The Boingo software, also announced today, enables E28 dual-mode smartphones to seamlessly and transparently authenticate to Boingo’s 45,000 Wi-Fi hotspots worldwide. Users of the E28 phones will be able to turn on their devices and enjoy a broadband Wi-Fi connection when in range of any Boingo hot spot venue, such as hotels, airports, convention centers, truck stops, and retail stores around the world.

The open source Boingo Embedded Wi-Fi Toolkit is platform-independent and available for download by developers from SourceForge.net (http://boingowifitool.sourceforge.net). It is currently available for Windows Mobile 2003, BREW and Linux, and includes a porting guide. As long as improvements to the core software module are republished to the open source community, no license fees are required. The code is also available under a commercial license, which eliminates the need to republish changes.

“As a leading proponent of Linux for handsets we believe strongly in the open source model as a way to bring advanced phone features to market in a cost effective way,” said Michael Chu, VP of Marketing & Chief Software Architect of E28 Limited. “Boingo’s toolkit made it easy to add in market-leading Wi-Fi connectivity features that will give our dual-mode handset users the ability to benefit from low-cost VoIP services while in a hot spot.”

Under the terms of the open source license, the software created by E28 will be available to other developers. The independently developed source code, which will be posted to the Boingo Embedded Wi-Fi Toolkit project on SourceForge.net by the end of May 2006, is the first in a series of expected software ports from developers around the globe.

”Consumers worldwide will soon be taking advantage of innovative and cost-saving communications options thanks to forward-thinking companies like E28, which has completely supported our open source program,” said Jonathan Mendelson, Director of Business Development for Devices at Boingo Wireless. “With this software now available to other developers, the Linux world is free to envision new ways of incorporating public access Wi-Fi in portable devices.”

About E28
E28 Limited is a world leading smart information device solution provider with headquarter in Shanghai of China. It provides Linux mobile smart information device solutions to mobile manufacturers, operators and network partners flexibly from a PCB board level to the total device solution level. E28 provides solutions with customized formats according to customers’ needs which including hardware, software & user interface. It has R&D center in both Shanghai & Hongkong with offices in Shanghai, Hongkong & Chicago. E28 Limited recently has just commercialized a most practical GSM/Wi-Fi Dual-Mode Smartphone to contribute to the FMC society. E28 Limited is also a member of MobileIGNITE, the world’s leading industry association fostering collaboration to accelerate FMC. E28 limited is one of the major movers of mobile Linux OS, mobile VoIP and FMC. E28 limited claimed that all their future smartphone platforms are Wi-Fi enabled with more attractive form factors. For more information about E28 and its subsidiaries, visit www.e28.com.