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BMW i3 electric and i8 plug-in cars on display at Frankfurt
We've seen 'em as sketches and we've seen 'em having fun on the snow, but now, after getting a few upgrades, they're parked on the stage at Frankfurt. BMW rolled out its new i3 and i8 electric cars, part of a new sub-brand focused on efficiency and responsive driving -- though it'll ultimately be up to the driver to determine just how responsively these behave on the road. The i3 is a pure electric, 150km range (about 100 miles) and a very lightweight construction of both aluminum and carbon fiber. The i8, meanwhile, is a plug-in hybrid that is said to deliver about 87MPG and yet still get from 0 - 60MPH in under five seconds. Spunky, then. It also sports those funky laser headlights that are both far more efficient and far more awesome sounding than current LED models. This is what they look like in the flesh, and if all goes according to plan you'll be seeing them for yourselves when they enter production in 2013. %Gallery-133335% %Gallery-129536%
Mitsubishi i MiEV priced to move, rolls out slowly across US
Mitsubishi promised a fall 2011 launch for the i MiEV here in the US, and we're happy to report the company is right on schedule -- so long as you live in California, Oregon, Washington, or Hawaii. Those states will be the first to see the subcompact at the dealership this November. The all-electric car will make its debut in the northeastern US by March of next year, with the a nationwide rollout expected by December 2012. The basic ES model will start at $27,990, while the SE demands $29,990 for luxuries like a leather covered steering wheel and "upgrade[d] seating material." Both are eligible for a federal tax credit of up to $7,500, which could push the price of entry down to just above $20,000 -- making the Mitsubishi i almost as easy on your wallet as it is on the Earth. PR after the break.
BMW and Siemens partnering for wireless-charging EVs, cutting the cord this May
Back at CES we were dazzled by Fulton Innovation's vision of the future of wireless power, which included an inductively-charged Tesla Roadster. Now, someone's actually making it a reality. Siemens and BMW are partnering on a field trial for inductive chargers, with the device itself making its debut in May ahead of it being deployed in Berlin in June. In theory these can be installed into parking lots, taxi queues, and of course driveways, sunk right into the ground -- out of sight and mind. Neither company is saying which prototype car will be given the ability to catch the waves that these inductive chargesters will be throwing out, but we'd hazard a guess it'll be one of BMW's new i cars, which won't look nearly as futuristic as the invisible wheels above that look to have escaped from the Wonder Woman set. [Thanks, Jason]
BMW's i3 and i8 prototypes caught on camera in garish attire
It was just a few weeks ago that BMW launched its new brand, simply called "i," and pledged two new electrified cars would be coming to save us from both the perils of pollution and the danger of boring commutes. Now here they are, spotted in the wild wearing the company's usual swirly vinyl, which is doing its best to hide those decidedly distinct curves -- and failing miserably, if we're honest. Both the i3 hatch (below) and i8 sportscar (above) were obviously doing some winter testing, and we'd say that the smile on the face of the passenger in the i8 is a good sign that the four-seater with 62MPG rating and a 0 - 62 time of 4.8 seconds will be fun to drive. Or fun to ride in, at least.
BMW launches new 'i' brand focused on electrification, lower-case letters
BMW already has one of the shortest names on the auto front, but it's about to get shorter. The company has just launched "i," a sub-marque much like the company's M cars but, rather than focusing on performance, highlighting new technology to create cars that are "good for us" while also being "good for our planet." It's what the company calls "premium mobility," cars for daily commuting that will let you "enjoy the finer things in life" without killing the planet in the process. The first two cars are the i3 (formerly known as the Megacity) and the i8 (the auto formerly known as Vision EfficientDynamics), both of which are said to be as fun to drive as a current car but much more efficient thanks to composite construction and electrified powertrains. Additionally, the company is also working with the My City Way apps, which cover 40 cities in the US and that many abroad, offering traffic cameras, POIs, and even public transit info -- a little odd for a car company. The company is pledging that we'll see these "born electric" cars in production by 2013 and coyly specifies that three is not the smallest number nor eight the largest, meaning we should expect other models to fill that gap -- just like the company's current alphanumeric lineup. We'll surely be learning more about these cars at Geneva in a few weeks, and if you think BMW is just being trendy using the lower-case i moniker, it did launch its iDrive controller back in September of 2001 -- a month before the iPod really made "i" super trendy. %Gallery-117241%
i think Apple is affecting children's grammar
I want to relate an interesting story my brother told me the other day about one fascinating -- and negative -- way Apple is affecting children in the classroom. My brother is a grade school teacher, and recently he's noticed an alarming trend in his students' grammar, specifically capitalization. It started a few years ago. My brother would review a sentence one of his students wrote, and it would read, "i went on a walk with my mom." He'd see this lowercase I and would mention to the student that he forgot to capitalize it. These lowercase I's would show up occasionally, but my brother always assumed it was just a case of forgetfulness on the student's part. However, this year seems to be a tipping point for lowercase I's. More and more, my brother began to notice that students who had never had a problem with capitalization before began to write their I's in lowercase. Sentences like "i went to Disney World this year" and "My father and i ate ice-cream" started to become the norm. One day last week, when his students had turned in their short story assignments, my brother graded them over recess and noticed that the dreaded lowercase "i" was incorrectly capitalized in more papers than ever. When his students came back from recess, he asked them why so many of them weren't capitalizing their I's, even when they began a sentence with the pronoun "I." The first reply: "Because iPod is spelled that way." The other children agreed that's why they do it as well, though some attributed it to the iPhone or iPad.
Mitsubishi i is the new name of the i MiEV for American market, coming next fall for $30,000
Mitsubishi promised it'd bring the i MiEV over to the US before 2012 and now it's rehashed that pledge with a slightly more detailed roadmap and an indicative price point to boot. Maurice Durand, the company's communications manager for North America, is quoted as saying the newly renamed i will cost "around $30,000" when it launches, which is expected to happen in fall 2011. Sales expectations are a very modest 20,000 units by 2015, but apparently the idea is for Mitsu to just get its foot in the US electric vehicle market before introducing more powerful and versatile people carriers. The i is pitched as primarily a commuter's vehicle, though it has been enlarged slightly to accommodate US safety regulations and "larger frame people." Be honest, Maurice, you mean larger waistline, not frame.
WoW, Casually: Is WoW still fun?
Robin Torres writes WoW, Casually for the player with limited playtime. Of course, you people with lots of playtime can read this too, but you may get annoyed by the fact that we are unashamed, even proud, of the fact that beating WoW isn't our highest priority. Take solace in the fact that your gear is better than ours, but if that doesn't work, remember that we outnumber you. Not that that's a threat, after all, we don't have time to do anything about it. But if WoW were a democracy, we'd win. I'm letting you into my thought process again this week, because I think I'm one of many players with limited playtime asking themselves if they are still having fun in WoW. Me: I hate that video. Stormtroopers are cold, impersonal evil -- they don't dance! Myself: I love it! Yay! I: I don't know. I just don't know. Me: So here we are again. I: Yep. The List is pretty obsolete right now until I do more playtesting and research. Myself: Playing WoW is fun! Me: Is it? Still? I: I don't know. Myself: Yes it is! Me: Prove it.
Rumor: Apple gunning for iPad trademark
Even though the WSJ pretty much broke the story on next week's tablet announcement (when the mainstream media prints something as true, it's true, right?), that hasn't kept the crazy tablet rumors from coming in. Earlier in the week, MacRumors and the no-comment-on-the-name JesusTablet.com delivered more evidence that Apple is fighting for the "iPad" trademark. While it's already nailed down the name elsewhere, in the US, Fujitsu actually originally applied for the moniker, though Apple has made the case to the FTC to pick it up since Fujitsu has "abandoned" it and no one else has used it. There are filed requests to keep the deadline open for complaints against Fujitsu's claim, with an FTC ruling that holds the trademark unclaimed through February 29th. Could be that Apple just wants to avoid confusion with iPod -- it could be the tablet's new name. Of course, if Apple does name the tablet "iPad," I'll eat my hat. That's a terrible name, even worse than the already hated "iSlate." I can see why Apple would want to get the "i" in there, but what will be interesting is to see if they consider this device an extension of the iPod and iPhone lines or part of the Mac series. Personally, I'd much rather buy a Mac Slate or a Mac Reader (or just an Apple Slate) than an awkward name with the "i" squeezed in front of it. And yes, Canvas is pretty good, too. We'll have to see what the company eventually decides on later this week. [via Mashable & MacNN] Update: A legal source of ours says this is not tablet related -- not only does Fujitsu have more right to this trademark than Apple does, since they're the senior user and they've actually sold a product, but Apple is probably only filing for it so they can keep a lock on anything that sounds like "iPod," not because they want to call the tablet "iPad." False alarm. We guess that we'll see plenty of those in the runup to next week's announcement, so keep your cynical hats on.
Sharp's PC-Z1 NetWalker takes the inevitable unboxing journey
Sharp's PC-Z1 NetWalker conjured up all sorts of love and hate-filled emotions when we toyed with it earlier this month, but for fans of unorthodox handhelds, minor details like a wonky optical pad and frail keys aren't apt to put a damper on the excitement found in this moment. The cool kids over at Pocketables were able to procure a unit over the weekend from Japan (right on cue, might we add), and predictably, they've broken out the camera in order to let you relive the unboxing experience and see it side-by-side with a UMID mbook M1. The read link folks, that's where it's at.
Sharp's 5-inch PC-Z1 NetWalker honors Zaurus legacy with touchscreen Ubuntu
Fanboys have been running Ubuntu on Sharp's deceased Zaurus lineup of PDAs for years. Now Sharp makes it official with the launch of this 5-inch, 1024 x600 TFT LCD touchscreen NetWalker smartbook, aka the PC-Z1. It's not a Zaurus per se, but the compact 161.4 x 108.7 x 19.7 ~ 24.8mm / 409g device certainly resurrects its ghost. Underpinning the device is an 800MHz Freescale i.MX515 CPU built around the ARM Cortex-A8 architecture, 512MB of memory, 4GB of on-board flash storage (with microSDHC expansion for another 16GB), 802.11b/g WiFi, 2x USB, and QWERTY keyboard going 68 percent of full-size. Sorry, no 3G data. The PC-Z1 features a 3-second quick launch, non-removable 10-hour battery, and is purposely positioned by Sharp as a taint -- it ain't quite a smartphone and 't ain't quite a laptop. Good luck with that Sharp. The device is expected to hit Japan on September 25th for ¥44,800. That's about $479 whenever it might come Stateside. It's worth noting that the current US ban on the import of BGA-packaged products like Freescale's i.MX processors should not affect the import of the PC-Z1 as Akihabara News contends. As we understand it, that ban affects the import of the chips, not the systems using them and assembled elsewhere. Otherwise, Amazon wouldn't be selling its Kindle, dig?[Via Akihabara News and Engadget Japanese]Read [warning: Japanese PDF]
