Hasta La Gadget!

In a way, in-flight WiFi still seems like the future. It’s the internet, in the air, while traveling at 30,000+ feet. Clearly, just having access isn’t good enough, as a smattering of opponents have stepped into a segment long dominated by Gogo with snazzier, satellite-based alternatives. Over the past few years, ViaSat has stepped up in an effort to offer flyers something that Gogo’s existing services won’t: streaming video. While Gogo’s air-to-ground network is great for latency, it struggles with bandwidth, as anyone on a crowded flight from JFK to SFO will likely attest. Today, Gogo has taken the wraps off of GTO (Ground to Orbit), described as a hybrid technology that will be “capable of delivering more than 60Mbps to the aircraft.” For those keeping score, that’s a 20-fold increase from where Gogo started just a few years ago.

We spoke to a company representative leading up to the reveal, who confirmed that GTO is a proprietary offering, and will lean on satellites for the downlink while using existing ground-based transceivers for the uplink. For users, that means that latency will remain low, uploads will remain sluggish, and downloads will improve dramatically. Gogo points out that precious little will need to change for airlines to take advantage; there’s a new antenna, which is actually half as large as the existing one, but most everything else will remain the same. Virgin America will be the launch partner of the new service, which is expected to be available in the second half of 2014; we asked if any other airlines were onboard beyond that, but were left to make assumptions for ourselves.

Filed under: Transportation, Internet

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Source: Gogo

Toshiba has just announced their Satellite Click detachable PC which is said to offer the convenience of a tablet as well as laptop, depending on the situation and how you use the Satellite Click at that point in time. The new detachable design would feature a 13.3-inch diagonal IPS multi-touch screen which is capable of making up two different form factors in a single device, namely the ‘normal’ laptop and a tablet. Underneath the hood, you will find an AMD A4 Accelerated Processing Unit alongside AMD Radeon 8000 graphics, where other hardware specifications include a 500GB hard drive that has been included in the removable tablet, and a dual battery design to get it going.

Windows 8.1 will be the operating system of choice, where the removable 13.3” diagonal touchscreen
tablet is capable of locking and unlocking from the hinge, letting you enjoy a seamless transition between laptop and tablet modes. It will also come with 4GB RAM, feature a built-in webcam, micro USB 2.0 and HDMI ports, a microSD memory card slot, an accelerometer and gyroscope sensors, while its dual-battery set-up is capable of supporting both DC-in on both the keyboard base and on the screen so that you can use either mode in a jiffy. There is no word on pricing, but we do know the Satellite Click will be available from this month onwards as a Best Buy exclusive.

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Toshiba Satellite Click Detachable PC original content from Ubergizmo.

This image shows a great white expanse on the surface of Earth, but it’s not snow or super-fine sand: in fact, it’s a dried up salt lake in Turkey called Lake Tersakan—and satellites even use it as a calibration tool.

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Amazon may not be happy with just piggybacking on other wireless carrier’s signals for Whispernet-style offerings, as Bloomberg has heard it’s trying out technology that would let it create its own wireless network. The technology used in the tests is from Globalstar, which is seeking to convert its spectrum — intended for use by satellite-connected devices like the Global Phone pictured above — for strictly ground-based use. The report points out a letter from Globalstar technical adviser Jarvinian to the FCC indicating it was helping a “major technology company” assess the performance benefits available earlier this year. The usual people with knowledge of the situation have filled in the blanks, however whether the tests are continuing or if Amazon will ever make real use of it is unknown. If things do move forward Amazon would hardly be alone in its efforts with Dish Network’s similar push to use spectrum it owns for LTE. If Globalstar really can do LTE / public WiFi better we’re ready to hear about it, although hopefully it will connect to more hardware than just some future Kindle Fire 4.

Filed under: Wireless, Amazon

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Source: Bloomberg

Satellite TV in Ultra HD quality is no longer just a dream: following a successful test broadcast this week, KT Skylife has unveiled a roadmap for offering 4K TV to its subscribers. The Korean provider plans to trial one channel of UHD content in the efficient H.265 (HEVC) video format next year, with a full commercial launch due in 2015. Widespread availability will depend on KT Skylife’s ability to clear regulatory hurdles, CEO Jae-chul Moon says. The real challenge, however, may be finding customers with Ultra HD TVs. While prices are falling quickly, there’s no guarantee that 4K sets will be commonplace in two years’ time.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: The Korea Times