The iPad as an inflight entertainment system?

Anything involving news about Apple products is always going to be an attention grabber - so when inflight entertainment company Bluebox announced an iPad powered entertainment system, the news spread like wildfire.

The system should be available by July, and Bluebox Managing Director Rick Stuart says that his solution will deliver iPad devices with pre-loaded content and an assortment of apps selected by the airlines. Access to the App store will be disabled. Rentals will be around $10 per flight.

Now, handheld rental inflight entertainment devices are by no means new - digEcor has been selling their system for years, and their digEplayers are available on several airlines. The difference is that their devices are specifically designed for the tough environment of commercial aviation.

The iPad is simply not designed to be used as a commercial rental entertainment device - don't get me wrong - the idea of a rental iPad pre-loaded with a bunch of apps seems pretty cool, but there are so many things that can go wrong. According to Bluebox, the content on their iPads will be protected by "proprietary software" - but with such a closed system in use by Apple, there is only so much you can do to protect your content.

Battery life is also a problem - with constant use, an iPad may need a new battery after 7 or 8 months - which will involve sending them back to Apple. Then there is of course the issue of hacking or jailbreaking - without preventing physical access to the devices, it'll only be a matter of time till someone hacks their way onto the device, even if it is just a way to kill some time during a boring flight.

[Via: Cnet]

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