Hasta La Gadget!

Some of you guys might have heard by now that Apple’s fifth gen iPod touch appears to be lacking the auto-brightness adjust feature. Apparently this is because the iPod touch does not come with an ambient light sensor and we’re sure that many iPod touch owners are asking why. Granted it’s hardly a make-or-break feature, but we can’t help but feel curious as to why that is the case as well. The folks at iDownloadblog have posted a copy of an email sent by one of their readers to Apple’s SVP of Marketing, Phil Schiller, who asked why there is no auto-brightness setting on the fifth gen iPod touch.

According to Schiller who replied, it seems that there is no ambient light sensor because the iPod touch is “just too thin”. If you’ve ever played with the latest iPod touch in any of Apple’s retail stores, you’ll find that the device is incredibly thin at 6.13mm at its thickest (not including the camera lens protrusion), versus the fourth gen iPod touch at 7.13mm. Granted there’s no way to verify the authenticity of the email, but Apple executives have been known to reply emails sent by customers every now and then, but what do you guys think? Was the ambient light sensor really omitted because the iPod touch was too thin?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: iPod touch pre-orders begin to ship, iPod touch benchmark reveals the same A5 processor as the iPhone 4S,

Nissan Motor Co has announced that some of its vehicles will be getting new steering technology that does away with traditional mechanical and hydraulic systems. The new steering system will use steer-by-wire technology. The technology will change the direction of the wheels in relation to the steering wheel inside the car using electronics rather than mechanical means.

Some of the first Nissan Motor Co vehicles to get the technology will be in its high-end luxury Infiniti line. Nissan says that the technology will pave the way for future cars that can be steered using joysticks rather than a traditional wheel and cars that can be program to avoid crashes automatically. Steer-by-wire technology would forward data on position from the steering wheel of the car to the wheels using electronic means.

A computer-controlled unit with an actuator would control how much directional change was needed in the wheels to keep the car along the path the driver wants. Nissan says that the electronic steering system would have a failsafe clutch. That failsafe would link the wheels mechanically to the steering wheel inside the car in the event of an emergency such as the electrical system failure.

Automotive manufacturers have been increasingly going to electronic systems rather than mechanical and hydraulic systems. Many automakers already using throttle by wire systems rather than mechanical throttle linkages. There are also multiple vehicles on the road that use electronic power steering rather than traditional hydraulic power steering. Aircraft have been using control systems “by-wire” rather than mechanical or hydraulic systems for years. Nissan says that the electronic system is able to respond to signals more quickly than traditional systems because electronic signals travel faster. The first vehicles using the new steering system are expected in the next three to five years.

[via The Droid Guy]

If you’ve been using the internet long enough, chances are you’ve come across the Blendtec YouTube channel. For those unfamiliar, the Blendtec YouTube channel hosts a series of hilarious videos called, “Will It Blend?” in which a variety of items, electronic and non-electronic, are stuffed into the blender which then tears it apart. In fact one video even had them blending the Guitar Hero guitar controller. Well the folks at Blendtec are back and this time they have decided to pit both the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 5 against each other to see which item can withstand the blending better. Funnily enough, this also speaks to the survey we reported on yesterday where it was suggested that most accidental iPhone damage occurs in the kitchen, which we assume is where most blenders are kept (thanks to our reader Lizardwithhat for pointing that out!).

It should be noted that this is hardly conclusive evidence that speaks to the durability of either device, but if you just want to see phones get blended, then be sure to check it out in the video above! Interestingly it seems that the Samsung Galaxy S3 did take noticeably longer than the iPhone 5 before it started to break apart completely. We have to warn you that it is extremely cringe-worthy to see such expensive items get blended, but hey it might be considered entertainment for some.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Research suggests that web usage from iPhone 5s are greater than Samsung Galaxy S3s, Samsung blows iPhone 5 away in newspaper ad,

Uber is a company that offers an application for iPhone users that allows them to summon a car to take them where they want to go with in New York City and in some other areas. In the New York City area, the company tried to allow users to summon traditional yellow taxis to take them where they need to go. The company has announced that it is now pulling out of its UberTaxi service within New York.

The company says that 160 cabbies participated in the taxi beta. The company also claims that one of its top UberTaxi drivers made $168 in additional fares in one day. The biggest week for one of its drivers was $586 in additional fares using the taxi app.

The problem has led to Uber ending its taxi beta service saying that there weren’t enough taxis available. The company says that with such a small number of taxis, it was very difficult for users of the app to summon a cab to take them where they want to go. Uber seems to blame the fact that there weren’t enough taxis on the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission.

Uber alleges that the Taxi and Limousine Commission put up obstacles and roadblocks in an effort to kill its taxi hailing app. Uber also claims that the commission privately it them that their app was legal under the rules. The company points out that in New York, it’s town car hailing app is still available, and it still plans to try its taxi hailing service and other “more innovation-friendly cities” including Boston and Toronto.

Uber kills taxi hailing iPhone app in New York City is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Having been riddled with setbacks, including a major recall of faulty batteries supplied to Fisker Automotive, Michigan’s favorite EV battery maker A123 Systems has filed for bankruptcy. It has also announced the sale of its main business units to rival Johnson Controls in a deal pegged at $125 million — a sad fraction of the billion dollars it raised since it launched in 2001 (not least from government grants). It seems that neither fresh lithium ion innovations nor a potential deal with Chinese investors were able to keep the company out of the red, which leaves A123 on the road to nowhere — right behind that other DoE-sponsored hopeful, Ener1.

Continue reading A123 Systems becomes America’s latest EV battery maker to file for bankruptcy

Filed under: Transportation

A123 Systems becomes America’s latest EV battery maker to file for bankruptcy originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Oct 2012 06:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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