New iPhone application lets you find free WiFi hotspots, based on current location
Total Hotspots and Rummble launch comprehensive global hotspot search tool
LONDON, 16th March 2009; UK-based start-ups Total Hotspots and Rummble have joined forces to create a Wi-Fi hotspot locator application for the iPhone, which includes integrated social features that allow users to quickly add, rate, review, tag or photograph hotspots before sharing feedback with others.
From today, iPhone users can use the application to search the Total Hotspots database - which contains over 170,000 paid and free-to-access Wi-Fi locations - to find the best hotspots available. Search results are not restricted to those within short signal range, and people also have the ability to search for hotspots near any address, landmark or city.
"We wanted to make our premium database accessible to iPhone users, helping them to source connections while mobile, from anywhere in the world. By working with Rummble, we were able to tap into its existing location based service platform and roll-out an application that delivers exactly what we were after, far quicker than if we were to develop the application ourselves" said Alex Housley, CEO of Total Hotspots.
Rummble's 'trust profile' algorithm, which has been developed and refined over the past four years, attaches a personalised rating for each location based upon comments from users, their social network and the wider community. Within seconds, it's easy to filter hotspots based on this feedback, and rank the results by providing an estimation of how likely a user is to like them. Users can then add additional search filters such as sorting by free connections, sourcing those located within a cafe or looking solely at a preferred service provider.
Andrew Scott, CEO/Founder of Rummble adds; "the Total Hotspots app is the first official use of the Rummble API, which will be made publicly available very soon. It's been a fantastic test case, and has proven to us the potential of what we can help to create. The added functionality of the app seems to have hit home with users, as the ability to engage with a community and record what's been found is extremely valuable."
The app, which up until now has been available in beta, exceeded early expectations to become the fourth most downloaded utility application in the Apple AppStore within 48 hours of first becoming available.
Any information recorded via the application is accessible from both the Total Hotspots and Rummble web sites, which users can log on to with a single account before sharing with friends in other social networks.
You can search for 'Total Hotspots' in the Apple AppStore and download the application today for just £2.99.
ENDS
About Total Hotspots
Total Hotspots is a London-based, independent hotspot directory service that has been tracking free and paid hotspot locations in over 100 countries for over four years.
The global wirefree community combines regular updates from a number of leading international service providers, community projects and venue owners, with hotspots that have been recommended by the community.
The company focuses on listing legitimate and high-quality hotspot locations, as well as enabling the community to quickly search and share their experiences via the web (http://totalhotspots.com) or while mobile.
Total Hotspots was created by Alex Housley in 2004, while studying for a Business and Computing degree. This young, tech-savvy entrepreneur now drives the business, alongside a skilled team whose past experience includes working with IPG, Microsoft and PWC.
About Rummble
Rummble is a location based social search and discovery tool, enabling users to find recommended content for a location more easily. Instead of a traditional search, Rummble's algorithm provides personalised results based upon a trust profile it builds for each user, the content in that user's social network and location tags. It works from anywhere in the world, whether at home or on the move via a mobile device.
Rummble is built by a small team based in Cambridge, England, and is driven by CEO (Andrew Scott) and CTO (Clive Cox). Prior to this, both ran Europe's first location based social network: playtxt.net.
Rummble has been in closed Beta since September 2007, and was released into limited open Beta during April 2008.
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Vikki Chowney
Six Degrees
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