WiFi coming to American Airlines flights

Business executives who can’t seem to wean themselves off e-mail, even in a short flight will be pleased to know that American Airlines could be bringing WiFi service to some of their flights in the near future as the airline company will soon roll out WiFi service tests on selected Boeing 767-200s. American Airlines will use Aircell’s Internet broadband connectivity gear in these jets, with the ultimate aim of equipping all 15 of their 767-200s with broadband service before the year is over.

While this development isn’t exactly new (in-flight broadband has been making its rounds for some time already, with Boeing’s Connexion launched at the turn of this century only to shut down a couple of years back due to low uptake. I suspect the price factor had a lot to do with it - $10 for half hour or $30 for the entire flight is just too much to ask, while folks flying economy do not have any power outlets at their seats to keep the passengers’ respective laptops juiced up for the entire flight duration), it is still interesting to see how American Airlines will approach pricing territory in order to achieve a profit. Other airlines that offer in-flight WiFi broadband connection include Jet Blue, German carrier Lufthansa, and Australia’s Qantas.

At press time, plans for the WiFi service will see it being implemented in just a few routes, namely transcontinental US flights. Of course, one will naturally expect some progress from there in the future, which means that the same service could possibly make its way to shorter flights down the road. Each plane will be outfitted with three antennae, where one on the top is for GPS while the other two will remain at the bottom. As for the broadband signal, it will come from Aircell’s 92 cellular towers which are strategically located across the continental 48 states, operating on the 3GHz frequency band. The 802.11b/g signal will be evenly distributed throughout the aircraft cabin via access points located in the ceiling. According to Aircell, the surfing experience will be close to that of using mobile 3G broadband. Word has it that this service will be priced at $10.

Cameraphone to function as a mouse?

Now this is rather weird, but researchers have successfully come up with a way to make your cameraphone function as a mouse - whenever you’re not receiving or making a call, naturally. This software relies on Bluetooth technology to keep it going, and enables the cell phone to interact with public displays. For example, users can obtain product information or purchase tickets simply by using the camera. Unfortunately, this idea still requires a great deal of work before it is ready for a commercial release since the image capture and image processing rate on the cell phone is rather slow, and you have to deal the with the lag.

Unplug from the electricity grid: Solar bags for the eco-minded

November 8, 2007 Adding to a growing selection of solar powered bagsand backpacks on the market, Office Depot has announced the release of a line of Voltaic solar charging bags that feature three lightweight, waterproof solar panels generating up to four watts of power - enough energy to charge nearly any handheld electronic device.

The bags can be used to charge Blackberrys, MP3 players, digital cameras, two-way radios, PDAs and nearly all brands of cell phones, however laptops prove too big a power challenge. Included with each bag is a Li-Ion battery pack, which clips inside the back pocket of the bags and stores any surplus power generated, so it is available when needed - not just when the sun is up. The battery pack can also be charged using an AC travel charger or car charger (both included).

Integrating the solar panels into the back pocket of the bag means there is no need to unpack and setup the panels and they are built into the back of the bag in a way that allows them to articulate, so the bag itself does not feel stiff or restrictive. The solar panels will charge a typical cell phone in 4-6 hours in direct sun. The panels are built on a strong but lightweight aluminum plastic composite, specifically selected to withstand the rigors of outdoor use. Further adding to the bags’ environmentally friendly credentials is the fact that the bags are also made largely from recycled plastic soda bottles.

Office Depot carries three products in the assortment: The Voltaic Converter Solar Charging Bag, which can be used as a standalone daypack, or can be easily attached to another bag by utilizing the included fastek buckles. It is fully padded to carry and protect a notebook computer, includes a lined MP3/sunglasses pouch and features high-density padding in the shoulder straps and back panel, and can be worn as a backpack or a sling bag.

The Voltaic Messenger Solar Charging Bag is aimed at the professional or businessperson traveling to the office and/or going on a short business trip while the Voltaic Solar Charging Backpack has 1,850 cubic inches of storage space, includes multiple pockets and wire channels for electronic devices. It also features high-density padding in the shoulder straps and back panel, a nylon mesh backing for better air flow, an adjustable phone/MP3 pouch on the shoulder strap, a padded laptop sleeve, and a lined pouch inside.

The bags and backpacks range in price from US$179.99 to US$219.99

The world’s cheapest new car – just US$2500

January 11, 2008 If you haven’t heard of India’s Tata Motor Company, rest assured you’ll certainly be hearing a lot more about it very soon. Tata is about to give the world’s automotive manufacturers a landmark lesson in production efficiency with the release of a 100,000 rupee car – that’s US$2500, brand spanking new. Unveiled last night, the Tata ‘NANO’, “the People’s Car” as it is rightfully dubbed, will bring motoring within the reach of millions when it is launched in India later in 2008. Like the four-minute-mile, now we’re aware that it can be done, we suspect that the auto industry is in for another shake-up thanks to the flow-on effects precipitated by this long-time innovative Indian company. Not yet impressed? Then try this for size – Tata Group has been named by Ford as the preferred buyer for its two up-for-sale brands, Jaguar and Land Rover.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi, Mr. Ratan N. Tata, chairman of the company that carries his name, said, “I observed families riding on two-wheelers – the father driving the scooter, his young kid standing in front of him, his wife seated behind him holding a little baby. It led me to wonder whether one could conceive of a safe, affordable, all-weather form of transport for such a family. Tata Motors’ engineers and designers gave their all for about four years to realise this goal. Today, we indeed have a People’s Car, which is affordable and yet built to meet safety requirements and emission norms, to be fuel efficient and low on emissions. We are happy to present the People’s Car to India and we hope it brings the joy, pride and utility of owning a car to many families who need personal mobility.”

The People’s Car, designed with a family in mind, has a roomy passenger compartment with generous leg space and head room. It can comfortably seat four persons. Four doors with high seating position make ingress and egress easy.

Yet with a length of 3.1 metres, width of 1.5 metres and height of 1.6 metres, with adequate ground clearance, it can effortlessly manoeuvre on busy roads in cities as well as in rural areas. Its mono-volume design, with wheels at the corners and the powertrain at the rear, enables it to uniquely combine both space and manoeuvrability, which will set a new benchmark among small cars.

When launched, the car will be available in both standard and deluxe versions. Both versions will offer a wide range of body colors, and other accessories so that the car can be customized to an individual’s preferences.

The People’s Car has a rear-wheel drive, all-aluminum, two-cylinder, 623 cc, 33 PS, multi point fuel injection petrol engine. This is the first time that a two-cylinder gasoline engine is being used in a car with single balancer shaft. The lean design strategy has helped minimize weight, which helps maximize performance per unit of energy consumed and delivers high fuel efficiency. Performance is controlled by a specially designed electronic engine management system.

The People’s Car’s safety performance exceeds current regulatory requirements. With an all sheet-metal body, it has a strong passenger compartment, with safety features such as crumple zones, intrusion-resistant doors, seat belts, strong seats and anchorages, and the rear tailgate glass bonded to the body. Tubeless tires further enhance safety.

The People’s Car’s tailpipe emission performance exceeds regulatory requirements. In terms of overall pollutants, it has a lower pollution level than many of the two-wheelers being manufactured in India today. The high fuel efficiency also ensures that the car has low carbon dioxide emissions, thereby providing the twin benefits of an affordable transportation solution with a low carbon footprint.

As for the company’s takeover of luxury car brands Land Rover and Jaguar, Tata said: “A lot of people have been making an issue of whether a car manufacturer that’s in the low end can also integrate with an upper-end luxury car enterprise… that assumes one is going to integrate the enterprise.”

He says the lack of overlap between Jaguar and Land Rover and Tata’s current low-cost vehicle line-up would be an advantage.

Like we said, watch this space.

Gibson's stunning Robot Les Paul tunes itself in seconds

January 10, 2008 Some of the best guitarists have an amazing ability to pick out which of their strings are out of tune and adjust them mid-song – for the rest of us, the tuning process can be an annoying time-waster – particularly on stage. We've written before about Transperformance's bolt-on self-tuning systems, but Gibson has recently become the first company to release a ready-made axe with the ability to adjust itself perfectly to a number of common tunings at the touch of a button. The Gibson Robot Guitar, which just received the NEWSTIPS "Best of Show" award at CES, also makes replacing strings and setting your intonation an absolute breeze. At US$2499, this intelligent Les Paul deserves to be a huge hit.

Guitars, like other stringed instruments, are quite organic and individual machines. Humidity, heat, setup and hard playing can cause subtle changes to the length and tension of their strings, so you've got to keep making small adjustments to keep the strings perfectly in tune. And there's few things more aggravating to even an average ear than a guitar that's just not quite tuned.

While this hasn't posed too much of a problem for a legion of electric guitar heroes over the last 70 years, it's always been a thorn in the side of beginners, and mid-set tune-ups on stage are an annoying and occasionally vibe-killing necessity for gigging musos who don't have guitar techs waiting offstage to hand them freshly strung and tuned axes after each song.

The Gibson Robot Guitar is built on the foundation of the Les Paul Standard, one of the most popular and iconic rock guitars ever. The intelligent upgrades include the Powerhead lockable motorized tuning pegs, a data transmitting tailpiece and tuning control unit, a Master Control Knob for the system and a neck-mounted electronic CPU brain.

Operating the Robot's auto-tuning system is very simple; pull out the control knob, select which one of the available tunings you want to use (Open E, Drop D, DADGAD, Open G, Hendrix tuning, Double Dropped D or one of your custom tuning presets), then let go with your left hand and strum the open strings. The servo-operated tuning pegs simultaneously bring all six strings into perfect tune within a couple of seconds. Quick, accurate and simple. You're then free to tune the strings manually as you play if you need to.

Re-stringing the guitar is exceptionally quick – just attach the string and engage the re-string mode – and the Robot even makes it a breeze to set your intonation, so each string will stay perfectly in tune with itself up and down the fretboard. Intonation mode does this by measuring the pitch of the open string against the pitch at the 12th fret, and indicating to you exactly how many half-turns clockwise or anticlockwise you need to turn that string's bridge screw. A normally difficult and confusing task made exceptionally simple.

The system is integrated beautifully with the guitar, and there's virtually no weight penalty - in fact the servo-operated Powerhead tuning pegs are actually lighter than the standard items.

In today's sad age of tiny attention spans, where kids are more interested in the "press the colored button" world of Guitar Hero than learning the intricacies of the real instrument, Gibson should be applauded for knocking down one more barrier to entry with this clever guitar. The Robot Guitar's pricing at USD$2499 is outstanding, considering the standard Les Paul retails for around US$1700, and the original Transperformance aftermarket bolt-on system went for up to US$3,000. Nice work Gibson!

Mitsubishi launches LaserTV and creates a new display category

anuary 10, 2008 This week in Las Vegas, Mitsubishi announced the world premiere of its new laser television and created a new television category into the bargain. The 65 inch sets on show at the Palms Casino launch looked incredibly good but with no traditional technologies to compare with, we’ll need to wait a bit longer before we can attempt to verify the company’s claim that it produces 80 percent of the color spectrum that the eye can see compared to the “less than 40% today's HDTVs” can display. There’s no info yet on pricing and availability is “later this year” but it’s definitely an exciting new development in home entertainment.

Mitsubishi has focussed its leadership in precision laser technology to produce the first-ever laser-powered television which uses laser beams to provide what it claims to be the widest range of rich, complex colors, along with the most clarity and depth of field.

The LaserTV category introduction represents a significant milestone in Mitsubishi's strategy to lead the large-format, high-definition television space. Mitsubishi has long been at the forefront of large-format and high-definition television innovation with its introduction of the big screen category in 1978 and, subsequently, the world's first 50-inch rear projection TV, first 35-inch color TV, and first 1080p DLP HDTV.

Mitsubishi’s LaserTVs are also capable of delivering a true 3D viewing experience, which was demonstrated at the launch in conjunction with leading 3D digital technology provider REAL D.

The Mitsubishi large-format LaserTVs provide the highest performance in HDTV, and they do so with low power consumption. While today's flat panel HDTVs consume significantly more energy than the analog TVs that they replace, LaserTVs are energy efficient, consuming less power than comparably sized flat-panel sets.

Pantech dual-LCD sliding phone with OLED touch screen keypad offering tactile feedback

May 9, 2007 Korean handset manufacturer Pantech will launch its new IM-R200 dual-LCD sliding phone onto the Korean market this month. The IM-R200 comes equipped with two screens – a 2 inch 260K QVGA TFT main display and a 1.6 inch 260K OLED touch-sensitive screen which replaces the standard keypad. When the phone is opened, the virtual keypad shows up on the touch-sensitive 1.6” 260K OLED LCD, allowing users to dial numbers and view contacts with the stroke of a finger. The advantage is that the touch screen keypad offers a fun and easy way to use its multimedia applications with separate and virtual interfaces for each function. For example, the touch sensitive LCD displays various lists of songs when the phone is used as a music player, while it shows camera functions when used as a camera. The capacitive touch screen vibrates when pressed, offering tactile feedback to give the feel of real buttons.

The dual camera – a 2 MPX camera and a VGA camera - mounted on the IM-R200 features face recognition function; it can recognize the shape of a face and automatically adjust exposure when shooting.

Other highlights include an MP3 player, 128 polyphonic ringtones, document viewer functionality, PictBridge and an electronic dictionary.

The IM-R200 will be launched in Korea this month under the SKY brand and will be supplied to SK Telecom and KTF, two of the top three wireless operators in Korea.

IM-R200 features include: CDMA 1x EV-DO Touch screen keypad with tactile feedback Size: 102.7 x 46.5 x 16.9 mm Weight: 104g