Flying Without Laptops?

It's a good thing that I don't fly between the U.S. and the Middle East or Europe. Even if I did, I've 

rarely used my laptop computer while flying anywhere.

The proposed ban on large electronic devices is causing some concern for some.

According to Japan Today:

New York-International air travelers might soon rediscover magazines, paperbacks and playing cards. 

Airline passengers have become hooked on their laptops and tablets to get work done or just kill time during long flights. But U.S. aviation-security officials appear determined to ban large electronic devices in the cabin of flights from Europe. 

Business travelers are worried about lost productivity, laptops in checked baggage being stolen or damaged, or even leaving the machine home if their employer won't let them check it on a plane. Parents are pondering how to keep children occupied. 

On Wednesday, U.S. and European Union officials exchanged information about threats to aviation, believed to include bombs hidden in laptop computers. Airline and travel groups are concerned about the possibility that a ban on laptops and tablet computers that currently applies to mostly Middle Eastern flights will be expanded to include U.S.-bound flights from Europe. 

The officials agreed to meet again next week.

Some airlines, like United Airlines, still do give out free decks of playing cards. I keep my deck of United Airlines playing cards (pictured above) in my RV.

To read more, go here. 

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Revamps Website

Above, a view of Tokyo from Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has revamped their foreign visitor website.

According to Japan Today:

TOKYO —With an eye toward attracting more foreign visitors to Tokyo in preparation for the 2020 Olympics, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has revamped its website (foreign language versions).

The foreign-language websites are:

English http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/
Chinese http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/CHINESE/
Korean http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/KOREAN/

They are compatible with smartphone and tablet devices.

To read more, go here.

Free W-Fi Is Trialed For Tourists

Foreign visitors to Japan will be able to access free Wi-Fi in Japan with their tablets and smartphones according to The Japan Times.

They wrote:

Wire and Wireless Co. on Friday will begin trials of a free Wi-Fi service targeting foreign tourists, the company said Thursday. 

The major Wi-Fi provider, also known as Wi2, has produced an app for smartphones and tablets that lets people connect to hot spots and receive sightseeing information and sales promotions. 

The Travel Japan Wi-Fi app runs on both the Android and iOS operating systems. 

Downloading the app and registering opens up access to some of the company’s 240,000 hot spots nationwide, including at Starbucks outlets and on the Airport Limousine Bus.

The trial will run through June 2015 with the full roll-out eyed for July.

To read more, go here.

Current Blog Post Pick-ups

The good folks at The Japan Daily picked up several of yesterday's blog posts for sharing with their readers.

They include;

To read The Japan Daily, go here.

Best Western Information Tablets In Tokyo Rooms

Above, the ad for The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan
 ebook. Maybe I should get them to include it?

Best Western hotels is now providing tablets in its rooms in Tokyo for the convenience of their guests so they can have access to attractions, restaurants and hotel services.

According to The Japan Times:

Best Western Hotels is collaborating with Kachikaihatsu Co. to improve the information and content they provide hotel guests by installing “ee-TaB*” tablets in its hotel rooms. 

The service was introduced Nov. 1 in Best Western Tokyo Nishikasai and the ee-TaB* is now available in all of the hotel’s 185 rooms. 

The ee-TaB* was jointly developed by Mirait Corp. and Techfirm Inc. 

Kachikaihatsu Co. created the contents for the tablet, which includes hotel information, weather forecasts, TV schedules, movies and e-books. Additionally, hotel guests can read about tourist attractions and other spots near the hotel, as well as recommended traditional stores in nearby Nihonbashi and Ningyocho.

Best Western plans to install the tablet in other hotels as well.

Since they will be offering ebooks, maybe I should contact them about offering The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan ebook on their tablets. [Update: I have contacted Best Western Hotels and the Kachikaihatsu Co. about a possible offering.]

I do have one question about this: What's to keep less-than-honest hotel guests from walking off with the tablets (unless they're chained to the room's desk)?

To read more, go here.

Docomo Introduces Jspeak Translation App For Foreign Visitors

Above, the NTT Docomo Yoyogi Building from Harajuku, Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan's NTT Docomo has come up with an ingenious device application for Android 4.0 to 4.4 smartphones or tablets.

It is called Jspeak.

According to Japan Today:

TOKYO —NTT Docomo, a personalized mobile solutions provider for smarter living, has launched its Jspeak face-to-face mobile translation service for smartphones and tablets, targeting travelers from abroad. 

Jspeak is modelled on Docomo’s Hanashite Honyaku, the mobile-based automatic translation service now offered exclusively to Docomo subscribers in Japan. Jspeak will enable Japanese and non-Japanese speakers to enjoy face-to-face conversations simply by speaking into a smartphone or tablet to get a translation as screen text and voice readout. Ten languages - Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Thai - can be translated into Japanese and vice versa.

Two plans will be offered. One for $.99 for one week and one for $2.99 for one month's service.

To read more, go here.

New TSA Rules May Make Traveling Even More Miserable

Above, be prepared to power up your smartphone or laptop at the TSA checkpoint. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Recently, it has been reported that intelligence intercepted messages that are suggesting an "al Qaeda master bomber" has found a way to conceal explosives in portable electronic devices (such as cell phones and laptop computers) that can evade detection through conventional security screening.

Condé Nast's The Daily Traveler has an article stating that the TSA, in response to this news, will make our international travels a bit more miserable.

They wrote:

If you’re contemplating an international trip this summer, you’ve probably heard that the TSA is cracking down on dead devices—everything from smartphones to laptops—to prevent terrorists from turning a hollowed-out gadget into a bomb. So be prepared to power up your device at security if you’re boarding a transatlantic flight bound for the U.S., or risk having to surrender it if you want to make the flight. But what happens if your smartphone or laptop battery simply died before you got a chance to charge up? Does it land in the trash bin along with those oversized Gatorades and toothpaste tubes?

Personally, my laptops are fairly new and the batteries are in great shape, so powering up at the TSA checkpoint would not present a problem for me. But this may slow down the process quite a bit if most everyone in line ahead of you has smartphones and/or laptops that have to be powered up for inspection.

It appears that international flights across the Pacific to Asia (and back) may not be affected, but I wouldn't count on that.

To read the full article, go here.

Wall Street Journal's "Tablet Wars"

Above, Apple's iPad Air.

Since the Christmas holiday season is just around the corner, a number of companies have introduced new tablet computers for you to play with and to read the Amazon Kindle ebook edition of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan (just had to get that in).

Nokia, Kindle, Apple, Nexus, Microsoft, Nook and Galaxy are some of the brands who have new products to choose from.

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at the new tablets.

Here's what they say:

Consumers have a bevy of new and upgraded tablets to choose from to watch movies and television shows, listen to music, read books and more. See how some of the more popular tablets stack up.

To see the new tablets, go here.