Tesla taps Panasonic for Model S batteries

Tesla taps Panasonic for Model S batteries

Greentech Media has broken news that electric vehicle heavyweight Tesla Motors has chosen Panasonic to supply the battery packs for its Model S sedan, its more affordable model, still in development — this, according to anonymous sources at Panasonic.

This slipped out less than a week… Continue Reading

Panasonic wants to put PC batteries in your car

Panasonic wants to put PC batteries in your car

Panasonic has been making lithium-ion batteries to run computers for a while now — but it just announced that it has found away to bind them together in order to power cars. This makes it one of the first major electronics corporations to branch into… Continue Reading

Airlines may jettison in-flight entertainment as personal gadgets proliferate

Airlines may jettison in-flight entertainment as personal gadgets proliferate

Imagine you’re running an airline. That means you’re trying to survive despite higher-than-ever fuel costs and a skittish population who balk at flying, either for work or leisure. Is there a way you can cut your costs further?

Yes: Remove your planes’ in-flight entertainment systems. Manufactured… Continue Reading

Japanese electronics bigwigs team up for U.S. smart grid

Japanese electronics bigwigs team up for U.S. smart grid

A dozen well-known Japanese electronic companies — Toshiba and Hitachi prime among them — have announced that they are teaming up to build a working smart grid in the U.S. by 2010. Construction will begin as soon as October as part of a New Mexico… Continue Reading

Panasonic: Open-source smartphones are the future

Panasonic: Open-source smartphones are the future

“The global market for smartphones based on open source platforms including Android will reach 100 million units in three years.” That’s the claim made by Panasonic’s director of mobile terminal business, Keisuke Ishii, at a press conference on Thursday.

A hundred million units is a lot…. Continue Reading

Roundup: OpenTable IPO this week, big cell phone launches approaching, Google facing antitrust scrutiny

Roundup: OpenTable IPO this week, big cell phone launches approaching, Google facing antitrust scrutiny

Here’s the latest action:

OpenTable going public — Silicon Valley will likely welcome its first IPO in a while this week from the restaurant-reservation site.

Will the summer bring blockbuster cell phone sales? — The launch of the Palm Pre, iPhone 3.0 software, and others could juice cell phone… Continue Reading

Might Blu-ray be able to save itself yet?

Might Blu-ray be able to save itself yet?

Any way you slice it, Blu-ray is not the future of watching movies at home.

Eventually, distribution over the Internet is going to completely overtake any physical format, just as it has done with music. But that doesn’t mean Blu-ray can’t be a nice holdover until… Continue Reading

CES overview: trends for this year’s technology

CES overview: trends for this year’s technology

I’ve talked about the regrettable 3-D TV trend at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in a separate post. But I spotted some other trends among the 2,700 exhibitors at the show as well.

Gesture control and multi-touch screens: Part and parcel of good… Continue Reading

CES: Are 3-D glasses moving beyond the gimmick stage? Nah

CES: Are 3-D glasses moving beyond the gimmick stage? Nah

Before my trip to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, I predicted that TV and computer makers would be hawking 3-D options in order to differentiate themselves. Hollywood’s been trying to use 3-D glasses in theaters in an effort to make an… Continue Reading

Roundup: Yahoo cuts data retention, Sprint pushing WiMax and more

Roundup: Yahoo cuts data retention, Sprint pushing WiMax and more

Here’s the latest action:

Yahoo cuts data retention to 90 days — The search company’s new policy will likely push Google and Microsoft toward similar reductions in the amount of time they keep user data.

Sprint plans first WiMax device for Dec. 21 — The first device that will… Continue Reading

Panasonic and Samsung invest in SiBEAM to promote WirelessHD

Panasonic and Samsung invest in SiBEAM to promote WirelessHD

In an endorsement for wireless video networking, Panasonic and Samsung said today they have invested an undisclosed amount into SiBEAM, the maker of high-speed networking chips.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based SiBEAM makes WirelessHD chips that can wirelessly transfer video from one device to another in a living room…. Continue Reading

Big companies create a HomeGrid Forum for networking on home wiring

Big companies create a HomeGrid Forum for networking on home wiring

Major tech companies are expected to announced tomorrow that they have created a “HomeGrid Forum” in order to advance the cause of broadband networking over wiring in the home, VentureBeat has learned.

Members of the group include Infineon Technologies, Intel, Panasonic, Texas Instruments, Aware (DSL chip… Continue Reading