May 18

Got Plans for Doomsday? Reserve Your Bunker Here

Posted in: Miscellaneous Tech, security, space, Space Tech, Today's Chili
Vivos_Bunker.jpg
Del Mar, Calif.-based Vivos has a plan for anyone fearing doomsday: buy space in a bunker underneath the Mojave Desert. Just in case, of course.
The company promises that for $50,000, buyers can get a four-person room in a nuke-proof bunker that features an atrium, a gym, and a jail, plus an on-site restaurant, as the Associated Press reports.
So far, Vivos claims that it has collected deposits on fully half of the 132 spaces available in the 13,000 square-foot bunker–presumably from folks worried about the world ending in 2012, terrorism, asteroid collisions, and other omnipresent bugaboos common to life in the 21st century.
“I’m careful not to promote fear. But sooner or later, I believe you’re going to need to seek shelter,” said company owner Robert Vicino in the report.
The bunker resides in an undisclosed location to prevent freeloaders from finding it. Reservations cost $5,000 for each adult and $2,500 for each kid, and pets are free, according to the article. The line forms here.
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May 18

American Express offers half-price Ford Fusion Hybrid

Posted in: Today's Chili

American Express will offer a special offer on two Ford Fusion Hybrids, selling them for half price on Thursday, May 20. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-20005298-48.html” class=”origPostedBlog”The Car Tech blog/a/p

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May 18

BlueAnt Launches Voice-Controlled S4 Speakerphone

Posted in: bluetooth, Today's Chili
BlueAnt_S4_Visor.jpg
BlueAnt has launched the S4, a hands-free speakerphone with built-in voice recognition.
The S4 clips onto a car’s sun visor, and lets drivers communicate without having to touch their phone at all. It makes and receives calls with voice commands; say “BlueAnt Speak to Me,” and the device wakes up and stands at attention. (Getting the driver to say the company’s name repeatedly, sometimes with passengers in the car, must have been a real coup for the marketing department!)
The S4 has some brilliant features. For example, it will read out a caller’s name, and then ask if you want to answer or ignore. It does this by transferring and storing up to 2,000 contact names from each paired mobile phone.
The S4 also reads SMS messages and e-mail out loud using a companion SafeReader BlackBerry or Android (2.0+) app with compatible phones. It can even hook into cell phone GPS apps via A2DP streaming, for reading out directions out loud through the S4’s most assuredly larger speaker.
The S4 is available now at Best Buy for $99.99, and hits AT&T stores May 23rd.
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May 18

Sennheiser Unveils Mono Bluetooth Headset

Posted in: bluetooth, headset, Today's Chili

Sennheiser_EZX_60.jpg

Sennheiser is known for its sublime lineup of stereo headphones and earbuds, but that’s not all the company produces. 
Sennheiser has unveiled the EZX 60, a mono Bluetooth headset with noise and echo cancellation. In a statement, the company talks about the product as if it was the first Bluetooth headset ever made–“the EZX 60 eliminates the need for bothersome cables.”
But the EZX 60 does have numerous redeeming qualities, including Bluetooth 2.1 support, a soft touch ear hook, and a promised talk time that exceeds seven hours on a single charge.
The Sennheiser EZX 60 retails for $79.95 and is available now in stores.
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May 18

NEC rolls out Windows CE-based N-08B MID / phone for Japan

Posted in: MID, Today's Chili
The chances of this one ever making its way to these shores are about as slim as can be, but it looks like folks in Japan will soon be able to get their hands on NEC’s new N-08B, which is part phone and part MID (but mostly MID). Relying on the venerable Windows CE operating system, this one packs a 4.6-inch, 854 x 480 display (non-touchscreen, it seems), along with a full QWERTY keyboard complete with a trackpoint-like pointer, WiFi and 3G connectivity, a micro SD card slot for expansion, a 3.1 megapixel camera, and a promised 350 minutes of talk time when used as a phone. Still no indication of a price, but this one will apparently be available on NTT DoCoMo in August.

NEC rolls out Windows CE-based N-08B MID / phone for Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 15:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink GadgetMix, Impress  |  sourceNEC  | Email this | Comments

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May 18

Students in India build solar-powered helmet

Posted in: Today's Chili

The prototype headgear comprises solar cells and a mini fan, and is capable of charging a mobile phone using the energy generated from a 40-minute ride.

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May 18

The iPad Is Such A Great Travel Computer That I’m Selling My Laptop [Ipad]

Posted in: Apple, apple ipad, ipad, Laptops, Today's Chili, top, Travel

Back from a week out of country, I confirmed a theory: the iPad makes a fantastic travel computer. So much so that I’m going to be selling my laptop. More »

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May 18

Talking to the TV: Skype on Panasonic Vieras

Posted in: hdtv, Panasonic, skype, Today's Chili

panasonic_viera.jpgYou knew it was coming, and today it’s been activated: Skype calling is now available on 2010 Panasonic Viera Cast-enabled HDTVs. You can also now pick up Panasonic’s Skype-enabled communication camera (the TY-CC10W). This collaboration was announced back at CES in January, but is just becoming available today.

Owners of 2010 Viera Cast-enabled Plasmas (specifically the VT25, VT20, G25, and G20) can make video calls right through their sets. You’ll need that previously mentioned camera to do so, and it sells for a hefty $169.95. There’s no love in that price tag; even the best Logitech webcams go for $40 less than that.

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May 18

Cisco buys MOTO Development Group to beef up consumer design chops

Posted in: cisco, moto, Today's Chili

Cisco’s already taken some big steps into the consumer market by buying the Flip cam line and releasing the Valet routers, but the company isn’t done yet — it’s just acquired the MOTO Development Group, a San Francisco design house that’s worked on a variety of high-profile products like Zune 2.0 and the LiveScribe Pulse. MOTO’s also done some work on Android-based e-readers and MIDs that never really went anywhere, but you probably know the company best for its controversial smartphone touchscreen linearity test, which caused so much ruckus the firm actually re-did the whole thing with a robot in charge. Cisco says the MOTO crew will live in the consumer products division, alongside Linksys, Valet, and Flip, so we should see some interesting cross-pollination soon — and based on Cisco’s middling recent efforts like the Flip Slide HD, we’d even say MOTO might do well to lead a total revamp of the company’s approach to consumer design. We’ll see how it goes.

Cisco buys MOTO Development Group to beef up consumer design chops originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 14:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink GigaOM  |  sourceCisco PR  | Email this | Comments

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May 18

Art.Studio Delivers Luxury Looks and Audio

Posted in: audio, MP3 Digital Audio, Today's Chili

artstation.jpg

First glimpsed at CES, the Art.Studio music system from DW Collection is now available. The company describes the Art.Studio as a sonic and engineering tour de force. Why would that be? Because it combines form, function, performance, and exclusivity like a piece of fine art. Only the lucky few will get one, says DW Collection.

Besides hot looks, the Art.Studio has twin 49-inch high floor-standing towers created from solid, aircraft-grade aluminum billets. Inside, its three-way speaker system holds six class D digital amplifiers (three per side) and delivers 350 watts per tower. Each tower contains an 11 driver array that includes 8 3.5-inch woofers, two 3.5-inch midrange drivers, and a one-inch soft-dome tweeter.

If you’re one of the lucky few able to own at Art.Studio, better have $5,999 ready to go.

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