Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Economy, Chevrolet, GM

As the hours wind down before the 2009 Detroit Auto Show finally kicks off in the morning, more vehicles are leaking through the manufacturers’ embargo nets. The latest addition to the list is the 2010 Chevy Spark, teased earlier this week on Today by GM design honcho Ed Welburn. Spark is the production version of the Chevy Beat concept that made its debut alongside the Trax and Groove at New York two years ago. Beat was the winner of a public poll to see which of the three microcar concepts would make it to production. We also know that Beat/Spark’s going to get some time in the limelight as a character in this summer’s Transformers sequel.

The itsy-bitsy new “world car” has grown a second set of doors in production trim, but otherwise, its styling remains remarkably true to the Beat show car. Roof rails hint at real-world practicality, and the fact that GM is choosing Detroit to unveil it suggests that maybe, just maybe, we’ll see it here after all. We’ll know more as the show gets officially underway, but we can say one thing: it’s more interesting than the car it’s set to replace in other markets. We’ll have plenty more when we see it up close.

[Source: WCF via CarSpyShots]

Detroit Preview: 2010 Chevy Spark beats a path to the web originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Business

For thrifty gamers, Amazon’s frequent video game-themed Gold Box sales days are sacred holidays. Admittedly, our luxurious lifestyle prevents us from drooling at the very thought of discounted video games — but the hints that regularly precede these sales somehow always manage to draw us in. It’s like The Da Vinci Code, only with cheap games instead of glaring historical inaccuracies.

Here’s the lineup for this Monday’s Gold Box deals. We’ll leave the Robert Langdoning up to our highly deductive commenters.

• 6:00 AM – Romp through the garden with your pets.
• 8:00 AM – A PS3 game that dreams are made of.
• 11:00 AM – This should hold you over on Xbox 360 until Final Fantasy XIII releases.
• 12:00 PM – A kid named Ben + Aliens + Wii = Bensational!
• 2:00 PM – Slimy and award-winning – what else would a PC owner want?
• 4:00 PM – An alternative to No Child Left Behind.
• 6:00 PM – Get bonus goodies with this radiant crescent.

Amazon drops hints for Monday’s Video Game Gold Box deals originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD hopes that Dragon platform will heat up sales of its new Phenom II processor

Filed under: Gadgets, CES

Navigon and Rand McNally have teamed up to develop some interesting new GPS features that make it easier for users to personalize their trips.

Landmark View 3D is s a $40 upgrade for Navigon’s 2200T model and has the ability to display 600 North American landmark buildings in 3D to aid directions… or at least add some novelty to your nav. In keeping with the tourist theme, scenic routes and city guides will be available for $20 each. The scenic routes will feature weekend getaway suggestions, picturesque tours and regional trips. More than 1,400 cites are covered in the guides and routes can be customized to fit your interests. And for another $30 a year, Navigon owners can now be alerted to red light camera locations.

Headed overseas? Add maps of 38 European countries to your Navigon for $130. The update comes pre-loaded on an SD card and covers 4.5 million miles of road and millions of points of interest. The new features will be available for download from the Navigon Fresh software website sometime in the Spring.

CES 2009: Navigon takes routing personal originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We just couldn’t help ourselves, and put this Windows 7 .iso we had lying around exactly where it belongs: on Sony’s VAIO P. After mucking around on “the internet” figuring out the best way to install it, we ended up going the lazy route and dragging / dropping the plain files onto a folder on a USB drive, hitting setup.exe and watching the installer do its magic — and it worked flawlessly! We weren’t timing it or anything, but we’d say 45 minutes or so is a good guesstimate for the install. More impressions, photos and video are on the way.

Filed under: Laptops

VAIO P, now with more Windows 7! originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 18:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If there’s one thing for sure here at CES it’s that we’ve seen a bunch of multitouch devices, both good and bad. Add this 50-inch multitouch display from Samsung to the list titled “cool as hell.” Once we were done snapping shots of the P3, we saw people surrounding this bad boy so we decided to see what was up. We don’t have much info but one thing’s for sure: these devices are much more fun when you’re just playing around rather than using it for some more meaningful purpose. Peep the video after the jump.

Continue reading Video: 50-inch multitouch TV on display from Samsung

Filed under: CES, HDTV, Household

Video: 50-inch multitouch TV on display from Samsung originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 18:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft’s veep of marketing for Windows Mobile (jeebus, that’s got to be stressful job right about now) has gone on the record in saying that there’ll be a “major announcement” out of his camp at Mobile World Congress next month, which makes sense — it’s the biggest mobile trade show of the year, after all, and we’ve been expecting WinMo 6.5 for a little while. What’s particularly interesting, though, is that the dude says they’re looking to cut down on the total number of phones offered by its licensees in an effort to “be more focused” and do a better job tailoring the platform to the devices in the market. Makes sense in a way, but on the flipside, one of Windows Mobile’s solid advantages over the competition has always been its endless selection of styles and form factors. Taking that away means that WinMo’s got to be better by leaps and bounds to keep going head-to-head with the Palms, Apples, RIMs, and Nokias of the world, so here’s hoping MWC turns out to be a watershed event.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Microsoft culling the WinMo herd, fewer phones to be offered originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Crossovers/CUVs, Chrysler, LLC., Dodge, Jeep

It remains to be seen how serious Cerberus is about keeping Chrysler LLC going or if anyone else will step forward to take control of the Auburn Hills-based company. While the gang in the executive suite determine the company’s fate, the engineers at the ENVI division have their shoulders to the grind-stone turning out a fourth electric vehicle for the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. This time the team has applied it’s extended-range electric-drive powertrain to the Jeep Patriot. Like the earlier Town and Country EV, this one has an electric motor driving the front wheels, in this case a 150 kW unit. A lithium-ion battery pack of indeterminate capacity gives the Patriot EV a claimed 40-mile range per charge.

A surprisingly small 60-hp internal combustion engine/generator combo keeps the Patriot going after the battery is depleted for up to 400 miles. Since the Patriot is a rebodied Caliber, it seems plausible that if the lights are still on by the time we get to Chicago or New York, we might see an ER-EV version of the Dodge at some point, too. Unfortunately, unless the economy picks up and Chrysler’s mainstream lineup is improved, the efforts of the ENVI team might all be for naught.

Gallery: Jeep Patriot EV

[Source: Chrysler]

Continue reading Detroit 2009: Jeep Patriot EV joins the ENVI lineup

Detroit 2009: Jeep Patriot EV joins the ENVI lineup originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been five months since we first heard about the convertible Classmate PC, and now we’ve finally gotten a chance to get our hands on it at the Intel booth. It feels pretty durable — especially that kind of important display swivel — but we take issue with how lopsided the weight is towards the back. The Quick Launcher Windows XP shell lives up to the name and is indeed very fast and easy to navigate. When we rotated the tablet on its side, however, the interface awkwardly fills in only the top half. According to the rep, there’s no US distributor yet for retail. Glamor shots in the gallery, or check out video after the break. Is it too much to ask for capacitive multitouch next time?

Continue reading Video: Intel’s convertible Classmate PC hands-on

Filed under: CES, Laptops, Tablet PCs

Video: Intel’s convertible Classmate PC hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 18:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: News, Community Games

Our homies over at Joystiq got a chance to sit in on a demo of Microsoft’s recently announced and supposedly user friendly Community Game Kodu and were able to answer the still lingering question that’s on everyone’s mind: Is Kodu really that easy to use? Quick answer, yes … yes it is.

According to Microsoft’s Matthew MacLaurin, Kodu was created with kids in mind and describes the game as “programming as a fourth-grade art class.” And Joystiq’s Justin McElroy agrees that it really is basic and well, simple. Check out the informative (and totally factual) Kodu bullet points listed below:

• Will ship with 20 different objects/characters.
• 20 pre-built (and editable) levels will be included.
• Commands given to objects are called “Pages”.
• Kodu has been tested with kids for over a year.
• Releasing this Spring for a yet to be disclosed price.

CES 09: Is Kodu really that simple? Answer: Yes! originally appeared on Xbox 360 Fanboy on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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