Tag: features

Diesel Variants of Etios and Etios Liva Launched in India by Toyota (PR)
Toyota has officially launched the Diesel variants of the Etios and Etios Liva at an event in New Delhi.

Etios Diesel is priced in the range of 6.44 lacs – 7.87 lacs ex showroom Delhi and is available in GD, GD (SP), VD and VXD grades

Etios Liva Diesel is priced at 5.54 lacs ex showroom Delhi and is available in GD and GD(SP) grade.

We are glad to widen the product range available to our customers. The alternative fuel options are being offered in response to customer feedback, however we would like to educate the customer in order to enable them to make the right choice of fuel, subject to the usage of the vehicle. The customers have accepted the Etios and Etios Liva well, we have more than 33,000 happy customers. We are thankful to our customers for the encouraging response.”

-Mr. Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director, Marketing, TKM

Both the diesel variants run on the 1.4 litre D-4D Common Rail Diesel Engine with intercooler made by Toyota, which Toyota claims has a 23.59 kmpl mileage. The new color options include symphony silver, Serene Bluish Silver, Celestial Black, Harmony Beige, Vermilion Red, White and Ultramarine Blue (only in Etios Liva). Read the Full PR below.

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After the success of the Etios and the recent launch of the Etios Liva, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) today further expanded the Etios product range by announcing the launch of the diesel variants of Etios and Etios Liva. The vehicles are powered with a refined 1.4 litre D-4D Common Rail Diesel Engine that generates maximum power of 68 PS @ 3800 rpm and highest torque of 170 NM @ 1800 – 2400 rpm. Toyota’s D-4D technology, the most advanced diesel technology offered by Toyota, used in Innova, Corolla Altis, Fortuner, Prado and LC 200 has earned a reputation the world-over for its high quality, durability and reliability.

The 1.4 litre D-4D Common Rail Diesel Engine with intercooler offers an ideal combination of excellent driving performance and best- in – class mileage. The high performance engine of the Etios provides flat torque leading to less gear shifting finally resulting in improved fuel efficiency. The generous levels of torque from 1800 rpm also offers excellent initial and in – gear passing acceleration. The engine recorded a best – in – class mileage of 23.59 kmpl, as certified by accredited test agency.

Etios Diesel is priced in the range of 6.44 lacs – 7.87 lacs ex showroom Delhi and is available in GD, GD (SP), VD and VXD grades

Etios Liva Diesel is priced at 5.54 lacs ex showroom Delhi and is available in GD and GD(SP) grade.

The vehicles similar to its petrol variants are being offered in a range of vibrant colours – Symphony silver, Serene Bluish Silver, Celestial Black, Harmony Beige, Vermilion Red, White and Ultramarine Blue (only in Etios Liva). The exteriors and interiors of the petrol variant have been carried over to the diesel variant.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Hiroshi Nakagawa, Managing Director, TKM said “Etios has been received well by our customers in the petrol segment. We are now offering diesel variant to cater to wider customer choice. The diesel variant will provide our customers fuel economy with high performance. I would like to thank all our customers for their patronage and we look forward to delighting our customers with the ‘Q’ Class Experience.”

Mr. Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director, Marketing, TKM said “We are glad to widen the product range available to our customers. The alternative fuel options are being offered in response to customer feedback, however we would like to educate the customer in order to enable them to make the right choice of fuel, subject to the usage of the vehicle. The customers have accepted the Etios and Etios Liva well, we have more than 33,000 happy customers. We are thankful to our customers for the encouraging response.”

Etios Diesel and Etios Liva Diesel Outline

Exterior
Designed around the concept of ‘Bold Simplicity’. A distinctive front grille with a smile line, sculpted surface and dynamic character-line in the front and rear, enhance the presence of the Etios and Etios Liva. The roof has a unique design for better aerodynamics and clean appearance.

Interior
The two toned ergonomically designed interiors are comfortable and sporty. The Etios and Etios Liva has best-in-class cabin space, large boot space with 595L capacity for Etios and 251L capacity for Etios Liva , a spacious 13L cooled glove box, seven one litre bottle holders, mobile holder and many more such useful storage spaces inside the car.

The flat type rear floor design offers comfortable seating for three and ease of movement for rear seat passengers.

Safety

The Etios Diesel & Etios liva Dieselhas various active and passive safety features like (i) Energy absorbing body shell (ii) Driver & Passenger Air bags and (iii) ABS with EBD and (iv) Seatbelts

It’s centrally located combimeter reduces eye movement and hence the driver can concentrate on the road.

Special Treatment

To adopt to the various diverse climate and usage conditions in India, special treatment and countermeasures have been implemented:
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September 13, 2011
Range Rover Evoque Spotted in Pune : Will Launch End 2011

The Range Rover evoque is the most anticipated SUV from Tata owned Land Rover Automobiles. The SUV is a highly economical SUV to sport a Range Rover branding, a new modern design and styling and a fairly low price of 38-52 Lac (fairly low compared to regular Rovers)

The Range Rover Evoque is expected to hit India end 2011, beginning 2012, bringing a whole new segment into the Range Rover brand. A segment which has picked up over 200% in the past year in India. The company plans to take on sales from people looking for alternatives to the BMW X3 and the Audi Q5 . Range Rover expects to sell over 500 units initially during launch.

The Range Rover Evoque was spotted in Pune with the protective strips on, whats interesting is that the vehicle appears to be a coupe, which may or may not be launched in India.

September 6, 2011

Blackberry Bold 9900 / Bold Touch 4 Unboxing and Hands On

A quick Unboxing and Preview of the new Blackberry Bold 9900, QWERTY + Touch phone from RIM’s Stable.

Bold 9900/9930 Features and Specifications

Size	115 x 66 x 10.5 mm, approximately 130g
Display	2.8″ capacitive touch screen display – VGA (640×480), 287 dpi resolution
Keyboard	Ultra-easy QWERTY keyboard, optical trackpad
CPU	1.2 GHz Processor
Memory	768 MB RAM; 8 GB on-board memory, plus microSD slot supporting up to 32 GB cards
Camera	5.0 MP camera, supports 720p HD video recording
Accelerometer/Magnetometer	Orientation Sensor (Accelerometer), Digital Compass (Magnetometer), Proximity Sensor
GPS	Built-in GPS / aGPS
Wifi	Dual-Band Wi-Fi – 802.11 b/g/n at 2.4 GHz and 802.11 a/n at 5 GHz: 9900: Tri-BandHSPA+,Quad-BandGSM/EDGE 9930: Dual-BandCDMA/EV-DORev.A,Dual-BandHSPA+,Quad-Band GSM/EDGE
Bluetooth	Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR support
Operating System	BlackBerry 7 OS
Battery	1230 mAh removable, rechargeable battery

September 4, 2011

Micromax Launches the X40 Projector Phone (PR)
Micromax has joined the projector bandwagon with the new X40 Projector Phone, main features include
- In-built projector
- Phone Tripod
- Multi format document reader
- 240*320, QVGA screen
- Dual SIM GSM Support
- 2 MP Camera
- Bluetooth
- FM Radio
- Pre-loaded apps
- Memory expandable up to 4GB
- Battery 1000mAh
As always you can expect a full unboxing and preview as soon as Bharat is Back!
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Projecting the right image: Micromax introduces

It’s projector phone ‘The X40’
- Packed with an embedded Projector for larger viewing of images, videos with a Projector Tripod
- Multi format document reader for better user experience
New Delhi, 12^TH August, 2011: Micromax Informatics Limited (“Micromax”), the third largest mobile brand in India, has announced the launch of their latest product: the X40 today. It’s the first mobile phone offering from the company which comes loaded with an in-built projector and a multi format document reader for an ultimate user experience.

The X40 comes with a 2.4” QVGA screen, and a resolution of 240×320 pixels. The phone hosts many features which helps it to carve a niche for itself. The X40 projector is an adjustable lens which helps you to adjust your viewing screen projection size. You can also mount your phone on the tripod which comes along with the phone, to make sure that you enjoy your favorite movies and give official presentations without any disturbance.

With the X40, you can now carry work along with you. The phone boasts a multi format document reader for you to read and view multiple formats documents like file on Word, Excel, PDF, Power points etc. It also comes with a multi format video player giving you an ultimate cinematic experience with the projector.

The X40 projector phone is a dual SIM phone with GSM support and with features like a 2 mega pixel camera, FM radio, Bluetooth, an internal memory of 80 MB, expandable up to 4GB. The phone also comes with some preloaded applications like Facebook, Nimbuzz, Opera Mini, Snaptu, Mundu radio etc.

X40 is available at an attractive price of 4999/- The model will be available across India. For more information, please visitwww.micromaxinfo.com

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August 27, 2011
Micromax Andro A70 Review
The Micromax Andro A70 was one of the most anticipated phones of this quarter, especially in the sub Rs. 8000 bracket. To be honest, at first we thought of it as just a minor upgrade to the existing Andro A60. But as we reviewed this little marvel we began so see a major change in its operation. Lets see why the Andro A70 is our pick for the price range.

Build Quality and Design

Reminiscent of the Nexus One’s design, the Micromax Andro A70 is built with sturdy plastics. Nice curvaceous ends make it an extremely attractive design, and very comfortable to hold in the hand. The screen on the front is tough and provides the extra protection required for a touch phone of this nature. The buttons are tactile and easy to use, the overall standard of construction is quite impressive.

The front of the display is also glass and not plastic unlike its predecessor, Which makes the overall build of the device impressive. The phone is sturdy and does not make rattling noises even when tossed around.

Hardware
- Android 2.2 (Froyo)
- Camera Primary 5.0 MP Secondary – VGA
- 600MHz Processor
- 3.2 inch Multi Touch Capacitive Screen
- Mi – apps – application store by Micromax
- Full Android Market
- WCDMA 2100 MHz
- HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
- Mi-Fi Pocket Wireless Internet
- GPS
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
- Battery 1450mAh
- Proximity Sensor
- Gravity Sensor
Camera and Multimedia

A surprisingly interesting 5 MP camera with autofocus that delivers exceptionally good pictures. The camera displays great skill when it comes to auto-focus and cannot be tackled down by any other device in this price range. Although colors appear washed out at first but a little playing around with the settings gives a good picture.

Video on the other hand is simply OK, you cannot expect much from the VGA video capability. A simple tweak, by changing the video quality settings to custom in the camera we were able to get VGA video. If you leave the video quality to high, it captures a much lower resolution video. A sample of the video can be seen in the videos below.

The Front facing camera, is a simple VGA camera and can be used for nothing but clicking self portraits and video. We tried several times to initiate a camera response from Skype /fring etc, but failed to do so.

The screen of the Andro A70 is great for watching videos and browsing the internet. It is also a capacitive 2 point multitouch screen, so pinch to zoom works great and with the 3.2 inch 320x480px screen text is crisp and easily read.

Speakers are loud and clear when it comes to watching videos or simply listening to music. Overall multimedia experience was satisfactory and a lot more than you can expect from a device which costs only 7500 Rs.

Phone and Messaging

No complaints here, the phone call capability was excellent , little or no dropped calls, clear speaker and earpiece. the microphone also pics up sound aptly and delivers to the other side. One thing with mentioning is the number of connection errors faced in process of dialing a number were far more than any other device tested.

Messaging and emailing has also improved vastly over the previous A60 thanks to the inclusion of the capacitive screen. This makes the device almost brilliant, keyboard is nice and spread out and easy to type on even with relatively large fingers. The keyboard can also be easily replaced with customizable keyboards from the Marketplace, including Better Keyboard. Swype however does not work with the Andro A70.

Internet and Portable Hotspot

This section is dedicated to connectivity and utilization of the Internet, Data and WiFi.

The A70 has a very weak WiFi antenna, and mostly requires you to be relatively close to the router to get a decent signal. This was kind of a let down especially after the excellent WiFi antenna on the Andro A60.

The Portable Hotspot also fails throughout the board, dropping WiFi and asking for reactivations several times.

Apart from the above, browsing works great on the A70 especially 3G networks perform as good as high end phones.

Battery Life

We were quite impressed with the battery life on the A70, with over 5 hours of talk time, and a good 7-8 of internet usage, upto 3 days of standby, make it an excellent device in terms of battery life. But with Android as an OS, you never know what app you install, suddenly battery life is critically lower than before. Overall great battery , be sure to inspect your apps if you face battery issues.

Conclusion

While its an extremely awesome device for its price, it definitely has its ups and its down . With limited WiFi range and useless front camera this device lacks little and gives more. Good things include impressive build quality, a great photo camera, Android 2.2, wifi hotspot, easily root-able ( with possibility of custom rome). This device is a little understated by the company. The UI is much improved and a launcher from the market like ADW launcher can make this device a gem with pinch home screens, and smooth scrolling.

The Micromax Andro A70 is a good package for someone who wants to enter the Android ecosystem, or even a good upgrade for an A60 user. This device is also an excellent secondary device for a expensive smartphone.

We say go for it!

[xrr rating=3.5/5 label=”We Rate it: ” imageset=shiny_yellow_star display_as=fraction_stars]

Video Sample

Unboxing Video

Full Review

Image Gallery

Developing……

UPDATE:

We got news from Micromax for Gingerbread and Video Calls : Read Here

iG Test Labs
August 17, 2011
BlackBerry Torch 9810 (Torch 2) goes on Sale Aug 21 in the US, September in India

AT&T has announced that the new Blackberry 9810 goes on sale in the US on the 21st of August. The device that features a 1.2 GHz processor, a richer display, voice-activated universal search, a 5-megapixel camera with 720p HD video recording, HSPA+ speeds, and supported for augmented-reality apps when comparing it to last years 9800.

The Blackberry Torch 9810 will go on sale at US$49 on a two year contract.

The device is expected to hit India in September along with the Torch 3 which is also known as the Torch 9860 (successor to the Storm series)

August 16, 2011
iG Exclusive : BlackBerry Bold 9900 Touch goes on Sale in India, limited pre Launch Stock

Like we promised the new Blackberry Bold 9900 touch has gone on sale in India. The price is also the same as we promised INR 32,500. The device can be bought from select retailers.

If you happen to be in Delhi

You can get the device at 31,500/- Limited stock is available.

The launch of the Bold 9900 Touch is set for 18th August.

We we have an exclusive unboxing and hands on coming your way in a bit.

August 11, 2011

LG Optimus Black Review

The LG Optimus Black was announced a while back, March 2011 to be precise, but the device appeared on our shores much later in July. People awaited the LG Optimus Black with much anticipation as it offered brilliance on a budget.

Does it really stand up to its name? Does it deliver brilliance? Lets Find Out!

Build Quality

The Optimus Black is possibly the most well built phone in LG’s stable, only after the 2X. With a slim profile and tapered glossy black accents, the device also has a tough front glass and a brilliant camera. The device is built to last and will not fail to deliver in that respect. The plastic is of superior quality and the device does not rattle or squeak from anywhere.

Name	Type
Operating System	Android OS v2.2
Dimensions	122mm x 64mm x 9.2 mm
Weight	109g
Display Screen	4 inch WVGA IPS LCD
Processor	1 GHz Cortex A8 Processor
RAM	512 MB
Storage	2GB Internal + 32GB Optional
Camera	5 MP Rear : 2 MP Front (AF)
Video	720P VIDEO @30 fps
Connectivity	Wi-Fi, 3G, GPRS, EDGE, A-GPS, Bluetooth v3.1 with EDR
Battery	1500 mAh Li-Ion

The Price of the Device is about : Rs. 19,800 in the Market

Camera & Multimedia

The device features a brilliant 5mp Autofocus camera on the back that does HD video at 720p (watch sample below). The picture quality from the 5mp snapper is absolutely stunning, the camera focuses with precision and the LED does a wonderful job of eliminating darkness. The camera is also snappy at taking pictures and responds quickly.

Video quality is pretty great and almost close to what the iPhone 4 has to offer in good light, but kind of waivers in low light.

The front facing camera is simply superb quality and works just fine with Skype and other video softwares.

Audio from videos is low, but in game audio and music sounds are loud. The preference file some where needs to be tweaked to output proper audio. the speaker is fairly loud when the audio is proper. But, not as great as we would have like it to be.

The display is absolutely brilliant with a 700NIT brightness. The brightest display on a mobile device ever, makes the quality of the display that much better, whether indoors or outdoors. The only drawback of a very bright display is low battery life.

Phone & Messaging

The earpiece and microphone are great to pick up sound, but one unfortunate error in the design of the Optimus black prevents you from using the phone as a PHONE. every time you hold the phone in your hand, the network drops. So much so that we went able to get through a decent phone call to test audio quality. At first we thought the device was defective and got a replacement test unit, but alas!, still no proper network. So how good is a phone thats not a phone? its pathetic, is what it is, purely pathetic.

The touchscreen is a 4 point multitouch which allows for a simply great messaging experience, not to forget the iPhone style keyboard. The network issue prevails here as well, as you grip the phone to type, the device looses network.

Data & Battery

The Optimus Black is almost Satan’s child when it comes to how hot it gets on a data connection, its almost impossible to handle. The device gets blazing hot and starts to loose battery at an alarming rate, flat dead in 25-40 minutes. With data off, you get about 4 hours of talk time along with about two days of standby.

Not having been able to test internet performance we can’t comment on the battery life beyond that.

Conclusion

Its a pity that LG let us down yet again, we really liked the device when we got it at first. The device has good specs, excellent build, brilliant cameras and a very – very bright display. A great touch screen and decent hardware, but the device basically fails at being a phone. The death grip network loss issue is beyond excuse and cannot be mended with any kind of fix. ( except a full silicon cover or gloves on the users hands) the phone also performed poorly in the benchmarks.

We had a lot of expectations from this device and feel totally let down. LG really needs to step up their game, they have possibly good hardware, but something somewhere went wrong with the Optimus Black.

[xrr rating=2.5/5 label=”We Rate The Optimus Black : ” imageset=shiny_yellow_star display_as=fraction_stars]

Unboxing Video

Review Video

Video Sample

August 7, 2011

Blackberry Bold Touch 9900 Launch dates Confirmed for India

We reported earlier that the Bold 9900 is coming in the second week of August. After a long discussing with Vodafone CMO Kumar Ramanathan, we were able to collect that the device is infact coming in August, but the launch dates have been shifted to either 20th or 25th of August.

All the stock for the Blackberry Devices is already in India and has cleared customs, warehouses are stocking the devices and sale of the device will begin almost immediately after the launch event.

We are really looking forward to the launch of this device, we truly support the fact that it will do magic for our Blackberry Division

He also said that the call centers were gathering record enquiries for the device, some stating the source as our website.

The Bold Touch 9900 will be RIM’s first device to have a qwerty – touchscreen combo in a candybar design, it also has the first 1.2 ghz processor to have ever appeared in a Blackberry device. A 287dpi pixel density means this device is going to be easy on the eyes. At just 10.5mm thick, this device will be the thinnest ever from RIM/blackberry.

The outside shell of the device is made out of machined steel, along with carbon fibre composite for the back panel. The liquid graphics based LCD display has a toughened glass exterior.

Pricing speculation still remains in the Rs 32000 mark, although a couple of iGyaan sources at Blackberry were able to tell us that the company is hard at work trying to get the price around Rs 28,000 during the launch or within a week-ten days from launch time. As always expect full coverage of the device post launch.

August 5, 2011
Epic Sunday Treat : Micromax Andro A70 Unboxing and Hands On
Here it is, we got over a thousand requests for the Andro A70 Unboxing and Review, while the review process is on, check out the unboxing and hands on below.

Key Features Include
- Android 2.2 (Froyo)
- Camera Primary 5.0 MP Secondary – VGA
- 600MHz Processor
- 8.128cm Multi Touch Capacitive Screen
- M! – apps – application store by Micromax
- WCDMA 2100 MHz
- HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
- Mi-Fi Pocket Wireless Internet
- GPS
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
- Battery 1450mAh
- Proximity Sensor
- Gravity Sensor
Price : Rs. 7599/-
July 31, 2011
Exclusive : Bold 9900 Coming to India August 2nd week , August 22nd in UK

The carbon fibre loving, touchscreen boasting, fastest smartphone from Blackberry is coming to India in August. The steel frame device is already set to launch in the UK on 22nd August. The device will initially be available only in the black color , but RIM promises to release a chic white version in October sometime. The device is the biggest upgrade to the Bold lineup from RIM in the longest time since the 9700.

We also have exclusive news that the device will be priced at 32,500/- with a 1.5 year warranty.

The company is also planning to release the Torch 2 sometime later this year.

July 29, 2011
ASUS Launches Eee Pad Transformer Tablet in India
Asus has Launched the Eee Pad Transformer tablet in India, with the optional dock.

The 16Gb WiFi only version was launched for Rs. 32,899/- and the optional dock will run you back Rs. 7500/-.
- 10.1-inch IPS display (1280×800 pixels)
- 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 SoC processor
- 1GB of RAM
- 8 hours of battery life
- 5MP rear autofocus camera
- 720p HD video recording
- mini HDMI, microSD/SD, and microUSB
The laptop dock has a full sized keyboard, a touchpad, 2 USB ports, and a battery pack, giving it up to 14 hours of usability.

Honestly if you ask us the device seems a bit expensive for the price, especially since the company will launch an upgraded Transformer 2 Tablet later this year in India.
July 22, 2011

LG Optimus Black Unboxing and Hands On with Video

The LG Optimus Black Was announced just recently in India, and we are here today with a quick unboxing and hands on preview of the device.

Important specs include:

Name	Type
Operating System	Android OS v2.2
Dimensions	122mm x 64mm x 9.2 mm
Weight	109g
Display Screen	4 inch WVGA IPS LCD
Processor	1 GHz Cortex A8 Processor
RAM	512 MB
Storage	2GB Internal + 32GB Optional
Camera	5 MP Rear : 2 MP Front (AF)
Video	720P VIDEO @30 fps
Connectivity	Wi-Fi, 3G, GPRS, EDGE, A-GPS, Bluetooth v3.1 with EDR
Battery	1500 mAh Li-Ion

The Price of the Device is about : Rs. 19,800 in the Market

Image Gallery

Video Unboxing

July 20, 2011

App A Day : TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch
Just as the movie releases the Game for iOS is out by EA and it delivers 13 levels of non-stop action spread across various settings, from cities like Chernobyl and Atlantic City to the Moon. Just like in the movies, the Autobots can transform between robots and vehicles.

The fight is basically between the Transformers and Decepticons You may unlock up to 13 weapons, each of which may be upgraded using blue energon cubes that you’ll be collecting as you roam about. In this same manner, you can also upgrade your character’s skills. All these upgrades may be performed between levels in the lab. In addition to the weapons, you have two types of special attacks, including one that allows you to lock onto multiple targets. You can also attack the Decepticons at close range with a melee attack button.

Although there is a lot of fighting and action involved, it just seems like the same thing over and over again. The game gets really repetitive and feels like a drag after some time.

The lack of a better storyline fails to impress us with this game.

[xrr rating=2.25/5 label=”We Rate it : ” imageset=shiny_yellow_star display_as=fraction_stars]

Released: Jun 28, 2011
Version: 1.0.0
Size: 175 MB
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later
Download

TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON – Electronic Arts
July 2, 2011
Google Releases a Preview of the New Gmail Look (PR)

Google has decided to update its offerings with a new look with the launch of its Google+ service. You would have already noticed the black bar above the Google search page. Adding multiple features over the years has made their Gmail interface more cluttered and complicated to use. They are attempting to clear it up as well as add some more features, however, they have scheduled to do it in phases, so not all features will work at this time. You can check out the new interface by logging into your gmail account and changing your theme. The new interface not only changes the colour scheme of the interface, but also introduces many UI enhancements such as changes in buttons and overall layout. Changes to the Google Calender are also coming soon. Read the Press Release for more info.

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We get a lot of great feedback about how Gmail helps you be more efficient, keep in touch with family and friends, and get work done. We’ve saved you from forgetting attachments and made sure that you got the right Bob. Over the years, adding countless features to Gmail has made it an increasingly powerful communication hub, but along the way the interface has also become more cluttered and complex.

That’s one of the reasons we’re embarking on a series of interface updates to help strip out unnecessary clutter and make Gmail as beautiful as it is powerful. This is part of a Google-wide effort to bring you an experience that’s more focused, elastic, and effortless across all of our products. The changes are not going to happen all at once. We know that you love and care about Gmail as much as we do, and we’ll be working on these upgrades gradually over the next few months to allow plenty of time to understand and incorporate your feedback into the evolving design.

We’re kicking things off with two new themes for you to try out as a sort of sneak peek at what we’re up to. Starting today, you’ll see the “Preview” and “Preview (Dense)” themes in the Themes tab in Gmail Settings. Why two themes? Our new interface will eventually expand dynamically to accommodate different screen sizes and user preferences, but until then you can pick the information density that you prefer.

Here’s what one of the new themes currently looks like:

And in conversation view:

If you poke around you’ll hopefully find a lot to like and a much cleaner, modern look but also few rough edges. In particular, some Labs features may look a little strange in the new themes. We plan to fix these issues as we roll out changes in the coming months. You can also expect some updated themes that embody the same design principles but are better suited to working in a dark environment, use a different color palette, or include the illustrations that we know many of you love to see around your inbox.

Look out for these and other new features over the next few months. In the meantime, try out the new themes as a preview of the future of Gmail and let us know what you think.

P.S. Like Gmail, Google Calendar is also getting a new look. You’ll see it automatically within the next few days so there’s no need to turn it on, and we’ll also continue to make improvements there in the coming months. Details about the current changes to Calendar can be found in the Calendar help center.

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July 2, 2011