| Sennheiser boasts anti-counterfeit efforts, unveils new authentication technologies Aug 22nd 2012, 19:09  You know Sennheiser's pissed when it holds a press conference just to talk about its anti-counterfeit efforts. In Guangzhou yesterday, the German audio company brought along two executives to debut its new authentication technologies on its retail packaging: a shiny Tesa PrioSpot authenticity label plus a "fool-proof" online look-up system. For the former, President of Corporate Services Volker Batels claims it's treated as securely as one would with cash money, in the sense that it has many visible and invisible features. There's also a QR code plus its corresponding label ID printed below the foil, and scanning the former or entering the latter on qr-sennheiser.com returns a virtual copy of the foil label plus a visual description. If what you have matches the label on the screen then hakuna matata. But if the code's been looked up many times already, the website will also give you a warning like in the screenshot after the break -- chances are the label's been duplicated, so potential buyers should always check this before handing the money over. Marc Vincent, the company's President of Greater China, aims to have this "urgent project" covering most products by the end of this year. "We have been fighting counterfeits for five years with some result, but now we have officially declared war on counterfeiting," Mr. Vincent said in a stern voice. "Manufacturers of counterfeit products are social parasites. They really damage our reputation." Continue reading Sennheiser boasts anti-counterfeit efforts, unveils new authentication technologies Sennheiser boasts anti-counterfeit efforts, unveils new authentication technologies originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 15:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Fisker halting Surf production, but will build you one if you've got a 'big enough checkbook' Aug 22nd 2012, 18:51  Like the ambitious diner at the all-you-can-eat-buffet, Fisker's got a lot on its plate. Between recalling all of its self-immolating Karma models, taking flack from its rivals and hiring a new CEO, something had to give. As such, it's halted production on the Surf and Sunset while it concentrates on getting the Nina / Atlantic onto the streets. However, one-percenters needing a five-door EV are in luck -- Fisker's Roger Ormisher has said that "if someone came along with a big enough checkbook" they'd discuss building a model tailored to their needs. While he remained coy about a specific price in his statement to Autoblog (after the break), a Fisker Buzz member has pegged the figure to be $200,000 -- but hey, that's pocket change to you, right? Continue reading Fisker halting Surf production, but will build you one if you've got a 'big enough checkbook' Filed under: Transportation Fisker halting Surf production, but will build you one if you've got a 'big enough checkbook' originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 14:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink |  Autoblog Green, Fisker Buzz | Email this | Comments | | Microsoft permanently lowering Kinect price in the US to $110, slightly reducing it in other parts of the world Aug 22nd 2012, 18:30  Well, it certainly looks like the news of that Xbox Essentials Pack isn't the only thing coming out of Redmond today. As the communicative Major Nelson unequivocally notes, Microsoft's officially dropping down the price of its "You Are the Controller" Xbox 360 add-on in the US to a mere 110 bucks. Additionally, he's also said there's a "permanently reduced" pricing scheme coming to other countries in North America, Latin America and the Asia Pacific regions (save for Japan) where the company's Kinect is available for purchase; meanwhile, folks in the Middle East, Europe and Africa seem to be out of luck for now, since there are no price-slashing plans for the time being. Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment Microsoft permanently lowering Kinect price in the US to $110, slightly reducing it in other parts of the world originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 14:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Major Nelson | Email this | Comments | | HTC One V makes the leap to Cricket's lineup September 2nd for $270 Aug 22nd 2012, 18:11  The One line hasn't seen much carrier love lately, but that's all set to change next month. Beginning September 2nd, the littlest member of that smartphone troupe -- the One V -- will be hitting Cricket's lineup at $270, no contract necessary, and notching two milestones in the process. Aside from offering subscribers a belated first taste of Ice Cream Sandwich, the Sense-skinned 3.7-incher's release also counts as HTC's official hardware debut on the network. In case you've forgotten and need a bit of a spec refresher, the odd-lipped Legend throwback bucks the de rigeur multi-core trend for a single 1GHz Snapdragon S3 CPU running Android 4.0, a 5-megapixel rear camera powered by ImageSense tech and, for better or worse, features Beats Audio integration. It's no heavyweight as current smartphones go, but if you're keen to push things forward, this lil' fella packs a considerable punch. Check out the company's official presser after the break. Continue reading HTC One V makes the leap to Cricket's lineup September 2nd for $270 Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless HTC One V makes the leap to Cricket's lineup September 2nd for $270 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 14:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | BMW DriveNow EV car sharing comes to San Francisco Bay Area, ParkNow follows suit Aug 22nd 2012, 17:53  BMW kicked off its DriveNow car sharing service in its home country last year to see if urban EV rentals would catch on. Something must have clicked in Germany, as the automaker is exporting the concept to the San Francisco Bay Area as of September. DriveNow's initial fleet of 70 ActiveE vehicles will rely on a different business model after getting its American visa: the service drops the strictly by-the-minute model of the German operation in favor of a $12 base fee for a half-hour's trip, with a 32 cents per minute rate kicking in only during longer drives. Travelers will have to drop off the cars at specified stations, too. There's a consolation for the trouble through a ParkNow reservation service, which locks in a parking space at a guaranteed rate and navigates there through an iPhone app or the web. Just be aware that those spaces will be limited -- only eight DriveNow stations and 14 ParkNow lots are active, which doesn't afford a lot of free roaming even after discounting the lack of immediate plans for other US cities. We're nonetheless glad that Bay Area locals without their own ride will have an easier time staying green for their cross-city jaunts. Continue reading BMW DriveNow EV car sharing comes to San Francisco Bay Area, ParkNow follows suit Filed under: Transportation BMW DriveNow EV car sharing comes to San Francisco Bay Area, ParkNow follows suit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 13:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  Autoblog | DriveNow | Email this | Comments | | YouTube's Elections Hub is a one-stop channel for the latest US political happenings Aug 22nd 2012, 17:33  In case you haven't noticed, it's election year in the US of A. And while we already have a slight idea of which political party your beloved neighbors prefer, why not have an all-inclusive video hub to keep you updated with the latest action taking place on the road toward America's historical White House. Here's where YouTube comes in. The Google-owned service announced earlier today the creation of its Elections Hub, which it's dubbing as the "one-stop channel for key political moments" happening now and all the way until the final US election day on the 6th of November. Naturally, the social vid giant's teamed up with some of the biggest outfits around to bring live and on-demand content to the Elections 2012 channel, including ABC News, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and, for the spanish-speaking crowd, Univision. Regardless of who's landing your worthy, priceless vote, this should be great corner of the internet to keep you in the loop during this year's Stateside political battle. Filed under: Internet YouTube's Elections Hub is a one-stop channel for the latest US political happenings originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 13:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | YouTube Blog | Email this | Comments | |
