike Wireless@SG, you don't have to sign up for an account to use Nokia's Wi-Fi Zone service. The unsecured network just requires you to agree to some terms of service and after that, you're good to go. Nokia says this is a trial for now and that it will review the service in a few months time. It's a first from the company, so you won't find it outside of Singapore at this point.
There are only 12 buses plying 12 different routes at this point--so chances of hopping on one even if you use the particular bus service is not guaranteed. If you are truly and hopelessly hooked to the Internet, we suggest getting your own HSDPA modem and an unlimited plan--that will work on any bus.
http://asia.cnet.com/crave/2007/11/09/s ... ride-home/
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