Hasta La Gadget!

On a flight yesterday from JFK to Austin, JetBlue finally decided to flip the switch on Fly-Fi, giving lucky passengers an early look at the airline’s next-generation in-flight WiFi for the very first time. A flight attendant announced the service — which is free until 30 planes are retrofitted — and passengers seated around me pulled out their laptops, tablets and smartphones and tried to hop online. Unfortunately, a recent update caused unexpected performance issues, and Fly-Fi’s speed and consistency fell far short. When a flight attendant asked the woman seated in front if me if she had enjoyed her experience at the end of the flight, she responded with “not so much.” It wasn’t looking good for JetBlue.

I had booked my return to New York on the same aircraft, and following a 20-minute BBQ pitstop at AUS, I got back on board. The issues we experienced on the first flight — allegedly caused by an incorrect DNS-server listing on the network side — were completely resolved, making our three-hour hop back to Kennedy Airport much more pleasant. The experience was completely different, though we were offline for 30 minutes or so as we passed over Louisiana and Mississippi. Ultimately, Fly-Fi, which utilizes the ViaSat-1 satellite positioned over North America, was in line with the ViaSat service I’ve tried on the ground — when it works, it blows the competition out of the water. It’s as close as you’ll get to the internet you’re used to at home, and it certainly outshines connectivity in pretty much any airline terminal.

Filed under: Transportation, Wireless, Mobile

Comments

HopTo has been hard at work solving what it feels are the three basic productivity problems while working on an iPad: file storage, interoperability and multitasking. Of course, not everyone has a tablet to begin with, so hopTo has risen to the occasion in order to solve a fourth by hooking up one lucky Engadget reader with a brand new iPad Air. The free app just landed in the App store this month and it’s worth a look, offering convenient access to cloud storage providers, Microsoft Office file editing and even remote access to your computer, all straight from your slate. Having an iPad Air with all that on board could definitely help take some weight off your shoulders in more ways than one. So it seems the only problem left to solve is whether to enter one time or maybe four (down at the Rafflecopter widget below). Do ya feel lucky? Well do ya?

Filed under: Announcements, HD, Mobile, Alt

Comments

Motorola just gave Americans a surprise holiday gift: it’s now selling an unlocked version of the Moto G in the US. Starting today, you can purchase both 8GB ($179) and 16GB ($199) editions of the entry-level smartphone with HSPA+ data optimized either for most US carriers (including AT&T and T-Mobile) or for international travel. Any orders placed today should ship by December 2nd, although you’ll have to be content with a black shell — the phone’s colored backs and flip covers are “coming soon.” Those on CDMA networks will still have to wait until January to get a Moto G of their own, but everyone else can start shopping at the source link.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google, AT&T, T-Mobile

Comments

Via: Official Motorola Blog

Source: Motorola

Between social networks and a near infinite number of messaging apps, there are frankly too many ways us humans can keep in touch. With so many platforms competing for a slot in your app drawer, some are attempting to absorb SMS traffic and become your one-stop messaging shop. Google Hangouts was updated a month ago with SMS support (stock Android 4.4 KitKat does away with a pre-loaded SMS app altogether), and now Samsung’s ChatON for Android has followed suit. The latest version of the app allows you to set it as your SMS/MMS inbox, though the feature is only live in Germany and Brazil at the moment. Not that anyone uses ChatON, but it’s another mixture of cellular and data threads that’s a recipe for confusion. Facebook recently killed SMS integration from its messaging app due to poor uptake, probably because users still prefer the distinction. Everyone uses Snapchat exclusively now anyway, right?

Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Software, Mobile, Samsung

Comments

Via: SamMobile

Source: Play store

If you walk through a Chinese electronics market, you’ll find countless wearables, including a variety of smartwatches. Why, then, is this China-exclusive a significant introduction? Well, the Appscomm Fashioncomm A1 is the first smartwatch to include the Mirasol display we first saw in Qualcomm’s Toq prototype, which means that 1.55-inch MEMS panel is actually coming to market. The A1 delivers much of the functionality we experienced with the device in our September hands-on, with an added GSM chipset, enabling you to make and receive calls directly from your wrist.

It’s not the first watchphone we’ve seen — and past iterations can hardly be deemed a success — but as the first such device to integrate Qualcomm’s new Mirasol panel, it’s at least worth a casual mention. With the A1, Appscomm is also bundling an integrated camera, letting you snap stills and video clips a la Samsung’s Galaxy Gear. There’s also Bluetooth connectivity, along with a 450mAh battery that’s rated for up to 190 hours of standby time. Smartwatch enthusiasts based in China can pre-order the device for RMB 1,299 ($213) beginning today.

Filed under: Wearables, Mobile

Comments