Gadling

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Scott Carmichael

- http://www.gadling.com

Scott spends most of his time playing with the latest and greatest travel gadgets. No trip is complete without at least 10 pounds of gadgets and 3 mobile phones. Got a great gadget you'd like to share with the Gadling readers? Send an email to scott AT gadling.com.

WalletPop takes you on a tour of the Oasis of the Seas - the largest cruise ship in the world

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 24th, 2009 at 4:30PM

Gadling contributor and WalletPop writer Jason Cochran shot this great video clip of the new Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas - the largest cruise ship in the world. He wrote about his experience on this mammoth ship earlier this week, but video always manages to paint a great picture of what to expect.

In the video, you'll see the boardwalk, zipline, FlowRider surf simulator, the carousel, the "elevator bar" and more. Truly an amazing vessel, and one you are bound to hear more about here on Gadling as well as our friends at WalletPop.

Majority of travelers admit they don't care about their carbon output

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 24th, 2009 at 2:00PM

Dutch bank ING asked their economic survey team to interview travelers about their opinion of CO2 output, and whether they really care about their impact on the environment.

As it turns out, only 15% of the 41,900 travelers interviewed actually do something about the environment. Of that 15%, only 3% actively try to offset their emissions, while others only admit to making a minor effort at it.

76% of travelers simply don't care, and 9% has "no opinion". Despite all the efforts to change the public awareness of CO2 emissions, only a small portion of people actually care.

This data is interesting, because people are slowly starting to realize that carbon offsets are not going to be the solution to the problem - the real solution is to actually reduce the emissions instead of trying to offset them by planting a couple of trees. Airlines like starting to experiment with bio fuels, and others are making small changes to their flight procedures. Of course, these measures are still in their infancy, but every little bit helps.

RoomAtlas mashes Google maps with hotel prices and reviews

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 24th, 2009 at 11:30AM

I'm a sucker for a good mashup. RoomAtlas is such a service - it combines the power of Google maps with thousands of hotel locations. The map looks a bit like a Monopoly board, and shows the location of hotels, along with a color coded price, links to reviews, a thumbnail photo and a link to a booking site with even more details of the property.

Rates come from Hotels.com and Expedia, so you are almost always going to get the best available rates. I've been playing with the site for some time this morning, and absolutely love how easy it is to find a hotel where you want it, for the price you are willing to pay.

RoomAtlas current covers 53,000 hotels from all around the world. Prices can be displayed in US Dollars and UK Pounds.

Daily gear deals - free iPod headphones, $99 HD Camcorder and more

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 24th, 2009 at 11:00AM

Here are the hottest gear deals for today, Tuesday November 24th 2009. Remember, these deals are often valid for just one day, so act fast before they are gone.

Lost your iPod headphones? Deadly Deals is selling the original Apple iPod headphones for free, with $6 shipping. There may be cheaper headphones out there, but at least this way, you get "the real thing". Click here for this deal.

Sellout.woot.com is selling the highly rated Sennheiser VMX100 dual microphone Bluetooth headset for just $29.95 + $5 shipping. The headset is brand new, and comes with a wall charger and USB charging cable. Click here for this deal.

Next up is an Audiovox 7" portable DVD player kit. The kit includes the DVD player itself, 2 folding headphones, a carrying case, car and AC chargers and a headrest mount. On sale for just $75.75, with a free one year subscription to Wired Magazine. Click here for this deal.

And finally in today's lineup, the Kodak Zi6 pocket HD camcorder has dropped to a new low price of just $99.99. It may not be the newest generation camera, but it'll still make pretty decent HD video clips. Click here for this deal.

Dispelling the top myths about cruise ships

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 24th, 2009 at 9:30AM

Cruise ships have a bit of a bad reputation. Those that love cruising really love it, and will have 10 or 20 voyages in their past. Those that hate it, will claim they'd rather be shot than take a cruise. There are lot of myths about cruise ships, so Gadling is here to help dispel some of them.

United Airlines offers a free "try before you buy" Wi-Fi session on all p.s. flights

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 2:30PM

Passengers on the United Airlines p.s. premium transcontinental service can enjoy one free Gogo Inflight Wi-Fi session. The promotion is done as a "try before you buy", which is a great way to get introduced to the joy of inflight Internet access.

To get the free session, all you need to do is create a new Gogo Inflight account. After that, you can surf the web for the entire duration of the flight. Since these flights are some of the longest domestic flights available, you'll be saving $12.95 with this freebie.

Wi-Fi access is offered on all United Airlines p.s. flights. These premium transcontinental flights operate between New York JFK and Los Angeles / San Francisco. Seats on p.s. flights all offer an AC power port, making it easier to stay online for the entire flight.

The iPhone holiday airport survival guide

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 12:30PM

The holiday season is a tough one for air travelers. Bad weather, oversold flights and flight cancellations can really screw up your holiday plans. Sadly, when things do go wrong, airport staff are not always able/willing to assist, and when they do, the line to reach the desk can be huge.

Thankfully, if you have an iPhone, you really do "have an app for that". In this lineup, you'll find six iPhone apps that can help survive the worst the airport throws at you.

Gadling gear review - Moshi voice control travel alarm clock

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 11:00AM

Let me open by admitting that I have a hard time dealing with hotel alarm clocks. I've never come across one that was really easy to operate, and every time I program its alarm, I'll set my phone alarm as a backup, because I just never know if it'll work correctly.

In this Gadling gear review, I'll show you the cure for the crappy hotel alarm clock. The Moshi voice control travel alarm clock does exactly what the name implies - it allows you to program its various setting with your voice. The voice recognition is absolutely amazing, and during my tests, it never once let me down. The clock itself is very compact, and is the perfect size for popping in your travel bag. The display features a backlight, and only turns on when you press the snooze/light button. It has three different alarm tones, a volume setting and manual time controls for when Moshi can't understand you

Next to the snooze button is the voice recognition button. To program Moshi, you simply press this button, and speak your command. She understands everything from "alarm on" to "set time" and even "temperature". Setting an alarm is as simple as telling Moshi the time you want her to wake you. I've included a brief video clip of how to operate Moshi, which will give you a better idea of how well this travel alarm clock works.

One of the smartest features on the Moshi travel alarm clock is the keylock button - this allows you to block access to all the keys, which is perfect when you put it in your bag as it'll prevent you from changing any of the settings when you travel. Best of all, the Moshi voice control travel alarm clock only costs $24.99. It is available directly from Moshi in white, black, pink and blue.

Orbitz reveals which airports to avoid this Thanksgiving

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 10:00AM

As we slowly head into the worst time of year to be traveling, Orbitz has revealed which airports to avoid this Thanksgiving.

The list is not really filled with any surprises, but it is always nice to see some solid research done by those that actually have the data needed to make a top ten like this.

Of course, as with any busy time of year, it pays to be prepared. Know how to pack, know the current TSA rules, and know how to control your anger when you arrive at the airport and find that it looks like something out of a disaster movie.

Here are the top ten "Orbitz Insider" busiest airports for Thanksgiving 2009.

Chicago, IL - Chicago O'Hare International (ORD)
Los Angeles, CA - Los Angeles International (LAX)
Denver, CO - Denver International (DEN)
San Francisco, CA - San Francisco International (SFO)
Atlanta, GA - Atlanta Hartsfield International (ATL)
Boston, MA - Boston Logan International (BOS)
New York, NY - New York LaGuardia (LGA)
New York, NY - New York John F. Kennedy International (JFK)
Newark, NJ - Newark Liberty International (EWR)
Seattle, WA - Seattle Tacoma International (SEA)

If you have already booked a flight in or out one of these airports, well, then it sucks to be you. All is not lost for those still waiting to book - Orbitz also compiled a list of the 10 least busy airports.

Daily gear deals - $50 HD camcorder, $44 Bluetooth headset and more

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 8:30AM

Here are the hottest gear deals for today, Monday November 23rd 2009. Remember, these deals are often valid for just one day, so act fast before they are gone.

Today's first deal comes from Woot.com where you'll find a Memorex HD pocket camcorder for just $49.99. I can't comment on the quality of it, but it should be able to record video in 720p and photos in 5 megapixels. Shipping is just $5. Click here for this deal.

The very stylish Plantronics Discovery 925 Bluetooth headset is on sale at Newegg for $44.99, with free shipping. This headset comes with a nice leather case which doubles as a battery charging pack. Click here for this deal.

Once again, the Audio Technica ATH-ANC3 noise canceling headphones are on sale for $54.95. These are some of the best in-ear noise canceling headphones on the market. They come with a carrying case, extension cable, plug adapter and various ear gels. Click here for this deal.

And finally in today's lineup, Amazon is selling a Fujipix 10 megapixel digital camera for just $79.99. When you add the camera to your cart, you can add a 2GB memory card and a Case Logic case for free. These accessories are worth $20. Click here for this deal.