In a move curiously timed after this morning's Wal-Mart/VUDU news, Amazon has announced its Disc+ program is growing, up from around 300 titles last year to more than 10,000 DVDs and Blu-ray discs. If you not familiar, Disc+ means that when you buy the disc, not only is that shipped to you, but you also get a free downloadable copy to watch right away. Check out the main site for a full list of available titles, you could be watching The Girl Who Played With Fire or Kick-Ass a lot sooner than you think.
Show full PR text
Amazon.com Expands Disc+ On Demand Now offering more than 10,000 Disc+ On Demand titles, making it easy for DVD and Blu-ray customers to "buy now and watch now"
SEATTLE, Nov 02, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced the expansion of Disc+ On Demand, a program that enables customers to instantly watch movies on Amazon Video On Demand that they have purchased on DVD or Blu-ray. In response to the initial popularity of the Disc+ On Demand program, it has been expanded to offer customers more than 10,000 eligible titles. Titles range from new releases to timeless classics. To browse the complete selection of Disc+ On Demand movies, customers can visit www.amazon.com/discplus.
When customers purchase a Disc+ On Demand title on Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon.com, a digital copy of the movie will automatically be added to their Amazon Video On Demand video library. Customers can watch the movie instantly on a Mac, PC, or nearly 200 Amazon Video On Demand compatible Internet connected TVs, Blu-ray players, and set-top boxes.
"When we launched Disc+ On Demand last year, we were excited by the overwhelmingly positive response from our customers," said Steve Oliver, category leader for Amazon.com DVD. "Customers love instant gratification, and this program allows customers to watch Disc+ On Demand titles instantly, without having to wait for their DVD or Blu-ray to arrive in the mail."
Amazon Video On Demand is a digital video service that offers customers more than 75,000 commercial-free movies and television shows to buy or rent. New release movies are often available as soon as they're out on DVD, and many TV shows are available the day after they broadcast. Amazon Video On Demand also offers thousands of titles in high definition. For a full list of Amazon Video On Demand compatible devices visit www.amazon.com/watchontv.
For more information on Amazon Video On Demand visit www.amazon.com/vod.
Amazon Video On Demand is operated by Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Kindle, Kindle 3G and Kindle DX are the revolutionary portable readers that wirelessly download books, magazines, newspapers, blogs and personal documents to a crisp, high-resolution electronic ink display that looks and reads like real paper. Kindle 3G and Kindle DX utilize the same 3G wireless technology as advanced cell phones, so users never need to hunt for a Wi-Fi hotspot. Kindle is the #1 bestselling product across the millions of items sold on Amazon.
Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, and www.amazon.cn. As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.
Don't count the Symbian Foundation out just yet, because the European Commission has emerged like a knight in shining armor thanks to a €22 million public / private joint investment and a new consortium of some 24 organizations awkwardly called SYMBEOSE: "Symbian – the Embedded Operating System for Europe." Needless to say, it seems like some of the higher-ups across the continent are feeling a little emotional about the hometown platform -- especially now that it's starting to take a lot of heat -- and have thrown some skin in the game to keep things interesting. For its part, the Foundation says that the initiative (and presumably the money) will go toward developing "new core platform capabilities," exploring cloud computing, and broadening the platform's hardware ecosystem, among other things. Oh, and new Air Jordans would be nice. For Christmas, maybe.
To be honest, this took a little longer than expected. The above faux iPod nano is a pretty decent copy, lookswise, anyway. While we don't know its name or full specifications, we do know that it comes in both 1.5 and 1.8-inch touchscreen varieties (presumably resistive). It apparently has both an external speaker and an SD card reader. We don't know where you'll ever find one or how much it's likely to cost, but if you do track these down, we'll take one in that gray color, please.
Try to get past the mess of wires in the prototype above for a minute; you might just be looking at the future of wireless power -- at least if the folks at Aska Electron have their way, that is. They've developed a new system that not only wirelessly charges your gadgets (a la Powermat and others), but wirelessly transfers data at the same time at speeds up to 120Mbps. While complete details on how that's possible are still a bit light, the system does apparently use the same coils for both charging and data transfer, but different wavebands for each. The real kicker, however, is that while it's seemingly still just in the prototype stage, Aska says it expects the first commercial applications to hit the market by the end of this year. Exactly what those products might be isn't clear, but Aska says the technology could eventually lead to thinner, waterproof devices that don't need ports of any kind.
When it comes to vacuums it's obvious that we tend to like the ones that propel themselves -- your Roombas and your XV-11s and the like. But, when it comes to getting something properly clean sometimes you need to break out the manually modulated models, and those from Dyson tend to be the most coveted. The $399 Dyson City is the latest, a little sucker for those with smaller floor plans and shorter attention spans. But, we think it's good enough for country folk too.
The Dyson City was actually announced nearly a year ago and has been available in Europe for quite some time. But, it's only now getting a release in the US of A, and we're glad for it. It's the company's smallest non-handheld vac, a canister model that weighs just 12lbs. Compare that to one of the Dyson uprights, which weigh in the mid-30lb range, and you'll see it's quite an improvement.
Of course as it's a canister vac it feels even lighter because the majority of the weight hangs out behind you on the floor and you're left just swinging around a very lightweight nozzle. Naturally, as this is a Dyson, it's a reasonably high-tech nozzle. It telescopes with the push of a button and the most important attachments clip right onto it -- a sort of utility belt for fighting dust bunnies.
On the back rides the free-spinning turbine head, sitting on like a penny aft of the canister's Choro-Q-like design. Appropriately as you drag it around it loves to pop wheelies but does a commendable job of not tipping over -- a problem on many canisters.
Like other Dysons the dirt compartment lifts right out easily and the bottom flaps open with the press of a button, saving you from touching anything icky and, since you can stuff it down in the trash bin, helping to keep much of what you've sucked up from blowing all over the house again. There are also two filters onboard, both of which can be cleaned and, in theory, will never need replacement.
Testing
Tucked atop the Dyson City's cool, shimmery blue surface are a pair of buttons. One recoils the retractable power cord, which we were disappointed to find comes flying in like any basic vac's. We might have liked something with a bit of damping here. The other button of course turns it on, which means you'll be bending over whenever you want to stop or start. That too is an annoyance, and we'd have much preferred to see a power button on the handle of the telescoping arm.
Instead what you get up on the handle is a vacuum release button, a sort of panic switch that you can hit when the City starts to eat your curtains, carpet, or small pets. This doesn't actually shut off the vacuum, just lets it suck in air from the top instead to release the suction at the bottom. Handy, but we'd much prefer a proper power switch, even if it'd mean running a wire up the hose to connect it.
Bend over to turn the thing on and you'll find the little monster makes nearly as much noise as the upright model, which is a bit surprising, but we were happy to see that the considerable torrent of warm air pumped out of the canister is ducted up and back from the body, keeping it from blowing away the very shedded fur and bits of cereal you're trying to capture.
That telescoping arm is very light weight, even with the heavier but rather more narrow spinny turbine head attached. That attachment is said to be for giving dirty floors an extra clean, but we found it did an okay job on short carpet too -- so long as you kept it moving. Leave it in one place and the bristles quickly grind to a halt. While this machine delivers plenty of suction for most purposes, it simply doesn't match the lint-licking power of a bigger Dyson upright.
On hardwood or the like, though, it's a champ. If you attach the wide nozzle you can quickly and easily zip through rooms, pivoting it under and around furniture like you're on a domesticated parkour training run. However, be prepared to take lots of breaks. That easily detachable canister has a very limited capacity that's a fraction of one of the uprights. It's enough to get through a small house or largeish apartment in one shot -- assuming it wasn't too filthy to begin with.
Wrap-up
The Dyson City is a lightweight canister that can stand up to the heavyweight upright competition -- if your floors aren't covered with shag. Cleaning up on hardwood, linoleum, and short carpet of the durable corporate variety is a cinch with the City and, thanks to its light weight, you'll get things over with more quickly. But, if you really want to give your deep pile a deep tissue massage you're still going to have to break out one of the company's heavier models. This means it is of somewhat limited use for its hefty $400 price tag, but if you have the right floors and the right means it is the right vac for you.
Another week, another SSDNow drive. This go 'round, Kingston's trotting out a midrange 96GB version of the SSDNow V+100, which promises to offer a 25 percent increase in performance over existing V+ units. Furthermore, this guy has an enhanced 'always-on' garbage collection feature, which purports to clean redundant data from the drive to prevent performance degradation and maintains the drive over its life cycle. Thankfully for you dual-boot users, the garbage collection scheme operates independently from the OS -- in other words, it works with both modern, TRIM-supporting systems such as Windows 7, as well as older legacy OS' such as Windows Vista and XP that do not support TRIM. The 96 gigger carries an MSRP of $290, while a 64GB unit can be had for as little as $220 and a 512GB version for a staggering $1,900.
Show full PR text
Kingston Digital Launches Next-Generation SSD Technology for Corporate Client System Use
- New 96 GB Drive Extends Existing Range of Capacities to Cater for Different Needs and Usage
- 'Always On' Garbage Collection Function Allows SSD to be Optimized in Both TRIM and Non-TRIM Supported Operating Systems
- New Kingston SSDNow V+100 Offers 25 Percent Performance Increase Over the Previous Generation Thanks to Improved Controller
FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced the launch of its next generation SSDNow V+ solid-state drive (SSD), the Kingston SSDNow V+100. The new V+100 provides corporations with a viable solution to extend the life of currently installed client systems while meeting user performance expectations.
The new drive features enhanced garbage collection that is not OS dependent, making it a solid upgrade path to extend the life cycle of older client systems. The V+100's drive performance has also been increased by 25 percent (1), enabling more efficient data transfer over the previous generation. In addition, a new 96 GB capacity has been added to the family offering a broader range of choices to enterprise customers.
"Kingston SSDNow drives have been extremely well received in the worldwide IT marketplace. Our customers have told us that they need an SSD solution that ideally sits both price- and capacity-wise between the 64GB and 128GB drives," said Ariel Perez, SSD business manager, Kingston. "The feedback through our innovative customer facing programs yielded the 96GB V+100 as the perfect solution to meet these needs, especially as an SSD upgrade path is the preferred execution model rather than spending more on a new system in most corporate environments."
"Managing costs while also meeting increased performance demands are the major factors driving more and more global IT decision makers to upgrade their PC assets with an SSD drive rather than buy new systems," said Mark Peters, Senior Analyst at the Enterprise Strategy Group. "Kingston's new SSDNow V+100 Series also enables a great 'straddling' of operating systems; its compatibility (including the garbage collection feature) with both XP and Windows 7, means that users can enjoy the immediate benefits of cost-effective performance improvements for their XP systems and/or as they move to Windows 7."
The new Kingston SSDNow V+100 also has an enhanced 'always-on' garbage collection feature, which cleanses redundant data from the drive to prevent performance degradation and maintains the drive over its life cycle. Since the garbage collection scheme operates independently from the OS, it works with both modern, TRIM-supporting systems such as Windows® 7, as well as older legacy OS' such as Windows Vista® and XP that do not support TRIM. This means the drive can maintain optimal performance levels without additional upkeep costs or manual software maintenance.
The new SSDNow V+100 drive showed a 25 percent performance improvement over the existing V+ drive when tested with the PCMark® Vantage benchmark. This is due to an improved controller that enables more efficient data transfer.
With a 2.5" form factor, this new series is now available in 64GB, 96GB, 128GB, 256GB and 512GB capacities. To help IT decision makers quantify the financial benefits of upgrading to SSDs, Kingston Technology has created the Kingston SSDNow ROI calculator. To find out more please visit: http://www.kingston.com/ssd/about.asp?id=2
* Performance: PCs boot 3 times faster than a standard HDD; applications opened 2.5 times quicker; enhanced productivity makes users more efficient * Silent: Runs silent and cool with no moving mechanical parts * Ease of upgrade: Upgrade times can be reduced by up to 4 hours * Support: Simplicity, speed and endurance of SSDs decreases calls to IT departments, freeing up staff to focus on core responsibilities * Shock Resistant: No moving parts so the SSD handles rougher conditions than a hard drive * Supports TRIM: TRIM notifies the SSD which data blocks are available to be written to * Supports S.M.A.R.T.: Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology * Guaranteed: Backed by a three-year Kingston warranty, 24/7 tech support * Power Specs: 3.4W (TYP) Active / 0.05W (TYP) Idle * Storage temperatures: -40 degrees C to 85 degrees C * Operating temperatures: 0 degrees C to 70 degrees C * Dimensions: 69.85mm x 100mm x 9.5mm * Operating shock: Operating 2.7G * Vibration: Non operating 20G * Weight: 64GB, 96GB, 128GB, 256GB=128g; 512 GB=150g * Life expectancy: 1 million hours MTBF * Warranty/support: 3 year warranty with free 24/7 support
(1)Based on internal testing. Performance may vary based on system settings.
(2)Some of the listed capacity on a Flash storage device is used for formatting and other functions and thus is not available for data storage. As such, the actual available capacity for data storage is less than what is listed on the products. For more information, go to Kingston's Flash Guide at kingston.com/flash_memory_guide.
(3)Test System: Intel® DG45ID Desktop Motherboard; Intel® Core 2 Quad Q9550 CPU at 2.83GHz; 4GB system memory; on-board SATA 3Gbps with AHCI-enabled; Windows® 7 Professional x64
The World Wide Web Consortium -- you know, the team responsible for certifying and standardizing HTML5 -- has put together its first table of official conformance test results, giving us an idea of how well prepared each of the most popular browsers is for the oncoming web standards revolution. The data show Internet Explorer 9 as the most adroit performer (again), though Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari don't seem to be too far behind in their HTML5 compliance, either. Of course, these checks don't cover the entire spec, which in itself isn't even finalized yet, but they provide us with a glimpse into a brave new world where Microsoft actually cares about coders keen on maximizing interoperability by adhering to web-wide standards. Good stuff. Check out the full results at the source link below.
Credit to Affectiva -- for a medical bracelet, the Q Sensor looks delightful. The item you're peering at here has been developed by the aforesaid Massachusetts-based startup in order to give a voice to those who may not have one, and in theory, it can provide vital information to caregivers long before a breakdown takes place. Particularly with autistic children, who often cannot communicate their stress levels effectively, the Q Sensor is able to "detect and record physiological signs of stress and excitement by measuring slight electrical changes in the skin." From there, it can send signals to doctors, parents or caregivers, and those folks can react accordingly to information that they would otherwise not be privy to. Put simply, the band works by detecting subtle moisture changes under the skin when the "flight or fight" mode is initiated, and while even the creators admit that such a response isn't absolutely indicative of stress, it's generally a signal worth paying attention to for one reason or another. Purportedly, a beta version is set to go on sale to researchers and educators later this month for $2,000, and there's a video just after the break if you're still struggling to grok the purpose.
Just think of it, no more hanging around your hotel's front desk like some unrefined homo erectus. The Clarion Hotel in Stockholm is starting up a new pilot program to allow visitors to check in and collect their room key without the repugnant need for speaking to an actual human being -- it can all be done with an NFC-equipped mobile phone. Provided your smartphone can do the near-field communications dance, all your information can be remotely downloaded, stored, and wiped (if need be), and you can even check out from a room using the accompanying application. Samsung handsets are being provided to selected customers during the period of this trial, though once its four-month incubation period is over, you'll have to bring your own bit of advanced telephony to avoid the queues. We're sure you'll think of something. Video and full press release after the break.
Show full PR text
NFC mobile phones replace hotel room keys in Sweden
A world's first pilot is starting at the Clarion Hotel Stockholm in Sweden. ASSA ABLOY, Choice Hotels Scandinavia, TeliaSonera, VingCard Elsafe and Venyon, a fully owned subsidiary of Giesecke & Devrient, have joined forces to replace hotel room keys with NFC-enabled mobile phones. The technology makes it possible for hotel guests to check-in and out using their mobile phones.
The goal of the pilot is to get feedback from guests and employees using the NFC phones for a variety of services. Guests will be able to check in to the hotel and receive the hotel room key directly onto their mobile phones before arriving at the hotel. Guests can also access other services via their mobile, and on departure, the check-out process using the phone promises to be easy and stress-free.
The technology also increases security. If a mobile phone is lost, the access credentials can be revoked remotely and then reissued. This makes it impossible for unauthorized people to use a lost or stolen NFC mobile phone.
The pilot starts this week and will last for four months. The experience gained from the Clarion Hotel Stockholm pilot is planned to be enhanced and expanded over time to other hotels as well as to commercial and residential buildings.
Mobile-contactless services such as payment, ticketing and loyalty have enjoyed successful pilots and are now being made available to the commercial market. Following the success of those pilots there is now a new category of services - mobile keys that can be added to the mobile-contactless industry.
The five companies providing this service each brings its specific expertise to deliver a scalable and secure end-to-end solution created to improve the guest experience.
About NFC NFC, Near Field Communication, is a short-range wireless communication technology standard that enables the exchange of data between devices over up to a 10 cm distance. Applications include contactless transactions such as payment and transit ticketing, keys, data transfers including electronic business cards, and access to online digital content.
About the trial at Clarion Stockholm The selected hotel guests receive a Samsung mobile phone with NFC and relevant software. They book hotel rooms the usual way and receive booking confirmation on the mobile phone. The guests can check in on the mobile phone already before arrival at the hotel. When check-in is complete, a digital hotel room key is delivered to the mobile phone. On arrival at the hotel the guests skip the check-in line, go directly to their room and open the door by holding the mobile phone close to the door lock. When leaving the room, the doors lock automatically, the guests checkout from their mobile phones and the digital hotel room keys are deactivated.
Pilot Partners
ASSA ABLOY is the global leader in door-opening solutions dedicated to satisfying end-user needs for security, safety and convenience. ASSA ABLOY has developed a scalable secure delivery infrastructure for mobile keys. This solution ensures end-to-end security and is applicable for residential, commercial and hotel applications.
"Keys are going mobile. At ASSA ABLOY we totally support this convergence and are proud to provide the world's first complete mobile key service utilizing NFC technology. Thanks to our secure delivery infrastructure and mobile applications it will be possible to securely open digital door locks using your mobile phone in hotels and commercial buildings as well as in your home," said Daniel Berg, Vice President and General Manager ASSA ABLOY Mobile Keys.
Choice Hotels Scandinavia is the Nordic countries' largest hotel chain, with more than NOK6.2 billion in annual turnover and almost 9 200 employees. Choice Hotels Scandinavia markets 170 hotels in the Nordic market under the brands Comfort Hotels, Quality Hotels, Quality Resort Hotels, Clarion Hotels and Clarion Collection Hotels in addition to profiled stand-alone hotels. "NFC technology allows us to offer our customers a new better and more comfortable hotel experience as they can use their mobile phone as a room key. This is the beginning of a number of areas where we will be able to offer new added value to our customers, "said Svein Krakk, CIO of Choice Hotels Scandinavia.
TeliaSonera provides network access and telecommunication services in the Nordic and Baltic countries, the emerging markets of Eurasia, including Russia and Turkey, and in Spain and at the end of December 2009 the total number of subscriptions was 148 million in 20 countries. TeliaSonera's services help people and companies communicate in an easy, efficient and environmentally friendly way. TeliaSonera creates value by focusing on providing world-class customer experience, securing quality in networks and achieving a best-in-class cost structure. "At TeliaSonera, we are looking at many ways of using the mobile phone to make our customers' lives easier. The NFC technology, along with other inbuilt technologies, brings a new dimension to the mobile device which opens new growth opportunities", says Johan Wickman, Head of Research and Innovation at TeliaSonera Mobility Services.
Venyon, a fully owned subsidiary of Giesecke & Devrient, offers Trusted Service Manager (TSM) services in NFC ecosystem by developing and operating a secure and versatile service platform. Venyon TSM services are used for the Over-the-Air (OTA) provisioning of the consumer applications, such as credit cards or hotel key applications as done in this pilot, to consumers' NFC enabled mobile devices. NFC enables mobile phones to host a wide range of applications including physical access control such as hotel or residential locking applications. These new types of contactless mobile applications will play a central role in consumers' everyday life and TSM services are needed to securely perform the application life-cycle management.
VingCard Elsafe is the worldwide leader in guestroom security for hotel door locks and in-room safes in the hospitality industry. VingCard Elsafe has products installed in more than 39,000 properties worldwide, securing in-excess of 6.5 million hotel rooms. VingCard Elsafe is part of the ASSA ABLOY Group.
Google has filed a lawsuit in the US Court of Federal Claims against the US Department of the Interior for being what it claims as "unduly restrictive of competition." Apparently the DOI wrote up procurement requirements for a hosted email and collaboration solution (it's currently hobbling along with 13 different platforms for its 88,000 users) that specifically stated the software had to be part of the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite. Google thinks there should be a competitive procurement process for the $59 million contract, allowing for potential alternatives to Microsoft (like Google Apps, for instance). The DOI says it's up for open competition on the contract, but it's "standardized" on Microsoft tech. We'll have to see how this plays out.
Based on design alone, it's safe to say that the inscrutable device shown above isn't the UX10 we peeked at Computex nor the Android-based Optimus Pad... unless, of course, LG's hardware engineers have tweaked the enclosure rather significantly. According to a filing that just popped up in the FCC's database, the H1000B tablet will eventually hit the US market with 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth and a copy of Windows 7, and we're also hearing that an SD card reader is likely around the edges. The downward sloping front makes us wonder if this thing isn't cut out for some sort of dock, but it's not like a peripheral port is jumping out at us, either. Our bets are on a CES 2011 debut, but here's hoping things materialize a bit quicker for you last-minute holiday shoppers.
It's been five long months since we last heard about the HTC EVO 4G's HDMI dock, but it now looks to have finally made its way out to Sprint stores. Good and EVO managed to pick one up for $39.99 from their local purveyor of Now Network products and they've had a little hands-on action with the peripheral. Noteworthy notes include an extremely glossy finish on the docking station along with a predictable incompatibility with any cases or extended batteries that expand the bottom portion of the EVO's case. A six-foot HDMI cable is bundled in the box, so all you really need to do is dust off that credit card and go be the best consumer that you can be.
It's getting to be the norm when tearing down the latest piece of tech that the first thing to confront the inquiring disassembler is a big bad battery pack. The Galaxy Tab doesn't disappoint in that respect, with a chunky white slab of power storage dominating the majority of its subdermal real estate. There are also comparatively large speakers and other little curios to explore, but we're not going to spoil the show for you. Just head on past the break for the full video.
You should by now be aware that we're big fans of Microvision's Show WX pico projectors. Whether integrated into the smartphones or gaming peripherals of the future, we feel like the company's Laser Display Engine has a big part to play in our lives. It's therefore very welcome news to hear that its research team has managed to integrate a "direct" green laser into the portable projector setup, making for simpler and cheaper manufacturing of smaller components. Up to this point, Microvision has been performing its color mixing using a red laser, a blue laser, and a red laser specially re-calibrated to output green light, but that added bit of complexity can now be set aside with the inclusion of lasers that produce green hues natively. The company cites at least five global manufacturers ready to produce direct green beamers in commercial quantities by late 2011, so with a bit of luck and price competition, the pico projector dream might have itself a glorious realization after all.
Show full PR text
Microvision Integrates First Direct Green Lasers into Pico Projector Prototypes
REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Microvision, Inc. (NASDAQ:MVIS - News), a leader in innovative ultra-miniature projection display technology, today announced it has successfully integrated the first "direct green" laser samples from two leading manufacturers into pico projector benchtop prototypes. This achievement represents an important first step toward the commercialization of PicoP® display engines using direct green lasers. The PicoP display engine utilizing a direct green laser is expected to offer significant commercial advantages in price, size, power, and performance.
"We are very pleased with the performance of these early direct green laser prototypes," commented Sid Madhavan, Microvision vice president, R&D and Applications. "These encouraging results give us confidence that direct green laser diodes will be capable of meeting the performance requirements for integration into our PicoP display platform."
Simplicity leads to lower costs
Microvision's current pico projection engine uses red and blue laser diodes and a frequency-doubled "synthetic" green laser to create a full color image. Synthetic green lasers are infrared lasers that are manipulated to reduce their wavelength to produce a green light. This conversion process creates a complex system of multiple components held to tight tolerances making manufacturing more challenging.
Direct green lasers are capable of producing green light natively, greatly simplifying laser design and manufacturing processes. Direct green lasers are expected to be manufactured in a manner similar to red and blue lasers available today, facilitating lower cost and rapid scalability to commercial quantities. The combination of smaller size, lower power, and lower cost make direct green lasers an attractive alternative to synthetic green lasers for Microvision's mobile display solutions.
Historically, availability of synthetic green lasers has been constrained due to their complexity and the existence of only two manufacturers. Today, there are at least five companies worldwide that have announced they are developing direct green lasers for late 2011 to mid 2012 commercial introduction. Industry researcher Yole Development forecasts that the direct green laser market size will reach about $500 million by 2016 and should represent more than 45 million devices.
If your answer to the question "how would you change Apple's Mac mini" was to give it a lower price, rejoice, for Apple has listened to your sage advice. Unamerican markets around the world are waking up to the news that the mini desktop computer has shrunken in price -- by €100 in Europe and by £50 in the UK -- but the same can't be said about Apple's home turf, with the US starting price remaining stagnant at $699. This is probably in response to the dollar's continuing decline relative to other currencies, and the quiet nature of this pricing alteration leads us to suspect that it won't, sadly, be jumping to the good old USA any time soon. C'est la vie.
Pricing pressure, anyone? Super Talent has just put a serious kink in the plans of storage makers hoping to milk their dwindling USB 2.0 flash drive inventories into the holiday season, as the introduction of the USB 3.0 Express Duo line sets a new bar for MSRPs on these things. Expected to ship later this month, these critters are available in 8GB and 16GB capacities, with each offering USB 3.0 speeds, USB 2.0 backwards compatibility and price points of $14 and $29, respectively. Who doesn't love a good stocking stuffer, anyway?
SuperTalent Introduces USB 3.0 Flash Drive at less than $15
San Jose, California – October 29th, 2010 – Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today announced that their new USB 3.0 Express Duo has broken the $15 price barrier.
The fastest USB 2.0 flash drives are limited to a maximum READ speed of approximately 32MB/s. Super Talent's new USB 3.0 Express Duo can top over 67MB/s when plugged into a USB 3.0 port, yet remains fully-backward compatible to USB 2.0... and for about the same price. Starting today, Super Talent will begin offering the 8GB USB 3.0 Express DUO for $14 and the 16GB version for only $29!!
"The USB 3.0 Express DUO is perhaps our most exciting USB 3.0 flash drive to date. We were first to break the 300MB/s barrier with our USB 3.0 RAIDDrive and now we're breaking the $15 price barrier. There's simply really no reason to buy a USB 2.0 flash drive anymore"., CH Lee COO of SuperTalent.
Now Sampling to Press and taking orders for shipment in November.
Somewhere in the world, Creative just announced a pair of 7-inch (480 x 800) and 10-inch (1024 x 768) Ziio tablets running the Android 2.1 OS. Both feature a ZiiLabs ZMS-08 processor, Bluetooth 2.1 EDR, WiFi 802.11b/g, and microSD expansion. They're slated to ship in December with the 7-incher costing €229 (8GB) or €259 (16GB) and the 10-incher demanding €289 (8GB) or €319 (16GB). And somewhere, somebody must be jonesin' for these resistive touchscreen tablets (China?), just not here.
Not much detail here, just some vagaries uttered by Michael Dell at an event in Hong Kong. According to Reuters, Mr. Dell said that it's easier to develop smartphones using Microsoft's Windows operating system than Google's Android. Something that he, or at least his developers, should know something about having dabbled a bit onboth platforms. Unfortunately, that's all we've got -- hopefully more details will be revealed later to give this some context. Switching gears, he also said that Dell would be launching a "significant number" of tablet PC models next year. Next year huh? What happened to Dell's 7-inch Looking Glass tablet that was coming in "a few weeks" now more than one month ago?
They say two things about war: that it never changes and that nobody ever wins. Tell that to thin bezel fans, however, and they'll point you in the direction of the LG-Samsung tussle for the title of world's thinnest bezel separation. Samsung snatched the glory last month with its 55-inch Digital Information Display, but today LG is upping the ante with a nearly nonexistent frame around its new 37-inch LCD panel. There's 2.5mm of bezel on the bottom and right side of the screen, and 1.5mm on the top and left sides, resulting in a microscopic 4mm (0.16 inches) of separation. The panel's designed for outdoor advertising, can be stacked infinitely, and will get its debut demonstration at the FPD International 2010 show in Japan later this month.
It's certainly not a revolutionary new concept -- whiz kids have been tinkering with brain-controlled interfaces for years on end -- but a collaboration between UCLA scientists and colleagues from the California Institute of Technology has taken the idea one leap closer to commercialization. Itzhak Fried, a professor of neurosurgery at UCLA, kept a close watch (via embedded electrodes) on how a dozen humans reacted to certain images, and eventually, Fried and co. were able to show that Earthlings can "regulate the activity of their neurons to intentionally alter the outcome of stimulation." In other words, they were able to move a mouse cursor with just their mind, and brighten a test image with a 70 percent success rate. By honing the process of controlling what actions occur when focused on a given subject (or input peripheral), it opens up the possibility for paralyzed individuals to not only check their email, but also control prosthetic limbs. It's hard to say when this stuff will be put to good use outside of a hospital, but the video after the break definitely makes us long for "sooner" rather than "later."
Mind over matter: Study shows we consciously exert control over individual neurons
Every day our brains are flooded by stimulation - sounds, sights and smells. At the same time, we are constantly engaged in an inner dialogue, ruminating about the past, musing about the future.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Every day our brains are flooded by stimulation - sounds, sights and smells. At the same time, we are constantly engaged in an inner dialogue, ruminating about the past, musing about the future. Somehow the brain filters all this input instantly, selecting some things for long- or short-term storage, discarding others and focusing in on what's most important at any given instant.
How this competition is resolved across multiple sensory and cognitive regions in the brain is not known; nor is it clear how internal thoughts and attention decide what wins in this continual contest of stimulation.
Now a collaboration between UCLA scientists and colleagues from the California Institute of Technology has shown that humans can actually regulate the activity of specific neurons in the brain, increasing the firing rate of some while decreasing the rate of others. And study subjects were able to do so by manipulating an image on a computer screen using only their thoughts.
Reporting in the Oct. 28 issue of the journal Nature, UCLA professor of neurosurgery Itzhak Fried and Caltech neuroscientist Christof Koch, along with colleagues, recorded the activity of single neurons in patients implanted with intracranial electrodes ( for clinical reasons ) and demonstrated that humans regulate the activity of their neurons to intentionally alter the outcome of all this stimulation.
Such pioneering intracranial recordings from neurosurgical patients have been carried out at UCLA under the direction of Fried for nearly two decades now, with the goal of unraveling the underpinning of cognition at the cellular level in humans.
In 2005, Fried, Koch and colleagues found that individual neurons are able to recognize people, landmarks and objects ( thus identifying in one a patient a so-called "Halle Berry neuron" that consistently fired when viewing the actress' picture ). The finding suggested a consistent and explicit code that plays a role in transforming complex visual representations into long-term and more abstract memories.
Then, two years ago, in a paper in the journal Science, Fried and other colleagues showed that the act of remembering something from the past - a short sequence from television's "The Simpsons," for example - can bring to life the same individual brain cells that had responded the first time the episode had been seen.
Now Fried and Koch, along with lead author and Caltech postdoctoral fellow Moran Cerf, have found that individuals can exert conscious control over the firing of these single neurons, thus choosing what to focus on. The researchers demonstrated this by having individuals manipulate the behavior of an image on a computer screen by thought alone.
The work, said Fried, who directs the UCLA Epilepsy Surgery Program, is another step forward in "understanding how the brain transforms external reality into mental objects. What these findings show is that thought alone can shape and override the reality of the visual input."
The study was conducted on 12 patients who were being treated at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center for intractable epilepsy. The patients had been implanted with intracranial depth electrodes to identify seizure foci for potential surgical treatment. Electrode location was based solely on clinical criteria. The researchers, with the patients' consent, "piggybacked" their research, using the same electrodes to record the activity of individual neurons in parts of the medial temporal lobe ( MTL ), a brain region that plays a major role in memory and emotion.
Prior to recording the activity of the neurons, each patient was interviewed to learn about their interests. Some liked the Boston Red Sox, some the TV show "House," others Marilyn Monroe or the band Guns N' Roses. Eventually, for each patient, the researchers settled on four images, each of which caused a particular neuron to fire. ( The individual neurons studied by Fried and his colleagues are considered representative of groups of neurons that respond similarly to a particular image or stimulus. )
The four strongly responding neurons, representing the four different images, were selected for further investigation. By thinking about the individual images that were displayed on a laptop computer - the picture of Marilyn Monroe, for instance - the patients triggered the activity of their corresponding neurons, which could be translated into the movement of a cursor on a computer screen, thus creating, in Cerf's words, a "mini brain-computer interface."
"The goal was to get patients to control things with their minds," Cerf said. "At the same time, we wanted to take it one step further than just brain–machine interfaces and tap into the competition for attention between thoughts that race through our minds."
So the team asked patients to think of one of their four images. As they did so, causing the related neuron to fire, the image appeared on the screen. Other images were then placed on the screen by the researchers as a distraction to the patient. The patient was told to focus on his or her particular image, which caused that image to brighten on the screen and the others to fade. Overall, the patients achieved a 70 percent success rate in brightening their target image.
More importantly, the research showed that the individuals were controlling the firing rate of their neurons in the MTL. For example, when shown images of Marilyn Monroe, the object of one of the subjects' focus, and the actor Josh Brolin, the "distractor," the patient was able to excite the set of neurons responding to Monroe while at the same time suppressing the population of neurons representing Brolin. Other neurons in the MTL that represented other concepts or familiar persons were not affected.
The results show that "individuals can rapidly, consciously and voluntarily control neurons deep inside their head," said Koch, Caltech's Lois and Victor Troendle Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Biology and a professor of computation and neural systems.
"Looking at these results," Fried said, "people may ask, 'Do we control our neurons or do our neurons control us,' while the ultimate reductionist's answer may be, 'We are our neurons.' "
Other study authors included Nikhil Thiruvengadam, Florian Mormann, Alexander Kraskov and Rodrigo Quian Quiorga.
The research was funded by funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Institute of Mental Health, the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Charitable Foundation, and Korea's World Class University program. The authors report no conflict of interest.
The UCLA Department of Neurosurgery provides the finest and most comprehensive patient care through innovative clinical programs in minimally invasive brain and spinal surgery; neuroendoscopy; neuro-oncology for both adult and pediatric brain tumors; cerebrovascular surgery; stereotactic radiosurgery for brain and spinal disorders; surgery for movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease; and epilepsy surgery.
Some researchers at the Technical University of Munich have built an unassuming but no-less-remarkable mechanism for tilting and panning a small camera robotically. Designed to keep up with the eye movements of a human in gaze-tracking studies, the camera mount features three degrees of movement, and can flick around at a rapid 2500 degrees per second -- our flesh-composed eyeballs max out at a mere 1000. The setup uses ultrasonic piezo-actuators, which move prismatic joints, which drive spherically-jointed rods attached to the camera, keeping the weight under 100 grams and still acting gently enough to avoid rattling on top of the wearer's head. We'll take two.
If the damp blanket of leaves warming the ground is any indicator, then we'd say that fall has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere. That means Google's Chrome OS is due. What better time for DigiTimes to cite sources from "component players" claiming that the first smartbooks featuring Google's other operating system will launch later this month. According to the Taiwanese rumor rag, Google will follow its Nexus One strategy and be first from the gate with the launch of a self-branded Chrome OS notebook manufactured by Inventec -- the ARM-based machine will not be sold through normal retail channels and is expectated to ship a very modest 60,000 to 70,000 units. Acer and HP are then rumored to be launching Quanta-manufactured Chrome OS gear as early as December while ASUS waits to gauge market reaction. Of course, if all of this is true then we should be getting a Google event press invite right about, well, now.
Not that anyone really needed to have this spelled out, but America's tots are apparently spending too much time in front of the telly tubes. The latest study, conducted by the Seattle Children's Research Institute and the University of Washington, finds that children under the age of five are spending 4.1 hours of each day watching movies or TV, doubling the recommended maximum of two hours a day. Whether you take the slightly arbitrary two-hour RDA to heart or not, it's undeniable that all of us -- not just the young 'uns -- are spending increasingly larger chunks of our time looking at the world through a screen and not through our own retinas. And, if you want an extra topping of alarmist extrapolation, these figures come from a research sample concluded in 2006, today's better-equipped toddlers are very likely to outdo those numbers when mobile devices and the like are factored in. Imagine how bad this would all be if the US didn't have so much quality programming to entertain and educate them with.
Wal-mart is showing how it might make use of VUDUafter purchasing the 1080p movie streaming house earlier this year, now that the two have teamed up with Disney to throw in a free digital copy of Toy Story 3 with each one purchased at the store on DVD or Blu-ray. When the movie goes on sale today, customers will receive a download code they can use on their nearest VUDU player (now including Boxee on the Box, PC or Mac) to stream some Buzz and Woody at any time without a disc involved. Wal-mart and VUDU are quick to describe this mix of of physical and digital access as the future of content, and we're thinking this type of promotion is about to become much more widespread since Amazon's already offered a similar deal with Disc+, and Best Buy purchased CinemaNow specifically for this type of offer. The only question now is if customers will start asking "which streaming service does this connect to?" before they run out to buy a new Blu-ray instead of simply looking for the lowest price or other promotional tie-in.
In a bid to grab a little of that "respect" we keep hearing so much about, Archos has just started shipping its downright seductive 4.3-inch Archos 43. Boasting Android underneath, an HDMI output and inbuilt WiFi, this $249.99 portable media player has just about everything any on-the-go media lover could want. Though, we will say... that 16GB of storage could afford to be expanded. Good thing there's a microSD slot, huh? Hit the source link if you're interested in experiencing that whole "Add To Cart" phenomenon.
We've all ready the scary reports of what happens when a laptop makes your lap top a little too toasty. The solution? Buying a desk, obviously, and now Thanko has one that you can take with you. It's called the Laptop Table Bag and it looks like a surprisingly normal, if decidedly corporate-issue, laptop bag. But, out of the bottom pivots four legs to hold your mobile device at what may or may not be a comfortable height. The 5980 yen ($75) contraption weighs about six pounds empty, making it a poor companion for your ultralight, but if your machine is more of a luggable -- or if your manservant does the carrying for you -- you may not even notice the extra heft.
Protip: $900,000 goes a long way, particularly when you're dumping practically all of it into a single investment (Hello Kitty lap warmers notwithstanding). LaserMotive, the company lauded for bringing home nearly a million bucks in the 2009 NASA-sponsored Space Elevator Games, has just broken an endurance record for laser-powered hovering with its unnamed Pelican. This here quadrocopter is designed to get energized by converting beams into power via a set of photovoltaic panels on its underside, and in a recent test, lasers were able to keep it afloat for over 12 hours. It never hovered much higher than 30 feet, and it barely moved from left to right while in the air, but we're guessing it was marginally more interesting than watching paint dry. All jesting aside, the milestone makes it a lot more feasible for the company to get this technology into UAVs used in the military -- "for example, laser-powered copters could perform on-the-road reconnaissance missions when convoys travel through a combat zone." And if you're looking to take home something similar on a far smaller scale, there's always the AR.Drone.
LaserMotive to Demonstrate Laser-Powered Helicopter at Future of Flight Aviation Center; Will Mark Longest Duration Untethered Laser Powered Helicopter Flight on Record
KENT, WA--(Marketwire - October 20, 2010) - LaserMotive, an independent R&D company specializing in laser power beaming and winner of the 2009 NASA-sponsored Power Beaming Competition, today announced it will attempt to break its own world record for laser-powered helicopter flight at the Future of Flight Aviation Center located at 8415 Paine Field Blvd. in Mukilteo, Wash., starting Wednesday, October 27.
The flight, which will consist of an unmanned "quadrocopter" free-flying inside of the Future of Flight Aviation Center, will commence in the early evening on Wednesday, October 27 and will end on Thursday morning by 8:00 AM. The quadrocopter will be powered solely with laser power beaming -- the wireless transfer of energy over distances using laser light -- to create an endless source of power to the aircraft. Previously, LaserMotive set the world record for the longest-duration laser-powered helicopter flight when it flew a tethered remote-controlled helicopter up to six hours at a time for four days at the AUVSI Conference in Denver, Colo.
"The demonstration will mark our first public display of a free-flying unmanned aerial vehicle powered by lasers, and represents an important step forward in the future development of flight," Tom Nugent, President and Co-founder of LaserMotive. "As such, we feel that the Future of Flight is the perfect place to hold this groundbreaking demo."
"We are very pleased to host this record breaking event, which could genuinely impact the future of flight," said Barry Smith, Executive Director of the Future of Flight Foundation. "For us, the innovation behind the technology is what makes this project so meaningful and we applaud LaserMotive's achievements as the leader in the field of beamed power."
The LaserMotive laser power beaming system is based on technology the company developed for its winning entry in the 2009 Power Beaming Challenge for a purse prize of nearly $1 million, marking the first time any team ever won the Challenge. The demonstration is part of the company's long-term strategy to develop a full-scale laser power system for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) -- currently one of the largest growth sectors in the aerospace and defense industries with an expected growth rate worldwide to $11.5 billion annually by 2020.
Headquartered in Kent, Wash., LaserMotive is a privately-held R&D company specializing in laser power beaming for commercial applications. The company was co-founded in 2006 by Dr. Jordin Kare, one of the foremost experts on laser propulsion, and Tom Nugent, former Research Director for LiftPort Group. Its industry partners include some of the leading companies in aerospace and lasers, including The Boeing Company, DILAS, MS Kennedy, Ophir Spiricon, Zaber Technologies, and In-Tec. For more information, including a white paper on LaserMotive's UAV strategy, please visit the company website at www.lasermotive.com.
Nissan's Leaf may be the company's one-size-fits-all EV play for the mainstream market, but the company is apparently not content with just the one horse in its electric stable. Unveiled today at its Yokohama HQ, the Nissan New Mobility Concept is a teeny tiny two-person transporter that aims to solve the problems of commuting in high-density urban and tourist environments. You'll notice there's only one seat in the image above and videos after the break, but we're still talking about a proposed design here rather than the finished article. Range is set at 100km (62 miles) and maximum speed is 75kph (47mph), both of which should betray the little doorless vehicle's humble ambitions. Skip past the break to see it gliding around soundlessly inside Nissan's vast halls.
Sure, we just spent the last four or five years chiding Microsoft for its anachronistic Windows CE interface, a UI which was holding Windows Mobile back in a post-stylus world, but now that Windows Phone 7 is here we get to start feeling all nostalgic, right? The ongoing Liberate project for the Zune HD, which just hit version 1.5.1, strips away that flashy Zune veneer and boots the device to Microsoft's stock CE 6.0 copy of explorer.exe. Notably, the latest version adds an onscreen keyboard and better right click support. Folks are using the freedom of CE to run applications like Foxit Reader, Opera Mini and Pocket Word, and with support for GDI, DirectDraw, and OpenGL ES 2.0 there's hope of gaming ports as well.
Tesla, schmesla. This, friends, is the electric vehicle that your garage has been waiting for. Designed by North Carolina's own Li-ion Motors, the downright stunning INIZIO is being hailed as the world's first all American-made electric supercar, and while the Roadster is definitely peppy, it ain't got nothing on this. Using the company's own lithium-ion battery technology and management system, the car can purportedly cruise for up to 250 miles on electricity alone, and it can hit a top speed of 170 miles per hour without breaking a sweat. Naturally, you won't (legally) fit more than two humans into this thing at once, but those two individuals will enjoy adjustable, leather / suede Recaro seating with heating and cooling features, an inbuilt 12-inch subwoofer, digital surround sound system, integrated navigation system, DVD player and rotational doors that raise on a 90-degree angle. Oh, and they'll probably drool a little after racing from zero to sixty in 3.4 face-numbing seconds. The company also adds that it emits no carbon emissions, can be recharged over 2,500 times and can go from drained to rejuvenated after just eight hours on the plug. It's expected to launch in mid-2011 with a starting price of $139,000, or just a few pennies more than the current value of the wretched Carolina Panthers franchise.
The world's first all American-made electric super car
Mooresville, NC– Less than a month after their historic $2.5 million win at the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE competition, North Carolina-based Li-ion Motors is making history again with the unveiling of the INIZIO: the world's first all American-made, fully-electric, emission-free "super car". Engineered with Li-ion Motors' patent-pending lithium-ion battery technology and management system, the INIZIO is a full-sized super car that has a range of up to 250 miles (321km) to satisfy every day driving needs, and a top-speed of 170 mph (272 km/hour) to thrill the avid sports car enthusiast. "We are excited to introduce to the world the INIZIO," said Stacey Fling, President & CEO of Li-ion Motors. "This car is the culmination of many years of research and development in the quest to design an emission-free luxury vehicle that performs and handles just as well as a traditional, gas-powered super car, and with the INIZIO we've accomplished that". Innovative, inspiring, and intelligent, INIZIO is slated for launch mid-2011 and will be priced starting at $139,000USD. New Inizio Photo low res.jpgInnovative Design
The INIZIO is Li-ion Motors' first foray into the high-end super car arena, and is set to transform what consumers can expect from an electric vehicle. Unlike other super cars, the low-profile, two-seater INIZIO is designed to accommodate passengers of up to 7ft in stature.
The sleek exterior of the car is characterized by smooth and rounded edges, led by high-intensity halogen headlights, a removable hard top, and an optional moveable back wing that allows the driver to customize the INIZIO experience for every drive and occasion. "The INIZIO is a sleek car for a life of style," said Product Development Engineer Ron Cerven. "Each INIZIO is custom-built, but every INIZIO comes standard with the most exciting, and forward-thinking features of any super car to date. This is not just a car: the INIZIO is the ultimate all-electric entertainment on wheels."
Luxury and style come together to create a chic entry point for any passenger, when the INIZIO's rotational doors raise on a 90-degree angle, and the custom hydraulic lift system raises the car 3 inches to allow for easy and comfortable access to the sexy and sporty interior. Once inside, INIZIO owners will enjoy full-power, adjustable, leather and suede Recaro seating with heating and cooling features for optimal comfort. As if the ride wasn't exciting enough, the INIZIO comes standard with a complete entertainment system that includes a 5.0 digital surround sound system (with 12" subwoofer), GPS navigation, and video monitor with DVD player, audio/video and mp3 input.
Inspiring Zero-Emission Mobility The INIZIO is powered by Li-ion Motors patent-pending lithium-ion batteries and management system which generate a power output of more than 40kW (upgrade to 96.7kW available), while its electric motor delivers 145kW. This ensures a highly responsive, fun and exciting driving experience; and with the addition of the optional extreme performance motor package, drivers can take the INIZIO from zero-to-sixty in 3.4 seconds.
Unlike traditional super cars equipped with internal-combustion engines, the INIZIO has no tail pipe, and thus no emissions of Co2 or other greenhouse gases. A combination of the INIZIO's regenerative braking system, innovative lithium-ion battery packs, and extreme power package enables the car to deliver a range of up to 250 miles (321km) on one full charge. INIZIO owners can expect a battery life of 2500+ full charges, and charging the INIZIO is easy and convenient to do at home with a standard 220V outlet. With as little as 8 hours needed for a full battery charge, drivers have ample time and access to enable an overnight refresh of the battery life.
Certain design elements also work to minimize the car's environmental impact: The INIZIO's moveable back wing provides optimum down force and is coupled with a ridge embedded in the body of the car, cleverly designed to redirect airflow, thus reducing wind noise and drag, and maximizing overall energy efficiency. Intelligent Battery Management System (BMS)
The INIZIO employs an exclusive and advanced battery management system developed to provide support, and information to drivers 24 hours a day. Connected to Li-ion Motors global-reaching data center, one of the key features is the system's remote diagnostic system that proactively monitors and diagnoses the INIZIO before it can encounter error, notifying both Li-ion Motors and the driver well in advance of any future diagnosis that may be made.
More importantly, the BMS serves to protect, enhance, and take the guess work out of every day driving. The dash-mounted LCD touch screen monitor displays INIZIO's remaining power, in addition to notifying and guiding the driver to a selection of nearby charging stations. It also monitors and displays battery temperature, power consumption, drive time and distance driven.
"The battery management system is critical to the best driving experience and most optimum efficiency possible," said Luc Pham, Electrical Engineering Manager for Li-ion Motors. "We believe owning and driving any car should be a stress-free and enjoyable experience, and the INIZIO's intelligent BMS system works for the driver to make this possible." Additionally, side and rear-view mirrors are coupled with high-definition cameras to give drivers a 360-degree view of space around the car for the safest and most visually enhanced driving experience. About Li-ion Motors Corporation
Li-ion Motors Corporation (OTCBB: LMCO; Frankfurt: LL9L) is a leading innovator in the 21st century design and engineering of emission-free, all-electric, high-speed and long-range automotive propulsion systems using lithium-ion battery technology. In September 2010, Li-ion Motors was recognized as an industry leader in the field of fuel-alternative automotives when it was awarded the Progressive Automotive X-Prize in the Side-by-Side Alternative Class for its all-electric vehicle, the Wave II. Founded in 2000, Li-ion Motors has corporate headquarters located in Las Vegas, Nevada, and a research, development and manufacturing facility located in Mooresville, North Carolina. For more information, please visit www.Li-ionMotors.com.
The iPad's ticket to multitasking freedom -- better known as iOS 4.2 -- has moves past the beta phase and onto GM, which means retail units should be seeing it soon. Besides the iPad, Apple is also providing builds for the second, third, and fourth generations of the iPod touch, along with the iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4... so if you've got a friend with an iPhone Developer Program subscription, now would be a great time to get cozy.
Update: Apple made some last minute tweaks that give fast access to brightness, volume, and AirPlay controls right in the multitasking bar (pictured after the break). Apple's also on the verge of allowing MobileMe service logins using an Apple ID.
Orders have apparently gone live to existing customers for the myTouch 4G on T-Mobile -- a phone that officially becomes available this Wednesday, November 3rd -- proving once again that membership does indeed have its privileges. The phone's still showing as "Coming Soon" on the public T-Mobile site if you don't log in to your account, but that's not a new tactic; T-Mobile has offered its existing subscribers ordering perks on new devices for a long, long time, dating back at least to the original G1. Who's buying?
Gibson's been riding the wave of tech for quite a while now -- launching several "robot" guitars featuring functions such as fully automated tuning systems. For that, we give them credit: guitar purists are a tough bunch, and one that is most definitely resistant to change. So we can't help but welcome (on principle alone) the Firebird X, even if our standard Firebird is way, way better looking. The Firebird X -- which will retail for about $5,500 when it launches in December -- features the robo-tuning head found on the Dark Fire, and a seriously sick range of built-in effects, including modulation, echo, reverb, compression, EQ, and distortion. Hey, purists may grimace at that non-Firebird headstock, but let them: you'll be jamming with some sweet effects.
Sprint will apparently be offering preorders of its HTC 7 Pro -- the only CDMA Windows Phone 7 device to be announced so far -- in just a few days' time on November 8th, but there's a fairly big catch: you've got to be a Microsoft employee to get in on the action. Redmond has been great about seeding WP7 models to its staff so far, so it's definitely possible that Sprint is working with Microsoft in some capacity to get 7 Pros to its folks a little early in an effort to smooth out last-minute bugs and get feedback... either that, or it's just doing them a solid by letting 'em preorder a few days before everyone else. Last we'd heard, the 7 Pro won't be coming until 2011 (despite the fact that there's already an FCC certification ready to roll), so if we were to see a few of the things floating around campus before January, we certainly wouldn't be surprised. Pricing is yet to be announced.
Well, in Canada at least. Sammy's QX410 is listed as "backordered" on America's Best Buy portal, but it's bound to make its online debut in short order -- in fact, we're hearing that they're already popping up on retail shelves. For those in need of a refresher, this 14.1-incher ships with a silver lining (and enclosure, too), 2.53GHz Core i5 processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory, a 640GB hard drive, dual-layer DVD burner, SD / SDHC / SDXC card reader, NVIDIA's 512MB GeForce 310M GPU (Optimus enabled) and an inbuilt webcam. You'll also find gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, three USB 2.0 ports and a battery that's supposedly good for up to seven hours. Oh, and did we mention it includes a WiMAX model for tapping into Sprint's widening 4G network? Best Buy's US site is estimating a ship date of "one to two weeks," and you can pre-order now if you're sold already for $829.99.
If you frequent small house parties like us, chances are you would've witnessed the many occasions where guests take turns to hook up their iDevices to the speakers; if not, just picture yourself fighting your flatmates over your communal HiFi system -- Altec Lansing claims that on average there are 2.2 portable audio devices per household, and they're most likely iPods. Naturally, a dual-docking speaker -- which is nothing new -- would somewhat ease domestic tension and reduce interruption to the tunes, but think smarter: what if you could let music alternate between the devices, as well as having the ability to instantly change the amount of play time on both persons' music libraries? Better yet, what if the speaker doubles up as an alarm clock? These are pretty much what Altec's offering with its $99.95 Octiv Duo (or Octiv 202 outside the US), with a little help from its two free iOS apps: Music Mix and Alarm Rock. You know the drill -- read on to find out whether this new box would end your little social crisis once and for all.
Let's begin with a list of the box's content. You won't find many surprises here -- there's obviously the speaker dock, a disc-shaped remote control (powered by a CR2025 cell, if you must know), dock adapters for the iPhone 3G / 3GS and iPod touch, power adapter, and three wall-plug adapters (for UK, US and Europe). Oddly, there's no tray adapter for the iPhone 4, and in response to our complaint we were told that Altec's still working with Apple to extend the speaker's official "compatibility"; for now, iPhone 4 users will just have to bear with the loose docking and be more careful. Boy, that universal iPod dock patent could come in handy right now.
The nicely built matte-black dock comes in a rather odd shape -- apparently its resemblance of a flat horn loudspeaker helps reduce standing waves inside the body; or in layman's terms, the resultant audio suffers from less distortion. Sure enough, the speaker sounds great to our humble ears -- bass is surprisingly rich given the size of the device, and treble isn't bad, either, although it can still go further to bring out cleaner guitar plucking and drum brushing. Mid-range seems to be where the speaker needs most work, but as a sub-$100 speaker dock, it's good enough for its demographic market -- we'd obviously have to pay a lot more for some audiophilic satisfaction.
Just above the twin 3-inch neodymium drivers lie three orange LEDs for indicating the audio source (dock A, AUX, and dock B), accompanied by the only four buttons that you'll find on the dock: power, source, volume down and volume up. There's a whole bunch more buttons -- especially for menu control on the iDevices -- on the magnetic IR remote control, which can be slapped onto the back of the dock or on the fridge. And finally, the power input, AUX input and a USB port are located near the back. Don't get too excited, though, as the USB port is simply for charging your other devices; it's still a handy feature, nevertheless.
What really sell this device are the two aforementioned iOS apps. When you first plug in an iOS device, you'll be asked to check out the dock's accompanying software in the App Store. Starting off with Music Mix: this is essentially the smarter brain of the dock, allowing the iOS device to allocate a set amount of play time between the two docked devices. For instance, if you want a fair mix of music between you and your partner, simply leave the slider at the default center position where it indicates 50 percent for both sides, and consequently, you'll get roughly 50:50 playback over at least ten tracks. Well, we say roughly, because it's not exactly "ABABABABAB..."; but more like "AAABBABABB...". If you feel that your collection deserves more attention, just quietly slide the bar towards your device -- just make sure your partner doesn't find out. You'll see a good demo of this shuffling action in the video above.
As useful as it sounds, there's actually not much else in the Music Mix app -- on the first page you get the basic playback controls sans timeline for scrolling, while the second page shows you both devices' battery lives, and the third page lets you pick one of the three audio sources for the speaker, as well as toggling "Stereo Widening" mode which didn't sound particularly effective to our ears. What's missing here is the ability to choose music within the app, so one would assume that it'll simply continue whichever playback mode you were using in the iPod app (such as by playlist, by genre, by artist, etc.); but in fact, Music Mix simply shuffles your entire library on each device. You can picture the embarrassing scenario where a hip-hop party gets interrupted by your High School Musical collection. Another problem we discovered later on is that when the slave device is playing music, quitting Music Mix on the master device would simply stop the music altogether, which means you can't go into the iPod app to queue up your next track. Not sure if this would be an easy problem to fix, but integrating some sort of music selector in Music Mix would be good enough for us.
The second app is called Alarm Rock (as featured on the Octiv Mini), and it does pretty much what it says on the tin. Upon launching, you're greeted by a simple clock interface with seven skins to choose from (our favorite one is "Pop"), and after some hands-on time we figured out that we could change the screen brightness by swiping vertically anywhere on the screen -- pretty handy for bedside usage. At the top-left corner of the home screen there's a sleep button for fading out music over a desired period (30 minutes by default), which can be changed in the settings menu (accessible via the top-right info icon). Similarly, that's the same menu for adding alarms or quickly toggling a 20-minute power nap alarm. Now this is where things get juicy: you get to set your alarm sound using the default iOS alerts, or anything from your music library by individual tracks, by albums, by artists, or by playlists. Yes, ironically, the built-in music selector that we wanted is here! That said, the selector can be slightly confusing, as it doesn't jump straight to the filter corresponding to what you tap on in settings, but whatever you pick, it'll still satisfy your initial search criteria, i.e. if you pick by artist, then whatever song you choose it'll still select the artist instead of just that one track. If this is still too puzzling, have a look at our walkthrough in the above video.
Wrap-up
We gotta say, it's nice to see a refreshing take on iPod speakers -- especially ones with dual docks -- by means of iOS apps. Sure, Music Mix still needs some tweaking, but there's no doubt that Altec Lansing will continue to polish its software for a while. As for the speaker itself, not only is the build quality top-notch, but its sound quality is also pretty good for its price and small footprint. We also commend Altec for thoughtfully throwing in a magnetic remote control and a USB port, neither of which can be found on even more expensive dual-dock speakers like Pioneer's Duo series (from $349). Sounds like a very compelling option, if you ask us -- at least until we save up enough cash for a pair of electrostatic loudspeakers.
See, you were hoping this would end with something like "...and they'll be the exclusive retailers of the white iPhone 4." Yeah, no -- just the standard-issue iPhone 3GS and black iPhone 4 here, coming to Target Mobile locations nestled within some 846 Targets across the country starting on November 7 with the same pricing as everywhere else. Guess we can officially declare shortages totally, completely dead, huh? Well, except for that white model, of course. Follow the break for the press release.
Show full PR text
Target Offers iPhone at Stores Beginning November 7th
MINNEAPOLIS (November 1, 2010) – Today Target® announced that it will carry the iPhone in 846 stores that include Target Mobile centers beginning Nov. 7, 2010. Just in time for the holidays, Target guests can select from the iPhone3GS or iPhone4 and receive quick in-store activation on the purchase of a new iPhone. Adding iPhone to Target Mobile centers is the latest offering to guests of the full mobile technology experience.
"At Target we continue to offer our guests the best in electronics so we're happy to add iPhone to our Target Mobile offerings," said Mark Schindele, senior vice president, merchandising, Target. "With expert support from Target Mobile specialists and in-store activation, our guests will be able to leave the store with a new, working iPhone3GS or iPhone4 in-hand."
In addition to receiving the latest cell phones, accessories and data plans at Target Mobile centers, guests can utilize Target's Electronics Trade-In service which will allow guests to trade-in used cell phones, MP3 players, video games and more for credit towards any purchase at Target. Target Mobile centers are currently available in 846 Target locations nationwide and will be rolling out to most Target stores by mid-2011.
About Target Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at 1,752 stores in 49 states nationwide and at Target.com. In addition, the company operates a credit card segment that offers branded proprietary credit card products. Since 1946, Target has given 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs; today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week. For more information about Target's commitment to corporate responsibility, visit Target.com/hereforgood.
Don't count the Symbian Foundation out just yet, because the European Commission has emerged like a knight in shining armor thanks to a €22 million public / private joint investment and a new consortium of some 24 organizations awkwardly called SYMBEOSE: "Symbian – the Embedded Operating System for Europe." Needless to say, it seems like some of the higher-ups across the continent are feeling a little emotional about the hometown platform -- especially now that it's starting to take a lot of heat -- and have thrown some skin in the game to keep things interesting. For its part, the Foundation says that the initiative (and presumably the money) will go toward developing "new core platform capabilities," exploring cloud computing, and broadening the platform's hardware ecosystem, among other things. Oh, and new Air Jordans would be nice. For Christmas, maybe.
Another week, another SSDNow drive. This go 'round, Kingston's trotting out a midrange 96GB version of the SSDNow V+100, which promises to offer a 25 percent increase in performance over existing V+ units. Furthermore, this guy has an enhanced 'always-on' garbage collection feature, which purports to clean redundant data from the drive to prevent performance degradation and maintains the drive over its life cycle. Thankfully for you dual-boot users, the garbage collection scheme operates independently from the OS -- in other words, it works with both modern, TRIM-supporting systems such as Windows 7, as well as older legacy OS' such as Windows Vista and XP that do not support TRIM. The 96 gigger carries an MSRP of $290, while a 64GB unit can be had for as little as $220 and a 512GB version for a staggering $1,900. 
Credit to Affectiva -- for a medical bracelet, the Q Sensor looks delightful. The item you're peering at here has been developed by the aforesaid Massachusetts-based startup in order to give a voice to those who may not have one, and in theory, it can provide vital information to caregivers long before a breakdown takes place. Particularly with autistic children, who often cannot communicate their stress levels effectively, the Q Sensor is able to "detect and record physiological signs of stress and excitement by measuring slight electrical changes in the skin." From there, it can send signals to doctors, parents or caregivers, and those folks can react accordingly to information that they would otherwise not be privy to. Put simply, the band works by detecting subtle moisture changes under the skin when the "flight or fight" mode is initiated, and while even the creators admit that such a response isn't absolutely indicative of stress, it's generally a signal worth paying attention to for one reason or another. Purportedly, a beta version is set to go on sale to researchers and educators later this month for $2,000, and there's a video just after the break if you're still struggling to grok the purpose. 
Pricing pressure, anyone? Super Talent has just put a serious kink in the plans of storage makers hoping to milk their dwindling USB 2.0 flash drive inventories into the holiday season, as the introduction of the USB 3.0 Express Duo line sets a new bar for MSRPs on these things. Expected to ship later this month, these critters are available in 8GB and 16GB capacities, with each offering USB 3.0 speeds, USB 2.0 backwards compatibility and price points of $14 and $29, respectively. Who doesn't love a good stocking stuffer, anyway? 
It's certainly not a revolutionary new concept -- whiz kids have been tinkering with brain-controlled interfaces for years on end -- but a collaboration between UCLA scientists and colleagues from the California Institute of Technology has taken the idea one leap closer to commercialization. Itzhak Fried, a professor of neurosurgery at UCLA, kept a close watch (via embedded electrodes) on how a dozen humans reacted to certain images, and eventually, Fried and co. were able to show that Earthlings can "regulate the activity of their neurons to intentionally alter the outcome of stimulation." In other words, they were able to move a mouse cursor with just their mind, and brighten a test image with a 70 percent success rate. By honing the process of controlling what actions occur when focused on a given subject (or input peripheral), it opens up the possibility for paralyzed individuals to not only check their email, but also control prosthetic limbs. It's hard to say when this stuff will be put to good use outside of a hospital, but the video after the break definitely makes us long for "sooner" rather than "later." 
If the damp blanket of leaves warming the ground is any indicator, then we'd say that fall has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere. That means Google's Chrome OS is due. What better time for DigiTimes to cite sources from "component players" claiming that the first smartbooks featuring Google's other operating system will launch later this month. According to the Taiwanese rumor rag, Google will follow its Nexus One strategy and be first from the gate with the launch of a self-branded Chrome OS notebook manufactured by Inventec -- the ARM-based machine will not be sold through normal retail channels and is expectated to ship a very modest 60,000 to 70,000 units. Acer and HP are then rumored to be launching Quanta-manufactured Chrome OS gear as early as December while ASUS waits to gauge market reaction. Of course, if all of this is true then we should be getting a Google event press invite right about, well, now.
In a bid to grab a little of that "respect" we keep hearing so much about, Archos has just started shipping its downright seductive 4.3-inch Archos 43. Boasting Android underneath, an HDMI output and inbuilt WiFi, this $249.99 portable media player has just about everything any on-the-go media lover could want. Though, we will say... that 16GB of storage could afford to be expanded. Good thing there's a microSD slot, huh? Hit the source link if you're interested in experiencing that whole "Add To Cart" phenomenon.
We've all ready the scary reports of what happens when a laptop makes your lap top a little too toasty. The solution? Buying a desk, obviously, and now Thanko has one that you can take with you. It's called the Laptop Table Bag and it looks like a surprisingly normal, if decidedly corporate-issue, laptop bag. But, out of the bottom pivots four legs to hold your mobile device at what may or may not be a comfortable height. The 5980 yen ($75) contraption weighs about six pounds empty, making it a poor companion for your ultralight, but if your machine is more of a luggable -- or if your manservant does the carrying for you -- you may not even notice the extra heft.
Protip: $900,000 goes a long way, particularly when you're dumping practically all of it into a single investment (Hello Kitty lap warmers notwithstanding). LaserMotive, the company lauded for bringing home nearly a million bucks in the 2009 NASA-sponsored Space Elevator Games, has just broken an endurance record for laser-powered hovering with its unnamed Pelican. This here quadrocopter is designed to get energized by converting beams into power via a set of photovoltaic panels on its underside, and in a recent test, lasers were able to keep it afloat for over 12 hours. It never hovered much higher than 30 feet, and it barely moved from left to right while in the air, but we're guessing it was marginally more interesting than watching paint dry. All jesting aside, the milestone makes it a lot more feasible for the company to get this technology into UAVs used in the military -- "for example, laser-powered copters could perform on-the-road reconnaissance missions when convoys travel through a combat zone." And if you're looking to take home something similar on a far smaller scale, there's always the AR.Drone. 
Sprint will apparently be offering preorders of its HTC 7 Pro -- the only CDMA Windows Phone 7 device to be announced so far -- in just a few days' time on November 8th, but there's a fairly big catch: you've got to be a Microsoft employee to get in on the action. Redmond has been great about seeding WP7 models to its staff so far, so it's definitely possible that Sprint is working with Microsoft in some capacity to get 7 Pros to its folks a little early in an effort to smooth out last-minute bugs and get feedback... either that, or it's just doing them a solid by letting 'em preorder a few days before everyone else. Last we'd heard, the 7 Pro won't be coming until 2011 (despite the fact that there's already an FCC certification ready to roll), so if we were to see a few of the things floating around campus before January, we certainly wouldn't be surprised. Pricing is yet to be announced.
No comments:
Post a Comment