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Amazon launches Alexa for hotels
Visitors to Marriott hotels will soon be able to use Amazon Alexa to make their stays more enjoyable. "Alexa for Hospitality" lets guests ask Alexa -- via an in-room Amazon Echo -- for help with hotel information, booking guest services, playing music and managing room controls, such as lighting and temperature.
CabinR's travel bags keep thieves away with an annoying alarm
Not everyone is good at keeping track of their personal belongings, like a backpack or a messenger bag. So CabinR, a startup based out of Hong Kong, wants to help you feel safer on a journey. The company has created two bags, a backpack and a messenger model, that feature an alarm system powered by RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags to (hopefully) keep any potential thieves away from your stuff. It works quite simply: On the bag, there's an alarm device that you activate by pressing a button, and the only way to deactivate is by tapping an RFID plastic card on it.
Show and Tell: Traveling nerd - the basics
For the last few years I have been trying to build up the ultimate nerd travel kit - especially for short business trips lasting only a few days. The basic idea is to take as little as possible while still giving you access to all the basic nerdy activities you can't live without (gaming, internet, streaming services etc.).Here's what I have come up with so far. This whole setup fits nicely into my bag and does not make it too heavy.Mobile phone: OnePlus OneAfter years using various types of iPhones I made the switch to Android 2 years ago. My latest smartphone is a OnePlus One and I am very happy with it. Before this I had a Samsung Note 3 which I loved to bits, but it was paid for by my former employer and when it got to paying for a new phone by myself it was just too expensive. So it had to be a OnePlus One - and so far I am very happy with it. I've had none of the problems reported by other users and don't even miss the stylus that the Note came with.Tablet: iPad AirWhile it would be very tempting to keep up with the latest and greatest in tablet technology it just isn't possible financially, so I skip a few generations now and then. This is why I'm still using my iPad Air and it's still a great companion. Not only for reading and gaming, but also for my other hobby: DJing (but that's a topic for a whole other article I shall be writing at a later stage). With some great new games available and some classics (GTA San Andreas - do you even need another game on the iPad?) you can spend hours in your hotel room just forgetting the outside world.Controller: Stratus Steel SeriesFor serious gaming you need a good controller. And the Stratus Steel Series delivers a great performance for its small size. GTA San Andreas is seriously fun using it, it just feels like on the Playstation all those years back. With more and more games supporting these controllers the iPad is becoming a great gaming machine.Keyboard: Logitech Keys-To-GoTurning the iPad into a true workstation is only possible with a good keyboard. You just need one to get typing fast. I tried a few cases with built-in keyboards, but they added a lot of bulk - and I didn't use them too often, since I only need a keyboard every now and then at a conference or barcamp. So the Keys-To-Go Bluetooth Keyboard is the perfect solution for me. It is so lightweight and thin that you hardly notice it in your bag, yet provides a good enough typing experience to hack away for hours at good speed. Great battery life too!Smartwatch: Moto 360While I absolutely loathe the voice command function - Can it simply not handle German? Do I have a lisp? Is it simply not working? - I like everything else about it. Especially after the latest update it is beginning to feel like the futuristic gadget it was always meant to be.Action Cam: Polaroid CubeFor little fun videos on the go this is probably the best choice: small enough to just have in your bag at all times while delivering a pretty OK picture. You won't get the highest quality out of the tiny thing, but for little experiments while on the road it is perfect. The magnet at the bottom is great for quickly popping it into place in strange locations for great shots.Charger: Apple Plug with Lightning-Micro-USB CableFor charging I use the Apple plug which came with one of my later iPhones - it is still one of the smallest plugs you can find, perfect for traveling. On Amazon I found a cable with USB on one side and a Lightning-Micro-USB Adapter on the other. So it is perfect for charging all my gadgets.With these gadgets in my bag (and my R2D2 hard shell suitcase from Thinkgeek) I feel like the ultimate traveling nerd and have everything covered. Or did I miss something you always make sure to take on your travels?
Travelocity apparently saves the best deals for iOS shoppers
Like with most everything, online shopping has its pros and cons. One of the best elements of going the digital route, though, is that you usually end up saving more money than at a brick-and-mortar store. Having said that, according to a recent study by Northeastern University, a number of websites are charging some users more than others. The findings point out that travel-booking companies such as Cheaptickers and Orbits were bumping hotel prices for people who weren't logged in to their site, with prices going up by as much as $12 extra per night to every user without an account. Even more interesting is the fact Travelocity, which is among the most popular places to book travel on the web, was found to be charging iOS users an average of $15 less on hotels compared to those browsing from another mobile platform. Which is to say, you should probably use an iPhone or iPad during your next Travelocity order -- and with the holidays coming up, the timing couldn't be any better. [Image credit: Kasaa/Flickr]
Google optimizes Flight Search for tablets, makes booking trips easier
It feels like it was only yesterday that we were praising Google for giving us access to a plethora of handy, everyday tools -- oh wait, it was yesterday. At any rate, today the folks from Mountain View are back with more travel-friendly software for you to enjoy, announcing that its useful Flight Search service is now fully-optimized for use with, as Google points out, tablets such as its own Nexus 7 and, naturally, Cupertino's iPad. Jet-setters can see the changes now by simply hitting the Flights link below, and with the dearest holidays just around the corner, now is probably a good time to make use of that "lowest fare" tool.
Sony Xperia tipo and tipo dual reach the US in unlocked form, give Americans a taste of dual SIMs
Few of us who live outside of Asia or Eastern Europe know the potential convenience of a dual SIM phone. Own one and you can globetrot, or else keep separate home and work lines without the bulk of an extra device in the pocket. Sony is gambling that enough Americans have that multi-line desire by selling the Xperia tipo dual and its regular, single-SIM counterpart in the US as unlocked GSM models. Neither of the Android 4.0 phones is what we'd call a powerhouse with the same 3.5-inch screen, 3.2-megapixel camera and 800MHz Snapdragon inside, but both can latch on to HSPA 3G on AT&T, refarmed T-Mobile coverage and 2100MHz carriers abroad, even if the single-SIM tipo curiously has 900MHz 3G support that the tipo dual lacks. It's undoubtedly price that Sony is counting on more than anything: at respective contract-free prices of $180 and $190 for the tipo and tipo dual, the pair of Xperias may be sold most often as travel-only phones for the jet set.
American Airlines to hand out Galaxy Note 'tablets' to 17,000 flight attendants (video)
Things aren't all Champagne and caviar over at American Airlines, not that you'd know it from the company's latest press release. The Dallas-based air carrier just shared a plan to outfit all of its flight attendants with Samsung Galaxy Notes beginning later this year. The rollout will continue through the middle of 2013, at which point each of the airline's 17,000 cabin crew members will have their very own "tablet," which they'll use to manage flight manifests, track premium passenger meal preferences and monitor weather and gate information in real-time, on WiFi-equipped flights. Eventually, the handsets will also include the flight attendant manual, along with additional features, such as processing for in-flight meal and drink purchases (pending FAA approval). Though the Galaxy Note II will likely be available by the time the program begins, the press release references a 5.3-inch display, which would imply the previous-gen handset. Sadly, this Note of excitement comes alongside news that some 11,000 American mechanics and ground workers could get a pink slip come November -- as frequent air travelers ourselves, we're genuinely sorry to hear that, and we don't want any gadget to overshadow the airline's ongoing troubles and the unfortunate fate of hardworking employees. You can catch that angle at the coverage link below, then read all about the Note program just after the break.
Uros' Goodspeed hotspot packs 10 SIM cards, says roaming is for chumps (update: fee differences)
Snagging international data service usually involves either special agreements or steep roaming costs. Not Uros and its new Goodspeed hotspot. The pocketable, 21Mbps HSPA+ router carries a staggering 10 SIM cards and simply uses a local SIM for whichever destination country you visit. The brute force strategy helps Uros offer a relatively low flat rate for 1GB of data per day, no matter where you are on the coverage map: while the Goodspeed itself costs €273 ($352), Uros asks just €5.90 ($8) a day for occasional visits and €9.90 ($13) a month for frequent fliers. It's a very sizable bargain for the jetset, even with a current scope limited to Finland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the UK. A number of "important" countries are due before Christmas, which could make Uros' hotspot a go-to choice for those who just can't stay settled in one place. [Thanks, Antti] Update: Uros has gotten in touch with us to clarify the pricing beyond what we've seen so far. The €9.90 fee covers account details and doesn't "yet" reflect data -- you'll still need to pay €5.90 per day . There's also a chance the rate could go up in future countries, although all the existing countries abide by that rate.
Xcom Global launches LTE data for travelers at $18 a day, starting in Japan
Xcom Global has been busy carving out a reputation as the world traveler's best friend, but that globetrotter has always had to make do with 3G even if there was 4G back home. As of September 20th, frequent roamers of the sort will have access to LTE when abroad -- at least, if they're planning a trip to the Land of the Rising Sun. A deal between Xcom and EMOBILE will let visitors to Japan get up to 75Mbps by renting a Huawei GL01P hotspot to the tune of $18 a day, up slightly from Xcom's usual $15. The pocket router won't work in other countries, but it will supply dual-carrier HSPA+ 3G if travelers wander outside of the fastest coverage areas. Not planning a trip to Osaka? We're told Xcom plans to expand its LTE option to Europe at some point in the future, starting with the UK -- good timing, that.
Qantas to hand out free iPads to all passengers on Boeing 767s, save fuel and our sanity (video)
Qantas just upped the ante for its Australian counterparts Jetstar and Virgin in the airline tablet wars. Following an earlier trial, the transporter plans to hand out free iPads to all of its passengers -- not just the high-flyers in business-class, like with Jetstar's iPads or Virgin's Galaxy Tabs -- on every Boeing 767 aircraft in the fleet. The rollout, which starts in the last quarter of the year, will let those bored in the back seats watch an equally free 200 hours' worth of QStreaming audio and video. Don't confuse the gesture with a sudden bout of altruism on Qantas' part, however. The pound-and-a-half weight of a current iPad sheds the tremendous amount of weight that would normally be needed for a conventional in-flight entertainment system built into the headrest, which on a typical 375-seat 767 could see the iPads pay for themselves within years, if not sooner. The option will give many Aussies something to look forward to for their domestic summer vacations. In the meantime, hop past the break for a Qantas video explaining how QStreaming worked during the original trial run.
Apple nabs patent for NFC-based travel check-in, doesn't quell NFC iPhone rumors just yet
Apple has been chasing NFC patents for years, but it's just now been granted a US patent for its own approach to a transportation check-in -- one of the most common uses of the technology in the real world. The filing describes a theoretical iTravel app that would store reservation and ticket information for just about any vehicle and stop along the way: planes, trains and (rented) automobiles would just have the traveler tap an NFC-equipped device to hop onboard, and the hotel at the end of the line would also take credentials through a gentle bump. Besides the obvious paper-saving measures, iTravel could help skip key parts of the airport security line by providing passport information, a fingerprint or anything else screeners might want to see while we'd otherwise be juggling our suitcases. It all sounds ideal, but before you start booking that trip to the South Pacific with ambitions of testing an NFC-equipped 2012 iPhone, remember this: the patent was originally filed in 2008. We clearly haven't seen iTravel manifest itself as-is, and recent murmurs from the Wall Street Journal have suggested that Apple isn't enthusiastic about the whole NFC-in-commerce idea even today. Still, with Passbook waiting in the wings, the patent can't help but fuel speculation that Apple is getting more serious about an iPhone with near-field wireless in the future.
Summer Travel Ahead? Chimani National Park guides are free for a limited time
I've loved the Chimani National Park guides. They're chock full of worthwhile information and are well worth the US$4.99 to 9.99 they usually sell for. Beginning April 17, the apps are free in celebration of National Park Week. This great deal will last through April 29. "Last year we gave away over 100,000 apps during National Park Week. It was a huge success, and we're excited to do it again," said Chimani President Kerry Gallivan. "Our goal is to reach a million downloads this year and to encourage just as many people to visit their local national park." The Chimani suite of national park apps includes Acadia National Park, Cape Cod National Seashore, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Zion National Park and the National Parks app. It's a virtual passport for tracking visits to all national parks. These apps really are first rate, and I wouldn't think of going to any of these locations without this app on my iPhone. Auto tours, sunrise-sunset times, points of interest, scenic overlooks, when the ranger talks are taking place... you name it, it's all in these apps. If you're traveling this summer, or even think you might be, grab these apps while they're free. You can visit the Chimani web site for more details, and when you're ready, head over to the App Store and get what you need.
Boeing 787 review: ANA's Dreamliner flies across Japan, we join for the ride
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is not the largest plane in the world. Nor is it the fastest. It doesn't have on-board showers or full-size beds, nor can it lay claim to the greatest range or sleekest entertainment system in the air. But it will change the way we fly for decades to come. Boeing's latest commercial airliner is several feet wider and longer than the 767, the company's smallest wide-body (twin-aisle) jet, yet it's 20 percent more fuel efficient. Given that fuel is the single greatest operating cost for any airline, savings of that magnitude could return the industry to profitability, and perhaps even usher in lower airfares for passengers. But while the 787's efficiency makes it an attractive option for airlines, it also serves up a more comfortable ride for passengers. We recently had a chance to fly on a domestic round trip between Tokyo and Okayama in Japan aboard an All Nippon Airways (ANA) Dreamliner -- one of the first two ever delivered. Quieter engines, dimmable windows, LED lights, huge overhead bins, an in-flight bar and on-demand entertainment enhance comfort, even during shorter flights, while higher humidity, a greater internal pressurization level and a gust alleviation system to reduce the effects of turbulence help improve the experience behind the scenes. Care to take a ride? Jump past the break to join us on board Boeing's brand new Dreamliner. %Gallery-141809%
Nature Valley creating Street View-style tour of National Parks, chews through countless granola bars to do so
"There's a good reason why Street View is done in cars." That's a quote from Mat Bisher, associate creative director at McCann, who is teaming up with granola connoisseur Nature Valley in order to deliver a "Street View-style tour" of America's National Parks. Fast Company reports that the two have embarked on quite the ambitious initiative (dubbed Trail View), sending a cadre of well-trained hikers to some of America's most gorgeous locales with specially-rigged camera setups in tow. The goal? To capture views from near-limitless hiking trails, and bring them to your web browser starting in February 2012. Sadly, it won't be integrated into any of the platforms already in existence; it'll be its own standalone thing, but hopefully the likes of Microsoft or Google will take notice and either contribute or convert it. We're told that "layers for user-generated content, social networking and mobility, and perhaps form partnerships with travel sites" are on tap, and yes, Woodrow Wilson's ghost has purportedly approved. Update: We've added a few shots of the actual capturing in the gallery below. %Gallery-137745%
Google and ITA's OnTheFly app update puts flexible flight planning in your pocket
Google went through a lot to buy ITA and its travel software, and we saw the acquisition first bear fruit in the form of Mountain View's web-based Flight Search. Now the partnership has produced version 1.2 of the OnTheFly airfare booking app for Android, iOS and BlackBerry. What's new? Flexible date searches that let you peruse departures 35 days at a time, plus a price graph that shows the most fiscally prudent times to travel. Additionally, globetrotters can access their itinerary search history and see price changes for those fares throughout the year. Nice job fellas, now let's work on bringing bargain-basement fare finding for the final frontier in the next revision.
AT&T launches new global messaging plans, lets you comfortably roam
The largest GSM carrier in the country is popular amongst travelers because you can use nearly all of its phones anywhere in the world. Messaging whilst abroad, however, has always been an expensive headache since the best option on AT&T was a bundle of 50 SMS / MMS messages for $10. That's a quaint number, to say the least, considering many of us can burn through that many messages in an hour. Beginning today, two more options are available for the more text-savvy roamers: you can get a package of 200 for $30, or 500 for $50. This number only reflects the number of messages you send, which means those received are counted against your US bucket of texts (if you're on a pay-per-use messaging plan, they'll cost 20 cents). Given the company's recent history of streamlining, we applaud the additional choices global jetsetters now have. Enjoy the presser after the break.
Sony MDR-NC200D noise-cancelling headphones review
Anyone who commutes to a big city knows how loud and distracting things can get -- whether it's the whine of a bus engine, a subway car's ca-clank or just that screaming baby seated behind you. Some folks may find cranking jams through their headphones helpful for blocking out the world, while others would prefer a bit more relative silence. Thankfully, in this modern age there exist headphones with noise-cancelling goodness to help you zone out. Sony hasn't been a stranger to such cans, and recently introduced its $200 MDR-NC200D noise-cancelling headphones; a mid-range option for folks wanting similar benefits of its over-ear NC500D in an on-ear package. The claim is that these pups will reduce "98.2 percent of ambient noise" for up to 22 hours on a single AAA, so we sported the MDRs for the past few weeks as our primary set of headphones to hear for ourselves. You'll find all of the rock blockin' deets just after the break. %Gallery-133277%
Nerdy Day Trips guides traveling technophiles, could use your input
It's like DayZipping, tailored for nerds. Nerdy Day Trips has just taken the wraps off of itself, launching a "slightly in development" website that aims to give jetsetting technologists a guide for their upcoming excursions. Put simply, users can navigate around the world and find published day trips that involve shockingly geeky things -- you know, like a quick jaunt out to see Tokyo's monumental Gundam statue or The Robot Museum in Nagoya. As it stands, almost all of the recommendations are in the United Kingdom, but that's not to say it'll always be that way. The company's already planning to improve searching, develop a mobile app, integrate a social networking aspect and showcase places to stay near said trips, and you can help expand the database by tossing in trips that you've already accomplished. As for us? We'll have our endeavors to ESPN's 3D haunts, Westone's headquarters and Ferrari's Italian lairs in there shortly.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Lions and tigers and bears, oh... mounts!
Summer is starting to wane, and the cold winds will soon be blustering through the city streets. Kids with chattering teeth and blue fingers will be sitting in front of stoves or fireplaces, rolling their eyes as grandpa proclaims that he had to walk to and from school barefoot through snow uphill both ways. While our grandfathers fantasize about the pride of hardships, we can slip off to the computer and live in our fantasy worlds that provide mounts to make traveling a bit more fun. Runes of Magic has a wide variety of mounts that can run, hover and float over water. Some of these mounts are more rare than others, like those seen only on holidays or during special fundraisers, while some are two-seaters. From the sleek and vicious to the large and powerful to the just plain wacky, RoM has a mount for all occasions. In this week's Lost Pages of Taborea, I go over the mounts that are available, their rarity, their speed, and some ways to give your preferred mount a boost.
Tips for traveling (or not) with the iPad
Gary Arndt has written an interesting blog post about traveling with his iPad for a year. In it, he offers some very helpful tips to world travelers who carry Apple's wonder device with them. As a fellow world traveler (I've been to 30 countries in two years) it was interesting to read and contrast his experience with what I've found. First, some of his tips I agree with: "Not all countries have the iPad yet. If you are going somewhere that is less developed, check ahead to see if there is a carrier which has micro SIM cards which you can use." "If you are concerned about theft, buy a Scottevest. Their jackets have an internal pocket which holds an iPad. I travel with a Fleece 5.0 and I can carry my iPad with me and no one is the wiser." "If you [have a Wi-Fi-only iPad] you can still use the map. Just create your route before you get in the car and have an Internet connection. Then zoom in and follow the route you will be taking so those parts of the map are in the cache of the iPad. The map software will cache map images in the order of whatever was viewed most recently. The cache isn't huge so don't view anything other than your route once you've made it." Arndt also makes some good points about what the iPad isn't good for while traveling. While he likes reading books, he's found, like I have, that the iPad isn't that great as an ereader if you're not sure where your next charge is coming from). I've written about this before (and actually wrote this post on my iPad while flying from London to Porto, Portugal). As Arndt points out, yes it's great to be able to carry dozens of books with you on your travels, but what's not great is the limited battery life your iPad is going to give you while reading (blame it on the LCD display, which is much more power-hungry than the e-ink screens of many dedicated ereaders). If you're a huge reader, stick to a Kindle or my preferred choice, the paperback. Reading books aside, there are some great things I've found the iPad useful for while traveling, most obviously not having to do with the device, but with the apps: Worldly - An Offline Travel Guide: Anyone who travels knows about WikiTravel. It's a free online travel guide other travelers edit -- a Wikipedia for travelers, if you will. It's a great resource, but one you obviously can't access without an Internet connection. That's where Worldy comes in. It allows you to download the entirety of WikiTravel to your iPad. Goodbye guidebooks. Worldy is US$2.99. Galileo Offline Maps: This app solves another "no Internet connection" problem. Galileo allows you to download and save OpenStreetMap map tiles to your iPad. However, unlike the above tip for saving cached Google Maps tiles, Galileo allows you to download maps tailored to particular purposes like tourism, walking, driving, and cycling. Galileo is a free download. However, as much as I love having WikiTravel and offline maps at my fingertips, when I resume my travels early next year, I'll be leaving my iPad back in my flat. Instead I'll opt for traveling with an unlocked iPhone 5 and an 11" MacBook Air. Why? Simply because the iPad is too bulky to carry with you all day while you're traveling a new city. I've seen an iPad, with its larger, harder-to-secure form factor, suddenly ripped out of a traveler's hands in a plaza in Madrid. I want something I can slip in my pocket and hold with one hand while walking around, like an iPhone. But the biggest reason I won't be taking my iPad with me is because I do a lot of content creation on the road. I write books and for blogs and magazines. The level of writing I do makes the touchscreen keyboard on the iPad impractical -- and the 11" MacBook Air a godsend. The iPad can definitely be good for traveling, but it just depends if you're on a short jaunt, or on a round-the-world trip, and also what kind of work you'll be doing (if any) while traveling. At the very least, an iPhone or iPod touch is a must while traveling, but it's a toss-up between an iPad and MacBook Air and your answer will come down to the amount of work you'll be doing on the road.
