BMW's Megacity Vehicle

BMW’s Megacity Vehicle (MCV) announced this week claims to aim a radical shift in urban transportation. The MCV is based on a new vehicle architecture dubbed “LifeDrive”, this concept is part of BMW’s small but evolving zero emissions motoring division. MCV is made up of two separate modules, the Drive module, which contains the drive system and battery, and the Life module, which is home to a lightweight passenger cell built from carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP).

Almost ¾ of the population on planet earth is estimated to live in cities by the year 2050, BMW proclaimed that we should expect to see this new technology enter the market by 2013.   Having witnessed many competitors craft electrified variations of conventional internal combustion powered vehicles, the MCV breaks the mold by providing a simple architecture that allows for simpler production processes. Features such as increased rust resistance, light build and strength, are expected with CRFP; a composite material built with carbon fibers surrounded by a plastic resin. It’s as strong as steel and lighter than aluminum, all while maintaining safety. CFRP ensures the additional weight of an electric vehicle can be reduced anywhere from 250-350 kilograms.

Klaus Draeger, Member of the Board of Management of Development notes “The Megacity Vehicle is a revolutionary automobile. It will be the world’s first volume-produced vehicle with a passenger cell made from carbon. Our LifeDrive architecture is helping us to open a new chapter in automotive lightweight design. Indeed, this concept allows us to practically offset the extra 250 to 350 kilograms of weight typically found in electrically powered vehicles.”

Development is expected to reach a stage that produces a rear wheel drive vehicle that will generate well over 100 kW and reach 150km/h, far more than needed in urban environments. Roughly 100 lithium-ion batteries will be required to meet the 400 volt minimum for the vehicle while ample cooling will maintain optimal operating temperature.

[Gizmag via Inhabitat]

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2011 Ford Explorer to debut Curve Control stabilization technology

The 2011 Ford Explorer is taking one step closer to the future of precision handling by implementing Curve Control, a new technology that is anticipated to be available in over 90 percent of Ford vehicles within 5 years. Swinging too quickly while taking a ramp is something we’ve all done at one time or another, but what we may not be aware of is how likely it is to result in more than a close call. Within the United States alone, this common mistake is responsible for over 50,000 accidents a year. Curve Control is designed to sense when a turn is being taken too quickly and compensates by reducing vehicle speed anywhere from 1-10mph within a second.

Curve Control is an extension of RSC, or Roll Stability Control, and incorporates sensors into the measuring of such factors as roll, lateral acceleration, wheel speed, yaw and steering wheel angle. Over 100 calculations are potentially made every second to determine if the vehicle is not turning as much as the driver is steering the wheel. Should this undesirable scenario arise, the system accurately reduces engine torque and applies four-wheel braking to assist the driver in regaining control of his or her turn.

Sue Cischke, Ford’s VP of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering notes “Too many accidents stem from drivers misjudging their speed going into curves and freeway off- and on-ramps. Ford’s Curve Control technology senses a potentially dangerous situation and reduces power and applies brakes more quickly than most drivers can react on their own.”

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Other features will include multiple user accounts, trends, saved searches and GPS geo-tagging for pictures. Hardcore Twitter users have been clamoring for a top notch, fully featured Twitter client for some time.

Verizon expects the app to add significant consumer interest to their devices. Director of business development and partner management at Verizon Wireless recently noted “Verizon Wireless is excited to bring this new app to our customers using 3G Multimedia phones. Adding new capabilities for popular social media apps is a great way to add value to these handsets.”

TweetToGo is developed for Qualcomm’s Brew Mobile Platform operating system, and is available as a free download from Get It Now/Media Center. It is compatible with over 25 different Verizon Wireless mobile phones (list here) and can be downloaded from any of those handsets, or from their online media market. Verizon clearly understands the importance of committing to the booming interest in social networking on the go and hopes TweetToGo will lure in a large portion of “Twitaholics” in the near future.

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The suspected root cause of the discontinuation is said to lie in the prolonged development cycle of the Kin, which saw smartphones produced by the competition with much more complex and appealing features released. Microsoft’s uniquely shaped slider phone, sold heavily on the social networking abilities of the device, was thought to be too clunky and inconvenient for the expectations of the core audience it was targeting. Receiving retweets and multiple replies was often impossible, something users did not grow accustom to. It also lacked an internal calendar feature, something many users consider absolutely vital in their day to day planning.

Rather than support hardware that perhaps should’ve been scrapped before release, Microsoft decided to phase it out and focus all of their attention on their upcoming Windows Mobile 7 phone. The division that oversees Microsoft’s Windows Mobile devices is expected to experience a shakeup in light of an avalanche of fierce competition from Apple and Google. With the Kin not reaching sales expectations, Microsoft is not hesitating to abandon any product that won’t immediately assist them in their goal to reach mobile dominance.

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Nokia phones can be held any way you like

Freedom. Something we take for granted even with the simplest of things. The privilege of being able to grasp your mobile phone any way you like without having to worry about things like signal loss should be one of those freedoms. And it was, until the iPhone 4 came.

Nokia, ever the opportunists, recognized this. Assuring customers that there is no wrong way to hold a Nokia handset. The cell phone maker has promised you will not be at a loss for reception. No signal issues should be experienced by any user, ranging from the “thumb & finger” to “the cup” and more. Sensing many consumers had taken those precious little bars for granted before the recent storm of iPhone 4 complaints. Nokia looks to take advantage of Apple’s negative press with phones designed for both righties and south paws with no call-drop nightmares.

According to the official Nokia blog, the thumb and finger technique steadily and elegantly grasps the phone in the palm, with four fingers on one outer edge and the thumb against the closer opposite edge. This method is ideal for smaller to medium devices. The cup is another form that rests the phone in the center of your palm with your fingers covering the bottom far corner and allowing your thumb to move freely. The bottom of the thumb may also cover the nearest bottom corner, potentially blocking out reception on certain handsets. With device weight being carried by the bottom of the palm, the thumb is easily used for texting and quick key entry of all types.

The balance is more skill oriented, with the little finger supporting the bottom of the phone and the index and middle fingers supporting the middle of the device at the back. Not wise to attempt during a phone call, the balance technique is very useful for texting and internet surfing on a QWERTY.

The four edge grip is handy for touch screens, as each finger, thumb included, is holding an opposite edge. The thumb is opposite the middle and ring, with the index resting on top and the little supporting the bottom.

The concept Nokia is shooting for is to be easily accessible to any user, with hands big or small. Whether you text with one hand, surf the web with both thumbs or use a stylus with one and grasp with the other, Nokia has you covered. As they say, you are free to use their products any way you wish, as you will not suffer from any signal degradation.

This could be summed up simply by Nokia with a statement that they have the strongest available internal antennas, however, where is the fun in that? A clever, if not a tad silly, marketing effort such as this is amusing and light hearted, and even a little accurate. Most everyone will easily identify their texting, calling or surfing style immediately and may be impressed or at least aware of the quality reception Nokia handsets deliver. At the end of the day, isn’t that what matters?

[Via Nokia]

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The group replied last week saying it exposed the security flaw to inform and protect consumers, and refused to make public their discoveries until AT&T repaired the issue. In response to the FBI’s claim that they’ve begun investigating the incident, the hacker organization said simply, “We did not try to hack your iPads, your iPads are safer now because of us”. They also noted that all findings have been destroyed by both the hackers and Gawker Media’s Valleywag website who received the data from them.

In spite of potentially exposing information in over 114,000 iPad users, AT&T is standing behind their efforts to protect the privacy of customers. In her email, Attwood noted “AT&T takes your privacy seriously and does not tolerate unauthorized access to its customers’ information or company websites. We will cooperate with law enforcement in any investigation of unauthorized system access and to prosecute violators to the fullest extent of the law.”

According to the same hackers that used the automated PHP script to harvest the user information, Apple still has not remedied the security hole.

Apple has not commented on the incident as of yet.

[Device Mag via PC World]

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BlackBerry Storm 3 leaked image

Research in Motion is rumored to be working on a touch screen phone hybrid that also includes a slider style keyboard, according to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal and our previous reports dubbing the device the BlackBerry Storm 3. Those familiar with the new hardware claim it is not unlike Apple’s iPhone and boasts many similar technical feats, possibly similar to RIM’s patents from 2008.

Just a few of these features include pinch zooming, landscape on-screen QWERTY keyboard and page-like finger swiping. According to the anonymous source, a universal search feature that scours not only the phone’s local memory, but the internet as well will be included. The browser is said to be based on Apple’s WebKit, a rumor that has been lingering since around early February. The web surfing app is expected to have the capability to significantly outpace the current BlackBerry browser and will be able to open multiple pages (or tabs) simultaneously. The device is expected to pack a 5 megapixel camera, 4GB of internal storage and run on BlackBerry 6, RIM’s forthcoming operating system that is to launch later this year.

This is most certainly RIM’s response to Apple’s success to the recent announcement of the iPhone 4. Apple’s stake in market share has made RIM very cautious. Current BlackBerry operating systems are clunky and difficult to navigate when compared to Apple’s slick and simple layout. RIM has 7000 apps in comparison to the 225,000 features within Apple’s app store. In March’s quarter, RIM’s North American smartphone shipments dropped from 54% (previous years quarter) to 38% recently. In contrast, Apple has grabbed 23% of the market share in the same period, up from 18%. RIM seems poised to ready a response to the iPhone 4 and this mysterious device may be an important part of their strategically planned counterpunch.

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Chief Operating Officer of Capcom, Haruhiro Tsujimoto, says that his company is greatly anticipating a downloadable software service for the most successful portable gaming device on the planet. Notes Tsujimoto, “What we’re looking forward to is the offering of a new business model. Nintendo has been in the hardware business for a long time and I believe they are looking closely at Apple’s recent success.”

And why wouldn’t they? As of March this year, Apple has claimed 5 percent of the market share of mobile gaming in just one year and only looks to be getting started. To fend off possibly their most intimidating competitor to date, Nintendo is expected to revamp their existing DSiWare service. DSiWare has not by any stretch been a failure for Nintendo, though a simpler means for developers to upload and distribute their apps is expected with a service that may have already been spotted weeks earlier.

Nintendo recently secured a trademark on the name “3DSWare”, and while there is no confirmation that this is in fact the very same app store concept that Tsujimoto was referring to, one must believe where there is smoke, there is fire. Nintendo often keeps things simple, and aren’t known for going out of their way to keep their intentions hidden from the public. What remains unclear is just what type of software Nintendo would make available and, as usual, a pricing model.

Speculation may be for a limited time only, with Nintendo expected to make announcements that cover any and all things 3DS at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo. E3 is set to fire up on June 15 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

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