Daimler says fuel cell vehicles will cost the same as diesel hybrids by 2015
February 2, 2011 No Comment
It may currently you cost you $849 a month to lease a Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell (one of the few hyrodgen -fueled vehicles currently available to consumers), but Daimler says that cost will come down considerably in the next few years. Speaking with Automotive News , Daimler’s Herbert Kohler said that by 2015 he expects a “fuel cell car will not cost more than a four-cylinder diesel hybrid that meets the Euro 6 emissions standard,” which would seemingly place it in a race with Toyota and its promise of a $50,000 hydrogen-powered sedan . What’s more, Kohler also said that he expects fuel cell vehicles to actually be cheaper than comparable electric vehicles within the next few years, and he said that Daimler is hoping to bring a “four-digit-number” of fuel cell vehicles to market by 2013 or 2014. Daimler says fuel cell vehicles will cost the same as diesel hybrids by 2015 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 03:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Lego bot built to test Kno’s tablet textbook, human overlords watch gleefully (video)
February 2, 2011 No Comment
Just because the first few tablet textbooks have shipped doesn’t mean that members of Kno’s development team are resting on their laurels. Product testing on the Kno tablet continues — and it looks like Lego is doing the heavy lifting. They’ve put our favorite plastic building blocks to work by constructing a Kno stress tester out of Lego Technic parts. The robot checks both the Kno’s ambient light sensor and the ability of its touchscreen to accurately track the system’s pen swipes and flicks. Though not as intricate as a Lego replica of a 2000+ year old mechanical computer , the robot — with its hypnotic pendulum-like motion — is still a sight to behold. Check the video after the break. Continue reading Lego bot built to test Kno’s tablet textbook, human overlords watch gleefully (video) Lego bot built to test Kno’s tablet textbook, human overlords watch gleefully (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 02:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Do you believe what you’re seeing? 9to5Mac along with iFixYouri repair say they’ve got the new iPad 2 display. Better yet, they’ve got the purported part number: LP097X02-SLN1, compared to the original iPad’s LP097X02-SLA3 display. It’s said to be lighter and more than 1-mm thinner than the original while featuring a thinner bezel as well — right, just as the rumors and our own sources have said. Such a display would also enable some tapering of the edges in line with those milled aluminum dummies we’ve seen. The big mystery is still the resolution which a 9to5Mac commenter claims to have extracted from the part number to reveal its LG Phillips 9.7-inch XGA 1024 x 768 H-IPS display origins ( same resolution as the current iPad, if true). Unfortunately, we have no way to confirm this. One more pic of the part number details after the break. Continue reading iPad 2 display leaked? iPad 2 display leaked? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 01:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Point and shoot cameras are tricky to hold still, but the powers that be thought up a crazy fix — build bending, sliding, transforming grips right into the body of the camera. Sony’s patented the idea you see immediately above, which turns the sliding lens cover into a handle using tiny hinges (or perhaps electrorheological fluid , we’re not sure). Amazingly enough, the basic concept actually isn’t new: Sony itself references a Fujifilm patent whose cover-turned-grip protects the rear LCD instead. Neither look terribly comfortable, but which would you rather choose: a pocketable camera that snaps stable single-handed shots, or one that monopolizes your fingertips? Take a gander at one of Fujifilm’s proposed designs after the break. Continue reading Sony, Fujifilm patents are half-camera, half-origami Sony, Fujifilm patents are half-camera, half-origami originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 00:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Look, let us just sum up the Galaxy S 4G for you: it’s a Vibrant with Froyo, a front-facing camera, and Inception . After reading through the new details T-Mobile’s outed on its latest HSPA+-equipped Android smartphone today, that’s really the best way to describe it… and let’s face it, Avatar (which, you might recall, came bundled with the Vibrant) was getting kind of old and played out anyway. Naturally, like T-Mobile’s other video call-capable devices, the front-facing camera will make use of Qik ; other preinstalled third-party apps will include Kindle , doubleTwist with AirSync , and T-Mobile TV for streaming content from ABC, Fox, PBS, and others. You’ll also get a slight battery capacity bump from the Vibrant to 1650mAh, undoubtedly to counteract the effects of the beefier radio. Revolutionary, no; evolutionary, quite! We don’t have a date or a price yet, but the carrier says we can expect it this month. Follow the break for the full press release. Continue reading T-Mobile promises Samsung Galaxy S 4G for launch this month T-Mobile promises Samsung Galaxy S 4G for launch this month originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …LG G-Slate fully detailed by T-Mobile: 3D viewing and recording, available March (updated)
February 2, 2011 No Comment
Though it was technically announced back at CES , T-Mobile just barely talked about the LG G-Slate there, spending more time chatting up Dell’s Streak 7 and letting Motorola’s Xoom get virtually all of the Honeycomb attention. Well, that’s changed today with a handful of official new details: turns out the G-Slate features a 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor, 32GB of internal storage, both a gyroscope and accelerometer, and — this is key — stereoscopic rear-facing video cameras capable of 1080p 3D capture, one of which doubles as a 5 megapixel still camera with LED flash. There’s also a third 2 megapixel camera up front for video chat over T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network or WiFi. Going back to that 3D business for a moment, you’ll need glasses (it’s unclear if they’re active or passive) to enjoy recorded or downloaded 3D content on the G-Slate’s 8.9-inch display — but you’ll also be able to output 1080p video over HDMI to the external display of your choice. Pricing is still an open question, but the companies are now comfortable enough to say that we can expect it “this spring,” so go ahead and start thinking about all the blooming springtime plant life you’ll be filming in three glorious dimensions. Follow the break for the full press release. Update : While T-Mobile hedges its bets with a “spring” launch, LG says that it’ll be hitting US soil in March as one of the first Honeycomb tablets. The honor of being first will almost certainly go to the Motorola Xoom — Google’s in-house “dogfooding” tablet . Gallery: LG G-Slate fully detailed by T-Mobile: 3D viewing and recording, available this spring Continue reading LG G-Slate fully detailed by T-Mobile: 3D viewing and recording, available March (updated) LG G-Slate fully detailed by T-Mobile: 3D viewing and recording, available March (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’ve gotten a bunch of tips in the past hour or so that the Android Market is doing weird things, and we can corroborate this on our Nexus S here — we’re just not able to download stuff. Apps look like they’re starting to download, then they suddenly vanish into thin air without a trace and without an error message. Our Droid 2 is still fully functional, though, so this definitely isn’t consistent; really, we’re just wondering if this outage might have something to do with tomorrow’s Android-themed festivities at the Google campus , which — naturally — we’ll be attending. So how is everyone faring out there tonight? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Android Market acting weird — is it a precursor to tomorrow’s event? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 23:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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If you were to prepare a list of most under-served smartphone form factors, portrait QWERTY ranks high on the list; few manufacturers have dared to dabble in it so far, despite the fact that there would seem to be a treasure trove of potential users in the BlackBerry realm who live and die by the Bold / Curve layout. Motorola has given it the most high-publicity shot so far with entries like the Droid Pro , Charm , and Flipout , and it looks like Samsung might be prepping a head-on Droid Pro competitor for Sprint thanks to some shots that have emerged on PocketNow today. We have precisely zero details on the hardware specs, the possible launch time frame, or really anything else at this point, but we’ll keep an eye out. [Thanks, Theodore L.] Samsung prepping portrait QWERTY Android phone for Sprint? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 23:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Google accused Microsoft of copying search results this morning, and the company’s sticking to its guns: in response to Microsoft’s firm denial — “We do not copy Google’s results” — it’s released another tiny batch of evidence to the contrary and a call for Microsoft to discontinue the practice for good. Mind you, Google search engineer Amit Singhal doesn’t explicitly call out its competitor for “copying” results — rather, “recycling” them through a clever combination of Microsoft Internet Explorer and the Bing Toolbar — but the message is clear. Google wants you to view its search results as the originals, and doesn’t really care how sincere Microsoft’s flattery might be. Google responds: Bing recycles search results, and we’d like it to stop originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 22:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Xfinity TV for iPad now streaming VOD for ‘select networks’ including HBO and Showtime (update: hands-on)
February 2, 2011 No Comment
“A few weeks”? “Later this year”? Don’t worry about Comcast’s recent meddling with the fine print , Xfinity TV ‘s latest update for the iPad allows you to “play movies and TV shows anywhere and anytime on your iPad using a Wi-Fi Internet connection.” The deal is for select networks (aka not everyone’s on board to start) including HBO, Starz, Showtime, and Cinemax. Version 1.1.1 is now available; we’re downloading now and will let ya know exactly what we find. Update: We’ve taken it for a brief spin, and it looks like only ten networks are currently available, but there’s still a hefty selection of content to choose from: BBC America, Cartoon Network, Cinemax, Starz Encore, HBO, MoviePlex, Showtime, Starz, TBS, and TNT. All are VOD only at the moment, but we hope that live streaming could theoretically be around the corner. Video starts streaming pretty quickly, and while quality probably won’t be as good as your 1080p TV, it more than suffices for the iPad’s 10-inch screen — especially the HD stuff. Check it out in the gallery below! Gallery: Xfinity TV for iPad VOD hands-on Xfinity TV for iPad now streaming VOD for ‘select networks’ including HBO and Showtime (update: hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 22:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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