M2E Developing Kinetic Cellphone Charger That is Up to 700 Percent More Effective [Kinetic Energy]

This isn’t the first time we have seen a cellphone charger that is powered by kinetic energy, but the difference is that M2E is working on a charger that can produce 300 to 700% more juice than current technologies. They hope this will translate into a full-on replacement for cellphone batteries somewhere down the line. According to earth2tech, M2E’s short term goal is to develop a charger that will produce an hour of talk time for around six hours of normal movement. Currently, M2E is in talks with major accessories manufacturers about bringing a device to market as early as 2009. [earth2tech via Inhabitat]

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Archos Gen-6 5G PMP is 3G Web Surfing, HD Video, Touchscreen Beauty [PMPs]

Archos just revealed what that curtain tease was all about: the 6th Gen Archos 5, 5G and 7 series PMPs. The 4.8″ flagship 5G ditches the tired interface and buttons of the Gen-5 device for a slick UI and touchscreen-only operation. It’s got Wi-Fi, HD video support, web browsing, email, a huge HDD (up to 250GB), and built-in HSPDA 3G connectivity. It’s also got dock connectors, GPS, DVR, video/audio recording and more. In short, it’s everything that the iPod touch isn’t, and I got to touch it.

The interface on the 5G is incredibly smooth, scrolling is similar to the iPod touch, and the included Opera web browser does zoom and looks excellent. The device is intuitive and the touchscreen is responsive and big enough to really enjoy movie watching.

The 5 and 7 are also great devices, featuring 4.8″ and 7″ displays, respectively. They are 3G capable with a separate dongle, and otherwise feature all the great specs of the 5G. The 5 will be available in 60-, 120-, and 250GB varieties, while the 7 carries either 160GB or 320GB under the hood. The products will retail between $350 and $550 when they arrive in September (5), October (7) and January (5G). It’s a good day for the little portable-media underdog. Spec sheet down below. [Archos]

All applicable to both series unless otherwise noted:

Capacity
*60GB hard drive stores up to 80 Movies, 600,000 photos or 30,000 songs
*120GB hard drive stores up to 160 Movies, 1.2 million photos or 60,000 songs
*250GB hard drive stores up to 300 Movies, 2.5 million photos or 145,000 songs

Display
* High resolution screen, 800×480 pixels, 4.8” TFT LCD, 16 million colors
* Touchscreen

Video playback
* MPEG-48 (ASP@L5 AVI, up to DVD resolution)
* WMV (MP@ML, up to DVD resolution) included WMV protected files
* M-JPEG (in QVGA resolution)

With optional software plug-ins:
* HD support: MPEG-4 (ASP 720p) & WMV HD (MP 720p)
* H.264 up to DVD resolution with AAC
* MPEG-2 MP@ML up to 10 Mbps (up to DVD resolution) and AC3 stereo sound (5.1)

Audio Playback
* Stereo MP3 decoding @ 30-320 Kbits/s CBR & VBR, WMA, Protected WMA, WMA pro 5.1, WAV (PCM/ADPCM).
* With optional software plug-ins
*AAC9 and AAC+ stereo audio files
*AC3 stereo audio and 5.1 sound files (via SPDIF output of DVR Station)

Photo viewer10
* JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF

PDF viewer
* Reads PDF documents (may not implement all PDF features)

Video Recording11
* Via the optional DVR Station or DVR Snap-on. Records NTSC/PAL/SECAM in MPEG-4 AVI format with stereo sound, VGA resolution (640 x 480) @ 30 or 25 f/s

Audio recording
* Via the optional DVR Station or DVR Snap-on: Stereo line-in, WAV (IMA ADPCM or PCM) format
* Voice recording via the optional FM remote and its built-in microphone in WAV format (IMA ADPCM)

Email client
* Compatible with Email accounts supporting POP3 and IMAP services
* Import/export of vCard contacts

Interfaces
* USB 2.0 High-Speed Device (compatible USB 1.1 at a lower speed): Mass Storage Class (MSC) and Media Transport Protocol (MTP)
* USB 2.0 Host: Mass Storage Class (MSC) and Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP) with optional Mini Dock, Battery Dock and DVR station

Connections
* Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) connection. Free Web Browser (Opera® Web browser with Adobe Flash® 9 video support) upon registration
* 3.5 mm mini jack for headphones
* Accessory connectors to connect to the DVR Station and other ARCHOS accessories

Miscellaneous
* Built-in speaker
* Built-in leg stand

Power source
* Internal: Lithium Polymer battery
* Device charges via computer USB port
* External: Power adapter/charger (via optional accessories)

Battery life
* Music playback time: up to 12 hours
* Video playback time: up to 4 hours

Scalability
* Device automatically downloads latest firmware updates when the WiFi connection is activated
* Updates can also be downloaded at www.archos.com

Dimensions & weight
* Approx 127,5 x 78,3 x 12,9 mm (for 60GB* model) – 250gr
* Approx 127 x 78,8 x 19,4 mm (for 120/250GB* models) – 300gr

Minimum requirement system
*Microsoft® Windows® Vista, XP, ME, 2000 or higher
* MAC OS X and Linux (with Mass Storage Device Support)
* USB 2.0 interface

Package includes
* ARCHOS 5, headphones, ARCHOS USB cable, DVR Station adapter, screen cleaning cloth, Quick Start Guide (QSG), legal and safety notice.

Pricing
* 60GB model - $350
* 120GB model - $400
* 250GB model - $450

7 Series

Display
* High resolution screen, 800×480 pixels, 7” TFT LCD, 16 million colors

Dimensions & Weight
* Approx. 190 x 110 x 16 mm ; 7.48″ x 4.33″ x 0.629″
* Approx. 640 gr.; 23oz

Pricing
* 160GB model - $450
* 320GB model - $550

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Yamaha Branded Deus Ex Machina Motorcycle Exoskeleton On Video, Looks Tron-esque [Clips]

We’ve seen this crazy motorcycle exoskeleton before, but its inventor Jake Loniak has just mocked up a video showing what it would be like in motion. Yeah, we’re pretty damn impressed, but the guy gets cocky:

I believe a working prototype could be made, but it would take a great deal of time and engineering. This isn’t fantasy. It’s a green vehicle, and all of the numbers are based in the real world.

But who would actually use this? Sure, it looks pretty amazing and you can park it vertically in a garage to save space, but imagine having to unfasten yourself from this every time you get to work. Or the supermarket. Or grandma’s house. At least with a Segway you can hop off and do your business. [Popsci via Crunchgear via Boing Boing Gadgets]

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AT&T’s Tilt Finally Gets Windows Mobile 6.1 Update [Windows Mobile 6.1]

AT&T and HTC have finally pushed out the Windows Mobile 6.1 update, which according to Softpedia, brings threaded SMS, video share calling, MS Voice Command, Remote Desktop Monitor and managed programs. Everyone with a Tilt should download this ASAP and get the benefit that fewer bugs provides. Our tipster also tells us that WM6.1 will be available on stock phones within 7-10 days as well. Does improve the video drivers any? [HTC - Thanks Ding!]

Update: As people pointed out in the comments, the download goes to the old 6.0 ROM for some reason. Probably a mixup by HTC, so it should be fixed soonish?

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Filed under: Robots

Robot designers are currently duking it out for the British army in hopes of nabbing the hearts (and pocketbooks) of the UK’s fighting force. In a makeshift “wartime European village,” scientists and researchers are putting their helper-droids to the test as Army officials look on and investigate how the automatons might serve alongside troops. Some of the robots being looked at include a “Moon buggy” which remotely patrols for enemies via thermal imaging and then sends the data back to a command center, a helicopter that can be maneuvered in tight urban spaces, and a RC car with what appears to be a pile of digicams mounted on top of it. The winners of the competition will be announced Monday, but you can hit the read link and see a video — replete with annoying British television presenter — of some contestants.

[Thanks, Jack]

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Via [Engadget]

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Aspire One modding continues: swapping SSD for capacious HDD

Filed under: Laptops, Storage

Oh sure, you’re pretty 1337 if you can say you’ve got an SSD within your laptop, but if you’ve a need to store more than, say, 8GB of files, a bit more room may be desired. tnkgrl’s Aspire One mods began earlier this week with the addition of Bluetooth and extra RAM, and today she’s showing the world how to swap the built-in SSD with a 1.8-inch 60GB PATA drive. As expected, this one’s remarkably easy to complete once you’ve torn the thing open, but she also explains how to best put it all back together once you’re done. But you’re not, because she’ll be producing a how-to for adding internal 3G in the coming days / weeks.

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Apple Gives MobileMe Customers 60 More Free Days [Apple]

Apple’s tacking on an addition 60 days to the 30 days it already doled out to MobileMe subscribers, which means you’ve got an entire three months extra to wait out the issues you’ve been having. Apple sent out these emails today to MobileMe subscribers, but if you’re one of the ones with MobileMe mail snags, you might not have gotten it. Well you’ve seen it now! Apple has some qualifications, so click on to see if you’re eligible. [Apple]

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InfoWorld finds 35% of enterprise-class users downgrade to XP

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Hold your horses, vaquero. Let’s not blow this all out of proportion here. While it’s no secret that a certain amount of Vista purchasers are utilizing that “downgrade to XP” option to its fullest extent, a small (and let us emphasize “small”) collection of data suggests that some 35% of “mainly enterprise-class users” have opted for XP over Vista on their newly-purchased rig. By scouring data from the 3,000 or so members feeding information to the InfoWorld Windows Sentinel tool, the site found that just over 1 in 3 users had defected to Microsoft’s previous OS. Granted, the tool cannot take into account Linux users or even the “Hackintosh crowd,” though as Randall Kennedy puts it, 35% is “still a huge percentage, and way out of proportion for even the dramatically unpopular Windows Vista.”

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Zapp Brannigan Ray Gun For Sale (Only Shot Once At Disgruntled Underling) [Zapp Brannigan]

If you suffer from that sexiest of learning disabilities (ugh, sexlexia), you too might enjoy shooting off your Zapp Brannigan Atomic Ray Gun at unsuspecting bystanders. The gun itself is based off of Japanese Ray Guns of the 1950s—as is a bunch of the retro stylings of the Futurama set—but updated to include your favorite starship captain. It also comes with a NRRA membership card in case you need to get a table really fast at Applebee’s. [Tin Toy Arcade via Nerd Approved]

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