Hasta La Gadget!

The Nissan Leaf may be able to go 116 miles on a single charge, but it’s got nothing on this Audi A2 EV, which recently set a new world record.

The Audi drove 600 kilometers (372 miles) across Germany, going from Munich to Berlin on a single charge. The trip lasted seven hours with the heating on the whole time, and beat the previous world record holder by nearly 50 kilometers. And apparently the car still had a bit of juice left in it even after that exhausting trip. “If any journalists want to charge up their iPhones, we still have some electricity left,” driver Mirko Hannemann joked upon arriving at Berlin.

Via Gizmodo.

Sennheiser is well known in the slightly more budget-conscious wing of the audiophile community for selling great headsets at prices that won’t drop your credit rating by more than a few points. Of late the company has been making waves in the gaming community as well by throwing microphones onto those cans, and now four new models are shaking the pool even more. First and biggest is the $299 PC 360, available overseas for a few months but finally hitting the US and building upon the success of the PC 350. It looks to borrow the open design of the company’s well regarded HD555 headset, adding a mic on the left that mutes itself when you pivot it up and a volume dial on the right. The $239 PC 333D model offers a similar design but with more isolating closed cups, mixing in pseudo 7.1 Dolby Headphone, while the $169 PC 330 looks much the same minus the faux surround. Finally, and smallest of the bunch, is the $209 PC 163D, which again offers pretends at 7.1 but in a design that might be a little more… flattering for gamers with smallish heads. None is exactly affordable, but all should rock your world, and all are available now.

Continue reading Sennheiser expands gaming headset line, brings the top-shelf PC 360 Stateside

Sennheiser expands gaming headset line, brings the top-shelf PC 360 Stateside originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hey guys! MySpace! [Hold for applause.] It’s back! Not that it ever went away, really. We all just kind of, sort of forgot about it, in the wake of Facebook’s runaway success (MySpace now claims around one-fifth of Facebook’s worldwide userbase). MySpace, is (understandably) looking to reinvent itself.

The site seems to be moving away from the user-based social networking that put it on the map, instead focusing more on the sort of entertainment offerings that have helped keep it afloat in recent years. As the site put it in a statement, “previously MySpace was people-focused, now the focus is content.”

Though, as it put it in the promotional video below, “It’s not powered by data, it’s powered by you.”

The site really seems to be positioning itself to compete against the likes of Twitter, rather than Facebook, focusing on, “Real time entertainment trends around the Web.” News from around the Web will pop up based on the preferences of the users.

The news and content is largely entertainment based, including selections from TV shows, musicians, movies, and comedians with MySpace page. It will also provide editorial content like “11 Movies to See This Year.” Content will also be pulled from partners like MTV, The Los Angeles Times, Access Hollywood, The New York Times, and The Village Voice.

Users will be able to pick one of three views for their homepage, including a list view, a magazine-esque grid view, and a video-based TV view.

By now you’ve seen our photos of the PlayStation Phone, and likely you’ve also heard the scattered reports of debunkings and cries of “fake!” — it wouldn’t be a scoop without it. Only here’s the thing: the PlayStation Phone in the photos we ran last night, and the device reported on back in August is most definitely real. We’re not saying that because we want to believe or because we’re gingerly trying to nab pageviews: we’re saying it because we know it to be true. This is a device which has been confirmed through multiple, trusted sources. And we’re not just talking good tipsters — some of our information comes from people much more closely connected to the project. Even since last night we’ve received more info about the phone — learning that its codename is “Zeus,” and it was last seen running Android 2.X (not 3.0, which we suspect will be the shipping version). It should be obvious by comparison of our original mockup to the real photos we’ve just uncovered that the handset we described in August is the same handset now fully revealed. Prior to last night, we had never seen an actual image of the phone. It should also be obvious that the device pictured in those photos is a prototype running early software (which would explain the A / B button mention in the photo above) with hardware that was likely hand-built, or at the very least created in a very small batch.

Based on what we’ve heard about the secrecy of this plan, it makes sense that even Sony’s own employees wouldn’t be privy to information on the phone, the marketplace, and the collaboration with Google. The alleged Sony response to the device makes that somewhat clear — reports state that an employee originally told a publication that the images were fake, only to backtrack and deliver the standard corporate line that the company “doesn’t respond to rumor and speculation.” It’s possible that whomever was originally questioned either didn’t know of the device’s existence, was lying about its existence, or simply had their response taken out of context. And that brings us to our point — while there will be plenty of speculation on whether or not what we’ve shown you is real, we would never run the images or the information without a healthy sense that we were bringing you fact, and not fiction. We don’t like to boast, but as the guys and girls who brought you the first pictures and review of the Nexus One, the first details and images of the Dell Venue Pro (aka Lightning), the first pictures of the new MacBook Air, the first photos of the iPad, and the first photos of the iPhone 4, we feel pretty confident in our abilities to deliver the goods. Of course, this story is just beginning — so hold on tight.

The PlayStation Phone is still real originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Speaker company Portable Sound Laboratories has just announced the iMainGo X, a compact case that promises high-end sound quality combined with ultra-portability. It works with the iPhone, iPod, Zune, or nearly any other MP3 player. Since it uses a standard 3.5mm audio jack, you can even use it with a laptop, electric guitar, or more. Its daisy-chain feature lets you connect more iMainGo Xs for a bigger sound.

The idea behind the speaker was to create a compact product with great sound and design at an affordable price. It includes a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and ports for two headphones and a microphone. I like the styling. Is it a cassette tape, a freaky little skull, or both? Get one for $69.95.