5/02/2008 at 12:05 PM
Tags: WiFi, Free WiFi, Airport WiFi, Boingo, Deals, Cell Phones (all tags)
Big-time WiFi contractor Boingo, which handles net access at heaps of airports around the world, is now offering iPhone and iPod Touch users 15 minutes of free access at 28 of its US, Canadian and UK airports. The promo is currently only for Apple users, but the company plans to expand the free 15 minutes to Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Windows Mobile users soon.
What's the catch? Not much of one: You'll just see a 15-second ad before you're free to surf. Boingo is ramping up its mobile offerings, and the promo gives the company a chance to do a little market research. In our view, it's win-win.
In the UK, you can jump online at London Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted as well as at Edinburgh Airport and a couple others. In North America, there are a couple dozen airports in on the promo, with BWI, HOU, IAH, JFK, LGA, ORD and YYZ among them.
Related Stories:
· Airport WiFi Map [Jaunted]
· WiFi coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: pouwerkerk]
by pbb
4/21/2008 at 11:30 AM
Tags: Cell Phones, In-Flight Cell Phones, Air France (all tags)
Airphones are so 2007.
The test results are in from the first in-flight cell phone experiments on Air France. Trouble connecting and bad sound quality were among the annoying technical glitches reported--which should mean a few more months of solitude!
Other issues reported? The per minute charge of €3 ($4.75) and the fact that only six passengers at a time can chat. A rep from OneAir, the company responsible for the in-flight technology, claims that the number could more than double in the coming weeks. Uh, terrific?
Still, even with a kink-free in-flight calling experience, the question remains: Who wants to endure a Chatty Cathy for eight hours? Apparently Air France is hoping, the answer is a bunch of European travelers.
Related Stories:
· Europe Begins Testing In-Flight Use of Cellphones [NYT]
· Cell Phones coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: mikemacadaan]
by pbb
4/09/2008 at 4:36 PM
Tags: In-Flight WiFi, Cell Phones (all tags)
Air France may let its passengers yak away, but don't expect to hear any cell phone calls above the States just yet. As far as we've heard, no American carrier wants to offer phone calls. (Though there's one JetBlue plane that will let you use your BlackBerry to surf the web.)
The silence is thanks to a confluence of factors, not least of which is the FCC, which was inundated with "Oh noes!" after it tried to lift a ban on in-flight yapping. The Flight Attendants Association has also been pushing hard to limit airborne calls so that its members won't have to deal with idiots who refuse to put down their phones.
Even airlines which would theoretically have VoIP calling capability, like AA and Virgin America, won't be allowing it. So for now you can rest easy that your flight won't be interrupted--except by that little blooping sound every time a new IM rolls in.
Related Stories:
· Why US Airlines Still Won't Join the Mobile Mile-High Club [PM]
· In-Flight WiFi: No Phones for You! [Jaunted]
[Photo: pouwerkerk]
by pbb
4/04/2008 at 10:05 AM
Tags: Cell Phones, Airlines, In-Flight WiFi (all tags)
While on the American side of the Atlantic, the popular opinion is that the last thing plane passengers want is for their neighbor to be allowed to chat away on a cell phone, over in Europe they've been considering the idea more seriously. And now the opportunity has arrived, with Air France.
They've already had a three-month trial of in-flight text messaging, and this week Air France has started to allow passengers to make cell phone calls while they're in the air. Their theory is that they'll give it a go and see how passengers react, before deciding whether or not they'll limit things to a text message only service.
If you're still worried about cell phone use causing your plane to crash, don't worry too much: The dangers are apparently all on landing and the Air France service is only activated about 9,800 feet. The system allows unlimited SMSs to fly through the air and up to six passengers will be able to make phone calls at once. So for a noisier-than-usual flight, check out Air France soon. Call us when you do.
Related Stories:
· Air France Tests In-Flight Mobile Phone Service [IHT]
· In-Flight Wi-Fi: No Phones for You [Jaunted]
· Cell Phones Still a Danger in the Air [Jaunted]
[Photo: Gastev]
by amandak
1/23/2008 at 2:57 PM
Tags: Alitalia, Cell Phones (all tags)
When the captain of your Alitalia flight tells you to turn off your mobile, you'd better do it. After asking three passengers to stop chatting three times, he'd had enough and called in the cops. After they got dragged off the plane, everyone else could finally fly from Milan to Bari.
Normally we wouldn't give any press to these three jerks. But the fact that these were Italian guys makes this story so perfect. We can just picture them with their sweaters elegantly draped over their shoulders, hair perfectly coiffed, screaming into their tiny little phones.
Still, no matter how good you look, you gotta follow the rules on airplanes. Even in Italy.
Related Stories:
· Take-off Aborted Over Mobile Phone [News.com.au]
· Will Cell Phones Bring Down a Plane? [Jaunted]
· Where Cell Phones Now Dare to Tread [Jaunted]
[Photo: Dom Dada]
by pbb
11/20/2007 at 11:14 AM
Tags: Holiday Travel, Cell Phones, Peter Greenberg (all tags)
Long ago Fark's Drew Curtis hit the nail on the head when talking about the media's treatment of holiday travel:
Every single holiday, every local AAA chapter contacts their local Mass Media outlets to notify them that traffic will be bad. Here's a concept: Why not tell us when traffic won't be bad.
Of course, we all know that mass media, like the rest of us, doesn't really like to work during holiday time. Thus canned broadcast and newspaper stories are the rule rather than the exception, during times like these. Who do we really feel bad for on days like today? Guys like our boy Peter Greenberg, an absolute wealth of great travel information, who was in the ATL airport this morning answering silly travel questions from Today show viewers. However, the look you see on Peter's face in the above photo is not a reaction to a viewer question, it is a reaction to Today Show host Natalie Morales asking Peter to confirm that using a cell phone in-flight won't "bring down the plane". Yeah.
Peter eases Natalie's fears and tells us that cell phone usage is simply bad etiquette and WiFi is the direction airlines are going. However, WiFi on planes is also fraught with etiquette threats. Of course there is Skype, but does anyone remember the whole flying podcast thing?
The takeaway from all this? Air traffic and auto traffic is going to be heavy over the next couple of days and airline WiFi needs to take a movie theater approach to the uncouth. If you need more info, the story is now "breaking" on CNN.
Related Stories:
· Holiday Travel Coverage [Jaunted]
· Drew Curtis's Book [Amazon]
· Official Site [Peter Greenberg]
by markj
5/23/2007 at 10:47 AM
Tags: Mountain Climbing, Mountains, Cell Phones, Himalayas (all tags)
Adventure travel has just got a bit less exciting, after a British guy made the first phone call and sent the first text message from the peak of Mt Everest. In a nice piece of advertising for Motorola, who sponsored the attempt, Rod Baber texted:
One small text for man, one giant leap for mobilekind - thanks Motorola.
And no, he didn't write that himself. He also made a phone call giving pearls of wisdom like "The Himalayas are everywhere", "It's cold" and "I cannot wait to get back".
China Telecom recently installed a mast at the Rongbuk base station, close to the summit, and the ability to use cell phones will obviously aid rescue efforts when climbers get in trouble. But it'll also aid the increase of the kind of unnecessary, obvious text messages people often send when they've got nothing to do. Don't try it yourself unless you're well prepared, though. Taking your gloves off to write the text message would probably get your fingers snap frozen and useless.
Related Stories:
· "I Can't Feel My Toes": Everest Mobile Call [UK Times]
· World's Most Dangerous Airports: Himalayas [Jaunted]
by amandak
4/27/2007 at 1:30 PM
Tags: Museums, Skybus, Cell Phones (all tags)
As long as the tourist horde is preparing to descend on Columbus, Ohio, we thought we'd try to be a little helpful and suggest something to do if you get stranded. (NB: You might not be on the phone rescheduling with Skybus. They do have a phone number but probably won't be too thrilled to see you found it.)
So who you gonna call? How 'bout the Columbus Museum of Art, which recently started cell phone tours of the museum. Yep, instead of that weird audio stick thing, you can now get expert commentary on the art in front of you directly on your cell. Once you're on the line, you dial in a code next to any particular piece of art to hear more about it.
There's no charge for the service--other than using your minutes, obviously--and museum admission is $6. We'd call that a deal.
[Photo: AmyMo]
Related Stories:
· Columbus Museum of Art [Official Site]
· Skybus Early Web Buzz-o-Meter [Jaunted]
· Skybus Owns Columbus Ohio [Jaunted]
by pbb
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