Barcelona: Hewlett-Packard (HP) is trying to regain its number one ranking in the PC industry by extending its alliance with iPass to offer its customers global WiFi network.
HP is making it simple and affordable for customers to connect to the internet on select HP notebook and tablet PCs, and stay connected by extending its collaboration beyond the Asia-Pacific and Japan.
Both the companies signed a deal in 2006 to offer the services in Asia Pacific and Japan while iPass services are available to users in over 160 countries.
“We’ve heard from our customers that as they become increasingly mobile, they need affordable, seamless connectivity no matter where they are located across the globe,” said Michael Park, vice-president and general manager of mobility at HP Inc.
HP’s notebooks, hybrid PCs, phablets and tablets with the iPass option will be able to access millions of hotspots on the iPass global WiFi network for one, two, or three years and with Last Mile VPN encryption at no additional cost starting this year.
HP lost its number one ranking to Lenovo in 2012 and in 2015, HP had a market share of 18.2 per cent compared to Lenovo’s 19.8 per cent, according research firm Gartner.
Gartner’s outlook for PC shipments in 2016 is for a decline of one per cent compared with 2015, with the potential for a soft recovery in late 2016.
“We are excited to continue our collaboration with iPass to bring its global WiFi network to our customers, even while travelling, so they can keep doing amazing things and stay connected in more places,” Park said.
Gary Griffiths, CEO of iPass, said that it is paramount for people to have secure and easy access to WiFi to stay connected to what matters most to them.
