While it seems most of the design pizazz at Samsung has been poured into their phones lately, they still know their way around a laptop, and this Sens R40 looks like a decent contender for your Core Duo won. Specs are fairly average, with an 80GB HDD, 512MB of RAM, ATI Radeon Xpress 200M graphics, DVD burner and souped up wireless thanks to built-in Atheros Super G WLAN. Luckily, Samsung has you fairly well set for entertainment, thanks to the AVS premium function for playing media without booting, 4W stereo speakers and of course that 15.4-inch widescreen. The best news comes in terms of price: 1,400,000 KRW — about $1467 in USD. Not too shabby for a halfway-decent Core Duo machine.

[Via MobileMag]
from engadget
more info

At just 12-pounds, Sinclair’s A-Bike is the world’s lightest folding bike and can be folded or unfolded in just 10-seconds.

Despite the tiny wheels, the bike can achieve normal speeds without forcing you to pedal like a madman. The completely enclosed chain system means that your pants cuffs won’t have the telltale grease marks of a bicycle commuter, also

[via Gizmodo - FreshCreation]
from techeblog

In this latest Top Gear segment, Richard Hammond takes the Noble M15 out for a road test. The M15 is equipped with a 450 hp/455 ft lb engine that accelerates from 0-60 in just 3.9 seconds and has a top speed of 196mph. Available now in Britain at the price of $130,000 USD (£74,950). Video after the jump.

…the M15 is certainly no slouch, and it leaves Hammond grinning from ear to ear after he takes it on the track. Then it’s handed over to the Stig, but we’ll never know if he was smiling

from techeblog

The East Japan Railway Company (JR-East), as part of research aimed at developing more environmentally friendly train stations, is testing an experimental system that produces electricity as people pass through ticket gates. JR claims that this sort of human-powered electricity generation system may provide a portion of the electricity consumed at train stations in the future.The ticket gate electricity generation system relies on a series of piezo elements embedded in the floor under the ticket gates, which generate electricity from the pressure and vibration they receive as people step on them. When combined with high-efficiency storage systems, the ticket gate generators can serve as a clean source of supplementary power for the train stations. Busy train stations (and those with large numbers of passengers willing to bounce heavily through the gates) will be able to accumulate a relatively large amount of electricity.

JR-East, who worked with Keio University to develop the system, claims that in addition to being put to use as an independent power supply that does not require hardwiring, the system can also be used as a way of measuring the traffic flow through ticket gates.

The system is being tested at the JR-East head office in Shibuya, where it is installed at the entrance to the reception area on the 4th floor. As visitors pass through the gate, a lamp lights up, signifying that electricity has been produced. Testing of the system will continue until August 11.

[Source: Chunichi Shimbun via /.Japan]
from pink tentacle