Mobile Computing Tips: Web Access on Planes to Take Off

What the airlines plan to offer Net-savvy travelers, plus new products and tips.

James A. Martin

Feature: Airline Net Access Taking Off Slowly

Before September 11, several airlines had announced plans to offer high-speed Internet access services to their passengers in the not-too-distant future. After September 11, many of those airlines, in an effort to survive after the severe drop-off in traffic, discontinued or indefinitely postponed those plans.

Nearly a year later, there are signs that onboard Internet access is about to take off again, albeit slowly. Here's what's up.

Verizon Airfone's Data Service

You can dial into corporate networks and ISPs via Verizon Airfones installed on some 2300 aircraft. But the service's 9.6-kilobits-per-second average access speeds and $2-per-minute connectivity charges make this an unpalatable option for most travelers.

Verizon is rolling out a data service, accessed from existing Airfones, that enables notebook users to surf Web content cached on a plane's server and accessed via the plane's local-area network. The service will be offered over the next several months on approximately 100 planes by two domestic airlines, according to a Verizon spokesperson.

Verizon's service, which is accessed by connecting a notebook to the Airfone handset via a RJ-11 cord, includes news, weather, sports, travel, and other content updated every 15 minutes via a satellite link. Verizon wouldn't release the names of the participating airlines, but more details would be forthcoming soon, a spokesperson said.

Initially, Verizon's data service will be limited to the cached Web content and to instant messaging (with a 15-minute delay). For e-mail, you'll have to use the dial-up service already available. Pricing has not been finalized, but passengers can expect to pay a flat rate of $5 to $10 per flight for the data service, the spokesperson said. Verizon has plans to offer broadband Internet access, though no details were available.

British Airways and Lufthansa Test Connexion by Boeing

European-based international carriers British Airways and Lufthansa have announced plans to launch Connexion by Boeing, a broadband Internet service developed by the aircraft manufacturer. Lufthansa will begin offering the service on a trial basis in January 2003, with British Airways beginning a three-month trial in February.

Connexion by Boeing uses satellites to send and receive data from transceivers mounted on airplanes. The in-flight broadband technology lets you connect your notebook via Ethernet to an onboard LAN and surf the Web, send e-mail, and view live TV broadcasts at Digital Subscriber Line-like speeds.

At the moment, British Airways and Lufthansa are the only airlines that have announced plans to go forward with the service, says Sean Griffin, spokesperson for Connexion by Boeing. American, Delta, and United are committed to the broadband onboard service, he says, and Boeing has been "working with" a half-dozen other interested airlines, but Griffin couldn't say when those airlines might be offering the service.

"The airlines are committed to broadband service not just for their passengers, but to improve airline operations as well," Griffin points out. In the event of delays, for instance, a flight attendant could use Connexion by Boeing to rebook passengers who might not make their connecting flights. New boarding passes could be printed and handed out before the plane lands, Griffin says.

Internet access fees haven't been determined, according to Griffin.

Cathay Pacific and Varig Brazil Launch Tenzing Service

Cathay Pacific expects to outfit about half its 66 planes with Tenzing Communications' in-flight Internet service by year's end. The remaining fleet should be online by year-end 2003, according to Laura Alikpala, Tenzing's director of marketing.

Varig Brazil is installing the system on six Boeing 777s, with service expected to be available later this year or early in 2003, Alikpala says. Currently, no domestic airlines are scheduled to offer Tenzing's service, due to post-September 11 financial conditions, according to Alikpala.

Last year, Air Canada introduced Tenzing's system on five jets but ended the trial after September 11 without making a commitment to equip additional planes. Similarly, Singapore Airlines stopped its tests and postponed further plans to equip its aircraft with the Tenzing service.

The Tenzing service will initially let you send and receive e-mail for about $10 per flight, with additional fees for downloading and uploading messages, Alikpala says.

For further reading on in-flight Internet access, check out the following PCWorld.com stories:

• "In-Flight Internet Service Prepares for Takeoff" (April 10, 2002)
• "Airborne Web Surfing Goes on Hold" (November 29, 2001)

Notebooks

Tip: Free Shipping Doesn't Always Mean the Lowest Price

Buy.com, in an attempt to one-up online superstore rival Amazon.com, is currently waiving the shipping charges on all products including notebooks, PDAs, and other electronics. But that doesn't mean Buy.com's bottom-line price (the cost of the product, plus tax and shipping) is always the lowest.

For instance, in a recent check using PCWorld.com's Product Finder, the lowest bottom-line price for a particular IBM ThinkPad R31 configuration was $1589.23 from PCU Direct (a four-and-a-half-star retailer), including $12.95 for shipping. By comparison, the bottom-line price at Buy.com (a four-star retailer) was $1729.91, a difference of $140.68 despite the free shipping.

For more about Buy.com's and Amazon.com's free shipping policies, see "Online Stores Look to Lure More Shoppers."

News: Shecom's Portable DVD Recorder

An external, recordable DVD drive is ideal for notebook users who need serious data backup on the go--or who want to offload digital video from their computer. Among the new recordable DVD devices recently announced is an external model from Shecom. The vendor's Ikebana DVD+RW/+R ($459) offers both FireWire and USB 2.0 interfaces, writes to DVD+RWs and DVD+Rs at 2.4X speed, and reads DVD-ROMs at 8X speeds. The device also reads CD-ROMs at 32X and writes to CD-Rs at 12X and CD-RWs at 10X. You can read about the latest recordable DVD drives at "Recordable DVD Options Abound."

Tip: Wrap Your Notebook in Denim

You dress down on Fridays, so why shouldn't your notebook? A company called Seale & Hull, Inc. offers a variety of customizable notebook case styles, including denim, khaki, and tie-dye for a casual look and purple velvet and leopard print for when you're in a more exotic mood. You can even add a picture frame for your favorite photo. Cases vary in price, but most are around $20 to $30. Be sure before you buy: The customized cases aren't returnable.

Handhelds

News: The Latest IPaq

Hewlett-Packard has announced new models of the IPaq Pocket PC line it acquired in its merger with Compaq. The IPaq Pocket PC H3950 and H3970 feature new color LCD screens that combine rich colors and high contrast while maintaining legibility in bright sunlight, according to the company. The IPaq's Expansion Pack allows you to plug in a networking card, a additional battery, or a Bluetooth short-range wireless networking card. The H3950 starts at $649 and the H3970 is $749.

News: Dell PDA Reportedly in the Pipeline

The PC maker is reportedly planning to introduce a high-end Pocket PC PDA of its own, according to a market-analysis firm's recent research report. Dell currently resells PDAs from Palm, Sony, Casio, and NEC, and it may be looking for a branded PDA of its own to compete against the IPaq, the report speculates. Dell has said publicly it's looking at new markets such as handhelds, but wouldn't comment on the PDA.

News: The World's Lightest Color PDA

Measuring 2.7 by 4.4 by 0.5 inches and weighing 4.2 ounces, Sharp's new SL-A300 Zaurus is the world's lightest color PDA, the company claims. The device runs Linux and Java (as opposed to the Palm or Pocket PC operating systems). When connected to a computer via USB cable, it can act as an external hard drive. The new Zaurus will be introduced in Japan for about $400 and will be released overseas with slightly different technical specs this year.

Wireless

News: Call Up PC Files on Your Mobile Phone

Exego, a new nationwide service from Verizon Wireless, lets you use a mobile phone to access and transfer PC files. The service costs $6 per month plus airtime charges and runs on only two models from Verizon: the color Sharp Z-800 ($400) and the black-and-white Kyocera 3035e ($50). Currently, you can forward files to a PC via e-mail or instant messaging, but you cannot view them. Files must be uploaded to a server to transfer them; 5MB of storage space is included in the monthly fee.

Drop Me a Line

Don't know the difference between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi? Can't figure out where to find the lowest notebook prices? Send your questions about notebooks, PDAs, and wireless services to james_martin@pcworld.com for possible publication (with answers, of course) in future issues of this newsletter.