As expected, Bezos made his move today, unveiling the Kindle DX at Pace University. What stands out right now are the college text book and newspaper pilot programs. With Mac tablet/touch rumors everpresent, should be an interesting summer.
Archive for May 6th, 2009
I’ll admit that we’re sharing this video, from CNET’s Erik Palm and Mats Lewan, partly because we enjoy their Swedish accents. That said, we also covet this Zero S electric motorcycle that Lewan test drives. Weighing in at only 225 pounds, the sleek and powerful Zero S is made for daily use, able to go up to 60 miles on a charge, fully charging after about 4 hours.
Made by Santa Cruz, Calif.-based Zero Motorcycles, it looks and feels like a typical street bike. As Lewan describes, “It’s an odd feeling to twist the throttle and feel the powerful acceleration (62.5 pound-feet of torque) and still hear no sound except a slight clanking from the chain, not yet lubricated on this pre-production vehicle. Making tight turns is a little tricky, as there’s no clutch (and no gears). But once you get used to it, it’s just like an ordinary street motorcycle.”
However, it’s maximum speed, between 60 and 70 mph, puts it more in line with today’s scooters, “making it less practical for highway use.”
The company estimates the bike releases “just an eighth of the total carbon dioxide of a gas motorcycle.” And when you consider the cost per mile for charging (about 1 cent) and the U.S. tax credit (10% of sale price), you might be able to justify the nearly $10,000 sticker price. But, as Lewan warns, the 80-pound battery needs replacing about every five years, and at this point, “the battery costs some $5,000, though [the company] hopes that will come down drastically in a few years.”


