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Vespa's first electric scooter goes on sale in Europe this October
Vespa's electric scooter has long been slated to start shipping this year, and now the timeline is a little clearer on when you might be able to get your hands on a Vespa Elettrica. Production will start next month, and Vespa will open up online sales to Europeans in October. Those in the US and Asia will be able to buy the scooter starting early 2019. Parent company Piaggio Group hasn't announced pricing yet, but says the Elettrica will be in line with Vespa's current high-end models.
Vespa’s first electric scooter will arrive in 2018
Last year, Vespa announced that it was working on an electric scooter and today it has released some specs and an approximate availability date. The Vespa Elettrica is a silent, fully electric scooter with acceleration capabilities in line with those of traditional scooters, according to Vespa. It has a 62-mile range and can be fully charged in just four hours through a normal wall-mounted electrical outlet. The battery will reportedly last around 10 years, but will drop to 80 percent capacity after 1,000 charge cycles or so. The Elettrica comes in a chrome grey color, but buyers can choose between seven color options for the decorative trim.
The Gita is your rolling robot porter
Though robots are increasingly making their way into factories, offices and even airports, they're still not something you'd encounter walking down a city street -- and definitely not in a way that's personally useful to you. We'd all love to have our own personal BB-8 droid to follow us around and help get things done, but so far we've had to settle for robotic vacuums and airport greeters. Piaggio Fast Forward promises to bring us a bit closer to that science-fiction reality with its smart cargo vehicle, the Gita. It's relatively small, attractive and can follow you everywhere, ready to lend a hand when you've taken on too much to carry.
Vespa's creators just unveiled a personal cargo robot
The Vespa brand's owner, the Piaggio Group, doesn't have a reputation for cutting edge tech (it only just started making an electric scooter). However, it's making up for that in style. It's establishing a robot-focused company, Piaggio Fast Forward, and has unveiled that company's first product: meet Gita, a personal cargo robot. The machine can haul up to 40 pounds of supplies either autonomously (if there are maps) or by following a human operator. It's fast enough to keep up with you on a bike (22MPH), and its zero turning radius promises the "human agility" needed to navigate sidewalks. If you don't like the idea of driving a car or pushing a dolly just to get your groceries home, this might be just what you were looking for.
Donald Trump's environmental plan and more in the week that was
The Hyperloop keeps getting realer by the day. This week, architects unveiled detailed plans for a next-gen transportation system that will travel from Dubai to Abu Dhabi in just 12 minutes. Meanwhile, Elon Musk announced big plans to build a second Gigafactory in Europe that will produce lithium-ion batteries and electric cars. Gogoro rolled out a faster, more powerful version of its battery-swapping electric Smartscooter, while Vespa delighted fans with plans to launch an all-electric model next year. And MIT teamed up with NASA to develop a new "morphing" airplane wing that could revolutionize aviation.
Vespa is making an electric version of its iconic scooter
Electric scooters aren't hard to find, but you haven't had any luck if you wanted the most recognizable scooter of them all, a Vespa -- the Italian machine has run on fossil fuels since its inception. At last, though, the brand is catching up with the times. It recently unveiled a Vespa Elettrica project that, to no one's surprise, runs on an electric motor. You'd still have the style and maneuverability of a classic Vespa, the company claims, but you'd get a cheaper-to-run, eco-friendly powerplant. There will also be "innovative connectivity solutions." It's not certain what those are, but it's easy to envision checking on your scooter with your smartphone.
Harrods Olympus PEN Art Edition includes a custom Vespa scooter, because why not
Special editions with ridiculously expensive extras must be all the rage among well-to-do gadget fans -- that's the only real explanation we can imagine for Harrods' new Olympus PEN Art Edition. The kit includes two PEN E-P5s (one hand-painted), but it also bundles prime lenses, accessories, a training session... and a customized Vespa scooter. You'll have both the gear you need for amateur photography and the transportation to your photo shoots. Mind you, we'd expect nothing less when the Art Edition costs £16,000 ($24,814) -- more than some cars. If you're eager to acquire both a new camera and a new ride in one fell swoop, though, the limited-run PEN bundle is available from Harrods today. Check out a photo of the Vespa after the break.
TUAW Sunday snacks: Some tasty tidbits of random information
In between watching those Sunday NFL games, we're hoping that you're snacking on some TUAW goodness. For your munching pleasure I thought I'd cook up some of the interesting tidbits that have accumulated in our inbox this morning and present them to you for consumption.First, from TUAW reader Tom, is a fascinating look at a pre-Apple "Apple logo." Apparently in 1969, Piaggio Vespa, world-famous for their Vespa scooters, had an Italian ad campaign featuring apples with both sides missing a bite. The campaign used the Italian phrase "Chi Vespa mangia le mele," or "He who Vespas eats apples." Echoes of the campaign can still be found on various Vespa websites, including the USA site where you'll find many dingbats and buttons are apples with a bite or two taken out of them. Next, TUAW fan Keith pointed out something interesting. If you go into Settings > General > Usage, there's a list of your iPhone usage. Down near the bottom of the list of statistics is a section called Tethering Data. This shows up on 3G / 3GS models, since tethering is allowed by many carriers. Of course, as "Seth the Blogger Guy" notes in the AT&T video, American iPhone owners don't get the joy of using their iPhones as wireless data modems for laptops because the AT&T network has insufficient capacity. We've talked previously about AT&T's view on tethering; read here for more info. Of course, there's always the jailbreak option. Read on for more news tidbits.
Modded Vespa rocks touchscreen, XP, and WiFi
Are you ever cruising on your Vespa, listening to The Kinks, pondering the plot of Absolute Beginners, and fantasizing about Twiggy when you think, "Hey, I need to check my email"? Well, you're in luck, because Quang Nguyen, a forward thinking Vespa-modder (no pun intended) has managed to cram a touchscreen rockin', WiFi sportin', XP-equipped PC into his red GTS250. Sure, he's also got a Louis Vuitton seat, but that isn't nearly as exciting as the prospect of being able to watch Quadrophenia and update your MySpace profile from any spot you happen to motor towards. Just make sure to watch out for the Rockers.
Deal of the Day: PSP Vespa only $3445
If you're a regular on PSP Fanboy, you know Chris loves to do his Cheapassgamer-inspired "Deal of the Day" series. Well, I can bust out the good deals for you too! You can get this sweet PSP-inspired Vespa for only € 2699 (approx. $3445 US). Sure, that's about $200 more than a regular Vespa, but with its ceramic white goodness, and PSP-infused cuteness, how can you pass up such an awesome deal?It'll look especially swell with your newly purchased "Signature" series PSPs. Man, I just find some awesome deals, don't I?[Via PSP World]
Dock your iPod on your Vespa
My wife and I took our honeymoon in Italy a few years ago, and those Vespa scooters were absolutely everywhere. When we returned home, I said, "I want one of those Vespas," but it just didn't seem to have the same panache here in the states. Plus, I'm likely to get crushed by an SUV. Still, I think about them from time to time, especially when I see one with an integrated iPod dock.The Stereo Kit by Scooterworks is a $300US kit that includes an amp, two 4-inch Alpine speakers, replacement glove box door with pre-cut holes, and a cradle/connector. They send you the kit, and you put it in. The Stereo Kit works with the Vespa Stella and P-series models.Now I want a Vespa again.[Via Engadget]
