Hasta La Gadget!

It was an interesting week in green tech, as Inhabitat explored the past and future of solar technology. We dug up the world’s first modern solar panel (still working after 60 years!) and wrapped our brains around MIT’s plan to create super-efficient photovoltaic panels by folding them up like origami. Not to be outdone, IBM unveiled plans to roll out a new solar desalination system that could transform entire expanses of desert into rivers.

Solar power also took to the skies this week as the Solar Impulse plane made its first successful flight. And speaking of futuristic transportation, Minority Report-style podcars may be just around the corner if this solar powered urban transit system takes off. We were wowed by Finland’s new all-electric supercar, which will be vying for the Progressive Auto X Prize this summer.

We also took a look at several innovative kid-friendly designs including an incredible Game Boy made from paper and a biometric baby monitoring alarm clock that lets parents monitor their babies’ temperature and heart-rate remotely, as well as cue up lullabies from anywhere.

The past week also produced several promising developments from the realm of energy storage as Hitachi announced that it’s developing lithium-ion batteries that last twice as long. And finally, meet BOB, a battery the size of a building that is capable of powering an entire town in Texas. The gigantic sodium sulfur backup battery can store up to 4 megawatts of power for up to 8 hours.

Inhabitat’s Week In Green: solar panels, solar planes, solar trains originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Apr 2010 22:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The notion of an iPod touch GPS cradle has two big factors working against it from the start. For one, dedicated navigation units are readily available for as little as $100 (or less) and, in general, get the job done quite well. Secondly, more and more cellphones are becoming more and more capable as navigation devices and, again, are relatively inexpensive (phone contracts aside). On the other hand, a lot of people have iPod touches, and most of them really like their iPod touches. So, in that respect, there is a potentially big market for something like Dual Electronics new iPod touch GPS cradle. Will it actually help carve out a new niche in the crowded navigation market? Read on to find out.

Continue reading Dual Electronics iPod touch GPS cradle review

Dual Electronics iPod touch GPS cradle review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now that the tablet PC revolution is upon us (for the second time in as many decades, if you’ll recall), there’s bound to be a few that really stick out, and a few that get left in the dust. ExoPC is doing its darnedest to be grouped in the former, and it’s choosing to hold off on rushing things out in hopes of delivering a superior product to the world this summer. If you’ll recall, we heard that the 8.9-inch slate would originally be out and about this month, but the company’s own Jean-Baptiste Martinoli has informed us directly why the ship date is being pushed back a few months. For starters, production has been shifted from China into Canada thanks to a freshly signed deal with CiaraTech. And if you’re wondering what you’ll get in return for waiting just a few more months to get your hands on one, we’ve excellent news. Here’s the good word straight from the outfit:

“With [CiaraTech’s] help we are improving the specs: better processor, graphics, better battery life, thinner, better screen and touch panel. We should hit FCC soon. As we have more time we are adding more features in the ExoPC UI Layer (ex. an app / media store).”

We aren’t exactly big on waiting, but we’ll let that other tablet keep us company until this one finally gets its shipping papers. Summer ain’t too far out, now is it?

ExoPC delayed till summer, getting specification upgrades to dull the pain originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Whoa, Nelly! Isn’t this something? Apple has just posted details on its iPad battery replacement service, which is really not a battery replacement service at all. Check out the company’s opening line:

“If your iPad requires service due to the battery’s diminished ability to hold an electrical charge, Apple will replace your iPad for a service fee.”

Now, let’s compare that to the verbiage found in the iPhone’s battery replacement program details:

“If your iPhone requires service only because the battery’s ability to hold an electrical charge has diminished, Apple will service your iPhone for a service fee.”

We can see the puzzled look on your face from here, and we’re sharing in the same disbelief. Apple is actually saying that it won’t bother cracking open your withered iPad, replacing the battery and sending it back your way; instead, you’ll pay $105.95 (including shipping) for a completely different iPad, which certainly has its pros and cons. On one hand, you’re getting a new (or potentially refurbished, actually) iPad in around “one week,” but on the other, you’ll be waving goodbye to every morsel of personal data on the device that you send in — unless you backup beforehand, of course. Here’s Apple’s take on answering “will the data on my iPad be preserved?”

“No. You will receive a replacement iPad that will not contain any of your personal data. Before you submit your iPad for service, it is important to sync your iPad with iTunes to back up your contacts, calendars, email account settings, bookmarks, apps, etc. Apple is not responsible for the loss of information when servicing your iPad.”

Lovely, don’tcha think? Head on past the break for the full text.

[Thanks, David]

Continue reading Dead iPad battery? Never mind replacing it, Apple just sends another iPad for $99

Dead iPad battery? Never mind replacing it, Apple just sends another iPad for $99 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI’s new Wind netbook uses the low-power Intel Atom N450 “Pine Trail” CPU and manages to get an almost ridiculous 15-hours of battery life. Even if we viciously slash that time in half, to simulate real-life use, seven hours is impressive on a mere six-cell battery, and we’d expect something close to ten.

The specs are otherwise similar to all other netbooks: 10-inch display, 160GB hard drive, a gig of RAM and Windows 7. But the case itself features some rather neat additions. First, it comes in gold (or black), has a glowing MSI logo on the back, and the power button sits in the hinge – hardly useful, but certainly cool-looking. Best is the big trackpad, which has no edges and just disappears into the main body of the computer. The keyboard is more stylish, too, featuring MacBook-alike chiclets. MSI has even made the comma and period keys the right size instead of the tiny vestigial buttons on the original Wind.

The U160 is $430. That’s not bad, but we have a feeling that a certain $500 “tablet” computer might cause the netbook market to be even less attractive than it is already.

Wind U160 [MSI. Thanks, Mark!]