BMW on the lookout for battery partner

Like most any other automaker with plans to stay around for more than the next decade or so, BMW is hard at work developing its proprietary technology for electric cars. The biggest piece of the EV puzzle is undoubtedly the batteries, and there are very few companies that specialize in large-scale vehicular energy storage systems. So, just like the vast majority of its competitors, BMW is looking long and hard at its options as it searches for a partner to help design its high-tech lithium ion batteries.

Klaus Draeger, BMW's head of R&D, said, "We are examining the products of Korean suppliers like LG Chem, and we are talking to Japanese suppliers as well as U.S.-based suppliers like A123 Systems Inc." These units are destined for the upcoming Megacity small car that the German automaker just announced. Currently, BMW uses batteries sourced from AC Propulsion for its MINI E.

Tata to send Nano to America?

Could an extremely inexpensive, minuscule little car like the Tata Nano actually sell in America, the land historically enamored with powerful V8 engines surrounded by as much sheet metal as possible? According to reports, Tata Motors may be about to find out, as the Indian automaker is said to be looking at an introduction into the U.S. market by 2011 or 2012.

What makes Ratan Tata, chairman of the automaker that bears his name, think that his diminutive machine might sell in the United States? The economy, of course. Americans may be willing to accept some of the sacrifices that would go hand-in-hand with owning the World's Cheapest Car, though the version likely to sell in the States would surely differ in major ways from what's is now on sale in India.

If the Tata Nano were to hit the U.S. market, it would need to pass the same safety and emissions regulations as any other car currently sold in America. Those are not insurmountable tasks, however, as proven by the version of the Nano that's planned for European markets. So far, there's no indication how much a Tata Nano would cost in U.S. dollars if it were sold here.

Tesla Model S priced just under $50K, rest of car still shrouded in mystery

While much of the Tesla Model S is still a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in an inconvenient white cloth, the company has revealed the EV will list for $57,400, which after the $7,500 federal tax credit puts the final price at just a Benjamin under $50,000. That's almost $40,000 less than the Fisher Karma and $10,000 more than the estimated price of Chevy Volt. Of course, we still haven't actually seen the thing, but at least we won't have to wait much longer for that -- the grand unveiling is set for this Thursday at Tesla's design studio.

Michael Dell does/doesn't confirm Dell smartphones

Depending upon which source you believe, Michael Dell either directly commented on Dell's smartphone plans or just hinted at them. DigiTimes has Michael Dell paraphrased as saying in Taipei that Dell will not delay its smartphone lineup and is on schedule to release devices in line with its internal roadmap. The IDG news service, however, has him in Tokyo just hinting at smartphones. "It is true that we are exploring smaller screen devices," said Dell, adding, "We don't have any announcements to share today but stay tuned as when we have new news we will share that with you." Mr. Dell also mentioned Dell's carrier agreements already in place for the 3G radios Dell ships in it laptops. As such, "it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect that we would have smaller mobile Internet devices or smartphones in the future." Look Michael, just spit it out. We don't care how dull they look -- we know you're probably going after the big, fat chewy center of corporate market share here. Just don't call it the Ditty Talker and we're cool.

OCZ introduces Eclipse and Behemoth wired gaming mice

It's going to be tough for OCZ Technology to top its Z Drive, but clearly, it's not aiming to do such a thing just yet. Instead, it's setting its sights rather low with a somewhat plain duo of gaming mice. Both the Eclipse and Behemoth arrive with the ability to switch between four different profiles and with support for uploading profiles direct to the onboard memory. The former sports a "time-honored compact style" and sports a 2,400DPI sensor, while the latter is a bit beefier in size and touts a 3,200DPI sensor. There's no mention of pricing or availability for either, but you definitely won't be asked to pay a premium for cutting-edge design.

Qualcomm-powered Zeebo console pulls circa-1999 games over 3G

Heads up, we've got another game console hitting the scene, but this one has a few interesting tricks up its sleeve. Zeebo's built on Qualcomm's MSM chipset and uses the same 528MHz ARM processor found in the Xperia X1. No discs or cartridges here, all games are downloaded from an online store over 3G, which is not only convenient but also a move intended to thwart software piracy. Software is developed using the Qualcomm BREW platform, and according to the company it's already amassed 300 titles including Crazy Taxi, Street Fighter Alpha, and the original Quake. Hey, it's not gonna rival the PlayStation 3, or even the PS2, but it does boast a more reasonable price point for countries where the markup on current gen hardware is rather extreme. It'll first launch in Brazil in May for the US equivalent price of $200, about one-third the cost of buying a Wii locally. Following that, expect it to hit Mexico later this year, India and Eastern Europe in 2010, and China sometime in 2011. No word on when or if they're planning to play up the retro card in the US.

Samsung NC310 netbook gets a price, official pics

Samsung didn't exactly skip over a lot of details when it announced its new NC310 netbook earlier today, but it looks like it's now clearing up a few remaining tidbits, and dishing out some new, polished up press shots of the long-lasting netbook for good measure. While there's unfortunately still no official US pricing just yet, the NC310 (or N310 as it's also being called) will apparently demand £399 (or $577) when it hits the UK in May, at which point it'll only be available in basic black, with blue to follow shortly thereafter (no word on the remaining colors). As you can see above, the official shots also reveal a bit more of a resemblance to some of Sony's high-end VAIOs than Samsung's current netbooks, though you'll of course still get Samsung's trademark glossy, piano black bezel. Hit up the links below for a few more shots, and the complete specs in case you missed 'em the first time around.

Epoq's HH07 pico projector now on sale in US

Calm down, vaquero. You've definitely seen this sucker before, but it was rockin' the BeamBox Evolution R-1 label and headed for a release across the pond. Epoq's iteration, however, is on track for a US release, and in fact, it can be ordered up right this moment for those interested. Specs wise, you're looking at a 640 x 480 resolution, 30 lumens of brightness, a 100:1 contrast ratio, SD card slot, a USB port and a size of 108- x 59- x 28-millimeters. Get in line for "just" $339.95.

Ericsson reaffirms commitment to Sony Ericsson joint venture

Given the current state of Sony Ericsson, we completely understand the re-heating of rumors regarding a nasty breakup. That said, a new report from Dow Jones confirms that Ericsson (at least) has "has no plans to abandon its joint venture Sony Ericsson," with spokesperson Minako Nakatsuma Olofzon stating that "[Ericsson is] committed to the joint venture; it hasn't changed its view on that." Of course, the report makes no mention of Sony's take on all of this, but at least one half of the equation is still in it for the long haul. Publicly, anyway.

Acer A1 touchscreen Android phone to arrive in September?

It's unsourced, but we're hearing today that Acer's first Android phone will be called the A1 and arrive in September. That's at least the word according to the Phillipine BusinessMirror, and it lines up nicely with our peek inside Acer's secret roadmap diary at MWC. The touchscreen A1 will apparently launch alongside three other handsets, one of which we're guessing is the mysterious white C1 pictured above. We'll see how it goes -- hopefully Acer's second effort is a lot more interesting than its first round of ho-hum WinMo phones.

Sony Ericsson's US president steps down

Quite honestly, we can't imagine now as being an awesome, jovial time to be heading up any division of Sony Ericsson. Thus, we're not too awfully shocked to hear that Najmi Jarwala, President of Sony Ericsson USA and Head of Region North America (comprising the US and Canada markets), has decided to leave his corner office at the end of March in order to "pursue other career opportunities." The announcement comes just a weekend after SE proclaimed that its Q1 sales were down some 50 percent, and with the outfit's somewhat lackluster showing at MWC (Idou notwithstanding), we can't imagine things magically turning around in the near future. At any rate, Anders Runevad (pictured), Executive VP and Head of Global Sales & Marketing will be taking over until a successor is named, and that's assuming anyone is willing to walk into such a severely precarious situation.

Lenovo's X1 for China is full of KIRF, win

Okay, there's some amount of originality here, but enough to justify a Red Dot design award? What you're looking at here is the award-winning Lenovo X1 -- as opposed to, say, the Sony Ericsson X1 -- which is a triband EDGE handset Lenovo sells in China. To us, it looks like an Instinct with a slide-out keypad and TouchWiz, but what do we know? Coincidentally, Lenovo calls this totally original UI "Touch Dream," which sounds just a little bit (okay, a whole lot) like an HTC device. So, to summarize: Sony Ericsson and HTC branding, Samsung design, made by Lenovo. Right then.

11.6-inch Acer Aspire One inches closer to our hearts, reality

It's very possible that we're just reading too far between the lines here, but a recent post over at macles* lines up awesomely with specifications gleaned from a recent Acer FCC filing. Basically, what we're probably looking at is a forthcoming Aspire One with an 11.6-inch panel (as opposed to the 10-inch versions available now), a 1,366 x 768 resolution and very strangely placed Ethernet and VGA ports. Furthermore, we're also told that this bugger will house an Atom Z530 CPU, Intel's SCH USW15S chipset (Poulsbo) and GMA500 integrated graphics. Oh, and there's also an extended battery option that should provide up to eight hours of life. Interested yet?

11.6-inch Acer Aspire One inches closer to our hearts, reality

It's very possible that we're just reading too far between the lines here, but a recent post over at macles* lines up awesomely with specifications gleaned from a recent Acer FCC filing. Basically, what we're probably looking at is a forthcoming Aspire One with an 11.6-inch panel (as opposed to the 10-inch versions available now), a 1,366 x 768 resolution and very strangely placed Ethernet and VGA ports. Furthermore, we're also told that this bugger will house an Atom Z530 CPU, Intel's SCH USW15S chipset (Poulsbo) and GMA500 integrated graphics. Oh, and there's also an extended battery option that should provide up to eight hours of life. Interested yet?

Mobile Visor, for BlackBerry Curves on the pro tour

Looks as if the blackberry curves are on the move to play golf....anyways a cool visor for the curves.....!