Hackable Solar Electric Car Unveiled

Prolific industrial designer Yves Béhar unveiled never before seen plans for his “hackable” solar powered electric car at the Greener Gadgets conference in NYC . While Béhar and his design studio Fuse Project are not new to transportation design, this next project will be very different from the Mission One electric motorcycle in that it will be designed specifically for the developing world. The idea is that this cute and affordable car will have a standard base frame, but the other components would be almost totally customizable by the end user. Check out all of our exclusive pics of this just-unveiled electric car!

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Barnes & Noble e-book Reader, Nook

After several months of waiting, Barnes and Noble finally debut its new e-book reader, Nook.  The new e-book reader is now available online and will be in stores by mid-week, the book retailer announced Monday.

You can buy the Barnes & Noble nook In-Store Locator at www.bn.com/nook/instore

Below is what CNet said about Nook:

The good: Large library with tens of thousands of e-books, as well as newspapers and magazines; built-in free wireless data network (no PC needed), plus Wi-Fi connectivity; separate capacitive color touch-screen pad for navigation, and a virtual keyboard for notes and annotations; 2GB of internal memory (capable of storing 1,500 electronic books) as well as an expansion microSD slot for additional memory; font style and size are adjustable; displays image files and plays MP3 music files; compatible with Windows and Mac machines; battery is removable and user replaceable; allows free, in-store browsing of full-text books while within Barnes & Noble stores; users can lend certain e-books for up to 14 days free of charge; ePub format compatibility lets you read free Google Books and loaner e-books from your local library.

The bad: Device can be slow, especially when booting up and first accessing a book; no protective carrying case included; color LCD appears to have a significant impact on battery life; in-store reading and loaning capabilities come with notable limits and caveats; no support for Word or text files; some bugs in software; no ability to download books when outside the U.S., even when on Wi-Fi.

X2 iTablet

Since Apple decided not to go with iTablet and instead went for iPad. A new company, X2 might have taken advantage of the name everyone expected – iTablet.

According to the announcement last week by X2 Computing, the company planned to launch a new tablet computer called the iTablet. The name is a clear attempt to take advantage of the notoriety surrounding the iTablet name since many expected the iPad to be called the iTablet for a long time.

It  is available in many sizes from 10.2 inches to 12.1 inches. It is powered by a 1.6 GHz processor and employs a hard-disk storage giving this baby a 35mm thickness, which is really thick. In exchange for the bulk, you get 250GB of memory, 3 USB ports and an HDMI out aside from WiFi, Bluetooth and a 1.3 MP webcam. The X2 iTablet also runs on Linux and is available in many colors. No pricing yet and this is a UK-only announcement, but this sounds like Apple iPad has been slapped with a glove.

You can read more about the company here

-The User Interface is based upon codename “METRO”. It will be very similar to the Zune HD User Interface with a complete revamp of the “Start” screen. The UI is “Very Clean”, “Soulful”

Windows Phone 7 to Feature Zune UI, No Multitasking like iPhone

and “Alive”
-Unfortunately there will be no Flash support at the get go as there was not enough time to implement these features.
-Windows Phone 7 will only support application installation through service based delivery. (i.e Marketplace). Application installation via storage card will not be possible.
- No Multi-Task support. Applications will “Pause” when in the background, however will support notifications via push notifications.
-Marketplace will now support “try before you buy” as well as an API
-No NETCF backwards compatibility. This means the original rumor of no backward compatibility for applications holds to be true. That being said, there are high hopes of porting the NetCF to the newer platform easily.
-Microsoft is confident that devices will be ready by September 2010
-Full Zune Integration
-Windows Mobile Device Center will no longer be used. Zune software to take over syncing via PC.
-OEM Interfaces will not be allowed to run on the device. Say goodbye to Sense UI / SPB Mobile Shell / Point UI / Infinity, etc, etc
-Full XBOX Gaming Integration (Gamer tag, achievements, friends, avatars, merchandising, etc)
-Full support for social networking

If this turns out to be true, Microsoft may not be able to beat Apple at its own game by aping the iPhone.  Read the rest of the story at PPCGeeks

Canon VIXIA HF S10 HD Dual Flash Memory with 32 GB Internal Memory and 10x Optical Zoom

Canon has a well-known and highly-regarded reputation for optical excellence, advanced image processing, superb performance and technological innovation, built on our legendary photographic and broadcast television lenses. Based on that experience, we bring the latest in high definition camcorders. The Canon VIXIA HF S10 Dual Flash Memory camcorder is one such example

The Canon VIXIA HF S10 camcorder may be, perhaps, the closest thing to a high quality, all-in-one camcorder/camera device out on the market. Featuring Full HD resolution AVCHD recording at 24Mbps (the highest possible), the Canon VIXIA HF S10 can capture still photos at 6 megapixels while you are simultaneously recording video, or even 8 megapixels in still mode.

IDC Ecco Intelligent Digital Compass Personal Pocket GPS Locator

Have you ever had to look for your car in a big parking lot at a sporting event? Then, Ecco Intelligent Digital may be the right toy for you. Here is what Amazon says about the gadget.

Find your way back! Small and easy to use patented GPS system that is great for finding your way back in any situation. Ecco conveniently fits on your keychain. Find your car in parking lots at sporting events, shopping malls, the airport or use for travel or your next outdoor adventure. Simple and compact, just lock, go and return. Displays arrow direction and distance. Stores up to three locations (Car, Home, Hotel, Campsite, etc). Never get lost again!