Hasta La Gadget!

Ford already wowed us with the Evos concept, but the slinkiest hybrid we’ve seen so far here in Frankfurt has not four wheels but two. It’s a concept bicycle from Ford called — wait for it — the E-Bike Concept. It packs an electric motor built into the front wheel that can power it up to a maximum speed of 25 km/h, driven by a 9.2Ah battery. Or you can power it the conventional way by pedalling, torque conveyed to the rear wheel over a carbon belt. (Oily chains are so last century.)

Perhaps even more interesting is what rests up on the handlebars. No, that’s no iDevice — refreshingly it’s a Galaxy S II. Through some custom software, riders will be able to change suspension modes and of course monitor battery charge, not to mention get a little assistance from Google Navigation and maybe pump out some Pandora too. The word “Concept” in the title here and the spindly frame design should give you a clue about when this thing will see production — probably never. But, we’ll be back with an update if that ever changes.

Ford electric E-Bike Concept packs a Galaxy S II on the bars, motor in the wheel originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So a regional carrier from the home of Palin and moose meat beat ’em to the punch, but AT&T’s at least showing signs that it’s ready to get the Samsung Galaxy S II train rolling. While it still looks like Sprint will be the first of the Big Four to bring its variant of the Android phone to the US, AT&T’s page for the handset is now live and sporting a nice big “Coming Soon!” That’s all she wrote for now, but if you’re dying to find out when Ma Bell will bring this Galaxy to you, hit the source link and sign up to get your email updates on.

Samsung Galaxy S II ‘coming soon’ to AT&T, sign up page goes live originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Sep 2011 11:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It looks like Apple’s patent spat with Samsung has now reached the land of the rising sun. Reuters is reporting that Cupertino is taking the Korean manufacturer to court in Japan, over alleged patent violations pertaining to the iPhone and iPad. Japan’s Kyodo news agency first reported the news, citing unnamed insiders who claim that Apple is looking to halt sales of Samsung’s allegedly patent-infringing Galaxy S smartphones, while seeking ¥100 million (about $1.3 million) in damages. According to the sources, the first hearing was held in a Tokyo District Court on Wednesday, though a court spokesman would not comment on the pending case. Neither Samsung nor Apple have commented on the suit and details on the patents in question remain unclear, but we’ll keep you posted as we find out more.

Update: Ryuji Yamada, CEO of Japanese provider NTT DoCoMo, is now saying that Apple’s lawsuit will not have any effect on next month’s Galaxy Tab launch. “We have heard from Samsung that there will be no obstruction to sales,” Yamada confirmed.

Apple sues Samsung in Japan over alleged iPhone, iPad patent violations originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 03:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s nothing new whatsoever about high-demand phones becoming available for preorder, but it’s not every day that you get a discount for being the first kid on the block to get one. As if there’s any concern about pushing inventory of the Samsung Epic 4G Touch — Sprint’s variant of the Galaxy S II — Wirefly is making the phone even more enticing by slashing $50 off the cost, bringing it down to $150 when signing up for a two-year agreement. Doing the math a different way, lighter on the checkbook plus a Samsung Galaxy S II equals happiness. Head to the source link to check out the deal.

Samsung Epic 4G Touch available for pre-order on Wirefly, early adopters get a $50 price break originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 03:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What’s the point of investing $100 million in a mobile payment system if you don’t have the goods to back it up? AT&T may be adopting this philosophy, beginning with the Galaxy S II. With the aid of eagle-eyed Android dev François Simond, we conducted an extended analysis of Ma Bell’s latest gem and discovered it’s rife with NFC. In addition to containing kernel drivers and a pre-installed APK, the system files also indicate the device is running in a mode named NDEF — short for NFC Data Exchange Format. We haven’t been able to determine if the handset will be capable of making payments, but the presence of Near-Field Communications in the Galaxy S II is definitely a good sign. T-Mobile is keeping a tight lid on its variant for the moment, preventing us from getting an in-depth look, but FCC filings confirm it will contain NFC as well.

As for the third handset announced last night, the Epic 4G Touch contains no mention of NFC. Upon further analysis, we uncovered something else potentially more disturbing: it’s using the same WiMAX module (cmc732) as the Samsung Nexus S 4G, a handset that was plagued with performance issues when it was originally released (those concerns were eventually resolved in a later update). In this case, it’s hard to tell if that means we’ll relive the painful experience once again, or if it will come with improved firmware to ensure it doesn’t take the same path as its 4G brother. We’re starting to unravel the mysteries, folks, and will continue to fill you in as we learn more. If you’re considering one of these three lovely models, will these discoveries sway your decision in a particular direction?

[Thanks, François Simond]

Samsung Galaxy S II logs confirm NFC support for AT&T, none for Sprint originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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