Most ship operators talk up their facilities and entertainment as being ultra-modern, creating (to paraphrase) “more than just a traditional cruise trip experience” – a marketing ploy aimed squarely at attracting a new breed of cruise trip fans.

This is working to a fair degree, of course (operators are building more ships, opening more routes), but at least one survey has illustrated that cruise lines need to remember that passengers want to be catered for in the technology department, too.

A survey by metasearch site CruiseCompare of 2,000 Brits that have bought a cruise holiday asked them about their technology needs on-board.

More than four in five (83%) say they have used some form of technology when on a cruise holiday.

Leading the list of items or services being used is, perhaps surprisingly, the web with 76%, closely followed by MP3 players (69%).

The interesting point here is that using the web on a cruise ship is arguably not one of life’s cheapest activities, but there is clearly a desire by passengers to keep connected to the outside world.

Other forms of technology being used are mobile phones (52% – again, perhaps not particularly a cost-effective use of trip spending money), Kindle-type devices (31%), personal laptops (23%), gaming consoles (14%) and tablets such as the iPad (9%).

But why are passengers using these forms of technology for during a trip?

Perhaps most significantly – and in top place – is a strange answer that illustrates the ubiquitous nature of technology in everyday lives: “out of habit”, achieving 35% of the vote.

Other reasons include:

• Entertainment – 31%
• Keeping in contact with home – 29%
• Work – 27%
• Researching ports and destinations – 12%
• Boredom – 6%
• Shopping – 2%

The two-minute clip was taken using a Canon 5D Mk2 camera, with time-lapse controller and 16mm-35mm lens.

The camera took the shot every two miles between take-off and landing in Paris and was supplemented with computer model shots for the runway segments (due to restrictions on electronic device).

Conceptually it’s a fun idea and shows what can be achieved with relatively cheap or free equipment (for both shooting and editing, the latter using Apple iMovie software).

But the best moment is clearly when the footage caught the majestic natural phenomenon that is the Aurora Borealis in the night sky.

SF to Paris in Two Minutes from Beep Show on Vimeo.

Producer Beep Show said:

“Thanks to my neighbors for not minding an SLR click every 2 to 30 seconds for 11 hours, and thanks to the whole Air France flight crew for being insanely friendly and allowing me to shoot.”

The short clip – featuring footage shot at 2,564 frames per second – was filmed and edited by Tom Guilmette and has since been picked up all over the web… And rightly so.

For your enjoyment – now back to work…

Business or leisure, travel is a well-connected world these days. But what services and products can travellers use to ensure they make the most of the web, stay in touch with the rest of the world and work effectively?

1. Wuala

Now that the floppy disk has died a long awaited death, the latest in accessing data is in the cloud, such as the rather ingenious cloud service offered by Wuala.

Offering free secure online storage, Wuala allows its users to store, backup, and access files from anywhere and to share files easily with friends or colleagues.

The beauty of Wuala is that it allows its users to trade their idle disk space in exchange for online storage, and in doing so keeps the service free to use!

2. XE Currency Converter

A simple online currency converter with iPhone, BlackBerry and Android apps to ease the confusion of overseas shopping.

3. FotoTranslate

Fototranslate from ABBYY allows you to instantly translate text using your smartphone’s camera. In just a few seconds, the program automatically recognises the photographed word, and shows the translation on the phone screen.

Fantastic for deciphering local menus and road signs.

4. Skype

Skype is a great solution to horrifyingly high international call tariffs. Use Skype to make voice calls over the Internet. Calls to other Skype users are free, while calls to both landline and mobile phones can be made for a nominal fee. Multi-user video calls are now also included in the basic service.

5. Net Doctor

Not sure what vaccinations you need? Use the NetDoctor guide to find out what’s required for your destination.

6. iPass

Any traveller who can’t be torn away from their laptop would be crazy not to get an account with iPass.

They are the world’s biggest wifi network so wherever you are, you’ll be able to get connected.

Once you are registered, just “save to favourites” and you won’t even need to enter your details when you are trying to get online; iPass will find nearby hotspots automatically.

7. Next Flight

If you’ve missed a flight and want to quickly check the next available flight or if you finished up a meeting early and wondered if you can hop on to an earlier flight, then this application is a handy solution.

Next Flight provides you a list of available flights from all airlines and airports worldwide.

8. Blurb

Have a mountain of fantastic travel pics languishing on your digital camera? Rather than leave them to the digital ether why not create a fantastic coffee-table style book with Blurb.

Turn your pictures into a travel bible for friends and family to admire, or if you have higher aspirations you can even sell it via Blurb and become the next Ansel Adams.

9. Mobile Streetmaps

Preload map data on your iPhone before you leave, so can you be on the streets, offline, and still know everything about the area you are in.

You don’t need any network connection once the application is installed– no WiFi, no 3G, no GPRS, so no nasty data charges to return home to.

10. Zagat

For international foodies Zagat guides are a trusted source of unbiased opinion. Hailed by the Wall Street Journal as The Gastronomic Bible, you can search online or on your smartphone to get the most of out eating abroad.

11. Posterous

If you can’t find the site that satisfies your travel needs in terms of sharing content, how about starting your own? Posterous makes it easy to write your own blog, upload pics, videos so you can create your own guides.

12. Cab Corner

CabCorner.com is a global, mobile web-based, cab-sharing platform that connects commuters headed in the same direction.

Put simply this site allows to you find people to share cabs with, helping to cut down the cost of getting to the airport or hotel.

And, of course…

13. SlingBox

Whether keeping up with sport, watching local news or catching up with your favourite TV series while away on holiday the SlingBox makes it possible to stream HD TV, DVR or DVD to a computer or mobile device anywhere, anytime.

No need to download additional apps, users can tune in straight from a browser to make access quick and easy, and watch on any PC or Mac laptop, or desktop, in the world.

NB: This is a guest post by Sling Media, makes of SlingBox.

It shows the importance of food in our culture. Even as we are eating, we are discussing the next meal.

And everything revolves around food – weddings, funerals and temple ceremonies. We eat when we are happy, we eat when we are sad and we eat when we hope to be happy.

Now a new obsession has taken over in the region: gadgets.

Ever since the iPad hit Asian shores this month, the greeting has changed to: “Have you got your iPad yet?”

I was at a private sale of jewellery and watches last week at the Singapore Recreation Club – you can’t get more status-conscious than that, my friends – when I whipped out my iPad.

• “Wow, so sexy.”
• “Do they make Louis Vuitton covers for it?”
• “Are you getting the iPhone 4? I want mine with bling-bling.”
• “It’s so light. Can it replace my laptop? So I can carry it in my handbag?”

Hate to say it – but my accessory attracted more attention than the Chopard watches and Cartier jewellery on display. And even the food was ignored for a while.

In Singapore, queues formed early at Apple stores on the day of the launch. A week after the launch, I was at my telco provider to get my micro SIM card and already, there was a queue of people wanting exactly the same thing.

It’s no surprise really that Asians are mad about our gadgets. We make them here, we might as well consume them here.

I read that the huge demand for the iPad and other devices is causing problems for a company in Taichung, Taiwan, maker high-tech components.

“The strong demand exceeds our expectations,” says an official from touchscreen maker, Wintek. “Our clients keep pushing us to increase supplies.”

The numbers tell the story. Apple is expecting to sell 8.13 million iPad units worldwide by the end of this year with Asia expected to account for a high percentage of sales. Its outlet in Shanghai opened earlier this month.

According to Apple, Mac sales in Asia Pacific have grown year on year by 73%.

Chief operating officer Tim Cook, announcing Apple’s third quarter results this month, said growth in China was 144%, Korea 184% and in Hong Kong, it doubled.

More gadgets also mean more time being spent online. The region is already home to nearly half of the world’s online population and according to ComScore, the average Internet user in Asia Pacific spends nearly 17 hours a month online.

And increasingly, in less developed markets, the first exposure to the web is not through the laptop anymore but through smartphones.

So next time when you visit me in Singapore, don’t be surprised if I ask you first to show off your gadgets and after that, of course, I will treat you to the best meal ever.

Just be careful though, chilli crabs can get a bit messy and you wouldn’t want it on your iPad.

The cruise experience is all about the cruise – not the cabin.

Cruiseline executives walk a fine line between providing guest accommodations that are attractive and comfortable… but not so comfortable that the guests would rather spend their time in the cabin than roving the decks and public spaces with wallet at the ready.

In this regard, the cruise cabin is a lot like the Casino Hotel Room – really nice to be in for short periods of time.

With that in mind, here are the top ten technology gadgets that should be found in and around well-appointed cabins:

1) Flat-screen TV – a great space saver, which is an important factor for all of our gadgets. Space is at a high premium, which is why you will find a lot of “multi-function” gadgets on this list.. In some inside cabins, the TV substitutes for a port hole, showing nautical scenery as a sort of “screen-saver”.

2) DVD player built into the TV, or video-on-demand system.

3) Communications system – again, a feature accessible possibly via the television, which provides a wide range of services, such as: a constantly-updated cruise daily schedule, advertising all of the shipboard events and shore excursion opportunities; premium dining reservations; shore excursion reservations; room service orders; access to your cabin billing folio (which can greatly speed up disembarkation); delivery of messages; radio/alarm; PA system for ship-wide announcements.

4) In-cabin and ship-wide wireless internet access – even the blue-haired perennial cruisers tote laptops these days, to stay in touch with family and post their latest adventures on myFaceLinkedPage.

5) Wireless-enabled capability for cell phones. This will ultimately provide experience-enhancing services – your cell phone will soon be able to: open your cabin door; charge your wine with dinner; summon mini-umbrella-bedecked drinks to your chaise longue by the pool/climbing wall/surfrider/putting green; receive geo-location-targeted advertising and notifications (so as you pass the optional fine dining restaurant, you can be told about the specials for that evening); record your movements on, off and around the ship.

6) Connectivity Center – Ranging from a simple power strip (electrical outlets are notoriously scarce in most cabins), to a sophisticated charging station with integrated voltage regulator (110/240v), multi-format plug adaptors, and iPod/MP3 connector (allowing the sound and/or video to be routed to the TV).

7) Desk Telephone. These are often viewed as a necessary evil. In the past, they were used mostly for intra-ship calls, because ship-to-shore communication was very limited. Even now, with satellites providing almost ubiquitous coverage, most guests are savvy enough to use internet phone services such as Skype to avoid the aggregious telco fees for international calls.

Biometrics. There is a lot of research going on in the area of Biometrics, with the emphasis on Security. Knowing that only authorized guests and crew are onboard, and monitoring the ingress, egress and onboard movements of guests is critically important to the cruise line. Facial Recognition, and touchless palm scanning are the leading contenders, because they cause less interruption to the flow of guests, and do not require physical contact with potentially norovirus-carrying surfaces. Advances in iris- and retinal-scan technology may lead to those technologies becoming viable alternatives.

9) RFID. Another alternative to biometric and cell phone technologies, an RFID wristband or ankleband has the advantage of not requiring presence of mind to remember to carry it with you, and it can accompany the guest while swimming, adventure trekking, etc. Plus, with this technology, in-cabin sensors could detect whether guests are present, alerting room stewards to postpone cleaning/refreshing the cabin, and shutting down un-needed services to conserve energy and reduce waste.

10) In-Cabin Safe. This will use the same technology as the door locks – whether keycard, biometric, cell phone, RFID, etc – eliminating the need to remember yet another PIN code.

With the cruise market booming, guest experience is top priority to win market share and increase the percentage of return guests.

So wherever technology can eliminate lines and delays of any sort, and keep guests entertained, informed and involved, it will have a dramatic effect on increased revenue.

NB: Luther Pawling is co-founder of Gem Software, a startup company providing hosted applications for the meetings industry. Pawling has been in the travel industry for over 25 years, with experience in meetings, corporate travel, tours, and cruises, and the appropriate supporting technology.”

1) High definition televisions (HDTVs) are the focal point of every hotel room and there are a huge variety of models for hoteliers to choose from to suit differing room sizes and budgets.  They should provide a range of high quality HD channels to reflect the needs of guests and most major suppliers including Samsung and LG, for example, offer a range to suit all requirements and budgets.

2) High speed internet access (wired and wi-fi) in hotel rooms is a must for any business traveller and now many leisure travellers too. Almost all hotels now provide internet access, but the main challenge for hoteliers is offering guests the same level of broadband service in a hotel room as they receive at home, in terms of speed, reliability and security. One way of doing this is by offering a tiered bandwidth service, i.e. pricing the broadband service according to usage, where those who use less bandwidth pay a smaller fee than those who require more. This will also allow hoteliers to control the amount of bandwidth available to each guest and deliver a fairer and more reliable service.

3) MP3 docking station and alarm clock are two essential gadgets for many travellers.  Apple has sold over 100 million iPods and many travellers use them to listen to favourite songs, watch movies, or view family photos, so any docking station that couples as an alarm clock should be at the top of any hotelier’s list for in-room gadgets. Alternatively, most in-room televisions also double up as an alarm clock.

4) Convenient power sources – Sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many times hotel guests have to dive under a desk to access power sockets to connect and charge their laptop and mobile.  Another option is for hoteliers to provide a connectivity panel which enables content from a laptop, digital camera or MP3 to be viewed/listened to via the television so they don’t have to keep recharging their batteries.

5) Mirror televisions are more commonly found in bathrooms, saunas and swimming pools at luxurious hotels.  They are equipped with high definition technology, digital tuners and touch screen functionality.  In fact, there were some impressive Mirror TVs being demonstrated at the recent CES in Las Vegas.

6) Lighting and climate control may not seem at first an advanced piece of technology, but allowing guests to set these remotely to suit their changing moods, whether they’re just waking up, working, or relaxing is becoming an important feature of a hotel room. West End hotel, St Martins Lane, is a good example of mood lighting and The Peninsula Shanghai has weather gauges on its in-room control panel, allowing guests to decide if they should put on an extra layer before heading outside.

7) RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) door lock for keyless entry to a hotel room and other areas of the hotel is becoming more popular in hotels across the world.  In addition to this, new technology has been developed to allow guests to use any brand of mobile phone to gain access to their hotel room, so they don’t have to worry about their keys at all.  Face recognition key locks and LCD screens connected to a digital camera to let guests know instantly who’s outside their door could also be an intriguing guest security proposition for future new build properties.

8 ) Energy management systems which adjust the temperature and lights in a hotel room upon detection that the room is empty and an air-powered hair dryer to help save water and energy usage are interesting concepts. A combination of energy-efficient air conditioning, a rainwater harvesting system and low energy lighting can reduce a hotel’s carbon footprint by 75 per cent compared to the average establishment.

9) Guest sensors have been fitted in Hotel 1000 in Seattle that monitor when a guest enters and leaves so that lights and other technology in the room can be switched on and off accordingly.  In addition, The Upper House in Hong Kong uses infrared signals to allow housekeeping staff to tell if the room is occupied by pressing a button.

10) And, finally, technology to rotate a Croatian hotel once every day is being explored to give every guest a sea view during their stay. Not viable for every hotel, but boy would it help you stand out from the crowd.

I also discussed how destinations have the leg up when it comes to aggregating local and regional content.

It would seem that some DMOs are actually making some positive steps towards embracing and potentially leveraging the mobile space to market their destinations more effectively.

One such destination is British Columbia.  Yes, I live in BC, but that isn’t the reason why I am profiling them specifically.

The reason, quite simply, is because they have done a really nice job of building an app that most closely reflects my recommendations.

• Design: The interface is sterile and corporate, not at all inspiring or interesting.  But, as a first pass, it’s a good start focusing more on the important content then the look and feel.  Compare that to TripWolf’s app for example which has a really nice design and elegant interface but is lacking in the depth and breadth of content.  Once Tourism B.C. (or whatever they are called now) figure out how to combine the content they have with an inspiring interface, they will have a clear winner on their hands.
• Functionality: The app is very simple and easy to use providing quick access to listings and details about attractions, sites, and restaurants that are close to you.  You can search for items, find their location on a map, and get directions.  What is lacking is any form of social interactivity such as reviews and ratings, or recommendations based on category.  With some many choices, a visitor may not have any idea how good a particular restaurant really is.  Having reviews, whether provided by a third party review site like TripReviews or perhaps aggregated by a site like Uptake, may provide more context to the generic listings provided by the app.
• Content: Ah, this is where the app really shines.  The depth and breadth of the content is unmatched when compared to other B.C. travel guides.  Where TripWolf and LonelyPlanet have between nine and thirty restaurants listed for Vancouver, the Near Me B.C. app has over 400.  But there is a limit to how many choices you can provide a traveller before the ability to make a decision becomes next to impossible.  This is where some social tools or user generated ratings and reviews may help to sort out the wheat from the chaff.
• Overall: This is a really strong start for a destination like B.C. and provides a solid framework for future development.  The key with this app and all apps that are similar is that the features are great but the content is king.  You can do a lot in terms of narrowing choices for consumers and identifying the top restaurants or attractions if you have all the data to work with.  In this case, B.C. is in a good position to be able to provide a strong value add for visitors to the region by providing a tool that is both comprehensive and functional.  As I mentioned before, however, the app is not just an information tool but a way to inspire visitors to explore and experience B.C.  As an inspirational tool, the app still needs work.  The good news is, that building in the ability to inspire is no where as complex as trying to aggregate data from 4,000 suppliers across the province.

Built by Lean Mean Fighting Machine in London to translate English into French, German and Arabic, the app is a bit rough around the edges and tricky to set up initially – but it works.

Here is a demo video.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA5CMtQDyP4&

The app works by digitising the picture and by then working out where the corners of the mouth and lip line are located.

Users can then select topic areas such airport, inflight, taxi, hotel, sightseeing and shopping and choose a phrase – “Could I have an aisle seat”, “Could we leave our baggage here?”, “Could you rub some suncream into my back?” etc – to animate and reproduce with audio using their lips.

Clever, funny and probably useful.

Mobile Desk is a foldaway chair and mini-table, one suspects, primarily for business travellers, although conference attendees might prefer its ergonomic advantages to traditional event chairs.

It measures 38 inches in length and costs a hefty $500.

You can also keep close to travelling colleagues with a double-seat version!

More information:

• Buy it at OpulentItems.

NB: Get in touch if you have a travel gadget to showcase on Tnooz.

Mobile applications are particularly geared for these last-minute — or, should we say, last-hour — bookings as travelers, who find themselves without a room, can use their iPhones to secure a room whether the would-be customers find themselves at an airport, stranded at an endless business meeting, or at the local saloon.

Last month, Priceline President and CEO Jeffery Boyd talked of envisioning a day when consumer behavior would change so that it would become more commonplace for people to book a room once they arrive at a destination instead of before the trip.

Post-itinerary management from the likes of TripIt, Traxo and Dopplr are hot.

Let’s call Boyd’s view and the Hotel Negotiator app, post-flight hotel management.

Priceline’s iPhone app is a shake in that direction.

“Our Hotel Negotiator App is designed for travelers who are on the road or at an airport and decide at the last minute that they need a room for the night,” states Priceline.com Chief Marketing Officer Brett Keller. “The app also works for travelers who prefer to make their hotel arrangements after they’ve arrived in a city and have become familiar with the geography. Hotel Negotiator lets them use their iPhone or iPod touch to quickly negotiate the price and book a room from priceline.com’s comprehensive assortment of quality hotel rooms up until 11 p.m. ET on the night they need the room.”

Among the features, the new app has a geo-locator-triggered search function.

Here’s Priceline’s description of the feature: “Shaking the device establishes the traveler’s location using location-based features and then performs a Winning Bids search for hotels in the surrounding areas.”

Bidding and checkout is said to have been streamlined down to a one-page design.

If procrastinating travelers are unsuccessful in getting a deal or just don’t want to bother with bidding, the app also features an option to book a room the old-fashioned way — selecting from published rates instead of from Name-Your-Own Price merchant offers.

And, of course, if you are using the app from your iPhone, you can always book the room by phoning Priceline.

For some people, habits like booking over the phone are difficult to shake.

Here’s a YouTube demo of the app.

VholdR just began shipping the ContourHD1080p wearable camcorder. It seems to be perfect whether you are jumping off a cliff or biking along the boardwalk.

Check out the specs: The company says: “ContourHD1080p offers several unique features including four HD settings (1080p, 960p, and two at 720), two frame rates (30fps and 60fps), lighting you can configure (contrast, exposure, metering, and sharpness), an adjustable microphone, and a new feature not previously announced: Three bitrates (default, high, and max).”

The gadget’s microphone is designed to keep wind noise to a minimum, whether things are balmy or at gale-force levels.

The 1080p, retailing for around $330, also has its social-media game-face on as its Easy Edit software offers 1080p video sharing.

The camcorder is available on Amazon, among other retailers.

I’m sure online travel sellers will see a spike in bookings once this camcorder hits the stores.

Or, maybe not.

Although, as of this writing, the home-team Angels have lacked for energy, the COLTs (Cells on Light Trucks) units are designed to boost “rapid and short-term network response,” says Verizon Wireless, for calls, and text and pic messages transmitted by fans at the stadium or just regular folks in its environs.

We hear that AT&T, beset with complaints about lack of adequate 3G network coverage for its Apple iPhones, likely could use some COLTs, too.

And, then there’s this dead spot on Old Short Hills Road in Millburn, N.J., where I’m always losing T-Mobile coverage at the most inappropriate times, but that’s another story.

Vistors to the site with a TomTom device can send the location and details of any of the site’s 5,000 properties (such as campsites, caravan parks) or an equal number of points of interest from around the UK and Ireland.

The “Add To TomTom” functionality works by opening the user’s satnav’s desktop tool on its host computer and automatically placing the relevant content onto the device.

Managing director Dan Yates says having the properties and points of interest already geo-coded means it is easier for satnav devices to plot the locations easily.

The deal with TomTom is not restrictive and PitchUp will be able to partner with other satnav providers such as Garmin. Yates says at this stage TomTom is not highlighting the PitchUp partnership on its own site, but there may be an opportunity to do so in the future.

The move is the first in what PitchUp hopes will be a series of initiatives over the coming months to boost its functionality and push the business to a wider audience.

Yates says the next major project will be to add payment functionality to the site. PitchUp currently refers users to the property owner.

The various difficulties of adding transactional requirements into the site (arranging supplier protocols and availability feeds, to name but a few) will be completed before any territorial expansion into mainland Europe is put in place.

I wrote several months ago about the rollout of Travelport’s Agencia desktop for Canadian travel agencies. [This is not to be confused with Expedia Inc.'s corporate travel agency, Egencia.]

In a post I wrote earlier today, Graham Wareham, Air Canada’s senior director of product distribution, says progress has been slow in the integration of agency bookings through Agencia with the Apollo GDS.

This is what Travis Christ, president, The Americas, Travelport GDS, has to say on the issue: “Travelport Agencia integrates neatly with the Apollo GDS, aggregating all Air Canada and GDS content into one display. [It]  integrates the profile, and creates a PNR with all passenger and fare information.

But, Christ acknowledges there is more work to be done.

He says: “It will always be fair to ask,  ‘Where is this functionality?’ The answer is that this is only Version 1.0, and more is on the way.  We’re very pleased with customer response, usage is increasing by over 50% per month.  Agencia is a solid tool and only getting better.”

So, stay tuned for more.

The No-More-Excess Digital Luggage Weighing Scales is accurate to 50g and and can test luggage up to 40kg.

The device has a blue back-lit LCD display also has an optional carry case.

More information:

• Buy it at TripNeeds
• Amazon reviews

NB: Get in touch if you have a travel gadget to showcase on Tnooz.

I was thinking about that in the days following stories I wrote about how Google Sidewiki could be a sideshow for review sites and Why TechCrunch is wrong about Google Sidewiki.

Will consumers really take advantage of the ability to comment about a publishers’ website in a side window visible only to fellow Sidewiki users?

I have to admit that I haven’t opened Sidewiki, which sits in my Google Toolbar, since I wrote those posts. It takes an extra step and who has the time.

In 2005, I wrote about Portaga, which was enabling travel bookings through Microsoft Outlook via a Web services link to Sabre.

Here’s an excerpt from the story:

Don Dodge, a senior technology official for emerging businesses at Microsoft, noted that 400 million people use Microsoft Outlook e-mail daily, so Portaga has navigated a roadblock that stymies many start-ups, namely getting the application in front of users in a familiar setting.

“In the technology business, we spend a lot of time looking for the next big thing,” said Dodge, pointing to the Portaga Travel Manager as being in that category.

I remember e-mailing then-Travelocity CEO Michelle Peluso around that time, asking her if the OTAs were losing sleep over Portaga displacing them. I could have sworn I heard her yawn when she e-mailed back that they weren’t.

I haven’t heard a peep from Portaga since circa 2006-2007.

TripWare, which launched in June, also is attempting to get traction through travel bookings in Microsoft Outlook.

I wish TripWare all the best, and hope it will be successful.

Start-ups often fail because their management was clueless, their funding was inadequate, or for a bunch of other reasons. Perhaps Portaga had a great idea and TripWare will take it to the next level. We’ll see.

When the post-mortems about failed companies are written, it is their ideas that were important.

Right idea. Wrong time, perhaps.

There are loads of examples. If you have any, please share below in the comments.

So, I am not ready to annoint Google Sidewiki as the TripAdvisor bulldozer.

Then there’s Android and Google Wave.

I hear they could be the next big things.

Step forward the Grid-It.

The 12 inch x 8 inch trellis of elastic bands fits pretty easily inside a laptop bag or holdall and retails at a modest $22 (Euro 15).

More information:

• Buy it at Flight001
• Spec and manufacturer details at Cocoon Innovations

NB: Get in touch if you have a travel gadget to showcase on Tnooz.

Davidson says Farelogix made payments to Sabre for the developer’s agreement, which enabled the FLX Platform to operate side-by-side with Sabre and provide travel management companies with additional functionality as they acquired content from GDS and non-GDS sources.

Davidson won’t say how much those fees were.

But, I’m betting I might be able to pick up and garage a 2009 Acura TL 4-door sedan with 4-wheel drive or a comparable pleasure craft for the boatload of money that Farelogix likely paid for the agreement.

So, the cost of the ride — whether it was free or not — apparently wasn’t at the heart of the issue.

In fact, Davidson says, Sabre refunded part of the payment because the GDS company terminated access to its databases before the full term of the pact would have run its course.

Instead, the core issue apparently is that Sabre saw a competitive challenge as Farelogix struck direct-connect deals with big-name airlines, including American, United, Lufthansa, Singapore, Emirates, Virgin America, Northwest, Continental, AirTran and Air Canada, as well as with intermediaries such as American Express Business Travel, BCD, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, the Travel Authority, Globus and Vayama, among others.

And, I wouldn’t be surprised if the fees these airlines pay Farelogix are less than the GDS fees they pay Sabre.

The Dept. of Justice, as Tnooz disclosed, is taking initial steps to gather information about Farelogix’s allegations that Sabre engaged in anti-competitive practices to snuff out a smaller distributor when Sabre terminated Farelogix’s access to Sabre systems.

Sabre spokesman Michael Brophy declined to respond to Davidson’s latest statements outlining why the alleged “free ride” was far from free.

Brophy says: “As we said earlier this year, the termination of the developer agreement with Farelogix only affected a handful of Sabre subscribers and we have worked hard to ensure their needs have been taken care of.   Sabre has not told any of its subscribers not to do business with Farelogix.”

In an ITA Software announcement about a second deal to implement ITA’s QPX pricing and shopping system across AirCanada.com and its agency websites, ITA stated: “Air Canada will provide testing and domain expertise to ITA as it completes the remaining work on its industry-changing Passenger Services System (PSS) solution.”

When asked if that work with ITA pertained to eventual implementation of the discontinued Polaris res system project, Air Canada spokesman John Reber told me:  “The testing and domain expertise provided on PSS is to support ITA in proposals for other airlines.”

That’s a very unusual stance. And, you can interpret that in a few ways.

Either there is something very special about the Air Canada-ITA relationship that goes beyond the usual parameters of technology vendor and client, or perhaps Air Canada is keeping its options open about following through on the Polaris project at a later juncture.

Would Air Canada get a piece of the business when ITA signs PSS contracts with other airlines?

This development occurs as the PSS/airline hosting  market in the U.S. seems to be a wide-open affair.

HP is at the beginning stages of building a new reservations platform, Jetstream, for American Airlines. The system would replace American’s long-time arrangement with its offspring, Sabre.

And, United Airlines’ transition to the Amadeus Altea platform, which would replace Travelport’s Apollo host system, is stalled.

There are other important competitors, but ITA Software certainly would fit into the mix as a potential partner as airlines attempt to retire some of their legacy platforms.

However, Air Canada’s cancellation of the Polaris project was a major blow to ITA because it leaves the company without an existing reservations system customer.

Meanwhile, Air Canada’s implementation of ITA Software’s pricing and shopping system across the airline’s online channels — a project which is distinct from the discontinued Polaris host system job –  is slated for introduction in summer 2010.