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Monday, September 20, 2010

Three lightweight fuel economy meisters split $10 million in X Prize dollars

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/19/three-lightweight-fuel-economy-meisters-split-10-million-in-x-p/

Three lightweight fuel economy meisters split $10 million in X Prize dollars

We're big fans of private entities giving away big chunks of cash to fund cool research, and the X Prize foundation seems to be making the most waves lately. Most recent is the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize, a $10 million total purse going to cars able to score at least an equivalent MPG of 100. There were two main classes and three total prizes, all of which recently found winners. Besting them all was the Team Edison2 Very Light Car, taking home $5 million thanks to its four-passenger configuration clocking in at 102.5MPGe running on E85 ethanol. There were also two "alternative" winners, each scoring $2.5 million: Team Li-On's two-seater Wave-II EV (187MPGe) and Team X-Tracer Switzerland's E-Tracer, an awesome and electric two-wheeled enclosed motorcycle with auto-deploying outrigger wheels. That sucker, pictured above, managed 205.3MPGe and will do 0 - 60 in under seven seconds, something that certainly can't be said of the rest. But, none of them are exactly what you'd call four star safety rated nor can any be found on dealer lots. In other words: it remains to be seen when mere mortal commuters will get to be the winners of this contest.

Three lightweight fuel economy meisters split $10 million in X Prize dollars originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Sep 2010 12:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Entelligence: Putting a spotlight on the invisible

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/19/entelligence-putting-a-spotlight-on-the-invisible/

Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

When Apple refreshed the latest version of the iPod nano, the combination of the square form factor, touch display, clip and cool clock app made me think it would make a great watch. I was not alone. I've already seen a number of vendors scrambling to create straps and wrist cases for the nano. While Apple stopped well short of calling it a watch replacement, there's no doubt Cupertino will be looking carefully to see if there's an iWatch in your future.

From Microsoft's Smart Personal Object Technology devices to watches that ran Palm OS, vendors have tried and failed to push high-tech watches every few years. I personally think the watch space and the larger invisible space hasn't been exploited properly beyond the core feature of telling time. Here's why.

Continue reading Entelligence: Putting a spotlight on the invisible

Entelligence: Putting a spotlight on the invisible originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Sep 2010 17:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fujifilm intros FinePix X100: 12.3MP APS-C-based camera with Hybrid Viewfinder, loads of gorgeous

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/19/fujifilm-intros-finepix-x100-12-3mp-aps-c-based-camera-with-hyb/

Hello, beautiful! The clock just struck midnight here in the wilds of Cologne, Germany, and it's safe to say that Photokina 2010 is underway. Fujifilm's press event isn't scheduled until Tuesday, but it looks as if it'll be teasing us all by releasing information on its drop-dead gorgeous new FinePix X100 tonight. This rangefinder-esque cam packs a 12.3 megapixel APS-C sensor, and it's obviously designed to go mano-a-mano with Micro Four Thirds and the slew of other mirrorless / interchangeable lens compacts that are hitting the market. Aside from supporting 720p movies, boasting an EXR processor and shipping with a 23mm F2 Fujinon lens, this new handheld includes a Hybrid Viewfinder that enables users to toggle between optical and electronic viewfinders and display intricate shooting information right into the OVF.

There's also a 2.8-inch rear LCD, a hot shoe on top and a magnesium alloy top / base plate that might be the sexiest we've ever seen on a camera in this sector. Low-light shooters will appreciate the ISO range of 200 to 6400, and there's also 5fps continuous shooting, a full-on manual mode, SD / SDHC / SDXC card support and dimensions of 127- x 75- x 54mm. Something tells us a lot of to-be DSLR buyers will be shifting to this far more portable alternative when it drops in early 2011... provided it doesn't cost a small fortune, of course. Needless to say, we'll be first in line come Tuesday to (prayerfully) get some hands-on time with this beaut. Video after the break.

Gallery: Fujifilm X100 press shots

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Fujifilm intros FinePix X100: 12.3MP APS-C-based camera with Hybrid Viewfinder, loads of gorgeous

Fujifilm intros FinePix X100: 12.3MP APS-C-based camera with Hybrid Viewfinder, loads of gorgeous originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Sep 2010 20:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Minox PX3D concept camera produces 3D images viewable sans glasses

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/19/minox-px3d-concept-camera-produces-3d-images-viewable-sans-glass/

The doors of Photokina open in a matter of hours, and we'll most definitely be venturing over to Minox's booth in order to have a look at the PX3D. According to the barebones teaser release, this here concept camera will be able to capture 3D images that are viewable sans glasses. It should be noted that the world's first consumer-oriented 3D cameras haven't exactly seen the fondest of reviews, but tossing the glasses requirement may just flip things on its head. It's still unclear what kind of display / digital photo frame will be required to view the effect (we're guessing a parallax barrier panel will be thrown up for display), but we'll be barging in soon in order to get the full skinny.

Minox PX3D concept camera produces 3D images viewable sans glasses originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Sep 2010 22:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pixel Qi announces development of 7-inch screen, provides status update

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/20/pixel-qi-announces-development-of-7-inch-screen-provides-status/

We just got a status update from one of Pixel Qi's earliest customers, Notion Ink, last week, and we've now finally gotten a pretty significant update on the state of things from the company itself. In addition to announcing that it's completed the first tranche of its Series B funding, Pixel Qi has also revealed for the first time that it currently has a 7-inch screen for tablets and e-reader in development, and that it's set to go into mass production in the first half of next year -- it notes that samples could be available by the end of the year, though. Pixel Qi's Mary Lou Jespen also explained that tight supply and maxed out factory usage combined with the "disruptive" iPad accounted for a number of tablet delays over the spring and summer, but she says that manufacturers have used the downtime to refine their designs into products that are "highly differentiated from the iPad," and adds that Pixel Qi will be announcing additional products using its displays sometime in the future.

Pixel Qi announces development of 7-inch screen, provides status update originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 02:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Napster app arrives on iOS, completes the circle of life

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/20/napster-app-arrives-on-ios-completes-the-circle-of-life/

Before the iPhone, the iPod, and iTunes, there was Napster. The original gangster of digital music distribution has undergone many changes since its heyday as a pirate's Shangri-La, though this latest one seems to be the most fitting. A new app for the aforementioned iOS devices as well as the iPad has been launched, giving you the full Napster experience in a more portable form factor. That means that for $10 a month you can stream and cache music from a library of 10 million songs -- yes, offline listening is available too -- essentially turning your iDevice into the Apple equivalent of a Zune Pass-equipped music station. Good times ahead, eh sailor?

[Thanks, Louis Choi]

Napster app arrives on iOS, completes the circle of life originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 03:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PYNK smart system could make those Kodak print kiosks useful (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/20/pynk-smart-system-finally-makes-those-kodak-print-kiosks-useful/

Just because film is dead doesn't mean that companies are at a loss for schemes to profit in the digital age. Take Kodak's PYNK smart print system as the perfect case study. Consumers buy PYNK branded photo frames and mats at $15 and $4 a pop, respectively. They then scan the goods into one of Kodak's 100,000 imaging kiosks and the machine will print photos (at further cost) into a perfectly cropped, sized, and aligned collage suitable for framing. A pretty smart solution for craft-less dummies like us.

Continue reading PYNK smart system could make those Kodak print kiosks useful (video)

PYNK smart system could make those Kodak print kiosks useful (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 03:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Casio debuts Exilim EX-H20G (with Hybrid GPS) and EX-Z16 point-and-shoots

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/20/casio-debuts-exilim-ex-h20g-with-hybrid-gps-and-ex-z16-point-a/

Photokina's kicking off in earnest today with a serious bang in the point-and-shoot realm; Casio just introduced the planet's first camera with Hybrid GPS, which essentially enables it to geotag photos and videos where traditional cameras cannot. Yeah, indoors. The Exilim EX-H20G (shown above) also packs a 14.1 megapixel sensor, SD / SDHC / SDXC memory card slot, a 10x optical zoomer, an ISO range of 80 to 3200, 3-inch rear LCD, CCD-shift image stabilization, 720p movie mode and an HDMI output. Moreover, the company has throw in a world atlas with detailed maps of 140 cities around the world, and the rear screen can actually display a user's current position on said map for kicks and giggles. It'll hit shops this November for $349.99.

If that's a bit too fanciful for you, the lower-end EX-Z16 might just fit the bill. Boasting a 2.7-inch rear LCD, VGA (640 x 480) movie mode, a 12.1 megapixel sensor, SD / SDHC card slot, a whopping 14.9MB of internal storage (um... okay?), CCD-shift image stabilization and an integrated YouTube capture mode, this dead-simple cam is designed to be about as hands-off as they come. According to the company, the only settings you have to adjust on the 2.7-inch panel are image size, flash and self timer -- everything else sets itself accordingly. 'Course, that won't sit well with the tinkerers in the group, but you can sure brighten a newbie's day by gifting 'em with one when it ships later this month at $99.99. More details are packed in after the break, should you find yourself thirsty for more.

Gallery: Casio EXILIM EX-H20G and EX-Z16 digital cameras

Continue reading Casio debuts Exilim EX-H20G (with Hybrid GPS) and EX-Z16 point-and-shoots

Casio debuts Exilim EX-H20G (with Hybrid GPS) and EX-Z16 point-and-shoots originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sunday, September 19, 2010

This Chip Might Bring Perfect Reception to Your Home, Without Resentment [Femtocell]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5640230/this-chip-might-make-microcells-easier-to-swallow

This Chip Might Bring Perfect Reception to Your Home, Without Resentment So it's a quandary. Your house is in a service dead zone, and you don't want to shell out $150 more for something you're paying for already. What's worth more, principle or a functioning phone? That decision might be over.

The people at picoChip might have something to change the femtocell's most galling flaw: price. As we know, the things work great—lifechanger great. Who wouldn't want perfect coverage throughout their entire home? We all would. But who wants to pay extra for it? Well, that's another story.

But a new chipset, drawing fewer than 5 watts of power and, more importantly, costing only $50, could drive an entire new generation of femtocell systems, spreading cheap, perfect HSPA+ or 3G through your apartment, office, and even Times Square. The guts—a cheap chip on a simple wafer only several inches large—packs the antennae necessary to inflate not just your own private bubble of beautiful signal, but one that could—with the use of multiple, synced boxes—cover rolling rural areas with clear signals too. Or, as picoChip pointed out, their tech could be easily slipped into an connected media box—a Roku that blasted your house with cellular service might not be such a bad idea.

But no matter its form, with the cost of manufacturing the femtocell box sliced into quarters, the pain of your decision to buy one might go from a resentful ache to a slight pinch. You might not love the idea, but at a certain point, this might become so cheap that you'll just bite the bullet.

picoChip's new boards are HSPA+ only for now, with a 3G version coming later this year. When we spoke with Rupert Baines of picoChip, we asked about femtocell tech's other rather annoying quirk—having MicroCell usage count towards your plan minutes, even when you're using your own internet connection to carry them (possibly that of another company!). His answer wasn't definitive (nor need it be, as he's on the hardware side of things, not in AT&T's boardroom), but he's confident that driving the price of femtocell chips into the basement will force carriers to compete away from price—such as offering signal boosters that don't scrape away your minute pool. This might be an optimistic confidence in the ability of the market to go to bat for us, but those still suffering from shoddy service might have reason for hope. [picoChip]

Arab Center's Wall Is Alive With 30,000 Mechanical Eyes [Architecture]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5641012/arab-centers-wall-is-alive-with-30000-mechanical-eyes

The Institut du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute, for you non-Francophones) is a 19 nation cultural consortium with incredible architectural bragging rights. Merging traditional Arab patterns with clever engineering, its south-facing wall dilates thousands of apertures to control sunlight exposure.

The automated wall of the Institute, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, broadens and narrows entirely on its own—just like the human eye—corresponding with the rising and setting sun. The result? Dazzling interior lighting patterns, and a no-fuss way of keeping cool during the day. [Inhabitat]

An Entire Facebook Photo Album Captured in a Single Long Exposure Photograph [Photography]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5641074/entire-facebook-photo-albums-captured-in-single-long-exposure-photographs

Flipping through massive Facebook photo albums with prodigious speed is definitely a 21st century skill, but what would it look like if you photographed that process? Hauntingly beautiful, it turns out.

The photographs, long exposure shots of a computer screen snapped as Facebook albums were rapidly flipped through, were taken by Phillip Maisel as part of a project called "A More Open Place," a quote by Facebook King Mark Zuckerberg himself.

There's plenty more at Maisel's site. Check them out and keep them in mind the next time you're looking at your friend's insipid vacation album. [Phillip Maisel via Peta Pixel]

The Unflattering Future Of Fashion: Spray On Clothes [Fashion]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5641608/the-unflattering-future-of-fashion-spray-on-clothes

A new liquid mixture will allow people to literally spray clothes onto their body. Once the mixture hits your body, it turns into a thin layer of fabric that can be peeled off, washed, and re-worn. Unfortunately, it's also skintight.

It's sorta crazy to think about your future morning routine: wake up, shake the aerosol can and spray yourself silly to get dressed. Is that even possible? Yes it is. Developed by Imperial College London and a company called Fabrican, the spray-on fabric is made from short, cross linking fibers that are combined with polymers, the fibers then cling together to form the material. Its kept in liquid form through a solvent which evaporates when the spray hits the surface.

So it totally works but why would someone want to make this? Manel Torres, the designer behind the spray on clothes, says:

"When I first began this project I really wanted to make a futuristic, seamless, quick and comfortable material. In my quest to produce this kind of fabric, I ended up returning to the principles of the earliest textiles such as felt, which were also produced by taking fibers and finding a way of binding them together without having to weave or stitch them"

And futuristic it is! One thing though, spray on clothes is a great idea if we all looked like swimsuit models but since we, er, don't, it'd just make for a very unflattering future. Imagine everyone wearing thin, skintight shirts and pants. Not a pretty sight. [Wired]

After Watching This Video, It's Clear the Universe Will End Today [Image Cache]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5641843/after-watching-this-video-its-clear-the-universe-will-end-today

There are plenty of amazing time lapse videos. This is one. But when you see it paired with Hans Zimmer's "Dream is collapsing"—from Inception's soundtrack—it goes from amazing to holy-fuck-the-Universe-is-about-to-collapse-and-we-are-all-gonna-die amazing. Play the HD full screen. Use headphones.

The time lapse segments were taken by Mike Flores and edited to match the rhythm of Zimmer's gloriously unnerving piece. Flores' images are beautiful, but when combined with Zimmer's music, on a big screen, with a big sound system or good headphones, the result is epic.

But then again, you can use Zimmer's music to make Sesame Street look like an epic tale of life and death. Now, if you excuse me, I'm off to try to wake up. Somebody throw me out the window, please. [Vimeo via Likecool]

Ocosmos unveils crazy OCS-9 tablet with Oak Trail CPU, stylus stand and removable keyboard (update: close up pics!)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/17/ocosmos-unveils-crazy-ocs-9-tablet-with-oak-trail-cpu-stylus-st/

Before IDF 2010, you'd likely never heard of a South Korean electronics company called Ocosmos. Now, their crazy concepts are bursting out of the woodwork. This OCS-9 tablet above not only boasts an Oak Trail processor and 9-inch, 1024 x 768 capacitive touchscreen, but also a removable stylus that slots into a hole into the back to stand the tablet up in either portrait or landscape modes and -- get this -- a slide-out, removable touchscreen QWERTY keypad with two OMOS Keys on either side. There's a 3 megapixel webcam on the front and Windows 7 will reportedly run inside, and the whole thing slots into a TV dock with a host of video ports to let you watch video when sitting down. No word on battery life or performance quite yet, as the tablet's most definitely an early prototype, but the company's shooting for a working version by CES and a release in Q2 2011, for a $500 estimated price. Here's hoping these dreams come true, because as far as concepts go, we likey.

Update: Now with close-up pics of that removable keypad, stylus stand and more, plus a few shots of another potential look for the OCS-1. These folks never stop prototyping! By the by, we're told the OCS-9 tablet has pretty much the same hardware inside, including GMA 600 graphics and 802.11 b/g WiFi.

Gallery: Ocosmos OCS-9 tablet, eyes on

Gallery: Ocosmos OCS-9, close-ups

Ocosmos unveils crazy OCS-9 tablet with Oak Trail CPU, stylus stand and removable keyboard (update: close up pics!) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 23:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Voice apps returning to iPhone app store (update: they're here!)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/18/google-voice-apps-begin-returning-to-iphone-app-store/

Digg It's been a long time coming -- now native Google Voice apps have finally returned to the iTunes App Store. This, after a fourteen month hiatus in which we saw an FCC investigation into the matter that culminated in a loosening of App Store restrictions. So far, we're only seeing the $3 GV Connect app in the store with GV Mobile + coming sometime Saturday morning according to its developer, Sean Kovacs. No word on when the official Google Voice iPhone app will make its appearance, but surely it can't be long -- Phil must have had a chance to study the app he personally ~~rejected~~ didn't approve by now, right?

Update: We'd been checking our iPhones all day long to no avail, but it's finally here. As of 1:30AM ET, GV Mobile + has been formally approved and is now available for $2.99 on the iTunes App Store.

Google Voice apps returning to iPhone app store (update: they're here!) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 23:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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