BMW i8

The BMW i8, first introduced as the BMW Concept Vision Efficient Dynamics, is a plug-in hybrid under development by BMW. The initial concept car was unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, and the BMW i8 concept car destined for production was unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.^[4] The i8 has a 7.2 kWh lithium-ion battery pack which delivers an all-electric range of 35 km (22 mi).

In 2010 BMW announced the mass production of the Concept Vision Efficient Dynamics in Leipzig beginning in 2013 as the BMW i8.^[5] The i8 is part of BMW's "Project i" and will be marketed as a new brand, BMW i, sold separately from BMW or Mini. The BMW i3 and the BMW i8 will be the first models available from 2013. Other i models will follow

Concept Vision Efficient Dynamics

The Vision Efficient Dynamics concept car is a plug-in hybrid with a three cylinder turbo diesel engine. Additionally, there are two electric motors with 139 horsepower. It allows an acceleration to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.8 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h (160 mph).

According to BMW, the average fuel consumption in the EU test cycle (KV01) is 3.76 liters/100 kilometers, (75.1 mpg imp), and has a carbon dioxide emission rating of 99 grams per kilometer (1,3 l/100km and 33g CO2/km ; EU-PHEV ECE-R101). The estimated all-electric range is 50 km (31 mi), and the 24-liter diesel tank extends the total vehicle range to up to 700 km (430 mi). The lightweight chassis is made mainly from aluminium. The windshield, top, doors and fenders are made from poly carbonate glass, with the body having a drag coefficient of 0.22.

Pre-production version

The BMW i8 concept plug-in hybrid electric vehicle unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show has a 7.2 kWh (26 MJ) lithium-ion battery pack that allows an all-electric range of 35 km (22 mi). Its top speed is electronically limited to 250 km/h (160 mph) and is expected to go from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 60 mph) in 4.6 seconds. Under normal driving conditions the i8 is expected to deliver 80 mpg_-US (2.9 L/100 km; 96 mpg_-imp) under the European cycle. A full charge of the battery will take less than 2 hours using 220V.

The i8 combines the electric drive system of the BMW i3, with a 96 kW (129 hp) electric motor located in the front axle powering the front wheels and at the rear is a turbocharged 1.5-liter 3-cylinder gasoline engine producing 164 kW (220 hp) and 300 N·m (220 lbf·ft) of torque. The result is a combined output of 260 kW (349 hp). All four wheels provideregenerative braking. The location of the battery pack in the energy tunnel gives the vehicle a low centre of gravity, enhancing its dynamics. Together with the positioning of the motor and engine over the axles, the result is an optimum 50/50 weight distribution.

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BMW’s latest 5 Series model launched in Pakistan

The event was a classy black tie affair, living up to the executive appeal of the car itself.

Dewan Motors Lahore pulled no stops when it launched the new BMW 5 Series sedan on Sunday. Amid the life-sized posters of the car, the numerous plasma television sets, roaming spotlights and sharply dressed sales executives stood the sixth generation of the manufacturers world renowned 5 Series.

The event was a classy black tie affair, living up to the executive appeal of the car itself. The guests, BMW’s clients and car enthusiasts, sampled delicious hors d’oeuvres as they were a given a thorough tour of the car.

The new model in the 5-series comes after a hiatus of eight years and is a huge improvement on its predecessor. Built on an entirely new platform the new 5 Series boasts the largest wheelbase in its class, though it borrows some of its deign cues from the current 3-series.

The manufacturer continues to offer its customers more advanced technology built vehicles as it incorporates eight years of research into the new model. A Flex-Ray high-speed vehicle network architecture (for more agility), new torque splitting all-wheel-drive (also known as Dynamic Performance Control), refined i-Drive (for an additional driving aid), and BMW’s Efficient Dynamics technology for minimizing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are just a few of the new high technology features that come along with this vehicle. It also comes with increased horsepower and an 8-speed dual-clutch gear box (i.e. DSG).

Mazhar Khan, a sales executive at Dewan Motors, stressed the unique driver-assist technology functions the car offers. For the first time the new BMW comes with a Parking Assistant (as an optional feature), Active Cruise Control, Surround View, Lane Departure/Change Warning and BMW night vision with pedestrian recognition.

This elegant design, excellent comfort and cutting edge technology however, will set you back by Rs. 7.5 million, making the car highly exclusive. When asked about the BMW’s potential market in Pakistan, Mazhar Khan told us that the manufacturer caters to a select group of 280 families in the country. He was optimistic about the car’s future and said that it is “in a class of its own”.

10 reasons why childhood beats adulthood

As children, we would always try out new things. Today, however, we are deathly afraid of not complying with social norms.

Ever wonder why children don’t have frown lines and why they always seem happy? Why are adults, so often on-edge and grumpy?

Caught in today’s busy lifestyle with ever increasing responsibilities, grown-ups don’t have time to languish in the pleasures that once excited them as children. Regardless, reminiscing about the carefree days provides one with at least a nostalgic smile. I am sure every one of you probably has their own fond memories. However, here is my list of why I believe childhood is better than adulthood, and I hope it takes you back to the days when life was simpler. 

1. Making friends was easy:

It was as easy as going up to a person and simply asking him/her:

“Will you be my friend?”

If it was a yes, you owned a new slide buddy. Life even reverted to normal if the person in question refused. There was no need of trying to act “cool” or buying the latest iPod.  No fears, no tacky lines, and no grudges existed as they do now when you are a grown up.

2. Getting sick was so much fun:

A little tender cough and the rest of the day was spent in bed. You didn’t have to go to school and were lovingly fed warm soup. You passed the time by playing with dolls or coloring. Eventually, lots of kisses from mom would cure you of your fever and you would be skipping happily to school again.

Being sick as an adult is not nearly as much fun – say good bye to being pampered. Checking your BlackBerry for urgent emails, worrying about catching up on school assignments or work, picking up your children from school and so on plague adults even when they are sick.

3.Adventure is my middle name:

As children, we would always try out new things, and never feared how it would turn out. This resulted in great experiences and learning. Don’t tell me you never plucked a few leaves off a tree and crammed them in to your mouth just to see how they would taste?

Today, however, we are deathly afraid of doing something that doesn’t align with social norms. We hardly ever take risks and life is boring to say in a word.

4.Cartoon marathons were a serious business:

It was a sacred mission to stay awake and watch all favorite Disney animated movies with friends, no matter how sleepy we were. No one even dared to shut their eyes for a snooze lest they miss out on one of the precious scenes.

As an adult now, one is so tired after work that if he/she makes it awake till the intermission, it is considered to be an evening spent well.

5. Whatever you wear is trendy:

Whether you wear your favorite superman costume or dazzle yourself in a pink princess dress with a perfect tiara and crown, you rocked the party. The tension of going through fashion magazines, discovering new trends, and finding sizes to fit is only something adults must deal with.

6. Your toys were your prized possession:

Your toys were something you would die or kill for. Whether it was Lego set or your favorite Barbie, you would weave strategies to save them from your cousins, friends and neighbors. Adults, however, must deal with the never-ending responsibilities; is my car locked? Did I put the food in the refrigerator? Is my jewelry in the safe? The list is endless.

7. It was easy to invite friends:

All you needed on the menu was chocolate chip cookies, some more cookies, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and milk to serve to your friends.  Your friends would have a marvelous time at this feast and burp with contentment. The party would be full of smiles and giggles.

Now, to plan a party, one must consider the venue, vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, dessert, drinks, and a constant worry to keep the party within budget.

8. World in a tent:

Everyone would enjoy haphazard tents made out of bed sheets. You would make sure that it was the world’s best tent, with all possible luxuries; Barbie dolls, dinky cars, cookies and the works. And no matter how small the tent was, there was always room for one more by just adding another linen.

Now building houses, is a big task for adults that takes ages and a whole lot of money. No matter how big your house is, you are constantly complaining of lack of space. Adding another linen just doesn’t cut it any more.

9. Travelling was easy:

As a child, you could take your bike or skateboard to reach to your nearest destination. Even in a car, all you had to do was sit back, and perhaps take a nap; when you woke up you would be at your desired destination. How simple is that?

It’s an entirely different story for adults. They have to worry about car insurance, GPS, bad traffic jams, parking tickets and so on. Gone are the days when you could relax in the back seat, playing with a G. I. Joe figurine.

10. No payments:

Children don’t have to pay for anything! School is free, food is free, mommy’s love is free, and candy is free. For adults? Well, somebody has to pay for all this free stuff.

These are a mere ten reasons chosen out of the thousands of reasons that everyone has for cherishing their beautiful childhood. Off course lives changes once we all grow up, but I guess the right kind of attitude will give you more chances of enjoyment and fun if you just give it a try. And till then, whenever you feel nostalgic or tired, just grab a pen and paper and take a trip down memory lane, penning down your own top ten reasons about why your childhood was something special.

HTC TITAN AND HTC RADAR COMING SOON

This week HTC announced two Windows 7 phones the Titan and the Radar. Windows phones are still set to be a big contender in the market place with with Nokia expected to adopt the OS onto all their Smartphones from Q3. We’re big fans of HTC here at Mobiles.co.uk with the Android Sensation being one of our most loved phones this year. Lets see if they’ve done it again for Windows.

The HTC Radar

Size

The Radar is the smaller of the two measuring 120.5 x 61.5 x 10.9 mm, so in comparison to other HTC’s your looking at a similar size to the HTC Desire S. With that you get a 3.8 inch display that offers 480 by 800 pixels. Nothing revolutionary here but defiantly not under delivering.

Specs

Inside we’ve got a 1 GHz Scorpion processor found in most Androidsmartphones currently available, a healthy 5 megapixel camera, auto focus and a flash LE.D. The camera’s images will be a maximum of 2560 x 1920 pixels and 720p video at 30 frames per second. Again a solid performance so far. 8GB of internal storage and 512MB of ram as well as a sleuth of other features wifi b/g/n, Bluetooth v2.1 and a stereo radio. The big difference is the lack of an external memory card. This is due to the Windows operating system which doesn’t allow for the swapping over of memory cards without a full format.

Software

The Radar is going to come with windows 7.5 (Mango) which is the much anticipated updated to the original windows 7 software and will bring some essential updates such as multitasking, social media integration and maps. On top of the Windows update HTC have added some spice of their own with the HTC watch application. This offers owners of the handset access to premium music and video content directly to their handset which is streamed over Wifi and 3G. This is quite similar to the iTunes app found on iPhones and iPads, time will tell how popular this feature will be and will mainly judged on content and cost

Next up the HTC Titan

This isn’t the first windows phone from HTC to have this name although the previous model was launched under network specific pseudonyms  (Orange SPV M3100 for example). In it’s day the original Titan (Or tytn as it was cleverly branded) was the  cream of the crop for, although compared to today’s standards it was pretty horrific. Lets see how it stands up.

Size

Well as the name suggests it’s a big phone. The Titan is 131.5 x 70.07 x 9.9mm so the biggest windows phone yet. Larger still then the HD7, you’re going to notice this in your pocket however for that you get a 4.7 inch display which is pretty impressive. The pixels displayed is 480 x 800 so not a higer resolution then the Radar but if your eye sight isn’t the best we’re sure you’ll appreciate the extra inch.

Specs

Thanks to the larger form factor you get a 1.5 GHz processor which is the fastest from HTC and Windows 7. Although not dual core 1.5GHz is more then enough to process any mobile operations with ease. You also get an 8 mega pixel camera offering images with a resolution of 3264 x 2448 pixels, auto focus and L.E.D flash. You also get a front facing 1.3 mega pixel camera for video calls and using as a mirror. 16GB of internal memory and 512mb of ram, although again you’re not able to get external memory cards due to the operating system.

Software

All of the above, the HTC titan comes with windows 7.5 Mango as well and getting the HTC watch software on top so a pretty solid phone all round.

Final Thoughts

Both the Titan and Radar offer a wider range of handsets to the Windows phone fans and updates what was becoming an outdated catalogue. We know that the build quality of HTC phones is solid and can rely on happy customers in the hardware camp. What is waiting to be seen is the success of windows 7 as a mobile operating system. We think with the big names backing it windows 7.5 is going to be a success sooner or later especially with the resources Microsoft has to pull from. The HTC Titan and Radar should be available in Q3 and you can register for updates on the release dates here.

WHAT WILL IOS5 OFFER YOU

In the last week there have been lots of stories floating around regarding the latest version of Apple’s iPhone software (iOS 5). Apparently the networks have been sent official versions of the software the latest software and some vloggers are even showing ways to add the latest version of the OS to your phone  We know that the latest Apple operating system IOS 5 is coming soon but what does it actually do? IOS 5 boasts over 200 new features for you to get to grips with, helping you to stay ahead of the crowd with an even more advanced phone than ever before!

Notification Centre
With texts, emails and social media messages coming in to your iPhone keep track of them all in one location with Apples new Notification Centre. Now you will never miss out on that all important message with the ability to swipe down on the screen to enter the notification centre, customisable by you to see which notifications you want to see without interrupting what you are doing.

iMessage

If messaging is your thing then iMessage will be perfect for you. IMessage is a new messaging service for all IOS 5 users. Keep up to date on the go and send unlimited text messages, photos and videos via Wi-Fi or 3G. If organising your friends is your thing then keep everyone in the loop with group messaging and see when your messages have been delivered and read.

Newsstand
Have magazine and newspaper subscriptions on your iPhone? Then Newsstand lets you access all your publications quickly and easily all in one place. As new issues come out, Newsstand will automatically update them ready and waiting for your next visit with all the latest covers.

Enhanced Camera + Photos
Why settle for less than perfect photos? Photo enhancements allow users on iOS 5 to use their creative flair and turn off the cuff snaps into wall-worthy masterpieces. iOS 5 offers the ability to Crop, rotate, enhance and remove red-eye all within the photo app. The Auto Enhance feature transforms your poorly lit photos into studio quality images. All of your photos are then backed up directly to your iCloud for safekeeping or why not push your new and improved images to all of your IOS devices.

PC Free
Don’t have a PC? No worries with PC free it cuts the cord between your iOS device and your home computer. In the past you would need to plug your iOS device into a Mac or PC to set it up, now this can all be performed wirelessly without the need of a Mac or PC. Sync with your computer and move your music and movies about all via wifi. (And of course everything is backed up to your iCloud). Free iOS software updates can also be downloaded directly to your device.

iCloud
iCloud is like having a hard drive in the sky which your Apple phone can sync with. Not only is your iOS device backed up to Apple’s server but your home computer and other iOS devices are also updated. What this means is if you lose or damage your device none of your media or data will be lost and can instantly be restored on any replacement iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Mac. On top of this iTunes Match offers a fast and easy way to back up your music library. Click here for more info.

It seems IOS 5 is to be the most extensive software update ever, offering you even more freedom to do the things you love on the go effortlessly.
Take a look at our Apple iOS page here to learn more and compare against over operating systems to find the perfect Smartphone for you.