Ford’s V2V tech talks to other cars, may or may not temper road rage (video)

You know we’re headed safely into the future when Ford starts trotting out ‘talking car‘ technology. It’s highly unlikely that your next-gen Taurus will start criticizing your outfit selection anytime soon, but it will alert you to potential unseen collisions. The V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle) communication powering this auto evolution differs slightly from existing peer-to-peer tech — wedding GPS with a dedicated WiFi network, these autobots are only five years away from giving K.I.T.T. all sorts of company. Toss in a bit of FCC-channel security, add a dashboard of flashing-red LEDs, and you’re looking at a car that’ll aggressively bleep and bloop you out of harm’s way. Rest easy Big Brother types, Ford says the cars won’t be automagically controlling themselves — you still have to rely on those well-honed ninja reflexes for that.

[Image courtesy CNET]

Ford’s V2V tech talks to other cars, may or may not temper road rage (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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D-Link’s Amplifi networking suite keeps the whole mansion connected

Between our TVs, PCs, game consoles, and even refrigerators, most every room of our homes have devices needing an on-ramp to the information superhighway. To keep these gadgets connected, D-Link has debuted its Amplifi home networking equipment to bathe every square foot of your abode in ample bandwidth. There’s the $150 HD Media Router 1000 that does 802.11n WiFi at 300 Mbps and has QoS technology to make sure your HD video streams and games are lag-free, plus four Gigabit Ethernet ports and an SD card reader. The Whole Home Router 1000 is $120 and sports similar specs sans the SD slot, but also packs D-Link’s SmartBeam technology that tracks devices and “focuses beams of bandwidth” to keep you connected in every room. D-Link’s $160 WiFi Booster also uses SmartBeam tech to extend your network’s range via the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands and put four more Gigabit Ethernet ports anywhere you choose. Lastly, the Powerline AV 500 Adapter ($100) and Gigabit switch ($200) give you screaming 500Mbps speeds from any electrical outlet. Interested? Well, they’re all available now, except for the laggard Whole Home Router 1000, which isn’t available until August. PR’s after the break.

Continue reading D-Link’s Amplifi networking suite keeps the whole mansion connected

D-Link’s Amplifi networking suite keeps the whole mansion connected originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Jun 2011 00:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HomePlug and IEEE want our home networks to play nice, talk to each other

HomePlug Powerline Alliance and IEEEHomePlug hasn’t exactly struck it big on the home networking scene but, with so many disparate options (none of which play very nice together) it’s not hard to see why. The Powerline Alliance is throwing its support behind a new IEEE standard, P1905, that may ease our consumer pain and make the outlet connectivity tech a better fit for our dungeons living rooms. The goal is to create a layer that sits atop the various wired and wireless hookups that blanket our homes and let them easily share data. Bridging the gap between HomePlug, HomePlug AV, Ethernet, WiFi, and MoCA is an ambitious task to tackle, but we’ve got faith our gadgets can get along.

Continue reading HomePlug and IEEE want our home networks to play nice, talk to each other

HomePlug and IEEE want our home networks to play nice, talk to each other originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 19:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Philips Fidelio Speakers with AirPlay hands-on (video)


Traditional speaker docks are so 2010. This year, AirPlay is in, and Philips was on hand to demo five new wireless speaker models at the CEA LineShows in NYC, set to roll out beginning later this month through the holiday season. Its flagship Fidelio SoundSphere DS9800W will ship in June with a price tag of about $800, but didn’t appear willing to pair with the iPhone Philips had on hand at the show. We did go ears-on with the more affordable DS8800W, however, which filled the small demo room with deep, rich Fire and Rain, sans-wires — and can do the same in your own home when it ships for $400 beginning next month. That model isn’t nearly as sleek as the non-functional SoundSphere, or its smaller DS6800W counterpart, which will hit stores in time for the holidays with a $500 MSRP. Philips also showed off its 360-degree DS3881W and compact AD7000W — both of which also include AirPlay support, and will ship for $330 and $230, respectively, by the holiday season. Jump past the break for a look at all five models.

Continue reading Philips Fidelio Speakers with AirPlay hands-on (video)

Philips Fidelio Speakers with AirPlay hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Archos unveils bare-bones Arnova 7 Android tablet, priced at $99

We caught a brief glimpse of Archos’ new Arnova 7 tablet when it hit the FCC last week and now, we have a few more details on the company’s affordable Android-based slate. Though there’s no information on its RAM or processing capacity, the latest addition to the Arnova clan boasts a seven-inch, resistive touchscreen LCD with 800×480 resolution, supports 720p HD playback, and offers 4GB of flash memory. Running on Froyo, this WiFi-enabled slab will give you access to the AppsLib store, rather than the Android Market, and won’t come with any of the front- or rear-facing cameras you’d expect from higher-end products. But, then again, it’s pretty hard to argue with any tablet priced at just $99. No word yet on when the Arnova 7 will start shipping, but we’ll let you know as soon as we find out.

Archos unveils bare-bones Arnova 7 Android tablet, priced at $99 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 08:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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G-Technology’s G-Connect offers 500GB of wireless storage, portable WiFi network to smartphone, tablet users

Hitachi’s G-Technology unit has already showered us with a slew of external hard drives, but it’s taking a slightly more hybridized approach with the G-Connect — a device that offers both wireless storage and portable WiFi access to smartphone and tablet users. Designed with nomadic content-hoarders in mind, this little rascal boasts 500GB of mobile storage, can simultaneously support more than five different devices on its 802.11n wireless network, and, when connected via Ethernet, serves as a WiFi access point. It’s also robust enough to stream up to five standard-definition movies at one time (or up to three HD flicks), and, at about 9.7 ounces, it won’t add too much weight to your quiver of gadgets, either. If you’re worried about security, you can surround the network with a password-protected fortress, or store some of your less mentionable content in your very own private folder. iOS users can further enhance their G-experience by downloading the accompanying app, which will allow them to view and access all of their G-stored documents and media from the comfort of their iDevices (an equivalent app for the Android crowd will launch this fall). If you’re interested, you can pre-order the G-Connect from G-Technology’s website for $200, or wait until it hits retailers next month. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading G-Technology’s G-Connect offers 500GB of wireless storage, portable WiFi network to smartphone, tablet users

G-Technology’s G-Connect offers 500GB of wireless storage, portable WiFi network to smartphone, tablet users originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Qi-Hardware debuts free, open source wireless solution, not a threat to WiFi

Qi-Hardware atben and atusb

Qi-Hardware has a bit of an obsession with free, open source, and underpowered. The latest project from this descendent of OpenMoko is a set of license free wireless boards called atben (for the company’s Ben NanoNote) and atusb for other laptops. The adapters rely on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard which powers 6LoWPAN and ZigBee. Don’t get confused though, this is not a replacement for WiFi — it’s more like long range Bluetooth (and it’s not compatible with either). Ben WPAN, as it’s being called, has a range of about ten meters in “standard” mode while pushing 250Kbps. Turning on the “non-standard” mode boosts throughput to (a still patience-testing) 2Mbps, but cuts the range in half. You can pick up pre-built adapters starting at €29.50 (about $42) for the atben, €41.30 ($59) for the atusb, or €59.00 ($84) for both at Tuxbrain. Don’t expect to just jam one into your Mac however — for now at least, Ben WPAN is a Linux only affair. (How often do you hear that?)

Qi-Hardware debuts free, open source wireless solution, not a threat to WiFi originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 14:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP ships $50 WiFi Mobile Mouse, gives your Bluetooth radio a break

If you’ve been waiting oh-so-patiently for HP’s $49.99 WiFi Mobile Mouse to ship, take heart — the aforesaid critter is now ready to free up one more valuable USB port at your workstation. As mentioned before, this ain’t your mum’s wireless mouse, as it makes use of WiFi technology — you know, instead of the tried-and-true Bluetooth. In other words, this bad boy doesn’t require anything other than itself to connect. HP promises up to nine months of battery life, offers five programmable buttons, a four-way tilt scroll wheel and adjustable sensitivity. Just think — you can finally choose to keep those remaining Four Loko cans chilled without resorting to an inbuilt trackpad. Reason enough to pull the trigger, yeah?

Continue reading HP ships $50 WiFi Mobile Mouse, gives your Bluetooth radio a break

HP ships $50 WiFi Mobile Mouse, gives your Bluetooth radio a break originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 09:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Archos Arnova 7 hits the FCC, brings new hope to penny-pinching tablet enthusiasts

Archos Arnova 7 hits the FCC, brings new hope to penny-pinching tablet enthusiasts

For those who like their Android tablets cheap, it looks like Archos is ready to unleash yet another budget-friendly addition to the Arnova family stateside. The Arnova 7 slate has just graced the FCC, accompanied by the requisite confidentiality requests, which means we won’t get any real-deal shots of the thing, nor a full list of specs, but we did get a rather nice sketch of the WiFi tablet via the good old label-placement diagram. If that outline’s got you all worked up, the Arnova 7’s already received some pricing and spec details overseas, rocking a €99 price tag, 800×480-pixel display, and Android 2.2. Now we’ll just have to wait and see how that translates when the Arnova 7 makes its way across the pond.

Archos Arnova 7 hits the FCC, brings new hope to penny-pinching tablet enthusiasts originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 18:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battery-less transmitters pave the way for wireless baby sensors

NFC BabyThe radio waves that saturate the air around us may, or may not, give us headaches and cancer, but we can tell you for certain they’re capable of powering tiny wireless chips. Renesas Electronics Corp has created a new ultra-low power wireless transmitter that can push data to both Bluetooth and WiFi receivers without the need for a battery or AC adapter. Instead of the typical tens of milliwatts, the little transmitters require only a few microwatts of power, which can be harvested from environmental radio waves through LC resonance. The creators envision adhesive sensors that send a baby’s body temperature to laptops and ads that beam coupons to smartphones over short distances — you know, the sort of stuff NFC can do, but without the specialized hardware.

Battery-less transmitters pave the way for wireless baby sensors originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 14:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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