Tablets are starting to make their way as into our flights, with United Airways opting to replace their heavy flight bags with the iPad, and now it looks like Qantas will be turning to the iPad for use as inflight entertainment.
At the moment the idea is being tested on one of the airline’s Boeing 767-300 jets, whereby each passenger will get their own iPad 2 (making it 254 in total). Some spare iPad 2s will be brought on board in case of hardware defects. Those sitting in coach will find the iPads in the seat pockets in front of them while business class travelers will have the option of attaching the iPad to a flexible stand.
The tablets aren’t tethered but a safety measure in the form of software has been built into the iPad. The tablets will boot straight into Qantas’ Q Streaming app where it will basically provide more or less the same type of entertainment found in their regular inflight entertainment units.
If you’d rather not use an iPad, or if you prefer using your own, the good news is that the end goal of this trial process is enable Qantas’ Q Streaming service to be delivered onto the passenger’s own device, such as their own iPads, iPhones, along with Android handsets and tablets.
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