Nov 01

Logitech’s Mini Boombox is a $99 Bluetooth speaker, we go hands-on (video)

Posted in: audio, bluetooth, hands-on, logitech, MP3, Music, speaker, Today's Chili, Travel, video

$99? For a portable speaker? Yup, that was our reaction too — especially when the Mini Boombox’s larger sibling boasts four times as many drivers (eight instead of two) and costs just $50 extra. But then we gave this more suitcase-friendly version a whirl and discovered that it’s actually loud and balanced enough to do some justice to your tunes while you’re on the move. In fact, it could well make a smarter purchase than those $30 speakers you keep buying in airports and then deliberately losing. It’s available from the end of this month, works with any A2DP Bluetooth-equipped smartphone or tablet and incorporates a mic for handling calls — plus its rechargeable battery is claimed to last up to ten hours. Ears-on video and a quick round of ‘name that tune’ right after the break, along with the full PR.

Gallery: Logitech Mini Boombox hands-on

Continue reading Logitech’s Mini Boombox is a $99 Bluetooth speaker, we go hands-on (video)

Logitech’s Mini Boombox is a $99 Bluetooth speaker, we go hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 27

Nature Valley creating Street View-style tour of National Parks, chews through countless granola bars to do so

Posted in: concept, maps, Today's Chili, Travel, us, usa

“There’s a good reason why Street View is done in cars.” That’s a quote from Mat Bisher, associate creative director at McCann, who is teaming up with granola connoisseur Nature Valley in order to deliver a “Street View-style tour” of America’s National Parks. Fast Company reports that the two have embarked on quite the ambitious initiative (dubbed Trail View), sending a cadre of well-trained hikers to some of America’s most gorgeous locales with specially-rigged camera setups in tow. The goal? To capture views from near-limitless hiking trails, and bring them to your web browser starting in February 2012. Sadly, it won’t be integrated into any of the platforms already in existence; it’ll be its own standalone thing, but hopefully the likes of Microsoft or Google will take notice and either contribute or convert it. We’re told that “layers for user-generated content, social networking and mobility, and perhaps form partnerships with travel sites” are on tap, and yes, Woodrow Wilson’s ghost has purportedly approved.

Update: We’ve added a few shots of the actual capturing in the gallery below.

Gallery: Nature Valley Street View-style capturing of National Parks

Nature Valley creating Street View-style tour of National Parks, chews through countless granola bars to do so originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 22

Ask Engadget: best AirPlay speakers for travel?

Posted in: airplay, Apple, AskEngadget, audio, Music, speaker, Today's Chili, Travel

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget inquiry is coming to us from Christian, who seems to be into the idea of traveling sans wires. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“I am looking for some AirPlay-enabled speakers that I can use to travel with. They should support 110 to 240 volt and have WiFi built-in so I don’t have to carry around an AP. Also, it would be cool if this WiFi could connect to the hotel network, if possible. Thanks!”

It’d also be cool if you share any relevant advice down in comments below. Cheers!

Ask Engadget: best AirPlay speakers for travel? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Oct 2011 00:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 04

NTT DoCoMo menu translator app hands-on (video)

Posted in: app, ceatec, hands-on, Japan, japanese, mobilepostcross, prototype, Today's Chili, Travel, video

Have you ever tried to read a Japanese menu? If there aren’t pictures to reference, you’ll likely have a difficult time figuring out what to order — unless you can read Japanese, of course. NTT DoCoMo hopes to improve the dining experience for those of us that can’t tell our ウニ (sea urchin) from our カニ (crab), building an app that can translate any of 9,000 possible menu entries from Japanese into English. It also supports English to Japanese translation, along with Chinese (both Mandarin and Cantonese) and Korean translations as well. The app worked fairly well, occasionally mistaking things like salmon caviar for “a rare part of the pork.” OK, so perhaps there’s a bit more work to be done. Either way, real-time visual language translation is definitely tricky stuff, and could be enormously helpful to travelers once devs figure out how to make it work — and work well. Jump past the break to see the app do its thing at CEATEC.

Gallery: NTT Docomo Menu Translator hands-on

Continue reading NTT DoCoMo menu translator app hands-on (video)

NTT DoCoMo menu translator app hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 03

Google Maps adds 3D bird’s eye route previews for high-flying navigators

Posted in: feature, Google, maps, minipost, preview, search, Today's Chili, Travel, web
Sure, you could use Google Maps to find the shortest path from point A to point B, but what if you’re interested in going from A to B via scenic route C? That’s where Google’s new ‘helicopter view’ comes in. Unveiled last week, this feature allows online navigators to visualize any driving, walking or mass transit route with a 3D, bird’s-eye animation. All you have to do is enter your starting point, destination and mode of transportation, and click the new “3D” button that will appear next to each route. From there, you’ll be launched into a Google Earth-powered flight, displaying all the buildings, mountains and other terrain that you’d encounter during your real-life journey. You can also pause the flight at any moment to check out any sights of interest, along with any geo-linked photos, videos or other online content. Buckle up and check out the source link below for more details and images.

Google Maps adds 3D bird’s eye route previews for high-flying navigators originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 07:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 02

Google and ITA’s OnTheFly app update puts flexible flight planning in your pocket

Posted in: Android, app, apps, BlackBerry, Google, ios, iPhone, mobilepostmini, Today's Chili, Travel

Google went through a lot to buy ITA and its travel software, and we saw the acquisition first bear fruit in the form of Mountain View’s web-based Flight Search. Now the partnership has produced version 1.2 of the OnTheFly airfare booking app for Android, iOS and BlackBerry. What’s new? Flexible date searches that let you peruse departures 35 days at a time, plus a price graph that shows the most fiscally prudent times to travel. Additionally, globetrotters can access their itinerary search history and see price changes for those fares throughout the year. Nice job fellas, now let’s work on bringing bargain-basement fare finding for the final frontier in the next revision.

Google and ITA’s OnTheFly app update puts flexible flight planning in your pocket originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Oct 2011 19:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 20

This Oversized Poncho Will Stash Your Excess Baggage

Posted in: Apparel, Today's Chili, Transportation, Travel

Photo courtesy of Rufus Roo.

The modern convenience of air travel comes with great costs: High-priced flights, TSA junk-groping, and of course the dreaded overage fees for checking bags that weigh more than 50 pounds.

The Rufus Roo travel jacket aims to solve at least the latter problem. The jacket lets wearers avoid the excess baggage fees at the cost of personal style. If your suitcase ends up heftier than you’d like, you can stuff up to 22 pounds of excess crap into the pockets of your Rufus Roo.

The jacket comes in adult large and medium for about $50, or around $40 if you’d rather turn your child into your pack mule. The jackets come in multiple colors, including purple, blue, or red and black with fancy zipper accents.

Please remember to stow your dignity in the overhead compartment for the remainder of your flight.

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Sep 16

Gogo to bring enhanced WiFi to Virgin America, expands video streaming on American Airlines

Posted in: Movies, price, streaming, Today's Chili, Travel, TV, video, wifi
Virgin America‘s in-flight perks are getting even perkier. This week, the domestic carrier announced that it’s bringing Gogo’s ATG-4 service aboard its fleet of aircraft, in a move that promises to enhance in-flight WiFi capacity by a factor of four. The upgrade is slated to roll out during the first half of 2012, when the company will begin outfitting its planes with Gogo’s directional antenna, dual-modem and EV-DO Rev. B technologies. But VA isn’t the only airline getting in on the Gogo game, as the in-flight entertainment company announced this week that it’s expanding its new video streaming service to American Airlines, as well. American, as you may recall, became the first airline to test the Gogo Vision service back in August, aboard its fleet of 15 Boeing 767-200 planes. Now, the streaming product is slated to expand to a full 400 of AA’s aircraft, bringing about 200 movies and TV shows to entertainment-starved passengers. Movies will be available for 24 hour rentals, with TV purchases good for a full 72 hours. Unexpired rentals, meanwhile, will still be available once you land and can be accessed with the same browser and device you used aboard the flight. No word on final pricing, though Gogo is extending its introductory offer ($1 per TV show and $4 per movie) through October 15th. Taxi past the break for more details, in a pair of press releases.

Continue reading Gogo to bring enhanced WiFi to Virgin America, expands video streaming on American Airlines

Gogo to bring enhanced WiFi to Virgin America, expands video streaming on American Airlines originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 09:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 15

How to Live Like James Bond For a Weekend

Posted in: Today's Chili, top, Travel

Steve Kamb found out how to fly 35,000 miles and visit four continents for $418. He’s now going round the world in that trip and managed to score a weekend in Monte Carlo, Monaco, living like James Bond. More »

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Sep 14

Google launches Flight Search service, Kayak shrugs it off (video)

Posted in: Google, interface, launch, Online, price, search, Today's Chili, Travel, ui, video, web
Google’s DOJ-approved acquisition of ITA has finally borne fruit, in the form of Flight Search — a new tool that aims to streamline the chaos that is online travel booking. The Mountain View contingent unveiled the interface yesterday, with an “early look” at what appears to be a fairly straightforward service. Once you enter your starting point, destination, price range and duration, a list of results will appear in ascending order of fare and duration, below a map displaying each flight’s trajectory. From there, you can filter your results by airline, number of layovers or specific departure times, before booking your itinerary on the carrier’s site (Google was careful to point out that flight selection and results will not be “influenced by any paid relationships”). At the moment, the service is restricted to a select group of US cities and only features round-trip economy class flights, but Google says future updates and expansions are on the way. We’re eager to see how the company dresses up this relatively bare bones platform and, perhaps more importantly, how competing travel sites react to it. Kayak, for one, responded with confident nonchalance to Flight Search, explicitly describing it as an inferior product. “We’re confident in our ability to compete, and we believe our flight search technology is superior,” the company said, in a statement. “We recognize Google is a formidable competitor but they haven’t been successful in every vertical they’ve entered.” Let the games begin. Demo video after the break.

Continue reading Google launches Flight Search service, Kayak shrugs it off (video)

Google launches Flight Search service, Kayak shrugs it off (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Search Engine Land, TechCrunch  |  sourceGoogle Flight Search, Google Search Blog  | Email this | Comments

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