Tech for Travelers and Tourists

New products and services seek to enhance your journey--whether you're in the air, on the road, or on your feet.

Contributors to the Digital World blog

Be sure to visit the Digital World blog often to keep up-to-date on the latest high-tech gadgets and cool software.

Wi-Fi at 20,000 Feet

According to Wi-Fi Networking News, AirCell--the company that won a fair piece of the air-to-ground spectrum via its sister company AC BidCo--intends to roll out commercial service for in-flight wireless Internet access in the United States by the end of 2007. The rest of the Americas are expected to get on board a little while after. AirCell CEO and president Jack Blumenstein has talked about working out social factors (like, say, a plane full of people simultaneously on Skype) beforehand, and to be honest I expect that it just might work. But I still look at this in three ways:

The Good: I can check my e-mail without distractions while at 20,000 feet.

The Bad: People will know they can e-mail me while I'm at 20,000 feet.

The Ugly: The lines at security when everyone brings along a laptop, PSP, DS, or some other wireless gadget.

Emru Townsend

Sony to Sell Gadgets in Vending Machines

Late last year, vending machines stocked with Apple iPods and accessories began to appear in airports and other public areas. The machines, by a company called Zoom Systems, offer other impulse items, too--but iPods are the top seller.

Now Sony will start selling a variety of its products in branded Zoom Systems machines. According to TWICE, the machines will allow you to buy "Sony recordable media, batteries, headphones, Walkman MP3 players and CD players, Sony digital cameras, Sony Pictures DVD and UMD videos, Sony music CDs, VAIO PC accessories, and PlayStation games and PSP players" on the go, just in case you happen to need an on-the-spot gadget fix.

The test program starts today, in malls in Atlanta; Boulder, Colorado; and Santa Rosa, California. More malls and airports will be added in the coming months.

Emru Townsend

Drive More Safely With the Drivaware LaneFX

Most of the time, when consumer electronics meet the automotive world, you get more stereo options and DVD players in the back seat. But PC World's Gadget Freak columnist Dan Tynan recently discussed all sorts of new and upcoming car-related gizmos and their potential.

Drivaware has come up with something useful: the LaneFX, a controller that connects your power mirrors to your turn signals, so that when you signal (you do signal before you turn, right?), your mirrors swivel outward to show your blind spot. Hey, if this keeps just one cyclist out of the hospital, I'm happy.

Emru Townsend

DIY Tourism

I have two problems with audio tours when I'm on vacation: 1) the looking-like-a-tourist factor and 2) the cleanliness factor, a paranoia that I had confirmed on a trip I took last month to Mexico (let's just say the earphones they gave me weren't exactly, uh, clean).

A company called Audissey Guides has solved both of those problems. For $12.95, you can download MP3 walking tours for different cities, including Boston, Chicago, and Seattle. (The company is also working on Hollywood, Miami Beach, and New Orleans.) You can transfer these audio files to your player of choice, and then you can blend into the scenery like a local--no flipping through giant guidebooks or wrestling oversize maps. The tours aren't narrated by some James Earl Jones-wannabe either: They're done by locals, such as a Seattle fishmonger or an FBI agent who helped bust Boston's Mafia boss.

Cathy Lu

Short Takes

Amazon, Your Online Grocer: I must admit, I was a little bummed when Webvan went out of business. I took some time the other day to check out Amazon.com's new Grocery site (still in beta). It's like a virtual trip to Costco: Pringles come in packs of 14, Cheerios in packs of 7, ranch dressing in packs of 6. One nice thing is that items qualify for free Super Saver shipping (provided you're not in a hurry to receive that ranch dressing).

Cathy Lu

Rockabilly USB Flash Drives: Late last year the Massachussetts-based Mimoco released Mimobots USB flash drives, designed to look like bizarrely cute figures, preloaded with music and animation, and issued in limited quantities. This year guest artists have come up with new, themed designs. A trio of rockabilly-inspired characters--Betty-Lou, Link, and Ramona--make up the Ginchy series, designed by Lili Chin, co-creator of the cartoon Mucha Lucha. The flash drives range from 256MB ($49.95) to 2GB ($144.95).

Emru Townsend

Walkie-Talkie Watches: When I was a kid, I always got a shiver of excitement reading the weekend Dick Tracy strip because of four tiny words: "Two-way wrist radio." And now I, too, will be able to call for backup when Flattop and Pruneface bust out of the joint. New walkie-talkie watches will set you back $109 altogether, but you'll be able to stay in touch with your fellow gumshoe over a 3-kilometer range (just under 2 miles).

Emru Townsend