Hybrid
”Dell Studio Hybrid Mini PC Spotted in Spy Shots
Dell's got a mini PC on the way dubbed the Studio Hybrid, and judging by the blurry spy shots it looks a lot like the "Green" PC that launched, without details, earlier in the year. The clear orange case looks like something you'd find in a European nightclub, but we can't complain about the 320GB HDD, 4GB RAM, five USBs, HDMI, DVI, S/PDIF, DVD+R and memory card reader inside. No official word on release date or price, but we're hearing it'll be out later this year in the $500-$700 range. [Engadget]Ford's Self-Driving Hybrid DARPA Car Now Available for $89,000
If you are looking for a self-driving car, now you can buy the ByWire XGV, the modified Ford Escape that got third place at the DARPA Urban Challenge. Torc Technologies—who collaborated with Virginia Tech to develop this smartypants SUV hybrid—is going to sell the car for just $89,000 as a "research platform," so other researchers can tune and add new contraptions to make it work better and look even more menacing than the current version. The specs are loaded with ports, sensors, and even optional accessories, like vibration isolators. Whatever that is, we want it.
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Scorpion Supercar Uses Hydrogen Hybrid Engine to get 40MPG
According to Ronn Motors, the Scorpion supercar will not only achieve 0-60 mph in just 3.5 seconds, but also earns green credentials by getting 40 miles per gallon. This trick is achieved by having a hydrogen-hybrid engine under the hood (also known as hydrogen injection, Water4Gas or HHO.) Small doses of hydrogen are generated and fed into the fuel mixture, making for a more efficient burn. Apparently this technology is a little controversial, but that hasn't stopped Ronn from putting together a bloody good looking car around that special engine, as the second photo underlines.
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Hybrid Technologies Supercar Crushes Prius And Corvette
There's a car that's not slated for release until 2009 or 2010. It makes some wild claims. And no one in the media has driven it yet (since it's still in production). But with those caveats in mind, continue on to drop your jaw at Hybrid Technologies' upcoming still-nameless supercar.
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Sony Hybrid Fuel Cell Delivers 14 Hours of Cellphone Video, Will Arrive "Soon"
Sony's new hybrid fuel cell 1.2 x 2-inch battery prototype has managed to keep the juice flowing to a cellular video broadcast for 14 consecutive hours off of 10mL of methanol. The micro fuel cell system uses methanol as fuel and is complemented with a Li-polymer secondary battery to help it deal with electronic peak loads. And according to the R&D team behind it, it may arrive to your gadgets "soon." More »Next Generation Prius Hybrid Is Bigger, More Powerful, With More MPG
AutoObserver reports that the next generation Prius will be four inches longer, get a more powerful 1.8 liter gas engine that when combined with electrics will do a total 160 horsepower (compared with 110hp in the current 1.5 liter setup). The kicker is that it'll be more fuel efficient, too. Using Japan's metrics for fuel economy, the current setup gets 84kpg, but the next gen has been reported to run 94 kilometers under the same conditions. The car is set to be unveiled in 2009. [AutoObserver, photo above of the Prius Concept, not the next gen model, thanks Mona for realizing the KPG and MPG differences.]
Miu HDPC Does Linux and Windows in All-in-One Package
Yes, you will have seen slimmer UMPCs, but probably not one quite so feature-packed as the new Miu Hybrid Dual PC. The Dual bit comes from its dual-boot options of XP plus WinCE 5.0 or linux Qplus. It earns its Hybrid label by being a cellphone, navigation device, PMP, electronic dictionary, internet phone, voice recorder, games machine, mobile IPTV device and digital camera. We reckon that list of functions at least partly excuses its 0.96-inch depth. More details after the gallery.
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Fisker Karma Electric Car To Blast Out Fake Engine Sounds (Verdict: WHY?)
We already knew that the $80,000 Fisker Karma electric car may make it into production in 2009, complete with a whole bunch of lithium batteries and a small gas-powered engine (designed to work only in case of emergency). What we didn't know is that instead of being silent, the car will be fitted with speakers inside and out to blast fake engine sounds. And yes, it gets worse.
More »Husqvarna's Autonomous Solar Powered Lawnmower: Never Mow Again
That neighbor of yours thinks he is so badass with his top-of-the-line riding mower. With the Husqvarna's new autonomous lawn mower, you can sip a beer on your porch and tell your neighbor to suck it while he toils away on his yard. And the best part is that the mower is a solar/electric hybrid—so it will mow your lawn whisper quiet with nearly zero emissions.
More »Hybrid Buses No Match For Punk Kids
San Francisco's Municipal railway has shut down hybrid bus service on two lines that run through housing projects in San Francisco's Hunters Point neighborhood. Apparently, kids have taken to flipping the power switches located on the outside of the bus—which shuts down radios, lights and makes it impossible to accelerate. They say that service will not be restored until locks can be installed on the power boxes. Locks? Goddammit, it's a crisis! Why the power switches are located in an open box on the exterior of the bus is beyond me, but it seems that a quick trip to the local Wal-Mart could solve this dilemma right away. [SF Chronicle]
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Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid: First Planned HEV With Li-Ion Battery
Sure, we have heard word of lithium ion batteries being possibly implemented in a Prius before, but Mercedes-Benz is going beyond concept speculation with its S400 BlueHybrid, which promises Li-ion HEV action to be hitting the production lines by 2009. At present, that makes the S400 BlueHybrid the first Li-ion HEV with a set mass-production time frame. More »Samsung BP-U5500: $599 Hybrid Blu and HD DVD Dual Player
The Catch: The BP-5000 is having some issues with audio format support, that Sammy hopes to fix by software soon. Hope this set ships cleaner.
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Twike EV is the Flintstone's Wagon Painted Red
What can $26,000 buy you these days? Perhaps a pedal powered EV hybrid? The Twike was designed way back in the 80's, and it was put together by students in Switzerland who dreamt of Lars and Ivan iPod Dock Small In Size, Big On Sound
Lars & Ivan's entry into the iPod Dock market is not the typical do-it-all, moderately-powered device. Instead, the PA-40Ti Hybrid is a tube-based 40-watt amplifier that hooks up to whatever speakers you so desire. It also looks like some sort of utopian alien fortress, but I digress. Additional features include RCA inputs, subwoofer preamp and dock connector output (for video and usb connectivity). Belgian retailer designgadgets currently has the Hybrid available for about $342 USD. [designgadgets via technabob]
100 California Households Get to Test Drive Plug-In Priuses
While they're not getting behind the wheel of the 2009 plug-in Toyota Prius Popular Mechanics took for a spin, 100 households in Northern California are going to put rubber to asphalt next year in the first large-scale consumer test of plug-in hybrids in the country. The 100 green guinea pigs will be picked from the 4 million members of AAA of Northern California next spring and will rotate between a fleet of 10 converted Priuses loaned out for two-month intervals.
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