I'd like some wi-fi with my chai chai

Just over a year ago (and I'm talking JUST) Starbucks and AT&T announced their partnership to bring ATT WiFi to all Starbucks locations.  This roll out was going to take some time so now that a year has past I decided it would be time to put their partnership to the test at my local Starbucks.

I'd like to be able to say that no Starbucks employees were hurt during the creation of this post, but unfortunately a very nice young lady spilled my green tea (I typically get coffee but I'm feeling under the weather so I thought green tea was more appropriate) on her hand . . . OUCH.  She's now fine, but it wasn't pretty.

I digress . . . the first test of any Wi-Fi offering is signal strength.  If you can't get a signal nothing else matters.  We can check this off the list . . . full signal.

Next - Connectivity, or how easy it is to connect to the internet after acquiring a signal.  Upon opening your favorite web browser (mine is FireFox.  I'm rocking the new(ish) Beta 3.1 . . . it's a beta) you're immediately taken to the ATT splash page where you can create your account OR if you're really prepared you can log into your existing Starbucks account.  The process was seamless.

Two recommendations here:  1.  Get a Starbucks card even if you don't go to Starbucks regularly.  A once a month visit will keep your account in good standing and gives you two free hours of Wi-Fi a day.  2.  Setup your account prior to getting to Starbucks.  You'll then simply enter your username and password and then you're off.  My user name and password is...

Come on, you didn't really expect me to give it up did you?

Once connected I've found speed tests to be excellent.  My favorite website, thedigitallifestyle.tv loaded without pause, even the mogulus video player where we bring you TDL Live.  Now I must confess . . . I was the only person with a laptop open during this test.  I'm going to imagine performance might be impacted with more users on the network.  Luckily my Starbucks location only has about a dozen seats.

In summary I'd give the ATT Wi-Fi experience an A+.  It's far superior to the former T-Mobile hot spot partnership.

Have you been using ATT at Starbucks?  Let us know what you think in the comments now that a year has passed.

Quick tip: How to Use Wifi on the iPhone While In Airplane Mode

You might not need this one right now, but tuck it away for a future sunny day when you're on a cross-country flight with wifi service. You can use wifi on the iPhone while remaining in airplane mode.

As you may have noticed, switching to airplane mode turns off both the phone network functionality and wifi capability of the iPhone. There's a quick and easy way to get wifi service back. Simply go to the the settings panel and slide the wifi switch to back to on. The device will stay in airplane mode, and the little airplane will remain in the corner of the screen, but you'll have wifi. It's fairly straight-forward, but if you're a visual learner, there's a short video below.

Beyond future flights, this might also allow you to use the iPhone with some devices (speakers, docks, etc.) that require airplane mode, while still being able to send and receive data.

Airport WiFi - Making Travel LESS Enjoyable

I’m blogging from 30,000 feet today [really this was 4-10-08]. My trip today reminds me of the inconvenience of traveling. Luckily I don’t travel all that often. Lines . . . everywhere. And if your lucky enough to have SSS on your ticket you get a free feel up by some TSA guy going through security. After the complimentary violation you’re welcomed to the terminal where you get overpriced garbage attempting to mascarade as food. Be prepared to open your wallet should you want a drink to take the edge off. WHY? Because they can.

As if all this insult wasn’t enough, I took out my iPhone from its protective confines of my bag, someone has to protect it from TSA violation, to happily find an AT&T Wi-Fi network. I fired up Safari and was taken to a AT&T launch page. I was amazed to find that they wanted me to purchase a pass to use their service. It’s bad enough that I’m traveling, but to not be able to sit at the terminal, where I’ll be for hours to make sure that I didn’t miss my flight (the LINES again), and get some free wi-fi is unacceptable. I didn’t stick around long enough to see how much AT&T wanted to scam me out of, but $1.00 would have been too much.

The worst part about the airport hotspot situation is there is no standard. I was joking before when I said $1.00 would be too much. But can you imagine spending $9.99 for a day pass, have a connecting flight at another airport, and arrive to find out that it’s a T-mobile hotspot. You’ve already paid for AT&T and now you’re going to get dinged by T-mobile in the same day. I’m surprised there isn’t more fuss coming from travelers about this. There should be a standard at airports in the US and I propose it should be free to consumers.

I should have to agree to the terms of service indicating that I won’t use the network for no good, or for porn . . . come on, kids could be around. It should be an add supported network, someone has to pay. I have no problem being presented with advertising for the newest Bose noise canceling headphones, the crap burger at the scam factory down the terminal, or even the SkyRest Travel Pillow (the most ridiculous product I was able to find from sky mall).

As I started this I said that I connected to the AT&T hotspot from my Apple iPhone. HELLO it’s already running on the AT&T network. Is there no way for the network to realize this and allow me to connect for free?? Is AT&T trying to tell me that the good money I spend every month for their service isn’t enough to consume some Wi-Fi before my flight?!? I suppose they’d rather me consume data on their cellular network which has to be more costly . . . so I did.

In our DigitalLifestyle we demand constant broadband connectivity. Every device talks to the internet and for Airports to be starving us of this connectivity after they fashion airports to be the most inconvenient places, they should be ashamed of themselves.