Now that the TSA has doled out the official verbiage about what it considers a checkpoint-friendly laptop bag, expect to see the usual players toss in an option or two for frequent fliers. Thus far, all we've seen are cases that get the job done while throwing style to the wind in the nearest dumpster; now, however, we've a better option to choose from. Tom Bihn's stylish Checkpoint Flyer meets all of the TSA's requirements while still looking like a briefcase we wouldn't be embarrassed to be seen with. The 2.6-pound bag is crafted from US 1050 denier ballistic nylon and 500 denier Cordura and includes a trio of pouches on the outside, splash-proof zippers and ten smaller pockets for stashing those increasingly rare bags of peanuts / pretzels. It's available now in three colors for $220 (yeah, we know, but it's made in the US of A).

[Via Electronista]

What do you get when you cross the FlyTech Dragonfly with Jerry Seinfeld? Well, if you're WowWee and Dreamworks you get a radio-controlled Barry B. Benson, star of the upcoming Bee Movie animated release. 6x AA batteries provide enough juice to propel the $50 critter "close to 18 miles an hour." Unfortunately, it will likely possess a range of just 30-feet like its Dragonfly cuz when it lands in October.

You wouldn't think you'd be able to fit a GSM phone, PDA (with stylus), and regular old "watch" functions into into a "stylish" package like the IMOBILE Flying C1000... but you'd be wrong. Dead wrong. Feast your eyes on the latest and greatest wrist-related marvel out of China -- a tiny phone with a touchscreen, Bluetooth support, 60MB of RAM, a video / audio player, a mini USB jack, and possibly a camera (though it's quite hard to tell from the photos). The watch seems to share at least guts (if not design) with SMS Technology's M500, and of course we've seen phone watches and PMP watches, but never before has it all been pulled together in such an "attractive" package. The C1000 also appears to be both 2G- and 3G-ready, thus allowing you to browse large, image-heavy webpages on the tiniest screen ever made. No word on price and availability, but you can be sure the Engadget staff is doing everything possible to get the team equipped with these.

Those already giddy about their 2008 trip to Down Under should now pick up the phone and do whatever it takes to get on one of Qantas' forthcoming A380s or revamped 747-400s, as both planes will reportedly feature in-flight WiFi and laptop power. As if that weren't enough, the new A380s will even dole out power sockets to those in economy class, and while the in-flight entertainment system may be preferred by your offspring, we know you'll greatly appreciate the internet access and seat-mounted USB / Ethernet ports. Currently, Qantas has yet to divulge exactly how much these luxuries will run you per flight, and while there's still a few months remaining before any passengers are faced with such comforts while flying Qantas, we can't help but yearn for a first-class ticket complete with a 17-inch widescreen LCD. Hit the read link for a few more snapshots and the full rundown of extras.

When it comes to rethinking the cabin of your modern jumbo jet, innovations usually involve enhancing the travel experience by offering more leg room, better entertainment, tastier food, etc.; less popular, it seems, are attempts to minimize those few square feet of unprofitable breathing room by packing even more people into what already feels like a flying sardine tin. Well someone over at Acumen Design Associates and the Premium Aircraft Interior Group apparently lost the memo revealing that people prefer more personal space to less, because how else to explain the collaboration's "Freedom" seating concept, which crams in an extra column of rear-facing seats that force you to sit nearly eye-to-eye with your neighbor. This design -- to be presented at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg -- supposedly trumps current configurations by allowing travelers' shoulders to overlap, but which will probably only serve to create even more heated battles over the narrower armrests. In fact, the only advantage we see to practically sitting on top of the person next to us is that when in-flight cellphones are finally given the green light, it will be just a little easier to tell our loudmouth seat buddy to shut the h-e-double-hockey-sticks up.

[Via Core77]

Sure, watching Wowwee's FlyTech Dragonfly buzz around the room at your command elicits quite a few positive emotions, but we can't even fathom the thrill (not to mention the feeling of impending death) that would come from cruising the skies via jetpack. Yves Rossy -- a Swiss daredevil whom we all look forward to living through vicariously -- says he has become "the first person to gain altitude and maintain a stable, horizontal flight thanks to aerodynamic carbon foldable wings." While we've seen jetpacks before, and realize that folks have taken to the air on similar devices in years past, Reuters is giving us a sneak peek at Rossy's flight, which he took on the kerosene-powered, back-strapped vehicle -- and we admit, it looks like quite the thrill ride. So if you're looking to quell your fears before picking up one of your own (hopefully) in a few years, be sure to hit the read link for a live action video (and a good reason to grin).

[Via Fark]

While the Robosapien, Roboreptile, and basically all of Wowwee's gizmos demand an (understandable) level of respect, the FlyTech Dragonfly (quite literally) takes this "robotic toy" gig to another level. While the FCC got its paws on the fluttering animal not too long ago, it now appears that citizens over at T3 got a chance to give it whirl, and the results are indeed impressive. Relying on "brute flapping-power to remain airborne," this creature reportedly worked "amazingly well," and the rechargeable battery pack will purportedly keep it in flight for "around 15 minutes." Although the bug should draw a crowd at next month's CES, there's no need to wait around to get a sneak peek at what this tombo is capable of, as the kind folks at T3 are delivering a hands-on video (after the break) to make us all green with envy.

In a breakthrough that's being touted as a potentially crushing blow to the noise-canceling headphone industry, researchers at MIT and Cambridge University have designed a unique passenger jet that reportedly sounds no louder than a washing machine from outside the confines of an airport. The so-called Silent Aircraft Initiative -- which began in November 2003 -- culminates today with the unveiling of a concept plane which is roughly the size of a Boeing 767, but takes its design cues from stealth military jets like the B-2 bomber, in that its fuselage has been "squished" to create an all-lifting body. Besides re-imagining the shape of traditional jumbo jets, the 40-person team also moved the engines from under the wings into the body of the plane itself, allowing them to take in air from the top of the wing and minimize the noise heard by people on the ground. The quieter design could result in airports being constructed much closer to residential areas, meaning that passengers would be able to start their two-hour wait at the security checkpoint that much more quickly. While specific noise-dampening elements of the airplane will probably be implemented into passenger jets in the near future, the SAI researchers believe we won't see the concept itself in flight until sometime around 2030 -- a little too late, in our opinion, as we're pretty sure that teleportation will completely obviate the need for air travel long before then.

[Via Reuters, illustration courtesy of CNET]

Airbus, that robot-friendly aeroplane company, has filed a patent for a device that generates "electromagnetic interaction in an airplane". No, this isn't some kind of revolutionary fly-by-magnets technology, it's actually a slightly oddball idea intended to solve the most common of airborne travel ailments: jetlag. The device, which in the event that it is ever put into service, will be integrated into passenger seats, supposedly has the capability to "prevent and reduce the occurrence of jetlag, reduce the danger of passengers suffering from thrombosis, and increase general well-being by promoting relaxation, sleep and stress reduction". Ever seen those stone magnets that people put around their wrists to "increase blood flow?" This device looks like it would operate the same away, but in an electromagnetic form. We won't question the validity of using magnets to keep people healthy, but we are puzzled at the logic behind introducing randomly fluctuating electromagnetic fields onto packed airplanes. Surely (don't call me Shirley!) the thought that this could potentially interfere with the pilot's ability to fly the plane crossed the minds of the researchers over at Airbus? Especially considering the common "please turn off your cellphones" announcement that pilots make at the beginning of every flight (FYI, cellphones emit electromagnetic fields). Maybe a wiser course of action would be to focus on cheaper in-flight Wi-Fi, keeping passengers' minds off the fact that they're floating round a tin can far above the world, resulting in less stress and therefore, by Airbus's own logic, reduced jetlag.

If you're in the 99+ percent of folks on non-WiFi-enabled flights, and are well aware that cellphone use while in-air is probably coming later rather than sooner, Virgin Atlantic is hoping to grab your attention. As airlines helplessly grasp at off-the-wall gimmicks to acquire more non-ticket sales and provide a more luxurious and exciting experience to the customer, Virgin seems to think it has a hit on its hands. The London-based company has stated its plans to introduce the "world's first in-flight texting service," that has nothing at all to do with SMS; rather, passengers will be able to text any fathomable question from their seat-back television screen to an existing "land-based text answer service" that supposedly will answer any queries "within minutes" -- not a bad feature to have if trying to brush on a language before arriving in a foreign country or scouting out the nearest Engadget reader meetup. The company has suggested interrogations could arise about popular entertainment in cities, how to survive jetlag, or cabin conversation starters. While there may be more thrilling ways to get to your destination, sometimes a good 'ole fashion plane ride is inevitable, but at least Virgin's Q&A game can help you ignore your boredom (or the awful in-flight movie) when flying the friendly skies.

While we're still waiting for our jet pack and saving up for our Moller Skycar, it looks like we may soon have another flying machine at our disposal once the Skyacht personal blimp hits the market. The blimp's been in development since 2002 (including some makeshift wind tunnel testing) but just recently underwent its first tethered test flights and is set to make its first untethered flight later this month. Unlike traditional blimps, the Skyacht simply uses hot air instead of helium, and employs a "virtually silent" motor for propulsion. The use of hot air makes the Skyacht cheaper to operate than other blimps but, as you can see, also requires a much bigger balloon. Rest assured though, it is the world's first "practical" personal blimp.

[Via MAKE: Blog]

A new breakthrough in materials science may pave the way for those inevitable swarms of tiny flying robots that will one day darken the skies and strike fear into us all, as researchers in South Korea have succeeded in coaxing specially-prepared cellophane paper to rapidly curve and straighten itself in an insect-like flapping motion. Although scientists have apparently known since the 1950's that wood was piezoelectric, meaning that it bends slightly when exposed to electricity, it took a team from Inha University with help from Texas A&M to discover that the same property also holds true for other cellulose-based material. By coating both sides of a sheet of cellophane with thin layers of gold, the researchers were able to create so-called Electroactive paper (EAPap) so sensitive that the voltage from a microwave beam provides enough power to trigger its unique shape-changing abilities. Oddly enough, no one is quite sure of the physics behind the transformation -- theories center around pressure changes resulting from the movement of ions -- but regardless of how it works, we're sure that more than a few governments will be most interested in deploying this technology to beef up their domestic and international surveillance programs.

[Via Roland Piquepaille and ScienceNOW]