focus

Which electric car is best for you? (comparison)

Waving goodbye to your local gas station used to involve waiting lists, lease-only pilot programs, or dropping six figures on an early adopters' plaything like the Tesla Roadster. These days, just about anyone can walk into a local dealership, plunk down $35,000, and drive away in a car that doesn't have a tailpipe.

No, the 2012 Nissan Leaf, 2012 Ford Focus Electric, and 2012 Mitsubishi i-MIEV aren't the first electric cars to hit the market. However, they are in the first batch of fully electric, zero-emissions vehicles that are priced and packaged for mass consumption. Each seats four or five adults comfortably, has space for cargo and groceries, and packs much of the same (if not better) cabin technology and creature comforts as its gasoline-powered stablemates.

We've put these three models side by side in the chart below to see how they stack up and compare with one another. Green values indicate the best-performing model in each category. Which one is best for you? Read on:… Read more

2012 Ford Focus Electric: The strong, silent type (first drive)

Last week, I rather flippantly mentioned that I'd driven Ford's new Focus Electric, but that I couldn't talk about it. I know you've been on the edge of your seat since then, so I won't bury the lead any further and just get right into what you're here for: the drive.

On the road, the Focus Electric rides nearly identically to the gasoline-powered Focus. That is, until you listen and realize that there is no exhaust note and no engine noise, only the gentle "whoosh" of the road beneath the tires and … Read more

Ford Focus Electric priced at $39,200, plays nice with your smartphone

The Ford Focus Electric has been a long time coming since it was first announced back at CES 2011. However the wait will soon be over because the tailpipe-emissions-free version of Ford's five-seater Focus is already here, and I've touched it.

Specifically, I've driven it, but Ford has asked me not to talk about the driver's-seat experience until next Tuesday (April 17), so stay tuned and check back to hear more on that.

Zero tailpipe emissions Until then, let's talk about what we do know about Ford's shot across the bow of the Nissan … Read more

Nokia Lumia 900 camera shoot-out vs. iPhone 4 (photos)

Nokia has hyped the Nokia Lumia 900's 8-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, and you know what that means: it's time for a camera shoot-out. I traipsed around San Francisco with four smartphones with 8-megapixel cameras: the Lumia 900 and the iPhone 4S to see just how well they captured the moment. I took close to 20 comparison shots, but to keep you from going blind, I narrowed it down to the two best phones and the 11 most representative pictures.

I'm no professional photographer, but I did keep a keen eye out for differences in focal range, overall detail, color tone, and contrast. I share my opinion below, but check out the photos for yourself to make up your own mind.

Unless otherwise stated, all photos were taken using automatic settings. I've resized the images, but left them otherwise untouched.… Read more

Playing the light field with the Lytro camera (photos)

With the ability to adjust the focus of a photo after taking the picture, the Lytro Light Field Camera is one of the biggest technological advances in photography we've seen since the industry went digital. It's some pretty amazing technology, and with a few refinements, I'm sure this could be something that could change photography forever. Read CNET's review of the Lytro Light Field Camera, and take a look at some of these shots taken in San Francisco.

Ford crows over 105 MPGe rating for Focus Electric

Ford said today its Focus Electric sedan has the highest EPA rating for fuel efficiency, nudging out the all-electric Nissan Leaf.

The Focus Electric was certified with an EPA rating of 105 miles per gallon equivalent for combined city and highway driving, according to Ford. On city alone, it's 110 MPGe and 99 for highway. MPGe converts the fuel economy of gasoline-powered cars for electric vehicles.

The range of the Focus Electric is 76 miles on a full charge and the fuel economy label will indicate that a driver can save $9,700 in fuel course over five years … Read more

The case for getting grandma to play World of Warcraft

The online video game World of Warcraft is in the news again, this time for its potential to help boost certain cognitive skills--specifically spatial ability and focused attention--in older adults.

Researchers at North Carolina State University's Gains Through Gaming Lab tested the cognitive functions of 39 60- to 77-year-olds and then broke the study's participants into an experimental group, which played the MMORPG for 14 hours over a two-week period, and a control group, which did not play WoW at all.

It turns out that the adults who played WoW for two weeks improved their baseline scores, with … Read more

Follow focus for the frugal videographer

If you've always wanted to achieve the precise focusing seen in the movies, perhaps it's time you invested in a follow focus. However, with professional systems costing anywhere from a few hundred to thousands of dollars, the 50-Dollar Follow Focus is a more affordable alternative for videographers on a budget.

The brainchild of Wiley Davis, the 50-Dollar Follow Focus is made in his homemade CNC (computer numerical control) mill and consists of the follow focus body, a pulley and a rubber-toothed belt. A user-adjustable spring built into the system of Teflon washers in the follow focus allows users to fine-tune the amount of friction needed when focusing a lens.

Crafted from durable, heat-treated aluminum, the 50-Dollar Follow Focus comes with a re-positional handle, which lets users set their lens at different positions at specific marker lines. Finally, a toothed-belt and pulleys of different sizes can be swapped to fit different lens sizes. … Read more

Polk's new headphones take a licking, keep on sticking

LAS VEGAS--We've heard of headphones delivering new highs before, but never quite like this.

At the Polk Audio booth here at the Consumer Electronics Show, the manufacturer has set up one of the more brazen gimmicks at a show filled with brazen gimmicks: a trampoline gymnast who zooms toward the high convention-center ceiling with every jump. Of course, she's wearing Polk's new Ultrafit sports headphones, which--big surprise--stayed put despite her vigorous bounces.… Read more

Car Tech Live 247: Chevy and Fisker improve battery safety (podcast)

The Chevy Volt makes fewer sales than GM expected, Fisker issues a Karma recall, and we talk about our trips to the Detroit auto show and Consumer Electronics Show next week.

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