Archive for September 13th, 2009

The future, kids — we’re living in it. Sensationalism aside, we are pretty jazzed to hear that Toyota’s long-awaited, much-teased plug-in Prius hybrid will be making its bona fide debut to the public next week. The image above is expected to be near-final, though we’re reserving judgment until we see if the actual model on stage is plastered with 80s era stick-on graphics. Of note, the Hybrid Synergy Drive system has been upgraded for this whip, enabling it to slowly rocket from 0 to 62 without using a drop of gasoline. Once there, it can cruise for up to 12.5 miles in electric mode, and should you need to juice it back up, it’ll take 1.5 hours when charged from a 230V source. Further details are expected to flow as Frankfurt heats up, though the whole “not shipping to retail until 2012″ kind of puts a damper on our excitement.

Filed under: Transportation

Toyota’s plug-in hybrid Prius gets pictured, detailed further originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Manhattan socialites and fashionistas might as well stop reading this right now. But if for some strange reason you weren’t at New York’s Fashion Week yesterday, we are pleased to tell you that “the Tamster” (as we call visionary clothes horse Vivienne Tam) is back with yet another “digital clutch” for the year 2010. Apparently inspired by the classic Chinese love story “Butterfly Lovers,” this is yet another hyped-up collaboration between the designer and HP, somehow symbolizing “love, freedom, independence and transformation,” according to the PR. While we do know that this device is supposed to make “women around the world… feel independent and free, like butterflies,” we’ve yet to be turned on to any specifics, such as system specs or price. But chin up, sailor — we only have until Spring 2010 to find out. Hope you can wait that long! In the meantime, there’s a gallery below, and some marketing material for you after the break.

Continue reading New HP / Vivienne Tam netbook targets ‘butterfly lovers,’ waifs

Filed under: Laptops

New HP / Vivienne Tam netbook targets ‘butterfly lovers,’ waifs originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Engadget Show is happening today, Sunday, September 13th, in New York City. Our first guest will be Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein!

The show will take place at the Tishman Auditorium at Parsons The New School for Design. The beautiful venue (which you can see in a photo after the break) is located at 66 W. 12th Street between 5th and 6th Ave. Seating is limited and tickets will be handed out on a first-come, first-served basis — which means if you want to join us in the audience for the show, you’ll have to arrive early and be prepared for a little wait.

Here are some facts about the show:

• The show is graciously sponsored by Nokia, and hosted by Parsons The New School for Design
• Bit Shifter (one of our favorite chiptune artists) will be playing live at the first show!
• The total show length will be around an hour

Here is what you need to know if you’re coming today to be part of the audience:

• There is no admission fee — tickets are completely free
• The event is all ages
• The venue seats just over 450 people
• Parsons students are welcomed, and we encourage them to come!
• Tickets will be available for pickup at the Tishman Auditorium at 2PM today, and we’re strongly encouraging people to get their tickets and not stand in line — just pick up a ticket and then return in a couple hours for the taping. If you have a ticket, you’ll have a seat!
• You cannot pick up tickets for other people — if you want your friend to get a ticket, bring your friend!
• The show begins at 5PM, and doors will open at 4:30PM — no one will be seated after 4:50PM
• Hold on to your ticket stubs — we have a very good reason which you’ll find out about at the taping!
• If you’re going to tweet about the show (you know you want to), feel free to include #engadgetshow
  

Sponsored by:

Continue reading The Engadget Show is today — here’s all the info!

Filed under: Announcements

The Engadget Show is today — here’s all the info! originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Sep 2009 12:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s PS3 Slim gets the ColorWare treatment originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Sep 2009 10:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BMWs aren’t exactly lacking for technology these days, but it looks like the new 2010 models come packing a little something extra to make your life even easier. As Nuance Communications is all too happy to announce itself, the new vehicles boast an improved voice control system from the company that promises to allow for a “more conversational dialogue between drivers and BMW navigation and entertainment systems.” That, naturally, gets paired with BMW’s own iDrive system, and includes some Sync-like abilities to search for music by voice, as well as a new “One-Shot Destination Entry” feature to let folks enter a destination address in one simple voice command. It can even apparently recognize several different language in parallel, letting a French-speaking driver, for instance, search for a German song title or English album title.

Filed under: Transportation

2010 BMWs boast improved Nuance voice control system originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Sep 2009 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You know, maybe we were wrong-headed to keep harping on this ‘evil robot‘ meme. Sure, there are some no-goodniks in the robot community (as opposed to the robotics community, which we assure you is full of hard-working, well-meaning people) but look at all the good robots have done for us: they build our cars, serve us hot drinks, teach our young children, and now they help our oldsters with the physical therapy. Taizo, pictured here, is a delightful chap with a bulbous visage and a fun, plushy space suit who stands just over 24-inches tall and weighs 15.5 pounds. Operating for about two hours on a single charge, the robot is designed to lead low-impact group exercise (mostly while sitting down) and features voice recognition and a library of thirty different exercises. With 26 joints in its body, it’s a flexible fellow, for sure. We just hope that no one weaponizes the thing. Video after the break.

[Via Engadget German]

Continue reading Video: Taizo the robot teaches grandpa how to stretch, so you don’t have to

Filed under: Robots

Video: Taizo the robot teaches grandpa how to stretch, so you don’t have to originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Sep 2009 07:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Stateside PS3 sales up 300% following Slim introduction

Filed under: Gaming

Stateside PS3 sales up 300% following Slim introduction originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Sep 2009 05:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re in no position to say that Nokia‘s so-called Erdos — which was recently caught lookin’ pretty in the video down in the read link — is anything more than a fanatical mockup, but we’re fully ready to be believers. To be frank, we’ve a hard time understanding why Nokia wouldn’t showcase this gem at its recent Nokia World expo if it were indeed nearing release, but whatever the case, we’ve received a number of tips suggested that the OLED-packin’ handset could be formally introduced as early as next month. Falling within the 8xxx series, this ultrathin, ultra-shiny slider boasts a stainless steel design, A-GPS, 3G support, a 2.4-inch QVGA (320 x 240) display, WiFi, USB, 5 megapixel camera (with video recording) and 8GB of internal storage. Feel free to have a look for yourself, but just in case this all proves to be nothing more than a figment of some guy’s imagination, you should probably fall in love with the X6 as well. Video after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Nokia Erdos: a shiny specter, or an OLED-equipped reality?

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia Erdos: a shiny specter, or an OLED-equipped reality? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Sep 2009 02:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Admittedly, we had our doubts when we first heard about gScreen‘s dual-screen Spacebook portable and saw only renders and prototypes not shown working. We’ve now got video of the laptop in action, although the company couldn’t have done much more to make it a less appealing presentation. The glimpse is seconds long, the resolution is very low and lighting is poor, but it does seem to be working solution. Video beyond the read link, here’s hoping next time around we get something a little clear.

Filed under: Laptops

gScreen Spacebook caught on video working its dual-screen magic originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Sep 2009 23:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With VIZIO’s first LED local dimming backlit HDTV just days away from debut and its first Connected TV nearing production, we were able to lay eyes and hands on the television and its funky QWERTY Bluetooth / IR combo remote. Check the pics and videos (including looks at VIZIO’s smaller LED sets ready to hit shelves this fall) for a look at our walkthrough; in the demos at least, the VIZIO Internet Apps platform was speedy and easy to use, however our experience with widgets so far has given us more than enough reason to wait for a full retail rollout before making any final decisions. One tidbit for those not ready to invest a whole new TV? The next iteration of VIZIO’s Blu-ray player should pack not only integrated Wi-Fi, but also the full VIA / widget experience.

Continue reading VIZIO Connected TV & VIZIO Internet App platform demoed at CEDIA

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

VIZIO Connected TV & VIZIO Internet App platform demoed at CEDIA originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Sep 2009 21:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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