Gizmag Team

Swiss researchers have claimed a new world record efficiency of 18.7% for flexible copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS) solar cells on plastics. Flexible CIGS solar cells have the potential to drive down the price of solar electricity because they are cheaper to produce and this latest breakthrough brings them closer to the highest efficiency levels achieved by crystalline silicon and rigid CIGS cells. Read More

Seagate has set a new commercial benchmark for HDD storage by breaking the 1 TB areal density barrier. The company has announced it will bring the world's first 3.5-inch hard drive with 1TB of storage capacity per disk platter to market in its GoFlex Desk product line, with the 3 TB Barracuda XT desktop hard drive (3 x 1 TB platters) expected to hit shelves in mid-2011. Read More

Peugeot has dropped the HYbrid4 technology found in its 2010 SR1 Concept into a very different beast for the Shanghai Motor Show. The SXC (which stands for Shanghai Cross Concept) has a 1.6 liter, 160 kW internal combustion engine driving the front wheels and a 70 kW electric motor driving the rear, providing the option of electric-only two wheel drive or a four wheel drive hybrid mode. Read More

Queuing at the gas pump is no fun, but imagine if everyone in the line was taking hours, not minutes, to top up the tank. Catering for long charging times is one of the challenges of building a workable infrastructure for electric vehicles, and Coulomb Technologies is taking this factor into consideration in the development of its open-platform ChargePoint Network. Last year the company introduced an app that locates the nearest charging station and tells you whether its in use. In its latest innovation, drivers can ease their range anxiety by reserving charging stations ahead of time. Read More

Nintendo will show a playable model of the next-generation Wii gaming console at E3 Expo in June. The company confirmed the reveal date in a short statement earlier today and although there's still no official word on exactly what the successor to the Wii (codenamed “Project Cafe”) holds in store, the rumors are gaining momentum. Read More

Suzuki is having a bet each way in the performance vs fuel efficiency stakes with the unveiling of two new additions to its long-running line of Kizashi concepts at the New York International Auto Show. While the Kizashi EcoCharge hybrid concept combines a 2.0-liter petrol engine,15kW motor and a 115-volt air-cooled lithium-ion battery to optimize fuel efficiency, it's show floor stablemate the Kizashi Apex Concept is geared toward performance. Read More

Unveiled at the Seoul Motor Show, Ssangyong's KEV2 is an all-electric concept car based on the company's latest diesel engine Korando SUV. For the KEV2, the conventional drivetrain has been replaced by a 120 kW electric motor and 35kWh lithium-ion battery pack, which Ssangyong says will take the car to a top speed of 93 mph (150 km/h) and deliver a maximum range of just over 110 miles (180 km). Read More

The trend toward ubiquitous global mobile media consumption without traditional boundaries and the convergence of internet and TV accelerated today with the release of the GBP229 (US$367) Hauppauge PCTV Broadway 2T which will stream TV to any iOS device (iPad or iPhone), Mac or PC with no thirdparty app required. Whatsmore, Android support is expected to be added within six weeks. Read More

Nokia has officially taken the wraps off its new X7 smartphone – an entertainment and mobile gaming focused unit that packs a 4-inch, 16:9, AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 8 megapixel camera and 720p video capture into nicely chiseled stainless steel casing that's less than half an inch (11.9 mm) thick. Along with the (also freshly announced) QWERTY keyboard equipped E6, the X7 is the first Nokia device to run on the updated Symbian "Anna" platform which introduces a raft of enhancements including new icons, improved text input, faster browsing and a spruced-up version of Ovi Maps. Read More