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Filed under: Transportation

Audi has already manged to work some LEDs into a few of its vehicles (concepts and otherwise), but the automaker has gone all out with its latest Audi R8, which employs LEDs for seemingly each lighting function. That includes the 24-LED running lamps the R8 had before, along with some brand LED high and low beam headlights, and LED turn signals, which add up to some 54 LEDs in all. Of course, given the prices that single LED bulbs demand these days, it should come as no surprise that this is quite the high-priced option, with it adding a full €3,590 (or about $5,560) to the R8’s already lofty sticker price.

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Filed under: Robots

We’ve always been skeptical of Rolly’s purpose, but Associated Press business writer Rachel Metz isn’t pulling any punches when it comes to reviewing Sony’s MP3-playing dance-bot. She calls it a mere conversation-starter “if your dancing hamster has run off”, notes that the $400 toy lacks a headphone jack, and scoffs at the 2GB of storage. She also offers that while she gets the notion of the Rolly as a programmable bot with its “Rolly Choreography” software, she had a hard time justifying the time it took to just get through one song (30 minutes of tweaking for 20 seconds of bot action). We’re not about to defend the Rolly’s place in life, but let’s be fair: Rolly isn’t meant to solve problems: it’s meant to confuse AP writers, scare cats, and get hacked to all oblivion.

[Via BoingBoing]

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Filed under: Laptops

It struck us the other day as we were going over some back posts that since the launch of the ASUS Eee Personal computer (and the numerous products that have followed, from the MSI Wind to the HP Mini-Note), to the best of our knowledge we’ve all yet to have any normalized, agreed-upon name for these kinds of devices. Yes, they’re technically “ultraportables” (which we usually define as being any relatively small laptop and under four pounds), but to state an Eee Personal computer is in the same class as, state, the Lenovo X300, the VAIO TZ, or the MacBook Air would be kind of misleading.

We’ve heard “low-cost ultraportable” and “laptop-lite” used to describe these kinds of machines, but it seems ideal to let you decide: leave your best suggestion for what we all should all call this emerging product category, and we’ll put it up to vote next week. We’ll officially be throwing “netbook” into the ring. (Intel may have initially coined the term, but that we don’t think it should necessarily have to refer only to Intel-based products.)

Popularity: 3% [?]

Filed under: Blu-ray

Oh what a difference a new release makes to the Nielsen VideoScan charts courtesy of Home Media Magazine. The National Treasure series helped excel Blu to a 7% share this week, which is the second highest we’ve seen since HMM started tracking Blu-ray’s share compared to DVD. The Nic Cage movies took all three of the top spots on the Blu-ray chart, leaving every other title in the dust by a massive margin. But while Book of Secrets may have outsold any other Blu-ray title by almost 4 to 1, it only managed a 6.98% share of the overall title’s sales when compared to DVD. Even though Blu-ray had a great week this week with a 54.94% increase over last, we still can’t help but to harp on the fact that 10 of the top 20 DVD titles aren’t available on Blu. The market share per title chart is back this week (after the jump) and it’s very obvious that Blu makes up for not having the same new releases by selling catalog titles like V for Vendetta and Twister, with the number one title on both the DVD and the Blu-ray top 20, is the number 20th in regards to Blu-ray market share. As for next week, there’s no way Blu-ray can sustain these numbers with only Rambo, but the week after should be really interesting considering how many movies are due to be released on Blu on the same day.

Continue reading Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending May 25th, 2008

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Filed under: Peripherals, Apple

In case you’re not swimming in Apple gear just yet (wait ’til the children come…), Griffin Technology has just released a more modest solution to charging “just” a pair of iPhones / iPods or one of each. The two-port PowerDock 2 features a pair of universal docks and a collection of dock inserts to ensure that almost every iPod (and the iPhone) can get a seat at the table. It’s available as we talk for $49.95.

[Via PopGadget]

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Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

If you’re anything like our boy Ryan, you’ve been wearing that Wii Fit out ever since you took delivery. Unfortunately, you’ve probably been doing a bit of unintentional jogging when logging miles back and forth to the local mini-mart for batteries. If you can’t seem to keep your Wii Balance Board charged, Nyko has introduced a novel solution: the Energy Pack for Wii Fit. Our pals over at Nintendo Wii Fanboy were able to get ahold of this very unit and put it through its paces, and generally speaking, they were quite impressed with the $20 peripheral-for-a-peripheral. Head on over for the full writeup and a smattering of pics.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Filed under: Digital Cameras

We’ve got your summer crapcamcorders right ‘ere — three new RCA Small Wonder cams to make your Flips flop. Check ‘em out:

• Small Wonder MyLife, EZ200 (black) - 1.5-inch flip-out display, microSDHC with with 1GB microSD that does up to 30 / 60 minutes in high quality and web quality modes, $89 and due this summer
• Small Wonder Pocket, EZ205 (white) - 1.5-inch flip-out display, microSDHC slot with 1GB microSD that does up to 30 / 120 minutes in high quality and web quality modes, $100 and due this summer
• Small Wonder Traveler, EZ210 (green) - 2.4-inch QVGA display, SDHC with 2GB SD card that does up to 60 / 240 minutes in high quality and web quality modes, $150 and due this summer

Popularity: 3% [?]

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, MPG, Audi

In the ongoing effort to improve fuel efficiency on automobiles, automakers are looking for ways to reduce parasitic losses that absorb power from the engine rather than sending it to the drive wheels. That means replacing constant drive hydraulic steering assist systems with on-demand electric equivalents and just generally trying to cut the power stipulations for all accessory systems. One area that draws power is the lighting system. Cutting the power requirements for headlights is a tricky problem since performance needs to be maintained for safety reasons. One of the best new technologies for lighting is LEDs. Last year Lexus launched LED low beam headlamps on the LS600h and now Audi is taking the next step with the R8 sports vehicle.

Audi has just added a new full LED light option that includes high and low beams, turn signals and daytime running lights. The cluster contains 54 LEDs that never wear out, provide better lighting performance and use less power. There’s just one problem, as usual with new technology: it’s high-priced. Audi is charging a €3,590 ($5,600 U.S.) premium for the full LED system. Eventually the price will come down, hopefully sooner rather than later and on a car like the R8 it probably won’t make much difference to the mileage. Nonetheless all of these little things add up and help. Going forward as we move to electrified automobiles, reducing the electrical power draw will be even more critical. By the middle of the next decade when we have significant numbers of electric cars coming to our roads we’ll probably begin seeing LED lighting going mainstream. Details from Audi after the break.


Press Release:

Ingolstadt, 2008-05-30

The finest in lighting technology:

First full-LED headlamp for the Audi R8

• 54 high-performance LEDs provide all lighting functions
• Color similar to daylight offers advantages at night
• Innovative lighting technology as option

Ingolstadt - Effective immediately, the range of equipment available for the Audi R8 sports automobile now also includes the first full-LED headlamp. In addition to the daytime running light which now features 24 LEDs per headlamp, light-emitting diodes are also used for the turn signals, the low-beam and the high-beam headlights. The €3,590 option rounds out the list of equipment available for the high-tech, mid-engine sports vehicle.

The earlier launch of LED technology at the front of the vehicle required a waiver by the European Union. The prominent advantages are lower energy consumption and a color that more closely resembles daylight, provides greater contrast and is easier on the human eye. LEDs are also non-wearing, require a lower voltage, are compact and offer greater design freedom.

The new full-LED headlamp represents the pinnacle of Audi’s lighting strategy. The use of LEDs already enjoys a long tradition. This innovative technology has previously been used in production vehicles for tail light functions, brake lights and daytime running lights. Since early 2003, Audi has also used the semiconductor technology in a number of concept automobiles to implement some or all of the lighting functions at the front of the automobile.

The brand with the four rings first introduced a strip-shaped fog lamp at the Detroit Auto Show in 2003. That same year, the Audi Nuvolari quattro showing the first full-LED headlamp was a highlight of the Geneva Auto Show. And the Le Mans quattro - a legitimate predecessor to the Audi R8 - illuminated the Frankfurt night with LEDs on the eve of the 2003 Frankfurt Auto Show.

Additional concept vehicles and many refinements to the light source and headlamp geometry followed. This technological highlight is now available as an option for the Audi R8, where it joins other very well-known high-tech components such as the aluminum Audi Space Frame, ceramic brakes and the mid-mounted V8 engine with FSI technology.

[Source: Audi]

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The Touchpad Pro homebrew app for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch has been updated to version 4.22.

In case you haven’t come across it yet, Touchpad Pro essentially lets you turn your iPhone or iPod touch into a snazzy touchscreen-capable remote control for your PC. You can check out this previous article for a video of it in action.

Anyway, there doesn’t seem to be anything new feature-wise, but this latest release does fix a bug affecting the app’s zoom function. You can get Touchpad Pro 4.22 via the Apple iPhone School’s BigBoss source linked below.

Via [apple.qj.net]

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