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The Chevy Bolt will have a 238-mile range
Chevy has finally announced the range of its upcoming Bolt all-electric vehicle. At 238 miles, the relatively inexpensive EV should squelch some of the range anxiety that's kept drivers from making the switch from gas-powered vehicles.
TiVo combines its biggest, fastest DVRs to make the Bolt+
As soon as TiVo unveiled its Bolt Unified Entertainment System last year, the company's biggest DVR fans started asking "what about us?" That's because despite its new design, 4K streaming and updated features, there was no option with enough tuners and storage to match the top of the line Roamio Pro DVR. Now TiVo is filling that hole with the $499 (plus service fee) Bolt+, which takes the styling and power of the Bolt then adds the ability to record up to 6 channels at once onto a built-in 3TB hard drive.
Now TiVo Bolt owners can stream TV anywhere
When I reviewed the TiVo Bolt last year I didn't mind its odd design as much as I missed some features it lacked compared to the older Roamio DVR. Now the recently-acquired company is fixing that with a software update (the full list of changes is here) it's rolling out that lets owners stream recordings or live TV on even when they're away from home, and also download shows recorded from protected premium channels (like HBO or Showtime, usually) to a mobile device for offline viewing.
GM is already testing self-driving Chevy Bolts
That didn't take long. Just weeks after GM bought Cruise Automation to give its self-driving car initiative a boost, the spy photographers at SpiedBilde have spotted multiple Chevy Bolts roaming around San Francisco with autonomous driving sensors on their roofs. In fact, one of the drivers is Cruise Automation co-founder Kyle Vogt -- clearly, he's taking the hands-on approach in this collaboration.
Fur technology makes Zootopia's bunnies believable
Zootopia is a world where humans don't exist. It's a big, crowded metropolis where anthropomorphic animals drive cars, fight crime, eat ice cream and ride trains. Prey and predators of varying shapes and sizes coexist in harmony until their prejudices get in the way.
Inhabitat Week in Green: All the EVs at CES, and more!
Want to see the future of transportation? Look to CES 2016, where innovators debuted the state of the art in high-tech mobility. Chevrolet kicked things off by launching the first electric car for the masses, the 2017 Bolt EV. It gets 200 miles per charge and will cost around $30,000. (Check out our interview with GM engineering chief Pam Fletcher here.) Meanwhile, the mysterious startup Faraday Future showcased an insane 1,000-horsepower electric vehicle that looks like a rocket ship and Ehang showcased an autonomous helicopter that can carry you up to 11,000 feet without a pilot. And a Chinese "hoverboard" company made the news when federal marshals raided their booth over copyright concerns.
Taking a spin in the electrified Chevy Bolt EV
There's a reason the Chevy Bolt EV received Best of CES from Engadget. Even though we drove a model that's about 80 percent of what will end up in production, the promise of a solid compact car that's also a long-range electric vehicle was certainly there. We were also only able to squeeze in a few laps on the closed track with the car. But in that time, we got to try out the drivetrain options and the new and customizable infotainment system.
What you missed on day three at CES
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-728192{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-728192, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-728192{width:100%;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-728192").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Day three of CES wasn't quite as crazy as day two, but it was still a massive gadget overload. Never fear, though, because we've once again wrapped up the highlights here with a nice neat bow. Topping the list was Chevy's new all-electric Bolt, an EV that lets you travel more than 200 miles on a charge, then top back up to 80 percent within an hour. More insane but far less likely is Ehang's 184 personal drone that can ferry you up to 10 miles, well above the traffic jams. We also saw the stunning, rollable OLED displays from LG. We don't know why we want one, we just know that we do. To catch up, we've got more details in our gallery and the video above.
Chevy unveils its pure-electric Bolt
Chevy's Bolt is finally here. The pure EV was unveiled at the company's event at CES and it's got a ton of technology that you can get in the near future unlike a few concept cars that were unveiled earlier in the week. It's the everyperson's electric car that Tesla is working on and Chevy is delivering.
Hulu and the WWE are now available on the TiVo Bolt
TiVo's newest set-top box, the Bolt, got some added functionality on Tuesday when the company announced the addition of two new streaming content sources: Hulu (now upgraded from Flash for the new box's HTML5 platform) and WWE. Both services are available directly through the TiVo Central screen, though you will need a subscription to TiVo as well as both channels in order to watch them.
DirecTV will begin live 4K broadcasts early next year
4K is the way of the future, but until now, the selection of ultra-high-def content has been limited. Enter DirecTV. In an announcement made at New York's TranSPORT conference, the company noted that it will start broadcasting live 4K content in early 2016. The firm stated that it already has the technology in place and wants to start streaming UHD shows before its competitors. However, DirecTV wants to make sure that it has an impressive arsenal of broadcasts ready before launch, as "content is king," (that's a direct quote). Services like Roku and TiVo have both released 4K-capable set-top boxes but don't have a lot of UHD content to offer, which makes the technology somewhat moot.
TiVo's ad-skipping tech is coming to its older Roamio DVRs
It looks like TiVo Roamio owners won't need to buy an upgraded box for the new SkipMode feature. Zatz Not Funny points out info on TiVo's website promising SkipMode will come to older Roamio DVRs on December 10th, which the company confirmed in a statement to Engadget. Starting today, a software update is going out that enabled QuickMode sped-up viewing on the Roamio. Meanwhile, a limited test will only let older boxes in the Bay Area and Chicago access SkipMode, for now (it's available nationwide on the Bolt). In case you're not familiar, SkipMode lets users bypass ad breaks on selected shows (prime time broadcasts on certain national networks) just by pressing the green button on their remote. At least so far, it has avoided any legal issues seen by Dish Network's Hopper technology, and hopefully will continue to work as advertised. When I reviewed the Bolt, I found my favorite way to use it was skipping any stray seconds recorded before a show starts, so I could leap to the actual beginning. Update: TiVo has informed us that the SkipMode rollout for Roamio will start November 30th.
TiVo Bolt review: Getting smaller and faster has a price
TiVo has been in the DVR game for the better part of two decades, and even in the slow-paced TV world, that's enough time to see lots of change. Surprisingly, with the introduction of its Bolt DVR (excuse me: Unified Entertainment System) TiVo grabbed a feature from one of its oldest competitors in order to do battle with newer rivals. The company seems to have realized it's not just trying to beat your cable or satellite company's half-assed excuse for a set-top box, as Apple, Google, Roku, Amazon and others join game systems and Blu-ray players in a fight for living room dominance. Now, TiVo has a new design and, for the first time, a solution for easily skipping commercials. Still, that might not be enough to make the Bolt (starting at $300) a good buy.
TiVo exec explains Bolt strategy, Fire TV app and new Pro next year
When the TiVo Bolt was unveiled earlier this week, most of the questions (that weren't about its odd shape) came from long-time enthusiasts wondering why it doesn't cater to them? Many aren't willing to downgrade from a Roamio Pro's 6 tuners and 3TB storage just to add 4K and commercial skipping. Dave Zatz points out that today TiVo Chief Marketing Officer Ira Bahr has faced the company's most dedicated fans in a thread on TiVo Community, and says not to worry. According to Bahr, "we already have a roadmap plan to bring you something you'll like way better in 2016 (more on this shortly)." As I figured during our Bolt preview, this device is an attempt to connect with new users, among the millions of people buying streaming boxes as they use internet video services to replace or add to traditional TV. As far as the look of the Bolt, Bahr said "my view is that we have to look different."
TiVo's 4K-ready, commercial skipping Bolt hints at the future
This new Bolt DVR may not totally remake the recording technology TiVo is famous for, but it introduces a sharp departure in design and adds features customers have asked for since it started in the late 90s. Just like the leaks suggested, the Bolt is a funky arc-shaped white box that looks different from anything else near your HDTV. Despite being smaller than TiVo's older DVRs -- or whatever cable box you probably have -- it's eye-catching enough for visitors to stop and ask what you're watching TV on. Looks aside, Bolt's main claim to fame will definitely be its ability to bypass commercials with a new SkipMode (No more hidden 30 second skip! We've been asking for this since 2009). That's actually an old trick, and while it's appreciated, where I see evidence of TiVo looking towards the future is the way it's connecting the DVR to Amazon's Fire TV.
Leaks point to a new TiVo 'Bolt' DVR on the way
So what's next for TiVo? After the company successfully kicked off the DVR era with its boxes, the world is now changing into one where cable TV isn't quite as important. Purchasing the remnant of Aereo is one way to get cord-cutters attention, but fusing what's left of traditional TV with the internet is going to be an interesting problem to solve over the next few years. Dave Zatz has tracked down a mess of filings and even mentions on TiVo's own website pointing to a new "Bolt." Based on the recent CableLabs certification of two new boxes July 1st and a trademark application, the Bolt definitely seems like a new DVR, possibly a replacement for the current Roamio.
Commuting with the fun, stylish and expensive Bolt e-bike
The Bolt looks sort of like a motorcycle, but it's really more like a BMX bike with an electric motor bolted to it. The startup's electric bike doesn't try to compete with motorcycle maker Zero or scooter manufacturer Gogoro; instead it's targeting the bicycle commuter that wants a smoother ride to work. While it also looks like a cross between a moped and cafe racer, it's technically a bicycle with an electric motor and can technically be ridden in the bicycle lane. Angry cyclists aside, that also means you don't need a license to ride it or a have to get it registered or insured. For urban environmentalists tired of showing up to work all sweaty, it could be the ultimate commuter.
Chevy is making its long-range Bolt EV concept car a reality
Chevrolet is moving forward with its plans to build the long-range, all-electric Bolt. The crossover-style EV was unveiled a month ago as a concept car at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, not far from the Orion Assembly plant, where the carmaker will begin manufacturing the electric vehicle. When it was unveiled, the company announced target specs including a 200-mile range and a price of around $30,000. Those numbers would put it in direct competition with Tesla's upcoming Model 3 EV. By comparison, Chevy's $27,000 Spark EV city car manages roughly 82 miles on a charge.
Chevy Bolt EV concept hints at the future of affordable electric cars
Those rumors of GM developing its own affordable electric car? Yep, they're true. Chevrolet has unveiled the Bolt EV concept, its vision of a vehicle that can deliver 200 miles of all-electric driving for about $30,000 after tax credits. It's not as slick as a Tesla Model S, but it promises an airy, spacious design (check out that full-length glass roof) with some technological smarts. It touts multiple driving modes that adjust the steering, acceleration and suspension, and the interior's center stack is dominated by a 10-inch capacitive touchscreen. Also, you wouldn't have to spring for a BMW or Tesla to get a vehicle that can park itself -- the Bolt's smartphone app would automatically fetch and drop off the car when you're in a hurry.
Misfit enters the colorful smart bulb fray with the $50 Bolt
Misfit's moving beyond health and sleep tracking. With Bolt, a $50 smart lightbulb that can change colors like Philips' Hue bulbs, it's beginning to connect your home. Bolt produces the same amount of light as a typical 60-watt bulb, and you can use Misfit's app to choose from different colors. The app offers a variety of color scenes, which can change the mood of your room by manipulating multiple Bolts at once (as demonstrated below). It also works together with Misfit's Shine wearable and Beddit sleep tracker to wake you up with a simulated sunrise. While it looks like many other smart bulbs on the market (it's powered by Cree's LEDs), Misfit is hoping to differentiate itself by offering something more affordable and easier to use. To get started with Philips color-changing Hue Bulbs, for example, you'd have to throw down $200 for a starter pack with three bulbs and a wireless bridge. With Bolt, which is also available for pre-order today, you can start with just a single $50 bulb that's controlled directly over WiFi.
