Bright delivers hybrid van for U.S. Army testing, won’t be hitting a battlefield soon — or ever
October 6, 2010 No Comment
Usually when we cover military gadgets it’s things like super-strong robots or skateboard tanks . But, even the U.S. Army needs practical, sensible transportation (apparently), and heaven forbid it buys some standard car from a standard dealership. Instead in this case it went to Bright Automotive, who whipped up a custom version of its Idea plug-in hybrid van, a 10kWh battery pack offering 30 miles of purely electric driving before spinning the internal combustion engine under the hood. On top of that, the Idea can actually act as a generator, exporting 3.3kW of power continuously at either 110 or 220v. What can’t it do? Well, look cool on a battlefield for one, or intimidate our enemies, for another — nothing a roof-mounted ball turret and a coat of olive drab can’t solve. Continue reading Bright delivers hybrid van for U.S. Army testing, won’t be hitting a battlefield soon — or ever Bright delivers hybrid van for U.S. Army testing, won’t be hitting a battlefield soon — or ever originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 10:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sharp Lynx SH-10B is a MIDdling Android smartphone we could get behind (video)
October 6, 2010 No Comment
Sharp’s NTT DoCoMo -living / Android-loving Lynx SH-10B isn’t brand new by any stretch — it hit local markets in late July, and earlier this year was released on KDDI as the ISO1 — but this week’s CEATEC would be the first time we’ve had a chance to play around with, and given the dearth of comparable US form factors, we couldn’t resist. The 5-inch 960 x 480 resolution MID / smartphone sports a pretty snappy and easy-to-use keyboard and a responsive touchscreen. Unless you’ve already prepared for the likes of Dell’s Streak, the Lynx isn’t exactly pocketable, and by our estimates, it’s about twice the thickness o the iPhone 4 when closed up. The customized UI (running over what we presume is Android 1.6 ) is pretty unique in design, although functionally there was some minor lag in change panels and opening panes. You know the drill: pics below. Enjoy! Gallery: Sharp Lynx SH-10B hands-on Sharp Lynx SH-10B is a MIDdling Android smartphone we could get behind (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 09:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …NTT DoCoMo’s touchable 3D display prototype seamlessly integrates haptics, chameleons
October 6, 2010 No Comment
Okay, that might not be a chameleon — we’re not the reptile experts we wish we were — but NTT DoCoMo claims it is. Regardless, we were pretty impressed with this little setup NTT DoCoMo had going in the R&D (that is, not-for-production-just-yet) section of its CEATEC booth. The crown jewel of the setup is a small glasses-free 3D display — obviously intended to mimic the size and style of display you’d see on a phone — with stereoscopic cameras just above it to detect the presence and position of an attached stylus. As you move the stylus toward a point on the display, the cute little beast lashes its tongue out in the direction of the tip, and a surprisingly strong haptic kick is generated inside the stylus through an inductive coil to mimic the effect of the tongue hitting you. It’s pretty obvious that something like this would have neat implications for mobile gaming… but like everything in NTT DoCoMo’s R&D department, it’s going to take a while to get to retail — and even when it does, it’ll very likely be Japan-only. Follow the break for video. Gallery: NTT DoCoMo’s Touchable 3D display prototype Continue reading NTT DoCoMo’s touchable 3D display prototype seamlessly integrates haptics, chameleons NTT DoCoMo’s touchable 3D display prototype seamlessly integrates haptics, chameleons originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 09:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Eschewing the femtocells that most of its competitors have embraced, T-Mobile USA has long touted WiFi calling as the answer for augmenting its cellular network — problem is, they’ve generally done a poor job of rolling it out to a wide variety of handsets. Notably absent from the compatibility list so far, Android is finally being welcomed to the club today — as rumored — with the recently-announced myTouch and Motorola Defy among the first models to nab the feature. Though availability on currently-sold phones hasn’t been announced, T-Mobile does say that WiFi calling is “anticipated to be available on a growing selection of T-Mobile’s Android-powered smartphones in the coming months,” so we’ll go on record hoping we see a few upgrades in the works ( G2 , we’re looking straight at you). Follow the break for the carrier’s full press release. Continue reading T-Mobile finally brings Android into the WiFi calling game T-Mobile finally brings Android into the WiFi calling game originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Motorola is ‘open’ to developing Windows Phone 7 devices, but only if the OS proves compelling
October 6, 2010 No Comment
In case you somehow missed it, Microsoft lodged a complaint with the ITC on Friday, alleging Motorola’s Android smartphones infringed on nine of its precious patents. You might imagine that’d sting the pride of Moto’s chief exec Sanjay Jha , but nothing could be further from the truth. Describing such turf wars over intellectual property as “part of business,” Sanjay explains that his company is willing to work with Microsoft on developing a handset based around its new OS, so long as the offering is “compelling.” He notes that the first call he received upon becoming co-CEO and handset division chief back in 2008 was from none other than Steve Ballmer, but Microsoft’s failure to deliver a new OS in ’09 is what compelled him to go the Android route (we doubt he regrets doing it, mind you!). It’s no coincidence to our eyes that Microsoft went after the one top-tier Android phone maker that didn’t sign up to the Windows Phone 7 utopia project. We recall HTC was in hot water with the Redmond team back in April for similar reasons, and its resultant licensing of Microsoft’s patents seems to have been embedded into the WP7 partner agreements — which is why we’re not seeing the likes of ASUS and Samsung being served with similar complaints. So basically, if things get too hot and steamy, Moto could just kick out a token Windows Phone handset, get the accompanying licenses in order, and this whole thing blows over nice and peacefully. Marvelous. Motorola is ‘open’ to developing Windows Phone 7 devices, but only if the OS proves compelling originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 08:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Hack improves Nokia N8′s image and video quality, puts a hurting on your memory card (video)
October 6, 2010 No Comment
Clearly a lot of folks out there are pretty passionate about the quality of their cameraphone pics. So too is cellphone modder hyperX, who is developing some custom tweaks to improve the quality of the stills and vids coming out of Nokia ‘s latest darling. First is a hack to enable 720p30 video, a slight improvement over the 720p25 default. That’s demonstrated after the break, along with a continuous autofocus mod. More notable, however, is a tweak to enable nearly uncompressed images. Stock JPEGs coming from the camera clock in around 2MB, but the example image he’s provided (on the other end of that source link) is a rather heftier 11MB — truly a hack that won’t do your memory card any favors, but it’ll sure make those pixels shine. Sadly without back-to-back before and after images we can’t say for sure what kind of tangible improvement this makes, but we hear if you ask nicely he’ll let you try it out for yourself. Continue reading Hack improves Nokia N8′s image and video quality, puts a hurting on your memory card (video) Hack improves Nokia N8′s image and video quality, puts a hurting on your memory card (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 08:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Samsung Galaxy S sales surpass five million, world domination plans still on track
October 6, 2010 No Comment
Believe it or not, Samsung is only now getting around to introducing its Galaxy S handset to the fine isle of Japan. Its announcement of a late October availability for the home of CEATEC was also accompanied by the little note that the rest of the world has already bought up five million units of its multivariate Galaxy S phone family. More than two million of those sales have been notched up in the US and over one million can be found in Samsung’s home field of South Korea. If they had working GPS units , that is. Zing! [Thanks, Matt] Samsung Galaxy S sales surpass five million, world domination plans still on track originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 05:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …What you’re looking at is not just another display. This little beauty throws 1600 x 1200 pixels across a 6.6-inch transmissive IPS panel for an amazing 302 pixels per inch density. That’s just shy of the 326 ppi density seen on Apple’s 3.5-inch Retina Display (and now Sharp IS03 ) and blows away the 132 ppi density of the iPad’s 10-inch 1024 x 768 IPS panel or 169 ppi density of the 7-inch 1024 x 600 pixel Galaxy Tab and BlackBerry PlayBook . Even at that size, the panel still manages an 800:1 contrast ratio and 400 nits of brightness. Unfortunately, we don’t have any word on when we can expect these to ship in volume, though we wouldn’t mind seeing it show up in Apple’s rumored 7-inch iPad — anywhere, really. P.S. For what it’s worth, this Hitachi panel shares the same 4:3 aspect ratio as Apple’s iPad. Hitachi’s 6.6-inch IPS tablet display with amazing 302 ppi originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 05:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …NTT DoCoMo’s Taion Heart supports rarely-used soul-2-soul Bluetooth profile (video)
October 6, 2010 No Comment
A Valediction: Technologically Assuaging Mourning As virtuous men travel mildly’away, And cling to their Taion Hearts, to goe, Whilst their Heart-equpped friends doe say, The pulse goes now, thanks some say, to NTT DoCoMo: So let us grip, and make no noise, No Skype calls, nor instant messages send, ‘Twere illuminations of our joyes To pulsate the complementary device of our love. Gripping of t’heart sends light and color, Bluetooth sync reckons what it did and meant, But vibration of the spheares, Though greater farre, is innocent. Additional reporting by John Donne; video after the break Gallery: NTT DoCoMo’s Taion Heart hands-on Continue reading NTT DoCoMo’s Taion Heart supports rarely-used soul-2-soul Bluetooth profile (video) NTT DoCoMo’s Taion Heart supports rarely-used soul-2-soul Bluetooth profile (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 05:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It’s good to see that HTC’s omnipresence in the smartphone market is paying off in nicely growing financial figures as well. Having reported $268 million in profit for Q2, the Taiwanese company is today touting a $360 million tally for the period between July and September 2010. Android is again fingered as the chief catalyst for this growth, which is best illustrated by comparing numbers to last year, when HTC managed to pull in $184 million during Q3, or almost exactly half of this year’s haul. Total revenues were also appropriately inflated, up to $2.45 billion, and analysts seem in agreement that HTC’s future is looking rosy. So long as the G2 hiccups remain an isolated incident, that should indeed be the case. HTC grows profits in Q3 to $360 million, revenues rise to $2.45b originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 04:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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