I love my single-track bike in large part for its nominal maintenance requirements—there’re only so many parts that can actually break—but it’s still a good idea to know what exactly what I’m ripping apart before I start. Bike Repair from Atomic Softwares is like an anatomy book for bikes. More »
HTC’s Q1 results are in, and the company has plenty of reason to dance. The Taiwanese handset manufacturer posted net profits of NT$14.83 billion ($517.21 million) for the quarter — up nearly 200 percent from the year prior. Sales for smartphones like the Inspire 4G, Thunderbolt, EVO Shift 4G, and Incredible S were the reason for the bump, coupled with interest in upcoming phones like the Wildfire S and ChaCha. HTC managed to sell 9.7 million smartphones in that timeframe, proving that enthusiastic product names really do pay off.
[Thanks, Helal]
Continue reading HTC ChaChas all the way to the bank with Q1 results
HTC ChaChas all the way to the bank with Q1 results originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 10:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
They won’t be beaming GPS or radio signals back to Earth anytime soon, but these one-inch-square satellites could one day travel to distant planets — without fuel. Developed over a period of three years by a team of undergraduates at Cornell University, the Sprite chips could eventually be used for communication, flying in clusters like tiny space plankton. After hitching a ride on-board the final space shuttle Endeavour mission this afternoon, the three prototype satellites will be mounted outside the International Space Station, where they’ll sit for the next few years, exposed to conditions found only beyond our atmosphere. Perhaps someday we’ll even see some “Spprite” KIRFs by the time China’s own space station is ready to hit the launchpad in 2020.
Continue reading SIM-sized satellites to lift off with Endeavour this afternoon
SIM-sized satellites to lift off with Endeavour this afternoon originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 10:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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No sense in beating around the proverbial bush — we’re huge fans of Xcom Global’s business model, and frankly, we’re saddened that every single nation in the world isn’t yet included in its list of supported countries. For those hearing the name for the first time, you’ll be doing yourself a solid by catching up with our review of the service, which enables jetsetters to rent MiFis or USB WWAN devices for international destinations before taking off. The end result is an always-on data connection for a reasonable fee (read: no roaming), and it looks as if those fees are about to shrink in the coming months.
The company has informed us that it’ll be previewing “membership pricing” starting next month, giving consumers the ability to pick up a MiFi for $14.95 per day or a USB WWAN dongle for $12.95 per day. The real story, however, is this: second MiFis for two-country itineraries will no longer incur an additional fee, and if you’re setting out on a bona fide Eurotrip, every MiFi beyond that will ring up as a flat $30 fee regardless of trip length. We’re told that the pricing scheme will be fully revealed in June, and that it’s a permanent endeavor as opposed to a trial run. Membership itself will also be free, and while we’re still holding out hope that Xcom can nail down a global MiFi solution, these pricing tweaks will certainly make it easy to nation-hop while across the pond.
Xcom Global’s international MiFi rentals getting cheaper, Eurotrips making a comeback originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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First-quarter net profit declines by 30 percent year over year, though revenue was up 7 percent. The company’s Display Panel business was hit especially hard.
Originally posted at The Digital Home
It’s financials time and the word hasn’t always been rosy for Sprint of late, but this time the company has some good news to share. In this, the first quarter of 2011, Sprint added 1.1 million total subscribers, 846,000 of those were prepaid, the other 310,000 postpaid. Churn was down too, 4.36 for prepaid and 1.81 percent for postpaid, lowest in five years for the former and lowest ever for the latter. Operating income was $259 million on $8.3 billion in revenue, which is up three percent from this time last year, but factor in taxes, lunar landing rights, and all the other fun stuff and the company posted a net loss of $439 million. CEO Dan Hesse called this “slow but steady progress,” and the addition of subscribers “a tough streak to keep going as the bar keeps getting higher.” A tough streak indeed, but the launch of phones like the Nexus S 4G might just help keep it alive for another quarter.
Sprint reports Q1 2011 results, adds 1.1 million subscribers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 09:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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TiGr looks like a length of packaging strap, but is made from titanium
TiGr is a newly invented bike lock which uses a titanium band instead of a chain, shackle or cable. The lightweight “bow” is secured by a titanium-encased Abloy Protec steel lock, and is long enough to thread through both wheels and around a secure post.
The TiGr comes from cyclist and lock-maniac John Loughlin, who is funding his project through — where else? — Kickstarter. In his testing, the lock has proved to be resistant to a 48-inch bolt cutter, and it is also difficult to saw as the band just won’t stay still.
AS well as being light (the stronger 1.25-inch bow without the lock weighs 19.6 ounces or 549 grams) it is also easy to carry. When not in use the band wraps around the head-tube and seat-tube, running along the length of the top-tube. It is held in place by straps, but you’ll have to throw the lock into a pocket or bag.
To get one of these locks, you’ll need to pitch a minimum of $100. The final retail price is hard to determine as there is both further testing to do, and the Kickstarter pitching bundles are somewhat intermixed. Still, if it delivers the holy grail of locks — strength and lightness — then Loughlin can sell it for pretty much whatever he pleases.
TiGr: Titanium Lock as Cool as your Bike [Kickstarter via Bicycle Design]
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So Philliebot was a fail, but this chainless bicycle serves as proof that UPenn doesn’t always come up short. The Alpha Bike, designed by a group of engineering students, contains an entirely internal drivetrain that allows riders to switch between fixed-gear and multi-gear setups. The simple switch is enabled by an electronically controlled clutch, part of the Switchable Integrated Free-Fixed Transmission (SWIFT), discreetly hidden in the bike’s frame. Populating the front hub are a drum brake and a dynamo, which juices the bike’s electronics — the back hub contains a three-speed gear set, put in motion by a simple push-pull cable. When the front wheel starts rolling, an LED screen mounted in the carbon fiber handlebars is illuminated, displaying time, cadence, and speed, among other things — this data and more is stored on an accessible SD card. As of now, the bike is still a prototype, but if you start saving now, you might actually have enough scratch to buy one when it comes to fruition.
Alpha Bike concept: free-wheeling fixie for flip-floppers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 09:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Paramount Pictures has just released the first full trailer for Transformers: Dark of the Moon (or TF3 as it is being branded), and it is pretty damn awesome. Take a look:
As far as I can tell, the US sent astronauts to the moon not just to play golf but to investigate some mysterious alien moon landing. Then, 40-something years later, these evil Moon Transformers wake up and attack the Earth. The good Transformers are pissed, because the US government didn’t tell them about it at the time.
You can guess what happens next. Shia “The Beef” LeBeouf defeats the evil Moon Transformers with shouting, sad glances, and the ability to remain handsome as his face gets dirtier and dirtier.
Apparently, it is also now acceptable to destroy skyscrapers in Hollywood movies once again.
Finally, what’s going on with that title, Dark of the Moon? Isn’t it missing a Side”? A side of The Beef, perhaps? (Rimshot).
Transformers: Dark of the Moon will be in theaters on July 1st, in head-spinning 3-D.
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Pre-release versions of Windows 8 have leaked to the web. Here’s what they tell us about the upcoming OS. More »
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