Hasta La Gadget!

This week we’re having a peek at several conceptual and near-market vehicles at the LA Auto Show 2012, today’s gems being a couple of BMW concept cars, one of them the most recent iteration of the BMW i8 Spyder Concept in its near-final-form. This vehicle is a plug-in hybrid machine able to reach 20 miles using only electricity, and with an amazing looking body and current real-world statistics and specifications in-tact, this machine looks just about as road-ready as we’d like – for now though, it’s still only a dream.

This beast is aiming at the moment for a full market release sometime inside 2014 and will be busting out at 62 mph in five seconds on the open road. Top speed for this vehicle is a lovely 155 mph and it’s rolling out with three driving modes right off the line: all-electric, all-gas, or combo-mode. The electric motor inside the i8 is a hefty 96kw and it’ll be bringing on 78 MPG (3 liter per 100 km) at launch.

This particular Spyder has a 100 liter storage capacity in its trunk (or its boot, if you’re English), and the whole vehicle weighs in at 3,600 lbs (just incase you want to think about lifting it up, of course.) That weight in combination with the low center of gravity on this beast (along with many other factors, we’re sure), brings on a fabulous 354 horsepower. This eco-friendly supercar uses its 131 hp/96 kW electric motor with a 223 hp turbo charged three-cylinder to bust out the greatness.

Inside you’ve got a digital instrument cluster with smart info on how much energy you’re using, how much you’ve got left, and environmental info around and inside your vehicle as well. You’ve also got a 8.8-inch Central Information Display with touch control over a variety of elements including main telematics and infotainment. A third display sits near here able to control the climate inside the car specifically.

This vehicle is able to connect remotely to your smartphone (or vice-versa) using BMW’s i App, this allowing you to set up times when your vehicle should charge, turn on to warm up, or cool down based on pre-set conditions. You’ll be able to look up directions on your smartphone and toss them over to the main display in the vehicle as well.

This vehicle is said by BMW to be 90% finished with its final form, with one rather sizable addition still on the way – two additional seats in the back. We’ll see more of this amalgamation sooner than later!

BMW i8 Spyder Concept eyes-on at LA Auto Show is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

A new artificial lens that mimics the one found in human eyes is set to dramatically lower the weight of night-vision goggles, laser rangefinders and cameras aboard micro unmanned aerial vehicles that soldiers and marines must carry in the field. More »

In a bid to catch mobile payment rival Square napping, Intuit GoPayment is leaping across the pond to begin an assault on the UK. It’s certainly putting the effort in, having had to rework its hardware to be compatible with Chip-and-Pin and being forced, for legal reasons, to drop the “Go” and “ment” parts of its name. The service is currently in a limited trial before being rolled out to switched-on stallholders and itinerant fraudsters (we kid) nationwide.

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Intuit

Chevrolet released a new trailer today that teases our senses even more about Chevrolet’s upcoming 2014 Corvette. The video focuses on “calibration” and that the car “is a new level of electronic integration.” However, what got us mostly intrigued were the split-second glimpses at the new Corvette’s digital instrument panel.

We mostly just see the Corvette’s tachometer in the picture, which maxes out at a little over 7,000 RPM, although the video showed the Corvette revving up to about 6,250 RPM with little effort. The panel seems to be all digital, and in the middle of display is a 3D layout of the Corvette that most likely displays information such as tire pressure and other status info about the exterior of the car, although, some of that info is displayed to the right of the tachometer as well. Also, in one of the shots, we get a very vague look at the speedometer, which tops out at 200 MPH.

What’s perhaps most entertaining is that Chevrolet used a current-gen Corvette for the 3D layout of the car, so as to not reveal what the 2014 Corvette actually looks like. Overall, we’re not too surprised by car manufacturers going all digital for their instrument panels. A lot of newer cars already have them installed, so it’ll be a welcomed addition to the Corvette come next year.

The 2014 Corvette will be officially unveiled on January 13th at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, MI — Motor City, as it’s nicknamed. Until then, we get to wait in anticipation for what Corvette fans will soon get to drive off the dealer lots come mid-2013. We’re pretty excited to say the least.

2014 Corvette trailer teases digital instrument panel is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

As much as I loved playing through the pipes and snacking on mushrooms in Super Mario Bros., there’s nothing quite as satisfying as making that perfect jump onto the flag at the end of a level. Now you can live out that part of the game in real life, thanks to this life-size flag made to look just like the one from the game.

It’s made by James Bit, the same guy who brought us those fighting game wall decals and the equally awesome Zelda fireplace and secret passage floor art.

The flag is a dead-ringer for the one at the end of each level in Super Mario Bros., complete with a big pixelated green mushroom on a white background. Each one measures 2′ x 3′ and is made from durable nylon, so you can actually fly these outdoors in the wind. I so want to see these flying on every house in my neighborhood.

You can get your hands on the Super Mario Bros. flag over on Etsy for $50 (USD). I really want him to make the version with Bowser on it next.

James advises: “Sliding down them is not recommended unless you have 6, 3, or 1 second left on the clock.” And if you don’t know what that means, what sort of NES fanboy or girl are you?

[Thanks for the tip, Justin!]