The Mercedes-Benz of Helicopters

A European rotary-winged aircraft company has teamed up with Mercedes-Benz to outfit its twin-engine utility helicopter for business-luxury transport.

You can almost hear the call echoing through the Austrian Alps: “The top speed of mein SL65 AMG is too low! Get to ze choppah!” Assuming the angst-ridden Salzburg billionaire hadn’t removed the 155-mph limiter from his V-12-powered Mercedes-Benz, he would be right — but just barely. The Eurocopter EC145 won't exceed 167 mph, but the point-to-point convenience a helicopter affords means never missing a last-minute lunch in Vienna. Until now, however, one couldn’t purchase an EC145 with an interior spec'd out by the lux-meisters in Stuttgart.

10 Androids That Outmuscle the iPhone

Samsung Droid Charge

Apple's iPhone had a good run atop the smartphone league, but 10 Google Androids aim to bury the tuckered-out leader this year.  Motorola Mobility, Samsung, HTC and LG have promised to deliver supercharged, ultra-thin, 4G Android devices in the coming weeks and months.
But not always. Before the mobile phone industry got all busy with design makeovers and tummy tucks, there were -- and still are -- some delightfully hideous phones that represented the other side of the beauty trend. The Street has gone back through the past decade to dig up some of the best examples of designs that make you wince and stare in disbelief. The clueless stylings, the flights of fancy into odd shapes, the obsession with square versus rounded -- it is a wonderfully colorful history.
The giant Android attack features bigger screens, better cameras, faster processors and speedier 4G connections than the upcoming iPhone.
The Android's phone screens, for example, start at 4 inches and go to 4.5 inches, advancing the size standard for this generation of touchscreens. By comparison, Apple's next iPhone is expected to have a 3.5-inch screen.

Technology On-Board The Disney Dream

 

When people think of Disney, images of colorful cartoon characters or magnificent theme parks usually spring to mind. Behind every one of its family-friendly creations, there lies most innovative state-of-the-art technology. The folks at Disney refer to it as "magic", and there's no shortage of it aboard the newly berthed, Disney Dream.
I had a chance to hop on-board for the inaugural voyage, and here's a sampling of my favorite high seas technology that made the voyage fun:

 

Stateroom Wave Phones

Forget extending your cell coverage or upgrading the cost data plan, Disney has the perfect no-cell phone solution for families who want to keep connected while on the high seas. They're called "wave phones" and each room comes equipped with a pair. Each are tied to a stateroom number and allows cruisers to simply call other members in their party - or pretty much anyone on the vessel, even leaving text messages. My wife found it invaluable on those nights when she sent me up onto the main deck in search of late night snacks. She could easily ring me up to add more food items to the list. (Of course, that's before we realized that room service was free!)

Plantronics Bluetooth Headset

The device with diamonds and a little Midas touch will be available as the only unit of its Discovery 925 and is likely to go under the hammer. The money raised at the auction will go for the Elle Charity.
However, the number of diamonds layered on the headset and diamond grading details remain undisclosed, but the blinged-out headset is certainly a beautiful handiwork that redefines opulence. Regarding pricing, word is around that the gold and diamond-encrusted headset is priced at $50,000.

A complete guide to the Motorola Atrix, a phone + laptop

We go in-depth with the Motorola Atrix phone and laptop docking peripheral at CES. It’s one of our favorite new products of the show. Check it out!
CES has been full of tablet PCs and 3D devices, but few of them really stand out or solve a problem. Will TV shows like The Office truly get more exciting with a foot of depth added to them? I’m not so sure. With the Atrix, however, Motorola has gone and invented a new product entirely, one that is both exciting and potentially useful.
The Atrix is really two devices: It’s a high-end dual-core 4G Android phone, and it’s a laptop computer. By snapping the phone into the back of a new laptop dock, it powers a full-size screen and keyboard with a modified Android (Linux) display made to resemble a desktop computer.

Is Sony working on a PlayStation tablet too?

Lately, Sony's been spreading its PlayStation brand a little thick — on the Xperia Play, NGP and Android smartphones. Word on the street is that Sony is working on a full-blown PlayStation Certified gaming tablet to take on the iPad's runaway gaming success. No doubt unhappy with how Apple's grip on portable gaming is growing, Sony is reported to be working on a PlayStation tablet tentatively called the "S1." Tech blog, Engadget has confirmed that the S1 will be a PlayStation Certified device — meaning it will run Android 3.0 Honeycomb and play classic PS1 games. Unlike Android smartphones that are PS Certified, a PlayStation tablet with a larger touchscreen would make virtual onscreen buttons much easier to use.
Specs for the S1 are said to include a 9.4-inch touchscreen with 1280 x 800 resolution, a Tegra 2 processor, front and rear cameras and one USB port. The S1 is said to be completely built around "Qriocity, Sony's music, games, ebooks and videos on demand service that's just been launched in Europe." Think of it like Sony building an entire ecosystem, just like the way Apple's devices all play so well with iTunes.
The S1 will reportedly be sold for $600 and be released around September. What do you think? Would you buy a PlayStation tablet or has Sony already missed the boat?