Aug 16

Nyko Power Grip for PlayStation Vita review: a $25 accessory that promises to double your battery life

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DNP Nyko Power Grip for PlayStation Vita Review twice the playtime and twice the bulk

Gaming accessories come in all shapes and sizes — replacement controllers, portable console suitcases, specialized mice, control augmenting nubs, you name it. Whatever your niche, you can bet there’s a product out there to fill it. Nyko, in particular, has made a bit of a habit of fulfilling a particular need: manufacturing third-party battery accessories for all those short-lived handhelds. The outfit has such a solid track record in the category, in fact, that we had little doubt its PlayStation Vita Power Grip ($25) would live up to its life-giving hype — but we decided to put it to the test all the same.

Gallery: Nyko Power Grip for PlayStation Vita review

Continue reading Nyko Power Grip for PlayStation Vita review: a $25 accessory that promises to double your battery life

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Nyko Power Grip for PlayStation Vita review: a $25 accessory that promises to double your battery life originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 05

Ford, GE and University of Michigan team up on sensor to track EV battery life, keep us on the road

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Ford Focus Electric hands-on

Believe it or not, EV battery life is still something of a Pandora’s Box, even for automakers: they can tell you the battery pack’s current and voltage, but not how it’s really performing under pressure. Ford, GE and the University of Michigan are uniting to unlock that mystery through a new ARPA-E project. In its role, GE is developing a minuscule sensor array that will track the nuances of battery cells that existing technology misses; it will promptly hand the baton to researchers at the University of Michigan, who plan to both prove that GE’s data is on the mark as well as develop tricks for predicting behavior. Ford handles the last mile, almost literally: it’s planning to fit the GE sensor technology to one of its cars and test in a more realistic environment. Before you fantasize about knowing the lifespan of your Focus Electric’s battery down to the minute, however, the new alliance is stressing that it’s only just getting started — there’s another three years and $3.1 million to go before the project wraps up. If all goes according to plan, though, we’ll have electric cars and plug-in hybrids that can not only tell when they’ve seen better days but can eke out extra miles through smarter battery designs.

Continue reading Ford, GE and University of Michigan team up on sensor to track EV battery life, keep us on the road

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Ford, GE and University of Michigan team up on sensor to track EV battery life, keep us on the road originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Aug 2012 12:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 03

Poll: Is Mountain Lion devouring your Mac’s battery life?

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Poll Is Mountain Lion devouring your Mac's battery life

We’ve seen plenty of users report that Apple’s latest OS, Mountain Lion, has caused a massive drop in battery life. While we haven’t been able to confirm any decrease in longevity with our own OS 10.8 machines, which include previous generation MacBook Pros and the company’s latest Retina model, it’s clear that some of you who were able to get the operating system downloaded and installed have experienced some not-so-favorable side effects with your Pros and MacBook Airs. While there are plenty of theories, there has yet to be a fix, though Apple is reportedly investigating the issue. This isn’t the first time users have reported decreased battery life after an OS update, with a lengthy support thread popping up after Lion’s release last year. So, how has the upgrade affected you? Sound off in the poll below to let us know.

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Poll: Is Mountain Lion devouring your Mac’s battery life? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Aug 2012 14:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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