chargers

Ecotality announced today that it's been chosen to partner with the government of the Australian province Victoria to install and monitor Blink electric vehicle charging stations in a test project.

As part of the Victorian Electric Vehicle Trial, the Victorian Department of Transport is asking 180 households to volunteer to have Ecotality's Blink Level 2 fasting-charging stations installed in their homes and drive an electric vehicle (EV) for at least three months.

As with the U.S. EV test project, those who join the Victorian test project will be agreeing to have their chargers monitored so the government … Read more

GM debuted its Level 2 in-home charger for its soon-to-be released Chevrolet Volt, which will be priced at $490. That doesn't sound bad, considering the average price of gas is $2.73 (as of Oct. 4) and a full battery can get you 40 miles before the engine turns on. But factor in the installation costs for the in-home charging unit and you may face sticker shock at the plug.

The Voltec is expected to cost around $1,500 to install, depending on the region and amount of electrical work required to install the 240-volt charger. The upside on … Read more

GE is launching a new residential electric-car charger that promises to be faster and more user-friendly than traditional charging stations.

The new GE WattStation unveiled today is a residential version of the public charger announced in July. The home WattStation will lower the time it takes to charge from 12 to 18 hours for a standard charger to as few as 4 to 8 hours, assuming a full-cycle charge for a 24 kWh battery.

Created by industrial designer Yves Behar, the residential WattStation joins its public counterpart with controls that should be easy to use, according to the company.

"… Read more

Led by such companies as Powermat, inductive charging has been around for a few years. In case you don't know what we're talking about, the idea behind inductive charging is to relieve you of the burden of connecting your phone (or another device) to a charging cable that has top be plugged into a wall outlet. Instead, you simply rest you phone on a special pad and presto, the battery starts charging.

Well, the only problem with all that is that you have to add a special sleeve or attachment to your phone to make it capable of … Read more

Chrysler released a dark and intimidating image of its police vehicle that goes on sale in September.

It's the police version of the all-new 2011 Dodge Charger equipped with either an E-85 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 or 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 engine with a fuel-saving multidisplacement system. The Pursuit's suspension is tuned for performance and saddled with heavy-duty antilock vented-disc brakes (ABS), front and rear stabilizer bars, and 18-inch performance tires on steel wheels. Rear-wheel drive design and a redesigned front and rear multilink suspension deliver a smooth ride, and its two-mode police-specific Electronic Stability Control (ESC) calibration … Read more

I wrote a blog post a couple of weeks ago about a new charging technology by JFE Engineering that can charge a battery to 50 percent in 3 minutes, and up to 70 percent in 5 minutes. While the technology is impressive, some readers wondered if that fast-charging battery technology would have a negative effect on the life span on EV car batteries.

Well, readers have little to worry about since that technology probably isn't making it to the U.S. or in stateside electric vehicles any time soon.

There are few public level 3 charging stations in the … Read more

All week long we've been discussing this year's Comic Con(vention) in California, an annual gathering where Conheads can buy, sell, and trade all manner of nerdly paraphernalia. It's also a good opportunity for companies to introduce new products, and our buddy Claire brought us back a bottle of SULU Pour Homme, the new fragrance from the folks at Genki Wear.

Designed for the man "wielding a rapier in a swordfight or commanding the helm of a Constitution-class starship," SULU is actually Genki's SIXTH Trek-inspired frangrance- past colognes include Tiberius, Red Shirt, Pon Farr for Women, … Read more

The Wireless Power Consortium has finalized a standard for wireless charging of mobile devices, bringing universal charging for products one step closer to reality.

On Friday, the trade alliance said that it has agreed upon specifications for three key areas of the Qi low-power standard, which is based on magnetic induction technology. The three areas are interface definition, which outlines the requirements for power transfer between the transmitter and receiver; the performance requirements; and the test procedure for compliance with the standard.

The specifications for the interface definition have been released to consortium members, with the public release set for … Read more

I come from the PalmPilot school of gadgetry, which means I like my PDAs, MP3 players, and phones to sit upright, proudly, in a dock when they're pulling desk duty. Otherwise they're just flopping around, along with their sync cables.

Alas, Apple doesn't bundle docks with iPhones and iPods, so it's up to third-party vendors to fill the void.

The Konnet Reflex Dock Pro fills it nicely, if a little expensively. This stylish, lightweight plastic stand is compatible with nearly all models, from the iPhone 4 on down to the iPod Classic. And it does more … Read more