Hasta La Gadget!

Google is teaming up with the world’s largest auto group – Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance – to bring Android OS to cars. These companies ship the most number of cars globally every year and this partnership will enable Google to tap into that and have millions of cars running its Android operating system. Android will be behind the infotainment and navigation systems in these cars. The systems will enable drivers to access apps through the Play Store, access Google Assistant, and navigate using Google Maps.

The shift to Android OS for their in-car systems won’t be immediate, though. These branded cars won’t come with Android until 2021. The Alliance could be selling a lot more cars by then as it already sells more than 10 million units worldwide.

This partnership will also bring Google Assistant to cars, enabling drivers to control many features through voice commands. “In the future, the Google Assistant, which employs Google’s leading AI technology, can become the main way customers interact with their vehicles, hands-free,” said Kal Mos, the Global VP of connected vehicles at the Alliance.

Google’s Android OS won’t be getting exclusivity, though, as the in-car systems will remain capable of running other platforms such as Apple’s CarPlay. The options will remain open for these car manufacturers even they place a big bet on Google’s platform.

Google Brings Android To Cars With The Largest Auto Group , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Back in May, one of the cameras on NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) snapped a two-second test exposure to make sure that it works. It was but a taste of what we can expect from Kepler’s successor, though, and now we finally know wh…

Sony’s relentlessly adorable Aibo robot is finally ready to return to American shores. After months of waiting, you can pre-order a First Litter Edition of the robo-pup in the US ahead of an expected mid-December ship date. You’ll be spending a sta…

Audi launched its first 100% electric vehicle, the Audi E-Tron, in our city of San Francisco yesterday evening. This new car increases the competition in a segment of the market currently dominated by Tesla. The Audi E-Tron SUV is an worthy Tesla Model X competitor.

If the Audi E-Tron looks familiar, it might be because you’ve seen something like it on Ubergizmo back in 2016 when Audi was showing the E-Tron SUV as a concept, as it wowed to launch three electric cars by 2020. So farm Audi is making good on its promise, and will probably have more to announce in with the next year and a half.

Starting at $74,800, the Audi E-Tron comes with a 95 kWh battery (which is quite large) and can reach 60 mph in ~6 seconds. That’s not the fastest acceleration, but this is an SUV, so customers might not make it a critical point. Audi says that the car produces 355 HP (Euro standards).

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By European standards, it has a range of 248 miles, but Audi did not reveal what the range will be under U.S standards which typically yield more conservative range estimates. This is a crucial metric for customers, much more so than raw power, and we’re looking forward to hearing about the official U.S numbers.

The E-Tron braking system can recuperate some energy, and Audi claims that this can contribute to a third of the range.

Audi’s Fast-charging allows the battery to go from 0% to 80% in 30mn, but that works on public infrastructure. At home, a charge could take from 4.5 hrs (22 kW) to 8.5 hrs (11 kW) depending on what charger option you install. To ease any possible range anxiety, Audi’s navigation can calculate and guide users through the optimal route, taking charging needs into account.

The E-Tron is a four-wheel drive car, although it will automatically switch to rear wheel drive most of the time, except when extra traction is needed in the front for control or acceleration.

E-Tron is 100% Audi, which means that customers can expect the same level of craftsmanship, user interaction (+new features) and support. Unfortunately, U.S customers won’t have access to some of the coolest tech, such as OLED virtual rear mirrors because our legislation does not yet authorize such hardware on the roads. You can watch the full 45mn launch event here:

The E-Tron: Audi Launches Its First Electric Car , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

On election day, Georgia voters will cast their ballots and hope that in the end the results are accurate. Unfortunately, there will be no guarantees.

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