Renault’s Zoe EV to give Nissan Leaf competition at lower price — Nissan-Renault alliance forges on
February 23, 2011 No Comment
Ever since they struck an alliance back in 1999, Renault and Nissan have been super tight, sharing both a CEO and a goal to make EVs more accessible , but with Renault’s Zoe gearing up to hit the market in 2012, the French automaker has proven it’s not pulling any punches when it comes to competing with its Japanese partner. In fact, reports give Renault’s EV a starting price of roughly €15,000, which compared to the Leaf’s €27,000 price tag, is a pretty hefty difference. The catch — of course, there’s a catch — is Zoe owners will have to lease their batteries for about €100 a month. With the added battery expense, however, it would still take nearly 10 years for the Zoe to meet the Leaf’s price. We hope this doesn’t put a damper on this 12-year love affair, but honestly, we’ll take an affordable EV any way we can get it. Renault’s Zoe EV to give Nissan Leaf competition at lower price — Nissan-Renault alliance forges on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 09:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Super Talent debuts CoreStore MV, super small, super fast mini PCIe SSD
February 23, 2011 No Comment
Super Talent is living up to its name today with the release of the world’s “smallest and fastest” mini PCIe SSD. When we last took a look at the company’s mini PCIe offerings , they were rocking 40MBps reads and 15MBps writes, but with the release of the new CoreStore SSD line, these exceptional storage makers have destroyed those 2009 specs with speeds topping out at 350MBps and 80MBps. The speedy CoreStore MV measures a mere 30mm x 50.95mm, combines Marvell’s latest controller with DDR ONFi 2 flash, and is compatible with netbooks, notebooks, and other devices sporting a second gen mini-PCIe slot. Those devices working a standard PCIe slot can expect 350MBps reads and 220MBps writes with MV’s big brother, the CoreStore MP. Both drives come in 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB and should be available starting next month at an undisclosed price — though we figure true speed freaks will pay just about anything to get their fix. Jonesing for specs? Check out the source link below. Super Talent debuts CoreStore MV, super small, super fast mini PCIe SSD originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 09:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Don’t think of this as the end of the road for Blockbuster , think of it as a new beginning. After filing for Bankruptcy back in September, big blue and yellow has been working to get its affairs in order — and trying desperately to fend off both Netflix and Redbox with offerings like Blockbuster on Demand and Blockbuster Express . Things apparently haven’t gone entirely to plan. The next stop is For Salesville, with bids for the company starting at $290 million. CEO Jim Keys put a positive spin on the news, saying that this will “allow for the consolidation of ownership of the company to those with a clear and focused vision for Blockbuster’s future.” It might also finally let that guy take a vacation — a potentially very long one. Blockbuster going up for sale, hoping to live up to its name originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 08:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Arcade Table’s Stealth brings high design, crazy price tag to tabletop arcade
February 23, 2011 No Comment
The tabletop arcade market isn’t exactly a crowded one these days, and for the most part we’d say that’s for good reason — remember those Pac-Man-induced neck spasms? Then again, most arcade tables don’t look like this. The Stealth console system from the aptly-named Arcade Tables offers 60 classic games, including Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Galaga, in a high gloss cocktail table, sporting an HD LCD screen with an 89-degree viewing angle, built-in speaker system, and two-player controls. Okay, so the thing costs $3,300, which is more than a touch too rich for our blood , but wouldn’t it be nice if more throwback consoles looked a little more, well, Stealth-y. Arcade Table’s Stealth brings high design, crazy price tag to tabletop arcade originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 07:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Microsoft pulls Windows Phone 7 update from Samsung phones until it can resolve issues
February 23, 2011 No Comment
Such a big load of trouble for such a small update . Microsoft’s first WP7 firmware refresh has been causing some unfortunate brick-like behavior in Samsung Omnia 7s and the company has wisely decided to pull the new software back until it can correct whatever’s going wrong. An official communiqu
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Samsung’s Galaxy S 4G might not have the very latest version of Android or too much hardware differentiation from the original T-Mobile Vibrant , but hey, it brings a front-facing camera and HSPA+ connectivity, so of course it costs $200. T-Mobile will have disappointed many with its clarification that the Galaxy S 4G will cost a pair of Benjamins on contract, exactly as much as its Samsung-built predecessor did seven months ago, and not as the carrier had originally indicated, $150. Also similar is the fact that T-Mo is launching this phone with an Android build that’s one iteration behind the cutting edge, meaning the Froyo update headaches of last autumn may return in the form of Gingerbread jitters this spring. All the same, if the Magenta team sees fit to chop the Galaxy S 4G’s price the same way it’s been doing with its other Android handsets , we could be in for a fine bargain in the near future. [Thanks, Matt] Samsung Galaxy S 4G now available from T-Mobile originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 06:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Apple’s Light Peak implementation called Thunderbolt, coming in new MacBook Pros?
February 23, 2011 No Comment
The rumor gears are really starting to churn with regard Apple’s upcoming MacBook Pro refresh and now we have a purported leak of the upcoming spec sheet for the new 13-inch model. The highlight is a note (and image, above) seemingly confirming that Apple will implement Intel’s Light Peak high-speed interconnect, renaming it the Thunderbolt. Yes, we know there’s an HTC handset headed to Verizon with that very same name — and we’ve checked the USPTO archives, Verizon’s the only tech company with any trademark claim filed for “Thunderbolt” — but Apple has done weirder things before. Also notable are the apparent inclusion of an SDXC card reader and the absence of a discrete GPU chip, indicating that perhaps the new Core i5 integrated graphics from Intel are finally good enough to convince Cupertino to rely on them full time. Jump past the break to see the full data sheet. Update: We now have an image claiming to show the new Thunderbolt port, which happens to look exactly like the Mini DisplayPort but has a tidy little lightning logo next to it. That’s extremely easy to Photoshop, as is the accompanying photo displaying a broader trackpad on the MBP, but we’ll let you judge the validity of those images for yourself. Check them out after the break. [Thanks, Leon and Rodney] Continue reading Apple’s Light Peak implementation called Thunderbolt, coming in new MacBook Pros? Apple’s Light Peak implementation called Thunderbolt, coming in new MacBook Pros? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 06:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Our first indication of a delivery date for the Gingerbread iteration of Android came way back in May when we were perusing the FAQ to Google’s then newly announced WebM video format . There should be no expressions of shock, therefore, to hear that WebM support has indeed been added into Google’s mobile OS, with the lowest compatible version being today’s freshly introduced Android 2.3.3 . Google has already demonstrated its intention to brute-force this format into our lives, which we’ll be quite happy to accept just as soon as Gingerbread starts appearing on more devices than its own Nexi . Android 2.3.3 gives you another reason to want it: WebM support originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 05:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Toyota to start selling home battery chargers in 2012, sate the electrical appetites of the Prii
February 23, 2011 No Comment
We’ve seen the plug-in Prius (a few times, actually), but what we hadn’t seen was how Toyota planned to get the juice from the grid to its car until now. Turns out, the automaker plans to sell home battery chargers starting in 2012 so that buyers of PHEV Prii can fully take advantage of that plug in the front fender. The chargers come in two flavors: one for the garage and one for the exterior of your home, and will cost upwards of
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Something you already knew to be true has just been confirmed by Omnicom’s Interbrand brand consultancy division: Apple reigns supreme in Hollywood films. Interbrand’s Brandchannel website dug deep into the fetid bowels of product placement to reveal Hollywood’s preferences (paid or personal) in the 33 films that hit the US box office number one slot in 2010. Brandchannel identified 591 total brand or product appearances for an average of 17.9 placements per film, with Apple appearing in ten of the top films for a 30 percent share — Nike, Chevrolet, and Ford each appeared in eight. Incidentally, Iron Man 2 won the dubious distinction of being cluttered with the most identifiable brands (64) in 2010. Apple is actually off from its peak of 50 percent of number one films in 2008 and 44 percent in 2009 as demonstrated in the chart after the break. But it’s not for a lack of trying. Brandchannel contends that the competition for brand placement has simply intensified resulting in fewer appearances of Janoff’s U+F8FF. Continue reading Shocker! Apple product placements dominate Hollywood Shocker! Apple product placements dominate Hollywood originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 04:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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