Hasta La Gadget!

Nokia’s looking to ride the mojo of any negative fallout from today’s Apple press conference, slipping out a rather fascinating statement this afternoon. The gist of it is that Espoo’s keen on letting everyone know how much blood, sweat, and tears they’ve poured into perfecting their antenna design strategy over the years, going so far as to say that they “prioritize” it over the physical design of the phone if they need to in order to optimize its call performance — an opinion moderately different from the “we want to have our cake and eat it too” philosophy espoused by Jobs today. In closing, Nokia acknowledges that a “tight grip” can mess with the performance, though they say they’ve done a bunch of research on the ways their phones are typically held so that the antennas are placed optimally. Interestingly, there was a stink not long ago about the severe signal degradation some E71 users were seeing when they placed their hands on the lower rear of the phone — but you can’t win ’em all, we suppose. Follow the break for the full statement.

Continue reading Nokia: ‘we prioritize antenna performance over physical design if they are ever in conflict’

Nokia: ‘we prioritize antenna performance over physical design if they are ever in conflict’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve dug deep within the mind of Yves Béhar, and when that man designs something, we take notice. Particularly when the object of reference is an all-new electric vehicle charger that looks good enough for the sparkling streets of Minneapolis. Introduced today, the GE WattStation is a beautifully engineered EV charger designed to “accelerate the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles,” and furthermore, allow “utility companies to manage the impact of electric vehicles on the local and regional grids.” We’re also told that it’s capable of handling Level 2 (240V) charging, and if all goes to plan, it’ll be available globally next year. Oh, and if you’re considering a move to the inner city just to be near one, hold your horses — a specialized home version will be available later in 2010. Hop on past the break for a little showboating from Yves himself.

Continue reading Yves Behar-designed GE WattStation electric vehicle charger spruces streets, juices cars

Yves Behar-designed GE WattStation electric vehicle charger spruces streets, juices cars originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 03:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Designer Andrew Kim has cooked up a concept smartphone for HTC dubbed the “1” that makes the company’s current offerings look, well… last generation. The device, built from a brass housing (coated in silver) eschews the phone-maker’s recent crop of fairly standard looking mobile devices for something decidedly more sophisticated — and cans the familiar Sense interface in the process. Not only is the shell of the phone rethought, the new UI (Sense mono) takes a cleaner, more thoughtful, high-end approach as well, joining Synergy like functions (combined messaging) with a Helvetica heavy interface that looks streamlined and mature. Some notable features of the hardware include stereo speakers (located at the top and bottom of the phone), a kickstand which is actually the bottom portion of the casing, and the lofty concept of a built-in UV light which kills germs on the surface of the phone while you charge up. As far as concepts go, this is one of the finest we’ve seen, so hit the source link below and take a look at the full spread.

Concept ‘HTC 1’ is the phone we wish HTC would make originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 10:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve ever had a bike stolen from somewhere you thought was safe, or had your lock cut so someone could make off with your bike, you know that feeling of helplessness you get when you come back and find your lock in pieces on the ground. Even though it’s still a design and may never make its way to store shelves, the Halo bicycle lock, from designer Steve Hunt, is on to something. The Halo combines good looks and smart design with wireless notification to your smartphone if the lock has been tampered with, so if you’re nearby you might be able to catch the culprit.

The Halo lock is designed to have a flexible body and a connector cable, so it’s easy to put on and take off of your bike without having to bend and twist around the lock or the object you have your bike locked to, and if Hunt has his way, the lock will come with an embedded wireless card that will send alerts to your phone the instant someone tries to break the lock or cut the cable. So if you’re sitting in a coffee shop a few feet away from your bike, you might get out in time to yell at the thief and get them to drop the bike–or at least report their identity to the police.
 
[via Dvice]

This is the Disco Chair, the brainchild of Kiwi&Pom, and though we’re not fans of things with the word ‘disco’ in their names, this one is outstanding and beautiful. It’s made with 200 meters of electroluminescent wire, and the lighting can flash on and off (hence the disco moniker). Hit up the source for a few more shots.

Disco Chair is way cooler than its name would lead you to believe originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Jul 2010 02:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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