United partners with Apple, IBM to offer a mobile solution to your flying woes

By Lulu Chang February 2, 2017

united apple ibm partnership 32534863961 50fedf6714 k — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Your high-flying experience is about to go high-tech. On Thursday, IBM, United Airlines, and Apple announced a collaboration that aims to serve up a new generation of mobile apps for United employees. With hopes of “unleashing the power of the more than 50,000 iOS devices,” IBM and Apple seek to redefine how work is done, starting at United Airlines. Promising a new suite of made-for-business apps, the lineup will be aimed at driving the airline’s digital transformation and helping customer service.

“United Airlines is committed to delivering positive traveler experiences that begin with front-line engagements during all points of the passenger journey — from check-in to departure to destination,” said Dee Waddell, global managing director, for travel and transportation industries at IBM. “This enhanced strategy with mobile solutions from IBM and Apple allows United Airlines employees to tap into the right information at the right time to instantaneously address the needs that matter most to passengers.”

Technology has long played an integral role in United’s strategy. Particularly over the last few years, United has equipped its employees with iPhones and iPads to create a more seamless customer experience. “We want to put our employees in a position to deliver exceptional service at every step of the travel experience,” said Jason Birnbaum, United’s vice president of operations technology. “We have incredible employees out in the field who rely on technology to help our customers. The mobile solutions and working closely with IBM and Apple enables us to provide innovative solutions for them on an unprecedented scale.”

With the new apps, flight attendants ought to have a better sense of which customers have connecting flights, so they can better help them find their gates. Customer service agents will also have more autonomy in moving around, rather than being tied to their desks. So get excited, friends. Technology just may make your travel experience that much better.

Editors' Recommendations

Apple Arcade’s mobile spin on subscription gaming is definitely worth your time

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…

Mobile

Best Verizon Fios new customer deals: Get 2GB/s internet in your home

Fios TV Package

Whether you surf the web for work or you subscribe to one of the best live TV streaming services, the experience can be made better with blazing fast internet. Fiber optic internet service is the future, and with Verizon Fios you can get some of the fastest internet service around. This service would pair well with any of the best TVs and home theater setups, but it’s also something to consider if you're into online gamine or do work that requires large file uploads and downloads. We’re currently seeing some of the lowest prices on Fios home internet service we’ve ever seen, with Verizon putting some super impressive deals out there. We’ve rounded up all of the best Verizon Fios deals available right now, and they include low monthly costs, waived setup charges, and a number of freebies like Target gift cards.
2 Gigabit Verizon Fios connection -- $85 per month + free extras
One of the fastest internet speeds you can get, and the fastest speed that Verizon offers, this is the sort of subscription you should grab if all the members of your family are essentially watching 4k content all the time. It's also great for those who want to host their own media server to share with friends or family while not impacting anybody else in the home. You also get a lot of great freebies included here, such as the choice of either a $300 Target gift card or a $350 value Samsung Chromebook Go, which is admittedly an entry-level device, but it's not bad to use for just streaming content. On top of that, you can choose between 2TB of Verizon cloud storage and 12 months of Disney+ with no ads or a MoCA Ethernet Adapter for gaming and a $50 Xbox eGift Card. You could also get both of these if you add an extra $10/month, although it's probably not worth it at that point.

1 Gigabit Verizon Fios connection -- $65 per month + free extras
If the super-fast speeds aren't necessarily needed, especially if you're in a smaller household without too many folks watching content, then the 1 Gigabit version is the way to go. It is $20 cheaper, so it's a lot of money that you're saving over the course of the year, and you still get quite a few extra benefits, even at this level. You get to choose either a $200 Target gift card or the same sort of Samsung Chromebook Go that's worth $350 that's great for streaming content. You also get a similar choice as the 2 Gigabit connection, which includes either 2TB of Verizon cloud storage and six months of Disney+ without ads, or a MoCA Ethernet Adapter for gaming and a $50 Xbox eGift Card.

Mobile

Best prepaid phone deals: Android, iPhone, flip phone

episode 209 https cdn cnn com cnnnext dam assets 190910135448 20190910 apple event iphone 11 02

Buying some of the best phones on the market can be expensive, especially if you don't really need anything that fancy. Of course, you could always take advantage of some great phone deals, but even those can sometimes cost hundreds of dollars, and that's not even taking into account the cost of the plan you're locked into. As such, prepaid phones are a great alternative since you can get cheap phones at a very budget-friendly price while not locking yourself in a particular plan.

There are, of course, some downsides, and we do go into that a bit at the end, but in the meantime, we've collected our favorite prepaid phone deals below. While these aren't the best phones you can get, quite a few of them come from the best Android phone brands out there.
Straight Talk Samsung Galaxy A03s -- $40, was $60

Mobile

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 with a free S Pen is down to $199

A render of the front of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite 2024.

There are tablet deals that slash the prices of devices that are designed to meet the requirements of creative professionals, but you can also take advantage of offers for tablets that are designed for simpler purposes. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is a great example of the latter, and it's on sale from Walmart with a $150 discount that pulls its price down to a very affordable $199 from $349. It's not going to stay this cheap for long though, so if you're interested in this bargain you're going to have to complete your purchase as soon as possible.

Why you should buy the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (2024) is now available, but the 2022 release of the tablet, which is the one that's discounted on Walmart, remains a worthwhile purchase today as long as you manage your expectations. It's not going to challenge the best tablets in terms of performance as it only offers 4GB of RAM, but it's going to be more than enough for daily activities such as browsing the internet, catching up on social media, and watching streaming shows. The tablet only comes with 64GB of storage, but you can use a microSD card for up to 1TB of additional space.