ONE, count `em, ONE airline committed.(see below)...and I think American has been testing.

Panasonic doesn`t even have their portable in the marketplace yet...expected later this year.

APS/WENCOR, the current market leader, has had its product named ``IFE Product of the Year`` and according to e.Digital, as of 2/14/05, ``the digEplayer is now on board ten airlines.``

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Varig the first to serve up PEA

March 8, 2005 – SOUTH American carrier Varig is the first airline to commit to operational deployment of the IMS Inflight PEA handheld IFE system, it was announced at the Inflight Entertainment and Passenger Communications (IPEC) conference in London today.

PEA is also undergoing in-service evaluation with American Airlines, and it is understood that a number of other carriers start trials within the next couple of months.

Brazilian national carrier Varig launched the first phase of its PEA rollout today. “We are very pleased to offer our passengers additional entertainment in the form of a personal, handheld device,” says Varig inflight product manager Edward Cuoto. “Our passengers will enjoy a wide range of choice - major motion pictures like Shark Tale, The Manchurian Candidate, King Arthur and The Motorcycle Diaries, popular TV, audio CDs, music videos, newspapers and games.”

According to IMS Inflight CEO Alan Pellegrini, providers of early-window films and television for the Varig service include Buena Vista, Warner Bros, Paramount, Universal, DreamWorks, Entertainment in Motion and Jaguar Distribution.

Objectives of the first phase of the Varig rollout include development of a clear picture of passenger content preferences, and finalisation of logistical support procedures. Achieving the first will be facilitated by PEA’s ability to capture passenger usage data and offload it daily for evaluation by IMS Inflight and the airline.