hybrid

PLX USB Duet: your netbook is now a cumbersome iPad keyboard

We preface this post by saying we don’t know how practical this really is, but PLX’s idea of using a netbook’s keyboard to type on the iPad is definitely an intriguing one. How does it all work? Well, it relies on the company’s USB Duet technology, but the setup isn’t exactly what we’d call streamlined


Levant Power’s GenShock absorbs energy as well as bumps (video)

Hey, who’s this charming young rogue giving Ma Earth a peck on the cheek? While opinions may differ on the utility of regenerative braking , we can’t envision anyone outside of Chevron or BP’s head offices complaining about suspensions that generate electricity out of the bumps you encounter on the road


Telekom Austria to turn phone booths into EV recharging stations, stave off obsolescence

For most Engadget readers, telephone booths rank somewhere up there with smoke signals in the annals of communication devices — old , primitive , and bypassed by newer and better technology. Ah, but wait, what if we used all those cables we have wired into those boxes for something actually helpful? Telekom Austria’s trying to do just that with its newly unveiled plan to roll out 30 electric vehicle recharging stations over the rest of this year


Nissan books 8,000 Leaf orders in nine days, gets turned on with that electric feel

Who says people aren’t willing to pay upwards of $30k for a car that can only go 100 miles before needing to be tethered to a wall outlet? Evidently Nissan has struck a chord with the US populace, as the automaker just announced that 8,000 orders for the all-electric Leaf were booked in a mere nine days after orders went live.


Lexus shows off hybrid bicycle, won’t sell you one

This Lexus bicycle has apparently been quietly making the rounds since the last year’s Tokyo Motor Show, but the automaker has rolled it out again to coincide with the Great British Bike Ride, and it’s taken the opportunity to dish some details on it. While it’s still just a concept, it does exist in prototype form, and packs a 240-Watt electric motor that’s powered by a 25.9-volt lithium battery pack, which promises to give you a little extra push when you’re tired of pedaling. Being a Lexus, it also follows the “L-finesse” design language, and it relies on the same principles of the Lexus Hybrid Drive system found in the company’s hybrid vehicles to recharge the battery through regenerative braking


Geely IG is covered in solar cells, two years away from marketability

Chinese carmaker Geely is no stranger to building derivative designs , and its latest PHEV effort takes so much inspiration from Volkswagen’s Beetle that even the press release begins with a metaphor about caterpillars flourishing into butterflies. That’s also a little nod to the car’s development, which has seen its initial design overhauled into the four-seater, photovoltaic cell-laden transporter you see above.