It’s time again to look at the rapidly changing face of home computing. The last time we got an IDC report on US PC sales it showed generally rosy figures, with everyone other than Dell growing and Apple making a huge jump. This time we have numbers from both IDC and Gartner, and while they don’t agree on everything, it’s clear things are rather less positive. Overall growth in this quarter is negative (6.6 percent decline for Gartner, 4.8 for IDC) and Apple is now in position number five, dropping from number three , with the other top four comprised of HP, Dell, Toshiba, and Acer — though Toshiba and Acer swap places as you move from IDC to Gartner. Both reports cite tablet sales (i.e. the iPad ) as being at least partly responsible for the decline in traditional computer sales, a trend that’s predicted to continue in 2011. Based on what we saw at CES , we’d say that’s a safe bet. IDC and Gartner: US PC sales drop as tablets shake things up originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 09:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Toyota working on magnesium batteries for PHEVs of the not so near future
January 14, 2011 No Comment
Toyota wants to take your range anxiety out for a walk behind the woodshed and obliterate it from the known world. The means for doing this, the Japanese giant has revealed, might very well be contained in its new magnesium-sulfur batteries, which promise to double the energy density of the current industry-best lithium ion cells. Of course, the catch here is that the new magnesium goodness is nowhere near ready and is projected to come in 2020 at the earliest, but we’re gladdened to see a long-term view being taken by car manufacturers with regard to powering vehicles electrically. Alternative methodologies currently under review in Toyota’s labs also include aluminum and calcium materials, showing that there is indeed no lack of ambition for making plug-ins respectable road warriors . Toyota working on magnesium batteries for PHEVs of the not so near future originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 08:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Green House reveals its first 15.6-inch USB monitor, lives large on small charge
January 14, 2011 No Comment
Just when MMT’s 15.4-inch Monitor2Go was getting excited about its big USB display on campus title, Greenhouse Japan has strutted in and ruined the party with its 15.6-inch GH-USD16K USB secondary monitor. True, a resolution of 1366 x 768 won’t give the screen bragging rights over Apple’s 27-inch Cinema Display , but it should suffice for those on the move in desperate need of some quick dual-screen action. Especially since the accessory weighs less than 3 pounds, produces 18bit color depth and has a brightness of 220 nits while sipping just 5 watts of Serial Bus power. Speaking of dual-action, the monitor can also be set to clone or extend the connected computer’s screen depending on user preference. Look for it to start shipping early next month to Japan for an estimated price of $214, glancing over its shoulder until an inevitable 15.8-inch newbie lopes onto the block. Green House reveals its first 15.6-inch USB monitor, lives large on small charge originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 07:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …iriver U100 PMP gets official reveal, P100 and D2000 leave something to the imagination
January 14, 2011 No Comment
The teases over at iriver are ready to show you what they’ve got: the neon-colored U100 . We reported on the PMP, along with the P100 and the D2000 last month, but it looks like iriver is going to leave us guessing on the last two. The U100 sports a 3.1-inch (320 x 480) touchscreen, up to 16GB of internal memory, WiFi, microSDHC, and an FM tuner for those who still listens to the radio. It plays 720p video and touts 50 hours of battery life for audio playback and 11 hours for video. iriver isn’t ready to give us all the details quite yet — an official release date and pricing are still under wraps — but they have provided another video to keep us interested. Hit up the source link to see for yourself. iriver U100 PMP gets official reveal, P100 and D2000 leave something to the imagination originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 05:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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What you’re looking at is the world’s first wireless graphics card affectionately dubbed the KFA2 GeForce GTX460 WHDI 1024MB PCIe 2.0. The card uses five aerials to stream uncompressed 1080p video from your PC to your WHDI enabled television (or any display courtesy of the bundled 5GHz WHDI receiver) at a range of about 100 feet. Otherwise, it’s the same mid-range GTX 460 card we’ve seen universally lauded with 1024MB of onboard RAM helping to make the most of its 336 CUDA cores. Insane, yes, but we’d accept nothing less from our beloved graphics cards manufacturers. KFA2 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 WHDI graphics card is first to go wireless originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 04:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sunswift IV, world’s fastest solar-powered racer, leaves GM Sunraycer in its dust
January 14, 2011 No Comment
The Sunswift IV (aka IVy) might look like a mobile dinner table, but it’s actually the world’s fastest solar-powered vehicle . The table-top on wheels got the official nod from the Guinness Book of World Records last week, for hitting a top speed of 88km/h (about 55 mph) — nearly 10 km/h faster than the previous record-holder, the GM Sunraycer, which bears a striking resemblance to a disembodied Android monster . IVy, designed by Sunswift, a student-run non-profit at the University of New South Wales, reached its top speed using 1050 watts, about 400 watts less than the Sunraycer, and performed it’s record-smashing run without the 25kg battery it’s usually packing. Faster runs have been clocked, including by IVy, but Guinness has not been on hand for confirmation. Sunswift IV, world’s fastest solar-powered racer, leaves GM Sunraycer in its dust originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 03:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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So Christmas is coming and your daughter asks you to build her a robot after she sees you building so many for yourself — what do you do? You could build a cute and simple robot, or you could do what Jose Julio did and build something like the Arduino -based ArduSpider robot (since nicknamed Sara), which he’s now showing off for everyone to see. As you can see in the video after the break, the bot is able to both operate autonomously or be controlled remotely, and it packs a surprising number of tricks, including the ability to get tired or bored, and even some basic gymnastic and acrobatic skills. Interested in building your own? You can find all the details and code you need at the source link below. Continue reading DIY ArduSpider robot battles household pets, beats other homemade gifts DIY ArduSpider robot battles household pets, beats other homemade gifts originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 02:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Looks like the bad news just got worse for Modu fans. According to reports from Israel, Modu, maker of impossibly small modular handsets, will be forced to close its doors in February as it attempts to payback debt and the salaries owed to its workers. Ironically, the news will likely spark an increase in demand as nerds battle to curate an elusive Modu W for their vintage gadget collections . Modu closing up shop in February originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 02:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …World’s first room-temperature semiconductor plasmon nanolaser created by Berkeley scientists
January 14, 2011 No Comment
We’re big proponents of the idea that everything is better with lasers , and a team of researchers at UC Berkeley has created a new type of semiconductor plasmon nanolaser, or spaser, that could eventually find a home in many of your favorite devices. The big breakthrough is that Berkeley’s spaser operates at room temperature — previous spasers could only sustain lasing at temperatures below -250
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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 Zach, who needs a new home for his PC internals. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com . “For various reasons, I am going to be moving my computer around a lot more frequently soon, and I am looking for a new computer case that’s relatively easy to take around. Basically, I mean the type of case with handle(s) on the top. It needs to be an ATX mid-tower, and I’d like it as cheap as I can get without it being horrible (I do have an overclocked CPU and a dedicated cooling unit, so it needs to be well-vented). I’m not a fan of garish cases with lots of LEDs — I especially really dislike green / blue LEDs (I’m getting really sick of my current case, which is decked-out in blue). I might be cool with red or orange, though. However, any aesthetics come second to utility and price.” Zach, we like your style. You’re probably well on your way to becoming a man, and a sophisticated one at that. Here’s hoping you’ll receive loads of similarly sophisticated answers from sophisticated men and women below. Ask Engadget: best non-garish ATX mid-tower for the budget gamer? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 23:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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