It’s not just technology advancements that could pave the way to smaller, lighter battery packs in electric vehicles — but also the collection of data as automakers learn more about how these cars perform on the road. Read more »
Online distribution site Blip.tv is aiming to engage with the local web series scene by opening an office in Los Angeles and hiring Epic Fu co-creator Steve Woolf to work directly with creators interested in using the Blip platform. Read more »
Norwegian electric car maker Think has just brought on $40 million in equity investment — enough, the automaker says, to become cash flow positive in 2011. But a key step en route to the company’s planned U.S. expansion remains incomplete: securing government funds. Read more »
Hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of Ford’s C-MAX will start rolling off production lines at a Valencia, Spain plant for the European market in 2013, the automaker announced Monday. Ford expects to invest up to $36 million in the effort. Read more »
Once again it is time to look back on the week in Mobile Tech Manor and share with you the things I learned. This week was a lot of fun, it almost makes me feel guilty that I can have so much fun doing my work. Read more »
The iPad may be partially responsible for the slow demise of netbook sales, according to a Morgan Stanley market analyst. In a report for Morgan Stanley clients, the impact of the iPad is causally linked to the rapid decline of the netbook sales growth curve. Read more »
Electric car makers, watch your language — that’s the message of a ruling today from the UK’s independent advertising regulator. The watchdog has moved to ban an ad for Renault’s Fluence Z.E. model based on misleading claims about emissions savings. Read more »
Wheego, headed up by former EarthLink President Mike McQuary, plans to start selling its first highway-capable electric car by mid-summer. Today Wheego has filed paperwork to raise $5 million in hopes of making a final dash to production. Read more »
Regulatory filings indicate Tesla may come in just under the wire to meet its 2012 production and delivery goals for the Model S. In the meantime, the electric car startup has moved to boost the price per share for its IPO. Read more »
A decade from now, electric cars in Germany will number at least 1 million. At lease, that’s the goal established today by some of the country’s largest manufacturers and Chancellor Angela Merkel under a new alliance dubbed the National Platform for Electric Mobility. Read more »
Spring Design is now shipping the Alex reader, an e-book reader with both a six inch e-Ink screen and a 3.5 inch color touchscreen. The Alex runs Android, and it shows to be a solid reader after initial testing. Here’s the first look at the Alex. Read more »
WebWorkerDaily readers are a diverse bunch. Every week, I profile a different reader and ask them to share what they do, how they do it, and some of their favorite hints and tips. Read more »
This morning the Irish government announced plans to offer electric car buyers grants of 5,000 euros ($6,815), in the country’s latest move to support a goal of having plug-in vehicles make up at least 10 percent of the national fleet by 2020. Read more »
Will the iPad change the way we watch video? The jury is still out on questions like these, but let’s face it: iPad users love video, and the video world loves the iPad, with numerous sites and apps already serving up movies, TV shows and web […] Read more »
The Renault-Nissan Alliance has just recruited two more players to its team in the race to dominate the global electric vehicle market. This morning the duo announced plans to collaborate with Italy’s largest electricity producer, Enel, and Spanish utility giant Endesa. Read more »
In the move from gas powered cars to hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles, our cars will become more like overgrown consumer electronics than ever before. That trend brings with it potential for a new breed of errors. Read more »
Don’t let the enthusiasm of the early adopters fool you: Electric vehicles have a long way to go before taking hold in the mainstream. That was a warning issued yesterday by Jason Wolf, VP of Business Development for electric vehicle infrastructure startup Better Place. Read more »
Under the current structure of vehicle ownership and warranties, automakers would suffer from the depreciation of electric vehicle batteries if the devices used to provide certain services for the power grid. But utilities and consumers could benefit. Read more »
Verizon and Google have been promising the Nexus One would appear on the carrier Real Soon Now for what seems like forever, but it’s nowhere to be seen. Things heated up with the rumor the HTC Incredible was coming to Big Red. So where are they? Read more »
The demographic of online video viewers is expanding, but it’s still dominated by young viewers watching user-generated clips, according to a new research from GigaOM Pro (subscription required) written by TDG analyst Michael Greeson. The report, which surveyed a cross-section of 2,000 consumers to determine who’s […] Read more »
Aptera, which aims to build three-wheeled hybrid and electric vehicles, is on the hunt for partners to help it build vehicles in China for the Chinese market. But Aptera says today it has no designs on shipping China-built cars to North America. Read more »
I worked for many years as a consultant, and spent more frustrating time in Excel spreadsheets on a Tablet PC than I care to remember. With Numbers it looks like Apple has beaten Microsoft at its own game, and on the first try with the iPad. Read more »
Nissan announced the sticker price for its upcoming LEAF electric sedan today, and at $32,780), it could be among the cheapest highway-capable electric vehicles on the road in coming years. Nissan also plans to lease the vehicle for $349 per month. Read more »
Electric car startup Coda Automotive has just announced the first funding for its joint venture with Chinese battery giant Lishen. The duo has agreed to invest $100 million in the venture, which just snagged a $294 million line of credit. Read more »
Tesla has just filed its first amendment to its S-1 filing, noting that it has begun drawing funds from its federal loan facility and has struck a deal that could shrink or eliminate a potential gap in Roadster sales anticipated for 2012. Read more »
The end of the week is here so time to share the past week at Mobile Tech Manor with you, my friends. It was a typical week full of gadgets, software and good e-books. I used a different notebook each day and it went well. Read more »
Google’s Mobile App lands on the BlackBerry Storm and Storm2 today. The voice query supports three languages and searches the web, contacts and emails. But even with apps like these, the BlackBerry platform isn’t really driving the mobile web. Read more »
