Hasta La Gadget!

Talk about a revival story. Recently saved from the brink of disaster, Think Electric is back in a big way. Fittingly announced around the New York Auto Show, the company has revealed that it will begin selling its Think City — one of the planet’s first highway-capable electric vehicles, it’ll have you know! — in New York and “other select cities” later on in 2010. Think’s currently working in conjunction with the US Department of Energy’s local Clean Cities chapters to make it happen in the Big Apple, but exact details (you know, like an on sale date and MSRPs) are nowhere to be found. Considering this company’s position just six months ago, though, we’ll take whatever progress we can get.

Think to start selling City electric vehicle in New York, other locales this year originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 22:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Good to see the i MiEV is adding to its résumé — which already includes the job of ferrying Geek Squaddies about the place — with a new position as a specialist taxi service in select districts of Tokyo. Launched yesterday, this new Zero Taxi initiative aims to attract customers with its zero emissions (from the car, the electricity used might still be produced in a polluting way) appeal, aromatic oil-scented cabin, and primarily female drivers who’ll be trained to provide local area and tourist info. We’re just reporting here, don’t blame us for the Hinomaru Limousine Company’s belief that a man can’t be as good a tour guide as a woman. It’s a humble beginning since the company’s only deploying two i MiEVs for now, but local competitor Nihon Kotsu is also preparing to join the fray, and is currently testing out a Better Place battery-swapping station that should keep its cars where they need to be — on the road.

Mitsubish i MiEV gets a job as an oil-scented taxi in Tokyo originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Mar 2010 06:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What does that look like to you? Sure looks like a probable Nokia flagship candidate for the upcoming launch of Symbian^3 to ride. Remember, we’ve already heard about a N8-00 said to be sporting a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen, 12 megapixel camera, and HDMI-out. This unnamed device features a 12 megapixel camera with Xenon flash and Carl Zeiss optics, an HDMI jack next to a top-mounted 3.5-mm headphone jack, and a bottom-loading battery allowing the phone to keep a unibody design (a la the HTC Legend). The screen is big, at least 3.5 inches and possibly hovering around 4 inches. Oh, and a QWERTY is nowhere to be found. So Nokia, got anything you’d like to announce?

Update: Eldar Murtazin, a man who knows a thing or two about pre-production Nokia devices, says the N8-00 is real and due in September.

Nokia’s Symbian^3 touchscreen flagship leaked? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 07:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We aren’t exactly hopeful that the Roewe 350 will ever ship stateside, but given that our Volt pre-order is still in limbo (and we’re not about to lease a Tesla Roadster), we can’t help but look longingly at this gem. Hailed as the first Android-powered automobile, this here car has just hit the production line, and it’s expected to make its formal debut next month at the Beijing Auto Show. The 350 was based on the N1 concept shown last year, and we’re told that the integrated DVD / GPS navigation system will run on Google’s Android (v2.1) operating system. As you’d expect, the system will be able to pull down real-time traffic reports and figure out the most effective route from point A to point B C, though we suspect you’ll need to rig up some sort of WWAN card in order to check your Gmail on the go. Oh, and did we mention this thing will start at just over ten grand? Huzzah!

[Thanks, Ash]

Android-powered Roewe 350 motorcar hits production line, we reserve space in our garage originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Heads-up displays are undoubtedly novel, and downright useful in the right circumstances. Trouble is, few of these prototypes ever make it beyond the lab, and we’re stuck using these same two eyeballs to experience the world around us. General Motors is evidently tired of the almosts, and it’s now working in concert with Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Southern California in order to concoct one of the most advanced HUD systems that we’ve seen — particularly in the automotive world. Setting out to create “enhanced vision systems,” GM’s R&D team has created a windshield packed with visible and Infrared cameras along with internal optics that keep a close eye on the driver’s retinas. In the images and video below (hit the ‘Read More’ link for the real action), you’ll see a solution that utilizes lasers in order to highlight road edges, speed limit signs and all sorts of other vital bits of data during a fog-filled commute. Best of all? We’re told that some of these technologies “could end up in GM vehicles in the near-term future.” Granted, the Volt was supposed to set sail already, but we suppose we’ll give ’em the benefit of the doubt.

Continue reading GM shows off sensor-laden windshield, new heads-up display prototype

GM shows off sensor-laden windshield, new heads-up display prototype originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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