
02-28-2005, 04:00 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 15,171
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Surfing On Your Pocket PC... 30,000 Feet In The Air
"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"

$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)
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02-28-2005, 04:03 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,183
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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!
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02-28-2005, 04:11 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 327
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So does this mean that it is now ok to make mobile calls in the air?
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02-28-2005, 04:18 PM
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Theorist
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 302
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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.
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02-28-2005, 04:33 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,183
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I am not sure I'd want to fly trans-Atlantic with a company that sells tickets for $150 ... :roll:
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02-28-2005, 04:42 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 173
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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.
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02-28-2005, 05:07 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 215
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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.
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02-28-2005, 05:07 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 178
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Quote:
if there's no personal TV and you didn't brink a stack of DVDs
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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.
__________________
"Success flourishes only in perseverance-ceaseless, restless perseverance." - Baron Manfred von Richtofen
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02-28-2005, 05:10 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 143
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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.
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02-28-2005, 05:15 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,183
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeUnwired
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.
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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.
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