Geely IG is covered in solar cells, two years away from marketability
Chinese carmaker Geely is no stranger to building derivative designs, and its latest PHEV effort takes so much inspiration from Volkswagen's Beetle that even the press release begins with a metaphor about caterpillars flourishing into butterflies. That's also a little nod to the car's development, which has seen its initial design overhauled into the four-seater, photovoltaic cell-laden transporter you see above. The powertrain is still a hybrid number and not entirely electric, but……
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IR-detecting OLED film could mean cheap night vision on everything
Night vision, once the exclusive property of military special forces and dreadlock'd aliens, has over the past few years become far more accessible for the everyman — even everymen with small pockets. But, we could be on the verge of a green-screen revolution if research taking place at the University of Florida, led by Dr. Franky So, comes to fruition. He and his students are working on OLED film that is excited by infrared. Multiple layers of the stuff convert that light into a spectrum……
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Garmin-Asus A10 brings pedestrian-optimized GPS to European and Asian Android lovers
You ain't nobody if you don't have an Android handset (or two) these days, and Garmin-Asus has just added the A10 to its own stable of devices. It's a pretty humble 3.2-inch HVGA communicator, but it has a healthy 1,500mAh battery, a multitouch-friendly WebKit browser, and an autofocusing 5 megapixel camera with automatic geotagging. Coming with preloaded Garmin Navigation maps and software, the A10 eliminates the need for a web connection when looking up your local topography, and ……
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Ford's Sync AppLink bringing in-car voice control to Android, BlackBerry apps
Look, there's a better-than-average chance you're buying a 2011 Ford Fiesta simply because it's the rebirth of the Fiesta, but if you need a little encouragement, look no further. The aforesaid automaker has just confirmed that Sync AppLink will be coming first to next year's Fiesta, enabling drivers to access and control select Android and BlackBerry apps via in-car voice commands and control buttons. At least initially, Pandora, Stitcher and OpenBeak will be AppLink-capable, b……
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HP's Designjet 3D series start shipping to wealthy European prototypers
Just three months after HP bought itself into the 3D printer market by making a partnership with established player Stratasys, the company's first Designjet 3D models are now shipping in Europe, set to start churning out bits and bobs soon. HP is offering two models, the plain Designjet 3D and the Designjet Color 3D which, wait for it, prints in color. We don't know what the multi-hue model will set you back, but the base model clocks in at €13,000 — about $17,500. That's roug……
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Strax iPad SoundSleeve prototype case rocks a NXT flat-panel speaker, little else (video)
We've seen NXT flat-panel speakers applied to everything from cars to laptops to gallery art. Now the audio tech has been smartly applied to a first generation prototype iPad case from Strax. The iPad SoundSleeve features a 3.5-mm plug and fold-out stereo speaker exposed when propped up on a table for landscape viewing. The obvious design flaw is that the speaker is facing away from the viewer. Better than the stock iPad speaker, we guess, especially if you hate bass. Look for it to launch ……
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New Mexico Rail Runner train gets lit with WiMAX, sets a good example
Oh sure, we've seen the occasional big city train get their own WiFi / WiMAX installation, but when a state like New Mexico steps up and does it, we take notice. The New Mexico Rail Runner, which travels some 95 miles between Santa Fe and Albuquerque, is now lit with WiMAX along the entire route, and the service is being provided gratis for all who ride. Better still, the New Mexico Mid-Region Council of Governments has no intentions of ever charging patrons in order to recoup the $2.4 milli……
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Scosche intros Revive II charger with iPad-optimized USB power port
Still weeping over the fact that your iPad won't charge on that 2002 Latitude your company refuses to replace? Take heart, young buck. Scosche understands your frustrations, and it's out to make coping somewhat easier with the Revive II dual-USB chargers. With one for the car and one for the home, you'll most likely never, ever be in a location where your iPad can't be juiced. In case you haven't guessed, one of the USB ports on each charger is of the high-power variety, whi……
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Sony Ericsson Vivaz review
Sony Ericsson's no stranger to phones with decent cameras, and the Vivaz with European 3G frequencies aims to be one of them; after all these months we've finally got hold of this S60 device, which is the first phone capable of continuous autofocus on 720p video recording courtesy of its speedy 720MHz Cortex A8 and PowerVR GPU. Compared to its predecessor, the Vivaz bears a similar button layout and GUI to the Satio's, but lacks a front-facing camera, Fast Port (replaced by a micro-……
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Behold, the Nexus One car dock… and no, you still can't buy it (update: oh, yes you can!)
Mind you, this isn't the first time we've gotten a glimpse at Google's first-party car dock for the Nexus One; it got teased briefly back in February in the course of the phone's video docu-mercial series, yet we're well into the Spring months here and you still won't find any mounted on windshields. We're honestly not so sure how it can take four solid months for two corporate heavyweights — Google and HTC, with a combined market cap of around $200 billion — to pu……
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