Kingston's Class 10 microSD family gets bigger, stays tiny

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/23/kingstons-class-10-microsd-family-gets-bigger-stays-tiny/

Kingston is putting an extra boost the smallest of its tiny memory cards. The popular provider of flash storage is upping its 4GB and 8GB microSDHC cards from Class 4 specifications (up to a 4 MB/s transfer rate) to a whopping Class 10 spec and all of its 10 MB/s goodness. The newly announced models join a 16GB version that has been available for several months. By completing the family tree of Class 10 cards, Kingston is offering faster all-round performance for file transfers on smartphones, quicker write times for microSD-wielding cameras and basically a few seconds of your life back -- at lower prices than before, though you'll still be paying a premium compared to slower cards. Our microSDHC-accepting devices are itching to hop aboard this speedier train of data storage, and luckily we won't have to wait long. The two memory cards start shipping at the end of March and are being offered with an available Mobility Kit, which includes an SD adapter and a USB card reader. But, if you want a full-fat 32GB model, you'll have to wait for Q2 of 2011 like the rest of us. Pricing starts at $22 for a 4GB model up to $138 for the 16GB model -- check after the break for full breakdown of prices and more in the PR.

Continue reading Kingston's Class 10 microSD family gets bigger, stays tiny

Kingston's Class 10 microSD family gets bigger, stays tiny originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 13:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BMW launches DriveNow, the 'premium' car sharing service with a Dell Streak on every dash (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/23/bmw-launches-drivenow-the-premium-car-sharing-service-with-a/

If you liked the idea of the Car2go service we profiled a few weeks back, Smart fortwos available for rent by the minute with and some pretty fancy tracking apps to help you find them, but maybe you wanted to drive something a little bit bigger, BMW has you covered. Well, assuming "you" are German or at least living in Germany. The company has launched its own car sharing service it calls DriveNow. This one is billed as a "premium" -- though curiously none of the company's truly premium models will be offered. That said, the Minis and 1 Series autos that make up the initial fleet are hardly low-rent, and we'd be utterly shocked if the upcoming i3 didn't get added to the mix down the road too.

Usage details are still a little bit scarce, but we do know that each car will have a dash-mounted Dell Streak through which users will log in after unlocking the car doors with an RFID-equipped membership card or even a suitably endowed drivers license. Renting a car costs 29 cents per minute, up to €14.90 (about $21) per hour, and there will be 300 cars available at first starting in the Munich area. If you're not in Munich it's tough cookies for now, but BMW is hoping to have one million members worldwide by 2020. Maybe one of them will be you.

Continue reading BMW launches DriveNow, the 'premium' car sharing service with a Dell Streak on every dash (video)

BMW launches DriveNow, the 'premium' car sharing service with a Dell Streak on every dash (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 13:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS' K53E laptop gets reviewed, 2.53GHz Core i5-2520M CPU gets praised

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/23/intels-2-53ghz-core-i5-2520m-reviewed-within-asus-k53e-laptop/

Never mind the fact that Intel's outing a mid-range laptop CPU long after the highest of high-end -- the 2.53GHz Core i5-2520M is shaping up to be a lovely option for those who'd prefer a budget choice with plenty of horsepower for churning through HD video. The benchmarking gurus over at Hot Hardware recently grabbed hold of the new silicon, and they noticed an "unmatched performance-per-watt profile for mobile CPUs," not to mention a robust graphics core, "ridiculously low idle power consumption," a respectable price point and plenty of power for any software title not named Crysis 2. ASUS' 15.6-inch K53E was the test machine, and with a starting tag of just $899, it's definitely a compelling package. Based on their testing, this particular CPU was around 15 to 25 percent faster across the board compared to its previous generation 2.5GHz Arrandale counterpart, and that's with around the same power draw, too. Hit the source link for more charts than you'd care to see on an average workday, and be on the lookout for this chip to hit a whole slew of new rigs in the coming weeks.

ASUS' K53E laptop gets reviewed, 2.53GHz Core i5-2520M CPU gets praised originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 14:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Operabots take center stage at MIT Media Lab's 'Death and the Powers' opera

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/23/operabots-take-center-stage-at-mit-media-labs-death-and-the-po/

It already had its premiere in Monaco last year, but composer Tod Machover's new opera, "Death and the Powers," has now finally made it to the United States. Why are we reporting on a new opera (rather than Opera) on Engadget? Well, it just so happens to feature the "Operabots" pictured above, which were developed by MIT's Media Lab. The lab also helped develop some of the opera's other high-tech components, but it seems like the Operabots are the real standout -- they're "semi-autonomous" and freely roam around the stage throughout the opera, acting as a Greek chorus. Not surprisingly, the opera itself also deals with some futuristic subject matter. The Powers of the title is Simon Powers, a "Bill Gates, Walt Disney-type" who decides to upload his consciousness into "The System" before he dies -- hijinks then ensue. Those in Boston can apparently still get tickets for the final performance on March 25th -- after that it moves onto Chicago for four performances between April 2nd and 10th. Head on past the break for a preview.

Continue reading Operabots take center stage at MIT Media Lab's 'Death and the Powers' opera

Operabots take center stage at MIT Media Lab's 'Death and the Powers' opera originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple could be licensing AirPlay for video streaming, HDTV integration seems imminent

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/23/apple-could-be-licensing-airplay-for-video-streaming-hdtv-integ/

There's nothing concrete to sink your teeth into just yet, but a couple of people "familiar with the matter" have informed Bloomberg that Apple could be taking AirPlay to the next level. Up until now, companies have been shelling out $4 per device to add AirPlay audio streaming into their products, but there's a very real demand for video to be included in that as well. According to sources, the video streaming protocol is already baked in, but not enabled / allowed under the current licensing agreement. It's bruited that the folks in Cupertino could soon expand the AirPlay license program to include video streaming from iPhones and iPads, with integration into HDTVs being the most obvious application. Specifically, the new plan would enable electronics makers to "use [AirPlay] in devices for streaming movies, TV shows and other video content," but there's no clear time table as to when any of this would go down. Will CEDIA 2011 be the launchpad for AirPlay-enabled televisions? If so, don't ever say we didn't see it coming.

[Thanks, Nilay]

Apple could be licensing AirPlay for video streaming, HDTV integration seems imminent originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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