Sky High WiFi

Airlines have made it easy for travelers to do just about everything on line except reserve seats for Red Sox games, and now American has added a new twist for flyers with laptop computers.

AA’s Wi-Fi widget sits on a PC’s desktop, and is designed to inform passengers which flights are equipped with wireless networking services. Plug in a flight number or a departing airport, and the item or list comes up. The tracker looks ahead by 24 hours.

While the widget is free to grab off of a Web site, the in-flight hookup isn’t. Internet connectivity via Aircell’s Gogo service starts at $5.95 per session and goes up—so to speak—depending on the length of the flight. The airline says that at American, it’s now available on all Boeing 767-200 aircraft, select MD80’s and is coming to the fleet of 737s.
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Droid Eris Review

When you’re talking about Droids, there are some that stand out and then others that do diligent work all while being in the background. The Droid Eris by HTC that Verizon sent over is not the focus of a massive campaign like its bigger brother, the Droid. But outside of the spotlight, without all of the attention, the Droid Eris is working and doing its job pretty well. You could say that the Droid Eris is the R5-D4 to the Droid’s R2-D2. You see, while R2-D2 went on to live a life paired with Luke Skywalker, R5-D4 had to keep working. Similarly, while the Droid gets propped up as a iPhone competitor, the Droid Eris plods along with some pretty nice features itself.

There are a couple of key differences between the HTC Droid Eris and the more costly and bigger Motorola Droid. Easy to point out is the Droid Eris lacks a camera flash, but there is the same 5.0MP rating on the camera. There’s also no keyboard to slide out, instead the Eris relies on its touchscreen for input. The Eris also ships with a smaller microSD card, rating only 8GB to the Droid’s 16GB. It is upgradeable though, so you can pop in a 16GB card if you have one. The most important feature lacking though is on the software side. The Eris only runs Android OS 1.5, which lacks some very important features that are available in 2.0 (like the turn-by-turn) navigation.
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Nokia N900 begins shipping!

Today sees the first batch of Nokia N900 handsets boxed up and shipped out on their maiden voyage into wild. The N900 has been the most discussed device we’ve ever reported on here at Conversations, so many of you are sure to be stoked to discover that the Maemo 5 device will be touching down in Europe, the Middle-East, Russia and North America shortly. Read on to find out what Nokia’s Vice President for Nseries had to say about the N900’s release, get more details on the new N900 as it begins shipping, and share your comments on the landmark launch of Nokia’s first Maemo-powered phone.

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HTC HD2 Review

Thought the original HTC HD was a bit of beast? Then how about the spanking new HTC HD2. It has a massive 4.3-inch screen which makes the original 3.8-inch effort look paltry by comparison. But does this capacious Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone cut it against the very best phones out there? Read our HTC HD2 review now and find out.

Let’s cut straight to the chase. The HTC HD2 is the best Windows Mobile phone we’ve ever used. That’s not thanks to the OS hidden underneath the stunning HTC Sense skin last seen on the HTC Hero and HTC Tattoo, more down to the manner in which HTC has built this mobile from the ground up.

That 4.3-inch screen is nothing short of magnificent and dominates the HTC HD2. However, it’s never overpowering and really helps take this phone ahead of its competitors. See, this bad boy has a capacitive touchscreen with multitouch capabilities for zipping about web pages and snaps. It’s every bit as good as the iPhone and thanks to the size, this is one of the best browsing experiences we’ve ever had on-the-go. Admittedly Safari remains top dog, but this pushes it very close indeed.
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Samsung Omnia 2 unboxed

We’ve been waiting patiently for the Samsung Omnia 2 ever since June, but now at long last, the titanic Windows Mobile smarpthone is here at last. It may not be as big, but the 3.7-inch OLED screen on it is more than a match for the HTC HD2’s display, so read on to see it come out of its box at long last in our gallery right here!

Having played with a finished Samsung Omnia 2 for the first time, we’re torn. We were all over the HTC HD2’s capacitive screen when we got a hold of the fella earlier on in the week, but Sammy’s OLED screen looks even better. Screens, snaps and videos are all eye popping, and make the iPhone seem positively low-res.
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Apple flogs hobbled Iphones in China

THE GLORIOUS APPLE RELIGION’S missionary quest in China seems doomed from the outset.

The Iphone, which has been a triumph of control freakery in the West, was launched in the highly commercial Chinese market over the weekend.

However Chinese buyers, who have to save up for months to buy the gizmo, were shocked to discover it had no WiFi.

China wanted the makers of smartphones to use its WiFi standard, but Jobs’ Mob said that if the gear had not been approved by Steve then it was not going into the Iphone.
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