Video: Intel-backed Volkswagen infotainment system gets demonstrated

Volkswagen has been known to dabble in exotic places when it comes to in-dash entertainment, and while it’s latest initiative isn’t totally far-fetched, it’s still worth a peek. The automaker has recently teamed up with Intel in order to develop a prototype head unit that’s completely self-enclosed, meaning that there’s no carputer hanging out in the trunk handling the dirty work. The touchscreen-based infotainment center shown in the video past the break is rocking Windows XP underneath and gladly accepts a number of gesture-based inputs. For example, motorists can swipe down to play or pause a track, while swiping left or right anywhere on the panel moves the playlist forward or back. The project manager doesn’t bother to say when this stuff will actually hit the showroom floor, but CNET has it that you’ll be waiting at least three years — and that’s if you’re lucky.

[Via CNET]

Continue reading Video: Intel-backed Volkswagen infotainment system gets demonstrated

Filed under: , ,

Video: Intel-backed Volkswagen infotainment system gets demonstrated originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 18:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

OCZ’s Z-Drive priced at Amazon: $1,561 and way up

The kind folks at OCZ Technology’s CeBIT booth told us that they expected the forthcoming Z-Drive to be priced between $1,500 and $2,000, and unfortunately for consumers, they were obviously just talking about the starting tag. Today, the much-hyped PCI-Express SSD card — which strings a few blocks of flash memory together on a wicked fast PCI-E pipeline — has been listed at Amazon, and the asking prices are downright eye-popping. The drive is slated to ship in 250GB, 500GB and 1TB flavors, with Amazon demanding $1,561.30, $2,450.50 and $3,368.99 for each in order of mention. We know read rates up to 500MB/sec and write rates of up to 470MB/sec are appealing and all, but damn.

[Thanks, Gary]

Read – 250GB Z-Drive listing
Read – 500GB Z-Drive listing
Read – 1TB Z-Drive listing

Filed under:

OCZ’s Z-Drive priced at Amazon: $1,561 and way up originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 May 2009 09:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Prototype OCZ Z-Drive PCI-Express SSD splayed, scoped out

Mmm, PCI-Express-based SSD storage. Be honest, is there anything more delicious? The camera-wielding cats over at Hot Hardware managed to climb behind the scenes at OCZ Technology and snap a bevy of shots of the outfit’s highly anticipated Z-Drive in prototype form, and while the device doesn’t look all that different than the press shots we peeked last month, there seems to be some ways yet to go before this bad boy’s available for purchase. At any rate, the innards look about as you’d expect ’em to, with loads of green PCB littered about with oodles of ultra-speedy flash storage. The drive pictured above is actually a 512GB version with a single 4-pin molex power connector and an X4 PCI-e slot, and it benched at upwards of 500MB/sec during read tests and 400MB/sec on write tests. Check the read link for a closer look — just don’t forget to prep the drool rag before heading over.

Filed under:

Prototype OCZ Z-Drive PCI-Express SSD splayed, scoped out originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 May 2009 08:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Fujitsu’s supercomputer-ready Venus CPU said to be “world’s fastest”

Due to the intrinsic limitations of machine translation, it’s hard to say exactly what makes Fujitsu‘s latest supercomputer the “world’s fastest,” but we’ll hesitantly believe for the time being. We’re told that the SPARC64 VIIIfx (codename Venus) can churn through 128 billion calculations per second, which supposedly bests the current champ — a chip from Intel — by 2.5 times. An AP report on the matter states that Fujitsu shrunk the size of each central circuit, which in turn doubled the number of circuits per chip. ‘Course, this beast won’t be ready for supercomputer work for several years yet, giving the chip maker’s biggest rivals plenty of time to sabotage its moment in the limelight.

[Via Physorg]

Filed under:

Fujitsu’s supercomputer-ready Venus CPU said to be “world’s fastest” originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 May 2009 16:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Portable HD Radio prototype gets pictured, coming this summer for under $50

Details are rather scant on this little gem right now, but here’s what we can tell you: you’re looking at the world’s first HD Radio portable device prototype, and it’s slated to do just about exactly what you expect. In other words, it’ll slip into your pocket, tune into HD Radio as well as standard analog FM broadcasts and connect with any set of cans that use a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack. Unfortunately, the manufacturer is being kept under wraps, and there’s no Bluetooth headset support baked in. That said, you can expect it to land in an undisclosed “big box retailer” this summer for under $50.

Filed under: ,

Portable HD Radio prototype gets pictured, coming this summer for under $50 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 May 2009 22:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

LonMID M100 is a giant smartphone or tiny netbook, you choose

Look, we’re not going to try and convince you that you need carry yet another device to maintain your connected lifestyle. And at 6.2 x 3.5 x 1.1-inches, the LonMID M100 is too chunky to join your smartphone in the trouser pocket while being a bit too cramped compared to the netbook or laptop carried in your shoulder bag. Still, we can appreciate the effort required to pack this much technology into such a tiny QWERTY device. On the back of the main 4.8-inch (800 x 480) display, the dual-purpose M100 features a dedicated keypad, SIM, and 2.4-inch display for making jumbo-sized calls when the mood strikes. Otherwise, it’ll help you consume, and lightly create content under the direction of a MIDinux OS riding an 800MHz Atom Z500 processor with Poulsbo chipset, 1GB of DDR2 memory, and 4GB SSD with microSD expansion. Bluetooth, USB, and 802.11b/g WiFi? Yup, it’s in there. Fortunately, it’s only a prototype so you can put off all the hard decision making until later.

[Via Pocketables]

Filed under: ,

LonMID M100 is a giant smartphone or tiny netbook, you choose originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 05:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Renault’s plug-in Kangoo be bop Z.E. features ‘printed circuit’ motifs, cute as a 390-point breadboard

Push up those glasses and refresh the lead in your mechanical pencils, Renault has a new accessory to transport your nerdrobe to the data center. Meet the Kangoo be bop Z.E. plug-in prototype. While the technology inside (Lithium Ion batteries with a 100-mile range and 30 minute recharge to 80% capacity — or full charge in 20 minutes using a proposed 400V universal standard plug) is very similar to the vehicles that Renault expects to release on the road in 2011, and its appearance matches that of the Kangoo be bop hitting European roads this spring, it’s the design detail that captured our attention. Zoom in on the gallery below and you’ll quickly see that the Z.E. prototype (and future concept) is heavily influenced by the look of printed circuit boards, or “printed circuit motifs” as claimed by Renault’s press release. Go ahead, firmly embrace your geekiness without guilt. Remember, you’re a rock star.

P.S. Who knew we’d be rocking the Samsung F480 Tocco so far into the future?

[Via Autopia]

Filed under:

Renault’s plug-in Kangoo be bop Z.E. features ‘printed circuit’ motifs, cute as a 390-point breadboard originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 May 2009 06:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Shinoda’s giant curved plasma weighs less than your father’s first laptop

We’ve been keeping an eye on Shinoda Plasma’s curved PTA (plasma tube array) technology since 2007. What started as a single 43-inch prototype grew to 125-inches in 2008. Now, Shinoda is showing off a 145-inch diagonal prototype consisting of six PTA panels stitched together in a 2-meter x 3-meter matrix. The 960 x 720 pixel resolution might not impress you until you consider the weight: just 7.2-kg (15.8-pounds) thanks to the slim PTA panels measuring just 1-mm thick. Impressive compared to 108-inch LCDs that weigh in at 196-kg (430-pounds) and the original Osborne 1 “laptop” that weighed 24.5-pounds. With any luck, these giant displays will be commercialized for signage so we can all simulate crushing motions with two hands.

Filed under:

Shinoda’s giant curved plasma weighs less than your father’s first laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 May 2009 03:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

I-Buddie shows off its Android netbook prototype

We’ve heard plenty of talk about Android-powered netbooks — and even seen a few hacks demonstrating the concept in action — but it sounds like little-known I-Buddie is actually planning on shipping a product sometime soon. That’s really all we have to go on at the moment — Sascha from netbooknews calls this a “prototype,” so anything could change, but we’re definitely intrigued. Here’s the question, though — would you rather have an Android netbook or a more MID-style device like the Movit Mini? We’re leaning MID. Video after the break.

Continue reading I-Buddie shows off its Android netbook prototype

Filed under:

I-Buddie shows off its Android netbook prototype originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Panasonic developing 1080p twin-lens P2 camcorder for native 3D captures

You know that 3D bandwagon you’re still hesitant to jump on? We get the feeling that this year’s NAB show may just push you over the top. Shortly after hearing of Fujifilm’s newest P2 memory cards comes this, a conceptual camcorder in which to eventually slot ’em in. Currently, Panasonic’s 3D Full HD Camera Recorder is merely a prototype, but it’s made clear that the company intends to bring this to market as soon as possible. Essentially, the device will boast a twin-lens system for capturing 3D footage natively in 1080p, and all of the video streams will be stored on Panny’s professional P2 cards. It’s hard to say if this would even be useful for 2D shooting on the side, but with practically every major studio at least considering (if not committing to) 3D production, we’d say it’s a solid investment on Panasonic’s part either way.

Filed under: , ,

Panasonic developing 1080p twin-lens P2 camcorder for native 3D captures originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments