What happens when you put the powertrain from a Tesla Roadster into an SUV? You get the Toyota RAV4 EV , an early prototype of which PluginCars got a chance to drive. It referred to a “sophisticated proof of concept,” basically a drivable show car, and the performance is reasonably stout: 0 – 60MPH in nine seconds — not bad for a 3,900lb car. Range is estimated to be 100 miles in real-world conditions, but that’s liable to change between now and when the car is expected to hit dealers, sometime toward the end of 2012. We’re guessing the Roadster-style pushbutton gear selector will be gone by then, too. Prototype Tesla-powered RAV4 driven, demonstrates extreme brake regen originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We got a hands-on sample of Haptify’s haptic-powered apps a couple months back and came away intrigued, but yearning for more. Well, the company is finally ready to sate our penchant for playtime physicality with its first game, Enzo’s Pinball. The game debuts with three tables (“more coming soon”), and is designed to let you feel every bump, rattle, and ricochet as if it were the real thing. It isn’t identical to its tangible counterpart, but it is an upgrade over the rumble-free digital competition. Haptify’s haptic black magic works with handsets running Android 2.1 and up, so there’s an awful lot of potential pinball wizards out there. You can grab the game in the Android Market and it’ll cost $1.49 to give in to your tactile desires. Enzo’s Pinball gets you all touchy-feely with your phone originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’d already heard that the BlackBerry Torch 2 would basically be a Torch with some significantly bumped specs , and that’s now been all but confirmed by BGR , which managed to spend a bit of time with the device itself. As you can see, it’s nearly identical to the original Torch in terms of appearance, but BGR says the device’s 1.2GHz processor could “light a fire” when paired with BlackBerry OS 6.1, and that its 640 x 480 display “looks absolutely great.” As with the Bold Touch it got its hands on yesterday, BGR says the Torch 2 will be making its official debut at BlackBerry World next month, with a launch on AT&T to follow in July. Hit up the source link below for a few more hands-on shots. BlackBerry Torch 2 gets an early hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 11:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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What’s that? Oh, it’s just the return of the Engadget Podcast , leaner, meaner, and laser-focused on bringing you the freshest jams of the technology blog news universe. Live and direct from their shiny new Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor chairs are hosts Tim Stevens and Darren Murph, joined by mobile vets Myriam and Vlad — a quadfecta of power unmatched in pure nerd horsepower (or battery power, depending on what you’re driving). Can you taste it? It kind of tastes like when you lick a battery. In a really good way. Hosts: Tim Stevens, Darren Murph Guests: Myriam Joire, Vlad Savov Producer: Trent Wolbe Music: Sweet Home Alabama 00:00:58 – Android chief Andy Rubin tackles open source qualms, says Honeycomb isn’t ‘one size fits all’ 00:00:00 – Sony’s Howard Stringer confirms Honeycomb tablet in US by summer (update) 00:18:00 – GameStop details plans for Impulse and Spawn Labs, says it’s ‘becoming a technology company’ 00:20:50 – GameStop snaps up Spawn Labs, Impulse game distribution platform 00:23:25 – Sony CEO casually mentions he’s supplying cameras to Apple 00:25:48 – Next-gen iPod nano chassis hints at camera? 00:30:05 – iPod touch prototype with capacitive home button leaked? 00:32:45 – HP’s keyboard-less webOS phone and Verizon Pre 3 leaked? 00:35:05 – Google’s new cloud-based Android Music app leaks out 00:45:09 – Nikon D5100 and ME-1 external mic coming April 21st, we go hands-on (video) 00:47:50 – Nikon D5100 DSLR surfaces with 16.2 megapixel sensor, 1080p video recording 00:51:52 – Silverlight coming to Xbox, bringing WP7 games along with it? 00:52:25 – Xbox Development Kit arrives with ‘significantly reduced price,’ Sidecar attachment 00:55:25 – Razer Chimaera wireless Xbox 360 headset review 00:58:40 – Tesla Roadster 2.5 Sport review Hear the podcast Subscribe to the podcast [ iTunes ] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC). [ RSS MP3 ] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [ RSS AAC ] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator. [ Zune ] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace Download the podcast LISTEN (MP3) LISTEN (AAC) LISTEN (OGG) Contact the podcast 1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com. Twitter: @tim_stevens @darrenmurph @tnkgrl @vladsavov Engadget Podcast 235 – 04.08.2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Only Sony — the company behind the ” Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity ” streaming service — would consider naming its latest flash memory card the “Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX.” But once you get past its monumental moniker you’ll notice that the 32GB (
Continue reading …Panasonic gives its in-flight entertainment system an Android makeover, adds 3D displays
April 8, 2011 No Comment
Panasonic has been kicking around the idea of a tricked-out Android-based in-flight entertainment system for awhile, and now it’s ready for airlines to start retrofitting their livery. The system, dubbed eX3, runs Android, relieving restless fliers with news, live television, games, and what the company calls on-board social networking, but that’s mostly a nod to the Facebook app. Other amenities include broadband internet access and GSM service, touchscreen controllers, capacative screens, proximity sensors, and, in some cases, 3D displays. Not going to front — we’re stoked on the idea of tuning out on-board babies via multi-hour Angry Birds sessions, but we’re seriously hoping the airlines ignore one of the system’s marquee features: in-flight video conferencing . Gallery: Panasonic’s eX3 in-flight entertainment system Panasonic gives its in-flight entertainment system an Android makeover, adds 3D displays originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 10:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Ever struggled to find the perfect adjective to articulate your admiration for a given article of awesomeness ? Matt Richardson over at Make felt exactly the same way, so he perfected himself an Awesome button, designed specifically to spit out synonyms for his favorite descriptive word. To accomplish the task, he had to gut a Staples “easy” button and arrange a Teensy USB microcontroller inside it, before making the resulting mini-thesaurus compatible with his computer. Don’t worry, full instructions are contained in the video above. Just mash the play button. The Awesome button is… originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 09:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Motorola’s SocialTV app will turn your Xoom or Atrix into a communicative couch companion
April 8, 2011 No Comment
Whether you look at stats or your own limitless experience, you know very well that humanity spends too much time staring at tubes, screens, and other unnatural visualizers . Motorola isn’t really here to fix that ailment, but at least it’s converging the uses of some of those device classes with its introduction of a SocialTV Companion Service. Designed to turn your smartphone, tablet or laptop into a, you guessed it, TV companion device, this new software serves up social networking, complimentary content, real-time chat, TV show ratings, and interactive (as opposed to what, non-interactive?) games. Basically, since you spend your TV-watching time idly browsing away on your Xoom anyway, why not fuse the two things together and “generate some incremental revenue” for your service provider in the process? We presume the new SocialTV stuff will be rolled out in app form, Moto doesn’t dish up those details or give us a launch date. If only we had an app to tell us when to expect new apps to arrive. Continue reading Motorola’s SocialTV app will turn your Xoom or Atrix into a communicative couch companion Motorola’s SocialTV app will turn your Xoom or Atrix into a communicative couch companion originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 06:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’re still sitting here playing with our Decepticon and Autobot toys, Jetfire and Starscream continuing their battle for airborne supremacy. It’s how we entertain ourselves whilst waiting for ASUS to release its Transformer tablet on the world, but now we can at least get our hands on what makes it tick. The source code for that 10.1-inch tablet with its IPS screen and Honeycomb flavor has just been lobbed up onto the company’s site and, with just a few clicks, you can continue its trajectory right onto your storage device of choice — though you’ll need to run it through an unzipper before it can really have any impact. What you do with it after that is up to you, but you’re going to have to wait a bit longer before you’ll have anywhere to deploy the results of the included makefile. ASUS releases Eee Pad Transformer source code, physical bits to come later originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 07:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo delayed to Q3, Arc and Play facing limited supply due to Japanese quake
April 8, 2011 No Comment
There hasn’t been much good news coming out of Japan lately and this sadly keeps up with the unhappy trend . Sony Ericsson has officially bumped the broad launch (it’s already available in limited quantities) of its Xperia Neo handset to at least July, explaining the delay as the result of “supply chain disruptions.” Additionally, the Xperia Arc and Play devices, two other members of the company’s new Android Gingerbread family , will be available in smaller volume than expected, at least for the near term. We guess that might go some way to explaining why the Xperia Play failed to reach some UK carriers in time for its April 1st launch date. Skip past the break for a statement from Sony Ericsson, who promises to be more explicit about the situation when it delivers its latest quarterly results on April 19th. Continue reading Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo delayed to Q3, Arc and Play facing limited supply due to Japanese quake Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo delayed to Q3, Arc and Play facing limited supply due to Japanese quake originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 06:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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