Continental offers in-air Wi-Fi for e-mail, IM

Service includes 36 channels of live television programming provided by DIRECTV(R) and onboard Wi-Fi services including inflight wireless connectivity for e-mail and instant messaging
HOUSTON, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with LiveTV, L.L.C. (LiveTV) that will allow Continental to offer 36 channels of live, inflight satellite-based television programming provided by DIRECTV(R), the nation's leading satellite television provider, at every seat on Continental's new generation aircraft. The service is expected to be available to customers on flights operating within the continental United States beginning in January 2009.
In addition, Continental will be introducing onboard Wi-Fi services including e-mail and instant messaging connectivity offered by LiveTV.
"Our customers want more inflight entertainment and communication options," said Larry Kellner, Continental's chairman and chief executive officer. "We have been closely watching technology developments and are delighted to have teamed up with LiveTV to offer live television programming and communication to our customers."
Customers will be able to choose from a variety of quality programming from DIRECTV(R) including sports, news, weather, children's programming and general entertainment. The initial channel programming lineup offered through the inflight entertainment system is expected to include CBS, NBC, FOX News, CNN Headline News, ESPN, Animal Planet, The History Channel, Food Network, Nickelodeon, MTV and other popular channels. The inflight entertainment system will also offer a moving map and other stored informational and entertainment content. Continental will offer complimentary access to the system to all first-class customers. Economy-class customers will be able to access the system by paying a $6 access fee.
In addition, Continental will offer complimentary Wi-Fi connectivity services allowing customers to access e-mail and instant messaging subject to LiveTV being able to offer the service, which is still in the testing phase. Customers will be able to use the service with Wi-Fi enabled smartphones, BlackBerries and laptops to connect to work, friends and family via Yahoo!(R) Mail, Yahoo!(R) Messenger and BlackBerry e-mail and BlackBerry(R) Messenger services.
The new services will be installed on Continental's fleet of Boeing 737 New Generation aircraft, including the 737-700, -800, -900 and -900ER aircraft, and the Boeing 757-300.
Continental Airlines is the world's fifth largest airline. Continental, together with Continental Express and Continental Connection, has more than 2,900 daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, serving 144 domestic and 139 international destinations. More than 580 additional points are served via SkyTeam alliance airlines. With more than 45,000 employees, Continental has hubs serving New York, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, and together with Continental Express, carries approximately 69 million passengers per year. Continental consistently earns awards and critical acclaim for both its operation and its corporate culture. For more company information, visit continental.com.
LiveTV is the world's leading provider of live inflight entertainment and connectivity systems for commercial airlines, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of JetBlue. LiveTV is the provider of JetBlue's inflight entertainment service - - which was recently recognized by the World Airline Entertainment Association as the Best Overall inflight entertainment experience in the Americas. LiveTV's customers also include some of the most successful low-cost, low-fare airlines in the world including WestJet, Frontier, Virgin Blue and AirTran. Headquartered in Florida, LiveTV has installation and maintenance locations around the world to support the more than 500 aircraft currently equipped with its products. For a full listing of products, services and partners, or for more information, please visit www.livetv.net.
SOURCEContinental Airlines

[Thanks Electronista]

More on the Nokia N82

The N82 is Nokia's latest addition to its N-series lineup. Featuring a 320 x 240 TFT display, 5.0-megapixel camera w/Carl Zeiss lens, Wi-Fi, 3G support, and Bluetooth with A2DP. Video after the break. Click here for more pictures.
AGPS will get you from A to B, with Nokia Maps and a free trial of voice navigation software as standard. Shove your hand in your pocket and you'll get specific city guides to boot.

Nelson is right. This phone looks hot!! Also, I note that it plays N-Gage games, still deciding if that's a plus or a minus.

[TechEBlog via T3]

HTC Polaris Renamed "Touch Cruise"

Who's ready for the new HTC Polaris phone?

Hell, you might not have even heard of this smartphone, but this little guy has been talked about for a bit, and now is being renamed the Touch Cruise.

And you guest it, it has touch features now.

The phone comes with 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, GPS (I love GPS), Windows Mobile 6, and 3G, it also has built in FM radio (who uses this feature?).

It is expected to be out in November, but no word on pricing yet.

HTC Polaris Re-Christened HTC Touch Cruise [Newlaunches.com via Crunchgear]

Wi-Fi Enabled Blackberry 8820

So who's ready for the first Wi-Fi enabled Blackberry?

I know that I am, and this monster comes loaded with the goods! The Wi-Fi enabled 8820 is the thinnest Blackberry to date and comes with a full QWERTY keypad, and is the first dual based Blackberry to have EDGE/GPRS/GSM and Wi-Fi connectivity over 802.11 a/b/g. I bet you're thinking 'What about security?' Well they've got you covered there with protocols of WEP, WPA, WPA2, and IPSec-based software for you VPN users.

But this baby isn't all work. It also comes with a Roxio based media player, and a microSD/SDHC slot that can support up to 32GB. Now that's getting it done! But for me, the best part is the built in GPS in the unit!!! Hello iphone!

Available only at AT&T.

The only down part? No 3G! Come on Rim! You almost had me at Hello!

Hit the jump for more info. [Crunchgear]

New Wi-Fi Distance Record Set: 238 Miles

A researcher in Venezuela has set a new Wi-Fi distance record, sending a signal 238 miles from his research facility to another one in the Andes Mountains. Well both are located in the Andes mountains, but what's most impressive here is that similar efforts haven’t produced results anywhere near this.

Intel’s best efforts here in the U.S. have only reached distances of more than 20 miles away. The Venezuelan researcher used some off-the-shelf parts in addition to specialized equipment Intel provided him with.

Funny, I can't get a signal past my patio door. Bastards!!!

Read the entire article here. [CNET]

With WiFind, Airport Automatically Tell You Which Networks Are Open

If you're a Mac owner, there’s nothing more frustrating than manually clicking through a list of networks on your Macbook’s Airport, desperately trying to find that one open one with a decent signal.

No longer!!!

With Apple’s just-released WiFind app, a click to Airport automatically tells you which networks are unlocked and how strong their signal is. Stealing your neighbor’s Wi-Fi officially just got a whole lot easier.

Microsoft, we need a response!!!

Click here for WiFind.