Skyhook Wireless announces partnership with freebox-wifi.fr, Wifi hotspot locator for Android
Our friends over at Skyhook Wireless, creators of the innovative WPS (Wifi Positioning System) and XPS (GPS/WPS Hybrid Positioning System), informed us of yet another new partner in their quest to bring Wifi-positioning into the Global forefront.
Skyhook scours the airwaves, maintains an enormous (and expanding daily) database of Wifi network locations across the globe, and uses Satellite, Cell-Tower Triangulation, and Wifi-based location to give you much more accurate position positioning. Skyhook has been partnering with more and more companies and developers, and with good reason. Location-based apps are more popular than ever, and are only showing signs of improvement.
The technology created by Skyhook is appearing in more Android applications every day, and today the Massachusetts-based company announced that its latest partnership is with freebox-wi,fi.fr, the company behind the FreeboxWifi Connect app - a Wi-Fi hotspot locator service for Android. From the release:
BOSTON, MA - September 15, 2009- Skyhook Wireless®, provider of the patented Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS) and the hybrid positioning system XPS, today announced a partnership with with freebox-wifi.fr, a Wi-Fi hotspot locator service with applications for iPhone, Android and Windows Mobile smartphones.
The Android ‘FreeboxWifi Connect’ application automatically detects and connects to open Wi-Fi access points from French ISP Free S.A. In France, Free S.A. has created a network of accessible Wi-Fi hotspots named “FreeWifi” using the ADSL boxes located in clients’ homes.
The application features a heat map of where users have been able to connect to FreeWifi and the strength of the signal. Users can also run the application in “mapping mode” which reports locations where devices successfully found a FreeWifi hotspot.
“Thanks to Skyhook’s Android SDK, our Android application is now able to position the phone as well as iPhones, even in the heart of cities where the phone’s GPS was failing to provide positions altogether. Additionally, I have been very impressed by Skyhook’s positioning accuracy which has been up to par with our demanding requirements,” said Philippe Girolami, owner and developer.
“This app is an example of a simple LBS app that requires exact positioning in order to function,” said Kate Imbach, director of marketing at Skyhook Wireless. “Applications like FreeboxWifi Connect depend completely on accurate and reliable location data.”
Freebox-wifi.fr applications can be downloaded free today on the Apple Appstore, Android Marketplace and Archos Applib; a beta Windows Mobile is available on the website. Find out more information about the developer and the apps at www.freebox-wifi.fr. Skyhook Wireless offers a publicly available SDK for Android developers, available here: www.skyhookwireless.com/developers/sdk.php.
About Skyhook Wireless
Founded in 2003, Skyhook Wireless has pioneered the development of the first hybrid positioning system to fully leverage Wi-Fi, GPS and cell towers delivering precise location data supporting the growing market for location-based services. Skyhook Wireless is headquartered in Boston, MA, and is privately held. For more information visit www.skyhookwireless.com, send email to info@skyhookwireless.com or call 617-314-9802.
This is certainly big news for French Androids, and I suspect we will see many more Skyhook-enabled apps coming down the pipe to other countries in the near future. So fire up the Android Market, download the “FreeboxWifi Connect” app, and enjoy the large amounts of FREE Wifi about to come your way!
Filed Under: Android Market • Android News • Applications
