October 22nd, 2007
By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews
Transformers fans with some extra disposable income (all right, a lot of disposable income), here’s your chance to own Optimus Prime. Or at least, the unTransformed Optimus Prime in his Peterbilt form.
An eBay Canada auction is up to $55,400 U.S. at the time of this writing. The auction ends Oct. 22 at 6:17PM EDT.
The Peterbilt is a 1994 model, and one of the nice add-ons is a voice activated alarm, with the voice of Optimus Prime on lock and unlock mode.
We Say: No trades, guys (someone already asked). Too bad it won’t transform. Hey, how about a Bumblebee Camaro, any enterprising modders out there? Yeah, yellow is a bit much, but …
October 19th, 2007
By Alice Hill
RealTechNews
Call them Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPCs) or pocket computers - this is a category that just won’t die. Here’s why: I got the PepperPad back when it launched - a small tablet-style device you could stick on a kitchen counter and manipulate with a touch screen, stylus, thumb-wheel mouse, and an odd and mostly not so useful split keyboard. But it had WiFi and if I loaded up five or six tabs of websites I like to visit, it was a fast way to at-a-glance check in on world news, this website, and even driving directions, random facts and weather.
But the PepperPad was not very mobile. The new Nokia N810 adds a slide out keyboard making it something you may want to take along with you. The 810 ships next month with a $479 price tag, and includes WiFi, Bluetooth and integrated GPS.
We Say: without a phone but along for the ride, making this platform more mobile may make it seem less useful after all. Source: Information Week
August 20th, 2007
By Martin Regtien
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
I must confess that I didnt think we’d ever go beyond the 32 Channels that a few of the new GPS receivers like the Travel Recorder are sporting.
However: GlobalTop is about to announce their amazing 51 Channel GPS receiver.
This one is called the G66 Touch GPS and because of its extreme thickness is aimed specifically at the mobile market.
It also comes equipped with Smart2Go software to try out. I reckon that is a smart move by itself!
This Bluetooth baby has a battery endurance of 20 hours which is nothing to sneeze at.
DigitalReviews.net will be bringing a full report on this Touch GPS in a few weeks time as they have been promised one of the first review units.
See here for specifications.
August 19th, 2007
By Martin Regtien
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
The People Have Spoken!
As promised, DigitalReviews.net has now published the comments from people that received the Head-Up Display from GlobalTop in their GiveAway.
It’s a bit of a mix of praise & problems and some valuable suggestions as well.
Have a look here.
July 26th, 2007
By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews
As I reported just yesterday, Toyota is starting road tests of it’s plug-in hybrid prototypes. What I didn’t know then, and know now, is that two UC California campuses will get to test them as well.
Toyota announced yesterday that it has developed a plug-in hybrid vehicle and become the first manufacturer to have such a vehicle certified for use on public roads in Japan. Toyota will also provide plug-in (PHEV) hybrid prototypes to the Advanced Power and Energy Program at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Source: Auto Industry
We Say: Each campus will only get one … and they’ll look like standard Priuses. Still, maybe I’ll get lucky and see one tooling around SF Bay Area freeways, since I live in the Bay Area.
July 25th, 2007
By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews
General Motors has been touting its Chevrolet Volt, pictured above, for some time … they hope to get it on the market by 2010, despite the fact that the battery technology GM intends to use still hasn’t been developed. Meanwhile, you can buy a plug-in Prius (if you get a regular Prius and upgrade it for $24,000!) … or you can look to Toyota itself, which has become the first manufacturer to receive government approval to conduct tests for a plug-in hybrid on Japanese public roads.
Takimoto declined to say when Toyota will bring a plug-in hybrid to market. Innovation in battery technology is needed, he said. “We still need some time,” he said.
The vehicle displayed Wednesday, called Toyota Plug-in HV, runs on the same nickel metal hydride battery as the Prius and has a cruising range of 8 miles on electricity. Takimoto said tests will help in deciding the range consumers want. Source: SFGate
We Say: While the Plug-in HV only has a range on electricity of 8 miles, that’s just a starter figure (I realize that GM is shooting for 40 miles). Still, I’d put my money on Toyota, if a bet were involved. They are so far ahead of U.S. manufacturers that without a major stumble, I can’t see GM, Ford, or Chrysler beating them with any sort of hybrid technology.
July 9th, 2007
By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews
Quite some time ago Alice wrote a piece about how hybrids didn’t save money. It was obvious that the EPA estimates were way out of line. Since then, of course, the EPA has developed a new mileage rating system. Too late for John True, though.
But after 6,000 miles of driving, True said he averaged 32 mpg in mixed city/highway driving. So in March, True, an Ontario, Calif., professional jazz piano player, filed a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Riverside, Calif., in what appears to be the first legal challenge of the mileage claims of hybrid vehicles.
The lawsuit claims American Honda Motor Co. has misled consumers in its advertisements and on its Web site. The suit notes that while the Environmental Protection Agency and automobile window stickers say “mileage will vary,” some Honda advertisements read “mileage may vary.” Source: Detroit News
We Say: Laying the burden of the suit on “may” vs. “will”? Not sure about that. And honestly, these are EPA estimates. No car ever achieves their EPA estimates (at least, not the old ones) and how you can pin the blame on Honda … I don’t know.
July 3rd, 2007
By Alice Hill
RealTechNews
Rant of the Day Dept: You know a company is in trouble when a technical breakthrough is viewed with skepticism. Call me jaded, but Sony’s recent patent of a gel, or oil, or saline-filled “Air Bag” to cushion electronics such as the hard drives in laptops and other components in cameras strikes me with a fierce sense of dread more than anything.
Consider the present: My Sony laptop is tiny and has a great screen, but it is hotter than the hinges of Hell when you use it for more than a few minutes. I can just imagine the smell of burning oil or hot melting silicone when a defective battery overheats, or something really really heavy crunches down on your camera. Processors are not the coolest chips the world, and electronics are getting smaller and smaller. You’re better off wrapping your camera in a gel case than risking the innards.
What do you think? Am I being too cautious? Or do you want to wait until your camcorder gets a hot oil treatment to weigh in?
The technology is intended for use in mobile devices such as cameras and media players, and could also find its way into business-orientated technology such as smartphones and laptops. Sony’s engineers said that while the use of liquids to absorb shock has been suggested before, previous versions depended on floating the electronics between two immiscible fluids, or using a gel-like viscous substance. They argued that those systems would be difficult to configure and may not provide enough absorption to deal with heavy shocks.
The new scheme proposes that the fluid-filled inner skin will also contain “biasing units” to keep the electronics central, and a system of irises that adjust their resistance to liquid flow according to the force of impact. Source: Storage.itworld.com
