Via Motors E-REV hybrid trucks power your commute and the job site too (video)
December 31, 2010 No Comment
Hybrid cars have officially jumped the shark, boring drivers from coast to coast as they smugly hypermile wherever they’re going. Meanwhile, those with big trucks have been relatively out of luck, having to stop frequently for gas — and to scrape the remains of those little hybrids out of their fender wells. That’s changing soon, with Via Motors taking its rebranded Chevy trucks (dig that flying V on the grille) and offering them to fleets in 2011, with sales to individuals coming two years later (you can get in line now for $1,000 down). Big companies like, apparently, PG&E will be able to roll in these so-called E-REV trucks that offer either 20 or 40 miles of electric range, augmented by an onboard generator. Yes, it’s a series hybrid layout similar in theory to the Volt , with the internal combustion engine charging the batteries which, in turn, send juice to the 268hp motor. Interestingly, though, that generator can power other things as well, providing 120 or 240V to tools, lights, maybe even hot tubs if you’re a super cool contractor. No word on anticipated vehicle cost nor efficiency, but we’re not expecting miracles on either front. Continue reading Via Motors E-REV hybrid trucks power your commute and the job site too (video) Via Motors E-REV hybrid trucks power your commute and the job site too (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 19:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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What are you doing tonight? How about………………listening to all 100 minutes of the 2010 wrap-up edition of the Engadget Podcast? The Engadget Podcasters reminisce and predict as we peer into the void of yet another year of exciting and flawed technology. They just keep coming, and rest assured — we’ll just keep podcasting. Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, Nilay Patel Producer: Trent Wolbe Music: 99 Luftballoons 14:30 – Engadget’s biggest stories of 2010 Hear the podcast Subscribe to the podcast [ iTunes ] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC). [ RSS MP3 ] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [ RSS AAC ] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator. [ Zune ] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace Download the podcast LISTEN (MP3) LISTEN (AAC) LISTEN (OGG) Contact the podcast 1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com. Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget Engadget Podcast 223 – 12.31.2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 19:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Over the past two weeks we’ve been incorporating a lightweight flexible technology into our workflow. Usually, of course, just about everything we write is routed through a processor, operating system and application and immediately reflected on an LCD using some multitasking user interface. However, we have been seeking a way to organize to-do lists on a separate display so that they are not lost in the course of a day’s work or taking up undue screen real estate. As it happens, we were invited to an exclusive press event extolling the latest version of paper. Paper is a thin, foldable substance that can accommodate a wide array of styli to produce words and graphics. The catch is that, much like printer cartridges, these styli must be refilled with ink or replaced. But there is a wide ecosystem of these devices that are broadly available. The developers of paper have really put a lot of forethought into a wide array of uses. The tool has almost no learning curve and data entry is so simple that young children will have no problems mastering its basics. Paper yields high contrast when used with the appropriate ink and consumes no power. And, simply put, there is no display on the market that can fold as flexibly as paper, allowing us to slip a small sheet imperceptibly into a shirt pocket or wallet. Continue reading Reserve Power: Paper 2010, The Inkgadget Review Reserve Power: Paper 2010, The Inkgadget Review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 18:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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While we were jealously hung up on South Korea’s working electric bus system , Christmas apparently came early for a couple of lucky US fuel cell bus research projects — in the form of $16.6 million in Federal Transit Administration grants. Pasadena based Calstart snagged almost $10.2 million and will funnel 70 percent of the funds to developing the first phase of a low-cost, longer lasting fuel cell power system. Calstart will then spend its remaining $2.9 million in partnership with the Chicago Regional Transit Authority to develop and test the viability of fuel cell bus fleets in cold climates. The Center for Transportation and the Environment in Atlanta was the other project to hit the federal money gravy train. It received a hefty $6.4 million to spread across six different projects that dabble in everything from developing fast-charging 35-foot fuel cell buses, to similar lithium ion versions, to improving existing hybrid bus platforms. Federal pork for fuel cell DSLR development regrettably missed the cut. For the full scoop hit up the press release after the break. Continue reading FTA awards $16.6 million in grants for fuel cell bus research FTA awards $16.6 million in grants for fuel cell bus research originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 17:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …WakeMate sleep-aid recalled due to ‘exploding’ USB charger, gives new meaning to being hot in the sack
December 31, 2010 No Comment
Early this morning, Perfect Third Inc. — makers of the less than perfect WakeMate wristband — issued a recall for the sleep analyzer’s USB charger, which apparently has a tendency to go up in smoke , and we don’t mean disappear. An e-mail sent out by the company’s CEO at 12:30 AM states, “we were informed by a customer of a safety incident with the black USB chargers.” A little vague if you ask us, considering the video we received shows the device “smoking after exploding.” The recall ensures that the WakeMate itself is perfectly safe, and that the Chinese-manufactured USB cables are at fault, but if you ask us, anything that is supposed to help you sleep soundly shouldn’t put you in danger of catching fire. [Thanks, Ringram and Nick] Continue reading WakeMate sleep-aid recalled due to ‘exploding’ USB charger, gives new meaning to being hot in the sack WakeMate sleep-aid recalled due to ‘exploding’ USB charger, gives new meaning to being hot in the sack originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 16:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Man, we have to tell you: 2010 was a whopper of a year for Engadget, and for the gadget world at large. A space that was once reserved for only the hardiest tech nerds has been increasingly overrun with everyday neighbors, cousins, and parents, as product categories — the smartphone, e-readers, and tablets — became more ubiquitous than ever. Here at Engadget, for us, this meant more eyes than ever reading our stories, more tips flying in our direction, and working harder and faster than ever to bring our readers the best and most up-to-the-minute news. What follows are the biggest, best stories that we here at Engadget broke this year as exclusives. Some of them are parts of the biggest gadget stories this year, and all of them are stories we busted our butts to bring to you, dear readers. Join us after the break for a thorough retrospective of the year 2010 in Engadget exclusives, our biggest year ever. Continue reading Engadget’s biggest exclusives of 2010 Engadget’s biggest exclusives of 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 15:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’ve already seen leaked images of the Olympus E-PL2, the much talked about follow up to the E-PL1 . The Micro Four Thirds is expected to boast a new 14-42mm f/3.5 – 5.6 kit lens, a ‘direct movie’ button, a high-resolution 3-inch display, and an optional Bluetooth model. From the new image above, however, we can see that there will also be an optional ‘Medusa’ version of the cam with a closeup spotlight for all those insane macro shots you’ll undoubtedly be taking. The adjustable LED will also not require an extra battery, so this is one add-on we’ll definitely be seriously considering. New image of Olympus E-PL2 leaks, shows off macro spotlight originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 14:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Kodachrome film is iconic enough that there have now been several ‘ goodbye, Kodachrome ‘ news stories, and we just couldn’t resist one more. This time, our tale is of Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kansas (which we’ve had occasion to reference once before ), a film processing store which has the distinction of being the final place to accept Kodachrome for development. The problem? The store has been flooded with packages of undeveloped film from all over the world as the window for its processing comes to an end. It turns out that having that distinction will get you hundreds of rolls of film a day, and Dwayne’s Photo said that it would not process any films that arrived after Thursday. Yes, that was yesterday, though the mail is undoubtedly still arriving. Kodachrome film is seriously at the end of its life — again originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 13:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Android still has horrible text messaging bugs that’ll get you fired, busted, or otherwise embarrassed
December 31, 2010 No Comment
Pardon us if the headline is a little sensational, but this is one that we’ve personally experienced — and it’s not pretty. For at least the last couple versions, Android has been plagued with a couple extremely serious bugs in its text messaging subsystem that can ultimately end up causing you to text the wrong contact — even contacts that you’ve never texted before. There appear to be a few failure modes; the one we definitely experience on the Gingerbread -powered Nexus S involves being routed to the wrong thread when you tap it either in the Notifications list or the master thread list in the Messaging application, so if you don’t notice, you’ll end up firing a message to the wrong person. More seriously, though, there’s also an open issue in Android’s bug tracking system — inexplicably marked “medium” priority — where sent text messages can appear to be in the correct thread and still end up being sent to another contact altogether. In other words, unless you pull up the Message Details screen after the fact, you might not even know the grievous act you’ve committed until your boss, significant other, or best friend — make that former best friend — texts you back. There seem to have been some attempts on Google’s part over the year to fix it; we can’t confirm that it still happens in 2.3, but for what it’s worth, the issue hasn’t been marked resolved in Google Code… and it was opened some six months ago. This is akin to an alarm clock that occasionally won’t go off ( we’ve been there ) or a car that randomly won’t let you turn the steering wheel — you simply cannot have a phone that you can’t trust to communicate with the right people. It’s a deal-breaker. We’re pretty shocked that these issues weren’t tied up and blasted to all affected phones as an over-the-air patch months ago, but whatever the reason, we’d like to see Google, manufacturers, and carriers drop every other Android update they’re working on and make sure this is completely resolved immediately. Want to see this fixed as much as we do? Scroll to the bottom of the Google Code page and hit “Vote for this issue and get email change notifications.” Android still has horrible text messaging bugs that’ll get you fired, busted, or otherwise embarrassed originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 13:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Just got a Windows Phone 7 handset? The best apps, accessories, and tips
December 31, 2010 No Comment
Ah, so you’ve just been given a Windows Phone 7 handset. If that’s what you’d been begging for all this time, then many congratulations; but if not, don’t hit eBay just yet — sure, WP7′s range of apps is comparatively limited with its recent 5,000 milestone , but hey, you gotta start somewhere, right? Even at its infancy, WP7 has proven to be a nice alternative choice if you want to stand out from the rest of the smartphone crowd, and don’t forget its two powerful weapons: Zune and Xbox Live integration. Until WP7 gets its major upgrade early next year, our holiday guide should keep you and your new phone going for a little longer. Go ahead and read on. Continue reading Just got a Windows Phone 7 handset? The best apps, accessories, and tips Just got a Windows Phone 7 handset? The best apps, accessories, and tips originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 11:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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