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Thursday, July 14, 2011

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Mercedes-Benz launches diesel-engined, Euro VI-compliant Actros heavy-duty truck

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 02:24 PM PDT

Mercedes-Benz launches diesel-engined, Euro VI-compliant Actros heavy-duty truck


Mercedes-Benz launches diesel-engined, Euro VI-compliant Actros heavy-duty truck
Filed under: Diesel, Mercedes Benz, Europe/EU, Germany Mercedes-Benz has launched its Euro VI-compliant, diesel-powered Actros heavy-duty truck, specifically designed for long-distance transport. The new-for-2012 Actros consumes three percent less fuel and 40 percent less AdBlue than its predecessor. M-B says that results from a recent 10,000-kilometer (6,214-mile) journey shows that the Euro VI Actros consumed 25.9 liters of diesel per 100 km (9.1 miles per gallon U.S....

Page: growth on Google+ has been great, over 1 billion items shared

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 02:24 PM PDT

Page: growth on Google+ has been great, over 1 billion items shared


Page: growth on Google+ has been great, over 1 billion items shared
Wondering why Google+ ran out of disk space? Looks like it might be a casualty of growth: in today's earnings call, Google CEO Larry Page revealed that since its launch, more than ten million people have joined Google+, sharing some 1 billion items every day. Those numbers not big enough for you?...

Caption Contest: A heaping helping of wearable music

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 02:24 PM PDT

Caption Contest: A heaping helping of wearable music


Caption Contest: A heaping helping of wearable music
Is this the new musical Power Glove? Imogen Heap thinks so. The Grammy winner rocked the stylish hand warmers at a TEDGlobal 2011 event in Edinburgh, Scotland, creating gesture-based music during a four-minute demonstration, with the gloves wirelessly connected to a nearby laptop. Could this be the death of the theremin as we know it, or just another good excuse to do a caption contest? Brian: "Imogen there's no heaven." Terrence: "Ms....

The Engadget Podcast, live at 5:00PM ET!

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 01:53 PM PDT

The Engadget Podcast, live at 5:00PM ET!


The Engadget Podcast, live at 5:00PM ET!
The team is back and surprisingly well-rested, and we're ready for a good, old fashioned partycast. This time out, Tim and Brian will be joined by -- get this -- Darren Murph, Dana Wollman, and Richard Lawler. The very limits of podcasting technology will be tested tonight at 5PM ET!Continue reading The Engadget Podcast, live at 5:00PM ET!The Engadget Podcast, live at 5:00PM ET!...

Europcar to add Opel Ampera to fleet of rental vehicles

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 01:22 PM PDT

Europcar to add Opel Ampera to fleet of rental vehicles


Europcar to add Opel Ampera to fleet of rental vehicles
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Opel, Europe/EU Last March, rental agency Europcar, pre-ordered 500 electric vehicles from Renault to add to its fleets in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Now, Europcar is back at it again. This time 'round, the rental agency has announced that it will add an undisclosed amount of the "go anywhere at any time" Opel Amperas to its fleet. Europcar says it will offer rental Amperas at its outlets in...

Google announces Q2 earnings: $9.02 billion in revenue, $2.51 billion in net income

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 01:22 PM PDT

Google announces Q2 earnings: $9.02 billion in revenue, $2.51 billion in net income


Google announces Q2 earnings: $9.02 billion in revenue, $2.51 billion in net income
It's everybody's favorite time of year. Yup, the Q2 earnings results are coming in, and Google's leading the pack, reporting $9.02 billion in gross revenue for the second quarter of 2011: a 32 percent increase over the same period in 2010. CEO Larry Page notes, that's a "record breaking over $9 billion of revenue," with net income reaching $2.51 billion, up from $1.84 billion in Q2 2010....

'Up' for Sale: Cartoon House Comes to Life

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 01:22 PM PDT

'Up' for Sale: Cartoon House Comes to Life


'Up' for Sale: Cartoon House Comes to Life
Ballooning foreclosures have nothing on this home in Utah, built to resemble the iconic home that took flight in the 2009 film "Up."

Spotify US premium service hands-on

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 12:51 PM PDT

Spotify US premium service hands-on


Spotify US premium service hands-on
Like The Beach Boys' Smile and Duke Nukem Forever before it, the US version of Spotify has been elevated to a sort of mythological status by collective anticipation. Music nerds and tech geeks all over this fine nation of ours have waited with bated breath for the service to work out all of its licensing kinks and finally make its way to our shores....

Apple goes patent application crazy with 14 über dull filings, hinge manufacturers tremble with fear

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 12:51 PM PDT

Apple goes patent application crazy with 14 über dull filings, hinge manufacturers tremble with fear


Apple goes patent application crazy with 14 über dull filings, hinge manufacturers tremble with fear
How's this for patent happy -- this morning a grand total of 14 applications from folks at Apple were published, covering everything from "cable structure for preventing tangling" to an "adaptive audio feedback system and method." Most of the filings are nothing terribly exciting -- though the tangle-free headphones, involving a series of alternately stiffer and more flexible cores, is a welcome upgrade to the standard iPhone headset, which is usually...

Bosch ready to "battle" for lithium-ion battery contracts

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 12:20 PM PDT

Bosch ready to "battle" for lithium-ion battery contracts


Bosch ready to "battle" for lithium-ion battery contracts
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Germany Ready for some fighting words? (Literally?) Automotive supplier Bosch is gearing up to "battle" other companies for contracts to provide lithium-ion batteries to automakers for future plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles. Bosch board member for sales and marketing Peter Tyroller told Automotive News Europe that Bosch is one of only a handful of corporations that can afford to heavily invest in li-ion battery tech, even though the...

Griffin's AppPowered Helo TC is a $50 iOS helicopter for your home's air zone

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 12:20 PM PDT

Griffin's AppPowered Helo TC is a $50 iOS helicopter for your home's air zone


Griffin's AppPowered Helo TC is a $50 iOS helicopter for your home's air zone
Get to the chopper! Er, micro-copter. Say hello to Griffin's latest AppPowered gadget, the Helo TC. This indoor-heli lets users play pilot via an iOS app offering onscreen "Touch-to-Fly" or accelerometer based "Tilt-to-Fly" controls. After a half-hour's charge over USB, you'll be airborne for about eight minutes and can initiate one of three preset flight-paths if you want to go hands-off....

Bringing the Hatch Back

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 12:20 PM PDT

Bringing the Hatch Back


Bringing the Hatch Back
The popularity of 3- and 5-door hatches seems to be on the rise.

Netflix on Nintendo 3DS hands-on (video)

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 11:49 AM PDT

Netflix on Nintendo 3DS hands-on (video)


Netflix on Nintendo 3DS hands-on (video)
The Nintendo 3DS may be suffering from a slight lack of hot games at the moment, but thanks to a little update it is certainly not suffering from a lack of great movies and TV shows to watch. The Netflix addition that Nintendo promised us back in the summer is now up for download, and download is just what we did....

Apple forced to cough up cash over iPhone location tracking in South Korea

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 11:49 AM PDT

Apple forced to cough up cash over iPhone location tracking in South Korea


Apple forced to cough up cash over iPhone location tracking in South Korea
You probably thought all the drama surrounding the iPhone location tracking fiasco was over. Oh, how wrong you were. In fact, the controversy seems ripe for a resurgence after a Korean court ordered that country's Apple arm to pay 1 million won (about $946) to Kim Hyung-suk. The payment was awarded last month, but now Kim's law firm is prepping a class action suit that could put further pressure on the...

Universal Lubricant's recycled Eco Ultra motor oil hits Amazon.com

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 11:18 AM PDT

Universal Lubricant's recycled Eco Ultra motor oil hits Amazon.com


Universal Lubricant's recycled Eco Ultra motor oil hits Amazon.com
Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Etc. Universal Lubricants' (UL) recycled Eco Ultra motor oil is now available to the general public through Amazon.com. Made in the U.S. at the company's "re-refinery," Eco Ultra is an American Petroleum Institute (API) certified synthetic blend of engine oil that meets or exceeds the Society of Automotive Engineers' (SAE) requirements and most vehicle manufacturers' specifications....

Gogo launches in-air multimedia platform, details international expansion plans

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 11:18 AM PDT

Gogo launches in-air multimedia platform, details international expansion plans


Gogo launches in-air multimedia platform, details international expansion plans
It's at least six months behind schedule at this point, but we guess late's better than even later. We'd known that Aircell Gogo (yeah, it's officially changed!) was aiming to get into the in-flight entertainment business, and today it's dishing the real dirt. It's hoping to "extend the company beyond internet connectivity," and apparently that means introducing an in-air multimedia platform....

International Atrix unlocked bootloader uncovered, hackers around the globe rejoice

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 11:18 AM PDT

International Atrix unlocked bootloader uncovered, hackers around the globe rejoice


International Atrix unlocked bootloader uncovered, hackers around the globe rejoice
That Atrix unlocked bootloader that leaked last month had one nagging limitation -- it was only for the AT&T version of Motorola's dual-core device. Now, thanks to the tireless folks who haunt the XDA forums, all of our international friends rockin' the laptop-dockable handset will soon be free of Moto's chains....

"Aluminum-Celmet" could boost electric vehicle range by 300%

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 10:16 AM PDT

"Aluminum-Celmet" could boost electric vehicle range by 300%


"Aluminum-Celmet" could boost electric vehicle range by 300%
Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in, Hybrid Sumitomo Electric Industries (SEI) is the Japanese company behind an innovation that could potentially lead to a serious rise in the capabilities of electric vehicles. If you haven't heard of SEI, that's okay. Please allow us to fill you in. SEI is a manufacturer of electric wire and optical fiber cable that recently developed a porous aluminum called "Aluminum-Celmet." The company says the lightweight metal can be...

Olloclip three-in-one lens for iPhone 4 review

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 10:16 AM PDT

Olloclip three-in-one lens for iPhone 4 review


Olloclip three-in-one lens for iPhone 4 review
The age of lugging around a pricey DSLR kit just to capture casual fisheye, wide-angle and macro photos may be nearing its end -- for some of us, at least. Designed by a startup duo in California, the Olloclip was the first project featured in our Insert Coin series, and we were thrilled to learn not only that it was successfully funded, but that the device is ready to ship to...

iRiver's Vanilla Android phone and tablet leak out, a few cubes short of 80s infamy

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 09:45 AM PDT

iRiver's Vanilla Android phone and tablet leak out, a few cubes short of 80s infamy


iRiver's Vanilla Android phone and tablet leak out, a few cubes short of 80s infamy
Remember that iRiver MX100 we spotted a few weeks ago? Yeah, well it's about to hit Korean retail shelves soon with a new name, more specs and a smaller Android-based smartphone stablemate. The marketing snapshots taken by Cetizen show off both the wildly titled Tab (really?) and little brother Vanilla (really?) rocking Android 2.2 like it's still 2010....

Ten One Design's Fling mini now delivering tactile control to touchscreen gamers

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 09:45 AM PDT

Ten One Design's Fling mini now delivering tactile control to touchscreen gamers


Ten One Design's Fling mini now delivering tactile control to touchscreen gamers
Improved gaming controls or a full-screen view? That's the conundrum you'll soon be able to face if you pre-ordered Ten One Design's Fling mini, which is now shipping. To refresh your memory, the $25 pair of springy capacitive joysticks for mobile devices -- specifically iPhone and iPod Touch -- cling onto your device's touchscreen, and aim to add tactile feel and added precision....

In depth: Car2go goes electric in San Diego

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 09:14 AM PDT

In depth: Car2go goes electric in San Diego


In depth: Car2go goes electric in San Diego
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Transportation Alternatives, SMART, AutoblogGreen Exclusive Electric Car2go In San Diego - Click above for high-res image gallery When you're trying to reconfigure how people think about urban car "ownership" - by which we mean stripping out the ownership part and replacing it with the idea of having access to a car whenever you need one - the powertrain isn't really the most important part of the picture....

Cellphones are dangerous / not dangerous: Danish chatterbox edition

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 09:14 AM PDT

Cellphones are dangerous / not dangerous: Danish chatterbox edition


Cellphones are dangerous / not dangerous: Danish chatterbox edition
Concerned that a decade and a half of regular cellphone will have a long-term effect on your health? Hopefully the latest study conducted by members of the World Health Organization (WHO) will put your mind at ease. The examination followed nearly 3 million Danish adults, studying links between phone use and the formation of acoustic neuromas -- non-cancerous, slow-growing brain tumors that form on the main nerve that connects the inner...

Microsoft promises Mango phones in September for Imagine Cup finalists

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 08:43 AM PDT

Microsoft promises Mango phones in September for Imagine Cup finalists


Microsoft promises Mango phones in September for Imagine Cup finalists
Another year, another Imagine Cup. The annual competition, sponsored by Microsoft, gives students the opportunity to apply technology to tackle hunger, poverty, and other global problems, thereby making the world a better place (for you and for me, and the entire human race). We'd say the finalists deserve a pretty cool reward for their efforts, right?...

Microsoft licenses GeoVector's augmented reality search for local guidance (video)

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 08:43 AM PDT

Microsoft licenses GeoVector's augmented reality search for local guidance (video)


Microsoft licenses GeoVector's augmented reality search for local guidance (video)
After the ho-hum AR demonstration of Windows Phone Mango, Microsoft appears to be stepping up its game by licensing a mature set of technologies from GeoVector, (a company previously known for its defunct World Surfer application). While the details remain elusive, Ballmer's crew was granted a multi-year, non-exclusive right to use and abuse the pointing-based local search and augmented reality elements of GeoVector's portfolio -- surely capable of bringing Local Scout...

Yuchai International unveils China's first Euro VI-compliant diesel engine

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 08:12 AM PDT

Yuchai International unveils China's first Euro VI-compliant diesel engine


Yuchai International unveils China's first Euro VI-compliant diesel engine
Filed under: Diesel, China China's Yuchai International Limited has announced that its subsidiary, Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Company Limited (GYMCL), just unveiled China's first-ever Euro VI-compliant diesel engine for heavy-duty trucks. Based on a GYMCL 8.4-liter oil-burning mill, the Euro VI-compliant engine was recently assessed at Tianjin's Automotive Test Center. The results show that the engine has NOx emissions of 307.3 mg/kWh and particulate emissions of 6.5 mg/kWh, well below the Euro VI limits...

PSA: Got a Nook Color? Then you can get dual-booting Nook2Android

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 08:12 AM PDT

PSA: Got a Nook Color? Then you can get dual-booting Nook2Android


PSA: Got a Nook Color? Then you can get dual-booting Nook2Android
Here comes a public service announcement: Eat slower and you'll feel fuller. Oh sorry, wrong one. We meant: Nook Color owners, you can now dual-boot your slate using the specially-created Nook2Android SD card. The card makes installing Android 2.3 a snap and it's now shipping with a dual-boot file courtesy of XDA developers, which means you can choose to boot into the original Nook OS without having to remove the card....

Keepin' it real fake: Xiaomi M1 melds iPhone and Galaxy S II with custom MIUI ROM

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 07:40 AM PDT

Keepin' it real fake: Xiaomi M1 melds iPhone and Galaxy S II with custom MIUI ROM


Keepin' it real fake: Xiaomi M1 melds iPhone and Galaxy S II with custom MIUI ROM
Granted, what you're looking at is nothing more than a skillful render, but if Apple and Samsung ever made beautiful babies, this is what would be bestowed upon the world -- pesky lawsuits notwithstanding, that is. The KIRF in question is the Xiaomi M1, a smartphone designed specifically for the MIUI custom Gingerbread ROM....

Car2go brings North America's first all-electric carsharing program to San Diego

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 07:40 AM PDT

Car2go brings North America's first all-electric carsharing program to San Diego


Car2go brings North America's first all-electric carsharing program to San Diego
When we tried out car2go's carsharing program earlier this year, we knew it was only a matter of time before the service rolled out to other parts of the country. Little did we know, however, that it would be doing so atop a flotilla of EVs. Yesterday, the Daimler subsidiary announced that San Diego will be the next city to adopt car2go, making it the first in North America to boast...

Dow Chemical forms electrolyte JV with Japan's Ube Industries

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 07:09 AM PDT

Dow Chemical forms electrolyte JV with Japan's Ube Industries


Dow Chemical forms electrolyte JV with Japan's Ube Industries
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Japan, USA The multinational Dow Chemical Company has formed a joint venture with Japan's Ube Industries to produce electrolytes for use in automotive lithium-ion batteries. Advanced Electrolyte Technologies (AET), the official name of the 50:50 joint venture, will open an electrolyte production facility in Midland, MI in 2012....