Disqus
More UK travel news, this time not trains, but planes – must see if I can find a story on cars to complete the “planes, trains, and automobiles” set…. 
Anyhoo, back to the story at hand. The Times Online is saying that BMI (a UK operator) is enabling SMS in-flight, using a system called OnAir. OnAir uses picocells aboard the flight, which apparently minimises the issues associated with interference with plane systems (the oft-quoted reason why you can’t use your mobile on the plane).
Hmm. Okay, so that piece of reasoning is blown away then if some Flight Operators are willing to let Mobiles be used. But more than that, what about the noise? Most people have quite “unique” message alert sounds, but everyone I run in to seems to have that alert turned up to the “deafening” volume setting on their devices! Does that mean along with upset children on flights, we now have to contend with the Mobile beeping menace?
Of course, if SMS goes down well, the next things will be calls in-flight. Oh joy!
It will be interesting to see if BMI release data on the usage of this service – I bet it will end up being pretty popular….!
If you want to read The Times Online article, you can do so here.
[Original story via: The Times Online]
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
