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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Unfortunately for you budding energy stars out there, the Pentagon’s latest contest is over, so you’ve no choice here but to grit your teeth and applaud both DuPont and Germany’s Smart Fuel Cell. Out of the 170 teams vying for the $1 million prize, these two managed to impress the most; the winning gizmo was the M-25 portable power system, which is already being sold to the US Army for “limited use in the field.” Contestants were tasked with creating a new wearable power solution to juice up energy-hungry military gear (GPS units, night-vision goggles, head-mounted PMPs, etc.) without weighing soldiers down, and the winning device combined “DuPont’s direct-methanol fuel cell technology with SFC’s fuel cell and battery system.” Yeah, we’re totally expecting a PSP / DS compatible version of this before the holidays.

[Via FuelCellWorks, thanks Adam]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Cellphones

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/tech_news/HTC_not_bringing_Touch_HD_to_the_States’; This shouldn’t be surprising at all to anyone even remotely familiar with HTC’s tendencies, but the Touch HD is officially not ever shipping to America (unless you import, obviously). The news was dropped via a Tweet (of all things), but evidently, the outcry over what we figured was common knowledge has caused some windows to be rattled in the penthouse offices. Another official Tweet followed to thank everyone for “expressing their desire for the HD,” with the author noting that “US management now knows there’s a grassroots demand for high-end HTCs here.” Really, HTC? You needed a flood of angry Twitter comments to understand that Americans would give their second born for a phone like the Touch HD?

[Via WMExperts, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: We’ve received official word from HTC that they’ve been really overwhelmed by the “strong” demand for the HD in the States and other markets where no launch has been planned (with that insane display, it seemed like a no-brainer to us!). Sadly, due to the engineering time required to get a North American 3G version in the pipeline, they say they’re better off just waiting until the next round of products launches — hopefully with some extra bands in the radio this time, eh?

Read - Touch HD not coming to the US
Read - Thanks for the concern

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Ask Engadget, GPS

Yeah, you definitely have our permission to be incredibly envious of someone who is actually going to be motoring about in both Europe and North America on a frequent basis, but in all seriousness, we’re betting Sneaker isn’t the only chap out there looking for the best GPS for intercontinental travels.

“I’m headed to Europe in the near future and will be doing some extensive driving. Thus, I’m wondering which GPS units your readers have found to be effective for cruising on the back-roads of Europe, while still getting the job done in North America as well? Would appreciate some recommendations.”

You’ll notice a budget is glaringly absent here, so feel free to toss out your recommendations from low-end to princely. Meanwhile, you can beam in a burning question of your own by writing us at ask at engadget dawt com — who knows, you might find your very own words in this space next week.

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Transportation

Although the mention of a magnetically levitating train outside of US borders won’t grab too much attention, saying that phrase here most definitely perks up ears. Sure enough, a maglev project that would shuttle folks from Disneyland to Las Vegas at up to 300 miles-per-hour is now jousting with a cheaper diesel-electric alternative (dubbed DesertXpress) for support. Reportedly, the latter would cost “just” $3- to $5 billion to construct — compared to $12 billion for the former — but rather than escorting folks from Anaheim or even Los Angeles, its origin would be planted in Victorville, California. Still, the trip from there to Vegas would only take three to four hours including the 1.5 hour drive to Victorville, but that still doesn’t sound nearly as nice as “well under two hours” for the maglev. As it stands, there’s quite a bit of red tape to wade through before either option goes forward, but kicking back on a whizzing train sounds an awful lot better than staring at pavement and blasting the air conditioner for five or so hours.

[Via Gadling]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Good news, everyone! Remember that Alien-infested, out of control satellite we told you about a few weeks ago? Well, the US government has finally put together a plan to avoid the civilization-decimating disaster that would have resulted from its impact with Earth: they’re gonna blow it up. That’s right — US officials have confirmed that they’re going to use modified SM-3 missiles fired from a cruiser and destroyer off the Northwest coast of Hawaii to take the thing out. The weapons have additional fuel and new software which will allow them to reach the object in orbit, thus blasting it to smithereens. The resulting impact will leave nothing but “space junk,” which will endlessly pollute the galaxy until we’re wiped out by a reverse “Big Bang” or doomsday device. You may now return to your overpriced latté.

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Source: Joshua Topolsky

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

According to a highly dubious study recently released by a maker of paper-shredders, 47-percent of Americans said they would “like to be Bill Gates.” The other 53-percent said they preferred being powerless, poor, and not knowing what to do with Visual Basic.

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Source: Joshua Topolsky

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Filed under: Networking

It’s not like we haven’t seen consortiums working to establish better links between America and Asia, but the more the merrier, right? Apparently, Verizon Business has just recently received the all-important thumbs-up from the FCC to “activate and operate the Trans-Pacific Express submarine cable system in the US.” The TPE cable is hailed as “the first next-generation undersea optical cable system directly linking the US and mainland China,” and is the first major system of its kind to land on America’s West Coast (Oregon, to be precise) in over seven years. For those curious, the 10,563-mile submarine communications cable will be able to support the equivalent of 62 million simultaneous phone calls — which is “more than 60 times the overall capacity of the existing cable directly linking the US and China” — and will initially provide capacity of up to 1.28Tbps. So, when will this thing be up and running? If all goes to plan, it should be fully operational by August (you know, prior to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing).

[Image courtesy of Devicepedia]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Don’t feel bad if the iAudio U5 hasn’t creeped into your mind since it “debuted” at IFA last September — it’s not like Cowon’s doled out any sort of marketing blitz to keep us intrigued. Nevertheless, this somewhat stylish little DAP is apparently making its way to the US of A for those who like to avoid the me-too crowd. Specs wise, you’ll find a 1.8-inch 160 x 128 resolution LCD, up to a full day of battery life, 4GB / 8GB of internal memory, MP3 / WMA / WAV playback, a built-in FM radio and voice recorder, user adjustable five-band EQ and USB connectivity. Good enough for you? Cough up $149.99 / $109.99 to snag one in 8GB or 4GB, respectively.

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Source: Darren Murph

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