A hearing-impaired North Carolina girl with a prosthetic leg vanished over the weekend, and her father said Monday it was possible that his wife was involved in the disappearance. (Oct. 11
Continue reading …Shocker: Chevy says Volt’s gas engine can power the wheels, it’s just a hybrid after all
October 11, 2010 No Comment
Interesting news from General Motors today that’s resulted in some puzzled expressions at Engadget HQ. We’ve learned that the Volt , which Chevrolet has been making quite a fuss about calling an “extended range electric vehicle,” is actually just a traditional hybrid with some… potentially misleading marketing behind it. Since the concept stage the company has been saying how the onboard internal combustion engine was just to charge the batteries, that only the electric motors (there are two) are actually connected to the drivetrain. Indeed that’s what we were told in person when we test drove the thing back in March. We’re now learning that is not the case, that the Volt’s gasoline engine can directly provide power to the wheels in concert with the electric motors. Is that a problem? In terms of efficiency the answer is “apparently not,” as we’re guessing the car would not have been designed this way if it weren’t the most frugal way to go. So, why all the deception? Why insist this isn’t just a hybrid when it apparently is? When the company went looking for a government bailout it was in part awarded one because of the innovation shown in the Volt. Now that we’re learning the Volt is basically just a plug-in hybrid with a bigger than average battery pack ( Popular Mechanics is finding 30-odd miles of purely electric range), we’re left wondering: where’s the innovation? Update : We’ve added some further details and analysis below. Continue reading Shocker: Chevy says Volt’s gas engine can power the wheels, it’s just a hybrid after all Shocker: Chevy says Volt’s gas engine can power the wheels, it’s just a hybrid after all originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Waste Ventures is working to create a sustainable economy for trash collectors in India. The Beat Waste Startup Challenge , sponsored by the Adventure Ecology and Sculpt the Future… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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President Barack Obama is pushing a $50 billion plan to upgrade the nation’s transportation networks and create jobs, bringing governors and mayors to the White House to help him make the case. (Oct. 11)
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Microsoft will launch new smart phones ahead of the holiday shopping season. The phones will run on Microsoft’s new mobile software in a test of whether it can catch up with rivals in the fast-growing smart phone market. (Oct. 11)
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With thousands of developers churning out thousands of apps, we’ve no doubt exploring the Marketplace is going to be a full-time job for at least a day or two after you nab your Windows Phone 7 device this fall — but with all the hullabaloo today, we thought this would be a good opportunity to highlight a few that Microsoft and its partners have been talking about recently. Dig in! Continue reading Windows Phone 7 launch day app roundup Windows Phone 7 launch day app roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 11:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Here’s yet another HTC handset from the WP7 launch today: the 7 Trophy . Features like the 3.8-inch WVGA LCD, 1GHz Snapdragon and the 5MP camera certainly sound familiar; even the phone’s battery cover has taken a design cue from the Desire — same peel-off method, and same matte texture. Not all that exciting, really, but the OS was running pretty smoothly except for the buggy HTC Hub and browser. For now, help yourselves with our hands-on shots below. Gallery: HTC Trophy first hands-on! HTC 7 Trophy first hands-on! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 11:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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If you’ve got enough time to breathe, you’re not doing it right. Our crazy tour through Windows Phone 7 land is continuing at full pelt with the LG Optimus 7 . We must admit we were very pleasantly surprised by this handset. The 3.8-inch display is a mere LCD and the construction seems to be wholly plastic, but both seem to be punching well above the weight of their constituent elements. It’s a well chiselled, handsome, and light phone, with a trio of physical buttons at the bottom. Whether you like those will really depend on personal preference, we tend to like the clicky tactile feedback of real buttons more than the stillness of touch-sensitive capacitive keys. LG has outfitted the handset with the bone stock WP7 interface, but has augmented the offering with its own apps, namely Play-To for getting friendly with your TV over DLNA and Voice-to-Text for easing your textual inputs. We’re definitely fancying the general build quality and design, tell us what you think after checking out the pics below! Update: Video now embedded after the break. Gallery: LG Optimus 7 first hands-on! Continue reading LG Optimus 7 first hands-on (update: video!) LG Optimus 7 first hands-on (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 11:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Alright, so by now we all know that HTC’s HD7 is mostly a HD2 in imperial new clothes, but let’s give the new phone a chance, shall we? We’ve just gotten to grips with the latest member of HTC’s 4.3-inch brigade and predictably enough it feels just as snappy as the rest of the Windows Phone 7 devices introduced today. Navigation is blazingly quick, interrupted only by Microsoft’s excessive fascination with animated screen transitions. Clearly, designing the new WP7 OS around hard-set minimum specs has paid off for Microsoft, whose end product exhibits a great deal of polish. T-Mobile, the HD7′s exclusive carrier in the US, is keen to point out that it’s the largest Windows Phone 7 launch device, so if size is atop your list of priorities, this will be the phone you’ll want to start your journey with. We’ve got some in-depth impressions of the hardware after the break and a video is coming right up as well. Enjoy! Update: As promised, a lengthy video exhibition of the HD7 awaits your eyeballs just past the break. Gallery: HTC HD7 first hands-on! Continue reading HTC HD7 preview (update: video!) HTC HD7 preview (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 10:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …iPhone App Field Guide for National Parks, Just In Time for Scenic Fall Hiking
October 11, 2010 No Comment
Image via iTunes October is typically an incredible time for hiking. The weather has cooled off but there are still a few warm days, the leaves have changed to bold colors, and there’s an energy in the air as animals ready themselves for winter. It’s ideal conditions to go explore national parks, and a new app from the National Parks Conservation Association will help you identify flora and fauna, learn about wildlife calls, and become educated about historical sites within the park. … Read the full story on TreeHugger
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