Airlines have embraced social media, but do they truly understand how frequent flyers use it? SimpliFlying.com and Cranfield University in the U.K. teamed up to conduct a study on that very topic, surveying 200 people who fly five or more times a year. Some highlights of their findings:

• There are more airlines on Twitter than there are airlines with frequent-flyer programs (191 versus 179).
• Almost 90 percent of frequent flyers use Facebook regularly, while more than 65 percent “like” at least one airline on Facebook.
• Seventy-two percent of frequent flyers would join a social loyalty program.
• More than 65 percent would like to earn social loyalty points via check-ins or by contributing ideas to an airline’s Facebook page.
• More than 80 percent of frequent flyers would like to earn social loyalty points by recommending the airline to a friend or providing positive feedback.

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Courtesy of Uvex

Are you one of the millions of Americans who have trouble sleeping? Then shun “blue light” before going to bed. The American Medical Association says exposure to excessive light at night—particularly the potent “blue light” emitted by smartphones, tablets, computers and energy-saving fluorescent bulbs—disrupts sleep or exacerbates sleep disorders. If you must peruse these devices at night, check out LowBlueLights.com, which sells products to mitigate blue light exposure, including a 15-inch filter for computer screens. The free computer program f.lux, downloadable at stereopsis.com/flux, reduces a computer screen’s blue light later in the day. Another possibility: Wear glasses with orange lenses to filter blue light, such as the inexpensive Skyper Safety Eyewear, available on Amazon.

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© Apple

Still love your iPad so much that you’re willing to make it your everyday computer—and ditch the laptop? You’re not alone. Here are some essential add-ons for turning your iPad into a productivity powerhouse that will let you get real work done.

Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad
Widely considered the best keyboard available for the iPad, with a magnetic clip that snaps the tablet securely shut when not in use.

DataViz Documents to Go App
Open and edit those Microsoft attachments everyone sends around, or create your own from scratch.

Evernote App
Brainstorm and take notes in Evernote, then use its automatic sync feature to copy everything to the cloud and access it from any device.

Seagate GoFlex Satellite Drive
The paltry few gigs of storage on the iPad won’t get you far. Use this portable drive to store up to 500GB of data, and access it all wirelessly.

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© Vitalina Rybakova / iStock.com.

Ice on a plane’s wings is a scary predicament for both pilots and passengers. De-icing is time consuming, and you’re often left wondering: Did the ice re-form while waiting for takeoff? To address this issue and related scenarios, Harvard engineers have developed a new technology that keeps any metal surface free of ice and frost. Surfaces treated with the nanostructured material called SLIPS (Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces) easily shed water drops, condensation and frost. To boot, the coating is nontoxic and anticorrosive. Other possible applications: roofs, power lines, outdoor signs and wind turbines. And perhaps, finally, an end to tongues getting stuck on cold metal signposts.

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© Artiga Photo / Corbis.

Nine out of 10 airlines said they plan to sell tickets via smartphones by 2015, establishing mobile as a mainstream distribution channel for airlines, according to SITA’s Airline IT Trends Survey 2012. By 2015, most airlines plan to have core services available via mobile, such as flight search, check-in, boarding passes, ticket purchase, flight status notification and ancillary services, followed closely by customer complaint handling and missing baggage management. In addition, nine out of 10 airlines said they are investing in social media over the next three years. Four out of 10 promote flights via social media already, and almost 90 percent said they plan to do so by 2015.

You may already check in for a flight on a kiosk, but one day you’re likely to use a self-boarding machine that checks boarding passes at the gate. At least 17 airlines in Europe and Asia use self-boarding machines, and several U.S. carriers—including Delta, United and American—have tested the devices, according to the International Air Transport Association. Besides cutting labor costs, proponents say the devices leave agents more time to upgrade passengers, police the size of carry-on bags and sell seats with more legroom. One agent can purportedly monitor more than one self-boarding gate.

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The bad guys are out there, so how do you avoid being scammed? Check Scam Detector (scam-detector.com), which details, updates and adds scams in various categories, including travel, financial, social networking, auto and online auctions. Scam Detector also has free apps for mobile devices. A sample travel scam: In Malaysia someone might put a cell phone in your pocket or bag. It rings, you take it out and someone accuses you of stealing it. Most local police are familiar with the scam, but they may actually extort money from you to let you go. Sigh. You just can’t be too paranoid.

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© Clockwise from top: Courtesy of Sparrow; Courtesy of Onavo; Courtesy of Menupages; Courtesy of Zite; Courtesy of Adobe

ET’s Picks: the best new apps for business travelers.

Sparrow
iOS; $2.99
If you’re a Gmail user with an iPhone, Sparrow should absolutely be your email client.

Onavo Extend
iOS, Android; free
Want to keep data usage down? Onavo compresses everything by routing through its own servers, saving you from blowing through your plan’s cap.

MenuPages
iOS, Android; free
Get streamlined restaurant menus without having to crawl through those awful websites. Heavy on NYC.

Zite
iOS, Android, webOS; free
News junkies can get a personalized magazine on their Android handset. Zite adapts based on what you read the most of, eventually learning your specific tastes.

Photoshop Touch
iPad; $9.99
The world’s most powerful photo- editing tool comes to the iPad.

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© Abby Hocking

New York City subway stations are on track to get Wi-Fi access, which will be gradually rolled out over the next five years with a partnership between Transit Wireless and Boingo Wireless. Eventually more than 1.6 billion annual subway riders will be able to connect to the Internet using their smartphones, e-readers, tablets and other wireless devices throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens.

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© Apple / Bruce W. Moskowitz

You may use apps on your portable device to locate restaurants, hotels or coffee shops, but now there’s a free app that could save your life. The Emergency Medical Center Locator (EMCL) iPhone app will direct you to the closest medical center best qualified to take care of your specific emergency anywhere in the world. The app offers recommendations in six specialty areas that tend to require immediate care—trauma, stroke, eye, pediatric, cardiac and burn. “By going to the right facility first, you can avoid wasting precious time and increase your chances of recovery significantly,” says Dr. Bruce Moskowitz, a southern Florida physician who developed the app.

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