03-23-2004, 10:00 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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iPAQ #5,000,000 Sold - In Use By United Airlines
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040323/235631_1.html
"HP today announced that United Airlines, through solution and software provider Abanco, received the five millionth iPAQ Pocket PC which will be used in a customized in-flight catering solution that allows customers to enjoy specialty cuisine at 35,000 feet. Abanco created an in-flight catering solution for the entire airline industry that allows flight attendants to offer dining options from name brand restaurants to their customers. The United flight attendants use the iPAQs to process individual traveler selections by checking the inventory, placing the order and processing the transaction for the customer on the spot, and the customer then quickly receives their meal."
Sounds like wireless transmissions on an airplane to me. :roll: Great to see the sales milestone for HP though. :way to go:
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03-23-2004, 10:09 PM
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5000+ Posts? I Should OWN This Site!
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 5,133
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From later in the article:
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"Abanco's In-Flight Terminal Services delivers an easy way for travelers to experience on-board custom cuisine by allowing them to conveniently pay with a credit card," said Anthony Ashe, SVP of Abanco.
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Wow - all that convenience, just to please the customer??? I'm SO happy I'll finally be able to pay extra for my crappy airline meal! And with my credit card, no less! :roll:
I was just on a flight recently where they were charging extra for meals. This must be a new thing.
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03-23-2004, 10:14 PM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 498
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one deal, 5 million ipaq, amazing.
Do you know how long compaq spent to sell the first one million ipaq? Finally PocketPC become so popular now. 
Edit: Looks like I misread your news. Sorry.  ops:
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03-23-2004, 10:17 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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Originally Posted by huangzhinong
Do you know how long compaq spent to sell the first one million ipaq? Finally PocketPC become so popular now. |
About a year but that was because for the first 6 months of its existance they were only prepared to sell ~20,000 per month and they were going for $800 on eBay. Once they got production up, they got to 1 million within a few months.
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03-23-2004, 10:25 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 15,171
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Kati Compton
I was just on a flight recently where they were charging extra for meals. This must be a new thing.
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It is, the theory being that people would pay for a bit better-quality meals on airplanes than go for the free stuff. In fact, our commuter train has an advert by Song saying that "some people want organically grown lettuce on their free range turkey wrap; others want chips". Sounds more marketing to me than anything else.
--janak
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03-23-2004, 10:27 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 76
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Yes, they're using WiFi.
But Terminal Services? Bah!
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03-23-2004, 10:28 PM
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Mystic
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,768
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Quote:
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December 2001 - iPAQ used to read vows during wedding ceremony
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Was this the famed wedding for Jason and Ashley ?
__________________
Jonathan (JonnoB)
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." -Edmund Burke
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03-23-2004, 10:37 PM
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Theorist
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 284
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I take it that the customer will be ordering their "name brand" meal while still on the ground otherwise United would have to carry a pretty large inventory aboard each aircraft offering this service (as opposed to only what the customers ordered before the catering holds were stocked)
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03-23-2004, 10:50 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 182
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Radio waves on a plain. 8O Slashdot had it out about this ohhh 6 months ago. Seems like there have never been any cases, or any real proof, that cell phones, wifi, ect effect flight operations. Little off topic but then again I did not bring it up. :wink:
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03-23-2004, 11:11 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 476
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by ThunderCK
Radio waves on a plain. 8O Slashdot had it out about this ohhh 6 months ago. Seems like there have never been any cases, or any real proof, that cell phones, wifi, ect effect flight operations. Little off topic but then again I did not bring it up. :wink:
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I read another article to the same effect. I suspect that they ban cell phone usage as a ploy to force us to use those ridiculously expensive airline phones. If you didn't already know, the airlines get a kickback when you use one of these. If the airlines really wanted to let people use their cell phones, they could easily talk the FAA and other authorities into allowing it.
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