14 DAY TRIAL // Boingo Wireless, the North American company that presents itself as "the global market leader in Wi-Fi," has recently announced the availability of its Boingo Mobile application for Sony Ericsson's smartphones based on Symbian UIQ 3. Of course, since Boingo Mobile is a Wi-Fi app, the only Sony Ericsson handsets that can make use of it are the Wi-Fi enabled ones: the G900 touchscreen Web-oriented candybar, the W960 touchscreen Walkman and the QWERTY-equipped P1.
Why would owners of said devices want Boingo Mobile? Because, as its developer says, the application provides access to over 80,000 Boingo Wi-Fi hotspots from 93 countries, including hotels, restaurants, coffee shops, retail locations and 500 airports – from which 85 are top international ones. In all these places, users will be able to browse the Web and enjoy a good Wi-Fi connection directly from their UIQ 3 Sony Ericsson handsets.
"An increasing number of smartphones with Wi-Fi capability are now available in the market, giving consumers the option to access their favorite phone applications over a fast and inexpensive connection. Sony Ericsson customers can now experience the broadband speed and great online experience provided by Boingo Mobile Wi-Fi," says Jonathan Mendelson, general manager at Boingo Mobile.
The application is not free, as most users might want it to be; it comes for a monthly fee of $7.95, 5.95 Euros or 3.95 GBP, which grants them unlimited usage. Customers who sign-up at Boingo Mobile's website, though, will get to use the app for free in the first month.
From the Wi-Fi UIQ 3 Sony Ericsson smartphones that are now Boingo compatible, only the G900 is a brand-new handset (released by Sony Ericsson this summer), both W960 and P1 being around since 2007. Still, they're pretty good devices – you can read their reviews here (W960) and here (P1).