Inhabitat’s Week in Green: crazy concept cars, the Milan Furniture Fair, and new solar technology
April 17, 2011 No Comment
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green. The world of renewable energy received a jolt of innovation this week as Inhabitat reported on a groundbreaking new solar technology that could render photovoltaics obsolete — see Engadget’s take right here — and a plan to use common oven rust to generate immense amounts of cheap energy. We also saw green power projects pick up steam around the world as Pakistan announced it will build its first on-grid solar system , Chevron kicked off plans to invest in wind power for Kazakhstan , and Eriksson Architects unveiled an energy-efficient geodesic gemstone city for China. Green transportation tech blasted off as we took a look at the insane 23-passenger electric superbus that can hit 155MPH and the Phoenix roadster – the world’s first biodegradable car. Volkswagen also turned heads as it unveiled an all-electric concept version of the classic VW Bus, and we saw sustainable transportation set sail as Zyvex unveiled the nanotech Piranha boat , which is 75% lighter, 40% stronger, and 400% more fuel-efficient than aluminum vessels. Finally, we showcased several hot new green vehicles as the Shanghai auto show began to rev up — Luxgen’s all-electric Neora concept car and Peugeot’s Hybrid SXC . In other news, this week we brought you the best and brightest green products from the 2011 Milan Furniture Fair – from an energy-absorbing lamp that never needs to be plugged in to the world’s first color-changing OLED panels to a stunning pendant light made entirely from recycled drink cartons . We also showcased several designs for greener electronics – a revolutionary paper alloy that could enclose the gadgets of tomorrow and a gorgeous bamboo MacBook case – and we shared 7 ways to get your kid excited about photography. Inhabitat’s Week in Green: crazy concept cars, the Milan Furniture Fair, and new solar technology originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Apr 2011 21:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On , a column about consumer technology. This week’s announcement that Cisco is shuttering its Flip Video business was but the latest twist in the history of the market share-leading device. The Flip got its start after its creator, Pure Digital, modified its original disposable camcorder to be reusable after hackers showed it could be done. And its success continued to defy convention that the product would resonate against a slew of digital cameras and increasingly competent smartphones that could shoot competitive — and even high definition — video. The Flip also soared above the market share of companies with far stronger brands such as Sony and Kodak, although the latter made gains on a string of hits, including the 1080p-shooting Zi8 and waterproof PlaySport . It even fought back an initial foray from Apple’s iPod nano and was still holding its own after the debut of the latest iPod touch, which took the HD video capture feature from the iPhone and made it available without a contract. Yes, the Flip hung tough. That’s why its cancellation says volumes about Cisco, the company that acquired it for some $590 million in stock. Cisco needed to show growth with a consumer product line that could not be easily augmented with acquisitions and that derived little connection with the mother brand — even less than Linksys, the company’s networking line. Cisco certainly tried. But the Flip group made a few false moves that stuck out like a pop-out USB connector, and with little of that spring-loaded joy. Continue reading Switched On: Flip-flops Switched On: Flip-flops originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Apr 2011 20:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Last we heard, ASUS’ Eee Pad Slider would pack a Tegra 2 processor just like its counterpart, the Eee Pad Transformer . There’s now some pretty strong evidence suggesting that might not be the case, however, with none other than Intel letting slip that the Slider would actually pack its brand new Atom Z670 processor instead of NVIDIA’s silicon. That evidence you see above cropped up on Intel’s press page following its announcement for the new Atom processor, although it’s since been removed — suggesting that it was either a colossal mistake or, more likely, a reveal that was a bit too premature for ASUS’ liking. ASUS Eee Pad Slider making the jump from Tegra 2 to Atom Z670? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Apr 2011 18:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Screen Grabs: HTC Hero caught running WP7 on Smallville, Tess Mercer due for an upgrade
April 17, 2011 No Comment
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today’s movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dot com . It looks like Tess Mercer’s got more than one hero in her life, but only one of them is running Windows Phone 7 . In this week’s episode of Smallville , Lois Lane places a call to Tess Mercer, who appears to be packing a white HTC Hero . Oddly enough, though, it’s not rocking Eclair. That’s right, this Hero’s a Microsoft man — which has us wondering: what OS is Superman running? [Thanks, Rich] Screen Grabs: HTC Hero caught running WP7 on Smallville, Tess Mercer due for an upgrade originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Apr 2011 19:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …HP planning Veer launch party for May 2nd, AT&T brings cake for webOS 3.0 devs
April 17, 2011 No Comment
We still don’t have a solid release date for HP’s tiny Veer — we’ve been told it’s ” coming around the corner ” and will be here ” soon ” — but if we were the guessing type, we’d say that the pint-sized webOS 2.2 smartphone will hit the market on or about the 2nd of May. That’s because a PreCentral reader stumbled across what looks like an official invitation to an “HP Veer Launch Party Event” in Los Angeles on that very date, and it’s typically fairly difficult to launch a handset without a handset to launch, if you know what we mean. Still, this looks like a business-to-business event, so we wouldn’t circle your calendar quite yet — but if you’ve already got that red marker out, you might want to put a X over May 12th instead. That’s the day that AT&T is hosting a webOS 3.0 developer webcast — which might be worth attending in and of itself — but is particularly noteworthy given that HP hasn’t announced carriers for the Veer or SIM-slot packing HP TouchPad just yet. [Thanks, Brian L.] HP planning Veer launch party for May 2nd, AT&T brings cake for webOS 3.0 devs originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Apr 2011 17:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …HP planning Veer launch party for May 2nd, AT&T brings cake for webOS 3.0 devs
April 17, 2011 No CommentWe still don’t have a solid release date for HP’s tiny Veer — we’ve been told it’s ” coming around the corner ” and will be here ” soon ” — but if we were the guessing type, we’d say that the pint-sized webOS 2.2 smartphone will hit the market on or about the 2nd of May. That’s because a PreCentral reader stumbled across what looks like an official invitation to an “HP Veer Launch Party Event” in Los Angeles on that very date, and it’s typically fairly difficult to launch a handset without a handset to launch, if you know what we mean. Still, this looks like a business-to-business event, so we wouldn’t circle your calendar quite yet — but if you’ve already got that red marker out, you might want to put a X over May 12th instead. That’s the day that AT&T is hosting a webOS 3.0 developer webcast — which might be worth attending in and of itself — but is particularly noteworthy given that HP hasn’t announced carriers for the Veer or SIM-slot packing HP TouchPad just yet. [Thanks, Brian L.] HP planning Veer launch party for May 2nd, AT&T brings cake for webOS 3.0 devs originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Apr 2011 17:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …HP planning Veer launch party for May 2nd, AT&T brings cake for webOS 3.0 devs
April 17, 2011 No CommentWe still don’t have a solid release date for HP’s tiny Veer — we’ve been told it’s ” coming around the corner ” and will be here ” soon ” — but if we were the guessing type, we’d say that the pint-sized webOS 2.2 smartphone will hit the market on or about the 2nd of May. That’s because a PreCentral reader stumbled across what looks like an official invitation to an “HP Veer Launch Party Event” in Los Angeles on that very date, and it’s typically fairly difficult to launch a handset without a handset to launch, if you know what we mean. Still, this looks like a business-to-business event, so we wouldn’t circle your calendar quite yet — but if you’ve already got that red marker out, you might want to put a X over May 12th instead. That’s the day that AT&T is hosting a webOS 3.0 developer webcast — which might be worth attending in and of itself — but is particularly noteworthy given that HP hasn’t announced carriers for the Veer or SIM-slot packing HP TouchPad just yet. [Thanks, Brian L.] HP planning Veer launch party for May 2nd, AT&T brings cake for webOS 3.0 devs originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Apr 2011 17:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Honestly, we were a little bit worried that Samsung’s rail-thin Galaxy Tab 10.1 was a mockup — you know, seeing as how Sammy never turned it on — but fast-forward to today and there’s a working model in Tinhte.vn ‘s capable arms. Yes, the Vietnamese site that’s been leaking delicious Apple prototypes — not to mention the HP TouchPad’s SIM slot — found the 0.33-inch thin slate at an unnamed Samsung booth, powered it up, and proceeded to dive into the sticky-sweet mess of Android 3.0 and iPad 2 comparisons that such a discovery affords. You’ll find all that and some Angry Birds in the video immediately above. [Thanks, Nate] Samsung’s super slender Galaxy Tab 10.1 snacks on some Honeycomb (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Apr 2011 15:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Honestly, we were a little bit worried that Samsung’s rail-thin Galaxy Tab 10.1 was a mockup — you know, seeing as how Sammy never turned it on — but fast-forward to today and there’s a working model in Tinhte.vn ‘s capable arms. Yes, the Vietnamese site that’s been leaking delicious Apple prototypes — not to mention the HP TouchPad’s SIM slot — found the 0.33-inch thin slate at an unnamed Samsung booth, powered it up, and proceeded to dive into the sticky-sweet mess of Android 3.0 and iPad 2 comparisons that such a discovery affords. You’ll find all that and some Angry Birds in the video immediately above. [Thanks, Nate] Samsung’s super slender Galaxy Tab 10.1 snacks on some Honeycomb (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Apr 2011 15:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Honestly, we were a little bit worried that Samsung’s rail-thin Galaxy Tab 10.1 was a mockup — you know, seeing as how Sammy never turned it on — but fast-forward to today and there’s a working model in Tinhte.vn ‘s capable arms. Yes, the Vietnamese site that’s been leaking delicious Apple prototypes — not to mention the HP TouchPad’s SIM slot — found the 0.33-inch thin slate at an unnamed Samsung booth, powered it up, and proceeded to dive into the sticky-sweet mess of Android 3.0 and iPad 2 comparisons that such a discovery affords. You’ll find all that and some Angry Birds in the video immediately above. [Thanks, Nate] Samsung’s super slender Galaxy Tab 10.1 snacks on some Honeycomb (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Apr 2011 15:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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