European Union regulators approve in-flight mobile phone use

by Grant Martin on

It is officially starting to happen — this morning, EU authorities approved the use of cell phone calls in flight, thus opening the floodgates for widespread mobile phone service and development on all European carriers.

You may recall that last month Emirates, the Dubai based luxury carrier boasted the first cruising-altitude mobile service on their aircraft and that several carriers in the United States are tinkering with the same technology. The difference in these cases is that by and large these services are limited to particular flights and routes.

These new rules applied in the EU essentially let any carrier develop and implement any technology to their liking. So you can expect several carriers to come up with several different means of communicating over the course of the year. It also means, however, that the airlines will have authority over the service. Your mobile signal will come from the aircraft, so the crew will have the ability to restrict or remove service at their discretion. And they will also have the ability to charge for it.

But at what rates? Will standard minute and roaming fees apply? Will the airlines charge extra for the privilege of crackberrying at 30,000 ft? There’s no official word on service and rates yet, but considering airlines are now charging to be nice to you, I wouldn’t doubt if we had to pay.

Either way, don’t expect your KLM flight to turn into a chatterbox immediately. Carriers need to integrate service at cruising altitude (ground towers usually don’t reach to 30,000 feet at 600MPH, especially if you’re over water) and unroll their own rules and regulations. Enjoy your silence while you have it.

Cell phone abusers on plane now being arrested

by Grant Martin on

One of my biggest pet peeves is the jokers on the airplane who talk non stop on their phones before departure and practically need to have them wrestled away when the cabin door closes. In addition to the potentially dangerous effect of mobile phone signals on aircraft navigation, its rude to be jabbering away with a ton of cramped unhappy people all around you.

The problem is particularly egregious in business class, where I frequently see passengers hiding their Blackberries when the flight attendant passes by, only to pull them back out and start sending emails right after.

Well apparently the industry is starting to take things more seriously. This past week, the Sydney Morning Herald reports that three Italians departing out of Milan were kicked off an airplane and arrested for refusing to get off their phones prior to departure. Even last week on my girlfriend’s flight between New York and Detroit a guy was booted for talking after the door was closed (as if LGA didn’t have enough delays).

So try to give the crew and your fellow passengers a break if you have to use your cell before departure. Be courteous, keep your voice down and when they close the cabin door, for the love of all that is holy, please turn off your phone.

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Airline Passengers Breathe a Sigh of Relief: Cell Phones Still not Allowed in Planes

by Grant Martin on

As our colleagues over at Engadget reported earlier this week, it looks like cell phones are going to stay in the off and stowed position in aircraft for at least the near future. Apparently, the several proposals that were on the table were shelved after a considerable ruckus was stirred among people who enjoy their quiet time up in the air.

And I totally agree. It’s bad enough to be sitting next to some schlub in Panera talking about how many used cars he sold this week — I don’t need to listen to it in an enclosed aluminum tube 30,000 feet in the sky. Wireless might be a reasonable alternative, as Catherine, Neil and Justin pointed out earlier this year, but if I hear any of you guys Skyping at from three rows away I’m dumping my seven ounces of cranberry-apple juice on your lap.

Literature via Cell Phones

by Neil Woodburn on

In the mad rush to load up our smart phones with tiny video and entertaining games, there remains one form of media sorely lacking in today’s modernized world: literature.

Remember passing time on a plane or waiting for the subway with a magazine or book in hand? Such gray matter activities are sadly becoming increasingly scarce these days. Just look around the next time you fly. The majority of passengers will be plugged into their MP3 players, personal DVD players, or engrossed in the latest game on their new iPhone. Reading is nearly dead.

And so, it was with a sigh of relief that I came across a small company combining the best of both worlds.

DailyLit.com delivers short snippets of literature to your cell phone screen, PDA, or email inbox to be consumed at your leisure. The idea is that entire books are serialized into consecutive snippets–each of which can be read in about five minutes. All one needs to do is to pick a book, decided upon how often you want the snippets to come, and then read the entire thing five minutes at a time.

Sure beats Donkey Kong in my book!

How to take Better Cell Phone Photographs by National Geographic

by Neil Woodburn on

It was only a matter of time before camera phones warranted their own photography books.

First generation camera phones produced horrific photos but improvements have come rapidly and now it’s actually quite difficult to tell the difference between a photograph taken by a regular camera and one shot by a cell phone.

Almost.

Cell phone cameras still need a little extra help to produce a quality image and that’s the idea behind The Camera Phone Book: How to Shoot like a Pro.

The fact that National Geographic has produced this book lends an incredible amount of legitimacy to the cell phone camera. National Geographic has always been the poster child of quality photography and by endorsing what was once a joke amongst serious photographers they have elevated the cell phone camera to a level never thought possible. In fact, the forward of the book claims that it is the “first of its kind to treat these units as genuine cameras instead of novelties.”

But, the proof, as they say, is in the pudding. Not only does the book provide tips on capturing that perfect cell phone photograph, but it also includes 44 examples of how National Geographic photographers have managed to do so.