Category: Brands and Companies

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HTC One Goes on Sale in The US on April 19th, Preorders Begin on 4th with AT&T

While HTC may still be pondering the launch of the HTC One in India, HTC USA has planned it right in Line with the launch of The Galaxy S4 in the US. The 32 Gb version is set at US$ 200 and 64 GB is set at US$ 300 on contract pricing. Outright prices may range from US $ 720 – 880.

The HTC one was announced for the APAC region in Feb, when we went hands on with the device at the Sydney event. The differences between the global version and the US version include 4G connectivity and the fact that the US version will be tied to AT&T or Sprint. Also the HTC One will not come in a Black color in the India, but this color will be available in the US.

However, The HTC One is expected to be available in India end of April 2013 for a price of Rs. 42990/-

[toggle title=”HTC One US Press Release”]HTC One is available in black and silver and boasts a powerful 1.7 GHz quad-core processor, and zero-gap aluminum unibody with a 4.7-inch full HD (1080p) screen and HTC Sense® innovations, to re-shape your smartphone experience.

HTC BlinkFeed™ provides customized content and real-time updates streamed live on your home screen. HTC BlinkFeed aggregates your content from a variety of media sources, serving up fresh content all in one place, without the need to jump between multiple applications and web sites.
HTC Zoe™ mode on the HTC One lets you grab the entire moment and bring it to life in three-second snippets. Special moments can be captured in HTC Zoe highlights, and displayed in a living gallery that you can set to music and special effects. AT&T Locker helps you hold onto those memories no matter where you are. You can automatically store photos, videos and documents in the cloud, so you can access and share from your smartphone or computer.
The HTC UltraPixel Camera with a breakthrough sensor gathers 300 percent more light than traditional smartphone camera sensors and delivers outstanding low-light performance.
HTC BoomSound™ provides rich, clear sound with minimal distortion, as well as the authentic sound experience you expect from built-in Beats™ by Dr. Dre Audio. HTC One features dual front-facing speakers and a built-in amplifier to bring music, movies and games alive. Since the speakers are on the front of the device, you no longer have to worry about muffled sound when setting your phone down.
HTC Sense TV™ lets you use your HTC One as an interactive TV guide and remote control. It can be set up in a few simple steps and gives you the ability to access electronic program guides and control a receiver and home theatre right from your phone’s screen.
The HTC One features AT&T DriveMode®, an app that helps curb texting and driving. The app can be set-up to automatically send a customizable reply to incoming messages once a vehicle starts moving 25 mph. The auto-reply message is similar to an “out-of-office alert” and can reply to texts, emails and wireless callers letting your friends know that you are driving and unable to respond.*****

Setting up your new HTC One is a snap with AT&T Ready2Go, a free service that helps you to easily set up and personalize your device in minutes from the comfort of your personal computer. With Ready2Go, it’s easy to set up your email accounts, import your contacts, connect to your social networks and more.

For more information, visit www.att.com/htcone.[/toggle]

April 3, 2013
Google Unified Privacy Policy To Lead To Fines

Google’s privacy policies are to be investigated by Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to see if they are illegal under UK law.

The move comes after French data protection regulatory CNIL confirmed that Google had made no attempt to meets it concerns over its renewed privacy policies, first unveiled in March 2012, despite its numerous complaints that the changes were illegal.

In a statement on its website, the CNIL confirmed that despite meeting with Google, the firm had refused to take any action to appease its concerns.

“On 19 March 2013, representatives of Google were invited at their request to meet with the taskforce led by the CNIL and composed of data protection authorities of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK. Following this meeting, no change has been seen,” it said.

Google did not implement the recommendations within the allotted four months, even after a meeting in March with CNIL and data protection authorities (DPAs) from Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy. And now we see the result. According to a CNIL statement on Tuesday:

“It is now up to each national data protection authority to carry out further investigations according to the provisions of its national law transposing European legislation. Consequently, all the authorities composing the taskforce have launched actions on 2 April 2013 on the basis of the provisions laid down in their respective national legislation (investigations, inspections, etc.)

“In particular, the CNIL notified Google of the initiation of an inspection procedure and that it had set up an international administrative cooperation procedure with its counterparts in the taskforce.”

This latest brush with Europe’s data protection watchdogs was triggered by Google’s action last year to consolidate more than 60 separate product privacy notices into one unified policy. After an investigation, European privacy regulators published a list of privacy recommendations for Google, including suggesting the company should make it clearer to users how their personal information may be used, and how it is collected and collated from different services. They also wanted Google to offer users an opt-out. It is these recommendations that Google has apparently failed to comply with, resulting in today’s actions.

[V3, TechCrunch]

April 2, 2013
HTC One Vs Samsung Galaxy S4 – Battle For Android Supremacy

We may only be three months into 2013 but it’s already been a big year for phones. One of the biggest stories so far is that of the HTC One – a no-compromise handset from the Taiwanese firm that aims to make amends for the last couple of years and bring HTC back to the top of the Android heap, where they once stood with the help of the HTC Legend.

It’s a remarkable phone in so many ways, but now it faces its biggest threat yet – the Samsung Galaxy S4, the latest flagship phone from the current king of Android.

How do these 2 fare against each other? Let’s find out!

1. Build Quality And Design

Do we even need to discuss this one? Even the most ardent Samsung fanboy would agree that the HTC One is much better in terms of design. On one hand, we have the light, plastic body of the Galaxy S4, and on the other – the heavy, metal one of the HTC One.

The disadvantage of this design, though, is not only that metal will get slightly hotter than plastic, but that the unibody design also prevents the handset’s battery from being removed.

Samsung took a step in the right direction by utilising a little bit of metal around the edge of the phone, but it’s still mostly plastic and still nowhere close to the quality of the HTC One’s build.

Verdict – HTC One

2. Display

This is a tough category, as both the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One have excellent screens. The Samsung Galaxy S4 features a 5″ HD 1080p Super AMOLED touchscreen, which on first impressions proved pretty impressive, while the HTC One features a 4.7″ HD 1080p Super LCD3 touchscreen.

Going purely on numbers, the HTC wins here since its pixel density is 469ppi against the Galaxy S4’s 441ppi. In real life this difference is not noticeable by the human eye.

Put simply, these are two of the best displays on the smartphone market. However, Samsung’s AMOLED displays have been criticized in the past for having a blueish tint on them, but the contrast and deep blacks on this display are amazing.

Another difference is that the Galaxy S4 uses Gorilla Glass 3 which its maker, Corning, says is up to three times more damage resistant than Gorilla Glass 2 which the HTC One offers.

Depending on how you plan to use each smartphone, there are clear advantages to some of the screen technology. It’s hard to pick an overall winner here, one has a slightly bigger screen the other has a slightly higher pixel density, but both are fantastic through and through so it’s a draw and really just comes down to a matter of personal preference.

Verdict – Draw

3. Software And UI

The Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One are pretty evenly matched when it comes to software too, with both running Google’s Android Jelly Bean operating system. Saying that, the Galaxy S4 has a later version, Android 4.2.2, while the HTC One has Android 4.1.2.

There is a vast difference between the custom user experiences found on both devices.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 comes with the latest version of Samsung’s Touchwiz UI, giving a horde of custom features. As well as a barrage of software features such as Air Gesture and Smart Scroll, Samsung’s Touchwiz UI offers a fairly heavy custom skin, which is not good for those who are fans of the vanilla Android 4.x Jelly Bean.

The HTC One, on the other hand, offers a much simpler user interface skin. Blinkfeed is its standout feature – a unique take on Flipboard – and beyond that, the HTC Sense 5.0 UI is fairly stripped back and easy to use.

However, Samsung clearly wins this one with its onslaught of software tricks and custom features.

Verdict – Samsung Galaxy S4

4. Processor

The HTC One packs a lot of power under its shiny metallic shell, with a 1.7 GHz quad-core processor and 2 GB of RAM. But impressive as it is the Samsung Galaxy S4 goes one better with a 1.9 GHz quad-core processor, though it merely matches the HTC One for RAM. Both phones are true next generation handsets and both have more power than you’re likely to know what to do with.

Early benchmark results of these 2 smartphones reveal that they’re neck to neck in performance.

So it’s a draw for us!

Verdict – Draw

5. Memory And Storage

Memory is another win for the Galaxy S4, as while the HTC One comes with up to 64GB of on-board memory (a 32GB version also exists), there’s no micro SD card slot, so no way to expand on it. The Galaxy S4 meanwhile matches its on-board memory with 16, 32 and 64GB versions up for grabs, but also includes a micro SD card slot on top of that.

Their connectivity options are identical as both handsets provide Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G/LTE, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and an infrared port. It’s about as comprehensive set of options as you could hope to see.

Verdict – Samsung Galaxy S4

6. Camera

HTC has gone in new direction with the One’s camera. The Ultrapixel camera is only 4MP in resolution but captures 300 percent more light than a regular smartphone camera. The camera is good especially in low light situations.

HTC’s bold move makes it pretty difficult to compare with the Galaxy S4’s 13Mp camera which we expect to be a good camera. Each rear camera can record video in Full HD 1080p quality.

Things are almost identical in terms of front facing cameras between the Galaxy S4 and HTC One. They have 2MP and 2.1MP cameras which can each record video in Full HD.

HTC Zoe is the big camera feature that is grabbing the headlines when it comes to the HTC One. When you record a ‘Zoe’, the HTC One takes a 3 second video and 20 single frame shots. Not only do you then have the Zoe clip itself, but also the functionality for some very impressive features: remove unwanted people and objects from the background of a shot, make sure everyone is smiling and has their eyes open for group shots and combine several frames in a sequence shot to create a ‘slow-motion’ photo.

The S4 also has some nice camera features and some that are similar to the HTC One. Eraser also let’s you remove unwanted photo elements, sound and shot lets you record a sound clip with a photo and drama shot will take 100 photos in 4 seconds. There are plenty more features to talk about for both these handsets and you’ll have a great experience with either.

So while the HTC One is likely to fare better in low light conditions, the camera in the Samsung Galaxy S4 seems the better bet overall.

Verdict – Samsung Galaxy S4

7. Audio

When it comes to sound the HTC handset wins without doubt. You will have heard HTC BoomSound mentioned by now, which is the technology that makes the HTC One so loud. It’s the first handset to feature dual frontal stereo speakers, plus it has Beats Audio technology built in. This results in louder music playback, ringtones and notifications.

The S4 speaker is also of a good quality and is a close second to the HTC device.

Verdict – HTC One

Conclusion

Both of these handsets are truly remarkable and it’s a tough call picking one out as the best. They both have incredible displays, loads of connectivity options, great cameras and a lot of horsepower.

There is no real winner in this article, and it should only be used as a reference to how the devices perform in each of the sections discussed above.

This will be one of the most exciting fights in the premium segment this season.

Which one will you choose? Let us know below!

April 1, 2013
YouTube plays april fools, Will delete every thing on Youtube

Youtube’s latest creative endeavor is to delete everything on Youtube to get rid of all the content everyone has been uploading, as part of their contest to find the best video in the world.

The supposed contest is now over and at midnight March 31st 2013, the dawn of 1st April Youtube will end accepting videos for Youtube as a whole.

Check out the Video!

[youtube id=”H542nLTTbu0″ width=”100%” height=”300px”]

April 1, 2013
Not Android Phone, But Android Homescreen Is On Facebook’s Agenda

There is no Facebook phone. According to the Wall Street Journal, Facebook’s upcoming Android announcement is actually more of a home screen experience and not an actual device. That rumored HTC Myst? It’s just the first device to come from a partner, which, in this case is HTC.

The social network has been developing new software for mobile devices powered by Google’s Android operating system that displays content from users’ Facebook accounts on a smartphone’s home screen–the first screen visible when they turn on the device, people familiar with the situation said.

From the sounds of it, you’ll be thrown right into Facebook the moment the phone powers on. Reportedly, Facebook is working with other handset makers with hopes to bring the experience to additional devices.

Facebook will initially demonstrate the capability on smartphones from HTC, these people said, but has been working to reach similar arrangements with other device makers.

Facebook, which has said it has more than 650 million mobile users, is planning to make the app broadly available for all Android devices, these people said. Manufacturers must make some tweaks to the Android software to allow the Facebook app to take over the device’s home screen, they added.

Such changes by the manufacturer don’t violate the agreements those companies made with Google to preserve the consistency of the Android user experience, one of the people familiar with the matter said.

On Thursday, Facebook sent out invitations to a media event next week requesting recipients “come see our new home on Android.” Facebook and Google spokesmen declined to comment.

HTC declined to comment on its business relationship with Facebook. However, HTC noted that it previously launched the ChaCha phone, which had a button designated to posting photos directly to Facebook. That wasn’t really successful. HTC’s proprietary Sense interface for Android also included quite a bit of Facebook functionality in the past.

All will be revealed on April 4 now.

[WSJ]

March 30, 2013
Rumoured Apple Game Controller May Just Turn Out To Be Legit

Pocketgamer today says it has heard word from mobile game developers that Apple has been operating secret meetings at GDC discussing a game controller.

Long rumoured – and hoped for – GDC 2013 has finally provided confirmation that Apple will release its own dedicated game controller. Of course, there’s no official word yet, but Apple has been active during the conference talking to developers about its plans and ensuring plenty of games will support the joypad at launch.It’s been operating a meeting room at the show, albeit booked under a pseudonym company name to avoid media attention.However, speaking anonymously, multiple developer sources have confirmed the news to PocketGamer.biz

Should Apple’s rumored controller be unveiled alongside an updated Apple TV, such an event would largely confirm earlier rumors that Apple was preparing to make a push to turn its “hobby” into a much bigger pillar within the company. Those rumors had Apple revealing a standard development kit (SDK) and possibly opening the App Store for operation on its set-top box, two elements that would likely be necessary were Apple to release a controller for iOS/Apple TV gaming.

Apple’s iOS devices have in short time become a major platform for game development, with games from previously unknown developers going on to sell in the millions of copies. The touchscreen form factor of the devices, though, has to some extent kept them from functioning as serious, dedicated gaming platforms.

Some major developers have introduced ports of successful titles for Apple’s devices, specially crafted to suit the touchscreen. These titles, though, tend to be from a limited range of game genres.

In the site’s 2012 review of the 3rd generation iPad, AnandTech’s Anand Lal Shimpi and Vivek Gowri let slip a tantalizing tidbit when discussing the iPad’s faculty as a gaming machine: ”I know of an internal Apple project to bring a physical controller to market, but whether or not it will ever see the light of day remains to be seen,” the review reads.

Apple has been filing patents related to gaming devices for quite some time now.

What’s more Apple has been seen bulking itself up with patents that relate to a potential gaming push for at least a few years now.

Update :

It wasn’t long before the unofficial oracle of Apple, Jim Dalrymple of loopinsight.com rained on everyone’s parade. At 1:19 PM today, he posted one of his terse responses in regards to the rumors of an Apple gamepad. The one word assassin “Nope.” Considering that he is well know to have reliable sources within Apple, and that he had an impeccable track record when it comes to rumors, that’s pretty much that.

[Tech Crunch. Pocket Gamer]

March 30, 2013
Some iOS Developers Targeted With iMessage “Denial Of Service” Attack

The Next Web is reporting that a group of iOS developers has been targeted with a series of rapid-fire messages on iMessage, creating a sort of denial-of-service (DoS) attack that crashes the iMessage app.

App developers iH8sn0w, well known for his jailbreak tool, and Grant Paul were among those targeted by the DoS attack that overwhelmed their respective Messages inboxes with a load of automatically-generated transmissions.

The two devs believe the messages to have been sent one after another from the Messages app on OS X, with a simple AppleScript effecting the barrage that prompts a victim to constantly clear notifications and text.

Grant Paul, one of the targeted iOS developers explains how the attack worked:

“What’s happening is a simple flood: Apple doesn’t seem to limit how fast messages can be sent, so the attacker is able to send thousands of messages very quickly,” Paul says.

The second part of that, he explains, is that if a user sends a ‘complex’ text message using unicode characters that force a browser to render ‘Zalgo’ text, or simply uses a message that is enormous in size, them the Messages app will eventually crash as it fails to display it properly. This will effectively ‘break’ the Messages app on iOS by forcing it to close and stop it from re-opening because it can’t render that text.”

iH8sn0w mocked up a proof-of-concept AppleScript to demonstrate how such an attack may work. If Apple doesn’t limit the influx of messages, a user’s app will quickly become filled with what amounts to piles of spam.

The attacks hit at least a half-dozen iOS developer and hacker community members, and appear to have originated with a Twitter account involved in selling UDIDs, provisioning profiles and more that facilitate in the installation of pirated App Store apps which are re-signed and distributed.

Currently, there is no way to block particular senders in iMessage, though iH8sn0w said it should be possible for Apple to notice the bursts of messages and block them as repetitive spamming. Victims can also disable iMessage entirely.

[The Next Web, Mac Rumors]

March 30, 2013
Apple Patents Wraparound Display For iPhone

A couple of days back the US Patent and Trademarks Office published Apple’s application for a wrap-around form factor for electronic devices. It looks like a curvy, future iPhone.

Well, not “wraps around,” per se, but rather “wraps within.” Patent application 20130076612, published Thursday morning in the US Patent and Trademark Office’s weekly filing-fest, describes a device in which a flexible AMOLED display is inserted into a hollow glass housing, and is pressed against the inside of that housing by “structural support elements.”

In one of its examples, Apple describes a device with two flexible displays that work together.

You can see from Apple’s illustration above what a flexible iPhone might look like. Note the volume controls on the side that are no longer physical buttons, but virtual ones.

This certainly seems like a form factor that would be better suited to the palms of our hands, but it’s unclear how practical it would be in everyday use. A wraparound display may not be as comfortable to type on, and it may not be as suitable as a flat display for things like gaming and watching movies.

The filing also describes a rather simple and permanent-looking connector that handles communications between the display and the device’s logic board, which resides in the center of the transparent housing.

What do you think? Are you excited? Or could all this be used for the rumoured iWatch?

[Forbes, Cult of Mac]

March 30, 2013
HTC One Gets iFixit Teardown, Reveals Low Repairability, High Durability

The HTC One looks like bulletproof phone, with a hefty aluminium – glass body and no removable back.

However, there is a price to pay for its robust unibody design. Teardown specialists iFixit found that the new phone is practically impossible to open up and repair. It got a score of one, one out of ten that is.

With the release of the HTC One, the manufacturer has bet a whole lot on the hardware as a proving point in their history. With this release, the company known as HTC says that they’ve done the best they’re able at the moment – this is the HTC One, and it’s named that for a reason. According to iFixit, this device is just about the most difficult smartphone to tear apart they’ve come across.

The process took 19 steps and ended with the handset being give a score of one (out of ten) in terms or repairability. Of course, these days we don’t see many people repairing their smartphones, but instead buying new. In that respect, a score of one flips nicely to mean that the One is a solid device. In fact, the teardown noted that the “solid external construction improves durability.”

The issues at hand? iFixit said it’s nearly impossible to open the One without damaging the back cover. Again, go figure, it’s a unibody phone. The battery is also stuck under the motherboard and is not replaceable and there’s a lot of copper shielding that causes issues while trying to remove parts. The screen can’t be replaced without removing the back cover, though, so you’ll want to make sure you don’t drop your One all over the floor.

[iFixit]

March 29, 2013
Report : Apple Hiring ‘Ground Truth’ Managers To Improve Maps
If job listings are any indication, Apple remains committed to improving its iOS Maps app.

Apple’s woes regarding its Maps mobile app have been well documented, with the company taking a lot of flak from a lot of (lost) people, especially in the weeks following the app’s launch in September last year.

In the clearest sign yet that the Cupertino-based company is set on making the app something you’ll want to actually tap on and open. As the iDownload Blog spotted, Apple has posted job ads on its site for “Maps ground truth managers” at seven locations around the world.

Here’s the job description for the U.S.-based “ground truth manager”:
The Maps team is searching for a manager for the team responsible for regional map quality and ground truth in the U.S. Each of our regional teams is responsible for the quality of our maps in their region. This team’s responsibilities include:
- Testing new releases of map code and data around the U.S.
- Collecting ground truth data to allow for analysis of the impact of potential map code or data changes relative to known truth.
- Utilizing local expertise to provide feedback about U.S.-specific mapping details.
- Evaluating competing products in-region relative to our maps.
As the manager of this team, you will be expected to drive all of this team’s work, determine where and how to allocate resources and clearly communicate test results and other feedback to teams in Cupertino. The U.S. regional team is also responsible for driving communication between engineering teams in Cupertino and our other regional teams as well as evaluating new regional testing initiatives in close coordination with the rest of the Maps quality team before those initiatives are rolled out to the other regional teams.
The job listings not only reflect Apple Maps’ early problems, but also underscore how right Google’s Eric Schmidt was last year when he said that Apple is learning that “maps are really hard.”

Google has been working on maps for years, and relies heavily today on “feet on the ground” products like Google Street View and Map Maker to improve its mapping accuracy. To give you an idea of how far ahead Google is, consider that those two products launched in 2007 and 2008, respectively. And 5-6 years is a long time in internet/tech development.

We’re sure iOS 7 will feature “magical” and “revolutionary” new features in their Maps app.

[Search Engine Land, iDownload Blog]
March 29, 2013
Apple Updates Find My Friends, Introduces Revamped Location Alerts

Apple has updated its Find My Friends app. Version 2.1 now features a new UI to search and set location-based notifications. Probably the nicest part of the update is the ability to set a distance threshold from a certain location.

While Find My Friends is a little harder to setup and tweak compared with the very simple Find My iPhone app, it is a nice way to share your location with friends and family who are using iOS devices.

Find My Friends “Notify Me” page now features a customizable boundary, or geofencing, option that can be expanded or contracted around a located iOS device. Users can adjust the monitored area around a device by selecting the “Change Location” button, which resets the geofencing threshold to allow for more accurate location-based notifications.

With the added functionality, users can select and manipulate the purple circle representing the geofencing around a tracked device, giving a bit more customization to the previous set threshold.

The Next Web reports :

The new interface for setting up those alerts has been tweaked to let you set the exact distance threshold from a location. This lets you fine-tune the sensitivity of an alert for, say, two different buildings on a campus. If you just wanted to know when someone is ‘home’, the older process with a ‘fixed’ zone was fine, but if you were looking to get notices when someone gets into a neighborhood, it was pretty much impossible.

[TNW, Apple Insider]

March 29, 2013
New Windows 8 Hardware Specs Point At 7-Inch Tablet

Up until a couple of weeks ago, Microsoft required that all tablets made specifically to run Windows 8 have a minimum display resolution of 1366×768. This was because Microsoft also made 1366×768 as the minimum for Windows 8 Modern apps to run while in snap view mode.

A few days ago, it was discovered that the leaked build of Windows Blue actually lowered that app snap view minimum resolution down to 1024×768. As it turns out, Microsoft recently, and quietly, announced that Windows 8 tablets can now be made with a 1024×768 resolution screen, down from the previous requirement of a 1366×768 resolution.

The change is thought to be a sign that Windows 8 devices are about to arrive with mini sized screens (and prices?) to compete head on with the likes of the Google Nexus 7, Amazon Kindle Fire and Apple iPad mini and other successful devices that have with 7- and 8-inch displays.

One of the headline multitasking features of the currently shipping version of Windows 8, snapping, won’t work at this lower res. However, a leaked build of Windows Blue has revealed that Microsoft is changing its Snap View support to let 1024 x 768 users take advantage of a 50 / 50 Snap View. The changes are all part of improved support for 7- and 8-inch form factors and Microsoft’s official guidance notes that “partners exploring designs for certain markets could find greater design flexibility helpful.”

The change was announced on Microsoft’s Windows Certification Newsletter earlier in March. In making the change, Microsoft stated that while their were not encouraging PC OEMs to offer a lower resolution for their Windows 8 tablet products, they admitted, “We understand that partners exploring designs for certain markets could find greater design flexibility helpful.”

[Neowin, ZDNet]

March 29, 2013
Autogyaan: 2014 Range Rover Sport Unveiled

Land Rover unveiled the all new Range Rover Sport at the New York Auto Show, with design chief Gerry McGovern going to the extent of calling it “the Porsche 911 of SUVs”. Adding a whole lot of functionality with a long list of options, the new eye catching Range ‘evokes’ more than just a gasp (see what we did there?).

Deemed “the fastest, most agile and most responsive Land Rover ever” by brand boss John Edwards, the Sport comes in 4 trims priced between $63.5k and $93k. It offers a choice of a 3 litre supercharged V6 engine producing 340bhp or a monstrous supercharged 5-litre V8 producing 510bhp. The all new high strength aluminium structure makes it more than 360kgs lighter than the outgoing Range Rover Sport. An 8-speed automatic transmission is standard, and an extremely capable new fully automatic Terrain Response 2 System is available as well.

The new car is longer than the outgoing Sport and has a notably shorter rear overhang. This offers both more rear-seat knee room and space for an optional pair of third row seats, making it a ‘5+2’ SUV for the first time. The external styling is very contemporary and sophisticated, yet sporty. Lower and more compact than the larger Range Rover, “It’s dramatic and powerful, with immense road presence,” according to McGovern. To be honest, it reminds us a lot of the baby Range, the Evoque.

The interior is as stunning and functional as ever, with a new optional heads up display, many driver oriented controls, a lower driving position and a higher centre console. It maintains the elegant and sporty feel of the car, and with a lot of panache. Its definitely a nice place to be in.

The first-generation Range Rover Sport was quick to achieve the status of JLR’s most profitable car, and hasn’t looked back since. Expect this classy addition to the lineage to keep up with the trend, and with relative ease.

March 29, 2013
Autogyaan: Audi A3 & S3 Revealed

Audi has brought excitement to the New York Auto Show by unveiling the 2014 A3 at the New York Auto Show on press eve. Directly competing with Mercedes Benz’s new CLA sedan, the new A3 reminds us a lot of the first generation A4 of the mid-nineties in size.

The Audi A3 will go on sale in Europe before the United States and will offer 3 four-cylinder engines on launch; 138bhp 1.4 TFSI and 178bhp 1.8 TFSI petrols, and a 148bhp 2.0 TDI diesel. It will not go on sale in the US until 2015 and will make its official world debut at the Shanghai Motor Show next month.

The A3 features very typical Audi styling. Full LED headlamps as well as a number of subtle enhancements are optional to try and keep the base price reasonable. Wheels will range from 16-inches to 18-inches to help maintain the sporty look and premium placement of the small sedan. The interior offers everything one could realistically need, including a driver display system utilising 3D graphics, a revised MMI system and a 705 watt, 14-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system.

Audi also announced the 2014 S3 sedan, also to be officially unveiled at Shanghai next month. Powered by a potent 2.0-liter TFSI engine producing 296bhp, the sedan should reach 100km/h in 4.7 seconds with the six-speed S-tronic gearbox. Quattro-all wheel drive is standard on the American S3, as are 18-inch wheels, full leather interiors and the three-spoke sport steering wheel with shift paddles.

The Audi A3/S3 are a whole 6.7 inches shorter than the Mercedes Benz CLA/CLA 45AMG. With public opinion still divided when it comes to the traditional rivals’ hotly awaited cars, expect this battle to go down to the wire.

March 29, 2013
BlackBerry Ships 1 Million Z10 Phones In Q4, Reveals Q4 Profit
BlackBerry announced their Q4 and year-end results for fiscal 2013. In what was a year of turmoil, job losses and limited device releases, BlackBerry declared Q4 a profit of $98 million (19 cents a share), but revenues were $2.7 billion, down 36% ($4.2 billion) when compared to Q4 2012. BlackBerry noted that they shipped about 6 million BlackBerry smartphones and approximately 370,000 BlackBerry PlayBooks.

This quarter ended March 2, 2013 and BlackBerry launched the new BlackBerry 10 OS and the BlackBerry Z10 in a few countries within this timeframe. Included in the 6 million smartphones shipments were 1 million BlackBerry Z10 devices. The worldwide BlackBerry subscriber base is now sitting at 76 million, down from 79 million last quarter.

Thorsten Heins, President and CEO of BlackBerry said “With the launch of BlackBerry 10, we have introduced the newest and what we believe to be the most innovative mobile computing platform in the market today. Customers love the device and the user experience, and our teams and partners are now focused on getting those devices into the hands of BlackBerry consumer and enterprise customers… We are also excited about the new, dynamic culture at BlackBerry, where we are laser-focused on continuing to drive efficiency and improve the Company’s profitability while driving innovation. We have built an engine that is able to drive improved financial performance at lower volumes, which should allow us to generate additional benefits from higher volumes in the future.”

Q4 Highlights:
- Revenue of $2.7 billion
- GAAP income from continuing operations of $94 million, or $0.18 per share diluted
- Adjusted income from continuing operations of $114 million, or $0.22 per share diluted
- Gross margin of 40% driven by higher average selling prices and hardware margins
- Shipments of 6 million smartphones, including approximately 1 million BlackBerry 10 units
- Subscriber base of approximately 76 million
- Cash flow from operations of $219 million, cash and investments balance of $2.9 billion
The Company will be increasing its marketing investment in the first quarter of fiscal 2014 in support of the global launch of BlackBerry 10. Including the anticipated 50% sequential increase in marketing spending, the Company believes it will approach breakeven financial results in the first quarter based on its lower cost base, more efficient supply chain, and improved hardware margins.

Things looking better for BlackBerry now?

[Mobile Syrup, Market Wire]
March 28, 2013