When you name a custom built vehicle Eleanor, it better be good. It better be really good. But in fairness, the machine concocted by MIT ’s Solar Electric Vehicle Team is actually one of the more stellar creations we’ve seen on wheels. The newest iteration is a touch taller than prior versions and should be more comfortable to operate. Additionally, designers managed to increase the frontal area by 30 percent, all while keeping the drag area exactly the same. The juice comes from six square meters of monocrystalline silicon solar cells, and reportedly, the car can run all day long (providing the sun shines brightly the entire time) at a steady speed of 55 miles per hour. Eleanor will be competing later this year in the World Solar Challenge in Australia, and in preparation, the team is hoping to drive it across America this summer. So yeah, if you’ve ever wanted a summer to try hitchhiking, this would be it. [Via Wired ] Filed under: Storage MIT team develops solar car, bodly calls it Eleanor originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

We’ll just go ahead and warn you — don’t even think of giving the read link any attention if you’re both a) a Lego freak and b) strapped for cash. Otherwise, you’ll definitely be $169.99 further away from paying the light bill next month, as the limited edition Mindstorms Black NXT Brick is simply a must-have item for even amateur collectors. The device, which was created to celebrate ten years of Mindstorms , boasts four input ports, a trio of output ports for motors, a large dot-matrix display, USB 2.0, Bluetooth, a 32-bit microprocessor and a digital wire interface for third-party developments. We’d get in line now if you want to be assured of a piece come March 3rd, but that’s totally your call. [Via GoRobotics ] Filed under: Misc. Gadgets Limited edition Lego Mindstorms NXT brings back a decade of memories originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 22:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

Not that we haven’t seen cooking robots before , but there’s just something distinctly awesome about one that whips up a sandwich. Particularly one that kvetches first, and then gives in and makes a sandwich. Bre Pettis’ Sudo robot isn’t exactly sophisticated — anything more than a simple grilled cheese is asking a bit much — but even that should be plenty for the average college student. Check the read link to see it in action, and don’t be surprised to see Subway pick this up and tweak it for use with multiple toppings and condiments. [Via Digg ] Filed under: Robots Sudo robot begrudgingly makes sandwiches on command originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 20:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

We reported the Author’s Guild’s litigious anger about the Kindle 2 ’s text-to-voice feature, claiming it violates audio book copyrights. It’s an arguable position, but Amazon has gone ahead and caved to the literate man. Amazon has backed down for the Guild’s comfort rather than for any legal motivation, since it’s pretty clear that a robotic reading isn’t the same as an audio book. “We strongly believe many rights holders will be more comfortable with the text-to-speech feature if they are in the driver’s seat,” Amazon said. But instead of removing the feature, Amazon has simply made it optional, so publishers can decide for themselves what’s best for their property. That means it’s unlikely the much-advertised ( though not necessarily much-loved ) feature is going to be too useful for Kindle 2 owners. We’re not thrilled, since the Guild has no real legal leg to stand on and seems to need Amazon more than Amazon needs them, but then again, we’re not fancy-pants authors . [ CNET ]

Well, here’s a novel concept. Rather than bothering with turning up the volume on your ancient television, just crank up the volume on this here remote . Asahi Electric’s block-shaped remote is about as unergonomic as it gets, and it sure won’t bring along any advanced functionality, but we suppose that’s sort of the point. The 30mm speaker connects to a wireless transceiver in order to blast out the audio, and while most everything else is lost in translation, do you really need to understand any more? [Via OhGizmo ] Filed under: Home Entertainment Curious ELPA remote sports built-in speaker originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

Asus’ out-of-nowhere P835 smartphone is packing some pretty decent specs, from an 800×480 touchscreen to HSPA support for lightning-fast downloads, but it’s still packing Windows Mobile 6.1. Still, it’s worth a look. Here’s the rundown: • HSPA (DL: 7.2Mbps, UL: 2Mbps), UMTS 900/1900/2100 EDGE/GPRS/GSM 850/900/1800/1900, Class 12 • Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 • 3.5″ WVGA (800×480), no word on resistive or capacitive • 4 GB internal storage plus MicroSDHC slot • WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0 • Push email is supported • 5 MP camera • Looks like it’s packing Flash support • 1100mAh battery, which sounds a little underpowered It’s a pretty nice-looking piece of kit, and there’s no word on a US carrier or price yet, but we’ll keep an eye on it. [ Wireless and Mobile News ]

Yeah, your PC sucks. That video card you “borrowed” from your brother two years ago makes an exasperated sigh every time you fire up The Sims 2 , and you’re pretty sure your power supply is one Cheeto crumb away from giving up the ghost. Not this thing, however. Cooler Master has built an utterly ridiculous setup, with five separate quad-core computers running simultaneously under one roof, off of one power supply. The whole thing, which Cooler Master dubbs the 53GHz, is basically a showcase for various Cooler Master components, and will be displayed at CeBIT in Germany next week. Personal grid computing here we come? Video is after the break. [Via Make ] Continue reading Cooler Master’s 5-CPU monstrosity has your craptop cowering in a corner Filed under: Desktops Cooler Master’s 5-CPU monstrosity has your craptop cowering in a corner originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

In an effort to cut costs wherever possible, some consumers are going back to the cheaper, crappier-in-every-way dial-up we all cast aside years ago. This recession has just gotten serious. Sales of the often sub-$10 dial-up subscriptions have increased after the stock market crash and many report that they’ve switched from broadband, though NetZero CEO Mark Goldston was quick to note that “this is not the iPod crowd we’re talking about.” Chances are if you’re reading this, you’re more likely to try to pawn your oven than give up broadband, but where exactly does it fall on your list of priorities? Would you give up a cable TV or Xbox Live subscription first? Let us know exactly how poor you’d have to be to go back to dial-up in the comments. [ Orlando Sentinel via Crunchgear ]

Well if your dreams of a new set have been dashed by the Nokia XpressMusic 5800’s issues but you still want to shop Nokia, here’s a deal for you. Amazon’s Gold Box sale today features the lovely — and arguably Nokia’s sassiest QWERTY smartphone — Nokia E71 in gray for $289 shipped. We peeked at Nokia’s shop and they have it priced at $349, and Expansys is at $389, so we’re fairly impressed at the price here, though it will only be about at this price today. Heck, we may stock up and make it an early Nokia Christmas this year, for ourselves. The read link will send you off to Amazon’s GOld Box page, so if you’re reading this article late, the set will be gone. Filed under: Cellphones Amazon’s Gold Box sale features Nokia E71 for $289, shipped originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

This water droplet -shaped concept from Ilshat Garipov makes a good run at it, but no matter how small or slick or arty they are, Bluetooth headsets are just never going to look good. Is it the association they have with bankers, lawyers, and other douche-types? Is it the inherent awkwardness of watching somebody talk into a machine you can’t see? I think we can all agree that it’s not the specific design of an individual Bluetooth headset that makes it irritating. Sorry, Ilshat, your design is pretty sharp and all that but I just can’t get excited over a device with a function I can’t help but find annoying. [ Yanko Design ]