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View Full Version : Surfing On Your Pocket PC... 30,000 Feet In The Air


Janak Parekh
02-28-2005, 04:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=3457' target='_blank'>http://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...p?threadid=3457</a><br /><br /></div><i>"This is Alex speaking from Lufthansa flight LH 432 on his way from Frankfurt to Chicago! I am so very excited because this is my first airborne Internet experience using my Dell Axim to surf through the clouds in high-speed. On this Airbus 340-300 I'm accessing Connexion's broadband Wifi LAN (Lufthansa calls it FlyNet) for a flat rate of $29.95...What else can I say? Surfing 10'000 meters up in the sky is a lot of fun and it is a true asset for every mobile business man, or for every mobile gadget fan like myself"</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/parekh-20050227-MobileReadFlyNet.jpg" /><br /><br />$29.95 is a little too high for my tastes, although if it's a long flight it might be worth it -- especially for those with a legitimate business need. Anyway, it's nevertheless very cool, and in true mobile fashion Alex from MobileRead uses his X50 in "true VGA mode" to get the full 30,000-foot experience. 8)

SteveHoward999
02-28-2005, 04:03 PM
I have flown back and forth between the USA and the UK about a dozen times inthe last 3 or 4 years. $30 is a small price to pay to be able to get the internet access I am addicted to. Some of those trans-Atlantic flights have been over 8 hours long ... I need my email maaaan!

dma1965
02-28-2005, 04:11 PM
So does this mean that it is now ok to make mobile calls in the air?

sundown
02-28-2005, 04:18 PM
It depends on the price I paid for the air ticket to begin with. For a $1000+ fare, what's another $29.95. For a $150 fare, no way. I suspect they'll focus on the long, expensive flights anyway.

SteveHoward999
02-28-2005, 04:33 PM
I am not sure I'd want to fly trans-Atlantic with a company that sells tickets for $150 ... :roll:

Fitch
02-28-2005, 04:42 PM
Yeah, alls I can say is that the number of leisure trans-atlantic flyers that have told me "spending the extra on some kind of entertainment is worth it" that this would be worth the money if there's no personal TV and you didn't brink a stack of DVDs. Like most of you guys, I could keep myself busy with internet for hours. Maybe not from a Pocket PC, but with a laptop, no question. I mean, you could even make Skype calls and play your MMORPG if you're one of the afflicted.

SHC
02-28-2005, 05:07 PM
I can't see them offering this in cattle class on the trips I make across the Atlantic to visit Mickey and pals in Florida. You get the 3rd degree just looking at your PDA, never mind turning it on! Would be nice though if they did and $30 is not too bad for a 10 hour flight.

Busdriver
02-28-2005, 05:07 PM
if there's no personal TV and you didn't brink a stack of DVDs
In the old days we there was something we called newspapers and books. :wink: Guess I'm showing my age.

I would imagine many people could justify filing an expense report for this internet access. Think I could.

MikeUnwired
02-28-2005, 05:10 PM
I'd have to say the entertainment value of connectivity is worth the $30 if you're stuck in a cramped seat for an extended period of time.

SteveHoward999
02-28-2005, 05:15 PM
I'd have to say the entertainment value of connectivity is worth the $30 if you're stuck in a cramped seat for an extended period of time.

It really is worth paying an extra $50 - $150 to get a flight with an airline tha tprovides decent entertainment. It might hurt the wallet, but a long haul flight is agony without mental relief. The best give you your own little LCD tv, 20 tv/movie channels, 20 radio channels, 10 or so video games and pretty flight attendants.

To be honest, I think I'd pay up to about $20 extra on a short (2 hour) flight for internat access too ... provided I could use it on the ground too during those looooong delays waiting to take off or taxi to a parking spot.

colinkhalid
02-28-2005, 05:16 PM
More than worth it for some of the 14 non stops I do to Singapore!

jeff
02-28-2005, 05:35 PM
My Pocket PC touchscreen has stopped working the last two flights I've been on. The extra amount of static in the cabin seems to make the layers of screen stick together. It always starts working again when I'm off the plane for a few minutes. Has this happened to anyone else? I'm using an HP 1945.

MerlinAZ
02-28-2005, 05:58 PM
What kind of plugs would you use. WiFi would eat up battery juice before reaching cruising altitude.

Jonathan1
02-28-2005, 06:31 PM
Any flight shorter then that and I'd say screw it. I'll watch a movie on my 4705. But considering the distance you are flying. $30 is a good deal.

ricksfiona
02-28-2005, 06:32 PM
I'd say for flights over 2 hours, then I would probably pay an extra $30 for Internet access. Totally worth it.

Jonathan1
02-28-2005, 06:33 PM
What kind of plugs would you use. WiFi would eat up battery juice before reaching cruising altitude.

Yah I was going to ask the same thing. Hope you have a couple spare batteries on hand or a power jack.

Paragon
02-28-2005, 06:44 PM
I'm confused? Why didn't the plane crash from all the interference? ;)

It's nothing to spend much more to go to a 2 hour movie. What the heck is 30 bucks for 6-8 hour plane ride. If you use it for entertainment great. If you use it for work, well for 30 bucks you found an extra few hours of otherwise unproductive time...if that is what you want. This is cool to see finally. We've heard about it coming, but this is the first I've seen it in action. 8)

Dave

Sven Johannsen
02-28-2005, 07:19 PM
So does this mean that it is now ok to make mobile calls in the air?

No. There is still no agrement indicating A) it's allowed B) it's supported. The FCC was having discussions on allowing it. The FAA had not really gotton into it, and the ultimate authority on whether you can, or can't, is the air operator.

The connexion system actually has an onboard network you are accessing, that then proxies/forwards you to the internet over satellite connectivity (last I heard).

The in-flight mobile phone potential would be realized the same way, with an on-board cell tower, so to speak, to alleviate the real fear that 100s ot thousands of flying cell users would saturate the cell network by being in sight of two many actual towers.

Atomb
02-28-2005, 07:54 PM
this is available throughout the plane (cattle and king classes...)

surur
02-28-2005, 08:18 PM
$30 is so worth it. Finally some reasonable pricing. You could skype for hours at that price.

Surur

Kevin Daly
02-28-2005, 08:47 PM
I have flown back and forth between the USA and the UK about a dozen times inthe last 3 or 4 years. $30 is a small price to pay to be able to get the internet access I am addicted to. Some of those trans-Atlantic flights have been over 8 hours long ... I need my email maaaan!

If I fly to Europe via the US it's about 12-13 hours from Auckland to Los Angeles, another 11 or 12 hours from LA to London...trust me, some of us would *love* to only have to spend 8 hours on the trip.
Sigh.

This looks really promising, although I think I'd need a spare battery.

powder2000
02-28-2005, 08:58 PM
Was there speed comparison in the article? I don't think I saw a reference to speed. I am thinking it would be similar to dial up or satelite, would skype even work reliably on a ppc with this service?

Damion Chaplin
02-28-2005, 10:24 PM
I'm confused? Why didn't the plane crash from all the interference? ;)

Because that 'interference' was hypothetical in the first place. Not a single plane has ever crashed from someone using their cell or other wireless device. I have seen people sneak phone calls while we were in the air. We didn't crash and I didn't see any evidence of interference happening... No one but me even seemed to notice... 8O

Does the airline really think that EVERY SINGLE PERSON who owns a phone or PDA checks to make sure their bluetooth radio is off? Even if that was what they thought, do you think that EVERY SINGLE PERSON remembers? I doubt it. If it was really an issue, they would confiscate them at the point of boarding. IMHO.

Paragon
02-28-2005, 10:52 PM
I'm confused? Why didn't the plane crash from all the interference? ;)

Because that 'interference' was hypothetical in the first place. Not a single plane has ever crashed from someone using their cell or other wireless device. I have seen people sneak phone calls while we were in the air. We didn't crash and I didn't see any evidence of interference happening... No one but me even seemed to notice... 8O

Does the airline really think that EVERY SINGLE PERSON who owns a phone or PDA checks to make sure their bluetooth radio is off? Even if that was what they thought, do you think that EVERY SINGLE PERSON remembers? I doubt it. If it was really an issue, they would confiscate them at the point of boarding. IMHO.

Agreed....hence my sarcasim. ;)

A few months back I flew home from somewhere, landing in Detroit with a connector home to London, Ontario. Getting close to London I realized we were going to fly right over my house at about 500 feet, so I quickly called my kids on my cellphone and told them to rush out so we could wave at each other. Myself and all those sitting near me on the plane, all had a good chuckle watching the kids. Amazingly we didn't even crash and burn in my own backyard.

As well......If there was the slightest chance of taking out a plane with a cell phone I would think Mr. bin laden would have controlling share is Nokia by know. :D

Jeremiah
03-01-2005, 01:26 AM
Was there speed comparison in the article? I don't think I saw a reference to speed. I am thinking it would be similar to dial up or satelite, would skype even work reliably on a ppc with this service?
He mentioned (on the second page) something of around 180-220Kb/s. I think that would be more than enough for Skype. The question is, how many passengers could *simultaneously* use such a service without bringing the entire broadband down...

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3457&amp;page=2&amp;pp=15

Newsboy
03-03-2005, 07:45 PM
If it were priced more reasonably, say by the hour ($5 each?), I'd be all for it. And certainly on a transatlantic flight, it'd be worth the $30. But I'd never pay $30 for a short-haul flight, or even a coast to coast flight.

atsouch
03-04-2005, 12:00 PM
We've heard about it coming, but this is the first I've seen it in action.

Two years ago on the first pilot flights...
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=108054#108054

Paragon
03-04-2005, 11:15 PM
We've heard about it coming, but this is the first I've seen it in action.

Two years ago on the first pilot flights...
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=108054#108054

Thanks for the info Andreas. I didn't realize just how long it had been. I remember posting a news bit on Dale's site when it was first announced that Lufthansa were going to begin testing it.

Dave

atsouch
03-05-2005, 10:19 AM
Two years IS a long time in IT. They probably had serious technical problems because the business model is very simple. Pay and surf...

They said that till the end of 2006 all Lufthansa's long-haul flights will offer this service. The rest of the Star Alliance is coming along based on the same infrastucture.