They’ve just announced that they’re going to be extending the free Wi-Fi to 47 entire airports. And not only that, but there’s a raft of giveaways, charity matching, and other nonsense in the bargain as well. I’m starting to think that it’s not “Don’t be evil” so much as “Give away enough stuff that people forget about the evil.” Maybe that’s disingenuous. In fact, I’m sure it is. Oh well, ’tis the season for moral ambiguity.

Here are the details, as briefly as I can state them.

• All airports on this list have Wi-Fi right now. Except Sea-Tac, which is getting it later (just my luck).
• Google will match any donation (up to $250K) made via the Wi-Fi in one of the airports. The airport that has the most donations on January 15 will get a $15,000 credit to donate to a local charity of their choice.
• The service is provided by “Boingo, Advanced Wireless Group, Time Warner Cable, Electronic Media Systems, Lilypad as well as numerous airports that provide wireless services themselves.” i.e. Google is just paying the bill, everything else is the same.
• No data is being collected besides the donation data (you’re not a guinea pig).
• At some point you’ll be able to submit a photo of yourself via the Wi-Fi in order to enter for a prize drawing. Okay…? That’s kind of weird. I guess “Don’t be creepy” isn’t in the Google charter.

Sounds good to me. If anyone finds a catch, let us know, but I think it’s pretty straightforward. More info at the Free Holiday WiFi page, if you’re interested or feeling FAQ-y.

Also, as commenter Harold points out, Yahoo! will be providing Times Square with Wi-Fi for a whole damn year, and Microsoft is partnering with JiWire to put Bing-sponsored free Wi-Fi in “hotels and airports.”

[via LA Times and Black Book, and The P-I for that last bit]

We have Internet access in planes now (Virgin America offers it in the US, for example), so why not on boats? That’s what one of Japan’s biggest telecommunications companies, KDDI, thought and now gives us a device that will allow ship passengers to enjoy wireless broadband Internet while being out on the water.

The device was developed by KDDI’s R&D arm KDDI R&D Laboratories and is still in prototype mode. Passengers will be able to access the web when a vessel is close enough to land to connect to cell phones or to pick up signals from WiMAX networks. When it’s farther from the shore, the device will use satellite signals instead.

There is no picture of the prototype yet, but KDDI aims at commercializing the device by next year. The company hopes to attract interest from commercial vessel and cruise ship operators.

Via Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]

King of Queens Season Five, Episode 20 (titled Driving Reign) finds Doug Heffernan and his cousin Danny squaring off in an IPS truck race. Hilarity ensues — see the video clip below.

But did you know that the friendly men and women of the United Parcel Service, upon which the fictional International Parcel Service is based, have their very own real-life driving competitions? It’s true!

And somehow UPS correctly assumed that issuing a press release titled “23 UPS and UPS Freight Drivers Going to U.S. Championships” would be interesting to anyone outside of UPS. Well played, UPS, as you’ve indeed piqued my interest.

The venue: The 2009 National Truck Driving and Step Van Driving Championships

The date: August 18-22

The location: Pittsburgh, PA

Apparently this event is not just for UPS drivers, either, as we’ll see some of the heavy hitters from FedEx as well. One thing’s for sure: only the best of the best make it to the NTDSVDC.

And you thought they just delivered gadgets.

(Sorry the video’s in German. You get the idea, though.)

Full press release:

23 UPS and UPS Freight Drivers Going to U.S. Championships

Competition Set for Aug. 18-22 in Pittsburgh

RICHMOND, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Twenty-three state champions, including 10 returning state winners, will represent UPS and UPS Freight at the 2009 National Truck Driving and Step Van Driving Championships in Pittsburgh next month.

Together, the 23 UPS drivers have garnered 67 state championships and more than 450 years of accident-free driving.

“These safety-first drivers, a mix of veteran and relative newcomers to the competition, represent the most skilled professionals in the trucking industry,” said Phil Warren, UPS Freight vice president for community affairs. “For UPS and all competitors, the Nationals — the acknowledged Super Bowl of Safety — represent a showcase of our industry’s top drivers.”

The veteran UPS contingent is led by returning state champion Ralph Gragg of Charleston, W.Va., who is making his 11th trip to the Nationals, and Dennis Kendrick of Richmond who won his third straight and ninth overall Virginia title this year. Kendrick will compete in the 3-axle competition at the August championships while Gragg will test the nation’s best in the 5-axle.

Returning for the third straight year to the Nationals is UPS feeder driver John Foran, who successfully defended the Vermont four-axle championship he first won in 2007.

Other members of the 2009 team include three UPS feeder drivers who will make their second straight trip to the Nationals. They are David Sharp from Nevada and Troy Turtle and Bill Harvey from Oklahoma.

First-time state winners making their Nationals debut will be UPS drivers Jeff Kalinowski and Bill Raff from Illinois and Ron Seltzer from Texas.

Raff will compete in the 3-axle competition while Kalinowski and Seltzer become the first UPS drivers in the Step Van competition that debuted this year in some 23 state championships.

The 23 UPS drivers advancing to the Nationals come from 14 states and captured team titles in the state championships of four states: South Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

Four South Carolinians, led by Steve Newsome, will wear the company’s colors in Pittsburgh. Newsome won his fifth state championship this year and was named Grand Champion in the state competition with the highest score among all competitors. Joining Newsome from the state are John Cook, also a five-time winner; John Hummel, a two-time state titleholder, and newcomer James Belcher. All four UPS Freight drivers are based in Gaffney, S.C.

Three UPS Freight drivers from Georgia will carry the company’s colors. Al Churchwell of Marietta will appear in his seventh Nationals and will be joined by Mike Britt of Marietta and Tommy Lasalata of North Atlanta.

Other company drivers earning their tickets to Pittsburgh are Rodney Cosper and Duane Holmes, both from UPS Freight’s Birmingham, Ala., service center; Randy Crews, Lynchburg, Va.; Manny Franco, Phoenix, Ariz.; John Lawrence, Jackson, Tenn.; Paul Savill, Ohio, and Jerry Sheble, Fontana, Calif.

Both the state and national competitions include difficult driving skills, maneuvering tests, equipment inspections and exams covering safety policies and regulations. More than 400 drivers from across the nation will compete in Pittsburgh in nine equipment classes between Aug. 18 and 22.

UPS Freight, one of the largest less-than-truckload carriers in the United States and a leading truckload service provider, serves customers throughout North America, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information, visit upsfreight.com.

UPS is the world’s largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain services, offering an extensive range of options for synchronizing the flow of goods, information and funds. Headquartered in Atlanta, UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. UPS stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: UPS), and the company can be found on the Web at www.ups.com.

Wiimbledon 2009 has come and gone and I’m happy to report that it was a great success! We had 98 tournament participants and everything went off without a hitch. With the help of generous eBayers, tournament attendees and Barcade, we’ve raised somewhere in the vicinity of $5,000 for the Child’s Play Charity. On behalf of CrunchGear, Wiimbledon and Child’s Play, I’d like to thank the following sponsors for hooking us up.

Geek Squad
Toshiba
Nyko
Dyson
Virgin America
Lexar
Duracell
Lowepro
Innex
Thrustmaster
Casio
Verizon Wireless
Samsung Mobile
AT&T
HTC
Nixon
Lenovo
Pentax
Penguin United
T-Mobile
THX
VIA
Western Digital

Big ups to Steve Bryant, Lane Buschel, Katie Smith-Adair, Jen Moses, Nicholas Deleon and Devin Coldewey for all their hard work on Saturday.

Check out a ton of other pictures including the top 3, Geek Squad Agents, Mario and Luigi and others at Kain Productions.

So, you’re wondering how you can donate or snag some product, right? If you’re unable to make the event in Brooklyn then you can either donate directly to Child’s Play via their Paypal account (please add a note to your donation referencing Wiimbledon and CrunchGear) or bid on items that CrunchGear has allocated for Wiimbledon on this page. (It’s a little ghetto because it’s my personal eBay page, but I’ve linked all auction pages to the Child’s Play Charity and they’re getting all the proceeds). Check out all the items now. We’ll be adding to it over the next day so keep checking back.

And all of those products up for auction or as prizes would not have been possible without the generous donations of the following companies. From everyone at CrunchGear and Wiimbledon, we thank you.

A big thanks to Geek Squad for providing technical support at the event and for donating all six Wiis that will be used at the event and auctioned off later.

Nyko is onboard this year as the Official Racket of Wiimbledon with the Wand and it rocks.

We wouldn’t be having this tournament if it weren’t for Toshiba. Thanks for lending us six 42-inch Regza ZV650s for the event.

We love Dyson at CrunchGear and we love them even more for donating two DC25 Animals and two DC16 Animals. They never lose suction!

Casio, thanks for donating the EX-FS10 high-speed digital camera. Who doesn’t want to see their videos at 1000fps?

Now that Nintendo has pulled their head out and added support for SD cards, we can’t thank Lexar enough for donating 10 2GB gaming edition SD cards.

If you’re on Verizon then thank HTC for donating two Touch Pros to the cause.

Who wants the new Sidekick LX 2009? How about a G1? Thanks, T-Mobile!

Thanks to THX for donating a Mako 2.1 speaker system. These are my personal favorites and they’re a bombass set of speakers.

Thanks to VIA for donating an A2000 storage server. You know what you’re going to do with this.

Need a Wii racing wheel or iPod speakers? Logitech has you covered with the PureFi Anytime iPod speakers and a Wii racing wheel.

Virgin America always takes care of us and we thank them for donating four Main Cabin tickets.

Lowepro, thanks for donating a gaggle of camera bags.

Need instant access to the Web? Verizon has you covered with the MiFi.

Never run out of batteries while playing your Wii ever again! Thanks to Duracell for providing rechargeable batteries.

I hear it’s the Year of the netbook. Thanks to Lenovo for hooking us up with the S10.

Need a phone? How about one or five from Samsung Mobile? We have the T-Mobile t349, AT&T Propel, T-Mobile Gravity, Verizon Juke and a Verizon Saga.

Have a lot of movies sitting on your computer? Wouldn’t you rather watch it all on your TV? Western Digital to the rescue with two WD TVs.

Pentax, you’re the best. Thanks for hooking us up with two E70 digital cameras.

This is just the short list as we have many more fabulous items up for grabs. I’ll be updating as we go. There’s still time to donate products, too! Just shoot me an e-mail at peterha at crunchgear dot com.

Update: AT&T Wireless is jumping on the bandwagon with a Samsung Jack.

And please don’t forget to donate your old gadgets to Gazelle.

Oh, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and RSVP on Facebook.

Whether we realize it or not, there’s a race going on in the skies above us. With the advent of wireless Internet access creeping into what once our sanctuary of solitude at 37,000 feet has now become a domain for self-righteous dingbats to livestream their flights for all to see.

Leading the way is Virgin America who announced today that they are the first airline in all the land to offer Aircell’s Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi service on every single flight. To mark the occasion an air-to-ground Skype video call will take place with thee Oprah Winfrey herself and will air on Thursday the 21st. VoIP calls aren’t allowed on any Virgin America flight, but, you know, you can’t say no to Oprah or she’ll eat you.

Pricing for Gogo on Virgin America flights start at $7.95 for handheld devices, $9.95 for flights less than three hours and $12.95 for anything over. If you’re on a red-eye then need only muster up $5.95, which is a steal for those on transcon flights.

Today in Baltimore, I think, AirTran announced that it would become the first fleet in the US to have Wi-Fi on every flight. Equipped with Aircell’s Gogo service, AirTran will outfit all 136 Boeing 737 and 717s by mid-summer. No word on pricing, but we expect them to fall in line with what Virgin America and American Air charge. That is all.

A few weeks back I hopped onto my first Virgin America flight with Aircell’s Gogo service on-board. It wasn’t the first time I’ve reviewed Gogo and if you recall I was on the first commercial Gogo flight with American Air. The plan was to interview James Weatherson, Virgin America’s inflight entertainment engineer, while I was up in the air, but there was a scheduling mix up and the interview never went down. So we opted to do it the old fashioned way. Below is my brief conversation with James about Red and where it’s headed.

CrunchGear: Other than some content changes, I haven’t seen a whole lot of new stuff for Red. What can we expect to see this year from VX?

James Weatherson: Actually, we’re now right in the middle of a Red software upgrade that will allow us to create an even more robust entertainment content platform at every seat. Our platform is actually pretty new and ambitious for a system at 37,000 feet in-flight, so the upgrades that will go live this Summer are mainly focused on improving functionality, reliability and the speed of the Linux-based system. We’re aiming to increase the speed of the system and usability, as well as allow us to further build out the content platform. So we’re planning more video games, movies and other content in the latter half of 2009 thanks to these upgrades. And we’re also making some changes that came as suggestions from guests who emailed us in-flight via the Red feedback in-box, like being able to listen to your music play-list and play video games at the same time and giving business travelers receipts for their food – so when they swipe their credit card at their seat, they’re emailed a receipt. You’ll be able to do that as of June. The former is a relief for me, as the sound effects on DOOM for some reason get super annoying when you reach hour three of a transcon flight.

CG: Are the shopping and book services going live this year?

JW: Yep, once we get these software upgrades in place we plan to go live with the Shop platform in late 2009, with the Read section to follow. Stay tuned.

CG: I heard a nasty rumor that VX was thinking of getting rid of the touch-screens because the majority of passengers don’t know how to use a touch-screen. Any truth to that?

JW: No, we don’t plan to go retro on you on Red. Most of our guests are pretty tech-savvy and a lot of them have an iphone or other touchscreen PDA on them when they fly, so they work the system just fine. We do actually mention the importance of a “soft touch” in both our in-flight guide (attached) about the Red system and our flight teams also mention it when they explain how the system works. It has not really been a problem, but the interface just works better with light tapping, as opposed to thumping – just like an itouch or iphone. However, we are disabling the touch-screen on the games only, as the remotes just work better – that change goes live with our Summer upgrades in June.

CG: Maybe VX should make a video for people to watch that shows them how to use the touch-screen. I know I can’t stand people who sit behind me and punch the screen. What do you think?

JW: I like the video idea! We’ve got a depiction of that in our in-flight guide (PDF), and the caricature is of our head of web marketing, Jen Larson, because it is her pet peeve. If we do a video, we got to think of an appropriate spokesperson who could demonstrate that almost anyone can use Red. Maybe a Miss USA contestant?

CG: Anything else we can look forward to that you can talk about?

JW: We’re focusing pretty aggressively on our fleet-wide WiFi roll-out. We’ll be the first and only airline to have it on every single flight by this Memorial Day (it is now on 24 of 28 planes). And we just became the first airline to offer absinthe in-flight. Although, on second thought: the image of guests twittering at 37,000 ft while drinking absinthe is somewhat disturbing.

More pics and info after the jump.

Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines

Lightweight: At 10.2 ounces, lighter than a typical paperback

Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, service plans, or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots

Books in Under 60 Seconds: Get books delivered in less than 60 seconds; no PC required

Improved Display: Reads like real paper; now boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and even crisper images

Longer Battery Life: 25% longer battery life; read for days without recharging

More Storage: Take your library with you; holds over 1,500 books

Faster Page Turns: 20% faster page turns

Read-to-Me: With the new text-to-speech feature, Kindle can read every newspaper, magazine, blog, and book out loud to you, unless the book is disabled by the rights holder

Large Selection: Over 275,000 books plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs available

Low Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise

Introducing Kindle DX–Amazon’s Large Screen Addition to the Kindle Family of Wireless Reading Devices
Large Kindle DX Display and New Features Provide Enhanced Experience for Reading a Wide Range of Professional and Personal Documents
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May. 6, 2009– Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today introduced Amazon Kindle DX, the new purpose-built reading device that offers Kindle’s revolutionary wireless delivery and massive selection of content with a large 9.7-inch electronic paper display, built-in PDF reader, auto-rotate capability, and storage for up to 3,500 books. More than 275,000 books are now available in the Kindle Store, including 107 of 112 current New York Times Best Sellers. New York Times Bestsellers and New Releases are $9.99 unless marked otherwise. Top U.S. and international magazines and newspapers plus more than 1,500 blogs are also available. Kindle DX is available for pre-order starting today for $489 at http://amazon.com/kindleDX and will ship this summer.

“Personal and professional documents look so good on the big Kindle DX display that you’ll find yourself changing ink-toner cartridges less often,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “Cookbooks, computer books, and textbooks – anything highly formatted – also shine on the Kindle DX. Carry all your documents and your whole library in one slender package.”

New Large Display

Kindle DX’s display has 2.5 times the surface area of Kindle’s 6-inch display. The larger electronic paper display with 16 shades of gray has more area for graphic-rich content such as professional and personal documents, newspapers and magazines, and textbooks. Kindle reads like printed words on paper because the screen works using real ink and doesn’t use a backlight, eliminating the eyestrain and glare associated with other electronic displays.

The New York Times Company and Washington Post Company are launching pilots with Kindle DX this summer. The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post will offer the Kindle DX at a reduced price to readers who live in areas where home-delivery is not available and who sign up for a long-term subscription to the Kindle edition of the newspapers.

“At The New York Times Company we are always seeking new ways for our millions of readers to have full and continuing access to our high-quality news and information,” said Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., chairman, The New York Times Company and publisher, The New York Times. “The wireless delivery and new value-added features of the Kindle DX will provide our large, loyal audience, no matter where they live, with an exciting new way to interact with The New York Times and The Boston Globe. Additionally, by offering a subscription through the Kindle DX to readers who live outside of our delivery areas, we will extend our reach to our loyal readers who will be able to more readily enjoy their favorite newspapers. Meanwhile, we are continuing to work with Amazon to make The New York Times and The Boston Globe experiences on Kindle better than ever.”

Kindle DX’s large display offers an enhanced reading experience with another category of graphic-rich content—textbooks. With complex images, tables, charts, graphs, and equations, textbooks look best on a large display. Leading textbook publishers Cengage Learning, Pearson, and Wiley, together representing more than 60 percent of the U.S. higher education textbook market, will begin offering textbooks through the Kindle Store beginning this summer. Textbooks under the following brands will be available: Addison-Wesley, Allyn & Bacon, Benjamin Cummings, Longman & Prentice Hall (Pearson); Wadsworth, Brooks/Cole, Course Technology, Delmar, Heinle, Schirmer, South-Western (Cengage); and Wiley Higher Education.

Arizona State University, Case Western Reserve University, Princeton University, Reed College, and Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia will launch trial programs to make Kindle DX devices available to students this fall. The schools will distribute hundreds of Kindle DX devices to students spread across a broad range of academic disciplines. In addition to reading on a considerably larger screen, students will be able to take advantage of popular Kindle features such as the ability to take notes and highlight, search across their library, look up words in a built-in dictionary, and carry all of their books in a lightweight device.

“The Kindle DX holds enormous potential to influence the way students learn,” said Barbara R. Snyder, president of Case Western Reserve University. “We look forward to seeing how the device affects the participation of both students and faculty in the educational experience.”

New Built-In PDF Reader

Kindle DX features a built-in PDF reader using Adobe Reader Mobile technology for reading professional and personal documents. Like other types of documents on Kindle, customers simply email their PDF format documents to their Kindle email address or move them over using a USB connection. With a larger display and built-in PDF reader, Kindle DX customers can read professional and personal documents with more complex layouts without scrolling, panning, or zooming, and without re-flowing, which destroys the original structure of the document. Everything from annual reports with graphs to flight manuals with maps to musical scores can be viewed on a single, crisp screen with Kindle DX.

New Auto-Rotation

Kindle DX’s display content auto-rotates so users can read in portrait or landscape mode, or flip the device to read with either hand. Simply turn Kindle DX and immediately see full-width landscape views of maps, graphs, tables, images, and Web pages.

New 3.3 GB Memory Holds Up To 3,500 Books

With 3.3 GB of available memory, Kindle DX can hold up to 3,500 books, compared with 1,500 with Kindle. And because Amazon automatically backs up a copy of every Kindle book purchased, customers can wirelessly re-download titles from their library at any time.

Incredibly Thin

Kindle DX is just over a third of an inch thin, which is thinner than most magazines.

3G Wireless, No PC, No Hunting for Wi-Fi Hot Spots

Just like Kindle, Kindle DX customers automatically take advantage of Amazon Whispernet to wirelessly shop the Kindle Store, download or receive new content in less than 60 seconds, and read from their library—all without a PC, Wi-Fi hot spot, or syncing. Amazon still pays for the wireless connectivity on Kindle DX so books can be downloaded in less than 60 seconds—with no monthly fees, data plans, or service contracts.

Syncs With Kindle for iPhone and other Kindle Compatible Devices

Just like Kindle, Kindle DX uses Amazon Whispersync technology to automatically sync content across Kindle, Kindle DX, Kindle for iPhone, and other devices in the future. With Whispersync, customers can easily move from device to device and never lose their place in their reading.

Massive Selection of Books—Plus Newspapers, Magazines, and Blogs

The Kindle Store currently offers more than 275,000 books, including popular books like New York Times Bestsellers, New Releases, and fiction and nonfiction released in the past several years. Dozens of newspapers and magazines are also available for subscription or single-edition purchase. BusinessWeek and The New England Journal of Medicine are available in the Kindle Store starting today, and The Economist will be available soon. Subscriptions are auto-delivered wirelessly to Kindle overnight so that the latest edition is waiting for customers when they wake up. Over 1,500 blogs are available on Kindle and updated and downloaded wirelessly throughout the day.

Kindle DX includes all the other features Kindle customers enjoy every day, including:

Wirelessly send, receive, and read personal documents in a variety of formats such as Microsoft Word and PDF
Look up words instantly using the built-in 250,000 word New Oxford American Dictionary
Choose from six text sizes
Add bookmarks, notes, and highlights
Text-to-speech technology that converts words on a page to spoken word
Search Web, Wikipedia.org, Kindle Store, and your library of purchased content
No setup required—Kindle comes ready to use—no software to load or set up
Amazon Kindle is sold through Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Come chat with me on Ustream on my Virgin America flight and watch people walk by! I’ll be turning on my camera every hour or so and I’ll be chatting live from 35,000 feet.

I’ll also be IMing with Virgin America’s IFE engineer James Weatherson around 6PM PT today and I’ll post a transcript. He’s in charge of the Red entertainment system on-board all VA flights and we’ll find out what we can expect to see from the in-flight entertainment system this year.

If you have any questions you’d like me to ask him, feel free to leave a comment.

Update: If you feel like chatting on AIM then hit me up at crunchtips, kids.

Update 2: James wasn’t able to join us, so we’re going off the air. We’ll update if he manages to get online. Otherwise, we’ll have an in-person interview later this week.

Virgin America

Test Drive is a new series that we’re starting at CrunchGear wherein we get a hands-on look at new or interesting modes of transportation. It’s not limited to just cars, either. We’ll take a look at just about anything from scooters to rockets and everything in between.

A wee bit ago I took a spin in the Ford Flex here in NYC. While it’s not a geek’s dream, it does have a few high tech goodies that kept my interest. That’s what we’re going to focus on with these Test Drive features going forward since we’re not an auto blog.

We’ll start off with Easy Fuel. I haven’t owned a car in three years but I remember losing my gas cap once or twice and with Easy Fuel you won’t have to worry about such things any longer. Ford claims that the design cuts the amount of fuel emissions that get released because it’s only open for a short amount of time. I had no way of testing that, but it sort of makes sense. Are there any gear heads in the audience that may know about such things?

After having flown Virgin America I now know what impact ambient lighting has on a person. I never really got the warm fuzzys from Philips ambient lighting products, but Ford’s in-car setup was nice. You can flip through seven colors to find the right color for your mood that’s tastefully splashed across the interior of the car. The in-car refrigerator was probably my favorite nerdy addition. The backseat cooler can fit up to seven 12-ounce cans. You don’t need to spend six figures on a Maybach for that luxury.

Next up is the Sync system, which I reviewed last month when I checked out the Lincoln MKS. I won’t go into great detail for this drive, but I will mention the new features that Flex supports. Mainly 911 Assist and something called Vehicle Health Report.

911 Assist does exactly what its name implies, assuming your cell phone is connected via Bluetooth. In the event of a car crash, airbag deployment triggers the system to dial out, but it gives you the option to cancel if it’s a minor accident and you’re ok. Emergency fuel pump shut-off also triggers the service. It comes standard and there’s no extra fee. Again, this wasn’t something I tested because I wouldn’t intentionally trigger the airbags to smash open my face, but I don’t think this is something Ford and Microsoft would just throw together at the last minute. But then again, you never know.

Sony takes care of the listening experience and since I was on a ‘driving tour’ with other journos in the car, I couldn’t crank the system up as high as I would have liked. But it’s packed with 12 speakers and satellite radio services.

The last thing I’ll mention isn’t gadgety or nerdy, but I really liked the Vista roof. It reminded me of the Mercedes Benz panorama rooftops that you could get on the ’97 SL600. I’m sure you could have gotten it other models, but that’s the one that comes to mind.

I enjoyed cruising around Manhattan in the Flex and it was neat to see pedestrians stop and stare as six (or was seven?) Flexs made their way through the city. It reminded me of the old Surf Woodies from the 60s and 70s. The 3.5L V6 power plant took an iron foot to get up and go, but it accelerated smoothly. And the cabin remained quiet, even in busy sections of Manhattan. The FWD version musters up 24MPG on the highway and 17 in the city, which I suppose is commendable for a car of that size. These beasts start out at $28,500.

Product Page

It’s not every day we get a chance to sit down with one of the world’s richest and most industrious men. Actually, Sir Richard is only the 236th richest person in the world according to Forbes. I thought he’d be higher. *shrug* Anyway, we had the esteemed pleasure of taking Sir Richard’s IM interview virginity last week as he was jetting back to his private island, Necker.

CBS’ The Early Show’s Dave Price was also onboard to broadcast weather updates from a Virgin American flight and kept pulling Sir Richard into one segment after another. It got to be really annoying after a while.

Sir Richard: Richard here. This is pretty cool!

CG: Good morning, Sir Richard!

Sir Richard: Communicating with you from 35,000 feet.

CG: That’s exciting.

Sir Richard: Nice to meet you again.

CG: Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with me this morning. First things first. What was with your outfit yesterday at the Boston launch for Virgin America? We’re all dying to know.

Sir Richard: I was invited by Harvard’s Hasty Pudding to appear on their Saturday show. But back on Necker then so decided that the San Francisco flight was the most appropriate place to audition for the next time I’m in town.

CG: Where are you now? Where are you off to?

Sir Richard: seat 1A. About to do a wing walk.

CG: Heh.

Sir Richard: Off to an environmental conference on Necker. Setting up a carbon war room. Strange place to announce that on a plane! Burning up a lot of fuel.

CG: What gadgets are you carrying with you, Sir Richard?

Sir Richard: I’ve got a Virgin Mobile UK phone and a BlackBerry.

CG: So it’s fashion week here in NYC and my better half asked me to ask you this. Would you consider partnering with emerging designers to produce VA uniforms or apparel?

Sir Richard: Funny you should mention that. CBS’ early show is coming back onboard in March and we thought we’d do a fashion show with new uniform ideas and maybe the history of flight uniforms.

CG: Why don’t you consider routes such as Charlotte to Cleveland worthy of VA’s great service?

Sir Richard: sorry — Dave Price is talking to me. I think I have to go — we are about to shoot the next segment.

[That bastard Dave Price.

A few minutes later…]

CG: Speaking of environmental issues. How is the Virgin group adapting to the changing climate? How was the bio-fuel flight? How committed is the Virgin group to green tech or is it all talk? Will your commitment expand to your luxury liners, balloons, etc.?

Sir Richard: We are very committed to cleaning up our dirty fuels business. Thank you for mentioning the bio fuels flight; we are also flying planes made of carbon composite. And we started an investment fund called Virgin Green Fund that invests in clean tech. One of them is Solyndra, which I am sure will be one of the largest solar companies in the US over the next three years
A flight attendant is on my lap right now. We are getting ready to do another segment.

CG: You’re a lucky man.

[A few minutes later…]

CG: Would you mind elaborating a bit further?

Sir Richard: The airlines will continue to do what they can to offset their carbon footprints, make progress in developing alternative fuels, and work with partners that are environmentally responsible. Each of them is committed to contributing all of their profits into clean energy investments. On that front, I already mentioned that Virgin Group has a stake in Virgin Green Fund, which raised funds and is now making investments in clean technology. Again, one of them is a low cost solar panel company called Solyndra, which will be one of the largest solar companies in the US in the next three years. The other area of growth is likely to be the energy storage side – electricity can be sent from California to New York with minimal loss but right now it can’t be efficiently stored for more than a few hours. With innovation on that side, the way we think about energy storage will change significantly.

CG: Will Atlantic implement in-flight wi-fi or cell phone service (like British Airways has done)?

Sir Richard: BA are only doing in-flight wifi for data, not voice, on their yet-to-be launched service from London City Airport. Virgin Atlantic will announce wifi in due course, but we’re not likely to do cell phone service as I don’t think our long-haul flight passengers would appreciate it. Would you?

CG: I’d end up punching them in the face.

Sir Richard: Me too! (JK. That’s just me, Peter, joshing around. Sir Richard didn’t actually say that.)

CG: I know you folks are about to land, so here’s one last question.

CG: How have you revised strategy, particularly Virgin America’s, to accommodate the dismal status of the economy?

Sir Richard: When you offer a better product than your competitors – and at the best price — you’re going to do well, even in a downturn. That said, Virgin America has some key strengths in this climate: a fuel efficient new fleet, a streamlined low cost business structure, and the best and most friendly employees you’ll ever meet. Virgin America is also growing; right now, you don’t want to be worried about shedding 1/3 of a clunky old fleet and network. They’re also continuing to focus on the customer — which is the first thing the other guys start neglecting. People aren’t going to stop flying; they’re going to look for a better value, and that’s what Virgin America does best. Also, Virgin America have got a revenue platform in RED and the GOGO wifi service. Customers are willing to pay more for a good product – they’ve seen this with cocktails, food, and a third of some flights paying for Internet access.
note: Virgin America will be the first domestic airline to offer wifi fleetwide by the second quarter.

CG: Oh, one last question. Can I come visit you on Necker Island? I saw it on Cribs.

*crickets*

All throughout the Ocean 2’s development cycle, pictures of it kept popping up in a silver and black motif. When it actually launched, however, everything silver had been turned red. The color change made sense, with the Helio-brand now under the parental guidance of Virgin Mobile (who’s primary color is red) – but it was one of the things we didn’t like. We said in our review that we hoped a black version would follow, as various hearsay had lead us to believe.

Looks like it is indeed. This render of the Ocean 2 decked out with a black bezel was hiding in a Helio page intended for Korean-American customers page, and it appears it might even be for sale already for that market. It might mean a trip to a Korea-town dealer or calling up a Helio CS rep and asking real nicely, but if you’re waiting for a slightly less vibrant Ocean 2, you might be able to get one now.

[Thanks David!]

Doug Aamoth reporting from Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts. Today in the B terminal I saw some good-looking New England Patriots cheerleaders, a good-looking Maria Menounos, and then everything went all haywire when two guys in bumblebee tutus showed up followed by Richard Branson dressed like a patriotic psychiatrist’s wet dream.

Check out the video above and the photos below for all the delightful hoopla. Virgin will be flying three daily roundtrips between LA and Boston and two daily roundtrips between San Francisco and Boston with Wi-Fi on every flight and fares starting at $109.

Virgin America [VirginAmerica.com]

Like this video? View more here…

Virgin America, my favorite domestic airline, is launching service to and from Boston today with three daily routes from LA and two daily routes from San Francisco. This is important for those traveling between Boston and California because all flights to and from Boston are equipped with Aircell’s Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi service.

In anticipation of the Boston launch, Virgin America asked Boston residents to nominate a non-profit agency in the area that was doing good and changing things for the better. And tonight in Boston, Sir Richard Branson will donate $25,000 on behalf of Virgin Unite (the non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group).

Virgin America’s and Virgin Unite’s selected non-profits:
v Green for All is committed to building a green economy that will help lift people out of poverty. The group focuses on connecting underserved communities to the emerging green economy through job creation and training, including projects in New Bedford. http://www.greenforall.org/

v KIPP Academy Lynn is a free public middle school modeled on the nationally recognized, tested and proven Knowledge is Power Program, a network of not-for-profit charter schools that prepares underserved kids for college. Virgin America has been a KIPP partner since 2007. http://www.kipplynn.org/about.php

v StandUp For Kids, Boston is a national all volunteer non-profit that has been active for 19 years, and works in the Boston area to get kids off the streets and to make a difference in the lives of at-risk and homeless youth. http://www.standupforkids.org/local/massachusetts/Boston

The top voted “revolutionary” non-profit on www.revolutiontakesflight.com:
v The Friendship Circle of Sharon teams up teens with special needs children. Now in its 15th year, the non-profit is powered by hundreds of teens who volunteer their time to engage special needs children in a wide range of activities and to provide their parents with respite and support. http://www.sharonfriends.org/

The runner-up in the popular vote was Boston Medical Center’s pediatric at-risk unit, the SPARK Center, which offers comprehensive, state-of-the-art medical care for Boston’s most at-risk children. www.bmc.org/spark

The following aircrafts are Wi-Fi-enabled:

638
529
530
521
522
526
629
525
527

Also, here’s video from the Boston press conference…

I don’t know about you guys, but $109 for a flight from NYC to the west coast is dirt-cheap. Sure, airline flights are neither gadget-y nor gear-y, but VA has Wi-Fi-enabled flights and Doom on-board. Just book your transcon flight by February 17th and fly by April 1st. Virgin America flies from NYC’s JFK to Las Vegas, San Diego, Las Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.

For those traveling between LAX and JFK, you’ll be happy to know that VA is offering flights between June 17th and July 22nd for only $105 each way. Score!

Virgin America

United has signed on with Aircell to bring the Internets to the skies making it harder for us to have some peace and quiet on those transcon flights. They now join Air Canada, American Airlines, Delta and Virgin America. In what appears to be the norm for these Wi-Fi equipped flights, you can expect to have service on flights from New York’s JFK to SFO and LAX. All 13 Boeing 757s in the United stable will be Internet ready in the second half of this year. United is offering the service to all cabins at a flat rate of $12.95.