Traveler 2.0

Will You Have to Pay for Carry-On Bags, Too?

It's not news the airlines are charging for checked bags. But I just read the following in an Associated Press article: "Minneapolis airlines expert Terry Trippler said the new travel fees are here to stay. If anything, Trippler said, airlines probably will look to include more fees like charges for carry-ons and for bringing sodas on board."

How would that work, I wonder? I assume we'll be asked to pay fees for carry-on bags at the departure gate. If so, wouldn't that slow the boarding or departure process? Will we really have to pay extra to bring on a bag of fast-food purchased in the airport--food we purchase, by the way, because the airline food is usually non-existent or inedible?

Or will we be expected to show our carry-ons at the airline ticket counter? This would defeat the purpose of only traveling with carry-ons in order to avoid checking in at the ticket counter.

Whatever. Airlines are hurting and they've got to spread the pain to survive. I get it. But at some point, the inefficiencies introduced by all these micro fees could slow the airlines down (if they haven't done so already). Any slowdown in operations costs the airlines money, and they're going to pass on their losses to us wherever possible. So why not just raise fares (yet again) and be done with it, instead of charging me to bring on board a laptop or a Chic-Fil-A sandwich?

E-Mail Problems with the iPhone 3G

I bought my first iPhone, the 3G model, last Friday. Mostly, I'm loving the phone. But I've had one big continuing problem with e-mail.

The Mail program will work as it's supposed to for a day or so. Then, suddenly, it will stop retrieving or sending e-mail. I've taken the iPhone to an Apple store Genius Bar twice to resolve the issue. The first time, the 'Genius' was perplexed and said there must be something wrong with my ISP's e-mail setting (AT&T Yahoo is the ISP for my primary e-mail account). His solution: Call AT&T for help.

I tweaked some settings on my own and the Mail program worked again. For about a day. I took it to a different Apple store. This time, the Genius said there could be a problem with the iPhone 2.0 software. He suggested I take my iPhone home, connect it to my computer, and restore it using backup. I did that, and it fixed the problem. For about a day.

Now I'm on to the Genius's step two. If the restore with backup didn't work, he suggested I restore the iPhone without backup. In other words, start fresh. That's what I'm doing at this very moment.

And if this doesn't work? The Genius suggested I bring the iPhone back and the Apple store will replace it. I asked if this would be a new or 'refurbished' unit. Without using that latter term, he said it would not be a new iPhone shrinkwrapped in its own box. However, he assured me the iPhone would be tested and checked and double-checked to make sure it's working properly. If there's anything I don't like about the unit--a small scratch, for instance--Apple will give me a different one. He couldn't promise the store would have a lot of these units in stock, however.

Of course, I could return my iPhone and get my money back. But that's not what I want. I just want my iPhone to send and receive e-mail, as it's supposed to. I'll post an update on what I learn later.

In the meantime, I don't want to scare you away from buying an iPhone 3G. But I do want you to know that there are potentially some issues with the iPhone 2.0 software. So if you're the least bit squeamish about being on the 'bleeding edge,' you might want to wait a few more weeks. Maybe by then Apple will have issued an updated version of iPhone 2.0 with bug fixes.

Mac vs. Windows Laptops

I recently did some price comparisons between Mac and Windows laptops. I was curious to see if there was any truth to the old concern that Mac laptops are more expensive than similar Windows models.

Guess what? In several cases, Mac laptops are less expensive than Windows models with similar configurations. You can read my full report at PCWorld.com.

One example: a Dell XPS M1330 I configured online cost $1308. A MacBook with pretty much the same specs cost $1299. Not a big difference, but one worth noting if you still think Mac computers are too expensive.

So let's recap, shall we? On the one hand, we've got the bloated Windows Vista and all its viruses and spyware and mysterious crashes and the obnoxious User Account Control. On the other hand, we have the Mac OS X Leopard, whose developers have thought of clever interface design touches you and I didn't even know we wanted, but do. Add to that Mac laptops that are priced equivalently or less than Windows laptops. Is there any wonder why people are moving to Macs instead of being forced into a shotgun wedding with Vista, now that XP is off the market? And with applications moving to the Web, will there really be any good reason to buy a Windows PC two years from now, when the next Windows version is due?

AT&T's No-Contract iPhone: Worth $400?

AT&T announced yesterday it would sell the iPhone 3G without the usual two-year contract sometime "in the future." The prices: $599 for the 8GB version and $699 for the 16GB model.

Otherwise, the iPhone 3G is $400 cheaper: $199 for 8GB and $299 for 16GB. You're only eligible for those prices if you activate a new line with AT&T; you bought an iPhone before July 11; or you're a current AT&T customer and you're eligible for an upgrade discount. You have to sign a two-year contract for those prices.

AT&T's early termination fee is $175 and declines $5 a month during the term of the two-year agreement. Given that, why would you pay a $400 premium for a new iPhone just to avoid a contract that costs $175 or less to get out of? I'm probably missing some highly nuanced explanation for this, but I'm afraid I don't see the logic here. And I haven't found any convincing reasons for such extravagance in any news stories or blog reports I've read. So if you've got a justification for throwing away this $225, please let me know.

TripKick: SeatGuru for Hotels

TripKick is a new site that strives to do for hotel booking what SeatGuru does for frequent fliers. TripKick lets you search for hotel rooms by preference (such as quiet rooms), size, and location, as well as by amenities such as Wi-Fi. You can compare rooms and add your comments about specific rooms you've stayed in. It even includes transportation information, such as typical taxi fares to a hotel and hotel parking rates.

Downside: As of this moment, TripKick only offers hotel information in 11 U.S. metro areas or cities, but the site is regularly adding new ones. Also, I'd love to see more detailed information about Wi-Fi in guest rooms, such as which rooms in a particular hotel have the strongest signals.

If you want to really get the dirt on a hotel before booking, visit TripKick and TripAdvisor before booking.

Apple's MobileMe Overlooked in iPhone Intro

Apple's MobileMe, a revamping of its .Mac online service, kind of got overlooked in this week's iPhone 3G announcement. That's too bad, because MobileMe, though not revolutionary, sounds promising.

The concept behind MobileMe is to keep your iPhone, iPod Touch, Mac, and PC always in sync. Your e-mail, contacts, and calendars are stored on an online server. Changes you make to that content on one device are automatically available to your other devices. You can also store files, such as photos, and keep them synced between multiple devices.

For people who use multiple computers and an iPhone, MobileMe could provide an easy way to always have the information and files you need, regardless of your device. This is where computing is going--the ability to deposit all your stuff in the 'cloud' so you can get to it using the device of your choice. Microsoft has tried to make inroads in this area but so far hasn't. It remains to be seen if Apple will become a strong player in 'cloud computing.' But if any company can do it, Apple can.

MobileMe is $99 a year after a free trial and will be available in July.

Flip Mino: First Look

Just received a new Flip Mino today for review. The Mino is Pure Digital Technologies' latest point-and-shoot, Web-ready camcorder. It lists for $180 and was formally announced today.

I'll be testing the Mino in the coming weeks and comparing it to another new point-and-shoot camcorder, Creative's Vado. My first impression of the Mino is that it's much more stylish than previous Flip camcorders. For example, it has recessed control buttons that are illuminated when they're applicable to a task and go dark otherwise. In other words, during video recording, only the '+' and '-' buttons for zooming in and out are illuminated, while buttons for deleting and playing video are not.

One potential drawback to the Mino: It uses a rechargeable internal lithium-ion battery as opposed to the two AA batteries the Flip Video Ultra and earlier Flip models use. You'll need to recharge the Mino's battery by connecting it to your computer's USB port--which means you'll need to take your laptop when using the Mino during travel. Or you can recharge the battery by connecting it to a USB power plug (not included in the Flip Mino box). Pure Digital claims one battery charge will last for four hours. 

More details to come.

New Flip Video Camcorder Coming?

CNET's Crave blog and other sites reported yesterday that a new Flip video camcorder may be about to hit the scene.

"The only thing we know about (the new camcorder) is that it carries a list price of $179.99, comes in white and black, and it'll be released on June 4," Crave reports. CNET learned of the camcorder, reportedly called the 'Minos,' from a reader, who spotted it in a new B&H print catalog.

The compact, Web-quality camcorder field, which Flip dominates, is getting more crowded. Last week, Creative Labs introduced the Vado ($100), shown here. Creative claims the Vado, available in hot pink and silver, has 2GB of built-in memory (equal to the memory in the current high-end Flip Video Ultra camcorder retailing for $150) and a rechargeable, removable battery (the Flip camcorders use standard AA batteries, which can be disposable or rechargeable).

I'm sure both the Vado and Flip's new camcorder will be big sellers, given the success of earlier Flip models. But potential buyers should take note: Some Mini DV camcorders offer much better quality and can be bought for about $200 or even less. Also, many compact digital still cameras can capture video at about the same or even higher quality than what the Vado and Flip offer. Yet the cameras often store video (and images) on SD cards. That means your video recording capability is only limited by the number of SD cards you have.

Is the Palm OS Dying? My Fingers are Crossed…

This week's topic for my PC World column: "Is the Palm OS Dying? Should You Care?"

The answers, given the frustrations I've experienced with my Treo this week: Hope so, and not really.

In the column, I wrote: "Palm devices are reliable and sturdy; I've rarely encountered problems with the five I've owned."

Two days before the column appeared, my Treo 755p's spasms began. The phone suddenly and frequently reboots itself at the slightest provocation. Want to send an e-mail? Sure, the Treo thinks to its wicked self, but let's reboot first, shall we?

More frustratingly, the Treo has decided it wants a divorce from my Windows Vista PC. Roughly nine out of 10 HotSync efforts now fail. I've gone to the support forums and read the things you should do when your Palm pays your PC nada. I've installed the latest version of the Palm desktop software. I've rebooted my PC, I've performed soft resets on my Treo. The only thing I haven't done yet is a hard reset—which would be like bombing my Treo back to the stone age. (A hard reset zaps the Treo back to its factory settings. It's as if you two had never met. Wouldn't it be nice to do a hard reset on some relationships?)

But here's my guilty secret. Deep down inside, I'm hoping my Treo is in a death spiral and that it will emit its last pitiful electronic gasp in June. That's when Apple is expected to announce the second-generation iPhone.

Google Docs Go Offline

Just received a MacBook Air loaner today from Apple. I wasted no time charging the battery and taking this slender, silvery piece of computing heaven to a local Internet cafe to work.

I'll write more about the MacBook Air later, as I'm planning to travel with it from San Francisco to the East Coast in May. My goal: To see what kind of cross-country traveling companion the MacBook Air is.

Instead, this post is about Google Docs.

A cool new feature is the ability to work on your Google documents offline as well as online, which I did on the MacBook Air. This is particularly beneficial for a Google Doc user traveling by plane without Internet access. Now, you can work on your Google docs in flight. Changes made to the documents are stored on your local hard drive and are automatically uploaded when you make your next Internet connection.

Google Docs is still a long way off from besting Microsoft Word or other Office applications in terms of features. But for relatively basic--and free--office productivity tools, Google Docs is now a viable alternative for frequent flyers.