Hasta La Gadget!

Mercedes is using robots to test-drive cars performing critical automated driving maneuvers such as collision avoidance at intersections with crossing traffic.

Verizon had already said that it anticipated launching its first LTE handsets in the first half of 2011, but as we’re rounding third base toward the launch of Big Red’s first commercial 4G markets, it’s shedding a little more light on how it thinks this’ll all go down. Basically, wireless chief Lowell McAdam says we can expect “up to” five handsets by May of 2011, exactly a year from now — which could mean anywhere between zero and five, as far as we’re concerned — and that Motorola, LG, HTC, and RIM are all in the running to serve up that first volley of hardware. What’s not clear is whether these will make voice calls over CDMA exclusively (a la EVO 4G) or if they’ll be compliant with the IMS-based (and GSMA-friendly) voice the company expects to eventually roll out on top of its LTE network, but either way, it’s good news.

Turning our attention to Verizon’s recent tablet hullabaloo, McAdam says that although “there’s no reason [the company] couldn’t have an iPad,” the first tablets it offers will be Android-based — yes, “tablets” plural — and that most of them will launch in the fourth from companies “including Motorola, Samsung and LG.” Interestingly, this dovetails rather conveniently with an NVIDIA-powered Motorola tablet with Verizon branding that was briefly (and quietly) shown off at CES this January, so we wouldn’t be surprised if that was the unit we ended up getting. None of these devices might end up with the iPad’s name recognition, obviously, but an LTE-powered Android tablet with HTC’s good design sense certainly can’t hurt.

Verizon to offer ‘up to’ five LTE handsets by next May, Android tablets from HTC and friends originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 17:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seagate has been pushing the areal density envelope for years now, but by and large, these “developments” we hear about typically fade into the cold, harsh winter night without ever amounting to anything tangible. Not so this go ’round, with the company confirming to Thinq (and reaffirmed on our end) that it will be “announcing a 3TB drive later this year.” If you’ll recall, 2TB drives have held the crown for the world’s largest since early 2009, and if all goes to plan, we’ll be able to buy drives 50 percent larger than even those before the dawn of 2011. The company didn’t talk details — we’re still left to envision a price, release date and spindle speed — but it didn’t hesitate to mention a few issues that users with older operating systems may encounter. Essentially, you’ll need to have a rig that’s fully capable of handling the Long LBA (logical block addressing) standard, which means that you’ll need updated drivers, an updated BIOS and either a 64-bit copy of Vista, Windows 7 or “modified version of Linux.” As you’d expect, Windows XP users needn’t pay this platter any mind, and while Seagate is hopeful that industry players will all rally in short order to support the new HDD, there’s still a chance that these growing pains will lead to delays. What we’re most jazzed about here, crazily enough, isn’t the predictable jump in capacity — it’s the fantasies of über-cheap 2TB drives once they fall from the top.

[Thanks, JC]

Seagate confirms 3TB hard drive for 2010, possible 32-bit OS issues originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 17:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading OmniVision announces ‘world’s smallest’ 1080p camera module

OmniVision announces ‘world’s smallest’ 1080p camera module originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 16:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple’s hot-selling iPad poses no threat to its Macintosh computers, but it’s already chomping into iPod sales, a research report suggests.

NPD Group on Monday afternoon released figures revealing a 17-percent year-to-year decrease for April iPod sales. Meanwhile, Mac computers are seeing healthy growth, increasing 39 percent compared to last April.

Because the iPad was released April 3, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster believes the new tablet device is contributing to the shrinkage in iPod sales.

“April NPD data gives us the first sign of the degree to which the iPad cannibalizes iPod or Mac sales,” Munster said. “From the early NPD data, it appears that the iPad has a minimal cannibalization impact on Mac sales, and could be slightly cannibalizing iPod sales.”

It may seem odd that Apple’s tablet computer could be impacting sales of media players rather than notebooks and desktops. However, it’s not all that surprising, since the iPad in its current state is not a full-blown computer replacement, but rather an extravagant media-consumption device.

We also wouldn’t be surprised if the iPhone is slowing down Apple’s iPod sales — especially those holding out for the fourth-generation iPhone that Gizmodo may have leaked last month.

iPod sales have been steadily dropping since the iPhone gained serious momentum in 2008. Some tech observers have predicted Apple would discontinue the iPod Classic. Given the decreasing costs of flash memory and healthy growth of iPhone OS devices, we’re willing to bet this will be the year Apple finally lays the Classic to rest.

Via BusinessInsider

See Also:

• Why We Are Obsessed With the iPad
• Wired.com Buyer’s Guide: Choose the Right iPad
• Apple iPad
• Apple iPad 3G

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com