Features

We are now device-independent.

The notion dates back to the late 1980s, computers don’t really matter, only data does. The first are disposable, the second is not. The professionals who take care of IT infrastructures and setups in large corporations and businesses know it all too well. And of course Google, Facebook, Twitter, not to mention Microsoft and the like, they all live by it. 

Today the notion is put forward again, this time with a particularly strong stress, in the realm of personal computer usage, because of the Internet and of the multiplicity of devices that, in the end, do more or less the same thing: put all your data at your fingertips, show you info, allow you to connect and to communicate, and to share audiovisual contents.

Laptops, desktops, tablets, phablets, smartphones and now smartwatches; aren’t you lost? Are you able always to make the right buying choice, to learn your way around, to keep the devices in good shape, updated, virus-free and with a safety backup set aside?

The “larger” laptops and desktops machines have a reasonable average life time of four to five years. Tablets and smartphones, all these“smaller” devices that have captured users’ attention the last couple of years more than any other computer-related hardware, these smaller machines are changing faster than you can save money to buy them. Once a year, at least, there are new models.This leaves you no time to catch your breath between models. It’s like haute-couture, there’s an annual fashion show that sets the upcoming trend.

Take heart. Again, the machine is not that important. In a certain way you can ignore it. Or, to put it in a milder way, stop losing sleep over it.

On one hand the large array of machines and the many hardware choices are overwhelming, as if the industry were making your life harder and more expensive. On the other hand, devices now communicate much better than before with each other, with a dominating insistence on the Web, a place that has become the focal point of most everything we do. The devices, therefore, are making your life easier in many ways.

What makes users machine-independent?

Whether it is to check your e-mail, to send or receive a photo or a music file, to place a voice call on the several free networks, to read the news or to do your daily e-banking work, you can do it whatever the device you have at hand. The same is true for writing, working on a spreadsheet or a database.

Moreover, if you happen to store your files in the cloud (DropBox, SkyDrive, Google Drive, etc) you become even more machine-independent, for understandable reasons. Open, save and read your files on any machine, whatever it is and wherever it may be, including a friend’s device.

Naturally there are differences between the machines in terms of speed and comfort. I wouldn’t like starting a serious audio recording project on a tablet or a smartphone for instance, or processing very large spreadsheets full of numbers, columns, rows and graphics on such small machines. But I guess I could…

Go back to a good laptop for raw power, use smaller devices for convenience and while on the go.

For example, think of Word and Excel — there are virtually no limitations in terms of devices on which these essential applications work. Docs-To-Go by DataViz, for one, is a Suite that is compatible with Microsoft’s Office Suite (up to a certain point…) and that lets you process Word, Excel, PDF and PowerPoint documents on an Android or Apple smartphone. Despite the reduced screen size and also the somewhat reduced features, Docs-To-Go is an extremely useful application, one that, like so many others, frees you from devices. You have your Word documents “somewhere” in the cloud, now use them on any machine you want.

There are countless other examples of software applications and ways to work that make you device-independent today. Focus on your files and on what you want or need to do. The machine matters less.

Some people have a natural gift. They can be bilingual or even multilingual, and it is fascinating to watch them switch from one language to another without pausing for breath. 

Almost like being ambidextrous, you know. This term is used for individuals who are adept at using both hands equally well.  Very few persons are born ambidextrous and research shows that only one in a hundred people could be instinctively so. But here I digress. 

Being linguistically proficient in at least two languages is not so tough. Most countries of the world have an official language that is used for conducting business and imparting education. English, Spanish and French would fall in this category. Then there is the mother tongue, which the child learns, literally in the lap of its mother. 

Picking up several vernaculars and speaking them to perfection, is an art that is gifted to a chosen few. For that one has to have a keen ear, sharp powers of observation and an ability to talk incessantly. The last one is important, according to me, because academic knowledge is okay but proficiency in a language is only obtained by speaking it. The grammatical irregularities also smoothen out with constant vocalisation. But one has to have conversations with a native speaker; otherwise the finer nuances of enunciation cannot be perfected. 

Where pronunciation is concerned, the most learned of theoretical scholars also have a tough time. English, say the non-English speakers, is a funny language. Here, even the two and three lettered words with almost the exact same spelling, have a different diction when spoken aloud. For instance, “put” is made to sound like “foot”, and “gut” is rhymed with “shut”. “Go” is like “show” but “do” is like “flu”. This is even before we come to the difference between the words starting with “w” or “v”. 

When I was little, the Catholic nuns in my school could not stop emphasising over this. For the words “vase” or “violin”, I had to bring my upper teeth over my lower lip, and for say, “window” or “water” I had to sort of stretch my mouth into a round circular shape while articulating it. Nothing escaped their eagle eye and in an elocution competition, our diction mattered as much as the content of what we were delivering. 

Despite being trained in this manner, some problem words would send me into a quandary. “Schedule” for example. Phonetically, should it be “shed-yule” or “sked-yule”? Ditto for “issue”. Should it end in a “shoe” or “sue” sound? 

But when it came to “epitome” my confusion was complete. This charming word depicted a person or thing that was a perfect example of a particular quality or type. From the moment I came across this interpretation, I wanted to generously use it in my vocabulary.

But I was unsure whether to rhyme “happy-comb” with “epi-tome” or go with the “epiphany” sounding “epi-tummy”.  The other day I got a lesson for free. 

“It’s amazing how Petra has survived for two thousand years,” I said to the anglophile guide who was escorting me. 

“Yes, the fabled city is half as old as time,” he agreed. 

“How perfect was the ‘red-stone’, also sounds like ‘epitome’,” I exclaimed.

“‘Epic-symphony’ is what rhymes with ‘epitome’,” he corrected me. 

“Minding my language?” I teased.

“Only dotting the ‘i’s’ and crossing the ‘t’s’, my fair lady,” he emphasised.

“I picked the wrong issue?” I asked

“Shh, it’s alright,” he smiled.

NEW YORK – Fitness warriors eager to step out of the gym at the first sign of spring should exercise caution, fitness experts say, noting that hitting the open road is more taxing than running on a treadmill, and mountain trails are bumpier than a spinning class.

Even conditioned people may need a period of adjustment to transition safely into working out in the open air.

“The harsher the winter, the more we have to be careful not to come back too fast, too soon,” said exercise physiologist and running coach Tom Holland, who lives in Connecticut. “Even people who are generally fit might do less over the winter.”

When the weather changes, Holland said, many runners try to run too many miles too soon.

“The body generally takes about two weeks to acclimate,” he explained, “so give yourself time to build back that base of strength.”

He recommends that regardless of what was done outdoors last fall, a little less should be done in the spring.

“Running on a treadmill is generally easier than outdoor running, so if you’ve been running five miles on a treadmill don’t increase (outdoor) mileage immediately,” he said.

And cross-training should not be neglected.

“Just because the weather gets nice, doesn’t mean we eschew the gym,” he said. “Strength training is a big part of being injury-free.”

Chris McGrath, senior fitness consultant for the American Council on Exercise said too many people doing their winter cardio on a treadmill assume they can transition seamlessly to running on the ground.

Pavement is harder than the belt of a treadmill and the mechanics of running are slightly different.

“Most treadmills have some bounce,” he explained. “On a treadmill the belt is essentially kicking your foot back. You’re not pulling yourself along the ground as much as when you’re running on a street.”

McGrath said shin splints are a common, minor injury of runners unable to absorb the impact of running on pavement. Whether running, biking or walking, moving outdoors changes things.

“If you’ve been taking spin classes and then go to a hilly area, it’s going to be different”, he said. “Heart and lungs and muscles still have to make an adjustment.”

As motivating as warmer weather can be, he said, exercisers inconsistent in winter are not conditioned to leap full throttle into a high-level warm- weather workout.

Fitness and wellness coach Shirley Archer, who travels regularly between Switzerland and Florida, said transitioning from cold to warm weather is easier than the other way around.

“In cold weather muscles are colder, the body loses heat more easily, old injuries are more noticeably stiff and the cardiovascular system is more stressed,” she said.

When transitioning to a new workout environment, she advises, it’s better to rely more on feelings of perceived exertion than to follow a particular pre-set training pace or time.

“Listen to your body. If you’re uncomfortable or straining, ease up,” she said.

SAN FRANCISCO – Sony on Tuesday announced it has sold more than six million PlayStation 4 (PS4)consoles since the videogame system debuted in November.

The Japanese consumer technology and entertainment titan said that the global sales figure includes 370,000 PS4 consoles snapped up in Japan since they launched there on February 22.

“I am absolutely delighted that PS4 is off to such a great start in Japan,” Sony Computer Entertainment chief executive Andrew House said in a release.

The long-awaited Japanese launch came after a stellar debut in the United States and Europe, offering a ray of hope to Sony after years of gloomy sales of its key consumer electronics goods.

House said player response to console features for sharing game play and connecting in online matches has been “phenomenal.”

Early adopters of the PS4 have enthused over its vast computing capacity and the cinematic graphics it makes possible.

Industry trackers have the PS4 strongly outselling the new-generation Xbox One that US rival Microsoft fielded in November.

Sony’s fellow Japanese rival, Nintendo, launched its new Wii U console in late 2012. It took more than a year for the video game giant to sell 5.86 million units.

PS4, Wii U and Xbox One are fighting to be at the heart of digital home entertainment at a time when consoles are under intense pressure to prove their worth as people increasingly turn to smartphones or tablets for games and videos.

Sony’s gaming division has emerged as a potential saviour for the once-mighty giant, which is struggling to reinvent itself in the digital age, having been left in the dust by nimbler rivals like South Korea’s Samsung.

SAN FRANCISCO – For almost as long as there have been computers, there have been people intent in playing games with them.

Since young programmers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology came up with “Spacewar!” some 50 years ago, the world of video games has exploded into a multibillion-dollar industry.

“From the earliest days of computer, these folks went after computer graphics and went after video games,” Gartner consumer technologies research director Brian Blau told AFP.

“People enjoy games, and marrying the concept of real-world games with a computer and interactivity is really powerful.”

Gartner predicts the worldwide video game market combining console, online, mobile and personal computer offerings will expand from $101 billion this year to $111 billion next year and top $128 billion in 2017.

While play on high-performance desktop or laptop computers has long captivated hardcore video game lovers, rival console makers Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo have successfully turned games into standard family household entertainment during the past 20 years, with Xbox, PlayStation and Wii hardware respectively.

Console Kings 

New-generation Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles released late last year are credited with bringing new life to a section of the market under pressure from the popularity of smartphones and tablets.

But Nintendo’s latest console, Wii U, has had trouble gaining traction among players.

Console kings are also the big names behind titles for play on their hardware, but third-party studios such as Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Disney Interactive and Warner Brothers are established titans in game software.

While movie-like immersion in play and broadening entertainment menus to include streamed films and television shows has consoles proving their worth, mobile games are on fire.

There are more game “apps” for smartphones or tablets than any other type of mini-programme for mobile devices and it is the top revenue-producing category, according to Gartner.

Apps on fire 

Smartphones and tablets have lured players from dedicated handheld mobile game devices that, for a time, were a hit with people who wanted to play on the go.

Mobile game revenues can come from people paying to download “apps” or from in-game transactions in which players pony-up to advance more quickly through levels or buy abilities or digital items.

Britain-based King Digital Entertainment, which is behind a Candy Crush Saga game craze, is set for a keenly anticipated stock market debut. Other sizzling mobile game firms include Rovio, Wooga and Supercell.

Even Zynga, which pioneered online social games only to get caught on its heels when players turned to mobile devices, is not out for the count.

The San Francisco company is intent on reviving a line-up that includes “Farmville” and “Words With Friends” along with a popular Zynga Poker title.

Mobile game revenue globally is set to nearly double in the next two years to $22 billion, according to Gartner.

Spectator sport 

A new and flourishing eSport category in which video game play is spectator sport complete with commentators, sponsors and ads has yet to be factored into the global video game revenue model.

“Computer graphics represent a new interaction paradigm,” Blau said. “Today’s high-detail graphics and more immersive experiences are almost science fiction-like.”

Innovations in game hardware and software from Internet-linked eyewear to augmented reality programmes are expected to fuel increasing demand for play.

SAN FRANCISCO – Tablet computer sales soared last year with Android-powered devices dethroning iPads atop a booming global market, according to figures released Monday by Gartner.

Sales of tablet computers surged to 195.4 million last year in a 68 per cent jump from what was seen in 2012, the industry tracker reported.

The raw number of iPads sold climbed more than nine million to a total of 70.4 million.

Meanwhile, the portion of sales grabbed by tablets running on Google-back Android rose to 61.9 per cent last year from 45.8 per cent in 2012, according to Gartner.

“In 2013, tablets became a mainstream phenomenon, with a vast choice of Android-based tablets being within the budget of mainstream consumers while still offering adequate specifications,” Gartner research director Roberta Cozza said in a release.

Apple continues to rule the high-end of the market with iPads, but low-cost Android tablets appeal to buyers with slim budgets in emerging markets, according to Gartner.

California-based Apple’s compelling “ecosystem” of music, games, films, and other digital content and services for mobile devices has rivals under pressure to provide similar experiences on tablets, Cozza said.

Apple remained the top tablet seller, but sales of Android devices by second-place Samsung more than quadrupled last year to 37.4 million, according to Gartner.

Microsoft sold slightly more than 4 million Windows-powered tablets in a jump from the prior year, but remained far behind the market leaders.

SYDNEY – Australia will suffer more days of extreme heat and a longer bushfire season as greenhouse gases force temperatures to continue rising, a new report warned Tuesday.

The joint study by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and the Bureau of Meteorology said temperatures across Australia were, on average, almost one degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than a century ago.

Seven of the 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 1998 while over the past 15 years the frequency of very hot months has increased five-fold, it said.

The scenario was starkly illustrated in 2013, which was Australia’s hottest year since records began in 1910 and included a prolonged national heatwave.

Megan Clark, chief executive of the CSIRO, Australia’s peak science body, said the country has warmed in every state and territory and in every season.

“Australia has one of the most variable climates in the world. Against this backdrop, across the decades, we’re continuing to see increasing temperatures, warmer oceans, changes to when and where rain falls and higher sea levels,” Clark said. 

“The sea-surface temperatures have warmed by 0.9^oC since 1900 and greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise.”

Australia is routinely hit by bushfires during its December-February summer months, with hot windy conditions again fanning hundreds of blazes this season with dozens of homes destroyed.

The report said it would only get worse.

“A further increase in the number of extreme fire-weather days is expected in southern and eastern Australia, with a longer fire season in these regions,” it said of areas devastated by fires this year.

It also forecast less rainfall in southern Australia and more severe droughts in a grim warning for farmers.

The report, released every two years, added that tropical cyclones were projected to decrease in number but increase in intensity, while rising seas levels would cause more problems for coastal dwellers.

The report said Australian temperatures could rise by 1^oC-2.5^oC by 2070, compared to 1980 to 1999, depending on the level of greenhouse gas emissions.

While cutting global emissions would be crucial to preventing the worst  global warming has in store, that alone would not be enough, the agencies warned.

“Adaptation is required because some warming and associated changes are unavoidable,” it said.

NEW YORK – Young smokers who have smoked more cigarettes have clear differences in their brains compared to lighter smokers, according to a new study.

“Earlier studies of older participants showed that the smokers had structural differences in various brain regions,” said senior author Edythe D. London.

And in studies of adolescent animals, nicotine damaged and killed brain cells, added London, from the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behaviour at UCLA and the David Geffen School of Medicine in Los Angeles.

“While the results do not prove causation, they suggest that there are effects of cigarette exposure on brain structure in young smokers, with a relatively short smoking history,” London said.

She and her team at UCLA mapped the brains of 42 people ages 16 to 21 using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and asked them about their smoking history and cravings.

Eighteen of the participants were smokers. They had typically started smoking around age 15 and smoked six to seven cigarettes per day.

There were no clear differences in the brains of smokers versus non-smokers. However, among smokers, those who reported smoking more cigarettes tended to have a thinner insula, a region of the cerebral cortex involved in decision making, according to results published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology. The effects seemed confined to the right insula.

Previous studies have suggested the insula plays a central role in tobacco dependence, with the highest density of nicotine receptors in the brain.

The researchers also found a thinner insula in the brains of people who had more cravings and felt more dependent on cigarettes. Their study was funded by Philip Morris USA, makers of Marlboro and Virginia Slims.

Young people ages 18 to 25 have the highest smoking rates in the U.S. at 30 per cent, London said.

“Because the brain is still undergoing development, smoking during this critical period may produce neurobiological changes that promote tobacco dependence later in life,” she said. Changing the structure of the insula may affect future smoking dependence and other substance abuse.

“It is possible that changes in the brain from prolonged exposure help maintain dependence,” she said.

People who start smoking early in life seem to have more trouble quitting and have more serious health consequences than those who start later, London said.

But since the study only assessed smokers at one point in time, it doesn’t prove that cigarettes changed their brains.

“It is possible that such changes pre-dated the smoking, i.e. they were not caused by smoking,” Dr Nasir H. Naqvi told Reuters Health in an e-mail. “The only way to know this is to take a group of adolescents who have never smoked, follow them over time, and then see who starts smoking, and then compare them to the adolescents who never started smoking.”

Naqvi, a substance abuse researcher at Columbia University in New York City, was not involved in the study.

He studies the insula and said that area drives drug addiction like a “gas pedal” and also controls decision making like a “brake pedal”.

Since the insula was thinner in heavier smokers, it could be they have reduced power over the “brake pedal” and less control over cravings, he said.

“The key question is whether these changes are reversible with smoking cessation, or whether they persist,” Naqvi said. But few studies have measured changes in the brains of people who stop taking a drug.

“What we do know is that once you are addicted to smoking, you will always have a high likelihood of relapse, even if you are abstinent for many years,” Naqvi said.

AMMAN — The classiest of the wider Volkswagen group’s big SUVs sits lower in the pecking order than a flashy Porsche Cayenne or Audi Q7, but instead exudes a restrained and understated but elegantly conservative sensibility. 

Introduced in 2011, the second generation Touareg makes a better case for itself as a sensible and middle class large family SUV, which combine on-road refinement and reassuring dynamics with spacious size, tasteful cabin and ride comfort. 

And with the optional Terrain Tech package, as tested, the Touareg gets low gear ratios and locking differentials to significantly improve its off-road abilities.

Classy conservatism

A complete but evolutionary redesign, the second generation Touareg is not a radical departure since the original or from the rest of the Volkswagen range, but features a larger bumper, more prominent wheel-arches and a tidier fascia design. 

The biggest compliment to the Touareg’s tight, clear and uncomplicated design is that it looks smaller and better packaged than its actual size, and resembles an overgrown Golf. 

Benefiting from the slightly moodier and more assertive design language since the 2008 Scirocco, the wider, lower and longer Touareg looks subtly sportier and more resolved, and features improved cabin space and aerodynamics.

Well fitted and finished, the Touareg has a typically classy Volkswagen feel to it, with symmetric, clear and user-friendly layouts, prominent soft textures and clean design lines and curves, while hard plastics are more discretely positioned. 

Seating is comfortable and adjustable while the thick steering wheel falls nicely to hand and large round instruments are clear. 

Efficient and elegantly uncomplicated, the Touareg’s airy cabin looks best in dark tones. 

Passenger space is generous, with a lengthened wheelbase improving rear legroom, while cargo volume extends from 580 litres to 1,642 litres when the rear seats are folded.

Smooth operator

A long-standing Volkswagen engine, the Touareg’s entry-level 3.6-litre naturally aspirated direct injection petrol V6 sits below the European market three-litre supercharged V6 and the range-topping 4.2-litre V8. 

Smooth and well up to the job of motivating the Touareg’s 2,136 kilogramme mass, the 3.6 V6 is mated to an eight-speed auto gearbox, which with aggressive first and second gears allows for reasonably swift 7.8-second 0-100km acceleration. 

The eight-speed’s two overdrive gears and a wider number of ratios allow for better optimisation of output, restrained 10.2l/100km combined cycle fuel efficiency and smooth, low rev and quiet motorway refinement.

Developing 276BHP at 6,200rpm and 265lb/ft torque throughout a 3,000-4,000rpm mid-range, the Touareg’s naturally-aspirated V6 is progressive in delivery, but with usefully healthy mid-range flexibility that is aided by its eight-speed gearbox when quick overtaking is required. 

Hustling the 3.6 Touareg at a brisk pace along winding roads is also done best by manually working the gearbox to hold revs longer. 

As quick as an SUV really needs to be, the Touareg’s respectable performance always feels refined and timely rather than aggressive or abundant, especially so because of its 2.1-tonne weight and extensive cabin insulation.

Reassuring ride

A refined car-like SUV with unibody construction and independent suspension all around, the Volkswagen Touareg rides smoothly and comfortable soaks up bumps, cracks, ripples and imperfections, despite riding on relatively low profile 265/50R19 tyres. 

However, the Touareg’s comfort and suppleness by no means suggests sloppy or wallowing handling, as is a reassuring and composed through corners, with good body control and only light lean. 

With precise and light but somewhat clinical steering, the Touareg is easy to manoeuvre and turns in tidily, stays true to cornering lines through curves and grips hard.

Walking a carefully balanced middle road between comfort and dynamics, the Touareg has a distinct sense of solidity and confidence, with its four-wheel-drive clawing at the tarmac when one puts power down, while its long wheelbase and good body control lend it terrific road holding through corners. 

Being a large German car designed for regular Autobahn duties, the Touareg naturally feels poised and rock solidly planted on the highway, where it is insulated and refined but with a subtle reassuring firmness and excellent directional stability. Light steering and good visibility also make town driving easy.

Off-road ability

Classy, composed and comfortable the Volkswagen Touareg may be best known for its smooth on-road driving, but it can also well handle itself off-road. 

This is especially so when fitted with the optional Terrain Tech package, which crucially off-road hardware like a low ration gearbox transfer, to allow one to reduce speed to a crawling pace while exploiting the engine’s maximum power output, whether driving hard and fast through sand or on a more technical course or steep incline. 

Terrain Tech also brings locking centre and rear differentials to allow wheels to prevent slippage and keep turning in sync.

Diff locks help get the Touareg out of low traction situations, while optional air suspension raises ride height by 300mm to allow 580mm water wading, 30° approach and departure and 27° break-over angles for traversing obstacles. 

Taking on choppy dirt tracks and sand well during it regional launch test drive, the Touareg also impressed in how it climbed steep sand inclines, through which one had to keep in first or second gear with engine revs high. 

The Touareg also features a hill descent control, which utilises ABS, traction and stability controls to steady, smooth and safe low traction descents.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 3.6-litre, cast iron block / aluminium head in-line V6-cylinders

Bore x stroke: 89 x 96.4mm

Valve-train: 24-valve DOHC, direct injection

Gearbox: 8-speed automatic, 

Ratios: 1st 4.85; 2nd 2.84; 3rd 1.86; 4th 1.44; 5th 1.22; 6th 1.0; 7th 0.82; 8th 0.67

Reverse / final drive: 3.83 / 3.7

Drivel-line: four-wheel drive, low gear transfer, locking centre & rear differentials

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 276 (280) [206] @ 6,200rpm

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 265 (360) @ 3,000-4,000rpm

0-80 km/h: 5.5-seconds

0-100 km/h: 7.8-seconds

Maximum speed: 228km/h

Fuel consumption, combined: 12.2-litres/100km

CO2 emissions, combined: 239g/km

Fuel capacity: 100-litres

Length: 4,795mm

Width: 1,940mm

Height (w/ roof rails): 1,709 (1,732)mm

Wheelbase: 2,893mm

Tread width, F/R: 1,656 / 1,676 mm

Ground clearance, minimum: 159mm

Approach / departure / break-over angles: 30° / 30° / 27°

Hill climbing angle: 45°

Side slope: 35°

Water wading: 580mm

Curb weight: 2,136kg

Turning circle: 11.9-metres

Head room, front (w/ sunroof): 1,014 (1,005)mm

Head room, rear (w/ sunroof): 989 (984)mm

Interior width, F/R: 1,549 / 1,511mm

Luggage capacity, min / max: 580 / 1,642-litres

Payload: 583kg

Suspension, F/R Upper & lower control arms / multi-link

Steering: Power-assisted rack & pinion

Tyres: 265/50R19

SINGAPORE — WiFi in aircraft, hobbled in the past by slow speeds, could soon take off as new technology enables passengers to surf the web as if they were in a coffee shop, Internet executives say.

More airlines are rolling out new and improved services thanks to satellite technology, industry leaders said at the recent Singapore Airshow, with the public increasingly demanding WiFi on planes.

US-based Honeywell Aerospace and Gogo, which supply inflight connectivity systems to airlines, are collaborating with satellite giant Inmarsat to implement the “first global high-speed broadband for the skies” dubbed the Global Xpress (GX) Aviation network.

Briand Greer, president of Honeywell Aerospace Asia Pacific, said inflight WiFi could generate $2.8 billion for the company alone over the next 20 years.

He estimates that around 7 to 8 per cent of airlines currently offer wireless connection, but says this number is expected to grow to 25 per cent by 2018.

After years of being bogged down by weak demand due to poor signal quality, inflight WiFi can now enable download speeds of up to 50 megabits per second, Greer said.

“How we describe it is it will be like you are sitting at Starbucks with your smartphone, your computer and your iPad,” Greer told reporters.

Onboard WiFi is not a new idea — European carrier Lufthansa debuted Conexxion by Boeing’s system in 2004.

But by 2006 the company announced its exit after the expected growth in the market did not materialise.

Recent surveys by Airbus and Honeywell, however, suggest that the market might now be ready as passengers increasingly expect airlines to have inflight wireless services.

Airbus published a report in February about the comfort demands of Asian passengers, carried out by global consultancy Future Laboratory.

One of the future trends highlighted was that Asian business passengers would expect WiFi enabled cabins with telephone and conference calling facilities.

Honeywell also conducted a survey of 3,000 passengers from the US, Britain and Singapore and nearly 90 per cent would give up an amenity, such as drinks or a better seat, for a faster and more consistent wireless connection.

When flying over land, planes use telecommunication towers to transmit Internet signals but during long-haul flights, when they fly over large expanses of water, consistent connectivity becomes a problem.

In those cases, a satellite network is needed.

In December last year, Inmarsat launched the first of three satellites that will serve the GX network. Air China will be the first airline to test it, on its A330 fleet in the second quarter of 2015.

Singapore Airlines, which launched its $50 million inflight connectivity programme in September 2012, said it planned to finish equipping its aircraft with the hardware by 2015.

A Lufthansa spokesperson said that it would also begin rolling out inflight WiFi on all of its planes in the middle of this year.

Even no-frills airlines are catching on.

Thai budget airline Nok Air announced during the Singapore Airshow that it will equip its new Boeing 737 fleet with WiFi.

Peter Andersson, general manager of aviation navigation company Jeppesen, also said that the technology could benefit cockpit and airport operation.

“If you have something that you need to repair, you can get the status check to the ground level so they can be prepared so they can actually do the maintenance quicker,” Andersson told AFP.

“You can reduce the turnaround and maintenance [of airplanes] dramatically.”