September 7, 2006 – TRANSTAR Communications Systems, the latest entrant into the crowded handheld IFE market, could be in a position to offer product to the market by the end of the year.

Founded by IFE pioneer Dick Bertagna and located in California, TranStar announced earlier this year that it had ordered 100 inflight-modified examples of a handheld device being developed by Nevada-based Seamless Internet.

Called S-XGen, the basic device is aimed at the mass consumer electronics market. Essentially a robust portable computer running the Windows CE operating system, it measures only 5in x 4in x 2in, weighs less than 12oz and has a 10hr battery. It is designed to combine standard business PC capabilities with wireless communications and entertainment functions, a 4in high-definition screen and a fold-out mid-sized keyboard.

Late last month Seamless Internet announced that it was about to begin manufacturing the casings for an initial run of 20 demonstration units, and that the core circuit board was being redesigned to increase reliability and data-exchange speeds. The definitive device will have an onboard camera, more gaming buttons and a shockproof 20Gb hard drive. The first thousand commercially available units are due to be on sale by the beginning of December, at a retail price of $799.00.

In its early descriptions of the inflight version TranStar emphasises connectivity applications based on Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband and the Panasonic satellite broadband offering announced earlier this year, and on the North American terrestrial system that AirCell will introduce in the middle of next year. With its phone and WiFi capabilities, the new device is expected to be compatible with the service offerings from AirCell, AeroMobile, OnAir and ASiQ of Australia that will become available over the next few years.

“The recent award of North American broadband air-to-ground frequencies is fortuitous for our purposes of providing passenger access to one of the most advanced and versatile communications and entertainment devices, with a richer feature set than anything on the market,” Bertgna said earlier this year.

Bertagna also revealed some of TranStar’s thinking about device logistics and other potential applications. The units would be stored, recharged and loaded with content in an on-aircraft cart, and the company plans to offer a touchscreen version to be used by flight crew for cabin management purposes.