AT&T wants you to know that you don't need a smartphone just to get a rich, full web experience from your handset -- theoretically, anyway -- with the introduction of four new models from longtime partners Samsung and Pantech alongside a new featurephone browser. First up from Samsung comes the Flight (pictured left), billed as a "next-generation messaging device" on account of its full QWERTY portrait slide paired with a full touchscreen up top; it'll be available next month for $99.99 on contract after rebate -- that is, if you didn't buy it on Craigslist already. That silvery slate in the middle that's more likely to be catching your eye is the Mythic, rocking TouchWiz on a 3.3-inch display along with AT&T Mobile TV, making it a fitting successor to the Eternity and big brother to the Solstice; like the Flight, it swings onto retail next month, but you'll be paying a stiffer $199.99 on contract after $50 rebate.

Turning our attention to the Pantech side of the table, we've got the Reveal (pictured right) that lets you have it both ways with a numeric keypad up top twined with a QWERTY slider underneath. It's 3G-capable, AT&T Navigator-equipped, and available for your enjoyment on October 18 in red and blue. Finally, the Impact (not pictured) has an OLED touchscreen up front, but when the texting gets hot and heavy, the phone opens up to reveal a second display along with a QWERTY keyboard. It'll be available in pink and blue, though neither pricing nor availability are being announced just yet.

Gluing everything together is AT&T's new mobile browser, described as "a rich hybrid experience that gives you a HTML experience similar to your PC browser at home" that "works really well on a feature phone." Additionally, users visiting att.net from their PCs will be able to send bookmarks to their phones' mobile portals -- kind of a neat trick, especially when you're trying to minimize the number of URLs you have to mash out on an on-screen keyboard. Of course, featurephone browsers have a reputation for generally sucking, so considering that AT&T bills its new line of devices as "full web browsing phones," it'll be interesting to see how close they actually come to delivering on the claim; it's said the phones use "advanced data compression from Opera Software," which we're thinking is very likely some variation of Opera Turbo -- not a bad start.

Here's something you don't hear everyday ever: an Irish air traffic controller helped guide a seriously malfunctioning plane to a safe landing via SMS. In a story that's admittedly tough to fathom, a pilot with four passengers aboard his twin-engined Piper plane lost all on board electrical power, communications and weather functions soon after he lifted off. In a effort to establish any form of contact with someone back on the ground, he phoned a controller at the Cork airport and spoke only momentarily of his troubles before losing voice signal. The quick-thinking controller decided to switch up his conversation method to texting, eventually providing sufficient details to safely guide the pilot in. Can you say "promotion?"

[Via Slashdot, image courtesy of StarWars Blog]

Handset addicts traveling domestically through Houston's Intercontinental Airport have likely utilized the paperless boarding option if hopping on a Continental flight, and apparently the initiative is going over so well that the aforesaid airline and the TSA are expanding it to three more venues. As of now, passengers traveling within the US can enjoy the same luxury at Boston's Logan International Airport and Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C; later this month, the program should slide into Newark International Airport in New Jersey. As expected, only folks traveling alone can take advantage, as the airline feels that pulling up passes for an entire group would actually slow the flow of boarding. There's been no word given on future expansion plans, but at this rate, we wouldn't be shocked to see it hit even more airports in the not-too-distant future.

[Via WBZTV]

Not even a week after hearing that Air France was forging ahead with an in-flight calling trial, the European Commission has now voiced its approval of using mobiles on planes in European airspace. After six months of deliberating, the decision was finally made to give airlines the choice of offering up services in order for guests to dial loved ones at 3,000-meters or more. The EU telecoms commissioner, Viviane Reding, went on to warn operators to "keep the cost of calls made on planes at a reasonable level," and of course, not all is clear just yet. For starters, the European Aviation Safety Agency still needs to green-light the whole ordeal by approving any hardware that would be used, and we won't be seeing any 3G action up high just yet. Still, at least one less hurdle stands in the way of you phoning home from over Europe (and simultaneously making enemies out of all your neighbors trying to get a few decent minutes of shuteye).

Not even half a year after Air France enabled passengers on its single OnAir-equipped Airbus A318 to send / receive messages and e-mail, the airline has went live with the second phase of the in-flight experiment. As of this week, guests who find themselves aboard the aforesaid aircraft can make / receive calls on their mobile at 30,000 feet. Reportedly, a dozen simultaneous calls are possible "per picocell network, as well as unlimited text messages and e-mails," and while pricing details weren't disclosed, you can rest assured it won't be a bargain. Nevertheless, the voice aspect of the trial is scheduled to carry on for three months, and we're assuming the results (read: whether annoyed passengers start assaulting chronic yappers) will determine if it gets rolled out to more of the fleet or quietly buried.

[Via WiFi Net News]

The FAA's still hemming and hawing over how to handle the rather controversial issue of in-flight mobile phone use, but that hasn't stopped Europe's Airbus from pushing the issue on its home turf. Having already signed agreements with Ryanair and Qantas to provide service through its OnAir subsidiary, the company's been testing equipment to enable the use of GSM handsets for some time; the European Aviation Safety Agency's apparently pretty satisfied with how those tests have been coming along, too, having just blessed the system for commercial use. European travelers worried that this development is going to lead to a rash of incessant yappers on domestic flights can take some solace in the knowledge that flight attendants will be able to "manage" the service, even shutting off voice entirely while leaving SMS and data active. Look for OnAir service to drop initially on short flights in Western Europe, though Airbus intends to take it global -- if the FAA's cool with it, anyway.

[Via WirelessInfo.com]

We've got good news for frequent fliers in Europe and Australia: Qantas and Ryanair (this author's personal fav airline for obvious reason) have announced their respective additions of picocells for in-flight calling, texting, and presumably (eventually) also data. Qantas Boeing 767s and Ryanair 737s will begin rolling out AirBus subsidiary OnAir's cellular satellite uplinked connections to their customers as early as June or July 2007 in Ryanair's case, with full rollout on that fleet expected in 2008. We don't know how much further behind launch Qantas is, but obviously they've stated their intentions to enter the in-flight cell arena, so it's only a matter of time. Too bad that Connexion was scrapped just when things are looking up for future-thinking fliers, but maybe, just maybe we finally can all throw out the ages-old argument of cellphones being dangerous for use in flight.

P.S. -Uh, please don't whip out your phones in flight. You do realize that it's still illegal in the US right? Use your phone on a plane that's not parked or taxiing and the FAA and TSA might disembowel you on the spot for the infraction. Kthxbye.

Read - Qantas
Read - Ryanair

Earlier this month we saw JetBlue and AirCell snap up the 1MHz swath of spectrum required for Verizon's Airfone service to operate over US territories, so it shouldn't really come as any surprise to anyone that the 140 person Verizon subsidiary is shutting down commercial airline phone service this year. It's goin to be a lot of work ripping those godawful ugly and rarely used seat-back phones from from 1,000+ Continental, Delta, United Airlines and US Airways jetliners nation wide, but lose not all hope until 2010; Airfone will apparently still continue overpriced in-flight calling service in the other 3,400 corporate and government planes they operate out of (which are all typically far smaller vessels, of course, unless you're talking about Air Force One). Still, it is a little disappointing that a wireless phone company with a 21 year track record in the market is going to be shuttered because the FCC sold their license in a bid to some other, more well-heeled companies; guess that's the way you play the game though, eh? And really, while we mourn the loss of any company, we won't mourn the loss of thse damned phones, nor will we be sorry about not having to wait any longer than necessary to get our in-flight internet access on.