Plea: let’s optimize WLAN hotspots for mobile devices (it makes sense)
Dear WLAN hotspot providers,
Please optimize the login page for your WLAN hotspot for mobile devices.
Currently, if you try to login to a WLAN hotspot in cafes, airports, or hotels, you often get a page full of clutter. Yes, it works perfectly with laptops. But with mobile devices, it’s a pain in the arse.
You don’t want to do that. Not anymore. It’s 2007, and WLAN enabled mobile devices - including the ones from Nokia - are selling like hot cakes. Very soon, there will be more WLAN enabled mobile devices than laptops in the world. Even sooner, there will be more WLAN enabled mobile devices than laptops in your hotspot (because people carry their phones always).
Please, do a favor to yourself, and optimize the login page for mobile devices. Please, remove the unnecessary clutter.
And if you agree, please spread the word!
via Tero Lehto
Note: FON provides a really good Symbian client that makes the login unnecessary. I used their login page as an example only because I didn’t have other screenshots at hand. Sorry, FON folks.
Good point Tommi, but maybe we need an alternative to web-based logins altogether (or at least some special handling of it). Web-browsers are just one of many kinds of applications that want to access the internet, but requiring the user to log on via a website means you have to have a browser open. Not a problem on a PC but not so good on a phone.
Sure, S60 phones can multitask but many have fairly limited RAM and the S60 browser uses a fair bit of it. Furthermore S60 3rd Edition seems to sometimes just close apps in the background (presumably to free up RAM) without asking (well, it does on my N80 anyway). This can be problematic in the following scenario: I’m in a cafe with a hot spot I need to login to. I open Web and log in. They I launch some other internet app that I want to use with the WiFi. The phone is short of RAM so it closes Web. However since Web opened the WiFi connection the connection is also shut down. Now when my other app wants to use the internet I need to pick an access point again but - oops - I can’t re-login since it’s not a browser.
Off the top of my head I can think of one way around this: When I login via the browser have an option to save the format of the login data that is posted to the page in the access point settings. From then on choosing that access point from any app could auto login by just re-sending that data in the background. Since it doesn’t need to actually render any HTML it should be pretty lightweight and not eat much RAM. Of course, if the format of the login page changes you’re screwed so it’s not a perfect solution.
Why does Nokia not support Mac OS X. They must know that a growing number of people are switching to Mac and these people are the type of folks who have the power to influence others. In marketing terms they are known as “Mavens”…
…also they are known as “brainwashed Maczealots”.
> Why does Nokia not support Mac OS X.
Sean, why don’t you try the brand-new Nokia Media Transfer (beta):
http://www.nokia.com/A4423135
James: really good points. Anyone from the browser team who could comment the technical feasibility?
Thanks Tommi
I’ve given it a bit more thought and, with co-operation from Hotspot providers, it may be possible to define some protocol or web-service for logging into the Hotspot service. It would be useful for phones and other WiFi devices that may have limited web-browsing or no browser at all (e.g.: Nintendo DS).
You’d need some kind of mechanism whereby once the device connects via WiFi it automagically detects if an additional log-in is required before it has full internet access (This could be done using something like UPnP perhaps). If so the device can fetch the pricing options and required login details (perhaps via a simple web-service) and present them to the user. If the user decides to go ahead and logs in, gives their credit card number or whatever is required and off they go. Basically you’d just be replacing a web-page with some other, more light-weight format. Hotspots could still continue to use the “redirect any HTTP request to the hotspot page” method they do now for laptops.
As with any standard though it would probably take a long time for everyone to agree on it and implement it. And there would always be naughty ones who break the standard or extend and extinguish it… *sigh*
haha…excuse accepted - but you are right in this case, we at FON should work on this as well
heyo,
Bumped into this blog here while searching for resource on mobile application development
@James - Even though it’s not necessary to use a web browser for login/logout/billing purpose, Hotspot vendors tend to use it because it’s the cheapeast&fastest means of setting up billing system.
Now a thought. This trouble of setting up billing system could be done in a platform agnostic way across several vertical segments of mobile devices (Nokia, Sony Ericsson, LG etc..) using simple Java apps that registers the details using encrypted communication to the hotspot server. Once this is done successfully, all communication can be done smoothly. However, minor implications remain to be seen. This technology is nothing new in Desktop arena and should be implemented in the handheld arena as well.
Just thought I’d share my .02
Chris Maverick
thanks for good blog and information