Boingo Mobile comes to the iPhone/iPod touch

Good news for travelers or anyone who is frequently on the go: Boingo has just released Boingo Mobile [iTunes link] for the iPhone and iPod touch. Boingo Mobile is actually a pretty handy service, especially for the frequent traveler. For $7.95 a month (5.95 EUR, 3.95 GBP), you get unlimited data and VOiP access to all Boingo Mobile hotspot locations throughout the world. This includes practically every major airport, US Starbucks and McDonalds locations and an insane number of hotels.

I use the Boingo Unlimited service when working away from home (it's about the same price as adding HotSpot access to my cell phone and I get access to more networks) and Boingo Mobile is a great compliment to the service.

I played with Boingo Mobile at Starbucks today and what really stood out was the login process. You only have to authenticate once per Wi-Fi provider. So if you are at Starbucks, which is provided by AT&T, you select your hotspot from within the iPhone or iPod touch, login with Boingo Mobile and you're online.

If you go to another Starbucks or another AT&T provided hotspot, you will be automatically connected and authenticated. Although there are many thousands of hotspots, most are powered by a handful of providers -- authenticating once makes the login process that much more seamless.

For iPhone owners who want to use VOiP but don't want to run the risk of inciting AT&T's contract police, consider trying Boingo Mobile's 30-day free trial. Boingo Mobile is a free app and is available from the App Store [link]; Boingo Mobile accounts are $7.95 a month US and are separate from Boingo Unlimited plans.