Hasta La Gadget!

The North American International Auto show is one week away, the place where many auto makers domestic and foreign will choose to unveil their next hot happening. Not Ford — at least, not this year. The company has had a significant presence here at CES for the past few years and, in 2011, it’s going to really ramp things up by announcing a whole new car. Or, at least, an electric version of an existing one. We don’t know the details yet (other than it having a silly glowing plug door), but there’s an all-electric Focus set to be unveiled at 11:00am local time (that’s 2:00 in the afternoon east coasters) on Friday. The conference will be livestreaming if you want to play along at home, but rest assured we’ll be there too.

Ford set to unveil Focus Electric at CES, which just so happens to be where we are originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 15:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember that Roadmate 9055 that popped up in the FCC’s database back in September? Looks like Magellan’s using CES to officially launch it. Listing for $299.99 here in the States, this monstrous 7-inch navigator packs a WVGA touchscreen, Bluetooth and a lifetime supply of free traffic updates. It’s preloaded with maps of the 50 US states, Canada and Puerto Rico, not to mention six million points-of-interest, loads of content from the AAA Tourbook Guide (including Diamond ratings and descriptions for US and Canada), and a roadside assistance feature that provides your precise location in case you need to tell it to some fine man or woman on the other end of an emergency call. If you’re more of an argonaut, the Explorist 310 handheld navigator is likely more your speed. This one’s retailing for $199.99, and it includes a 2.2-inch color display, a rugged, waterproof enclosure, a SiRFstar III GPS chipset and a slew of features catering to the outdoor navigation market — things like waypoint creation, a premium, preloaded World Edition map, active tracking, and track summary. There’s also 500MB of user-accessible memory (for adding extra maps), and we’re told that two AA batteries can power it for an astounding 18 hours. So, where’s life planning to take you?

Magellan reveals Roadmate 9055 and Explorist 310 GPS units originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You don’t need us to tell you that phones are posing a huge threat to the dedicated navigation device market, but Garmin isn’t giving up without a fight (or without hedging its bets). It just announced its nüvi 2400 series of “large format” PNDs, with 5-inch screens and a wealth of features. Standouts include voice control and some serious routing capabilities based on “trafficTrends” and “myTrends,” which are exactly what they sound like. Prices start at $250, with all the features available but except for traffic and free map updates. At the $350 mark you can get lifetime map and traffic, traffic adapter . The whole line should be out in Q1 of this year.

Continue reading Garmin’s nuvi 2400 pairs a 5-inch screen with voice control, isn’t a phone

Garmin’s nuvi 2400 pairs a 5-inch screen with voice control, isn’t a phone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It only stands to reason that the company that brought the world the Pogo stylus for the iPhone and iPad would be the same to introduce a game controller for Apple’s popular tablet.

The new Fling controller from Ten One Design sticks to the iPad via suction cup and works with any games for the tablet that utilize a virtual joystick–games like Meteor Blitz, Super Megaworm, and Across Age. You stick your thumb in the middle of the thing and get down to business.

The Fling comes with either Ninja or Ultraviolet designs. It ships with a microfiber carrying case, which also serves as a screen cleaner. The accessory was announced today at CES. It’ll start shipping at the end of the month, but you can pre-order it now for $24.99.

Digital cameras with Wi-Fi capability is nothing new, but, today at the Consumer Electronics Showcase, Samsung announced a new model, the SH100, that has a very impressive Wi-Fi connectivity feature. Like the other Wi-Fi-enabled cameras, the Samsung SH100 lets you upload photos and video directly to Facebook, Picasa, and YouTube. What makes the SH100 stand out is that you can pair it with a Samsung Galaxy S phone and use the smartphone to remotely preview the frame, zoom in and out, take the picture, and geotag it.

The GPS feature is a nice way to remind you exactly where you were when you took the photo. The addition of the integration with the Galaxy S makes taking group shots easier. It means no more running between your camera and your friends to set up the perfect shot. 

The built-in Wi-Fi can automatically back up your photo to your PC. You can use DLNA to connect wirelessly to your HDTV and see your photos and videos right away. You can also send photos directly from the camera to individual e-mail addresses. If you’re worried about the time it takes to upload and process large files, the SH100 comes with an account with mobile hotspot provider Boingo, which gives you access to over 200,00 Wi-Fi hotspots around the world.

Oh, and as for the specs, it features a 14.2-megapixel CCD sensor, a 3-inch LCD display, and a 5X optical zoom. The SH100 will be available for $199.99 in March. Check out the full press release for more info.