(Credit: Samsung)Samsung and AT&T just announced the Samsung SGH-a657, a rugged phone with push-to-talk capabilities. We don’t usually hear about AT&T’s push-to-talk service, so it’s nice to see the company hasn’t let it die away. Like a lot of push-to-talk phones, the SGH-a657 …
Thanks to David Van Sickle, we’ll soon be able to track (and hopefully eliminate) recurring asthma attack outbreaks. Sickle, a scholar in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is working with students in the biomedical …
For decades, different groups have defined the edge of space–meaning, the barrier between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space–differently. Now scientists have confirmed that the edge of space begins 73 miles (118 kilometers) above Earth’s
surface, by using data
from a new instrument developed at the University of Calgary, according to Space.com.
The backstory is kind of complicated. When man first attained orbit in the late 1950s, a definition of 50 miles above the surface was used. Today, many in the space industry–including the Federation
Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), which sets aeronautical standards–defines the limit as 62 miles. For example, that’s what the Ansari X-Prize used for its $10 million reusable spacecraft competition. Meanwhile, NASA sets 76 miles as the re-entry point where the shuttle shifts from steering with thrusters to air surfaces.
Why settle for bland when you can have fun, bright colors? iPod accessory-maker iLuv has announced that its iSP100 Mini Portable Stereo Speakers are now available in several colors, including pink, purple, silver, and black. They’re available now from the iLuv site for $34.99 each.
The iSP100 runs on three AAA batteries and includes 720-degree surround sound 4W speakers and a 3.5mm jack, so they can be used with any portable player. They also come with a carrying case to protect that shiny exterior.
A new milestone for Apple’s wildly successful App Store is fast approaching — one billion downloaded apps.
In anticipation of the momentous occasion, Apple on Friday launched a web site featuring a countdown tool and a promotion giving away prizes. As of this writing, the App Store is 70 million downloads short of one billion.
Just nine months old, Apple’s iPhone App Store has shaken up the mobile software industry. The store launched in July with just 500 apps and grew rapidly, recently surpassing 30,000 applications available for download. Hoping to ride off similar success, other mobile companies, such as Research In Motion, have announced plans to start their own app stores as well.
In addition to being a victory for Apple, some developers have reaped from the benefits immensely. One of the biggest success stories to date involves independent developer Ethan Nicholas, who earned $600,000 in a single month from sales of his iPhone game iShoot. Nicholas recently told Wired.com he broke $800,000 in March.
And now iPhone owners have a chance to get lucky in the App Store, too. Any iPhone owner who downloads an app during the countdown promotion is automatically eligible to win prizes — a $10,000 iTunes gift card, an iPod Touch, a Time Capsule or a MacBook Pro. Each download counts as an entry to the contest; customers can enter up to 25 times. Those who don’t own an iPhone or are unwilling to download an app can enter by filling out a form.
See Also:
Photo: superciliousness/Flickr
Remember the Zero X electric motorcycle from last year? With the exception of an unfortunate tumble at the very end, 50 racers managed to ride 10 Zero X bikes for the full length of the “24 Hours of Electricross” endurance race, according to Autopia. Meanwhile, a separate AutoblogGreen article noted that Zero X managed to set two new Guinness World Records along the way: Furthest
distance traveled in an electric off-road motorcycle (over 500 miles),
and the largest electric motorcycle race (50 riders, 10 teams).
“We want to show the world we can do a 24-hour race with EVs,” Neal
Saiki, the company’s founder and chief technology officer, said in the Autopia article. “The
technology is here, and it works.”
The racers had to carry one of the 10 bikes over the finish line after the rider, who was “showboating” during the last few laps, fell when a nut came loose in the rear suspension, causing the bike to collapse.
The Zero X is a $7,450 electric bike you can buy right now. It lasts about 40 miles on a charge, weighs just 150 pounds, and can hit 57 mph if you give it enough time. It will even smoke the tires from a stop due to its 50 lb-ft of torque, the report said. (Image credit: Jim Merithew / Wired.com)
This week’s podcast zeroes in on the exciting world of iPhone dongleware: accessory-app combinations that take advantage of iPhone 3.0’s accessory-friendliness to meld custom iPhone software with new peripherals attached to the dock connector or via Bluetooth. We asked Wired.com readers to suggest their favorite ideas for app-accessory combos, and we got some great ideas, including a universal remote, an iPhone keyboard, and a point-of-sale device/app.
We also talk about the strange dearth of Googlephones. Half a year after Android’s splashy debut, we still only have one Android-based phone — the T-Mobile G1 — and only a handful of additional Google phones are expected this year. What’s up with that?
Finally, we review a new Porsche Phone. Verdict: It’s beautiful, but dumb.
Listen in, and learn more about all about these topics — plus a deceptively simple, addictive iPhone game that Brian can’t stop playing with.
This week’s twelve-minute podcast features Dylan Tweney, Danny Dumas, Brian Chen and Priya Ganapati, with audio engineering by Fernando Cardoso.
If the embedded player above doesn’t work, you can download the Gadget Lab podcast #70 MP3.
Use iTunes? Subscribe to the Gadget Lab Audio Podcast in iTunes. You know you want to!
Like video? Aim your browser at the Gadget Lab Video Podcast — available on iTunes and right here on the Gadget Lab blog.
We’ve known for months now that Verizon was looking to add WWAN-enabled netbooks to its growing repertoire of devices, and now it looks like hard facts are about to flow. An internal Verizon Wireless announcement has informed employees that managers will be required to attend a sure-to-be-invigorating netbook webinar to explain to them exactly what these not-at-all-recognized machines are. The lower level folks will have to suffer through the same slide deck a few days later, which leads us to believe that the carrier is just hours, days or millenniums away from spilling more details about this whole initiative. Can we offer a pinch of advice, VZW? Subsidize ’em deep, offer more than two and cut the asking price on your HTC Touch Diamond by at least 50 percent.
[Thanks, Anonymous]
Filed under: Laptops
Verizon netbook webinars starting soon — launches imminent? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Hyundai has unveiled the Nuvis, the 11th concept car from its Irvine-based California Design Center, at the New York Auto Show, according to AutoWeek. Hyundai is trying to describe it as a cross between a “tall urban car” and a “premium utility vehicle,” but that’s basically marketing speak for a crossover.
That said, there are plenty of interesting design details in the Nuvis. The body’s character lines appear wind-swept, and gullwing doors have been a draw ever since Mercedes made them iconic in the mid 1950s. The interior seat fabrics are made from recycled soda bottles. The concept includes a Methode Electronics TouchSense system that appears to pick up RSS-like feeds as the car drives. For example, Hyundai says it will be possible to see a restaurant’s specials as the car drives by, according to the article.
Underneath the skin is Hyundai’s new Blue Drive hybrid powertrain, which mates a 2.4-liter gasoline engine with a 30-kilowatt electric motor and a lithium ion battery pack, the report said. No clue on whether Hyundai plans to turn the Nuvis into a production car, but we’ll see the hybrid powertrain in an upcoming version of the Hyundai Sonata.
Caroline McCarthy and Tim Geisenheimer join The 404 today, while Jeff pretends to celebrate the Passover with his family. The ace reporter brings in cupcakes made with bacon cream-cheese frosting and beer. Sounds incredibly healthy. Here’s the recipe.
Heart attack cupcake.
(Credit: Wilson G. Tang/CNET)
On today’s show, we cover the news that Yelp is finally letting businesses respond to negative reviews that users write. Did you know that The 404 has a Yelp page? Wilson discovers that you can actually write reviews for almost anything, including homeless people. In the same vein, feel free to write Yelp reviews for your favorite 404 hosts.
In more outrageous news today, PETA is holding an animal protest rally in World of Warcraft. WoW players are slaughtering baby seals in the “Howling Fjord.” We think PETA should spend its time trying to stop Tim from killing baby seals on the weekends, rather than virtual seals. Also, a man in Texas got stabbed for farting in the room with his buddies. This happens on a daily basis in Wilson’s office. More from Texas: a state legislator says that Asian American names are too confusing. And South of the border, Mexican drug dealers are sending blatant death threats on YouTube.
Thanks for sending in your survival stories. Keep them coming. E-mail them or call us at the usual number. And be sure to RSVP for the upcoming 404 meetup on April 16 next week. Here’s the link. Jennifer Love Hewitt and Megan Fox will be there! (Not really, but Natali Del Conte will be.)
Download today’s podcast | Subscribe in iTunes | Subscribe in RSS
…
Originally posted at the 404
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
