Sadly Ford isn’t confirming the Focus Electric that it saw fit to tease earlier this week, but we can now tell you all about the new smartphone app that will let you monitor the charging of… certain Ford vehicles. The app is called MyFord Mobile and it offers similar features to the apps we’ve already seen for the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt , notably car’s charging status from afar and deliver some climate settings to ensure that the car is properly hot or cold before you leave on your cold or hot commute. The car will also let you find the car by GPS and, once you do, unlock the doors with your phone. When the car and the app launches there will be versions for Android , BlackBerry , and iOS , though interestingly there will be a an HTML-5 browser interface that’ll even work on featurephones . Yes, featurephones. Interestingly, the app can automatically charge… whatever mystery vehicle you connect it to at the optimal time of the night to ensure you get the lowest cost for your juice, automatically pulling down rates from your utility so that you don’t have to worry about it. That is what we like to call smart. And thrifty. Again the app will be available with a certain car that has a plug whenever that certain car is available, and if you want to know when that is going to happen you’re going to have to wait. Update : Yes, that’s a WP7 phone up there, a Samsung Focus to be exact. No, the app is not announced for Windows Phone 7. Conclusion? Cloudy. We’ll have a little more clarification for you later today and you’re just going to have to wait. Plenty of time to sharpen up those conspiracy theories. Continue reading Ford introduces MyFord Mobile app for smartphones Ford introduces MyFord Mobile app for smartphones originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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AP Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner explains a new rule put into place for overtime games in the NFL playoffs. If a team wins the coin toss and receives the kickoff, it does not automatically win the game with a field goal on the opening drive. (Jan. 6)
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BERLIN ‘ Germany closed more than 4,700 farms and related businesses for safety checks late Thursday after tests on suspicious feed confirmed the presence of a cancer-causing dioxin. “4,709 farms and businesses are currently closed,” including 4,468 in the state of Lower Saxony, northwest Germany, the agriculture ministry said in a statement late Thursday. The farms will be closed until they are found to be clear of contamination by the dioxin, which can cause cancer, and will not be allowed to make any…
Continue reading …Mili Power MiFlip re-ups your smartphone battery without the extra baggage
January 7, 2011 No Comment
As if we weren’t excited enough about MiLi’s HDMI iPhone dock , the battery powerhouse has announced yet another multifunctional device for re-juicing your smartphone. The MiFlip foldable smartphone charger — compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, and BlackBerry — functions as a charger, battery backup, and viewing stand, and it’s small enough to keep your mobile phone, well, mobile. This skinny battery booster provides eight hours of talk, 15 hours of video, or 80 hours of music, and uses a mini-USB connector to sync with iTunes. MiFlip will be available for $49.99 on MiLi’s website, and we’ll look for it at CES this week. Mili Power MiFlip re-ups your smartphone battery without the extra baggage originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 23:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Photo: John Hawkins / The Southland Times Beach-going tourists on New Zealand’s southern coast have more than the traffic to contend with this vacation season — what with a marauding horde of amorous sea lions invading camp sights and surf spots in search of a good time. So eager for a bit of fun, teenage sea lions have begun harassing people to the point that the Department of Conservation has decided to step in and offer a new distraction for the amorous young males — in the form of sexy decoy sea lions. Sure, they may not be… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Wrecking crews in Detroit are well on their way to knocking down 3000 vacant homes promised by Mayor Dave Bing. About 1850 empty houses have been leveled since April and about 1200 more should be coming down over the next three months. (Jan. 6)
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We love us some Windows 7 Media Center , but we recognize that using a HTPC for a DVR isn’t for everyone. For some there is no replacement for a dedicated set-top box, which is why we were so excited to hear that Windows Media Center was coming to embedded devices . The problem of course is that is-coming and is-here, are completely different. A little known European company (state side anyways) hopes to change that by brining one to the US in the first quarter of this year for about $499. The bad news is that there’s no CableCARD support like the Gateway one we saw earlier . There are plans to follow it up with dedicated versions for cable and telecom operators later this year, but for some reason we don’t feel like they’ll be too interested in it. Continue reading Reycom Windows Media Center coming for $499 Reycom Windows Media Center coming for $499 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 23:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Huawei was right on cue here at CES today, announcing the US version of its IDEOS X5 mid-range Android smartphone. This device uses the same formula as the original IDEOS (also known as the Comet for T-Mobile ) and aims to provide a decent product at a competitive price. Although we already knew the specs , this was our chance to play with the IDEOS X5 and gather more information. The phone looks elegant and feels solidly built, with a 3.8-inch WVGA capacitive display behind glass in front and 1500mAh battery behind soft-touch plastics in back, all wrapped in an 11.4mm-thin body. Take a look at the gallery below, and hit the break for additional details and our hands-on video. Gallery: Huawei IDEOS X5 hands-on Continue reading Huawei IDEOS X5 hands-on (video) Huawei IDEOS X5 hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 23:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We knew the Dell Venue was coming stateside, but now we know it. Dell has announced the phone for our fine country at its CES 2011 press conference , although it failed to mention a price, a release date, or anything else very helpful. Right now Dell doesn’t have a carrier partner, so they’re planning on selling the handset unlocked from Dell.com. Apparently they’re flirting with the idea of a T-Mobile version, but the unlocked model won’t have the T-Mobile 3G bands — basically, it’s an unlocked AT&T phone that AT&T hasn’t blessed. Oh, and just in case you forgot the specs: WVGA 4.1-inch AMOLED screen, 8 megapixel camera, Android 2.2, and a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 8250 processor. Got it? Good, now we wait. Dell Venue announced for the US, will be sold unlocked originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 23:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It’s No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the BCS title game as Auburn meets Oregon. The Ducks scored at least 37 points in all but one game this season. Auburn scored 50 or more points in six games in the 2010 campaign. (Jan. 6)
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