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Australian carrier, Qantas will provide its passengers with individual iPads that can stream more than 200 hours of movies, TV shows and music. This is available in all classes for flights from Sydney to Honolulu. In contrast, American Airlines passengers are provided with Galaxy Tab 10.1 instead on selected routes such as New York’s JFK airport and Los Angeles and international flights to Europe and South America. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Future Ferrari Models Could See iPads Integrated Into Them, 2013 Honda Accord, Acura RDX And Acura ILX To Get Siri Eyes Free Option,

Qantas just upped the ante for its Australian counterparts Jetstar and Virgin in the airline tablet wars. Following an earlier trial, the transporter plans to hand out free iPads to all of its passengers — not just the high-flyers in business-class, like with Jetstar’s iPads or Virgin’s Galaxy Tabs — on every Boeing 767 aircraft in the fleet. The rollout, which starts in the last quarter of the year, will let those bored in the back seats watch an equally free 200 hours’ worth of QStreaming audio and video. Don’t confuse the gesture with a sudden bout of altruism on Qantas’ part, however. The pound-and-a-half weight of a current iPad sheds the tremendous amount of weight that would normally be needed for a conventional in-flight entertainment system built into the headrest, which on a typical 375-seat 767 could see the iPads pay for themselves within years, if not sooner. The option will give many Aussies something to look forward to for their domestic summer vacations. In the meantime, hop past the break for a Qantas video explaining how QStreaming worked during the original trial run.

Continue reading Qantas to hand out free iPads to all passengers on Boeing 767s, save fuel and our sanity (video)

Filed under: Tablet PCs, Transportation

Qantas to hand out free iPads to all passengers on Boeing 767s, save fuel and our sanity (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jul 2012 15:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIM has already been feeling the sting of lost customers. That sting isn’t getting any gentler, as Qantas just outlined plans to replace all 1,300 BlackBerry phones in the fleet with iPhones. As the airline explains to The Australian, a mix of cost overhead and employee feedback is steering the decision to wing it Apple’s way. We also imagine Qantas may be facing the usual airline dilemma of having to replace large swaths of equipment after clinging to old technology for dear life. Naturally, the company is keen to reassure passengers that the security is up to snuff as well, and a Bring Your Own Device effort could see Android fly once it’s approved. The time scale is indefinite enough that it’s unlikely that we’ll see the airline crew members distracted by a game of Amazing Alex on that next flight to Melbourne — we only know that they’ll be weaning themselves off of BlackBerry Messenger before too long.

Filed under: Cellphones

Qantas replacing staff BlackBerrys with iPhones, Australian flights may be held up by Tiny Wings originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 18:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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