Last month, the Motorola Xoom was the only officially sanctioned Android 3.0 tablet available in the United States. Now there are four — the T-Mobile G-Slate arrived last week, the Acer Iconia Tab A500 this week, and the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer will soon hit US shores. All have the same basic silicon inside, but oh-so-slightly different approaches to shape, such that price might honestly be the deciding factor these days. That’s where we thought this WiFi-only Acer Iconia Tab had an edge, launching at $450 , but now that ASUS has shaken the money tree with a $400 figure for the Eee Pad Transformer, we doubt other price tags will stick. It could be the tiniest of differentiators that shifts your opinion in favor of a particular slate. What’s a prospective tablet buyer to do? Join us on a tour of the Acer Iconia Tab A500′s particular perks and quibbles after the break, and we’ll tell you. Continue reading Acer Iconia Tab A500 review Acer Iconia Tab A500 review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 14:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We already knew HP had a home run on its hands with the Pavilion dm1z , the first notebook to hit the market with AMD’s long-awaited Fusion platform . Well, it looks like consumers agreed, and the company’s chomping at the bit to duplicate that winning formula for the business crowd. HP’s quietly taken the veil off the 3105m, another 11.6-inch laptop packing AMD’s dual-core 1.6GHz E-350 Zacate CPU and Radeon HD 6310 graphics. The difference is, this little guy runs Windows 7 Professional and offers support for Computrace LoJack for laptops . Otherwise, the $449 starting price is identical, as are the specs, including a standard 320GB 7,200RPM hard drive, 2GB of RAM, and a six-cell battery that promises to last up to nine and a half hours on a charge. Hit the source link to peruse a complete list of specs and, if you’re so inclined, snap one up. HP’s 3105m is the Pavilion dm1z, rebadged for the business set originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 12:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We first heard of the Shredder back in September , a crazy, treaded contraption that looked fit to appear in the next Starship Troopers film — or maybe a TMNT reboot at least. It’s the product of the overactive mind of Ben Gulak, the guy behind the Uno transforming and self-balancing motorcycle that we saw at CES. When Ben showed us some videos of the DTV Shredder at the show we knew we had to ride it, and so we did, hitting the sand in New Mexico and managing to come away from the experience unharmed and only a little dehydrated. Come on in to check out our experience on both the consumer-friendly Sport and rather brawnier Military edition, both of which could be in production by the end of the year. Gallery: BPG Werks Shredder Continue reading BPG Werks DTV Shredder test-ride (video) BPG Werks DTV Shredder test-ride (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …We first heard of the Shredder back in September , a crazy, treaded contraption that looked fit to appear in the next Starship Troopers film — or maybe a TMNT reboot at least. It’s the product of the overactive mind of Ben Gulak, the guy behind the Uno transforming and self-balancing motorcycle that we saw at CES. When Ben showed us some videos of the DTV Shredder at the show we knew we had to ride it, and so we did, hitting the sand in New Mexico and managing to come away from the experience unharmed and only a little dehydrated. Come on in to check out our experience on both the consumer-friendly Sport and rather brawnier Military edition, both of which could be in production by the end of the year. Gallery: BPG Werks Shredder Continue reading BPG Werks DTV Shredder test-ride (video) BPG Werks DTV Shredder test-ride (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Researchers take one step closer to neural-controlled bionic legs for safer mobility
April 26, 2011 No Comment
We’ve seen our fair share of prosthetic arms and computer interfaces operated with little more than the firing of a synapse, but legs? They’re a different story: balancing and propelling a sack of (mostly) flesh and bone is a much more complicated task than simply picking up a sandwich. Thankfully, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago’s Center for Bionic Medicine is now one step closer to thought-controlled lower-limb prosthetics. As pictured here, the researchers’ early simulations showed that amputees could control a virtual knee and ankle with 91-percent accuracy, by way of pattern recognition software to interpret electrical signals delivered through nine different muscles in the thigh — patients think about moving, thus lighting up the nerves in varying patterns to indicate different motions. The ultimate goal is to hook up bionic legs through the same way, which would offer a greater range of motion than existing prosthetics, making tasks like walking up and down stairs safer. Now all we need is a quadruple amputee willing to pick up a badge and slap on an eye-tracking microdisplay . Continue reading Researchers take one step closer to neural-controlled bionic legs for safer mobility Researchers take one step closer to neural-controlled bionic legs for safer mobility originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 10:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Nissan Leaf entered in 2011 Pikes Peak Hill Climb, can feel free to just coast back down again
April 26, 2011 No Comment
There are many, many tests of automotive performance throughout the average calendar year, yet the Pikes Peak Hill Climb stands out as one of America’s most historic and most brutal. Oh, and most pucker-inducing, what with the general lack of guardrails and corner edges bounded by nothing but thousands of feet of free-fall — then rocks. This is the challenge that an unmodified Nissan Leaf will face this summer, all 110 horsepower dedicated to hitting the summit in a time that hopefully won’t be too embarrassing but surely won’t challenge the current EV record of 13 minutes and 17 seconds. Driver Chad Hord will sit behind the wheel when the event gets underway on June 26th, burning nary a drop of gas on the way up and putting on something less of a show than Ari Vatanen did in his (traditionally-powered) Peugeot back in 1990. That rather invigorating performance is embedded below for your viewing pleasure. Continue reading Nissan Leaf entered in 2011 Pikes Peak Hill Climb, can feel free to just coast back down again Nissan Leaf entered in 2011 Pikes Peak Hill Climb, can feel free to just coast back down again originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 11:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Look, we all kinda , sorta know that Apple will finally admit it’s springtime tomorrow and let the white iPhone 4 fly the nest. But in order to sell white iPhone 4s, you’ve got to ship them first, and one small Belgian retailer has just received its first batch of the mythical pale device and lined them up for some loving photography. Not only that, but they’re even offering to sell you either the 16GB or 32GB over on their site (which, mind you, we can’t vouch for!), though they can only ship within the Benelux region. One more pic after the break. Continue reading Apple gets its white iPhone 4 ducks in a row ahead of launch Apple gets its white iPhone 4 ducks in a row ahead of launch originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 08:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Qualcomm’s next-gen Snapdragon roadmap bumped back a little, expectations remain great
April 26, 2011 No Comment
Seems like we just can’t get ARM’s next-generation Cortex-A15 system-on-chip out of our minds. Having figured as a headline item in LG’s ARM licensing deal this morning, it’s now shown up on a leaked Qualcomm roadmap, landing itself a lynchpin role in that company’s Snapdragon future. Alas, Qualcomm had been promising for the earliest of its MSM8930 / 60 and APQ8064 Snapdragons to be sampling in Q2 of this year, but this latest schedule shows them as sampling at the end of 2011. This isn’t hugely surprising in light of ARM’s recent forecast of Cortex-A15 devices in ” late 2012 ,” but it’ll be disappointing to users keen to be exploiting quad-GPU and quad-CPU mobile rigs as soon as humanly possible. Guess that just leaves us waiting for the NGP or NVIDIA’s quad-core SOC in August. Hit the source link for more on Qualcomm’s plans for the near and distant future. [Thanks, Mike] Qualcomm’s next-gen Snapdragon roadmap bumped back a little, expectations remain great originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 09:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Sikorsky is hoping to sell the Pentagon on some new technology it says will allow for faster, more agile attack helicopters. (April 20)
Continue reading …CE-Oh no he didn’t!: BMW exec says electric vehicles ‘won’t work,’ but would love to sell you one anyway
April 26, 2011 No Comment
Jim O’Donnell, CEO and chairman of BMW North America, recently sat down with the Detroit News to discuss the ActiveE — an electric version of BMW’s 1 Series coupe, available for lease in the US this fall. Most CEOs would’ve probably used the opportunity to wax PR poetic about their company’s bold, forward-looking ethos, because that’s what CEOs do. O’Donnell, however, used the occasion to let us in on a dirty little secret: EVs don’t actually work . According to O’Donnell’s undoubtedly robust calculations, EVs won’t work for “at least 90-percent” of the human population, at current battery ranges. The situation is so dire, in fact, that the US government shouldn’t even bother wasting its $7,500 tax credits on frivolous things like innovation, national security and clean air. “I believe in a free economy. I think we should abolish all tax credits. What they are doing is putting a bet on technology, which is not appropriate. As a taxpayer, I am not sure this is the right way to go.” O’Donnell went on to say he’s “far more optimistic” about diesel’s chances of increasing BMW’s US market share — because, you know, it’s not like the oil industry gets any tax breaks, or anything. And it’s not like diverting some money away from oil subsidies and putting it toward EV technology would create the “level playing field” that O’Donnell and his company so desperately need. No siree, the US energy market is just as pure and fair as it’s always been — and it certainly doesn’t deserve to be corrupted by an EV tax credit pestilence. That said, O’Donnell would still really appreciate it if we buy the battery-powered i3 when it launches in 2013. Who knows? He may even throw in a free bridge, too. CE-Oh no he didn’t!: BMW exec says electric vehicles ‘won’t work,’ but would love to sell you one anyway originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 08:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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