Volkswagen is quite bullish about the emerging markets like India and
China. In India, the company is likely to launch Polo, a hatchback
which is under production. Expected to be launched in the early 2010, the car is positioned in the premium-hatchback segment. Polo will compete against Skoda Fabia and Honda Jazz. Recently Volkswagen inked a pact with the Maharashtra government for producing Volkswagen cars from Pune. The company will get 230 hectares of land in Chakan at Pune for the manufacturing plant.
The car after its launch in the Indian market, will compete with the likes of Maruti’s Swift, Hyundai’s Getz and Tata Motor’s Indica. According to a Volkswagen official, the company would go for the B segment of the passenger car market, which incidentally is the largest in the country. The company sees further growth in this segment.
The car company Volkswagen is also planning to launch its Passat model in India, which will don a price tag of Rs 30 lakh. Passat may be rolled out of the Skoda Auto manufacturing facility at Aurangabad.
Volkswagen Polo is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, saloon, coupé and estate variants. There have been four separate generations of the Polo. Some generations were face lifted mid way through production, with the updated versions known again unofficially by an addition of the letter F to the model number, e.g. Mk IIF. There is considerable variation in Polo model designations, with some sources using Mk as equivalent to Series which causes confusion.
Key to Volkswagen India plans are two mass-market models that will be produced in large volumes in the company’s upcoming factory in Chakan. The first is the sixth-generation Polo (A06) hatchback that is under development and is expected in 2009.
If you thought the Dodge Viper was going to slither away quietly into the night, you were wrong. This is one hissing serpent that's going to go out in a blaze tire-smoking glory. Fresh off its production car lap record of 1:33.915 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, the 2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR will make its world debut at the 2009 L.A. show
Another prototype of the next-generation 2010 BMW 5 Series has been caught, this time while running laps around the Nurburging. The most noticeable change between this 5 Series tester and the last time one was caught is the mesh camouflage that covered up the grille has been removed, revealing BMW's signature kidney grille and some of the front fascia lines, which appear to be softer and more flowing than on the current car.
Dimensionally, expect the new 5 Series to add some space between the wheels by extending the wheelbase some four inches and widening the track. Overall length, height and width should also increase fractionally. Expect 17-inch wheels as standard equipment, with 18- and 19-inch wheels optional.As for powertrain speculation, it is believed the new 5 Series is expected to use variants of existing engines in BMW's line-up. The base engine should be a version of the automaker's 2.5-liter straight-six while top-range models will use the current 4.8-liter V-8, with the 4.4-liter twin turbo V-8 found in the X6 as another possible engine option. And of course, expect a re-worked version of the M5's 5.0-liter V10.
With the current E60 5 Series getting long in the tooth, the new one shouldn't be far away and may make its debut at either next year's Geneva or Frankfurt Motor Shows in time for the 2010 model year.
If you have a really keen eye, then you'll probably notice the subtle exterior updates to Nissan's line of 2010 sedans -- the Altima, Maxima, Sentra, and Versa. For the average bystander, though, these four-doors will scoot past with little reaction. Perhaps a, "Hmm, there's something different about that Nissan," but not much more. Ditto for the freshened interiors, all of which get minor tweaks, mostly with the electronics (audio and nav) and gauge clusters. Not that these changes aren't welcome and noteworthy, mind you; they've all been implemented to improve aesthetics and functionality, and to that end, they all succeed. Below is a rundown of the subtle but significant updates to Nissan's 2010 sedans.
Range Rover has unveils the new 2010 Range Rover Sport that comes with an improved interior quality, a revised exterior design, and new engines.
Range Rover Sport (2010) comes with optional of three new engines: a 5.0 liter V8 petrol version, 3.0 liter twin turbo diesel, and also a supercharged version of the 5.0 liter engine. However, the 3.6 liter TDV8 engine also available for the 2010 Range Rover Sport.
Along with a re-designed exterior and interior, 2010 Range Rover Sport also comes with improved Active Damping, new brakes, and an updated Terrain Response system that features the Dynamic setting which has been designed for “sporting on-road driving”.
Range Rover Sport (2010) features e-TERRAIN TECHNOLOGIES, a surround camera system with tow assist, and high beam assist.
NOKIA E63 actually ’ON’ my NOKIA E63 itself. I am thinking that this may be the very first review on MS actually typed on a mobile device. This is a smart phone as tagged by its manufactured however the smartness of the device is limited by its service provider. Its Airtel so far in my case.
Here is a glimpse of its features:
1.QWERTY Keyboard: Well, I am brave enough to use the same to type this review. It isn’t that difficult, but yes it would be easier for someone who has matchstick sized fingers. The keys are soft and very familiar to normal computer users. I would go ahead to say that NOKIA certainly researched ergonomics as well as the most common actions well. Keys like @’?,. / are just one click actions. It was a pain on my RIM Blackberry.
2. Convenience button: It is as the name says right in the centre and just below the screen. It does the most common actions for the menu/screen active like dialing a number, pressing ’enter’ while typing or surfing the internet. It is well supported by a rectangular shaped button covering ti from all sides. That is the navigation key with the resultant movement of the cursor in all 4 directions.
3. Internet Browser: This is the NOKIA standard, however one can install any of the available mobile browsers. This closely replicates the IE interface with the option to zoom in/out to fit the small screen or to read the print in decent font size. It supports JavaScript and SSL 2.0. It also allows multiple windows simultaneously, however runs out of memory with more than 5 windows in tandem. That’s ok for a mobile device, what do you say?
4. Shortcut Keys: It has 4 such keys - Home,Calendar,Contacts & Inbox. Reaching any one of them through any other route is however like locating the ’Paranthe wali gali’ at Chandni Chowk by a newcomer.
5. Camera: Its 2.0 mp with 4x digital zoom and a flash. The quality of images can be adjusted to low,medium and high keeping the storage memory in mind. It can record video with the same resolution.
6. Storage: It has an inbuilt storage of 128 MB with a 1 GB micro SD card provided with the handset as default. It is expandable up to 2GB.
7. Wide screen display: I am looking straight into it and feel it is 2.5 x 2.0 inches. It supports 16.7 million colors. It is good enough to watch videos, type multiline SMSes and of course type this review!
8. Music: Again decent quality music can be played with a loud volume. It is however better with the supplied headset where the stereo capabilities can be felt. Do not compare this with SONY walkman phones.
9. Radio: It can play good quality FM radio once the headset, which also has the antenna, is fitted. It also has an Internet radio, which the suckers Airtel do not support.
10. Bluetooth: It allows transfer of data with any bluetooth device. I find it easier than fiddling with USB cables to connect, although that is also supported. Yes,you need to purchase a USB cable seperately.
11. Mobile OFfice: This makes it possible for the handset to be used as a wireless modem. The bandwidth is a function of the provider.
12. Quick Office: This is apparantly NOKIA’s version of MS OFfice. It has equivalents of Word,Excel,PowerPoint and are not difficult to use, although it needs practice. I have the ambition to create a presentation on it one day, just like I a, writing a review using a handset today (Soma, sitting next to me is probably thinking what made her marry this nerd, coincidently, this was the very first train we boarded just after marriage).
13. Voice aid: It reads out names, commands and options. Its useful when it says out the name of the person from the contacts list, when he makes a call, and I am like driving.
14. Voice recorder: Its useful to record any phone talk or simply anything worthwhile. I am yet to try that out.
15. Video call: Its there but just in theory as we are not yet 3G enabled. A 1x1 mm video camera facing you is supppsed to do the job.
16. Phone: Before I forget to mention, it is a phone too. I just rejected a call while typing. The voice clarity is good, with or without the loudspeaker.
17. Battery: It works out for 3-4 days with decent phone and moderate GPRS usage for me. Not a single point has gone down so far since I started typing this review. It has few more features which I don’t care about like Java games, GPS etc.
The only glitch I have noticed so far is that it hangs up if you try to receive a call when the network is weak. The only way out is a reboot. Well that’s something so much Microsoft like.
I have been using this handset for little over a month now for all this analysis and feedback. .....and before you forget, let me remind you that I wrote this entire review on the same handset itself and uploaded to MS over GPRS.
| Purchase Price: | INR 14500 |
| Talk time (minutes): | 180 |
Fiat 500 Abarth was recently tuned by Romeo Ferraris, an Italian tuning firm and racing car builder has reported that has taken part in the ‘6 Hours of Vallelunga’ endurance race in Italy that held on November 22 with its specially developed Fiat 500 Abarth competition model.
Honda Japanese car maker received an overwhelming response on its 3rd Generation City that has sold over 50000 units since its launch last year. The Sedan launched in September 2008 and was available for buyers in the month of November 2008.
Released for Sprint and Verizon Wireless, the slim BlackBerry Curve (8530) combines a QWERTY keyboard with a touch-sensitive optical trackpad -- instead of the traditional trackball -- to make navigation reliable and responsive. RIM integrated dedicated media keys along the top of the handset to control music and videos. Users can take pictures with its 2.0-megapixel camera with 5x digital zoom, then upload them to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Additional features includes a large color display, music player with a 3.5mm stereo headset jack and built-in GPS and Wi-Fi capabilities.
The HTC HD2 is, as you'd imagine, a pretty big handset. With a 4.3-inch screen, it's hardly going to be a compact device, although HTC have done a good job of keeping the sides of the phone quite tight to the edges of the screen. This means that although it has a large display, the phone itself is still pocketable - though just barely. The HD2 actually measures in at 67mm x 120.5mm x 11mm (2.64in x 4.74in x .43in), making it quite a wide and long device, though still remarkably thin. It is this thin profile that is key to keeping the HD2 from feeling huge in your pocket. However, the HD2 weighs a fairly hefty 157g (5.54oz), so you may need a belt to keep your trousers up...
When you first lay eyes on the HTC HD2 you'll almost certainly be drawn to the huge 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen display, which completely dominates the front of the phone. The display is bright and colorful, and has a WVGA (480 x 800 pixel) resolution, giving it more than twice the pixel count of the iPhone and most current Android handsets. Bright sunlight legibility seems fairly good, and the screen is very responsive to touches, for the most part. Also, being the first capacitive screen on a Windows Mobile device, this means that it's also the first Windows Mobile device to feature multi-touch, for pinch zooming gestures and the like.
Above the huge display, HTC have managed to squeeze in an earpiece, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, and a status notification LED for notifying of missed calls, messages, and low battery. The five main hardware keys on the HTC HD2 are all located below the display, with keys for: call send, home, the Windows menu, back, and call end/power. These keys all have a nice tactile click and cool white backlighting. The only other hardware keys on the phone are on its left side, which houses the volume rocker. Otherwise, the right side is completely bare, as is the top of the phone. However, the bottom edge features both the micro-USB port for charging/data and the 3.5mm headphone port.
The rear of the HTC HD2 is clad in a dark grey/black soft touch plastic, except for the battery cover, which is made from brushed metal. Just above the battery cover is the lens for the 5 megapixel autofocus camera, which protrudes from the back of the handset quite a bit. When the handset rests on its back, it rests on the lens, which probably isn't the best thing for keeping it scratch-free. To the right of the lens you'll find the dual LED flash for the camera, and to the left you'll find the loudspeaker grille.
