Do all dead washing machines go to meet that lonely Maytag repairman in the sky? Nope, some of’em get their guts repurposed for use in hipster transportation, otherwise known as bicycles. At least that’s what one fed up, frugal Munich denizen did to avoid that German’s city costly PT fees. It’s not what you’d call an elegant hack, as our DIYer’s had to haphazardly rig up his washer’s 300W motor to the bike’s frame and stuff two clunky 12Ah batteries into a sidebag off the back tire. Still, it appears to get the job done, spinning at a max of 3000rpms with an ejector button on / off switch affixed to the right hand brake. We’re not sure how well or reliably this modjob fares on busy roadways, so for the time being we’ll just stick to Vespas. Check out the video after the break for an unmoving portrait of this eFahrrad.

Continue reading DIY e-bike hack gets washing machine motorization, stuck on permanent spin cycle (video)

DIY e-bike hack gets washing machine motorization, stuck on permanent spin cycle (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 03:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Engadget Show is live tonight, with Intel, New York Comic Con, haunted houses and more! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, you like playing with gadgets, but have you ever tried your hand at building one of your own? Well, here’s your chance! We’re going to clear some space in the lab and let you create your very own Frankengadget[TM] — think Zombie Keepon, iGalaxy Tab or even an iPhone with a — gasp — micro-USB port. Let your imagination run wild, then make some magic in the image editing app of your choice. Once you’re done, you can fire off a JPEG of your creation to our intern, Dr. Frankenstein (read: Jon), who will nominate ten creations for the grand prize: a congratulatory email from the team. Oh, and your very own copy of Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Master Collection. But first, we’ll choose five of those ten submissions, then compile those contestants into a photo gallery, letting you select the winner. Looking for another chance to win? Hit up the coverage link below to enter Adobe’s Imagination Challenge. You can also visit the UK site, which is hosting a similar contest — the submission deadline has passed, though Adobe UK is giving away

We’re gathering at the San Diego Convention Center to attend the fall edition of CTIA Wireless, also known as CTIA Wireless Enterprise & Applications 2011. Sure, the name’s a mouthful, but we can’t wait to check out the show floor and get a handful of the latest and greatest gadgets. The biggest news so far is what won’t be shown off at this week’s event, but we’re certain this shindig’s got plenty more to take our attention away from good ol’ Nexus whats-his-face. So be sure to follow Engadget’s CTIA 2011 tag to get all the action!

We’re live from CTIA Enterprise & Applications 2011! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 18:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung’s quest for transparency won’t end with laptops, apparently. Today, the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology announced that its engineers have successfully created “single crystalline Gallium Nitride on amorphous glass substrates” — an achievement that would allow the manufacturer to produce jumbo-sized LEDs from normal glass, including window panes. Samsung says this scaled-up approach will allow them to lower production costs relative to most LED manufacturers, which rely on sapphire, rather than glass substrates. And, whereas most Gallium Nitride (GaN) LEDs on the market measure just two inches in size, Sammy’s technique could result in displays about 400 times larger. “In ten years, window panes will double as lighting and display screens, giving personality to buildings,” a Samsung spokesperson told the Korea Herald. Unfortunately, however, it will likely be another ten years before the technology is ready to hit the market. Until then, we’ll just have to do our late night window coding the old fashioned way.

[Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures / The New York Times]

Samsung breakthrough could turn your window pane into a big ol’ LED originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 09:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pantech holds no punches in its home nation, where the company’s latest handset, the Vega LTE, has just become very official. In addition to 4G support, the phone features a dual-core 1.5GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM and a 4.5-inch display with a whopping 1280 x 800 resolution. Take a moment to savor that last part. Gingerbread is at the core of this large-and-in-charge beauty, which also includes an 8 megapixel auto-focus camera that captures video at 1080p, an LED flash, a 1.3MP front-facing shooter and 16GB of built-in storage. An 1830mAh battery powers the slab, which measures just 9.35mm thin and weighs 135.5g (4.8oz). Rounding out the internals, users will benefit from A-GPS, 802.11n, NFC and terrestrial DMB — that last one is specifically for the home crowd. With specs like these, we can only a domestic version makes its journey across the Pacific. If you’re looking for some mental exercise, a translated PR follows the break.

Continue reading Pantech Vega LTE gets official for South Korea, dual-core 1.5GHz CPU and 4.5-inch HD display

Pantech Vega LTE gets official for South Korea, dual-core 1.5GHz CPU and 4.5-inch HD display originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 Oct 2011 09:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Jonathan Coulton talks coding, Creative Commons and becoming an internet rockstar (video)

Jonathan Coulton talks coding, Creative Commons and becoming an internet rockstar (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we’re using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.

It’s been a hectic week, what with Amazon trotting out a little something you may have been expecting (along with a few things you weren’t). We won’t lie: some of us now know what we’re getting our friends and family for the holidays, but gadgets we may or may not be purchasing doesn’t cut the mustard for IRL, now does it? Until we pull the trigger, we’ll keep on talking up and dressing down the stuff we’re already using. This week, Jose from Engadget Spanish takes his newly minted NEX-C3 on vacation, Dana outgrows her Forerunner 110 and Darren shows you just how your hands-on video sausages get made.

Continue reading IRL: Sony NEX-C3, Garmin Forerunner 110 and the Elgato Turbo.264 HD

IRL: Sony NEX-C3, Garmin Forerunner 110 and the Elgato Turbo.264 HD originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Sep 2011 14:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Broadcom is really throwing its weight behind this whole NFC thing. Its new family of BCM2079x chips have moved to a 40nm manufacturing process which cuts power use by 90-percent and board size by 40-percent. Broadcom claims they’re the smallest and most power efficient NFC chips on the market — and we’re not in any position to refute that assertion. The company’s Maestro tools have also been upgraded to let their NFC chips speak to a device’s Bluetooth and WiFi radios. This could be used to quickly pair with other gadgets using Bluetooth or stream media to a connected television. For more details check out the PR after the break.

Continue reading Broadcom unveils smaller, more power efficient 40nm NFC chips

Broadcom unveils smaller, more power efficient 40nm NFC chips originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Sep 2011 08:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Woo, boy. We’ve been bursting at the seams to share this one, and it’s finally time — Engadget is teaming up with the one and only eBoy (read our introduction here) in order to open up our very own t-shirt shop! We’ve worked with eBoy over the years, and we’ve never been let down by their mind-blowing work. Every so often, we’ve offered up a stash of shirts for our dear readers to snap up, and every time, they were gone before sundown. That’s just not right. To remedy said quandary, we’ve worked up a beautiful arrangement that’ll have one of our favorite artists whipping out t-shirt designs for us, and they’ll be handling the orders and logistics as they’ve been doing for years. Pre-orders are live worldwide right now, and initial shipments should start flowing around mid-October. Our first five designs are showcased in the gallery below, and if you’re interested, surf on down to the source link below to grab one (or two!). They’re priced at $24 (US / Canada), or €20 elsewhere, and if you’re curious about sizing, have a look at American Apparel’s size chart right here.

We hope you love ‘em as much as we do, and we’ll be giving 50 percent of the proceeds received to Child’s Play Charity, which provides games, books and cash for sick kids in children’s hospitals across North America and the world.

The Engadget / eBoy t-shirt shop is officially open, pre-orders start today! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 14:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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