Honda fans, hope you’re down for some last-minute tickets to Japan, as the automaker plans to release not one, but seven (!) stunning concepts at the upcoming Tokyo Motor show. Ranging from plug-in hybrids to electric motorcycles, we’re most stoked about the Small Sports EV — a dashing two-seat roadster that reminds us stylistically of BMW’s i8. Details are light, but Honda promises that it’ll be fun to drive, yet also achieve “excellent environmental performance.” Alongside it is the plug-in hybrid AC-X, which looks like an LED-ridden redux of the lease-only FCX. And finally, there’s the Micro Commuter concept, which despite looking the least production-ready of the three, gets kudos for having a dedicated spot to load the accompanying Motor Compo EV motorcycle. Not much else to report on all seven this far out, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ogle at photos of these three and their motorcycle brethren at the links below.

Continue reading Honda’s Small Sports EV concept proves electric can be svelte, comes to Tokyo Motor Show next month

Honda’s Small Sports EV concept proves electric can be svelte, comes to Tokyo Motor Show next month originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Nov 2011 19:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading IEEE brings white space internet one step closer, we almost felt a twinge

IEEE brings white space internet one step closer, we almost felt a twinge originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 09:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By Chris Scott Barr

If you read my review of the iPad earlier today, you probably noticed my little rant about the internet connectivity. While I have no issue with paying a little extra for the hardware, I’m pretty frustrated that I would have to pay even more money every month to keep this device connected to the internet. In that spirit, I purchased the non-3G model and am determined to use one of my two other mobile connections to provide simple access to the web on my iPad. I may need to look no further than Sprint for this.

Sprint has announced a new case for the iPad, which has a rather unique front pocket. Okay, so the pocket isn’t that unique, but rather it’s what lies inside that pocket that matters. In that pocket you can place one of their Overdrive 3G routers, which will provide an internet connection to your iPad (or any other devices) via WiFi. You’ll be able to connect up to 5 devices at once (you’ll have to authorize them so that no one leeches off of your internets) to Sprint’s 3G or 4G network, depending on your area.

The case is actually a freebie from Sprint, if you buy one of their Overdrive routers. The router will set you back around $100 after a rebate and a new 2-year contract. You’ll also have to pay $60 a month for the service, which will get you 5GB of data. Yes, it’s more expensive than purchasing service on the iPad each month through AT&T, but some of us are already paying Sprint $60 just to connect our laptops. Kudos to them for seeing this opportunity and seizing it.

[ Sprint ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

By Evan Ackerman

It’s a good day to have a PC with a Synaptics touchpad, as a driver update has enabled multitouch functionality on even for those of us with older touchpads that were previously not multitouch capable. The most useful feature is probably two finger scrolling, but you also get ChiralMotion (which allows you to scroll up and down at different rates by making counterclockwise and clockwise single finger gestures) and three finger taps and flicks (which allow you to launch apps, and move back and forth in your browser and in slideshows). It always gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside when companies update software for older computers to give them new and improved capabilities, so kudos to you, Synaptics.

You can download the driver install package directly from HP, there’s a version for Windows XP as well as Windows Vista and 7.

VIA [ HardwareZone ]

Kudos to Comcast for embracing the year 2009. The nation’s largest—and quite possibly worst—ISP has finally committed itself to deploying 100 mbps broadband beginning this year. That will make the FCC happy, what with the loft goals it set with its National Broadband Plan. It’s also good news for people who know their way around things like Usenet—taps nose like a spy. Will it be affordable, though?

The big rollout will happen within the next 12 to 18 months. Most, if not all, of Comcast’s customers will be able to sign up for the super-fast service. You can thank DOCSIS 3.0 for that.

Price may be an issue. Right now, Comcast offers 100 mbps down/15 mbps up service to business customers in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area for $369 per month. There’s no way you’re going to convince residential customers in this economy to shell out nearly $400 a month for Internet access, no matter how fast—that’s the price of two car payments. Now you’d have to figure that not even Comcast would be that silly to charge that kind of money for residential Internet access. I don’t know what’s involved with business-level Internet access at Comcast, but presumably it comes with free ostrich egg omelets once a week.

For comparison’s sake, I already have 100 mbps Internet access from Cablevision, an ISP in the New York area. For $100 per month I get 101 (!) mbps down/15 mbps up. I am, in fact, able to max out my connection when using Usenet (I have Newsdemon). But a fair warning to people who think the Internet is magically going to fly once they hop aboard the 100 mbps train: it won’t. Sites like YouTube are still dog-slow, Gmail isn’t any faster than it is using your regular broadband connection. In a sense, you’re faster than what these sites can handle. That will change over time, of course, but don’t think getting 100 mbps is going to change your life if all you do is check your Facebook and watch the occasional YouTube clip.

It’s sorta weird: sites won’t upgrade their capacity until there’s enough people with super-fast connections to make it worth their while, and it may not be worth it to the average person to upgrade, and perhaps pay $100 per month, until it’s worth their while.

God of War III comes out today (YES!), and with all the hoopla surrounding it, I thought this would actually be a good time to recommend/pay tribute to the other God of War games. I’ll explain.

I’ve always considered myself to be a hardcore gamer — up on the big new releases, aware of what’s going on in the industry — but for some reason, I completely missed out on God of War and God of War II. I have no idea why. I hadn’t really slacked off in my gaming at all. (Maybe I was still collecting all those dumb shards in The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. That took forever.) Yet I didn’t buy them when they were first released, and I didn’t really know anything about them.

Anyway, sometime in 2007, the Wii was my current system of choice, and I was making my way through Paper Mario. It was alright: It controlled well, it looked nice, and it was cute. But I’d continually be asking myself, “Am I having fun?” I really was becoming jaded and disinterested in games at that point, I’d realized.

One day I found myself at a Best Buy, and saw God of War for PS2, now a Greatest Hits title, priced at $19.99. I still really had no idea what it was about or what type of game it was. I just knew the name. What the hell, I thought. Let’s do this.

All hyperbole aside, I was truly blown away. I’d never seen anything like God of War — the music, the graphics, the scale, and the sheer fun of it all. The brilliance of Kratos’ weaponry, combos, and pace gaining new powers. I thought about Paper Mario — and not to throw Nintendo under the bus, because I truly love that company and its games — but this was way ahead of anything the competition was doing, especially something like Paper Mario. And I wasn’t impressed by just the game; the bonus making-of documentary was fascinating and, most importantly, brutally honest. Kudos to Sony for including it. Overall, the experience completely reinvigorated my love of gaming and led me to rethink the possibilities of the medium. I bought God of War II the day after finishing God of War. It was also quite excellent, if slightly weaker and sloppy in the story department, but was still a great entertainment.

So yes, I’m excited for God of War III. But if you, like I once was, are unaware of the God of War franchise or what all the hubbub is about, trust me. Pick up the God of War Collection (an HD remastered package of the first two games) for PS3. It’s a great way to get up to speed, and you will be amazed; if you care about games or gaming history — or just want to experince Greek mythology on steroids — it’s essential.