November 27, 2006 – COMPARED with a full-up embedded system, a handheld IFE player might look like a fairly straightforward development challenge. There’s a lot more to it than hardware, however, and some of the would-be players in this crowded market are showing signs of having underestimated what it takes to deliver what the airlines need.

One such is California-based Global AirWorks. This specialist in cabin modifications, including broadcast IFE retrofits, introduced its AirPlay device at the 2005 WAEA show, describing it as a first-generation unit that would be refined and put into production before the end of the year. That deadline came and went and regular calls to AirWorks over the last 12 months have gone unanswered, though AirPlay continues to figure with a full technical description in the company’s Website. 

The unit inspected by Inflight Online at WAEA 2005 was a neat package weighing around 900gm with battery and measuring about 6in by 4in. Designed in the USA by AirWorks, starting in May 2004, it incorporated electronic components sourced in Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

An 80Gb hard disc supplied by AirWorks parent company Global ePoint provided capacity for up to 50 films, 20 games and music. Other features included a high-resolution TFT screen, a lithium-polymer battery supporting up to eight hours of playback, and a USB 2.0 port for content loading. Airworthiness measures include a polycarbonate flame-retardant casing with an anti-electromagnetic interference coating on the interior.

With a lengthy background in the design and installation of IFE and commmunications for the airline industry, AirWorks clearly understands the requirement of handheld IFE operators for a new breed of logistics. As of September 2005 it was planning a support package that would include the provision of AirWorks personnel at the airport to distribute and collect the units and manage content reloading and battery recharge.

But even then it was obvious that the company had been slow to appreciate the scale of the content task – the need to win the confidence of the studios on the back of credible security capabilities, and then to strike deals with content providers. More than 12 months after launching development, it had still to address the need for encryption and open negotiations with the studios.
 
The indications are that little headway has been made since then, with one Inflight Online industry source reporting recently that two of the biggest names in content, Paramount and Warner Brothers, had so far had no dealings with Global AirWorks on AirPlay. 

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