iPass Improves its Enterprise Connectivity Offerings For PDA Devices and Mac OS X
LONDON, UK – Building upon its virtual network operator capabilities and experience in delivering enterprise connectivity services across multiple network technologies, iPass announced today it has upgraded capabilities for two versions of its smart client: iPassConnectâ„? 2.0 for PocketPC 2002 and iPassConnectâ„? 2.3 for Mac OS X. These platforms support wireless and wired broadband connections and can provide mobile professionals enhanced productivity with secure global access to corporate network resources.
“Today’s enterprise users want the freedom to connect to their corporate data from anywhere, at any time, and via any device,” said TeleChoice analyst Patrick Hurley. “Solutions like iPassConnect, that expand the range of devices that enterprise customers can use for mobile connectivity, help provide secure remote access for all users within an enterprise.”
iPassConnect 2.0 for PocketPC 2002
iPassConnect 2.0 for PocketPC 2002 simplifies the experience of connecting a personal digital assistant (PDA) to a broadband Wi-Fi network, making the PDA a viable, solo device and allowing users take advantage of its smaller size, lighter weight and fast processing speeds. This updated version of the iPassConnectâ„? client operates on any device using Microsoft’s PocketPC 2002 operating system and contains many of the features of the Windows version of the iPassConnect client, including Global Broadband Roaming (GBR) and Internet phonebook updates.
The PocketPC version of iPassConnect interoperates with movianVPN by Certicom, a secure VPN client that allows users to securely connect to network based resources behind the corporate firewall. movianVPN is interoperable with leading VPN gateways from Cisco, Nortel Networks and Netscreen. Designed to meet the processing, bandwidth and battery constraints of a wireless device, movianVPN is simple to install, configure and use, providing VPN security without impacting the user experience.
iPass has recently converted its broadband billing to a usage-based model. Instead of paying a single fee for 24 hours of use – the industry standard – iPass bills users by the minute.
“Combining Wi-Fi capability, movianVPN and the pay-as-you-go billing, iPass has increased the productivity potential of handheld devices,” said Tony Rosati, vice president of marketing at Certicom. “iPass has long recognised that security, simplicity and convenience lead to greater productivity for the mobile workforce. iPassConnect for the PDA can improve productivity for enterprise workers on the go.”
“Toshiba has built Wi-Fi capability into our line of Pocket PCs,” said Oscar Koenders, vice president of product marketing and worldwide product planning at Toshiba’s Computer Systems Group. “Using a Wi-Fi enabled device like the Toshiba e740 Pocket PC with the iPass enterprise connectivity service makes it a powerful business tool. Now a user can easily and affordably connect to his e-mail or other network-based applications while waiting at an airport gate for a flight or even standing in line to check in at a hotel.”
iPassConnect 2.3 for Mac OS X
iPass believes that it is the first and only enterprise connectivity services provider to offer a client built for Apple Computer Mac OS X and Jaguar operating systems. iPassConnect 2.3 for Mac OS X, like its Windows-based counterpart, supports wireless and wired broadband venues on the iPass virtual network. iPass has had a client available to Mac users for OS 9.2 and earlier. The Mac OS X versions allow Macintosh computer users to now capitalise on all the latest features of iPassConnect with all the benefits of Apple’s latest operating system including support for Mac OS X versions 10.2, 10.2.1 and 10.2.2.
About iPass
iPass Inc. (www.ipass.com) provides software-enabled enterprise connectivity services that give employees secure access to information and applications on the corporate network from virtually any location in the world. iPass’ global virtual network offers employees a range of Internet protocol-based connectivity technologies, including wired and wireless broadband service at airports, hotels and conference centres worldwide. iPassConnectTM smart client can be easily deployed across multiple computing devices and operating systems within an enterprise. Once deployed, the iPass service gives the corporate IT department complete control over how network resources are accessed. Founded in 1996, iPass is headquartered in Redwood Shores, Calif., with offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.