Hasta La Gadget!

In what could be considered a relatively strange move, O2 has announced that an upcoming, unannounced HTC smartphone won’t come with a wall charger inside the box. According to the Euro carrier, this idea is part of a “simple vision” in which it wants “to take chargers out of boxes full stop,” adding that research has shown more than 70 percent of UK customers don’t have the need for such charger as they already own one with the same compatibility. The soon-to-be HTC device will, however, include a USB to micro-USB cable, so not everything will be completely lost. Now O2 didn’t give any fruitful details about which HTC handset it’ll be using to kick off the program, but we’ll let you know as soon as we find out.

Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, Mobile

O2 to sell upcoming HTC smartphone without a wall charger, says it’s part of a ‘simple vision’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 14:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge  |  Pocket-lint  | Email this | Comments

Planning on juicing up your Chevy Volt, Mitsubishi i-MiEV or Nissan Leaf with Tesla’s Supercharger? Hold your horses, vaquero. The nighttime unveiling stressed that the quick-charge solution was Model S-friendly, but we should also note that it’s only compatible with the firm’s automobile. Vehicles from other automakers won’t be able to jack into the station thanks to a 20-kilowatt hour converter, which would zap other batteries with too much electricity, and a proprietary plug. Unless something changes, those planning cross-country trips using EVs from other manufacturers will just have to find an alternative to Musk and Co.’s white obelisk.

Filed under: Transportation

Tesla’s Supercharger not compatible with competitor’s EVs, keeps electricity within the family originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 08:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Wired  | Email this | Comments

Tesla Motors has some of the coolest electric vehicles on the market today including the Roadster and the new Model S. Despite how cool these electric vehicles are people may still have the same range anxiety with these cars as they would any other electric vehicle, such as the Nissan Leaf or others. Tesla has a plan to address this range anxiety, and the plan has nothing to do with bigger batteries.

Tesla has announced that it plans to build a network of solar-powered chargers along major US highways to expand the driving range of Tesla vehicles. The chargers would be offered to Tesla owners at no charge. The company has already installed the first six of the high-speed chargers along highways in California, Nevada, and Arizona.

The high-powered solar chargers are able to recharge a Model S sedan at a rate of 100 kW. The high power of the souped-up chargers allows the vehicle to travel for three additional hours of highway driving with 30 minutes of charging. Each of the Chargers cost Tesla $250,000.

The charger can charge 4 to 6 Tesla electric vehicles at one time. Tesla’s overall plan is to install 100 of the new solar chargers over the next three to four years at a total cost of $20 million-$30 million. Tesla also plans to begin opening the so-called “superchargers” in Europe and Asia in the second half 2013.

[via Bloomberg]

Tesla plans to build solar chargers along major US highways for its vehicle owners is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

These days, just about every Apple product is defined by a non-removable battery. It’s with no small hint of irony, then, that Apple just received a US patent for a universal removable battery system. As proposed, the technique would let Apple cut batteries from lithium-polymer or similar materials into commonly sized packs that could then be swapped between devices, providing all the benefits of removable, rechargeable batteries with a longer lifespan than an old set of AAs. Batteries could have serviceable cores for when they finally give up the ghost, and computers could even alternate between charging the batteries (when plugged in) or using them to extend the runtime of MacBooks. We’d recommend against basing any purchasing strategy around Apple’s filing, though. The Cupertino team originally applied for the patent in 2010, and in turn broke out the technology from a patent it had filed in 2007 — there’s no guarantees Apple is still interested in replacing those disposables, let alone any sealed-in batteries. That won’t stop us from yearning for the day when a Magic Mouse lasts for more than a week of heavy use.

Filed under: Peripherals

Apple gets patent for universal batteries, edges closer to long-lasting wireless peripherals originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 22:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  USPTO  | Email this | Comments

I have said on more than a few occasions that one of the most interesting things smartphone companies can do, in my opinion, is offer wireless charging. We all know the hassle of fiddling with wires and trying to get a charger connected, especially in the dark, to charge or smartphones and other devices. Wireless charging with Qi and other wireless power methods is very important to many of us.

Fulton Innovation has announced a new breakthrough in wireless power that uses adaptive resonance technology and is capable of simultaneously charging multiple devices that use different power formats. The technology is called Adaptive Resonance and combines benefits of inductive coupling, magnetic resonance, and Qi technology into one solution. This means no matter which of those three formats your device uses for wireless charging, Adaptive Resonance technology will allow you to charge it with the same system.

This technology addresses one of the key areas of concern for many people who are looking forward to widespread use of wireless power. With multiple formats on the market, the chance of cross compatibility between brands was looking slim. The Adaptive Residence technology allows a single charging base plate to charge multiple devices, even if those devices use different wireless power formats at the same time.

The Adaptive Residence technology also allows the user to move devices around on the charging plate to make room for another device while maintaining very high charging efficiency. The technology also supports both closely and loosely coupled wireless charging systems. With Adaptive Residence technology supporting three of the biggest wireless power formats out there, it suddenly doesn’t matter as much what format the device manufacturer chooses to support.

Wireless power breakthrough uses adaptive resonance to support multiple wireless platforms is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.