Hasta La Gadget!

Have iPad, will travel. Computer bag maker Tom Bihn was among the first to announce iPad accessories, and now it’s expanding the line. The company just announced the Co-Pilot, a compact travel bag meant to hold just a few essentials (including an iPad, of course). The bag is made of ballistic nylon and Japanese Dyneema/nylon rip-stop fabric. It also includes splash-proof zippers, an iPhone pocket lined in Ultrasuede, and a comfortable shoulder strap. The bag measures 12- by 10- by 5-inches.

The Co-Pilot comes in fours colors and one pattern. Visit tombihn.com to see them all (just mouse over the colored boxes below the product image to see different views). It’s currently available for pre-order through the site and will ship mid-June.

It’s a fantasy come true for the avid nerd / traveler, but unfortunately for us, it’s but a concept in its current form. Syracuse’s own Rahul Mahtani and Yofred Moik have dreamed up Google Envelopes, and if brought to production, this might just make the USPS as relevant as it was during the heyday known as 1985. Put simply, the solution would involve a new ‘Send Envelope’ method of passing along a note penned in Gmail; when pressed, you’d get a printout of the message along with a specially crafted envelope, the latter of which really makes this idea shine. The envelope itself would be a Google Maps representation of the quickest route to transfer said message from you to the recipient if roadways and kayaks were used in place of fiber and coax, giving the receiver a crucially awesome keepsake each time you dropped him or her a line. Oh, and having an ‘Avoid Tolls’ option would just totally put it over the top — even if were relegated to beta.

[Thanks, Yofred]

Google Envelopes turns Gmail into snail mail, wraps it in precisely routed Maps printout originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo completes maiden flight (now with video!)

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo completes maiden flight (now with video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are many kinds of otaku (geek) in Japan and many kinds of moe (萌え, -philes). However, this is one of the most unexpected we’ve come across so far.

The last couple of years has seen a boom in “factory love” (工場萌え, koujou-moe), manifesting in numerous night-time cruises around industrial areas, photography books, blogs and mixi communities — all spreading the word that processing plants, manufacturing facilities, chimneys…yes, these can be beautiful! Even the current TV commercials and posters for Suntory’s Boss Black canned coffee tap into this surging interest, with imagery of stylishly lit black-and-white industrial landscapes.

Of course Japan famously already has three particularly beautiful sights (日本三景, Nihon Sankei): Matsushima in Miyagi, Amanodate in Kyoto, and Itsukushima in Hiroshima. Should we also add Mitsubishi, Toyota and Panasonic factories to this list?

[Image via tabism.com]

The cruises (known as “factory night view jungle cruises”) are particularly popular, with boats full even in the winter. Kawasaki and Yokohama, Chiba and the Hanshin area all have cruise services leaving just as the sun goes down, costing around 4,500 JPY ($50) per person for ninety minute tours.

What kind of people are these factory freaks? Photography enthusiasts, of course, and older husbands and wives. However, surprisingly, also groups of females and young couples. Although bay cruises have always been a good place for a date, factory-spotting doesn’t on paper sound like the kind of weekend activity likely to attract that demographic. Many of the boat trips include drinks, though, and on-board guidance, which would make it more of an “experience” and enjoyable for all.

When looking into this we were also reminded of the abandoned former coal mining hub that was Hashima Island in Nagasaki Prefecture, re-opened to tourists last year. Domestic sightseeing might just be going industrial…

Many airlines offer in-flight wi-fi and though you might not choose flights based on download speeds, it helps to know what to expect from each carrier. With your help, we conducted our first Mile-High Wi-Fi Test. Delta Airlines won.

The Idea

We’ve tested 3G data speeds in the past, so as in-flight wi-fi became more widely offered we decided that its performance needed to be rated as well.

Our staff can only rack up so many frequent flier miles before we get a stern talking to from our fearless leader, so we thought of asking Gizmodo readers for help. Over the holidays, many people joined Gizmodo’s Mile-High Club, and the results came pouring in. (Of course it didn’t hurt that we shared some coupon codes for free in-flight wi-fi.)

The Methodology

We asked readers to use Speedtest.net when they traveled—checking upload and download bandwidth along with ping latency, reporting the numbers back to us along with a goofy self-portrait, a la Brian Lam. We logged the speed test results along with the airline and the flight route. Our first round of testing accounts for December 2009 and January 2010.

The Results

Don, our resident number cruncher, processed all the data from the first round of testing. We did throw out a few data points which were deemed incomplete or inaccurate, and had to exclude one airline—United—for the time being because we did not have enough data for a meaningful average. All of these numbers are preliminary, but we were surprised that one airline in particular was able to rise up past the others. Here’s how our tally looks right now:

American Airlines:
Download: .88 Mbps
Upload: .23 Mbps
Ping: 231.87 ms

Virgin America:
Download: .57 Mbps
Upload: .25 Mbps
Ping: 276.44 ms

Delta:
Download: .93 Mbps
Upload: .29 Mbps
Ping: 177.91 ms

AirTran:
Download: .86 Mbps
Upload: .30 Mbps
Ping: 192.24 ms

If you prefer graphs, today is your lucky day:

Now, based on these averages, things boil down to this:
Fastest Download: Delta (.93 Mbps)
Fastest Upload: AirTran (.3 Mbps) *
Lowest Latency: Delta (177.91ms)
*Note that Delta’s average was very close, at .29 Mbps

So, overall Delta Airlines handily outperformed the rest, but again, this is just round 1. Besides, it seems worth noting that despite differences in broadband speeds, all four of those airlines use GoGo in-flight Internet to provide the wi-fi service.

This Is Just the Beginning

We call this the first round because we’re far from done. We want to keep collecting data on in-flight wi-fi and keep getting better and better results. The more data points we have, the better reporting we can deliver on the state of in-air wi-fi.

To help us in this effort, you can simply head to SpeedTest.net the next time you fly and run the test. Send an email to me or to Gizmodo tips with “Mile-High Wi-Fi” in the subject line. Here’s what to include:
• Speedtest.net results, including download and upload speed in Mbps, and ping latency in ms
• Name of Airline
• Departing and destination airports, and type of plane
• A (totally optional) goofy picture of yourself

Not only does additional data help us make more accurate subsequent reports, it’ll help you because airlines will see clearly how the competition is doing. And if there are variables we don’t see yet, such as variations in performance based on route or plane type, we’ll be able to get a better sense of that as well, as we get more data points from you…

The Esteemed Members of Gizmodo’s Mile-High Club

We encourage you to continue taking 2 minutes to check bandwidth, and fire us an email, whenever you connect up in the air. In the meantime, we want to thank each of the boys and gals who participated in this first round of Mile High Wi-Fi testing, the charter members of the Giz Mile-High Club. Here are some of the prettiest from the charter membership rolls:

Original Delta Airlines photo used under CC license from The Rocketeer/Flickr