Toyota debuts new Prius models, family-friendlier Prius V and funkier Prius C
January 10, 2011 No Comment
Toyota made no bones about the fact that more Prius models were to be unveiled in Detroit for the North American International Auto Show, even throwing advertisements up around town asking whether it’s supposed to be Priuses or Priii. (We, as you can see, chose to side-step the debate.) Now we know what’s coming, first being the Prius V. It’s the MPV the company has been teasing, basically just a taller version of the four-door sedan with a hatchback and a whopping 60 percent more cargo space — 32 cubic feet, which is more than most compact SUVs. It’s to be rated 42mpg city, 38 highway, and 40 combined, which is a surprising 10mpg lower than the sedan model. That’s perhaps a bit disappointing, but availability this summer is a pleasant surprise. Next is the Prius C, naturally for “concept,” which is aimed at “young singles and couples.” It’s definitely funkier and way cooler than the current model, looking to have a nose very similar to the car’s FT-86 concept. We hope the production model looks quite close to this, and while that’s always a doubtful proposition we won’t have all that long to wait, with it hitting dealerships in the first half of 2012. Toyota also showed off the Prius Plug-In, the very same one we test drove last year , said to be coming first to the western and eastern coasts of the US first, and re-affirmed the “patriarch” status of the current-generation Prius sedan, having sold 230,000 cars since 2009. It’s good to be the king. Gallery: Toyota Prius V and Prius C Filed under: Transportation Toyota debuts new Prius models, family-friendlier Prius V and funkier Prius C originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 13:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Oh, wow. Are you sure we’re ready for this, Tesla ? I mean, just last week you wouldn’t even let us sit inside your Model S prototype and now… this. You sure we’re not moving too fast? A fully naked Model S is on display at the company’s booth, bare frame and bare aluminum separated by a Lucite riser, giving us a glimpse at the car’s motor nestled between the rear wheels. Take a look at it, barely bigger than the exhaust of a modern musclecar yet powering this thing to 60mph in 5.7 seconds and up to an anticipated maximum 300 mile range. Unfortunately the tangle of wires and other components that’ll actually make this thing go are missing, and the paint, but it’s still a great view at the simple, obviously Elise-inspired frame that holds it all together. Gallery: Tesla Model S Disassembled Tesla Model S takes off its clothes, shows us its motor originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …iTunes celebrates its 10th birthday, still takes too long to sync your iPhone
January 10, 2011 No Comment
If you’ve managed to use any piece of technology for ten years, it’s safe to say that said piece has some serious lasting power in an era filled with flavors-of-the-week. It’s a bit startling to think that Apple’s iTunes has now fallen into that category, but sure enough, the music-turned-media-application is now a decade old. Fittingly enough, it just hit version 10.0 a few months ago, and it may very well be tweaked to play nice with an all new device later this week . Head on past the break for a look at the very first iTunes introduction at Macworld 2001, and then think about how many times you’ve hated your life as you watched that sync progress bar crawl along at glacial speeds. No, seriously, think about it . Continue reading iTunes celebrates its 10th birthday, still takes too long to sync your iPhone iTunes celebrates its 10th birthday, still takes too long to sync your iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Android tablets aren’t exactly in short supply at CES 2011, but the Espert Identity Tab stands out — despite hailing from a manufacturer we’d never heard of before the show. Espert’s got two slick 7-inch slates on the floor, and while the E201 mostly cribs from Samsung’s WiFi-only Galaxy Tab — right down to 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird chip — the flagship Espert E301 pumps up the pixel density with a 1024 x 600 capacitive touchscreen, adds an all-metal case, a mobile DTV antenna, and 3G connectivity. We poked and prodded these tablets all over and got a peek at the full spec sheets, so after you peruse our gallery below, hit the break for details! Gallery: Espert Identity Tab E301 first hands-on! Gallery: Espert Identity Tab E201 first hands-on! Continue reading Espert Identity Tab E301 and E201 hands-on preview Espert Identity Tab E301 and E201 hands-on preview originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Okay, we’ve seen an iPad on a dashboard . Ready for some in-car PlayBook action? Recent RIM acquisition QNX is all over it, showing off what it calls simply QNX Car. It’s a basic reference implementation of some technology that will be running the infotainment systems of cars in the coming years — though they’ll surely look very different than this by then. QNX is showing how it can pull media from multiple sources, like an iPhone , use Message Access Protocol Bluetooth to pull data from a BlackBerry , and even use Terminal Mode to replicate the UI of something like the PlayBook. Plus, the PlayBook was able to change climate control settings in the car. The company is also working on what it’s called the Simple UI Protocol. It’s basically a lowest-common-denominator smartphone integration — something like Ford’s AppLink that, in theory, will work regardless of the app or the hardware on the car. It’s very limited, allowing just two lines of text and a few icons to be sent from the phone to the car, and just two buttons (left and right) to be sent back to the phone as controls. The idea is to remove any aspect of driver distraction and to provide AppLink-like functionality in a standard, non OEM-specific way, which we like. But, it’s so limited in scope we’re not sure just how useful it would be. See for yourself after the break. Gallery: QNX Car hands-on Continue reading QNX Car concept with PlayBook integration hands-on (video) QNX Car concept with PlayBook integration hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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One thing we’re learning at CES is that the future of transportation is, apparently, pretty weird looking. The EN-V or YikeBike not odd enough? Check out the Uno from BPG Motors, a tricycle that transforms into a self-balancing, two-wheeled… thing. It’s gained a wheel since the last time we saw it , a front fork that folds in between the rear wheels and the whole thing starts balancing when you need to go through some tight spaces and then, when it’s time to go faster (up to around 30 or 35mph) that wheel pivots out, the whole thing lowers, and away it goes. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to pivot the thing at the show, but we have a video of the transformation after the break along with a little walk-around of the thing. Trust us: you’ll want to watch them both. Gallery: BPG Motors Uno Continue reading A look at BPG Motors amazing, transforming, self-balancing Uno (video) A look at BPG Motors amazing, transforming, self-balancing Uno (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 11:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Still not believing that Verizon Wireless will introduce a CDMA’d iPhone for its network tomorrow? We can’t say we’re completely sold either, but it’s getting harder and harder to fight off the emotions pointing to ” yes .” The Wall Street Journal has followed up on its earlier reports by suggesting that not only will VZW soon carry Apple’s iPhone 4, but that it will make no changes to its data plans once that happens. Of course, it’s not like anyone actually expected Big Red to do such a thing, but it’s definitely one more reason for heavy users to consider Verizon Wireless over AT&T. Grandfathered customers notwithstanding, AT&T users who buy a new iPhone 4 are hit with a few tiered data plan options, with the largest ($25 / month) being capped at 2GB . With Verizon, $29.99 per month nets you “unlimited” data, though you could run into issues if you routinely suck down more than 5GB — a rather typical ‘gotcha’ in the American cellular space. The real question, however, is this: will the Verizon iPhone be compatible with Verizon’s $14.99 / month (150MB) plan , and moreover, will it ever be upgradable to handle the LTE network we heard oh-so-much about just days ago? Bookmark our liveblog and tune in tomorrow to find out! Verizon reportedly ready to offer unlimited data plans on iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 11:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …CES 2011 sees big boost in attendance, CES 2012 scheduled way more sensibly
January 10, 2011 No Comment
Good news for people who love bad good news. According to IDG News , this year’s Consumer Electronics Show saw around 140,000 people descend upon it, which pretty much destroys the estimate of 126,000 attendees. We’re told that around 126,000 humans showed up last year to see Palm introduce webOS 1.4 (and for everyone else to introduce an e-reader ), while just 113,000 booked a ticket to Las Vegas for CES 2009 . The last time this quantity of Earthlings arrived in the desert to get their geek on was CES 2008, or in other terms, the last year that life as we knew it was halfway normal. There’s no question that we felt as if the floor was teeming with people, and the show in general just felt more alive than usual. Furthermore, we’re being hit with even more amazing news from the show floor: the official show dates for 2012. Rather than pushing CES up against a pair of holidays in Christmas and New Year’s Day, the Consumer Electronics Association has finally seen fit to bump things forward a week. CES 2012 will officially be held January 10th through 13th, and we’re guessing that most of the press events will start on the 8th or 9th. Sadly, we weren’t able to go three for three with outstanding news today — the show is still slated to be held in Las Vegas, so we’re apologizing in advance to the internationals who will once again wonder how a place overran with neon, grotesque paper cards at every street corner and a public transportation system that only stops once every five minutes could be so highly touted. CES 2011 sees big boost in attendance, CES 2012 scheduled way more sensibly originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Motorola Xoom to boast barometer, budding meteorologists have found their next tablet
January 10, 2011 No Comment
To say Motorola’s Xoom had a coming-out party at CES would be understating things greatly. It was easily one of the highlights of the show, and the potential that was shown was obviously just part of the story. According to Moto’s developer page, there’s actually a barometer included, right alongside an accelerometer, magnetometer, ambient light sensor and gyroscope. Oddly enough, a proximity sensor is left out of the mix, but seriously… a barometer ? Truth be told, this is actually just an oft overlooked point that was first shown in VZW / Motorola’s joint press release , but it’s good to know that at least one flagship slate will be compatible with Android 2.3′s barometer support. Here’s hoping it’ll be useful for helping you sidestep ugly weather patterns, or something of the sort. Motorola Xoom to boast barometer, budding meteorologists have found their next tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Ford’s Veritek concept gives us an idea of what the company’s future dashboard might look like
January 10, 2011 No Comment
Sure, we’re fresh from sampling Ford’s next evolutions of MyFord , the Mobile and AppLink systems, but those are due to start hitting cars in the next months and years. Sometimes it’s fun to look a little further down the road, and that’s what the company’s Veritek concept is doing, giving us a taste of exterior styling to come in the company’s C-segment cars (like the C-MAX ), plus a taste of some future innovations in the drivetrain department, most notable being an alternator that boosts its output under braking to provide a regenerative-like effect despite this not being a hybrid. While the exterior is quite striking — showing clean, sharp, dynamic lines and the impossibly small mirrors of a concept — it’s the interior that caught our eye. Yes, futuristic interiors like these rarely look little like their subsequent production successors, but we can get get some ideas of what Ford is looking at going forward, starting with what looks like an LCD (or possibly OLED ) gauge cluster, something that’s increasingly common now. The concept still has MyFord five-way controllers on the steering wheel stalks, but nestled down between the seats and duplicated on the dash is an Audi MMI or iDrive -like jog wheel. Interestingly there’s the silhouette of what can only be an iPhone displayed on the center, perhaps giving an indicator of where the current media is coming from. We’ll see if we can track the thing down on the show floor and find out. Gallery: Ford Veritek concept Continue reading Ford’s Veritek concept gives us an idea of what the company’s future dashboard might look like Ford’s Veritek concept gives us an idea of what the company’s future dashboard might look like originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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