It has been brought to my attention that some people are not familiar with the PingWi-Fi mission, so here is the news release distributed from San Francisco:
Blogger Launches PingWi-Fi Tour At San Francisco International Airport; Huge T-Mobile HotSpot Is Irresistible Attraction For Wireless Explorer
SAN FRANCISCO — PingWi-Fi will explore all things wireless — coast to coast — for one year, beginning with a press conference in the International Terminal at San Francisco International Airport. His first challenge: the acreage – rather than square footage – of the SFO T-Mobile HotSpot.
“SFO is one of the largest Wi-Fi hotspots in the country, filled with a very cool collection of businesses onsite,” said blogger D. Kent Pingel. “This T-Mobile HotSpot sets the bar extremely high on the official day one of the tour.”
The PingWi-Fi project will cover the United States with a combination of roadtrips and air travel – while staying connected 24/7. Along the way, the blog content will include technology, film festivals, professional sports, rock concerts, lots of airports – and of course inflight Wi-Fi on Southwest Airlines and other carriers.
Pingel begins the journey armed with an HP laptop, a Blackberry 8820 from T-Mobile, an iPhone from AT&T, a Panasonic digital/Wi-Fi camera and a Kodak digital as well. However, the tools will change as the blogger “test drives” road warrior gadgets – flip phones, Androids, antennae, laptops, notebooks, projectors, GPS units, BlueTooth headsets, printers and more.
The new PingWi-Fi site includes sponsorship opportunities, travel reports, wireless reviews, photography, celebrity interviews (ranging from network newsmen Bob Schieffer and Major Garrett to rockers Buck Dharma of Blue Oyster Cult and Joe Strummer of The Clash). There’s even a section dedicated to imaginary rock bands … “for no good reason at all.”
Pingel achieved Blogosphere notoriety, including “Best of the Web” from Forbes, for his first Wi-Fi blog. For that project, the journalist logged 18,000 miles during a 43-city tour.
