hybrids

Samsung will take the wraps off its new Windows 8 hybrid tablet at the IFA 2012 trade show in Berlin.

The company's Facebook page displays a photo of the new tablet with the tagline "Ready to be smart" and the phrase "IFA 2012, Berlin." Samsung is also telling its Facebook followers "Don't worry, it's just around the corner..."

IFA 2012 officially gets off the ground this Friday and runs until September 5. But the press will get a head start with events scheduled this Wednesday and Thursday. Samsung's press event … Read more

Care to venture a guess on what Samsung's next, cool hybrid-looking thing is?

If that description sounds vague, just watch the video below: it's more of an exercise in abstract expression than concrete design cues.

That said, it does show brushed metal, round edges, and hint at (near the end) a hybrid device possibly suggestive of the Samsung Series 5 Hybrid PC, first shown in June at Computex.

And this would fit nicely with one of the biggest design trends for Windows 8 devices. That is, newfangled laptops the convert readily to tablets or more tablet-like devices that … Read more

Wednesday's tech news roundup is at full throttle:

T-Mobile will launch a truly unlimited data plan beginning Sept. 5. No caps or throttling. Sprint also offers this, but T-Mobile is competing with pricing. Sprint's starting price for unlimited data is $80 a month, and users are limited to 450 voice minutes. T-Mobile also starts it at $80 a month, but throws in 500 minutes. The larger difference is when you want both unlimited data and unlimited talk; Sprint charges $110, T-Mobile charges $90 a month. Of course, there's also smartphone choice and service to consider. T-Mobile will … Read more

With cars such as the RL, TL, and TSX, Acura occupied a very narrow band of the sedan market, but now the ILX extends the brand down toward the compact segment, giving buyers real model differentiation. And the ILX brings Acura its first hybrid car.

I spent a day with the 2013 Acura ILX Hybrid in that cauldron of cars, Los Angeles. My CNET colleague Antuan Goodwin previously reviewed the ILX Premium, the non-hybrid, top-trim version of the car. When we had that car in at CNET HQ, Antuan pointed out where its Honda Civic foundation showed through the Acura … Read more

NASA said today that its experimental X-48C hybrid wing-body airplane took flight for the first time.

A remotely powered prototype that's housed at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California's Mojave Desert, the X-48C is thought to be the future of efficient, long-haul aviation.

The plane is known as a hybrid wing-body because it's essentially a cross between a flying-wing design and a conventional plane. NASA and its partners in the U.S. Air Force, Boeing, and Cranfield Aerospace are confident the aircraft will offer users long-term fuel efficiency, fuel capacity, … Read more

Toyota has had an excellent run with the Prius, making it the most popular hybrid in the country. Now Ford will attempt to supplant the Prius' position with the new C-Max Hybrid and C-Max Energi, dedicated hybrids that can boast similar specs.

The Prius faced competition from the Honda Insight previously, and handily trashed it, so Ford will be challenging a tested competitor. Previously, Ford put its Fusion Hybrid up against the Toyota Camry Hybrid, but this is the first time Ford has brought out a dedicated hybrid, a characteristic that has helped the Prius maintain its position.… Read more

I'm actually kind of surprised we haven't seen an iPhone case like this already, but Ego is calling its Hybrid Series USB Case for the iPhone 4/4S a "world's first."

Yes, this one features a slide-in USB drive that's available in six color options and 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB storage capacities. The case itself also comes in different colors, and Ego says that when you add up all the possible color combination, the total comes out to 42. However, your color options for the USB stick vary by capacity.

The 4GB stick comes … Read more

Not surprisingly, Microsoft hasn't been the only company working on a tablet-laptop hybrid system. A U.S. patent application published late last month reveals that Lenovo has its own solution to the problem that the Microsoft Surface tries to address.

The patent application, which was actually filed way back on Christmas eve in 2010, is in some respects already outdated. For example, it describes a tablet with Android and an ARM processor that can be snapped into a base unit with a keyboard running Windows on Intel processors. A handful of related patent applications describe the way in which the two systems would work together, or as they say it in patent speak:… Read more

It may not be quite as green as the Tesla Model S, but I was gratified to see the range-o-meter showing over 500 miles as I cruised the Lexus GS 450h up and down California freeways. And I was surprised how well it got down and dirty on some curvy mountain roads.

The GS 450h manages to show how technology can make a car get decent fuel economy while also turning in great driving performance. It's no track-day car, but Lexus' new focus on handling lets it eat up the turns. Thank you, adaptive-suspension technology.