charges

Pininfarina designs EV charging solar tree

Last year, automotive designer Pininfarinia debuted a prototype two-seater electric car, and this year it's making the pint-size Nido EV even more environmentally friendly by creating a solar charging station to power it.

The Italian design house revealed the Antares solar charging tree last month at MoTechEco, a sustainable mobility show in Rome. The 108 sq. ft. treelike modular car charger contains 20 photovoltaic solar panels, capable of producing 4.6 kilowatts, enough to recharge two electric cars for a range of approximately 50 miles each.

Pininfarina isn't alone in its pursuit of a tree-shaped solar charging station. … Read more

FCC to fight 'mystery fees' on phone bills

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission announced plans today to battle the appearance of "mystery fees" on consumers' phone bills, a practice known as "cramming."

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement he would soon send his fellow commissioners proposed rules that are "focused on harnessing technology and transparency to empower consumers with the information they need to make smart decisions and to make the market work."

The addition of unauthorized fees--typically $1.99 to $19.99 a month--to consumers' bills affects 15 million to 20 million U.S. households a year, … Read more

Apple applies for wireless charging patent

According to Apple's most recent patent application, "Wireless power utilization in a local computing environment," you could soon be charging your iOS device simply by keeping it close to your computer system.

In case this sounds too pedestrian for you, the research comes from the field of midrange wireless power transfer physics. Near field magnetic resonance is used to power devices within 1 meter of the power base. Without a mat or extra case.

According to the report by physorg.com, Apple did not specifically mention which devices may take advantage of this research, but it is easy to assume that it is meant for the mobile world.

So, instead of fumbling through your bag or lamenting on the recent destruction of your 30-pin dock connector because of an overzealous puppy to charge your iPhone, you would only have to be around an NFMR source to get your iOS device back up and running.

Of course these patents have a way of disappearing for several years, if we ever see something from them, but it does outline at least some of the way Apple is thinking about its future. Earlier patents for a combined power adapter and rechargeable battery pack show that Apple is indeed attempting to streamline end user power experiences.

What do you think about midrange wireless power transfer physics? Let me know in the comments!… Read more

This Day in Tech: Microsoft loses patent case, Hulk Hogan at E3

Too busy to keep up with the tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET for Thursday, June 9.

Daily cost of a 'promoted trend' on Twitter: $120,000 Cost of buying space in Twittersphere zeitgeist is up more than 400 percent. More

Hulk Hogan at E3 2011 (Video featuring Brian Tong) Hulkamania runs wild at E3 2011. Brian Tong flexes with the wrestling legend to talk pythons, pistols, and toothpicks. More

Microsoft loses patent case at Supreme Court Software giant loses legal battle with a small Canadian company in a decision today that will cost … Read more

Samsung Droid Charge to see maintenance update

The Samsung Droid Charge is set to pick up a minor software update in the near future that will be full of minor tweaks and bug fixes. At just under 10MB in size, the EE4 update centers on calling, e-mails, and messaging. For example, one adjustment makes it easier to place outgoing calls from the Visual Voice Mail application, while another allows for quicker dialing from the call log. Once it's installed, users may notice improved battery life, faster, more accurate GPS, and enhanced browser performance.

Verizon hasn't officially discussed the update, but there is a support page … Read more

Volvo working on wireless charging for EVs

Volvo's electric vehicle technology is about to become cleaner. The car maker will begin testing wireless charging technology on its Volvo C30 Electric that will let drivers recharge the battery without touching a cable or dirtying their hands.

The current C30 Electric that will begin customer testing in Europe later this year uses a cable to plug into the car's grille via a specially designed charge connector. In a new partnership agreement, Belgium's state-owned Flanders' Drive will modify a Volvo C30 Electric so a 20kWh battery can be recharged wirelessly using induction charging.

With inductive charging, a … Read more

Turn any speaker into a Bluetooth speaker

XtremeMac has taken the wraps off an interesting little $80 accessory called the InCharge Home BT that adds Bluetooth streaming capabilities to any speaker or audio device with a line input.

As you can see from the image, it also acts a USB charger and comes with USB to 30-pin connector for iOS devices (it won't charge the iPad, however) and a 3.5mm jack cable. What you can't see from the picture is that the unit plugs into the wall.

If you're looking for something like this for your car, fear not, there's also the … Read more

Samsung Droid Charge on sale this Saturday

After an initial delay, the Samsung Droid Charge will finally be available from Verizon Wireless this Saturday for $299.99 with a two-year contract.

The Droid Charge is Verizon's second LTE 4G smartphone and features a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus touch screen, mobile hot-spot capabilities, and an 8-megapixel camera. The Android 2.2 device also comes with a 32GB microSD card and offers decent battery life.

You can read more about the smartphone in our full review of the Samsung Droid Charge, but anyone already planning to pick one up this weekend? … Read more

Share your electricity with EV drivers using PlugShare

One of the first questions that comes up whenever we're discussing electric vehicles is, "Where am I going to charge the darn thing?" The new PlugShare app for iPhone (along with the network of users behind it) aims to help EV owners to charge in some pretty unorthodox places--for example, other people's driveways.

After downloading and installing the PlugShare app, you are presented with a Google Map filled with icons indicating user-submitted locations where EV drivers can plug in. There are separate categories for basic household plugs, privately owned J1772 charging stations, and public and commercial charging points.

You can elect to share your own outlet or charging point with PlugShare's other users, expanding the charging network. However, sharing an outlet is not a required condition for accessing PlugShare's network via the app. And you don't need to be an EV owner to try it out and, if you're feeling generous, to start sharing your electricity with your friendly neighborhood electric vehicle owners.

PlugShare is a free download in the Apple App Store. An Android version is said to be coming soon. … Read more

Verizon delays Samsung Droid Charge launch

Verizon customers looking to pick up a Samsung Droid Charge today will be disappointed to hear that carrier has delayed the launch of its newest 4G smartphone.

CNET has confirmed with Verizon that the Droid Charge will not be available today as previously announced, and, unfortunately, the carrier did not have any more information on when it would go on sale.

No reason for the delay was given, though some suspect that it may have to do with yesterday's LTE outage. More details are expected soon, however, and company spokeswoman Brenda Raney said that customers have the option of … Read more