Iconic 'Vanquish' name to be revived with Aston Martin's latest launch

The much talked about successor to the Aston Martin DBS will be officially unveiled at California’s Concours d’Elegance in August. However, Car Magazine UK has caught a glimpse of the new flagship Aston sporting the iconic Vanquish badge. The car is based on the stunning AM310 design concept showcased at the famous classic car competition Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2012 in Italy about a couple of weeks ago. Interestingly, Aston Martin, in the past, had also officially showcased the One 77 – one of the most expensive cars ever to go on sale. 

If we go by the pictures, the Vanquish shares much of the design with the AM310 concept so we expect the car to feature a few more design elements like the aggressively-styled front-end with revised headlamps, sleeker grille and the carbon-fibre splitter like the one on the concept. At the back, the Vanquish gets One 77-like taillights and a stylish integrated spoiler. Underneath the car sits a huge diffuser designed to give maximum aero efficiency. 

The car will be unveiled in August ahead of official launch in 201 and is expected to come with the existing 6-litre, V12 engine that powers the current DBS although power will be uprated to somewhere around 550PS. 

Image credit: www.motorauthority.com

-Look forward to more updates on MAG Cube by visiting our official Facebook Page

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Volvo to reveal hot version of the S60 saloon

Comfort, practicality, high levels of safety and quality are some of the few things that come to mind when we think of Swedish carmaker Volvo. But performance, handling and racing certainly aren’t really one of them. Now though the brand is looking to change that belief with the upcoming unveiling of its high-performance version of the S60 sedan.

Designed and built by Polestar Racing – a tuning division that has been working with Volvo in the World Touring Car Championship and other forms of motorsports – the S60 Polestar is a street-legal, high-performance concept inspired by the race car that will be competing in the 2012 season of the Swedish TTA Racing Series.

No word on the engine or drive-train details yet as Polestar wants to keep the specs and performance figures a secret until the car goes public on June 16 during the Gothenburg City Race in Sweden. Although we reckon the firepower will either be the Yamaha-tuned V8 engine from the XC90 SUV or a tuned version of the existing 3-litre, in-line 6 cylinder engine putting out power upwards of 400PS. 

According to Polestar Marketing Director, Hans Baath, "The performance concept road-car is a spinoff of our work evaluating and developing the S60 for racing."

The car is a one-off concept for now, but Polestar says it might go into production in the future. 

"Whether there will be more cars built is an open question, first of all we want to get feedback on this first prototype.” Said Hans Baath.


-Look forward to more updates on MAG Cube by visiting our official Facebook Page
 

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9,00,000 Android devices are activated each day - Andy Rubin

Credit

There's no stopping this green bot from growing each day. Six months back, we had reported that 7,00,000 Android devices get activated daily. This already huge amount has now bumped to a staggering 9,00,000 activation's. If you apply some mathematics, then it turns out that 625 new androids are being powered-up every single minute. Google's Android head, Andy Rubin himself confirmed this via a tweet as you can see below.

No plans to leave Google.Oh, and just for meme completeness -- there are over 900,000 android devices activated each day :-)@Scobleizer
— Andy Rubin (@Arubin) June 10, 2012

Along with this info, he also confirmed that he's not leaving Google. There were rumors spinning around the web about him leaving the search giant. Andy Rubin has always been in charge of Android and it's clear now, he isn't leaving. 

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LG Optimus 3D Max now selling in India for Rs.28990

Out of all the long list of phones LG had announced back in February, the Optimus 3D Max is now finally making its way to the Indian market. Flipkart is reportedly selling it online for Rs.28,990. It was announced at MWC on February 22. 


Optimus 3D Max will carry a 4.3" 3D LCD display and has glasses-free 3D viewing. A 1.2Ghz dual-core processor will make sure the 3D works fine. The internal memory is 8GB and 1GB of RAM is present here. 


To shoot 3D images, it has a dual 5 megapixel rear camera. It will records video in two modes - 2D and 3D. In 2D, recording can be done at 1080p resolution (30fps) and in 3D mode, this gets lowered to 720p. 


As the name suggests, the Optimus 3D Max packs in lot of 3D content like an HD Converter which will convert all games and apps to HD resolution as soon as you connect it to a HDTV. Another app named 3D converter, will convert 2D apps to 3D. Here comes the downfall, it runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and not Android 4.0 ICS. An update should arrive soon from LG.

If you're a 3D-lover, go get it from Flipkart now. 

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HTC One S launching in India on June 15, pre-order now for Rs.1000

HTC's One S was suppose to get launched along the One X in April, but it didn't make it to the market. Now, online shopping website infibeam has added the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich running One S for advance booking and the launch date is set to June 15. 


There's no mention about the pricing but considering the One S is selling in the UK at a price of £419, then we can expect the Indian price to be somewhere around Rs.33,000. The street price could be around Rs.30,000.


The One S is smaller brother to the One X, but is equally powerful. It runs on a dual core Snapdragon S4 Krait processor, clocked in at 1.5Ghz. It will have 16 GB of internal storage and 1 GB of RAM memory. 


Unlike the One X's LCD display, the One S has a 4.3" Super AMOLED display with a 540 x 960 pixel resolution. It's also one of the slimmest smartphones with a 7.8mm metal body. 


It will have an 8 megapixel autofocus rear camera along with LED flash and all the connectivity options like Bluetooth, WiFi, DLNA functionality,etc. are loaded in. 


If you're in a rush, then preorder the phone now for Rs.1000 at infibeam and wait till June 15 to avail it.

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HTC One X Review

The year of 2011 might not have been the best for the Taiwanese manufacturer with too many models missing out on anything special, but let's forget the past. Now tell me, what experience would a car fanatic get if he's offered the chance to ride a Rolls Royce, Bugatti or a Ferrari for that matter? Would that experience be royal? Exhilarating? Awesome? Well those are the exact kind of experiences you'll get when you hold HTC's latest offering - One X. It's mean, charming, exhilarating and power-packed. But is it the smartphone we all have waited for? Will it earn the crown for Best Android phone? Is it really the ONE? Partly, yes! Let's find out more. And a bit warning here, the word 'best' comes across many times, so get used to it.


DESIGN - 9/10


It would have really been an insult if I titled this section plainly as 'Hardware'. It has to be called 'Design' for the One X. Forget all the numerical values on One X's specs sheets, and just give it a look. It's love at first sight, literally! HTC has a long history in product innovation and this one proves to be one of their best creations. The exterior is one seamless piece of matte plastic or call it polycarbonate unibody. There's no place for any flaws, screws or unnecessary hardware crap. It's the best looking phone I have ever seen. There's something really mysterious about the phone's 8.9mm thin design which makes it stand out from the crowd. 

At the front, your eyes are greeted with a long 4.7" display that stays protected by a glass. This glass itself is great to look at. All black, glossy and a bit contoured. Below the display, are three little software buttons - back, home and recent apps. Flip the phone and you're welcomed by an 8-megapixel sensor at the top, HTC written in the middle and loudspeaker grilles at bottom right with a beats audio sticker left to it. The camera's lens is raised up a bit, surrounded by a nice matte grey ring and this design flows in harmony with the rest of the body. To its top-left is an iPhone style micro-sim tray which some might find annoying to get access to. 


Further, the loudspeaker grilles are so minutely drilled within the body that they just look like a part of the entire design. HTC's design effort doesn't stop here, the hardware button like volume rocker on right of the body is built with precision. Rest of the design aspects include MHL port (Micro USB and HDMI) on the left, 3.5mm headphone jack on the top with power-button as its neighbor. The only thing missing out in the design department is the hardware button for camera. Nonetheless, it's still the best looking smartphone out there. 


DISPLAY - 10/10

Stop that someone who says 'Super AMOLED' or iPhone's 'Retina' display is the best display in market. That scenario is about to change. HTC proves that the Super IPS LCD2 display can be stunning. The colors look vibrant, text looks crisp, color reproduction is perfect and watching a movie is a delight. Tilt your One X to 45 degrees or tilt it at any angle possible, the 4.7" display does not loose even a bit of quality. Viewing angles are just perfect even in daylight. I really don't know what kind of technology they've used or may be its 720p resolution combined with ~312 ppi pixel density is the reason behind this perfect display. There's no flaw I could find. After winning in the design department, the One X again wins the crown for the most stunning mobile display I have ever seen. 


PERFORMANCE - 8.5/10

It's hard to get excited about processors, but when there's an Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset lying inside with some quad-core awesomeness (1.5Ghz to be precise), then you're bound to be salivating. These numbers and names are impressive on the specs sheet but do they perform that good as well? Yes! The One X is a star-performer. Be it a game, an HD movie or some frequent multi-tasking, this quad-core beast doesn't stop to think twice before performing. Menu transitions and animations, browser performance, scrolling through pages, and every other task is handled easily by the One X. I'll be honest here, within 3 days of use; I used the task manager only twice to kill apps. That should suffice my statement of One X being a star performer. 

Now, here comes the first downfall of One X. The device gets a bit warmed at the back if you're continuously playing a game or watching an HD clip for more than 10mins. It's not that it gets overheated or becomes uncomfortable, but yes it does start feeling a bit warmer in your hands after you push the Tegra 3 to its limits. 

CAMERA - 8/10

HTC has bragged a lot about the camera on One X. Their "Amazing Camera, Amazing Sound" catchphrase tells you that. Let's see how much justice the catchphrase really does. 


ImageSense - It's the software used to run the camera and let me enlighten you, it's really one of the most thoughtful and useful camera UI I've come across. The usual camera UI's on other devices involve a switch button to toggle between camera and video mode while the One X ditches that and presents a simpler and faster solution. As you can see above, on the right, you're always using both camera and video modes, thus eliminating the need to toggle between modes and this also saves time. Need to take snap, press the shutter key. Need to record a video, press the video key. Above these keys, is HTC's own version of in-built Instagram. I say this because that blue button gives you access to many color effects apart from the usual B&W or Sepia. These effects are quite handy considering they're built within the camera. Lastly on bottom-right is a shortcut to the gallery which shows the last photo taken. 

On the left side, you have all the settings split with three icons. The first one is for flash, middle one is main settings and at bottom is the shot mode. Main settings offer the usual essential tweaks while the shot mode has various modes like HDR, Panaroma, Portrait and group-portrait, Close-up, etc. All these settings are much easily accessible and the UI is designed with simplicity. 


Now comes in the important aspect, Camera quality. HTC has taken a leap forward in this section and added a special ImageChip. This has helped the One X to become the fastest cameraphone. There's practically zero shutter lag and no visible delay between taking shots. The 8-megapixel backside illuminated sensor with a wide aperture of f/2.0 autofocus lens produces amazing pictures with fine amount of detail and the colors are reproduced correctly. If you turn on HDR in night mode, you'll be surprised by the image quality. 

Captured by Rushabh Thakkar with the One X in Dubai! More camera shots at the end of review.

Some might complain about the excessive noise reduction when pictures are given a closer look, but in totality the pictures just look amazing! The noise starts getting noticed in low-light and thus using the flash is the only option left. There's a burst mode present which gets activated when you long press the camera key and it captures multiple photos without a lag. Later, you can pick which one to keep. The One X has touch focus. 


There's one exceptional feature here - the ability to capture 8-megapixel stills while recording HD video! If you're thinking that capturing stills will lead to lags in the video or the stills wouldn't have top-notch quality, then let me stop you right there. The One X does it so silently that you won't even notice how many great stills you've captured while recording. The extra ImageChip is the reason behind this excellency. 


The One X does both 1080p and 720p @ 30fps video recording. There's continuous autofocus plus touch focus present here, with the ability to toggle video light while recording. Sadly, the top-notch quality I was expecting, is not present here. The video quality is pretty good but not the best in class. HTC has again added a tempting feature for the video department and that is slow-motion video capture which generates 480p video @ 60fps. This runs at rough 24fps on playing back. I'll say neat trick which gives decent results. Well, that's all for the camera department. It's a near-perfect cameraphone.


SOFTWARE - 8/10

Aha! Software on One X is a marriage of HTC's Sense 4.0 and Android's Ice Cream Sandwich. The overall experience becomes more sensible with the all-new toned down user interface. People complained a lot about earlier Sense versions which were too heavy, filled with unnecessary animations and features. But HTC listened to those complaints and the result is a refined UI with Sense 4.0. There's a lot of new stuff to discuss, but I'll talk about noteworthy ones in the picture gallery at the end of the review. I liked the new notification bar and recent apps tab. All-in-all, it's a great piece of software combined with eye-pleasing graphics and necessary functionality.  


AUDIO - 7/10  

"Amazing Sound" is the second part of HTC's infamous catchphrase for One X. This amazing part comes from 'Beats Audio' that finally gets a full integration and can now be used in any third-party audio app. But does it deliver? Yes and no. HTC offers the option to turn off beats audio in Sense 4.0 version and quietly frankly keeping it off is a better option, at least for me. This has always been a gimmick. The only thing beats audio does is enhance your bass levels. So if you're happy with some added bass, then go for it. Apart from that, the audio quality is excellent in both, the 3.5mm headphones & loudspeakers. Sounds come out noise-free & are pleasant to hear. This time HTC is providing their own headphones and not offering beats one. But they are good and won't disappoint your ears.  


BATTERY LIFE - 6.5/10


The One X holds an 1800 mAh battery at its back which isn't accessible. The battery life is something what you generally expect from android devices. On a normal usage of calls, emails, browsing with wifi on and some video playback, I ended up using it for 12hours after which the One X gave up. So, if you leave the house in morning with a full charge, you'll have to juice it up again by late-evening. This has now become the standard battery life for most of the smartphones. 


Now, here's one huge wish or request to HTC. If at all they had used the 3300mAh battery like Motorola did with Droid Razr Maxx, then this device would have scored a 100/100 for me. The Droid Razr Maxx is a battery life hero that runs proudly for a long 20hours at a stretch. I hope the next one series phone will have one of these!


VERDICT - 8.5/10

People have immense number of categories to choose from while buying a smartphone like best display, best design, fastest processor, best camera or the most famous best android phone. Stop that idiotic categorized search and buy the One X. It excels in every class. If this isn't enough to excite you, then to lure you more; HTC's offering free 25GB dropbox storage. This means you'll have 50GB storage including the internal 26GB user available memory. 


Samsung's Galaxy S III has hit the Indian market, but till it reaches my desk, I'm quietly going to adore the One X. It does everything you expect a smartphone to do. And the main aspect here is, it does it with precision. It has its own charm and will attract eyes more than any other phone in the market. It makes all those 'i' and galaxies feel ashamed. It's a geek's device and should go in to every gadget collector's box. One has a perfect display, a beautiful design, an amazing camera with the latest software - what else do you want? Don't think twice if you're planning on spending all your hard-earned savings on buying the Rs.36,000 priced One X. 

Software features gallery:

Camera Gallery

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Maruti Suzuki Ertiga Review

10 things you ought to know about the hottest new MPV in town!

Although Maruti Suzuki calls it, err... LUV (Life Utility Vehicle) – how they came up with such an acronym is beyond me – but fact remains, the Ertiga is in essence a mini-MPV that is designed for the sort of families who are looking to buy a small and economical people-carrier that promises to be easy on the pocket.

It all sounds good on paper; however, is it any good on the road, in the company of bumps, potholes, other motorists and cows? We think yes. Here’s why!

- The Ertiga is here to compete with not only out-and-out MPVs like the Toyota Innova or Mahindra’s Xylo, but also with an array of cars ranging from Honda Jazz to Hyundai Verna. It really is an all-around choice that appeals to a lot of buyers.  

- I don’t need to tell you guys this, but when it comes to the looks, this mini-MPV is a mixed-bag of Suzuki’s design cues. The Ertiga shares the look with its hatchback siblings; the swept-back headlamps come from the Swift while the rest of the design is similar to the Ritz. Move over to the back and you will find a very bland design thanks to the flat tailgate (similar to the one in Ritz) and those tiny set of taillights. 

- At 4.26m length, the Ertiga is remarkably compact though its much longer than the Swift (it is based on the new Swift’s platform) the benefit of extended wheelbase means you also get third row of seats – the MPV comes with seating for 7 passengers in a 2+3+2 layout.

- Unlike Innova or the Xylo, the Ertiga is a front-wheel drive vehicle built around a monocoque construction, which makes it very much car like to drive. There is a fair amount of body-roll when you push it hard but since you sit fairly lower than a typical MPV, the Ertiga feels predictable and safe. The steering itself is quite light and comes in handy when driving in heavy traffic. As for the gearbox, the shifter feels slick and the cogs slot in smoothly without much fuss.

- The other interesting bit is that the Ertiga is powered by a pair of small capacity engines as compared to typical MPVs. The diesel-powered version comes with a 1.3-litre DDiS engine. However, unlike the Swift, the Ertiga gets variable geometry turbocharger (VGT) which ups the power to 90hp and 200 Nm of torque. 

The petrol version comes with an all-new 1.4-litre KB14 engine churning out a decent 95hp and 130 Nm of torque.

- Maruti Suzuki is well-known for making economical cars, the Ertiga is no different. In the city, the diesel version trots around well and promises a decent fuel economy of over 15 kmpl. Highway runs should return an even better 16-18 kmpl even with air-con on. Meanwhile, the Ertiga petrol is claimed to return close to 12kmpl and 15kmpl in city and highway respectively.

- The interior is a typical Maruti affair. The well laid-out dashboard, for instance, is lifted off the new Swift. However, the interior plastics have been given a beige treatment, which make them look a lot more desirable compared to the Swift’s all-black interior. The space in the middle row is very impressive, further aided by the softly cushioned seats that add to the comfortable ride that this car offers. With folding individual seats on the middle and last row to give away more boot space; the whole cabin itself is spacious and quite flexible. The last row of seats though is best reserved for kids. There isn’t much room to be found back there. If both the second and third rows are folded flat, you get a whopping 735 litres of boot space. Overall, the Ertiga scores high on practicality and allows for a number of combinations to create space, depending on the number of people onboard.  

- Feature list includes - steering-mounted audio controls, dual air-conditioning, keyless entry, MID (multi-information display), central locking, alloy wheels, cup holders for even last-row passengers, stereo with USB compatibility and much more. However, even top-of-the line versions do not get climate control.

- The Ertiga is currently offered in the usual Lxi/Vxi/Zxi and Ldi/Vdi/Zdi levels of trim for petrol and diesel respectively with prices starting from Rs 5.89 Lakh to Rs 7.30 Lakh for the petrol versions. The diesel, on the other hand, starts at a rather high Rs 7.30 Lakh to Rs 8.45 Lakh for the top-end version with all the bells and whistles. 

 

Do note that these are introductory prices and will go up in coming months.

- The bottom line here is that the Ertiga isn’t just another model wearing a Maruti Suzuki badge; it’s a new type of car in itself. It drives pretty much like a big hatchback whereas offering MPV level of space yet being much more compact, better looking and almost as practical as hatchbacks that you and I drive.

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Here's how the Samsung Galaxy S III looks from the inside [PICTURES]

The Inside story

It's been only two days since Samsung's Galaxy S III hit the Indian shores, and we already have a teardown of what it looks like from Inside. For a moment let's avoid the outrageously priced handset and take a look at what bakes in it's interiors. After all, the inside is what counts. 

IMAGE SOURCE

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Review: Evernote Hello for Android

Say hello to 'Evernote Hello'. The iOS exclusive app by Evernote made it to the Android Play Store on 30th May. All iOS users might have come across this app but it's new for Android. Though the concept is same, the app offers much more than its iOS version.


It's hard for businessman or anyone to remember the people they've met. Although the traditional address book is handy, Evernote's Hello handles the same task with much ease and with features that help in real life. The basic idea or concept behind Evernote Hello is to help you remember people as their tagline suggests. We take a look at how good it is. 

Here's how the app functions in simple steps: Enter the email address of the person you've met, Snap a photo, type in a minimum amount of info about the meeting, and it creates a note in Evernote. The unique part here is, the above steps can be performed by handing over the other person to enter information himself. Although this is an old technique but a useful one. 


On starting up for the first time, you'll be asked to create an account or sign up. If you've used Evenote before, then you can obviously use the same login information here, to synchronize your app. This is only for the first time.

After the sign up, you need to fill in your name, number, twitter handle name and a profile picture if you wish to. The better part here is, you can connect your LinkedIn profile to directly add all your professional contacts 


The app is been designed very nicely. Tabbed browsing in the setting panel makes it quicker to access stuff. A simple swipe to the right, brings up the setting panel. 
The third tab in setting panel is where the Android version of hello stands out from it's iOS counterpart. The app uses your calendar, sms, call logs and email to better predict your upcoming meetings or encounters with anyone. And if you don't like this penetration, you can switch it off.

The home page has a simple textured grid layout. The top-left one, as you can see, allows you to add a contact when you meet anyone. The next grid is for search. 

When you meet an individual you think is important for you, then click on the '+' icon to add that contact. This will quickly ask you three options as you can see in the picture. Select any one option you think is suitable. 


The next steps are quite simple. First ask for the email address, second take a snap of the individual or skip this part if you want to, and the third step is entering name, number or twitter handle name. One handy feature here is to switch-on the option of emailing your contact information to the above individual instantly. Hit the done button and your encounter is recorded. Bonus features after creating the contact include adding location of the encounter and a small note. More photos can also be added.


A grid icon gets created on the home page after you've created a contact. I'll recommend adding a snap of the person you've met. This helps to remember better and creates beautiful grids as you start adding more and more contacts. 


Within a few days of using the app, your home page will get filled with pictures of people you've met. It's a great approach to replace the traditional address book. Evernote hello combines all real-life needful features and presents them in a well designed app. We definitely liked it. Start using it to remember people. A recommended app for businessmen. 

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Chaze launches 'Chotu', a dual-sim phone for just Rs.1099

I'll like to thank the makers of this 'Chotu' (Hindi for small) - Chaze Mobile, for supplying a good amount of laugh this afternoon for me. Jokes apart, the name itself is self-explanatory to all Indians. It's a small feature phone which won't burn holes in your pocket. Priced at just Rs.1,099, it's interesting to note all the specs this 'Chotu' carries. 


For starters, it's dual-sim capabilities are useful. The 4.6cms TFT display might be small for some but it's offering Chaze Smart Zone, which brings in few games, multimedia suite and social networking apps like Facebook, Twitter, etc. There's even some room left here to fit in a 4 GB expandable memory slot, 1.3-megapixel snapper and a 1050 mAh battery. And yes, it obviously has FM Radio and music player.


The phone is available in two color combinations - black-red and black-blue. It will supports both English & Hindi input. Even though it isn't pleasing to look at, such phones sell like hot cakes in India and this one if marketed well, can sell much more. 

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Chevrolet Cruze facelift unveiled in South Korea

After unveiling the station wagon variant of the facelifted Cruze at the Geneva Motor Show early this year, Chevrolet has finally unveiled the 2013 Cruze sedan - the real deal that’s coming to our shores early next year.

As far as design changes go, not much has been changed except for the redesigned front-end which now features an all-new grille and fog-lamp housing. The 2013 Cruze also gets newly designed alloy wheels that make the car look more premium. The rear design - which never received a thumbs-up from us mainly due to the fact that it’s too conservatively designed in contrast to the dynamic and sleek frontend – has been left unchanged.

Interiors, on the other hand, have received quite a significant makeover; the dashboard comes with a redesigned centre console with restyled air vents. Other significant upgrade comes with the addition of Chevrolet’s MyLink infotainment system in the 2013 Cruze. This hi-tech system features 7-inch high-resolution touchscreen display that plays movies, music and photos from a USB drive. The new Cruze is the first car in Korea to feature the MyLink infotainment system.

Chevrolet says that the MyLink system will be featured on its global models too; Korea will be one of the first countries to get the facelifted Cruze although Indian launch is still some time away.

Image source: Chevrolet Korea Facebook page.  

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Nokia 808 PureView gets a countdown timer, coming late to India on June 5th

Nokia 808 PureView carrying with it the humongous 41-megapixel sensor was expected to hit the Indian shores last month end. This delay has now been met with a countdown timer on what appears to be the official website for the phone at www.pureview.in. As I type, this countdown has reached a waiting time of 105hours! This leaves us to a launch date of June 5th. 


The 808 has a 16:9 4" AMOLED display of nHD (640 x 360) resolution covered with curved Gorilla Glass. Running on the latest Nokia Belle OS, it has been powered by a single-core 1.3Ghz processor and 512MB RAM. 16GB of on-board storage, Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth 3.0 are loaded in. The expected price range is around Rs.30,000. So how many of you'll are planning on getting this 41-megapixel monster? 


Click here to check out all other specifications.

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