With the announcement a couple weeks ago that Southwest has finally set a date for the testing of their in-flight Internet connectivity it seems that the majority of the US-based carriers have something in the works.  Runway Girl has a couple good posts (Post 1; Post 2) about the various options, but I haven’t been able to find an exhaustive list of all the offerings from all the carriers.  So I decided to put one together.  Here are the airlines, the service and the status of the deployment efforts:

• American Airlines - Aircell’s gogo service currently operational on 767s for NYC-LAX/SFO/MIA routes.
• Alaska Air - Row 44, currently planned for testing on a single plane.
• Jet Blue - LiveTV, but only on one plane and no word on when additional rollout will happen.
• Continental - LiveTV on the entire domestic-focused fleet, starting in January ‘09
• Delta - Aircell’s gogo service, expected on the MD8x planes first and on the entire fleet by mid-2009
• Frontier - Likely LiveTV since they already use the service for television on the planes, but I haven’t seen an official release.
• United - Nothing planned/announced
• US Airways - Nothing planned/announced, though back in February they said they were looking at it.  The fact that they are pulling the entertainment systems to save weight makes me suspect of their ability to actually get it into their planes soon, particularly since they have nothing specific announced, but they supposedly are looking at it.
• Southwest - Row 44, currently planned for testing in Q4 ‘08
• Virgin America - Aircell’s gogo service coming soon and will be fleet-wide.

The Aircell and LiveTV services are both terrestrial, which Row 44 is a satellite-based solution.  Row 44 and Aircell’s gogo are both supposed to be “full” Internet service while LiveTV is very up front about the fact that they are providing access to a very limited subset of the internet, and they’ve increased the content available recently.

Hopefully this helps (and I didn’t mess up the details too much).  If I did, I’m sure you’ll let me know.

• 0 Comments

Back in May I posted about an impending change from the TSA to allow some laptops to be screened without having to remove them from their bags, like the rest of the modern world does it.  Well, today’s the day. 

The TSA even offers some “helpful” comments about the new policy, including this gem:

Given TSA’s use of random screening protocols, TSA reserves the right to re-screen any bag or laptop regardless of the design of the bag.

If you’re shopping for a new bag anytime soon I’d definitely consider a model that meets these specifications, but I still haven’t seen one that is actually nice and meets the requirements. 

• 0 Comments

Hold on to your hats folks, Nokia are at it again. Now, apparently, after several generations of happy functionality Nokia have decided that Blackberry is the Root of All Evil. More after the break.  Read the rest of this entry »

• 5 Comments

If you plan to bring your technology abroad this summer, be sure to check these 5 quick tips:

1) The voltage

Before you even think of plugging your electronic device into a foreign outlet, you need to check the voltage in that country, and the voltage compatibility on your device. I’ve posted about this in the past so I suggest reading that and checking your power supplies.

2) Mobile phone roaming enabled and possible at your destination?

Most mobile operators do not turn international roaming on by default. If I had a nickel for every time someone emailed me complaining that their mobile phone "could not get a signal" at their destination, I’d have a couple of bucks.

There are 2 things to check before taking your phone with you:

Read the rest of this entry »

• 0 Comments

In the same week that United Airlines announced that they’d start charging $15 for every piece of checked luggage, they began rolling out their newest in-flight entertainment system.

United guests may now reach cruising altitude with a new, personalized in-flight entertainment system. United is the first U.S. carrier to offer iPod and iPhone connectivity to its in-flight entertainment system, enabling customers to enjoy their individual content on a 15.4-inch personal television, all while the iPod or iPhone charges.

The first aircraft with iPod and iPhone connectivity is scheduled to depart at 5:40 p.m. from Washington, D.C. to Zurich as United #936, and it will fly primarily on trans-Atlantic routes. United’s entire fleet of international, widebody aircraft are being reconfigured over the next two years with lie-flat seats, on-demand entertainment, and iPod and iPhone connectivity in first and business class.

“Our guests may now watch or listen to what they want, when they want with programming they choose,” says Graham Atkinson, United Airlines – executive vice president and Chief Customer Officer. “United will continue to provide services and technology that makes our customers’ travel experiences more relaxed and enjoyable."

I love the last part of the press release. I guess adding an iPod charging port makes up for all the other stuff they took away from us. Of course, knowing United, the chances of this new entertainment system making its way to domestic flights is next to nothing.

Source: United Airlines press release

• 1 Comment

One thing all these newfangled notebooks have in common is their insane heat. It’s enough to be far too uncomfortable to want anywhere near your unmentionables.

This pocket fan from cooler maker Cradia might be just what the doctor ordered.

It’s made for machines 10 inches and up, and unfolds from a small box into what can only be described as a guy lying on his back. It even has a built in USB hub. The bad news? It looks like it’s only going to be available in Korea.

Source: Aving.net

• 0 Comments

If you took my advice, and downloaded Firefox 3.0 this afternoon, then my blog hero Gina Trapani over at Lifehacker.com has 10 awesome tips on making it even better.

They vary from simple little things like making icons smaller, to some pretty nifty tips like a quick way to remove individual URL’s from the address bar. Oh, and don’t forget the best one; the robot easter egg.

Lifehacker.com

• 0 Comments

I was going to post this sooner, but Mozilla had some minor issues with their servers (they were down). But now everything is back to normal, so it’s time to help them get the world record for most downloads in a day.

You’ll find the download links here. Best of luck to Mozilla in breaking this record!

• 0 Comments

My review of the day is of the "La Fresh travel packets" kit. This is a pretty low-tech product but something I’m convinced everyone could use in their carry-on.

The La Fresh travel packets are small pouches with a variety of single use products. They come in 2 versions; one for men, and one for women.

The male version contains (one of each of) the following sachets: 

• Shaving Gel
• Anti bacterial towelette
• Show shine towelette
• Minty Mitt dental cleaning mitt
• Lens cleaning towelette
• Deodorant towelette

The female version contains (one of each of) the following sachets: 

• Makeup remover towelette
• Eye and lip makeup remover towelette
• Anti bacterial towelette
• Minty Mitt dental cleaning mitt
• Hydrating lotion towelette
• Deodorant towelette

The contents of the male (L) and female (R) La Fresh travel packets kit.

Read the rest of this entry »

• 0 Comments

Some of the goodies I’ve got lined up to review this week:

• NEAT Receipts
• Otterbox Defender case for the Blackberry 8800
• Parrot MINIKit Bluetooth carkit
• Nokia N810
• SPOT Satellite Personal Tracker
• Plantronics .Audio 480 headset

• 0 Comments