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We can make the steel of tomorrow without the fossil fuels of yesteryear
A trio of Swedish firms are developing a means of producing high-quality steel without releasing so much carbon dioxide -- and Volvo is already using it to build mining equipment.
Volvo hopes to make cars using fossil-free steel
Volvo is exploring cars made using fossil-free steel, ensuring its cars are environmentally friendly right down to the chassis.
Withings launches its first watch with heart rate monitoring
Much like it was mandatory to wear Loom Bands in 2014, if a fitness wearable can't track your heart rate then it's dead... dead, ya hear? Withings doesn't make fitness wearables so much as timepieces that just happen to track your activity, which justifies its decision to drag its feet on the heart rate sensor issue until now. That's now set to change with the Withings Steel HR, a follow-on to the Activité analog watch that gains an optical HR sensor and a new digital sub-display for smartphone notifications.
Scientists want to make buildings from bone
A cityscape made of bone and eggshell might sound like the set for the final act of some big-budget fantasy epic, but the idea could help support ever-growing populations in our cities -- and reduce carbon emissions in the process. According the University of Cambridge, typical materials like concrete and steel make up almost 10 percent of global carbon emissions. Before they even get to the place of construction, both materials need high temperatures to be processed, and thus a whole load of energy. Researchers are hoping that artificial bone and eggshell, made of protein and minerals, could one day stand in for traditional building materials.
Pebble's Time Steel smartwatch ships to backers at month's end
While Pebble Time on its way to backers and available for pre-order, the company's metal-clad smartwatch is also scheduled to arrive soon. Via Kickstarter update, Pebble announced that production of the Time Steel is set to begin this week with the goal of shipping the gadgets to backers at the end of the month. It'll take some time to send out all of the units, but even the folks at the end of the line should receive tracking info by the end of August. However, due to limited availability, some backers may receive their metal bands in a separate shipment, rather than both a leather and metal band bundled with the watch itself. What's more, when the Time Steel hits retail, the metal bands will be separate purchase, so plan accordingly.
Engadget UK giveaway: win a Pebble Steel courtesy of GeniusFlight
School's out for summer, and many of you are no doubt looking forward to sun, sea, several strong cocktails and a few weeks off work. Foreign lands are always better enjoyed with a trusted travel companion, and in lieu of actual friends, we're giving away a black Pebble Steel to fill that role. The second-generation e-ink smartwatch is smaller, classier and pricier than its predecessor, and comes to us courtesy of GeniusFlight: a flight searching site with a difference. GeniusFlight revolves primarily around your budget, which you specify alongside preferred travel dates and departing destination. The tool then tells you where in the world that money will take you, hopefully with some inspiring options you wouldn't have come up with unaided. As always, any Brits interested in taking a free Pebble Steel on tour can enter up to three times via the Rafflecopter widget below. After they've read the rules first, of course. Winning: congrats to Joel C. from London!
Xiaomi's latest phone gets a steel frame, IR blaster and top specs for just $320
Having sold 26.11 million phones in the first half of this year, the beast from the East that is Xiaomi is back again with a new flagship Android phone: the Mi 4. For the first time ever, the company is adding a touch of metal -- the common SAE 304 stainless steel, to be exact -- to the phone's frame, which is sandwiched between a flat 5-inch 1080p screen and a swappable, slightly curved plastic back cover. The internal specs are as you'd expect: 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 SoC, 3GB of RAM, 16GB/64GB of internal storage, 13MP f/1.8 main camera, 8MP selfie camera, LTE radio (at last), 802.11ac WiFi plus a 3,080mAh battery. As a bonus, you also get an infrared transmitter to play with the TV (which Xiaomi also sells). As usual, the Mi 4 will be very affordable: Just CN¥1,999 or about $320 for the 16GB version, and CN¥2,499 or about $400 for the 64GB version (both off-contract, of course).
This bloke's air-powered Wolverine claws could probably kill you
For some of us, the closest we'll ever get to becoming Wolverine is making a pair of cardboard claws, growing a bitchin' set of sideburns and developing a cigar-chewing habit. The more industrially inclined, however, make sets of air-powered, razor-sharp talons that can cut through a watermelon like... Well, how an adamantium knuckle-knife might slice through watermelon. YouTube user ColinFurze fabricated a set of 12-inch stainless steel claws that extend and retract thanks to a set of palm-mounted toggle switches that connect to compressed-air tank on his back -- no bicep-flexes required here, folks. If you're feeling particularly inspired and/or have a welder and some plate-stock handy, bub, Furze has posted a how-to video in addition to the clip where he joyously hacks apart cardboard and what looks like a Mystique blow-up doll (seriously). Even better, he's promised more X-Men-themed videos come next Thursday. Try not to go berserk before then, would-be Weapon X.
Steel & Steam: Episode 1 embarking to save the world on April 2
Deserts aren't great at supporting many types of life, and that's the approaching problem for the inhabitants of Steel & Steam's steampunk universe. No, as in it's literally approaching them - the desert is spreading from the eastern half of the Terra Corpus continent, and if it's left unchecked, they'll find themselves with one hell of a sandbox to play in. Or die in, you know, whichever. With turn-based combat, optional sidequests and pixel art, Steel & Steam definitely recalls a classic era of RPGs. Thankfully, that means Terra Corpus also harbors an ancient legend, one involving people enlisting help from elemental guardians slumbering within the planet. Players follow protagonists Noah and Alyssa as they seek out this power in an effort to curb the expanding desert. After securing funds for two episodes last September, Red Meat Games is preparing a PC launch across "worldwide digital platforms" for its first episode on April 2 for $9.99, according to the related press release. Steel & Steam's GreenManGaming page lists a March 28 release however, so it may be available before then. Steel & Steam will reach the Humble Store, Gamersgate, Gamely and is up for votes on Steam Greenlight. Backers will receive the second episode at no additional cost once it's finished. [Image: Red Meat Games]
Smartwatches are dumb, but they don't have to be
If recent trends are any indication, there are two roads that lie ahead for smartwatches and the companies foisting them upon us: the all-you-can-eat, tracker + smartphone approach and the single-minded focus on health and wellness bands. One meanders off to a fuzzy horizon laden with disregarded Dead End signs, a jumble of features and an overload of quantified-self data. And the other... well, that narrowly focused path to wellness simply falls off a cliff. It's not because dedicated health and wellness devices have no place in the wearables market -- right now, they do. It's because that area of lifestyle tracking will inevitably be consumed by the smartwatch borg as a subset of ancillary features. And yet, here we are -- about to enter into the irrevocable phase of mobile technologies as wrist-worn wearables with questionable (for now) benefits. A future we'll preview more intensely at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as some big-name manufacturers unveil their in-development takes on what can currently be described as redundant lifestyle tech.
Pebble Steel review: at last, a stylish smartwatch
Smartwatches are supposed to be pieces of jewelry that are just as personal as the smartphones they're attached to, yet rarely are they thought of as fashionable. We've seen a handful (or is it wristful?) that are hip, ornate and sporty, but we've also admittedly endured plenty of ugly options as well. Sadly, none have successfully matched the opulence brands like Seiko, Rolex, Citizen and Victorinox are known for on the analog side. Granted, not many companies are in a position to even try this. Without a strong developer platform and guaranteed return on investment, few (if any) smart watchmakers want to take the risk. It makes a lot of sense, then, that a company like Pebble is taking advantage of what appears to be a completely untouched segment of the smartwatch market. In just a short year, the nascent watchmaker quickly gained the experience, resources, platform and developer support required to even try tackling such a project. The result is the $249 Pebble Steel. It's designed to be a more elegant version of the original Pebble, with few changes to overall functionality. So, have we finally found a smartwatch that you can feel comfortable showing off to your business partners on the golf course?
Grove Dock for iPhone: Solid beauty
When packages containing review items show up at my office, they're usually quite lightweight. So I was really surprised when a package arrived recently from Grove in Portland, Ore., and it was heavier than usual. Like "someone sent me a brick?" heavier... However, I was pleasantly surprised and relieved when I opened the box to find a Grove Dock for iPhone (US$99) inside. One of the standout features of the Grove Dock is that it is heavy, so it's not going to move when you try to unplug your iPhone one-handed. How heavy? Three pounds. So what's it made out of, depleted uranium? No, just good, old steel and wood. The steel is used for the bottom of the Grove Dock, providing a heft that is rare in iPhone stands. Channels are machined into the top and bottom of the Dock -- the bottom channel provides a route for the charging cable you supply, while the upper channel holds a molded plastic piece that holds the top of your charge cable. Don't worry, as Grove has thoughtfully provided the plastic inserts for both the 30-pin Dock connector and Lightning connector. That upper channel also provides an outlet for sound, cleverly routing the sound to the front of the Dock. The plastic piece also serves to squeeze on the connector and hold it into place. This is useful if you need to extend the connector above the plastic a bit so that it works with a case. Once it's inserted into the metal channel, that connector isn't going to move one bit. Lest you think that this dock is just a hunk of steel, it's not. Grove is famous -- well, at least in my mind -- for its use of beautiful bamboo in their products. In this case, there's a laminated bamboo "case" that goes over the top of the metal, so that you have an attractive metal and wood stand. The entire thing requires no tools to assemble, just your two hands. Your iPhone can be pulled out of the Dock without the Dock moving a bit. There are rubber feet on the bottom of the Dock so that chunk of steel isn't going scratch furniture. The steel can be finished naturally and also comes in black or white if you want a finish that matches your iPhone. The wood comes in one finish, but if you have a corporate-sized order of these lovely docks, Grove will laser-engrave a logo on it for you. Watch this video for more details on why you'd want one of these, then read on for a chance to win one courtesy of Grove and TUAW. Conclusion With a price tag to match the care in design and construction, the Grove Dock for iPhone is a solid and beautiful dock that holds your iPhone in style. Pros Weight ensures that the Dock won't move when you pull out your iPhone. Design accommodates all models of iPhone from the iPhone 4 to the 5s and 5c. A choice of metal finishes provides a way to match your decor, while the naturally finished bamboo top is perfect in almost any situation. Design of the Dock works well in channeling sound from the bottom speaker of the iPhone to the front of the Dock. Cons Definitely not in the price range for everyone, but as I've said before, you get what you pay for. Who is it for? The discerning iPhone owner who wants the best dock possible for their device. Giveaway Yeah, you guessed it. We have one of these lovely Grove Docks ready to head your way. Here are the rules for the giveaway: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button. The entry must be made before October 28 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected and will receive a Grove Dock for iPhone valued at $99 Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
LaCie and Porsche Designs reveal USB 3.0 thumb drive, flash storage never looked faster
LaCie and Porsche Designs are at it again, but this time their storage collaboration has a slightly smaller footprint. The companies' latest effort is a brushed steel USB 3.0 thumb drive that's available in 16GB and 32GB varieties, starting at $30. For the security minded, files onboard are password-locked and protected with AES 256-bit encryption -- there's a free year of Wuala cloud-storage included too. You won't have to worry about a speeding ticket with this Porsche's transfers either -- the're rated at so-so 95MBs.
Detroit DIYer cooks up stronger, lighter steel, shames scientists
You'd be forgiven for dismissing an amateur metallurgist if he claimed to have improved upon the presumably perfected technology of steel making. But Flash Bainite, the creation of Detroit entrepreneur Gary Cola, wowed a team of Ohio State University engineers by turning centuries of alloy processing on its head. Instead of heating the metal for hours or days, this well-equipped DIYer boosted the temperature -- quickly baking, then cooling sheets of steel that are 7-percent stronger than other forms and tougher than some titanium alloys. Flash Bainite is also more ductile than other steels, allowing it to crumple more before breaking -- perfect for absorbing impacts. Obviously this means stronger and lighter cars, laptops, and armored vehicles but, since the process takes all of about 10 seconds, it's also more energy efficient and cheaper than traditional steel making. Now, who has the number for the Nobel Prize committee?
Future Navy lasers will 'burn incoming missiles,' blast through ominous vessels
The United States Navy has been working on next-gen weaponry ever since the last-gen was present-gen, and if the next next-gen ever actually arrives, well... we don't stand a chance at lasting very long. According to Wired, the Navy's Office of Naval Research is expecting laser technology (as it relates to weaponry) to mature in the next score, and if all goes well, a free-electron laser could be mounted on a ship during the 2020s. As of now, FELs produce a 14-kilowatt beam, but that figure needs to hit 100+ in order to seriously defend a ship; unfortunately for those who adore peace, it seems we're well on our way to having just that. When it's complete, these outrageous pieces of artillery will be capable of "burning incoming missiles out of the sky [and] zapping through an enemy vessel's hull." Something tells us that whole "You Sunk My Battleship" meme is just years from reappearing in grand fashion.
Stronger-than-steel palladium glass paves way for dental implants of the future
A team of researchers at Caltech and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have created a new type of glass that's stronger than steel, but it might not make it out of your oral surgeon's office. The material is a combination of glass' simplest form, called marginal glass, the metal palladium, and small fractions of phosphorus, silicon, germanium, and silver, making it resistant to massive amounts of pressure and strain. A glass this strong has endless potential in the way of structural application -- think cars, planes, and bridges. Thing is, though, palladium is super expensive, and researchers involved in the project say the best applications are in products like dental implants, which are currently made of soft, stiff noble metals, more likely to cause complications like bone atrophy. Chances are we won't see super strong glass bridges anytime soon, but the new glass dental implants could be in your mouth as early as 2016.
Hasselblad H4D-40 Stainless Steel medium format camera: limited to 100 units, priced at €13,990
Wondering just how large a premium that Ferrari badge was adding to Hasselblad's Ferrari-branded H4D? Oh, around €7,500 (if not more). Hot on the heels of the aforesaid announcement, Hasselblad has just revealed yet another variant of the famed H4D-40, with the Stainless Steel edition offering a classy, classic motif and another limited run item for collectors to snatch up. Only 100 of these will be produced, with each one selling for €13,990 ($18,497) sans lens or €14,990 ($19,809) with the HC 2.8/80 mm. If this guy's more "within reach" than the Italian-inspired alternative, hit up your local dealer as soon as humanly possible... or just before your 100 closest friends, anyway.
Klhip your fingernails with this $50 personal grooming device
We've never stopped to think that the world needed an "ultimate" nail-trimming device, but lo and behold, it now has one. Such is the modest tagline accompanying the Klhip nail clippers, which are composed of stainless steel and offer the not unheard of ability to collect your nail shards instead of ejecting them out into space. What's advanced (and award-winning) about its design is that you place pressure directly above the cutting blade, which is touted as being precise enough to omit the need for filing afterwards. If that sounds like the thing that's been missing from your bathroom cabinet, you can pre-order one for $50 ($80 with a leather case, visible after the break) for delivery in a month's time.
Mobiado 105 Damascus handled on video, which is the closest you'll ever get to one
Mobiado's 105 series of Series 40-based luxury candybars is nothing new -- in fact, it's quite old -- but as Vertu has discovered over the years, customers that are looking to spend four or five figures on a phone are apparently often uninterested in smartphone capability for some reason. On that note, the 105 rolls on with the recent introduction of the 105 Damascus, coated in hand-forged Damascus steel from Sweden with sandblasted (or rather, glass bead-blasted) steel buttons and screws to match. That's neat, but you know what isn't neat? The 2 megapixel camera, the 2-inch display, or the "more than" 1GB of memory available. Anyhow, enough venting -- point is, the recently-announced device has gotten a little hands-on time courtesy of Vietnamese site MaiNguyen, and though the steel edges are admittedly pretty beautiful, they wouldn't seem to come anywhere near justifying the phone's heart-stopping $4,500 asking price. Judge for yourself in the video (paired with a hands-on of some neat Damascus steel pen) after the break.
Apple patent application offers promise of stronger, scratch-proof stainless steel
As with all patent applications, it's a bit early to get too excited about this one, but a recently published filing from Apple dubbed "Nitriding Stainless Steel for Consumer Electronic Products" is one of the more interesting we've seen from the company as of late, especially when you consider its recent acquisition of Liquidmetal's intellectual property. Whereas Liquidmetal promises to let Apple create metal devices that are stronger and not limited to the usual structural or strength limitations found in conventional metals, this new patent application suggests that the company might also be working on a nitride coating for stainless steel that's described as "both scratch and impact resistant." What's more, the application suggests that the coating would not affect the appearance of the underlying stainless steel, and not cause any RF interference either. As pointed out in the application itself, that means it could be used on laptops, portable media players and, yes, even cellphones -- or it could simply be filed away with the countless other applications that haven't seen the light of day. Here's hoping for the former.
