charging

Taxi Magic's new iPhone payment powers

Last week I wrote about Taxi Magic (download), an iPhone app that, along with RideCharge--its cousin for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile phones--lets you order a cab to your present location, and track it as it wends its way toward you. Version 1.1, released on Wednesday, gives Taxi Magic the one main feature missing from its BlackBerry and Windows Mobile counterparts: the ability to pay your cab fare with a tap of the iPhone.

This mobile payment option works by associating one or more credit cards to your RideCharge account (RideCharge's privacy policy). When it's time to pay, … Read more

RideCharge: Tip a cabbie from your phone

Not everyone is as lucky as we are to work adjacent to a hotel with a fresh supply of taxicabs pulling up to its curb. When you're stuck without a ride, cab-calling applications can make ordering a taxi through local companies a surer, safer thing than throwing yourself in the middle of a darkened street and flailing your arms wildly.

A recent application we've looked at, RideCharge for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile (www.ridecharge.com from the mobile browser), not only lets you order a cab from your phone without placing a call, but it also has you … Read more

Tesla: Model S to have fast-charging battery

Telsa Motor's Model S sedan--set to debut March 26--will have 440-volt fast-charging battery capability, wrote Rachel Konrad, spokesperson for Tesla Motors, to CNET in an e-mail.

Although Konrad could not say how long it would take to charge the Model S sedan using either a 440-volt charger or the standard 220-volt charger, the Tesla Roadster's battery can be fully charged in about 3.5 hours using a 220V/70A system, she wrote.

The Model S is expected to have a driving range of 225 miles on a full charge. It's not a fair comparison, but Nissan's … Read more

Nissan to help Tucson get EV-ready

Nissan recently announced a partnership with the city governments of the Tucson Metro Area and the Pima Association of Governments (PAG), a nonprofit metropolitan planning organization in the Tucson area, to help them prepare for the anticipated wave of electric cars.

Most of the market research to plan and implement an EV-charging network will be done by ECOtality, a clean-electric transportation and technology company in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Part of Nissan's role will be to help PAG acquire electric vehicles. Nissan has been promising to come out with an all-electric car in late 2010, although it won't say what it is. Nissan has been adamant that the electric vehicle will not be the prototype electric Cube that was displayed in car shows last year, but it has committed that the car will be able to get up to 100 miles on a single charge. The five-passenger compact car will be about the size of a Sentra.

The new electric car will be equipped to handle the next-generation of 440-volt fast-charging stations, says Nissan spokesperson Katherine Zachary. The fast-charging stations are able to charge Nissan's electric car in 26 minutes and will be critical to extending transportation corridors and easing consumer fears of being stranded for hours with a drained battery. … Read more

Electric car network coming to Arizona

Alternative energy company Ecotality said on Friday that it will supply charging stations in Arizona as part of the planned roll-out of plug-in electric cars from Nissan next year.

Nissan North America has committed to making its electric vehicles available to municipal or private organizations in the Tucson, Ariz., area, Ecotality said. Nissan's all-electric sedan is scheduled to be available in certain areas of the U.S. next year.

Ecotality said it will plan the installation of charging stations in the area and work with local politicians to establish policies to promote plug-in electric cars.

There are a number … Read more

Excuse me, where's the nearest electric car charging station?

With the roll-out of plug-in and electric vehicles this year, car owners are going to need to know where else besides their home they can charge their car. Communities are working to accommodate these new vehicles by installing public charging facilities, but that won't help much if no one can find them.

Tying the pieces together is the Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Map created and maintained by the Cleantech Authority, an environment-conscious information hub that provides actionable resources for readers to use. … Read more

Twitter may charge companies that 'tweet'

Update at 4:30 p.m. PST with an excerpt from Twitter's afternoon blog posting clarifying that it doesn't plan to charge for "existing services."

It seems that Twitter may have figured out a way to make money.

Biz Stone, co-founder of the microblogging site, told Marketing magazine that his company is considering charging companies that use the service to market their brands.

"We are noticing more companies using Twitter and individuals following them," Stone said. "We can identify ways to make this experience even more valuable and charge for commercial accounts." … Read more

Jukeboxes for Sansa and chargers for Walkman--Ask the Editors

Now that we've all had a chance to settle down from the holidays and CES 2009, I think it's high time MP3 Mailbox Monday rings in the new year. (Am I the only one who's insanely happy to have finally made it to the end of January?) If you picked up a new device in these past several weeks, it's the perfect time to think post-purchase.

For MP3 players, music services and accessories are just where to start. But which music service should you to use? And do you really need a computer on hand every time you want to recharge your player? Find out below.

Q: I bought myself a Sansa Fuze MP3 Player for under 90 dollars. I finally want to get into this MP3 thing more. I figure this would be a good one to start out with according to CNET and consumers. However, I'm kind of at a loss on how to load it. No, I haven't read the manual. (Do techies--even unemployed ones--ever read manuals?) What music service is best for this player? My cousin gave me his first-gen Nano once. It was OK except the battery kept dying. So I have an account on ITunes. May I use iTunes to download CDs to put on my Fuze? Should I try Napster? Rhapsody? WinAmp?

Being unemployed for the time being, I want to use a service where I don't have to pay a monthly fee, if I can. Can I use Amazon or Walmart with out having to use a monthly fee? Pay by the download is OK with me. What do you suggest? --Carol, via e-mail

A: Well, I try not to read manuals unless absolutely necessary, so I feel you there. As far as music services go, you have a few options if you are looking to purchase individual MP3s or albums. Unfortunately, iTunes is not one of them, so the account there isn't going to do you much good with the Fuze.… Read more

Nyko improves on Charge Station by adding a battery meter

If there's one accessory we'd label as a must-have for the Nintendo Wii, it would be the Nyko Charge Station. The company also recently released a Quad Charge Station, allowing you to simultaneously store and charge up to four Wii remotes.

At CES, Nyko has announced a successor to the Charge Station, the EX. However, the only real upgrade is the addition of a battery meter on the actual charging dock designed to take the guesswork out of potentially premature charging. The Charge Station EX will also come with custom grip battery controllers just like the original.

Either … Read more