Blogging at 37,000 feet
The author in seat 31C.
(Credit: John Falcone)A few weeks ago Marguerite Reardon wrote about how American Airlines was starting to offer a new inflight WiFi service called Gogo. Well, I'm on my way to CNET's San Francisco office and was worried that with 5 hours on a plane I would fall behind on my blogging. But lo and behold about 20 minutes after we got off the ground a Gogo representative came down the aisle and handed me a pamphlet telling me how easy it was to get online. I just couldn't resist, so here I am blogging at 37,000 feet.
I gotta say, the speed is pretty impressive. Speakeasy's speed test clocked in at a 2,592 kpbs download speed and a 279 kbps upload speed. CNET's bandwidth meter pegged me at 1,122 kbps on the download side.
That said, when I tried to watch a little Hulu, the video got a bit choppy in spots, much like the flight that I'm on. The other downside is that the Wi-Fi appears to be having a serious impact on my battery life. It's draining rather quickly, which is partially why I'm going to keep this post short. Obviously, the next thing American--and other airlines--need to do is to make more power connections available to fliers. Also, it'd be good if the airlines would enable voice over IP services like Skype--apparently they are restricting its use along with cell phone use in flight (I will try to test Skype on my way back to New York see if that statement is accurate).
Still, having Wi-Fi on board, even if it does cost $12.95 for the flight, is a step in the right direction and makes the skies a lot friendlier for bloggers--and any sort of business professional who's feeding the machine 24-7. On the other hand, Gogo and other services like it leave you with one less cherished place to be off the grid.
Final note: I did notice that I'm posting this on 9/11 and I was going to say something about how this technology would--or wouldn't have--changed anything that day. But it's probably not worth going there.
Comments?
Hunkered down in New York City, Executive Editor David Carnoy covers the gamut of gadgets and writes his Fully Equipped column, which carries the tag line "The electronics you lust for." He's also the author of "Knife Music," a novel. E-mail David. Follow David on Twitter.
sorry bud, but you just don't seem to get it. people do not want to be sitting next to someone talking on the phone doing business calls. if it is so important you ought to fly on a plane with uber expensive phone service. and be relegated to being banished from your immediate seating area.
i love this tech. and welcome being able to use it, but honestly, i wouldnt want to be next to someone doing "vital" business calls. everyone thinks their own business is important, so much so that flying would become even more painful.
most of us when traveling prefer a nice quiet and painless flight. with people who talk too much and are loud, it becomes very painful experience.
Personally, the only call I make is to whomever is supposed to be picking me up from the city in which I land to let them know what time I am arriving. (And even that is questionable, considering that once I give them my flight number they can simply check it up on the internet.) Afterward, I turn off my phone, put on my sound-isolating earbuds, and try very hard to fall asleep. Occasionally people call me, in which case, if it is not important, I tell them that my flight is taking off and that I can't speak.
For people who seriously NEED to communicate while in-flight, like for important business, there is the option of email as well as live chat. If it is an emergency, and a phone call needs to be made, as engr04 suggested, there should be a certain part of the plane reserved for that purpose.
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by MelodyChalaban
October 20, 2008 12:06 PM PDT
- I'm Wi-Fi-ing from the sky as I type this comment! I agree that the Wi-Fi sucks the battery but I'm with dkirss re: allowing VoIP calls in the plane. Can you imagine 5 people doing con calls from the plane? Yikes. I bet these would be the same people who shout into their cell phones in public places.
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