Best USB Stick Ever Made

Best USB stick, EVAR!

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Copy Your Files Faster with the Corsair GTR:

If you've ever tried to transfer large files to a Flash drive, you know that not all drives are created equal. Copying massive amounts of data can take massive amounts of time if your drive is pokey. For a faster transfer, check out the new Corsair GTR line. The quad-channel architecture used in this series delivers read speeds up to 34MB per second and write speeds up to 28MB per second, which is close to the maximum transfer rates supported by the USB 2.0 interface.

'The Flash Voyager GTR combines the best features of a USB Flash drive and the performance of an external hard drive to provide the ultimate data portability tool,' says John Beekly, Corsair's vice president of technical marketing.

The Flash Voyager GTR drives will be available in 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB capacities. They offer durable, water-resistant rubber housing to protect against accidental damage. So far, only the smaller two versions are listed on the Web site.

Solar Egg can't arrive soon enough

Engadget has another great solar charger listed as arriving soon.

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XPAL's Solar Egg charges to 90% in four hours of mild sunlight:

Unlike many solar devices that require an abundance of intense sunlight to be useful, XPAL's new Solar Egg does its thing even in 'medium levels of natural light.' The magic SunBoost solar conversion technology is supplied by a company called Intivation from The Netherlands, a country that's not exactly know for its tropical weather. XPAL claims that the internal 500mAh battery can be charged at over 90% capacity in just four hours of average sunlight exposure and can detect a 'wide range of devices' like MP3 players and digital cameras to provide the appropriate level of power for charging. It'll ship next month to select regions -- where that is we can only guess for now.
Continue reading XPAL's Solar Egg charges to 90% in four hours of mild sunlight

Micro Air Vehicles

This is a really cool video. The technology doesn't seem that far off either. It's really amazing what the military will think up to kill people =)

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How the Air Force Biomorphic Micro Air Vehicles Will Spy and Kill Unnoticed [Weapons]: "
I thought the Micro Air Vehicles would be small hovering robots but, according to this video from the Air Force Research Laboratory, they will be more like robotic birds with spy and attack capabilities, capable of blending with the environment.

Not only these things would be able to position themselves to perform long-term surveillance duties, but they would be enable to engage enemies individually, attacking humans with incapacitation chemicals and even explosives. The future is going to be a lot of fun. [Design World Online]

Toyota PHEV in 2011, Finally

Toyota officially launches plug-in Prius program, retail sales in 2011:

In Japan today, Toyota officially launched its Prius Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) lease program. Over the next six months, Toyota will be building and deploying 600 examples of the plug-in Prius for testing, primarily in Japan, the United States and Europe. The Japanese market will get 230 units, with 150 coming here and 200 going to Europe. The cars will be leased to government, commercial, and university fleets for field testing that help to gather more data on how PHEVs are used in the real world.

To accommodate plug-in charging, the Prius gets a 5.2 kWh lithium ion battery pack in place of the standard nickel metal hydride unit. The battery and associated charging hardware appear to be the only significant mechanical changes to the PHEV. The motor and other hybrid hardware are apparently carried over intact. Even with the standard motor, Toyota claims a maximum EV speed of 62 mph.

On the Japanese JC08 cycle, the Prius can run about 14.5 miles before depleting the battery. It's not clear what the performance level will be in EV mode and what sort of driving will trigger the engine to start up while the battery still has available power. Based on that driving cycle, the PHEV is rated at 72 mpg (U.S.) in post-EV hybrid mode which compares with the 50 mpg or so that we typically see in real use. Since the hybrid system is essentially unchanged, the 14-mile range is probably a bit optimistic. The combined efficiency based on a utility factor of .436 (43.6 percent of driving in EV mode) the Prius is rated at 134 mpg (U.S.). The PHEV Prius will undoubtedly get very good mileage, but triple digits are unlikely for most people. During the presentation, Toyota also announced a target of retail sales for the PHEV of late 2011 at an 'affordable' price. Video of the presentation and the press release are after the jump.

Smith Electric Vehicles in Kansas City!

Smith Electric Vehicles has just launched low volume assembly of its Newton plug-in delivery truck in Kansas City. However, it's not clear how long Smith will keep building trucks there. Smith currently has 14 people working in a former aircraft maintenance hanger at Kansas City International airport, but only has a one year lease on the facility. Smith has yet to make a decision on a larger permanent factory.

A number of other locations are actively courting Smith to build that permanent facility somewhere else. Part of Smith's ultimate decision on where to build its electric trucks will come down to where a battery plant is located. Because batteries are so bulky, manufacturers prefer to put EV plants in proximity to the batteries to minimize shipping costs. Besides the Newton, Smith is also working with Ford on the battery EV version of the Transit Connect that will be launched in mid-2010. The Transit Connect BEV will only be offered on lease to commercial fleet customers at first; volumes still haven't been announced.