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Honda is talking up its 2013 Insight Hybrid that it claims is the most affordable hybrid in the United States. The pricing for 2013 is unchanged from the 2012 model and the hybrid starts at $18,500. Honda notes that the 2013 model will go on sale on September 18.

The vehicle is a five-door hybrid that offers 41 mpg city, 44 mpg highway, and combined EPA fuel economy rating of 42 mpg. The 2013 Insight is offered in three different models, including the base Insight featuring a 160 W audio system, automatic climate control, power windows, and more. The Insight LX adds a USB audio interface, cruise control, RMS console, formats, security system, and steering wheel mounted audio controls.

The Insight EX adds alloy wheels, a six speaker audio system, heated side mirrors with integrated turn signals, Bluetooth hands-free system, automatic headlights, and leather wrapped steering wheel. The EX version also has an optional satellite navigation system and rearview camera. The powertrain for the vehicle includes a 1.3-liter i-VTEC four-cylinder engine and a 10-kilowatt electric motor.

The combined gasoline and electric power generates 98 HP at 5800 RPMs and 123 pound-foot of torque. The powertrain utilizes a continuously variable transmission to optimize torque and efficiency. For 2013, slight changes are made to the exterior the vehicle to improve aerodynamic performance. All Insight models are subject to a $790 destination charge.

2013 Honda Insight Hybrid hailed as most affordable hybrid in the US is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
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We’re a jaded bunch here at Engadget sometimes, and with most of us using SSD-based systems these days it’s hard to get too excited about good old spinny disks. Still we’re also suckers for impressive technology, so our interest was piqued when Western Digital announced its 5mm thin 2.5-inch hard drives the other day. Luckily, the company saw fit to bring samples of its skinny new WD Black hybrid drive and WD Blue HDD to IDF 2012 and let us handle both briefly. The verdict? These are impossibly thin — perfect for all those nice Ultrabooks we’re expecting to see hit the market in the next few months. Details on performance, availability and pricing are scarce since these drives are intended for OEMs. Take a look at our gallery below, which includes thickness comparisons with WD’s upcoming 1TB 7mm thin HDD and a standard-sized loyalty card — then peek past the break for our hands-on video.

Update: yes, the loyalty card was demagnetized in the making of this video, and you now owe us all coffee.

Continue reading Western Digital brings wafer thin 5mm hard drives to IDF, we go hands-on (video)

Filed under: Storage

Western Digital brings wafer thin 5mm hard drives to IDF, we go hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 20:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SanDisk has built itself a decent reputation in the SSD game, and a cheap cache-only drive is a logical addition to its line. Unlike regular SSD or hybrid upgrades, you don’t have to transfer your system to the new drive — the 2.5-inch, 32GB add-on simply hooks up to a spare SATA III port alongside your spinning storage and then you run SanDisk’s ExpressCache software to do the rest. The program, which is currently Windows 7-only, monitors which files you access most frequently and then automatically caches them on the SSD, promising up to 12x faster application launches and also faster boot times compared to your HDD working on its lonesome. Importantly, the ReadyCache works with multiple hard drives too, rather than just boosting your primary drive — a feature that SanDisk claims gives it a one-up over most other caching solutions. The list price is $100 but Amazon has it up right now for $55.

Continue reading SanDisk announces 32GB ReadyCache for Windows: $55 at Amazon, keep your existing HDD

Filed under: Storage

SanDisk announces 32GB ReadyCache for Windows: $55 at Amazon, keep your existing HDD originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 12:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You didn’t think the world’s top PC maker was going to sit out the laptop / tablet hybrid trend, now did you? HP, one of the last OEMs to share its Windows 8 plans, just announced the Envy x2, an 11-inch tablet that comes with a keyboard dock. And while that form factor may already seem tired, HP is dressing it up with some higher-end features, including an aluminum build, NFC, pen support, Beats Audio and a 400-nit, IPS display. (The resolution is 1,366 x 768, as is the case for many of these 11-inch Windows 8 hybrids.)

The tablet itself measures about 8.5mm thick and weighs 1.5 pounds, while the dock weighs 1.6. Unlike competing products, the device combines magnets and a mechanical latch to keep the tablet from falling out of its dock (watch us manhandle the x2 in the video below to see what we’re talking about). All told, we were impressed by how surprisingly light the tablet and dock feel — given the metal armor encasing it all, it’s easy to assume otherwise.

Under the hood, the x2 runs an Atom-based Clover Trail processor. Though HP isn’t ready to talk battery life, we’ve noticed that every other OEM releasing a Clover Trail device is promising between nine and 10 hours of runtime, so we expect the x2 to deliver comparable performance. What’s more, the dock has a built-in battery of its own, so you’ll definitely have some reserve power there. Poke around on the dock and you’ll find two USB ports, HDMI output and a full-size SD slot. The tablet itself is home to an 8-megapixel rear camera and microSD slot, in case the 64GB of built-in storage isn’t capacious enough.

Right now, it’s unknown how much the x2 will cost, or when, exactly, it will go on sale, except that it’s expected to arrive in time for the holiday shopping season. For now, feel free to poke around our hands-on photo gallery, and avail yourselves of our walk-through, embedded just past the break.

Continue reading HP unveils Envy x2 laptop / tablet hybrid: 11-inch IPS screen, NFC and pen support, arriving later this year

Filed under: Laptops, Tablets

HP unveils Envy x2 laptop / tablet hybrid: 11-inch IPS screen, NFC and pen support, arriving later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Would a Series 5 Slate be just as sweet under any other name? We’ve already got hands-on with the ATIV Smart PC Pro (called the Series 7 Slate in the US) and now we’re going to show you the wonder that is the ATIV Smart PC — aka, the Series 5 Slate on this side of the Atlantic. And what can we say? It’s a lot like the Series 7 we checked out, though this guy is of course a smidge thinner and lighter, given the fanless design and inclusion of an Atom-based Clover Trail processor instead of something in the Ivy Bridge family.

Another difference: that 11.6 inch display. It’s still bright, of course, but the resolution is a lower 1,366 x 768, as opposed to the 1080p panel used in the Series 7 / Smart PC Pro. That caveat aside, the Series 5 / Smart PC is still pretty sexy, with that vibrant display and brushed metal back — though, as mentioned in our hands-on with the dock, that beauty clashes a bit with the relative cheapness of the keyboard.

As you may have read, the two slates also have stylus slots, though the S Pen was nowhere in sight during our demo — perhaps to keep it out of the hands of sneaky bloggers. In the meantime, we’ve got some hands-on photos, but we encourage you to refer back to our Series 7 / Smart PC Pro hands-on to compare the designs, and get a better feel for the custom apps Samsung has bundled.

Dana Wollman contributed to this report.

Continue reading Hands-on with the Samsung ATIV Smart PC (aka the Series 5 Slate)

Filed under: Laptops, Tablets

Hands-on with the Samsung ATIV Smart PC (aka the Series 5 Slate) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 14:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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