Hasta La Gadget!

There’s just no two ways about it: what Lufthansa has managed to accomplish here is nothing short of incredible. While avid jetsetters have been enjoying in-flight WiFi on (select) domestic routes for a few years now, the in-flight fun has been coming to an abrupt halt when boarding a flight requiring a passport. The dream of long-haul in-flight internet has felt like a distant one, but it seems that the future is indeed happening today. The carrier’s FlyNet service has been relaunched this week, and with assistance from Panasonic and the 802.11n gods that be, it’s now offering broadband internet access on intercontinental routes. At first, the service will be limited to select North Atlantic routes, but access should be available on “nearly the entire Lufthansa intercontinental network by the end of 2011.”

No specific performance figures are being released, but the company does call it “extremely fast” and quick enough to open large attachments “without delay.” Better still, the airline will be enabling cellphone data access (GSM and GPRS) in the spring of next year, giving highfalutin’ bigwigs the ability to send and receive the most expensive text messages of their life. Deutsche Telekom will be providing the actual internet service, with pricing set as such: €10.95 (or 3,500 miles) for one hour or €19.95 (or 7,000 miles) for a 24-hour pass that also allows patrons to access the web on “on all Lufthansa connecting flights equipped with a hotspot during the period of validity as well as after the flight in Lufthansa lounges.” Oh, and did we mention that it’s totally free through January 31st, 2011? It is.

Update: We’re seeing expected uplink rates of 1Mbps, with download rates reaching 5Mbps. Not bad for being over an ocean.

Continue reading Lufthansa launches in-flight WiFi on intercontinental flights, ushers in ‘the future’

Lufthansa launches in-flight WiFi on intercontinental flights, ushers in ‘the future’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Dec 2010 15:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gadling  |  Lufthansa  | Email this | Comments

In an interesting move for a major console launch, Panasonic is reaching outside of the fold and looking to some select US consumers to test out its upcoming Jungle gaming handheld. No details on the testing program were given, and it’s not much in the way of news, but it’s the most we’ve heard out of Panasonic since it announced the online gaming-centric handheld in October — we still don’t know when the Jungle will land or how much it will cost. At least Panasonic isn’t short on self-assessment: “We know other companies out there have traditional hand- held gaming covered… We’re doing something very different.” You can’t argue with that, we’ll just have to wait and see if Panasonic can pull it off.

Panasonic welcoming crash test consumers to the handheld gaming Jungle originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CNET  |  Bloomberg  | Email this | Comments

One of the best things about Winter is a fresh blanket of pristine snow. And the gear that helps you ride down it. Here are some gifts for the powderhounds in your life. More »

Panasonic’s DMC-GF1 proved itself as a tasty go-between, filling the gap between high-end compact and DSLR. The GF2 will soon arrive and, according to Photography Blog, if anything it slots in a little closer to the compact side of things thanks to a new user interface that ditches many buttons and dials in favor of touchscreen menus. This will drive some users mad, but ultimately the up-rated features here still make this a worthy choice over the GF1, including video recording at 1080i60 and a new body that’s a fifth smaller and seven percent lighter than before despite still containing a pop-up flash, 12.1 megapixel sensor, and image quality that’s about as good as you’re going to get out of a shooter this size.

Panasonic Lumix GF2 reviewed: smaller, simpler, and arguably better than the GF1 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Photography Blog  | Email this | Comments

As far as we know, the western hemisphere should still have the mirrorless GF2 from Panasonic penciled in on its January 2011 must-own list, but Japan is (predictably) getting the party started a little early. Panny has shot out a brief statement this morning to say that its home nation will receive the GF2 — alternately attired in red, white or black — on the 3rd of December. That’s a good couple of weeks before we expected to even have pricing for North America and Europe, leaving the rest of us to just pout and stare at the calendar with disdain. And if pricing is what you need, Impress has some of its usually deadly accurate estimates to offer you, with the GF2 body set to cost ¥60,000 (about $720) by itself, ¥80,000 with the F2.5 14mm pancake kit lens, or ¥90,000 if paired with the 14-42mm glass. We’d advise not taking straight currency conversions as indicators of pricing anywhere outside Japan, however, due to the atypically high value of the yen at the moment. Wistful sighs, on the other hand, are free everywhere.

Panasonic GF2 shipping December 3rd in Japan, turning gringos green with envy originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Nov 2010 02:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Impress Watch [translated]  |  Panasonic  | Email this | Comments