Just look at it. Don't you just want to pinch its little cheeks?
(Credit: Aston Martin)Aston Martin has released photos of its upcoming Cygnet subcompact. We've seen this one before, but now it's completed and ready to roll. The Cygnet is based on the Toyota iQ city car, but with the face and accoutrement of a DB9. Unfortunately, I'm also fairly certain that there will be no power upgrades to go with the visual refresh.
(Credit:
Aston Martin)
(Credit:
Aston Martin)
I have to admit, it's a cute little car and the Aston features seem to fit nicely in a Super Deformed sort of way.
Inside, the Cygnet retains, for the most part, the iQ's cabin layout, but with a slathering of Aston Martin leather and a few glossy black bits. One new feature is an iPod Touch cradle mounted in the center of the dashboard. It looks a bit precariously mounted, but with only a 97hp 1.3-liter engine turning the wheels, we don't think that excessive Gs are something a Cygnet driver will have to worry about.
With only 97hp on tap, there's little chance of that iPod Touch breaking loose.
(Credit: Aston Martin)Why go through the trouble of making something so absurd? Well, the Cygnet/iQ's low 120g/km of CO2 should pull Aston's fleet average emissions down to something more in line with the European standards.
Pricing hasn't been announced, but the general consensus points toward the $32,000 mark, which to be frank, is a bit much for a city car. But with Aston Martin levels of ultraluxury and Toyota-grade reliability, perhaps Aston Martin will sell its estimated 2,000 units per year.
The Aston Martin Cygnet goes on sale in late 2010 in Europe only.
Flower started a big trend in 2009.
(Credit: Thatgamecompany)In many ways, 2009 seems to be the year download-only games hit their stride. Between the iPhone and iPod Touch dominating the portable market with the ever-growing App Store; the release of the completely disc-free PSP Go; and the Nintendo DSi--which also can download games from an online store--portable gaming has started to move beyond the cartridge and disc. Even in home consoles, there's been a continuing focus on lower-cost downloadable games and DLC sold on Sony's PSN, Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade, and the Nintendo Wii's WiiWare as alternatives to pricier disc-based titles.
While download-only games can't be resold, and lack a physical hard copy for display or archive, there's no denying that downloadable games cut down on clutter. Plus, it's likely that box-free gaming will be our destiny in the next decade, so you may not have a choice either way.
From Rockstar's double-fisted set of GTA side games culminating in The Ballad of Gay Tony to Nintendo's ongoing set of experimental artsy games, it's been a great year to go boxless. While some of the games on our list are available in disc or cartridge form, we're focusing on the download versions here.
Check out our gallery of the most notable 20, and feel free to chime in on ones we might have missed.
Seriously, a plant pot in your monitor. I bet you'll never question the "greeness" of this monitor now!
(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)LED monitors were the new hotness at CES last January, but it wasn't until the Samsung SyncMaster XL2370 debuted that we really started to believe in them.
That was the first monitor that really seemed to live up to what LED monitor manufacturers' have promised.That was the first monitor that really seemed to live up to what has been promised by LED monitor manufacturers'.
That monitor was followed by several more that, while not as impressive as the Samsung SyncMaster XL2370, were still good, solid monitors--like the LG W2486L and AOC V22.
The new BenQ V2400 Eco gets a few things right--very low power consumption and a thin design. Not to mention a small pot built into the footstand, just in case you wanted start a small garden in your monitor. Seriously.
Check out the full review to see what else it gets right (and wrong).
(Credit:
Cambridge Consultants)
People who like getting physical with their gadgets may warm to a new Internet radio that must be moved around to operate.
The Q2 Cube radio from Cambridge Consultants and Armour Group will change to one of four preselected stations when it's turned over on its side. Tilting the speaker back or forward lowers or raises the volume.
The Cube seems to be a bit bigger than palm-sized, so it would fit neatly on a cluttered desk. It wouldn't do as an alarm clock, since tossing it from the bedside table would presumably only change the station.
The companies are calling the device "revolutionary," though in what sense is unclear. In the old days, radios also had to be tuned by turning something--a large dial.
There's no word on price yet, but the Cube could be in some U.K. stores for the holidays.
(Via Wired)
The plain black wristband EmSeeQ, released this week, uses U-TDOA location technology to more quickly track "wanderers."
(Credit: EmFinders)We all know our cell phones can give away our locations whether or not we want them to. But what if you want to track someone who's too forgetful--or perhaps ornery--to carry one around?
EmFinders to the rescue. This week the Frisco, Texas-based tech start-up unveiled EmSeeQ, which is designed to look and be worn like a watch (though strangely does not tell time--but hey, it's better than a collar) and uses cellular network-based U-TDOA technology to provide tracking information to law enforcement and E-911 systems.
The company says the device, which costs $185 plus a $25 monthly service charge, "can be worn by anyone with the propensity to wander, including those with Alzheimer's, autism, and other cognitive and developmental disabilities." Which to any discerning parent translates to teenagers, and while we're at it, pets, all of whom have propensities to wander.
Whether kids or pets would have any success getting away with wearing this beguilingly plain black "I am either Batman or a special agent" wristband that doesn't tell time remains to be seen.
Of course law enforcement in Frisco, a fast-growing suburb of Dallas, is all for it, and understandably so. "Locating wandering individuals in a particular area can often be like searching for a needle in a haystack," says Frisco Police Chief Todd Renshaw. "If the wanderer has driven somewhere, that becomes multiple haystacks. It's encouraging to know that we can begin receiving support from EmFinders immediately without any extra effort on our part. I would advise all law enforcement agencies to become familiar with this service."
... Read more
Put your hands up and step away from the Improvised Nuclear Device.
(Credit: QinetiQ)Talon military and first-responder robots can now be equipped with two-way hailers, which enable operators to "listen" and "speak" with their robo-counterparts--in "high fidelity" no less.
... Read more
This far too small pic is the only one released to the public thus far. I'm trying to get BenQ to send over a larger, more satisfying pic. When I do, i'll update this blog with it.
(Credit: BenQ)More than a year ago, I reviewed the BenQ V2400W and remarked about its unique and aesthetically pleasing design. BenQ must have felt the same way.
On Wednesday, BenQ announced a new line of LED-backlit monitors that hearken back to the company's V2400W model. The 24-inch V2400 Eco and 21.5-inch V2200 Eco look to be LED versions of the V2400W, albeit with a stark white chassis. Each monitor sports a native resolution of 1,920x1,080.
According to BenQ, both LED models offer "zero light leakage" enabling an ultra-high dynamic contrast ratio of 5 million:1. Hearing hyperbolic details like that just increases my anticipation in getting these in for testing to see just how much clouding (backlight bleed through) they actually have.
According to BenQ, each display is mercury-free and consumes approximately 36 percent less power than traditional CCFL displays. Both new V Series models also feature Eco modes for 30 percent less power consumption (than normal mode).
Additionally, the new models are lighter by 14.6 percent and thinner by 21.2 percent than CCFL displays of comparable screen size. BenQ says this will save on the amount of packaging required for each display by 56 percent. The two new displays will be available worldwide starting in China mid-August. Look for more coverage on Crave and CNET in the coming months.
PS3 sales are slumping, but not as bad as the Wii's sales, which have been cut in half.
(Credit: Sony)Sony latest earnings show that it continues to be hammered by the worldwide recession and strong yen, suffering a net loss of $390.5 million in the quarter that ended June 30.
The bright spot was Sony's motion picture division, which saw a 6.5 percent boost that was largely attributable to the relatively strong showing of "Angels & Demons" at the box office. But almost everything else, including TV, video game, and computer sales, was down in a big way.
In an article, The New York Times highlighted the 37.4 percent year-over-year slump in gaming and computer sales (Vaio PC). The article noted that PlayStation 3 game consoles were "particularly sluggish" and that software sales had dropped.
According to the report, Sony said it sold about 1.1 million PlayStation 3s and 1.3 million PlayStation Portables in the latest quarter, compared with 1.6 million PS3s and 3.7 million PSPs in the same period a year ago.
The wane in PSP sales is particularly brutal, although part of that slowdown may have been due to rumors earlier in the quarter that Sony would release a new PSP later in the year. (And sure, enough, the PSP Go was unveiled in June at E3.) Also, the constant spate of rumors involving the potential arrival of a new PS3 Slim certainly hasn't helped sales of the current game console.
On a more positive note, we recently attended a PlayStation preview in New York that highlighted the PSP Go and the exclusive titles available for both the PSP and PS3 platforms during the upcoming holiday-shopping season. Overall, it looked pretty good.
Sony can also be consoled by the fact that sales are also way down for the Wii, as Nintendo reported a 66 percent fall in quarterly operating profit on "slowing demand for its Wii console and a stronger yen."
Nintendo sold 2.23 million Wii consoles in the quarter, compared with 5.17 million the same quarter a year earlier.
However, Nintendo still posted a profit of $445 million and is forecasting that it will sell 26 million Wii consoles before year's end--along with 30 million DS handheld game players, which, by the way, is seeing increased competition from another handheld device. Nintendo didn't mention the PSP as the rival in its earning call, but rather Apple's iPhone.
Comments? Is the PlayStation franchise in serious trouble or will it pull out of its funk this holiday season? Does Nintendo need to cut the price of Wii?
Here's what the alphabet looks like when a car is your writing instrument.
(Credit: Toyota)With its short wheelbase and light weight, the Toyota iQ is sure to be a tossable little compact on the road, but how would it fair as a writing instrument?
Using a motion capture camera mounted with a bird's-eye view of the canvas, stunt driver Stef Vancampenhoudt proceeded to precisely write the all of letters of the alphabet using the iQ. Designers Pierre and Damien of Pleaseletmedesign then took the motion capture data and created a Toyota iQ font (which can be downloaded from here).
Check the video below to see exactly how they did it.
(via i love typography and Pleaseletmedesign)
The MP3 player market has done nothing but benefit from the decline in flash memory prices. One of many examples can be found in the Samsung Q2, a plain-looking device that comes in 8GB and 16GB versions for just $99.99 and $129.99, respectively.
The Q2 is priced well below its competitors--particularly the 16GB version--and it delivers an excellent value, thanks to good sound quality and a nice array of handy features. However, we're not too taken with the player's design.
Read the full review of the Samsung Q2.
