It still won't be widely available until 2012, but Nissan's Leaf is already leaking out to a few select media outlets. Our comrades over at Autoblog managed to get behind the wheel of the all-electric whip down in San Jose, and while they didn't find anything that changed the admittedly developing game, what they did find was a solid, refined EV that's "ready for primetime." They were quick to praise the design, which doesn't scream "oddball" like some of the earlier electric automobiles. As for the ride? That was deemed "suitably smooth," while the interior was found to be "a few degrees better than what you'd find in an economy car of similar size." In fact, the overriding tone of the review was one of unsurprised satisfaction, with critics noting that the "gadgetry is impressive, but no more so than some of the hybrid options available from Nissan's competitors," and in the end, the Leaf doesn't aim to "change the driving experience, just change the method of motivation." Hit the source link for the full skinny.

Nissan Leaf gets early review: you might just forget its an eccentric electric car originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Early versions of the tools Windows Phone 7 developers will use to craft their wares have been floating around since Microsoft's MIX event in March, but it looks like things have finally gotten robust and feature-complete enough this week to bless the kit with a beta label. In fact, Microsoft is coming out and saying that this release "represents the near final version," which we take to mean you can develop with some confidence that your world won't be turned upside down when the time comes to prep your apps for shipping devices and firmwares. The actual API has been tweaked and Expression Blend is now fully integrated with the tools, though there are apparently still a few controls that aren't ready for primetime and will be added over the coming weeks. Oh, and if no emulator is enough to satisfy your intense cravings, you might be excited to learn that more developer devices are slated to ship next week -- so keep an eye on your mailbox and your porch if you signed up to get one.

Microsoft's Windows Phone Developer Tools package goes to beta originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There's some old adage referring to smoke and fire meant to explain this phenomenon, but frankly, we're too focused on the promise of the future to go and look it up. Merely weeks after the Steam for Mac beta proved that Linux support may be in the works, along comes this: two glorious screenshots proving as much. 'Course, nothing much about this situation has changed, but having pictorial evidence that a Steam client exists in some stage for Linux is a boon for hopefuls. A Phoronix reader managed to snag a capture of the client working its magic early on, and while it's pretty obvious that it's not ready for primetime, we're just stoked to see that there's legitimate reason to believe such an app is on the way. Hang tight, Penguin Nation -- your Steam should be just about the bend.

Screenshots emerge of Steam Linux client, BeOS wonders if it's next originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 May 2010 14:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's been far, far too long (read: four months) since we've heard a peep from the gentle souls over at Pixel Qi, but it looks like the long, heart-wrenching wait for the hybrid display that's bound to revolutionize Western civilization is nearing an end. According to the startup's CEO herself, Mary Lou Jepsen, the primetime-ready 3Qi display should make its glorious debut on an undisclosed tablet to be announced next month. For those out of the loop, this transflective display contains both e-ink and LCD properties, one for outdoor reading scenarios and the other for multimedia viewing. The amazing part is that toggling between the two is as simple as flipping a switch, which obviously means great things for battery life on whatever device it's shoved into. We'll be keeping our eyes peeled for more, but do us a favor and cross your fingers for good luck. Toes too, por favor.

[Thanks, Tom]

Filed under: Displays

Pixel Qi e-ink / LCD hybrid display to debut on tablet next month? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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