We all know that the almost indestructible, go anywhere, super macho Hummer is the ultimate in off road/on road/red carpet transportation. Just about the only place you don’t want to take it is in a cramped Wal-Mart parking lot. But, do you know about the equally tough cell phone?
Hummer is launching the second generation cellphone, the HT2 made by French telecom company ModeLabs. Inspired by it’s vehicle namesake the HT2 is made of an all metal case to match the Hummer’s grill and wheels. I do have to say that it does look pretty sharp.
The HT2 Hummer phone is loaded with amazing goodies such as 500 hours of work time on the full charge and dual SIM. It comes with a 2 megapixel camera, mp3/mp4 player, is Bluetooth compatible, carries 11 MB of built-in memory and a microSD card slot to scale up the memory capacity.
To cap that off the HT2 Hummer phone has an impressive 176 x 220 pixel TFT display that supports 256,000 colors. While the HT2 phone won’t be breaking any type of iPhone sales records, or replacing anyone’s Sony XPERIA X1, it is pretty fashionable. Is that even allowed in the world of tech and gadgets?
It’s a hummer. It has to be alright.
The HT2 Hummer phone is slated to be ready in Russia (WTF??) in the first quarter.
I don’t personally drive a car, but I know as well as anyone else that although parking isn’t dangerous, it can be annoyingly difficult and expensive if you get it wrong. In fact most drivers probably have been in a car at some point where one car has clipped, or scraped another whilst parking, or getting out of a parking space.
However with Lexus’ new technology you will no longer need to worry about that, as they have developed a car that can itself. First developed for the 2007 luxury models and developed into the 2008 ones, the nice little system allows the user to select where he wishes to park the car using a touch screen, and just let the car do it. Really, it is a simple as that. A small camera on the back allows you to see behind the rear of the car (which is used to select where you are going to park) which means the car can park perfectly without crashing into the back.
And now the problems… actually there aren’t as many as you would have thought. It is very accurate, and assuming you set it up correctly it will work every time. However you do need a parking space that is 4ft longer than the car so that it will fit, put apart form that its perfect.
So, the only question unanswered is how long till the cars can drive themselves? And methinks it wont be too far into the future…
It is a fact that 17% of drink drive persecutions happen the morning after the actual drinking happened. This statistic is a bit of a misnomer, as many people do continue into the early morning, but regardless the effects of the alcohol stay in the system and effect the person in question. When driving, restrictions are very strict as to alcohol limits, and there is not really any grey area as to limits where you can be arrested and prosecuted.
So for those you like to have a few beers, AlcoSense could well be the solution, as it is a consumer replica of the breathalyzer that the police use to test for alcohol in the system. Its easy to use, and gives an instant clear indication as to whether it is legal for you to drive. And although this may seem a bit over the top, 18,000 people in the UK get caught the morning after, and just 4 pints (or 4 glasses of win) can stay in the system for up to 15 hours.
So, if your lisence is very important to you, this safety gadget is a good buy and will help you evade the problems of prosecution. It also looks kinda cool!!!
Nah. But maybe he’d say, Coulda been the forerunner of the wheel bike. (FYI, he was riding the wheel bike while being chased by Obi-wan Kenobi in Episode 3.)
As for our new fad, Orbit Wheel skates ($145 at newdavincis.com), I saw it on Youtube. You have this pair of large wheels literally orbiting around your feet as you skate around sideways. It’s cool for the novelty.
Concensus: screams fad.
My verdict: then again, didn’t the rollerblades, surfboard, skateboard, and snowboard go through their respective fad phases?
From Mountain, Road, Tour, WLS (Women Like Series), Dirt, and Kid series; this bike is sure to turn a few heads. Its small, compact and portable- taking the “I don’t have room for a bike” excuse away for good. Gregor Dauth, a student at the Coburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany has worked with Cube bikes to make and develop his Urban Street Concept Bike. Gregor says that you can fold up his full size bike to fit in a Smart car. Continue folding it like the blades of a Swiss Army Knife and he says the frame will fit into a rucksack.
Gregor has also integrated front lights into the brake levers, added an integrated dynamo so that front wheel hub turns on lights automatically in darkness, and he has included an integrated rear and stop light in the seat post.
Next in Line: Dahon Cadenza 8
Is your ride around the block or ride to work less-than-perfect? If this sounds familiar and your ride is less about sunny skies and smooth tarmac, and more about rain, grit and potholed roads, then take a look at the Cadenza 8. This sweet ride is custom-built for urban riding with Schwalbe’s infamous Big Apple tires and the sleekest, most up-to-date shifting drive-train ever to be found on this earth – the Shimano Alfine.
The 7005 aluminium frame is muscly, strong and stiff all while being attractive- close up you can hardly tell that this beast is able to fold. But fold it does, in less than 10 seconds when you need to stash it in your closet or take it on the bus.
Highlights:
Dahon F.I.T. Stem offers 50mm of adjustment for a custom riding position.
Shimano Disc brakes deliver sure and consistent stopping power in even the worst weather.
Patented LockJaw folding hinges are incredibly strong yet stealthily low-profile.
Finally: Brompton P6R-X
There are many, many details within the P Type’s handlebars that are made and designed with the touring cyclist in thought. Although heavier than some other models handlebars, the lower grips, angled for comfort on longer stretches of road, let the rider get low and out of the wind and show huge power and speed to the pedals; the upper grips provide a welcome contrast after a long stretch of riding and also give great control for manoeuvring in traffic.
The key P Type is the P6R-X. It has a rear rack to give additional luggage-carrying-capacity and the six well-spaced gears which will and surely can handle almost all weather and road conditions encountered on a long ride.
Based on the looks of a jet-plane, the Acabion is definatelty a vehicle worth mentioning. Acabion’s goal with this sweet little ride “TO INNOVATE GLOBAL TRAFFIC IN A MASTERFUL AND RADICAL WAY TO INCREASE PROFITS, TO SAVE NATURE AND ITS RESOURCES AND TO ACHIVE PROGRESS IN MOBILITY.”
Why We Liked This: To quote “SOLAR MOBILITY WILL NOT BE ACHIEVED FROM ONE DAY TO THE OTHER. HENCE ACABION INTRODUCES ULTRA-EFFICIENT GASOLINE CRAFTS AND ELECTRIC CRAFTS IN PARALLEL”
The gasoline powered version of the Acabion vehicle will take in 4-10 times less fuel on average than a compact diesel car. As a great benefit, the Acabion will deliver much more comfort, safety and speed.
The Effect: the Acabion, even as a gas-powered version, will help stop global warming, while improving mobility. It will boost profits derived from oil reserves dramatically increasing investments into future projects.
The Concept: A) Hugely reduced need of gas combined with growing mobility and B) Introduction of a truly capable solar electric craft, step by step.
The Acabion System will “gently hand over human mobility from gasoline plus alternatives like hybrid or fuel cells to pure solar electric power within the next 100 years.”
A car powered by air. Yes it’s true, due to hit the streets of India in August this year are 6000 ‘zero emission’ cars designed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy Nègre for Luxembourg-based MDI. This system uses compressed air to power the car which can be attained through either the on board compressor (4 hours for a full tank) or via a filling station(which will cost about $2) and the full 340 litres will go up to 68 mph and has an impressive range of 125 miles. This makes it surprisingly practical, and the CityCAT will cost about $12,700 (not bad for an environmentally sound car), and the compressed air filling stations will soon (we are told) be widespread.
However the problem with this car is that it is not the answer to the environmental problem, merely an improvement on what we currently have. Having said that it is a very big improvement, and if one uses ‘green power’ to run the compressor then it could be on the way to a solution, but as any critic will tell you the energy to make this car would be too large to say that it is totally environmentally friendly.
However don’t expect to see this in America in the near future (if at all) as its all glue construction will be sneered at by any upholding car salesperson. However it is not just in this rapidly developing country where these cars will be introduced, Germany, Israel and South Africa along with 9 other countries are on the list that MDI have signed deals for, so this is most definably not just a ‘one trick pony’ but an advancement into green technology for the automobile market.
Always dreamed of living like a Jetson? Admired what they piloted? Search no further than right here. Explore both the amazing Aptera to the dazzling Daihatsu UFE-III.
Aptera
The Aptera is the vehicle of the future vehicle being developed by Aptera Motors, Inc. They now accepting pre-orders to this beast of a machine. The fuel efficiency is 230 mpg at 55 mph (1.02 l/100 km). These specs make it one of the most fuel-efficient cars ever to be found anywhere.
How could anyone do this? The trick: Automotive aerodynamics. This major contributing factor, with Aptera Motors claiming a drag coefficient of about 0.11. Features making this possible: the recessed windshield wipers and the few rear-view cameras instead of mirrors. Because the Typ-1 has only three wheels (two in front and a single drive wheel in the rear), most states in the United States would classify the vehicle as a motorcycle. Go check it out!
Daihatsu UFE-III concept
UFE stands for “Ultra Fuel Economy”, and this car delivers just that. The UFE-III gets 170+ miles per gallon (1.00 l/60 km) on average. Like the Aptera, this is mostly thanks to a 0.168 coefficient of drag -and a hybrid power-train with a three-cylinder direct-injection engine and two electric motors. Isn’t that roof cool too? With four seats, the interior isn’t too shabby either. A central control unit containing all of the major controls includes: a steer-by-wire system which serves in place of the typical everyday steering wheel.
We all know that the almost indestructible, go anywhere, super macho Hummer is the ultimate in off road/on road/red carpet transportation. Just about the only place you don’t want to take it is in a cramped Wal-Mart parking lot. But, do you know about the equally tough cell phone?
of a misnomer, as many people do continue into the early morning, but regardless the effects of the alcohol stay in the system and effect the person in question. When driving, restrictions are very strict as to alcohol limits, and there is not really any grey area as to limits where you can be arrested and prosecuted.
However don’t expect to see this in America in the near future (if at all) as its all glue construction will be sneered at by any upholding car salesperson. However it is not just in this rapidly developing country where these cars will be introduced, Germany, Israel and South Africa along with 9 other countries are on the list that MDI have signed deals for, so this is most definably not just a ‘one trick pony’ but an advancement into green technology for the automobile market.
