Tablet chosen because it does not need to be recharged during long flights

Nov 19, 2012 15:46 GMT  ·  By

Apple's iPad has been scoring business sales left and right, but it has been judged unsuitable for the flight attendants working in airplanes belonging to airway company Emirates.

Instead, HP's ElitePad 900 has been chosen for the role of electronic assistant to flight attendants.

The main advantage over the Apple iPad is the battery life: HP's ElitePad 900 doesn't run out of power during long-range flights, provided they are fully charged at departure.

The Windows 8 operating system is another bonus, as is the Windows 8 app called Knowledge Driven Inflight Service (KIS).

After the most recent update, the app facilitates pre-flight crew briefing, lets attendants conduct in-flight upgrades to business class or first class, and gathers passenger feedback which is routed to headquarters immediately upon landing.

Of course, since HP ElitePad 900 will only be available in January 2013, Emirates has to wait until then before it can start its project. 100 devices will be included in its flight services by the end of January 2013, with 1,000 planned by the end of the upcoming year.