In Japan, the culture of gift giving is very important, and nowhere is that as commonly seen as when people take trips. It is very important to come back with a souvenir (“omiyage”) from where your trip took you. Different food and other goods from overseas trips for the folks back home are important, but so are different regional foods from different regions in Japan.
Usually this means small specialty items only available in different regions of Japan. But big companies are …
If you’re looking to explore the world on the cheap but the thought of sharing a hostel room with strangers creeps you out, designers Roberto De Luca and Antonio Scarponi have got you covered. The pair’s Hotello is a rolling trunk that transforms into a 43 square foot hotel room complete with a bed, a desk, a lamp, a shelf, a locker, and even a privacy curtain. More »
Everyone in the States at this point in time is very familiar with the
term "sequester" as it applies to limiting the size of the U.S. federal
budget. British Airways, on the other hand is using the concept as
originally defined — "to cause to withdraw, into seclusion." British
Airways’ latest innovation is titled, ‘Innovation Lab In The Sky,’
and their sequestration will not be limiting at all, because their plan
is to expand upon talent and opportunities, with a little help from
their friends.
Were we really expecting a different outcome? Several months after Google bought Frommer’s to bolster its location efforts, Skift hears that the iconic travel guide maker has completely stopped publication of print editions as its focus swings to the online realm. Authors say that many of their scheduled Frommer’s books now won’t be published; a few say their contracts were simply delayed, but the usual raft of guides that would show at this time of year just haven’t materialized. We’ve reached out to Google to confirm what’s going on, although the writing may have been on the wall when the bookstore disappeared from the Frommer’s site in September. If true, many travelers will have to either switch to rival guides or use Google’s digital parallels to learn what’s interesting in a strange new land.
[Image credit: Caitlin Regan, Flickr]
Source: Skift
The Federal Aviation Association announced back in 2011 that it would be rolling out what they call iPad Electronic Flight Bags for use in the cockpit to replace all of the flight manuals and paperwork. Finally, American Airlines is the first airline to get approval for the iPad, and they’ve given eager minds a chance to take a look at the new system.
Travel website Gadling got a sneak peek inside of an American Airlines cockpit where the iPads are just starting to roll out. The iPad Electronic Flight Bag essentially replaces 40 lbs. worth of flight manuals and other paperwork with one single iPad, as well as a HyperJuice external battery that acts as a backup battery to extend the iPad’s battery life an extra 24 hours if need be.
The iPad replaces a slew of manuals and books, including all the Jeppesen approach plates, company manuals, and operations manuals that pilots had to haul around all the time. All of that gets stuffed into an iPad, and the tablet gets attached to a mount that sits right beside the pilot for quick and easy access during a flight.
However, there’s still one manual that pilots will be required to carry around, even with the iPads, and that’s the Quick Response Handbook, which provides information on emergency procedures. However, it’s not that big of a manual, so pilots won’t see it as a big deal, especially since they’re getting rid of 40 pounds worth of paperwork already.
So far, American Airlines has approved the iPad for the Boeing 777, 737, and McDonnell Douglas MD-80, while approval for the 757 and 767 is forthcoming. iPad have to go through a series of tests from the FAA, just as rapid decompression in a hypobaric chamber, as well as testing of the iPad mounts.
[via Gadling]
American Airlines gets approval for iPad-equipped cockpit is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
JetBlue first announced that it would be bringing in-flight WiFi to its fleet of aircrafts back in 2011, but we have yet to see anything from the airline at this point, although they announced back in September that free in-flight WiFi would be available soon. The project is still making progress, though, as the company has announced the name of their WiFi service, as well as a few other details.
During an analyst event, JetBlue announced that they will be calling their in-flight WiFi service “Fly-Fi,” a clever play on words with “Fly” and “WiFi.” The service will be powered by Exede Internet, which is owned by ViaSat. JetBlue hasn’t given a launch date yet, but they hope to have their first WiFi-enabled flight take off sometime later this year.
JetBlue also teased the new service, by releasing a video that demonstrates the speed of their new WiFi service compared to other top WiFi providers like Gogo, Row 44, and Panasonic’s own service. Of course, JetBlue boasts that their Fly-Fi option surfs the web at a much quicker rate than the other three providers.
The airline says that there’s still a lot of testing to be done, and the FAA still needs to come in and do a series of certification tests before the service can be put to public use. Currently, a large number of airlines have WiFi available, but you usually have to pay a small fee in order to get it. JetBlue will be one of the few airlines to offer free WiFi on board.
JetBlue names its WiFi service “Fly-Fi”, coming later this year is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
While Google Flight Search covers the far corners of the Earth, many of the people who live in those corners haven’t had a similar option to explore the world of air travel. Google is taking at least a small step toward ending that discrepancy with a fresh expansion to Europe. Jetsetters in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK can now find flights to and from many parts of the world, with prices and languages tailored to their home countries. As before, travelers can both see real-time prices, gauge the best (read: cheapest) time to book a vacation and filter flights through criteria like prices, timing and WiFi. There’s no surprises for locals if they’ve had the luxury of using Flight Search before — we just wish we’d had access in time for our recent trip to Barcelona.
Filed under: Transportation, Internet, Google
Via: Phandroid
Source: ITA Software by Google
Google’s Executive Chairmain, Eric Schmidt, plans on making a trip to Myanmar on March 22nd. He hopes to tap into Myanmar’s market of 60 million people, which has the potential of being a huge gold mine for the search engine giant. Myanmar had been previously restricted from U.S. based companies due to many regulations and sanctions. Now that it’s being freed from those restrictions, many U.S. companies are gunning to invest their resources into the country.
Eric Schmidt will be speaking at a public event that will be attended by local start-ups, entrepreneurs, and students. He plans on obtaining one of the licenses that will be offered to only two foreign operators. If Schmidt is able to convince Myanmar to give Google one of those licenses (which shouldn’t be too hard to do since it’s Google), Google will be able to tap into what may be a billion-dollar industry.
Only 9% of Myanmar’s population owns mobile phones. Myanmar’s government plans on increasing that percentage to 80% by 2016. By offering big, foreign companies, like Google, one of the licenses, it hopes to dramatically improve internet and mobile usage in the country. As restrictions begin to be removed from Myanmar, and as more American companies enter its marketplace, mobile phones should become more affordable. Right now in Yangon, an iPhone 4 costs US$1,120, and a Huawei phone costs US$500-600.
Schmidt hopes to help the people of Myanmar connect to the internet and get access to the entire world around them. Schmidt will be working with local partners in order to improve the lives of the 60 million people who have been suppressed from the internet. Schmidt’s move will help improve the lives of the people of Myanmar, however the U.S. still has to remove the remaining regulations it has on Myanmar in order for the country to move forward. Thaung Su Nyein, an Myanmar Entrepreneur who runs 7 publications and his own IT company, stated, “Our hope is that the U.S. will do their part [in lifting the remaining regulations], and we’ll do our part in improving this field, and everyone will be happy.”
[via The Wall Street Journal]
Google’s Eric Schmidt to tap into Myanmar’s potential gold mine is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Airplane seats are notoriously uncomfortable for sleeping. Whether it’s because of the stiff-as-a-board headrest, or a chatty seatmate who didn’t take a hint when you put on your headphones. So here’s the simple solution to both problems: an inflatable pillow that doubles as an obnoxious wall. More »
While it may not seem noticeable at first, Apple is continuing to update its Maps app with the addition and expansion of features. Case in point, within the past couple of months, Apple has added and expanded its flyover feature in 30 cities around the world, including locations like Indianapolis, Indiana and Glasgow in Scotland.
Most of the new locations that have received the flyover feature for the first time are mostly US cities, including locations such as the Hoover Dam, but Glasgow and Cologne, Germany also received flyover for the first time. Places that received expanded coverage are mostly European cities, but US cities like Boston, Portland, and Houston also received updates.
Furthermore, 12 cities received updates to 3D buildings for Standard view and turn-by-turn navigation, all of which are cities located in Europe and the UK, including Barcelona, Berlin, London, Munich, and Rome. Most of the cities that received an update are larger cities, so you may be waiting awhile for flyover and 3D buildings to come to your smaller town.
Apart from that, Apple has made some updates to city labels in locations worldwide, and they also improved satellite imagery in a number of countries. The company added more location information for Apple Stores, movie theaters, restaurants, airports, businesses, and transit stops. You can expect Apple to constantly be updating its Maps platform for a while, since the initial launch of the app didn’t go too well for the company.
[via The Loop]
Apple adds and expands Maps flyover in 30 cities is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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