Ask Engadget: best electric bicycle under $1000 for college campus cruising?
February 11, 2011 No Comment
We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Jonathan, who can’t be bothered to burn off calories on a normal bike once he heads of to university next year. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com . “My college of choice has a big, hilly campus, and driving is pretty heavily discouraged, so I’ve been looking at getting an electric bike. I have to keep it under $900 (I may be able to up to around $1100, but that would be a tough sell). I’d like it to look somewhat low-key, not unlike a typical street / mountain bike. It doesn’t have to be crazy powerful, but it does need to be strong enough to tackle hills on a regular basis, and it needs batteries to match that usage pattern. I prefer the flexibility of a mid-drive mounted motor, since that would let the motor take advantage of the gears, and it would let me easily switch between power-assisted and all-electric pedaling, but I wouldn’t mind a different setup. Finally, the university has a lot of fog and rain, so weather-resistance is probably important. I already own a street-bike with 26-inch wheels and a diamond-frame body, so if a conversion kit would be a strong option, I’m also open to modifying my current bike. Finally, if the bike most suitable for my needs falls outside of my price range, what would the price-range for that bike be, and what alternatives could I pursue? (I don’t really want a motorbike or a scooter / moped.) Thanks!” Phew, looks like this guy’s going to be quite the wordsmith! For those of you currently cruising around campus on a power-assisted bike, which did you use? And how’d you secure it while in class? Throw this fellow a bone — he’s obviously more interested in nabbing a 4.0 than cranking on a set of pedals, and that’s a-okay with us. Ask Engadget: best electric bicycle under $1000 for college campus cruising? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Feb 2011 01:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …The Engadget Interview: Jon Rubinstein and Steven McArthur talk webOS on PCs, ‘Music Synergy,’ competition, and more
February 11, 2011 No CommentWe had a chance to sit down with HP’s Jon Rubinstein and SVP of applications and services Steven McArthur just after the company’s device-filled event yesterday , and the conversation was rather revealing. Besides being extremely upfront about some tough issues (timing, legacy support), both execs were more than willing to tackle questions about HP’s current deficiencies in the consumer electronics space. We’ve put together a rough transcript of the chat below, and it touches on a lot of issues currently facing HP and its user base — namely, developer support, future versions of webOS, where the company is headed with devices, and what the overarching strategy will be in the coming weeks and months. We highly suggest you take a look… after the break. Continue reading The Engadget Interview: Jon Rubinstein and Steven McArthur talk webOS on PCs, ‘Music Synergy,’ competition, and more The Engadget Interview: Jon Rubinstein and Steven McArthur talk webOS on PCs, ‘Music Synergy,’ competition, and more originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 23:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Verizon may have had its best sales day ever with the launch of the CDMA iPhone 4 , but you wouldn’t be able to tell if you parked outside a retail store this morning. Reuters reports that the usual hordes didn’t show up for the Verizon iPhone launch — San Francisco and New York flagship Apple Store locations boasted as few as forty individuals in line — and that by afternoon today, the initial shipment of devices were still in stock. Of course, the device had already been on sale for several days — and face it, it’s just a CDMA iPhone 4 — but it’s not often we get to see spectacles like the one on video above, shot at the Mall of America store. Verizon iPhone hits the streets, fails to gather crowds (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 23:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Samsung dubs its mobile processors Exynos, dual-core 4210 (formerly Orion) arriving next month
February 11, 2011 No Comment
We’ve been talking about Samsung’s Orion processor for some time, the dual-core successor to the well-received Hummingbird core of 2010 — but Orion was a codename all along. What will you be calling these two slices of high-performance silicon by the time they finally grace a phone of yours? “Exynos 4210,” it turns out, as the Orion becomes the first member of Sammy’s newly-branded Exynos line of application processors. We’d already known that the company was targeting the first half of 2011 for Orion’s commercial release, but they’re ready to get a little more specific now… and the news is good: production begins next month, which might line up nicely for some announcements the company has in store for MWC next week. Here’s hoping! Follow the break for the release. Continue reading Samsung dubs its mobile processors Exynos, dual-core 4210 (formerly Orion) arriving next month Samsung dubs its mobile processors Exynos, dual-core 4210 (formerly Orion) arriving next month originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 22:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Native Instruments just unveiled a lot of enhancements to their current line of DJ software . Before, we didn’t even know we were just dealing with T1, but it feels good to know that going forward, everything from Traktor Scratch Pro to Traktor Duo will have T2 inside, which features a more Serato -like waveform colorization scheme called TruWave. We’ll leave it to DJ Rafik to give you the real low-down, though, in the video after the break. Also new today are the Traktor Audio 6 and 10 interfaces with new analog direct thrus — expect them in April for $279 and $449, respectively. Now excuse us, we’ve got a couple of sequel ideas of our own to get cracking on. Continue reading T2 is not a cyborg, is the new more colorful Traktor T2 is not a cyborg, is the new more colorful Traktor originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 21:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Thermaltake Level 10 GT case polishes up a classic, available now for $280
February 10, 2011 No Comment
The Thermaltake Level 10 , arguably the sweetest-looking enclosure to ever hit the mass market, has managed to find a chassis worthy of being called its successor in the shape of the behemoth you see standing before you, the Level 10 GT . It softens the aggressively modular aesthetic of the original , but in exchange delivers a more performance-focused design, replete with three 200mm fans, air filters everywhere you look, a neat little window so you can peek inside your full-sized tower of doom, and enough space to fit the very largest of modern graphics cards. Thermaltake is asking for $280 on its online store and you can order one up today. Video awaits after the break, though we wouldn’t skip out on the Flickr gallery below, either. Continue reading Thermaltake Level 10 GT case polishes up a classic, available now for $280 Thermaltake Level 10 GT case polishes up a classic, available now for $280 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 19:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …ZTE 005Z emergency cellphone keeps your kid safe, cooler than other kids
February 10, 2011 No Comment
Remember back in 2005 when kiddy phones were all the rage? Well, with the release of the single-button 005Z, Softbank and ZTE are giving toddler connectivity another try. Like the Firefly and the Migo before it, this little guy limits outbound calls, but unlike its predecessors, the 005Z only allows for one pre-programmed number — so if baby’s in danger, mommy better have her cellphone charged. While the one-button approach is limited, the phone also acts as an alert system: when the cord is pulled, a loud buzzer sounds (
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Hot on the heels of Verizon’s completion of a test call using voice over LTE on its LG Revolution , the word on the street is that MetroPCS is hooking up with none other than HTC for its own VoLTE-capable phone — though it’s not MetroPCS making the announcement: instead, the GSM Association’s technology director broke the news, which was followed by a swift “no comment” from the carrier itself. As PCMag points out, there’s a sense of urgency for MetroPCS to deploy VoLTE in short order because it’s using AWS bandwidth for its LTE services — the same bandwidth it uses for CDMA — whereas Verizon has LTE deployed down by its lonesome in the newish 700MHz space, which means MetroPCS could open up 4G bandwidth by migrating away from CDMA voice as quickly as possible. No word on when we might see this mysterious HTC device surface just yet. HTC prepping VoLTE-enabled smartphone for MetroPCS originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 18:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Twitter updates Android app, we go hands-on in more than 140 characters
February 10, 2011 No Comment
If you’re an avid Twitter user and an avid Android smartphone user, you’ve been waiting for this day. The day where those developers at Twitter’s headquarters man up and release a Twitter app that can seriously compete with the likes of TweetDeck, Twidroid, and HootSuite. Well, fellow tweeters, it appears that time has come — the official Twitter Android 2.0 app just hit the Market and it includes a pretty drastic UI overhaul, some bug fixes, and a few more key features. Naturally, we hit the update button as soon as it popped up on our Droid 2 Global , and we have to say the first thing we noticed was the speed increase — our feed loaded quickly and jumping over to the different columns was snappy. Speaking of those columns, Twitter wiped the previous, overly-cutesy main homepage for four tabs that run along the top of the screen — there’s your regular feed, mentions, direct messages, and lists. It feels more like the iOS app , which definitely isn’t a bad thing. You can still pull-to-refresh and swipe left or right over a particular tweet to respond, retweet, or favorite it. So, what’s the best improvement? Besides the tidied up interface, we have to say it’s the auto-complete for usernames — punch in the @ symbol and start typing a name and you’ll get a list of suggested names. Twitter’s also improved the search functionality, but we’d suggest checking that out yourself. It won’t cost you a penny, we just hope you’re running Android 2.1 or higher. Nope, not even Twitter is safe from the evils of fragmentation. Gallery: Twitter 2.0 for Android Twitter updates Android app, we go hands-on in more than 140 characters originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 17:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Gentlemen and ladies, it’s that time again — that’s right, the Engadget Show is back next Thursday, February 17th ! We’ll have more details for you on Monday, but clear your schedules, cancel your hot dates, put down Dead Space 2, and get yourself to New York City next Thursday. As usual, we’ll be streaming live right here on Engadget, but you’ll have to trust us when we say you’re gonna want to be at this one in person. Stay tuned! If you’re a member of the media who wishes to attend, please contact us at : engadgetshowmedia [at] engadget [dot] com, and we’ll try to accommodate you. All other non-media questions can be sent to: engadgetshow [at] engadget [dot] com. Subscribe to the Show: [ iTunes ] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V). [ Zune ] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (M4V). [ RSS M4V ] Add the Engadget Show feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically. The Engadget Show returns next Thursday, February 17th originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 17:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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