Hasta La Gadget!

Since we’re already on the topic of fairy dust, how about a new all-wheel drive supercar that can purportedly thrust you from nought to sixty in 2.5 seconds? New startup Kepler Motors is about to unveil its first vehicle and its ambition is nothing short of staggering. Employing a 550bhp Ford Ecoboost petrol engine to drive the rear wheels and a 250bhp electric motor for the front pair, this machine also comes with a carbon fiber chassis and carbon ceramic brakes to really make the theoretical numbers look ridiculous. Of course, it’s still only a concept for the Dubai International Motor Show, but production plans are already set for 2011. You’ll just have to make sure to be among the 50 richest people interested in owning one, because that’ll be the entire production run.

Kepler Motion brings 800bhp using dual-engine hybrid magic originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, this sure marks a change of tone for LG. After taking the cautious approach and throwing out a single 3D TV model in 2009, the Korean manufacturer is now boldly predicting sales of 400,000 3D units in 2010 and 3.4 million in 2011. To make it all happen, the company has announced it will introduce a “wide range” of 3D TV sets measuring between 42 and 72 inches diagonally, with flagship models among them. Furthermore, LG’s new partnership with SkyLife will see both companies investing in 3D content creation, as the digital satellite broadcaster will be pitching in $25 million. Naturally, this Korean push is merely a prelude to a planned assault on American and European markets next year, which LG expects will jump all over 3D given its internal survey data indicating 58 percent of people want an extra dimension to their viewing experience. What we’re most excited about, though, is the “ultra-slim” bezel you see in the picture — it is no accident or mere prototype, and its minimization is part of LG’s effort to maximize immersion. We like it, 3D or not.

LG expects to sell 3.8 million 3D LCDs by 2011, partners with Korean broadcaster SkyLife originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Good news, everyone! The target date for Toyota’s Prius plug-in hybrid (PHEV) is slightly less out of reach than the 2012 window we heard prior: according to Autoblog, it’s now set for late 2011 and the price is deemed “affordable.” Back to the present, as a tease to the world at large, the company’s planning to produce and ship just under 600 of the models over the next six months. That breaks down to around 230 for Japan, 200 for Europe, and just 150 for the ‘States. Government agencies, corporations, and universities are the primary recipients, and interestingly, half of those Euro-bound cars are going straight to Strasbourg, France. The only catch is that it looks like the autos will be sticking with its flashy, hyper-blue paint job — not that we mind one bit, but we can see that bugging a few people out.

Toyota’s plug-in Prius hybrid goes into testing across the globe, on sale in 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Outside of the occasional leaked roadmap, one of the best ways to predict the future of consumer electronics is by looking at the evolution of the components within. Take this Toshiba NAND package for instance. While the launch of a 64GB embedded NAND flash memory module (the highest capacity in the industry) that combines sixteen 32Gb NAND chips fabricated using 32nm manufacturing processes might sound a bit boring, consider its uses. As you’ll recall from the iPhone 3GS teardown, Apple’s lovely uses either a single 16GB or 32GB Toshiba NAND module depending on the model purchased. The fact that Toshiba is now sampling its new high-capacity chips with mass production set to begin in Q1 2010 hints at what we can expect from the next-gen iPhone rumored to have landed in Foxconn’s lap. That’s enough capacity for 1,070 hours of recorded music (at a 128Kbps bit rate), 8.3 hours of 17Mbps high definition video, and 19.2 hours of 7Mbps standard definition video according to Toshiba’s calculations. The iPod touch, you’ll remember, differs by using a pair of NAND packages for a total of 32GB or 64GB of flash today. Anyone for a 128GB iPod touch? Check the module’s internals after the break — fascinating stuff, really.

Continue reading Toshiba announces 64GB NAND packages: Apple winks, gives a nudge

Toshiba announces 64GB NAND packages: Apple winks, gives a nudge originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Calling all children of the Eighties! We previously reported on the Space Invaders alarm clocks last year. Now we have the perfect office accessory for you!

Did you love playing the hungry Pac-Man of those early arcade machines? Or were you more a home console kind of person? Well, either way, you can now advertise your childhood nostalgia with these business card holders from Banpresto.

Any Famicom fan will recognize that red-and-cream design — and might just get an itching to get their hands on the real thing. Pac-Man aficionados will love the arcade screen pattern or the detailed motifs on the Namcom character’s card case.

The price tag is just $22 and they come in two versions each — for the fastidious fans — but all imbue a warm sense of the retro! Plus they have two compartments so you can separate your cards from your clients’.

Buy both the Pac-Man and Famicom business card cards from our friends, the Japan Trend Shop.