Hasta La Gadget!

Apple has just invited members of the press to attend a San Francisco-based product launch event on September 12th, where the next generation iPhone is expected to be officially unveiled. As rumored, it seems as if the company’s prior iPod-focused fall events may be split off into two. It’s been reported that an October event may follow this one, with a miniaturized 7-inch iPad on the docket for that. This event, however, seems a lock for the iPhone 5 — or “new iPhone,” or whatever it ends up being coined — and while CEO Tim Cook confessed at D10 that it would be doubling down on secrecy, leakers seem to have doubled down on tipping the world off on what’s to come. The keynote kicks off at 10AM PT in SF, and you can bet we’ll be there covering every second of it live. Didn’t have any “lunch” plans for 9/12? Looks like you do now.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile

Apple announces presumed iPhone 5 launch event for September 12th; we’ll be there live! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Sep 2012 12:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Apple  | Email this | Comments

BMW kicked off its DriveNow car sharing service in its home country last year to see if urban EV rentals would catch on. Something must have clicked in Germany, as the automaker is exporting the concept to the San Francisco Bay Area as of September. DriveNow’s initial fleet of 70 ActiveE vehicles will rely on a different business model after getting its American visa: the service drops the strictly by-the-minute model of the German operation in favor of a $12 base fee for a half-hour’s trip, with a 32 cents per minute rate kicking in only during longer drives. Travelers will have to drop off the cars at specified stations, too. There’s a consolation for the trouble through a ParkNow reservation service, which locks in a parking space at a guaranteed rate and navigates there through an iPhone app or the web. Just be aware that those spaces will be limited — only eight DriveNow stations and 14 ParkNow lots are active, which doesn’t afford a lot of free roaming even after discounting the lack of immediate plans for other US cities. We’re nonetheless glad that Bay Area locals without their own ride will have an easier time staying green for their cross-city jaunts.

Continue reading BMW DriveNow EV car sharing comes to San Francisco Bay Area, ParkNow follows suit

Filed under: Transportation

BMW DriveNow EV car sharing comes to San Francisco Bay Area, ParkNow follows suit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 13:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Autoblog  |  DriveNow  | Email this | Comments

Sprint’s LTE signal is well and truly out there, but it looks like roll-out is going smoother than the Now Network had predicted, appearing (though, not “officially launched”) ahead of schedule in the San Francisco Bay Area. Tipsters have told Android Police that they’ve already managed to connect to the 4G network around both Palo Alto and Mountain View, reaching speeds of over 13MBps down and 8MBps up. Coverage doesn’t yet extend across the whole of San Francisco, but bodes well for a swift roll-out — and for Sprint fulfilling its promise of voice over LTE by the end of next year.

Filed under: Cellphones

Sprint LTE makes early appearance in Bay Area originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 05:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Android Police  | Email this | Comments

Some projects go beyond Vise-Grips and duct tape. Sometimes the only thing that will get the job done is a fully equipped metalworking shop with a 32 square foot CNC machine. But those things cost a fortune, and who has room for one, anyway? TechShop does. More »

After three decades on the market, Autodesk’s software has radically transformed modern architecture, science, and art. In downtown San Francisco, Autodesk exhibits a rotating 20-item gallery showing twenty of its most impressive design feats. On a recent tour, Gizmodo saw the stunning range of the program’s capabilities. Engineers use it to plan the most the world’s major buildings, and scientists use it to make scale models of molecules. For an artist, it’s a way to finally design a giant dinosaur made of LEGO. More »