Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Hydrogen

Reducing the weight and cost of hydrogen storage tanks remains one of the technological issues that engineers must overcome to make fuel cell vehicles more practical. Aside from the large metal cylinders currently used in most applications, one of the primary options has been various types of solid state storage that absorbs and then releases the hydrogen.

A possible breakthrough may have emerged out of the Russian space program. Hydrogen and fuel cells have been used in the space program since the 1960s. This new approach, being adapted by Israeli researchers, uses tiny glass tubes to store the hydrogen. The tubes, known as capillaries, are bundled together in an array and reports say they are both strong and efficient.

Testing in Germany is claimed to have validated safety protocols, however, it remains to be seen if the capillary arrays can actually be produced cost effectively. No indication is given of the actual size of the tubes or storage density.

Swiss startup C.En is planning to license the technology to companies that will produce energy storage systems beginning in 2010. They claim the idea can be scaled from smaller consumer electronics-sized devices up to tanks that could be used in automobile.

[Source: Businessweek]

Hydrogen storage breakthrough could come from Russian space program originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As Mariah Carey's song goes: "all I want for Christmas is a loyal house-cleaning robot." Okay, not quite, but we did become hopeful when we saw this photo taken inside Dyson's first London pop-up shop. Sadly, it turns out that the sole purpose of this prototype-testing robot arm is to constantly twist a DC24 vacuum cleaner -- presumably to show off just how great a dance partner your rug cleaner can be. If you've just had your wildest dreams shattered (trust us, we're right there with ya), feel free to pass on a petition to the Dyson engineers staffing that temporary shop -- you'll get to play with nine of their vacs and the Air Multiplier bladeless fan while you're there. You have until January 25th. Chop-chop!

[Image courtesy of Mark Hattersley]

Industrial robot arm pretends to do chores in Dyson's London pop-up shop originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Dec 2009 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well lookie here. A little phone by the name of "NEXUSONE" just slipped through the FCC as model number PB99100 built by HTC. The filing also confirms a few more details including microSD expansion, 802.11b/g WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. But the real news comes from looking at the radios: quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE with UMTS/HSUPA on 850/1700/1900 frequencies. In other words, this 3G phone is capable of both 2Mbps up and 7.2Mbps down for both the T-Mobile and AT&T networks in the US of A. If this device is sold unlocked (as rumored), at a reasonable price (as hoped), and with a jaw dropping user experience (as tweeted), well, it could be very disruptive to the status quo. Then again, that's a lot of ifs.

Update: We're going to pull this back a bit. So far the FCC has posted a trio of reports this morning for the Nexus One but the outcome is inconclusive based on our own continued research and from the discussion in our comments. According to the bands listed (I, IV, and VIII) we're definitely looking at a T-Mobile USA device as well as applicability on European networks (among others). The whole AT&T range is in doubt as the test lab incorrectly lists 815-880MHz frequencies as part of band VIII. Hold tight as we dig deeper.

Update 2: Only WCDMA Band IV was tested in the Part 22H / 24E / 27 Report, leading us to believe that the Nexus One is going to be HSPA 900 / 1700 / 2100 (a pretty common tri-band 3G setup) plus quadband EDGE. Sorry, AT&T, but that's how the cookie crumbles.

Continue reading HTC Nexus One blessed by the FCC (updated)

HTC Nexus One blessed by the FCC (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 04:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Good news ebook fans: Amazon’s Kindle app for the iPhone is now available in more than 60 countries.

Amazon launched an international version of the Kindle back in October, but now users can link their Kindle books with their iPhone or forgo buying the Kindle and just read the books on their mobile phone.

Amazon employs a technology they call Whispersync with the Kindle that keeps the bookmarks and last pages synchronized across different devices on the same account. It also means that if you accidentally remove a book from your iPhone, you can redownload it on the fly.

Amazon’s Kindle app [iTunes lin]) is one of the best e-readers for the iPhone, regardless of platform. It’s easy to navigate, has adjustable settings for text and background color, and you can enable or disable the accelerometer (which is handy for anyone who likes to read in bed).

Using the app, you can buy books directly from Amazon.com and download them to your device, or sync with purchases you make on a Kindle or via the web browser. Amazon recently released Kindle Desktop software for the PC, and a Mac version is in the works.

Amazon also says that Kindle for BlackBerry is on the way, too. Since launching the Kindle in 2007, Amazon has watched the competition in the space go from nearly nonexistent, to more and more crowded. Competitor Barnes & Noble just launched their own eReader, the Nook, which also has its own iPhone app.

We think that the free Kindle iPhone app is the best advertisement Amazon can make for the Kindle itself. It’s extremely easy to buy and read books, and after you start to amass a small library, that can play a large factor in what standalone eReader you buy.

Tags: eBook, ereader, iphone, Kindle, kindle iphone, nook

Read More... [Source: Mashable!]

Filed under: Photos, Europe, Italy

There are plenty of ways to document a trip. You can blog during your travels, shoot some video or, of course, take pictures. Often, having a recurring theme in your photographs can help create a narrative for your friends to follow. Pictures of you in front of famous works of art, sampling local foods or posing with monuments can turn photo albums into photo essays. Or, of you're Danny Devito, you can take pictures of your foot as you meander through Italy.

The diminutive actor who is best known for his work in Taxi and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (and as the "crap left over" in Twins) is currently tweeting his way through Europe's boot while documenting his self-proclaimed "Troll Foot." His foot has visited the Duomo in Milan, Piazza San Marco, and the canals of Venice.

You can follow his adventures (or, more accurately, his Troll Foot's adventures) and live vicariously through his stubby appendage. With so many celebrities tweeting the inane triviality of their lives, it's refreshing to see someone of such prominence leveraging new media in a way that both enlightens and uplifts others. What better way to teach others about Italy and promote the benefits of travel than posting grainy images of your creepy foot?

It should be noted that a fairly extensive perusal of DeVito's images has led this reporter to discover that the actor has not one, but two Troll Feet. Once again, Gadling is at the forefront of investigative travel journalism.

Photo via yfrog user Danny_Devito.

Danny DeVito tours Italy with his "Troll Foot" originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, On Two Wheels, Pacific Region, Racing

Having conquered all on this part of the planet and with its quarter-mile record of 7.864 seconds @ 169 mph, the Killacycle is going Kiwi hunting. Yes, the world's fastest cordless drill on wheels has been boxed up and is headed to New Zealand where it will take part in an educational tour, culminating in a drag strip showdown on January 31st. There, it will attempt to school the bat-winged funnybike of Ian Wilkins at the Rotary Nationals in Meremere. Ian's best time on "Afterburner" so far is 8.119 seconds @ 166.37 mph, so the competition should be pretty close.

The tour, which is being organized by Greenstage (remember them?), will bring the Killacycle and crew to museums and schools with the bike to speak and show off their quick creation (schedule here). There is the possibility they will set a new record while in The Land of the Long White Cloud if their most recent upgrade plan has been completed. In possession of A123's hottest batteries yet, they had intended to build a new pack and make some other improvements that would push the bike to 560 hp and simultaneously shed 150 lbs. While we scour the interwebs for a way to place some bets, hit the jump for video of each of the contenders doing their dragstrip thing.

[Source: Killacycle]

Continue reading Killacycle goes Kiwi hunting

Killacycle goes Kiwi hunting originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sun, 13 Dec 2009 09:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember that retro-looking PsiXpda UMPC we spotted earlier this month? Turns out it looks just as old school in person. That said, we're still curiously attracted to the device, which sort of resembles an enlarged Touch Pro2 with a pinch of 1997 mixed in for good measure. The device was whipped out in the wild over at the LeWeb conference in Paris, and we were told that it was rocking Bluetooth, 3G WWAN, 1GB of RAM and a 16GB SSD, and we also learned that Windows XP was chosen due to its ease of integration within a corporate environment (though Ubuntu, Jolicloud and a host of other Linux-based operating systems can and will work). The QWERTY keyboard underneath is backlit in nature, the CPU is a 1.1GHz Atom and the removable battery is good for 2.5 hours of usage (with WiFi on) or 4 hours if using it offline. Hop on past the break for a peek of it in action, but keep the £500 price tag in mind before getting too excited.

[Thanks, Charbax]

Continue reading Atom-based PsiXpda UMPC gets handled on video

Atom-based PsiXpda UMPC gets handled on video originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Dec 2009 16:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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