Following up on a previous TTDaily post about in-flight wi-fi (which mainly is available in the US and on flights over land), Lufthansa has announced it will bring back in-flight broadband service in the first half of 2010, thanks to Panasonic of Japan’s satellite-based service. The airline said it will outfit half its long-haul jet fleet for the service (which allows for inflight access via a wi-fi enabled laptop or a GSM/GPRS powered phone) by mid-2011. Fees are TBD but will be billed via either credit card or via mobile subscriber billing. This announcement bodes well for international travelers, as Lufthansa, Singapore Air and others had to cancel their in-flight service when Boeing’s Connexion service shut down in 2006. Hopefully the Panasonic system, called exConnect will catch on with other international carriers and will bring trans-oceanic broadband access back in the next year or two. More from the NY Times @ Lufthansa Will Offer Internet on Most Long Flights – NYTimes.com.

Even though laptop battery life is improving, and most laptops now offer 4-5 hours of continuous use, there are plenty of situations where that just isn’t enough. Rather than getting the blues because you’re not able to finish that report, or watch the end of the movie, an external battery can extend your work- or play-time no matter where you are – in planes, at conferences, while outdoors or transiting busy airports. powergorilla by powertraveller is a portable external battery that provides between 2-5 additional hours of power for mobile warriors. Weighing in at about 22 ounces, it’s not extremely light but it pumps out a broad range of power levels up to 24 volts, allowing it to power even the most energy hungry laptops as well as smaller mobile devices. It even powers Macbooks (via a magsafe adapter purchased separately).

The powergorilla comes with a neoprene case, a wide range of tips for laptops and mobile devices and a usb charging outlet (for things like iPods and iPhones). For travelers who use less power-hungry netbooks when traveling, powertraveller has come up with the minigorilla, a smaller device that puts out less voltage (max 19V) but also charges mobile devices like its big brother. the powergorilla sells for $289.89 at Amazon; the minigorilla is 99 pounds and available on the powergorilla web site.

This article by The New York Times’ Frugal Traveler contains a wealth of tips to save money on international calls while traveling. TTD has covered some of these in the past, but this article discusses several new WiFi enabled solutions similar to Skype (my choice for the best, cost-effective solution for international calling) that work from your wifi-connected PC or wifi-enabled phone. The post also shares information on international multi-country sim cards (Go-Sim was covered in a previous post here)  and other tools for those who want to talk a lot but pay a little. Click here to read the article.

Whether you’re in Singapore, Stockholm or Seattle, people expect to be able to reach you, virtually 24/7. The only escape (and one I cherished) was on a flight – especially a long one like the 17 ½ hour nonstop from Singapore to Newark. I loved not having access to my phone or Wi-Fi – for the first few hours, that is.

Not surprising, as virtually everyone now uses either Wi-Fi or their mobile service to do everything from answering client emails, to booking restaurants, to checking flight departure times to looking at pictures your friend posted on Facebook. While being accessible all the time is great for productivity, it’s a double-edged sword.

Aircell's gogo in-flight Wi-Fi service on Delta

Last year I flew on American Airlines and was able to test out their Wi-Fi service during the flight for about US$12. It worked pretty well – I had a few issues with set-up but I saw the potential. Today North American airlines including Air Canada, AirTran, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Delta, JetBlue, Northwest, Southwest, United and Virgin America all have some level of Internet service, from one-plane pilot programs to major roll-outs. An in-flight system by industry leader Aircell costs about US$100K to install, and adds only 300 pounds to a plane.

An excellent article from Web site On the Beach highlights a long list of domestic and international airlines offering the service here. In Asia, airlines offering in-flight Web including Air China, ANA, Asiana, Eva Air, JAL, Korean Air, Malaysian Airlines, Qantas and Singapore Airlines. In EMEA, Wi-Fi is offered by Austrian, British Air, El Al, Emirates, Etihad, Iberia, KLM, Lufthansa, SAS and Virgin Atlantic. Check your carrier’s Web site to find out what exactly they currently offer.

Regardless of whether we want it, Wi-Fi is coming to a plane near you. The good news is that I like having the choice. And I definitely prefer that my neighbor is composing emails than chatting away on a mobile phone.

More on Wi-Fi in this New York Times article and this ZDNet posting, both from May 2009.

Now, I normally wouldn’t be telling guys who like gadgets to go with their instincts on Valentine’s Day. Probably the worst move you could make on this romantic occasion is to go the electronics route. Safer to stick to roses or chocolate, or a nice romantic dinner. Champagne. Strawberries. A ride in Central Park. But if your significant other is trend conscious, travels a lot and likes to stay connected on the go, there is one exception to the no-gadgets-on-Valentine’s-Day rule: the HP Mini Vivienne Tam Edition. (Note, I and my company work for HP, so it’s very likely I’m biased). It’s not only small and lightweight  with decent battery life and built-in WiFi (the keys to successful travel technology), it also looks stylish and hip enough that she’ll be happy to pull it out at the airport lounge.

You probably have no clue who Vivienne Tam is, but you need a little backstory to make the gift really work. Vivienne is a China-born, Hong Kong-raised fashion designer who now works in New York. She is known for her East Meets West designs of hip, stylish clothing. She teamed up with HP to develop a stylish mini-laptop that looks as good as it works. Small and sleek, the laptop design includes peonies on a red background. A perfect companion for your favorite chic girl who likes to be connected.

The guts of the 2.5 pound, 1-inch-thick clutchable laptop with a 10 inch screen is the same as all the highly rated HP mini laptops. Wired Magazine’s review called it a “real deal EEE PC killer” and raves about its design, build and ease of use. The “pretty” model comes with a gig of memory, 60 gig hard drive, XP a built-in webcam and an upgraded Atom processor. Read this review of the Mini 100 at CNet if you want an objective opinion.

It is priced at US$699 for the laptop alone, or US$799 for the bundle, which includes a matching scarf and tote. Either way, you’ll probably get some nice oohs and ahs and — if she’s even slightly tech-friendly — this is a gift that she’ll appreciate far longer than chocolates or a bouquet of roses.

Read about Vivienne Tam on her Website so you can sound savvy when you give it; buy it at HP’s online store. Also, see a video demo of the laptop here.

I’m a recent convert to the iPhone, and am very glad I finally made the switch. I’ve been playing in the App store for the past few weeks, and there are a slew of great applications for frequent travelers. Here is a short and sweet list of my 10 favorite iPhone apps for travel — in alphabetical order for objectivity.

Babelingo: this US$5.99 app translates more than 300 useful travel phrases into easy-to-read text on the iPhone. Works in eleven languages, including simplified Chinese, Russian, Hindi and Japanese.  Taxi drivers – no problem.

Currency converter: there are several good ones in the App Store, but my favorite is a $0.99 version by TouchMeme that includes 61 currencies. Spin a wheel to highlight a currency, enter the value, spin a second wheel and the converted currency pops up. The app updates exchange rates regularly, so your conversions are always up to date.

Google Earth: this free app is just like the desktop version; if you allow it to know your location, the map pops open with you dead-center of the screen. Awesome on the iPhone, especially when you’re trying to understand directions to the office in an unknown city.

Google Mobile: again, an incredibly easy (and free) interface. Rather than going into Safari and doing a search, the google mobile app automatically searches and only opens Safari when you’ve picked the result you want to see.  great for searching for anything in a new city.

IM+: If you want to keep connected while on the road, my preferred app is IM+. I actually used this app on my Windows Mobile phone before switching; it’s just as straightforward and easy to use on the iPhone. There are plenty of other apps for IM out there, but this one does its one job well, and allows you to have all your IM accounts open and running at the same time (I use Yahoo, AOL and MSN). It also supports GoogleTalk, ICQ, Jabber and MySpaceIM. The meebo of iPhone. Free (lite version), $0.99 for the full application.

Lonely Planet: 600 phrases in ten languages including Mandarin, Czech and Vietnamese. In audio book format; each US$9.99.

New York Times: Again, there are many news aggregators in the App Store, and many are excellent. But you can’t beat The New York Times for a quick overview of global news.

Things: A productivity/to-do list application based on the popular “Getting Things Done” productivity process, this US$9.99 app allows you to sort your to-do into many different buckets — business, personal, immediate, long-term. A powerful application, but you should read “Getting Things Done” by David Allen.

Travelocity Travel Tools: an awesome free app that gives you access to flight data, wait times at security lines, etc. You can search for flights, departure and gate information, etc. Probably best for US-based travelers.

Urban Spoon: Another app targeted to US travelers, this app does a random search of nearby restaurants based on your location and a few factors you put into the app. It offers reviews, prices, etc. You shake the phone to activate the “random” search function!

Want to feel a bit like James Bond when traveling with important information? Or do you actually carry important client, business or personal data on the go? The Lenovo ThinkPad Portable Secure Hard Drive ensures your secrets stay safe even if they’re lost of stolen. The 160- or 320-gig hard drives (US$179 and 219 respectively) have a built-in keypad and require passwords to access stored information. Less than an inch think and weighing about 11 ounces, they are the size of an index card. The drives use 128-bit encryption, can have up to ten separate users (with each user’s info partitioned on the drive) and are wrapped in a shock-protective shell.

Both offer driver-less operation with all XP- and Vista-based PCs. Best of all for travelers, they are self-powered via built-in USB, so you don’t have to carry a separate AC adapter or USB cable. If you want to feel like a spy or require extra security for sensitive files, this drive is an easy-to-use, travel-friendly option.

Winner of a CES Innovations Design and Engineering Award at the January 2009 show.

Available online at lenovo.com or at Amazon.com.

One of the biggest hassles when traveling is trying to find outlets to either plug in and use or charge up your multiple electronic gadgets and devices. How many hotel rooms have you been in where, despite having a nice workspace, there is only a single available outlet to power your phone, blackberry, PC, iPod and, say, your Bluetooth headset. Gadget hounds would have to either swap the plugs out and spend four times longer to charge/use everything, or lug a bulky power strip around.

Today, though, Monster has provided a compact and ingenious solution to the multiple plugs and one-outlet problem. Monster’s Outlets to Go™ Power Strip is an extremely compact travel power strip that is designed to fit into your laptop bag with minimal fuss and little additional weight. It’s unique design places two outlets on each side of the strip, allowing even four bulky chargers to fit easily. It’s low profile, and it’s cord flat male end (that plugs into the outlet) ingeniously yet simply stores by wrapping around the strip and plugging into one of its own outlets.

Other reviews I read complained that it didn’t work overseas; however, I did confirm directly with Monster customer service that it works from 110-240 volts and has a built in, resettable circuit breaker. So, if you travel overseas, you simply need to carry one international plug adapter to charge four of your gadgets. That makes for easy packing.

Available at Amazon.com (for US$14) and Radio Shack, among other retailers. Visit the Monster Web Site for more information.

If you’re traveling internationally across multiple countries, be very prepared for some serious sticker shock when you get home and open your mobile phone bill. It’s not just the high rates for the actual calls — there are roaming charges, data charges and even charges to receive calls. They come from your carrier, plus the carriers you are using on-the-ground. And once you’ve made the calls, there’s not debate. You’re on the hook for all the costs, whether you think they’re extortion or not. My bills are regularly three to five times higher for months when I travel.

One alternative to this post-travel stress is GO-SIM, a prepaid international SIM card that you swap into your mobile phone and that works in 175 countries and claims to cost up to 85% less than your own “roaming” mobile phone. GO-SIM provides you an international number (based in Estonia) and uses a callback system (you dial the number you want; the system rings your phone back in seconds to connect). The beauty of the card is its simplicity of billing. No roaming charges. No hidden fees or surcharges. And best of all, it’s prepaid so you know exactly what you’re spending. GO-SIM offers SMS capability,  provides free incoming calls in seventy-five countries and data roaming in eighty countries — 3G in some.

Now, it’s not all perfect. When I did a review of calling costs for calls from the U.S. to Singapore, the price per minute wasn’t that inexpensive — US$3  per minute. But I am sure it’s less expensive than using my Singapore-based mobile phone to call Singapore from the U.S. — the roaming charge that SingTel charges for this call is 3 Singapore dollars (or about US$2) and that doesn’t include the call charge by the local US carrier, taxes, surcharges, etc.

Before you run out to by a GO-SIM, check out your wireless carrier’s international roaming offers. In Asia, carriers are more advanced than in North America in terms of options. Singtel (my carrier) offers a callback service similar to GO-SIM, and it’s far cheaper than calling direct — or even the GO-SIM (a US-to-Singapore call using Singtel’s GlobalDial121 costs a total of US$1.50/minute).  There are also special deals where carriers have special agreements with other countries on lower-than-typical rates. So do a bit of research on what your mobile phone provider offers.

But if you’re going to do a multi-country trip, this could be a cost-saving option. For UK- and US-based travelers, GO-SIM can link up your normal mobile number to the GO-SIM card, so (for an additional fee) calls made to your regular number come in on the GO-SIM phone.

Mobile phone rates are coming under pressure lately; there is discussion in Asia of several providers eliminating roaming fess across multiple countries. Until these changes happen, though, make sure to do your homework about the costs and fees charged when traveling. and take a look at GO-SIM if the prices are too exorbitant!

Multiple packages with various prepaid value available at BestBuy in the U.S. and at Thomas Cook foreign exchange bureau at Heathrow. Also available on-line at www.gosim.com