Kaffe Bona Review

Contributed by Tim Williston

June 13, 2005

Hotspot Vitals:
Free Spot: Yes
Network Type: G
Power: Yes
Speed Test dn/up (kbps): 1507/1344
Location: 91st and Yale
Website: www.kaffebona.com

Today, I decided to try Kaffe Bona's wifi service.  This was my first visit to this classy coffee shop.  It was very easy to find at the Northwest corner of 91st and Yale.

Kaffe Bona resembles a typical coffee shop/cafe.  They have a few comfy couches in one corner, nice decoration, and the typical atmosphere.  They also have 4 desktop computers for use with LCD screens that anyone can use.  This must be a very popular place, because there were at least 4 other people in the store at the time surfing or working with their laptops.

There were plenty of outlets available all around the store.  This is a big plus for me and my power-hungry laptop.  I also found a huge negative, on the other hand... glass table tops, which make my USB optical mouse useless!  I try to use my mouse whenever I get a chance, so I had to use a piece of paper under the mouse so that I could use it!  But, for most people, this is probably not a big deal.

Connecting to their wireless network was simple and painless.  It only took a few seconds to connect and get an IP address and I was surfin' away!  From my location at the back of the store, I connected at 54.0 Mbps and with an excellent signal.  The speed test also proved pretty good, especially the upload speed.  One time, my signal dropped to 24.0 Mbps with very good signal, but it was only for a few seconds, and my iTunes radio signal at 128 Kbps never stalled.

All in all, I was very happy with my experience at this Kaffe Bona store.  I wish the tables were a little more "mouse friendly", but that's ok.  By the way, their cheesecake is very yummy!