Volvo V40 2012

The Volvo V40's design seriously put its competitors like Audi A3 and BMW 1-Series to shame! From far you'll know that it's a Volvo but it loses the boxiness of a C30. Speaking of C30, the V40 is the replacement model for C30 and S40 sedan. Probably Volvo might release a sedan version of it soon.

Unfortunately there is no information on the V40 other than these pictures released by Volvo. The rear view bears some resemblances of the C30, but it's more well executed and meaner looking, like asking the tailgaters to keep a further distance from the V40!


Interior wise, the cabin has the same theme as the S60. Dark coloured with chrome, lots of it, around the cabin.

As a Volvo, the V40 also comes with dozens of safety feature abbreviations and the highlight will be for pedestrian protection. The bonnet will pop up and airbag will be deployed at the base of the windscreen to reduce head injury of the pedestrian. The V40 certainly looks promising and am looking forward for a sedan version, if there is any.

Nokia PureView 808 - 41 Megapixels Sensor !

Nokia made the world 'wow' by introducing the Nokia PureView 808, a smartphone comes with 41 Megapixels image sensor! It captures image data from seven adjacent pixels and condenses it into one, resulting in stills at around 5 MP resolution but with amazing details!

As the successor of the Nokia N8, which Nokia previously claimed that it's the best camera phone in the market, the PureView 808 has Carl Zeiss lens with Xenon flash, and video recording made better with a LED light, something the N8 lack of! Video recording is available in FullHD 1080p at 30 fps and also 720p@30fps. The large camera sensor definitely benefit when it comes to zooming in camera or video mode.


There's a tiny price to pay for the huge camera sensor (which is 2.5X larger than N8) though. The PureView 808 measures 17.95mm at the thickest point, but I don't think it will burden any camera lovers out there! The PureView 808 runs on single-core 1.3 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM and unfortunately, Symbian Belle (which is giving me problem in my N8). The display is a 16:9 4" AMOLED of nHD (640 x 360) resolution with Gorilla Glass.


So here's a video on the hands-on experience with the PureView 808:

Samsung Galaxy Tablets Compared

Click to enlarge Samsung has revealed its 2 new Android tablets – Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) and Tab 2 (10.1). Although the hardware and size isn’t exactly new compared with the previous Galaxy Tab line up, both tablets run on the latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
So how is it different from the existing Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus and Tab 10.1? For the Tab 2 (7.0), it is basically a notch lower than the 7.0 Plus with a 1.0GHz dual-core processor and comes with a lower VGA front facing camera. In terms of dimensions, the Tab 2 (7.0) is slightly thicker by 0.5mm but it still maintains the same weight at 345g.
For the Tab 2 (10.1) which was just announced, it now comes with a microSD expansion slot, which is currently lacking on the Tab 10.1. However just like the Tab 2 (7.0), it also uses a low end VGA camera for the front. Dimension wise, it is slightly thicker by 1.1mm and weighs and extra 23 grams compared to the Tab 10.1.
Of course, there’s still one more tablet yet to be revealed, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. We are hoping that the Note 10.1 would be impressive and not just another rehash of the same product with a newer OS.
Since the hardware of the Tab 2 (7.0) and (10.1) are closely identical, we wonder when will Samsung roll out Android 4.0 ICS for its existing Galaxy Tabs? ASUS has already rolled out its Android 4.0 ICS update for the original Eee Pad Transformer.

Peugeot 208 GTi

Peugeot has been saving the GTi badge for something special since the underwhelming 207 GTi was discontinued in the market in 2009.

Finally, the company reckons it has produced a car worthy of the badge in the shape of this 208 GTi Concept, which is set to be unveiled at next month’s Geneva Motor Show.

There’s no doubt where the inspiration for the hot 208 has come from. The GTi badge is proudly displayed on the rear quarter panels – just as it was on the legendary 205 GTi hot hatch back in the eighties.

But the retrospective nods to one of Peugeot’s best-loved models end there. A very modern look, with beefy wheelarches, an aggressive front grille and a large rear spoiler is the order of the day. The grille looks like a chequered flag and there’s a pair of chrome exhaust pipes.

The 208 GTi’s engine has already been seen in the RCZ coupe. The 197bhp 1.6-litre turbo petrol will be mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. No performance figures have been released, but expect a 0-62mph time of less than seven seconds.

A special exhaust system gives this engine a burbling note in the RCZ, and a similar set-up will likely be seen in the GTi. Sharp and agile handling should also be expected, as the 208 weighs around 110kg less than the 207.

To improve the GTi’s cornering ability even further, the front and rear tracks have been widened by 36mm and the suspension will be specially modified. The larger-diameter brakes used on the 154bhp 208 1.6 THP model will also fitted to the GTi.

Peugeot has also worked hard to ensure the GTi Concept feels special from behind the wheel. The standard car’s small steering wheel is now trimmed in leather and incorporates a GTi badge plus contrasting red stitching.

The red theme continues in the dial surrounds, the dash inserts and the centre console. The dashboard itself is finished in Alcantara, while the black rooflining and aluminium pedals also add to the classy feel.

For the moment, Peugeot is still calling the 208 GTi a concept car, but we’ve already spotted prototype models being tested on the road. That means you can expect to see the hot 208 on sale by the end of this year

Land Rover Evoque Convertible Concept!

Long before the launch of Nissan Murano Convertible and while my imagination runs wilder at a younger age, I've actually thought of the concept of crossing a SUV with a convertible! Had those silly imaginations where I can wade through flood or climb mountains with top down, it would be so cool if I ever had the chance to do so!

Now, Land Rover had unveiled what it called the 'world's first premium convertible SUV', the Land Rover Evoque Convertible. With a low-slung (for a SUV) and sporty exterior, the design of the Evoque Convertible is well executed and handsome I would say. Although the Evoque COncertible is still in 'concept' form, we can see it's ready for launch at anytime!

Since the Evoque Convertible has its roof 'chopped' off, Roll Over Protection System is essential in order to protect the occupants in an event of rollover. We can expect the Evoque Convertible comes with the same features and powertrains offered in the Evoque SUV when it hits the production line.

No doubt that the Evoque in SUV form is a capable offroader, it's still a Land Rover anyway. It's certainly a better offroader compared to Nissan Murano Convertible, which focuses more on on-road comfort. Thus, the Evoque Convertible might be the first convertible SUV that can make my imaginations come true!

Nuffnang Is Turning 5!

They say February is the month of romance. We beg to differ because for Nuffnang, February is WAAAYYYY more than that as it is the month we were born! Yes Nuffnangers, you heard it right! In less than 2 weeks away, we’ll be turning 5 and we’re really excited about it! *pops confetti* :D

We know you hear us saying this over and over again but really, can you believe how time flies? It feels just like yesterday that we threw our first birthday anniversary – the Nuffnang Pajama Party – and just in a blink of an eye, we’re on to celebrating 5 years of awesomeness!

Photo credit to : kidchanstudio.com

We really have come a long way to what we are now in just a short span of 5 years, and we are truly thankful to have the continuous support of all you Nuffnangers throughout these years.
We are SUPER excited about our upcoming birthday celebration and what’s better than sharing our excitement with our fellow Nuffnangers right? We haven’t thrown a big party for a long, long time, therefore we’ve decided to do something special for our 5th birthday celebration this time. Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to invite you to the… *drumrolls* Nuffnang 5th Birthday Bash! *fireworks*

Do we hear a YEAYYY? :D It’s super easy to win yourself an invite to this exclusive event, all you have to do is;

1. Write a blog post and tell us how you think the famous Nuffnang stick man should celebrate his 5th birthday. In case you’re not sure which stick man we’re referring to, it’s this guy!

2. Be as creative as possible in your blog post; you can write a story, take (or Photoshop/MS Paint) some pictures, film a video – anything you can do to make the stick man’s birthday celebration the best ever!

3. Once you have completed your blog post, submit your entry by filling in the form below.

Sorry, the deadline to submit your entry has passed.
The best 80 entries will get 1 (ONE) invite each to our big celebration on 26 February! It’s going to be another night filled with fun and cheer, and our birthday wouldn’t mean as much if our beloved Nuffnangers weren’t there, so don’t miss it. Contest ends 12 pm, 22 February 2012, so hurry and get your creative juices flowing! And yeah, you might want to rummage through your closet for something blue now ;)

Hyundai Elantra MD today at Mid-Valley Megamall

Believe Hyundai (Inokom) Elantra MD will launch very soon, when you visit to Mid-Valley Megamall today, you will spotted Hyundai (Inokom) Elantra is show to public at Mid Valley Mega Mall, East Atrium.
Hyundai (Inokom) Elantra MD will at Mid-Valley from 22nd February until 26th February, there are five days let’s public view the coming soon Hyundai (Inokom) Elantra MD! Hoped they will launch the Hyundai (Inokom) Elantra MD latest by this 29th February.

However, for the pricing still a mystery.

Proton +'YES' 4G !

Proton and YES, a 4G network provider launched a collaboration which is a Proton Inspira with 4G Internet access. The YES 4G Proton Inspira is Malaysia's first car which has 4G Internet access so that you can go online whenever and wherever you go with speed up to 15Mbps!

For this special edition Proton Inspira worth RM100,000, it has sportier 18-inch rims, YES 4G deco and titanium black tinting for the exterior. Interior wise, it has 3 Apple iPad 2 (one on the dashboard, 1 at the back of each front seat), Sony audio system and a portable YES 4G Huddle. However, don't you think that the iPad 2s might attract thieves? Some might break the window just to make an attempt to steal them!


Another thing is the iPad 2 on the dashboard kind of restricting a bit of the air-cond outlets, not sure whether it will affect anything or not.

I'm glad to hear that the 4G will make its way to Proton's upcoming P3-21A (most probably only available in the high-line variant). To celebrate the collaboration of the two companies, a Yes 4G Proton Inspira and other prizes are to be given away in an online contest! I'm joining it for sure!

Kia Track'ster

These are the latest pictures of the new Kia Track'ster – a hot hatch concept car that was the star of Kia's Chicago Motor Show stand.

The new three-door coupe points towards a dramatic addition to the Soul range, packing dramatic looks and a 247bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine that drives all four wheels. Kia says the car is designed for use on the road and on racing tracks, hence its name.

The Track'ster features a distinctive white and orange paint scheme and a dramatic bodykit which makes the car around 13cm wider than the standard Soul. It includes Kia’s signature grille with an air intake trimmed in lightweight carbon fibre, sleek headlights with LEDs and a large lower grille flanked by immense LED driving lights.

The roof, complete with spoiler, is accentuated in contrasting orange. Carbon fibre side skirts are also coloured orange and incorporate rear-brake cooling ducts. 

Inside, the Track'ster carries on the aggressive styling theme with deeply bolstered orange suede-covered racing seats, mixed with grey leather for the rest of the cabin. Grey suede is used for the sport steering wheel and door panels, while the dashboard has large red turbine-style dials. A touchscreen controls the sat-nav, stereo and air-con systems. 

In the back, the rear seats have been replaced by a tray and space for a spare tyre. The idea was to make the tools and equipment necessary to keep the car performing in top condition easily accessible.

Kia says there are panels for stowing race helmets, suits and gloves. There is also a rear strut brace which incorporates a quick-release handle to allow for fast wheel changes.

Other highlights include 19-inch alloy wheels wrapped in 245/40 section Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tyres at the front and enormous 285/35 tyres at the rear.

Kia says the Track'ster has a 2.5cm longer wheelbase than the regular Soul – which helps to make it look even more sporty. Large 14-inch Brembo vented and cross-drilled disc brakes with six-piston calipers do the stopping at the front, while the rear discs measure 13.6-inches and have four-piston calipers.

The Track'ster has the show to match its go. Under the bonnet is a 247bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged in-line-four cylinder which drives all four wheels through an electronically controlled four-wheel-drive system and a six-speed manual gearbox with a short-throw shift. 

The concept also gets sports suspension. There are no official figures, but expect the Track'ster to do 0-60mph in under six seconds with a top speed of 145mph. 

Kia says that it has no intention to put the Track'ster into production, but insiders have hinted that with the drop-top Soul'ster likely to join the new Soul range, a three-door hot hatch won't be far behind.

Apple,FLASH,HTML5

Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.

The avalanche of media outlets offering their content for Apple’s mobile devices demonstrates that Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content. And the 250,000 apps on Apple’s App Store proves that Flash isn’t necessary for tens of thousands of developers to create graphically rich applications, including games.

New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too). Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind.

Steve Jobs

April, 2010

Thoughts on FLASH

Symbolic: Steve Jobs vs The Flash.

Apple has a long relationship with Adobe. In fact, we met Adobe’s founders when they were in their proverbial garage. Apple was their first big customer, adopting their Postscript language for our new Laserwriter printer. Apple invested in Adobe and owned around 20% of the company for many years. The two companies worked closely together to pioneer desktop publishing and there were many good times. Since that golden era, the companies have grown apart. Apple went through its near death experience, and Adobe was drawn to the corporate market with their Acrobat products. Today the two companies still work together to serve their joint creative customers – Mac users buy around half of Adobe’s Creative Suite products – but beyond that there are few joint interests.

Adobe Creative Suite.

I wanted to jot down some of our thoughts on Adobe’s Flash products so that customers and critics may better understand why we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads. Adobe has characterized our decision as being primarily business driven – they say we want to protect our App Store – but in reality it is based on technology issues. Adobe claims that we are a closed system, and that Flash is open, but in fact the opposite is true. Let me explain.

First, there’s “Open”.

Adobe’s Flash products are 100% proprietary. They are only available from Adobe, and Adobe has sole authority as to their future enhancement, pricing, etc. While Adobe’s Flash products are widely available, this does not mean they are open, since they are controlled entirely by Adobe and available only from Adobe. By almost any definition, Flash is a closed system.

Apple vs Adobe.

Apple has many proprietary products too. Though the operating system for the iPhone, iPod and iPad is proprietary, we strongly believe that all standards pertaining to the web should be open. Rather than use Flash, Apple has adopted HTML5, CSS and JavaScript – all open standards. Apple’s mobile devices all ship with high performance, low power implementations of these open standards. HTML5, the new web standard that has been adopted by Apple, Google and many others, lets web developers create advanced graphics, typography, animations and transitions without relying on third party browser plug-ins (like Flash). HTML5 is completely open and controlled by a standards committee, of which Apple is a member.

HTML 5!

Apple even creates open standards for the web. For example, Apple began with a small open source project and created WebKit, a complete open-source HTML5 rendering engine that is the heart of the Safari web browser used in all our products. WebKit has been widely adopted. Google uses it for Android’s browser, Palm uses it, Nokia uses it, and RIM (Blackberry) has announced they will use it too. Almost every smartphone web browser other than Microsoft’s uses WebKit. By making its WebKit technology open, Apple has set the standard for mobile web browsers.

Second, there’s the “full web”.

Adobe has repeatedly said that Apple mobile devices cannot access “the full web” because 75% of video on the web is in Flash. What they don’t say is that almost all this video is also available in a more modern format, H.264, and viewable on iPhones, iPods and iPads. YouTube, with an estimated 40% of the web’s video, shines in an app bundled on all Apple mobile devices, with the iPad offering perhaps the best YouTube discovery and viewing experience ever. Add to this video from Vimeo, Netflix, Facebook, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, ESPN, NPR, Time, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, People, National Geographic, and many, many others. iPhone, iPod and iPad users aren’t missing much video.

H.264 encoding structure.

Another Adobe claim is that Apple devices cannot play Flash games. This is true. Fortunately, there are over 50,000 games and entertainment titles on the App Store, and many of them are free. There are more games and entertainment titles available for iPhone, iPod and iPad than for any other platform in the world.

Third, there’s reliability, security and performance.

Symantec recently highlighted Flash for having one of the worst security records in 2009. We also know first hand that Flash is the number one reason Macs crash. We have been working with Adobe to fix these problems, but they have persisted for several years now. We don’t want to reduce the reliability and security of our iPhones, iPods and iPads by adding Flash.

Touch screen phone.

In addition, Flash has not performed well on mobile devices. We have routinely asked Adobe to show us Flash performing well on a mobile device, any mobile device, for a few years now. We have never seen it. Adobe publicly said that Flash would ship on a smartphone in early 2009, then the second half of 2009, then the first half of 2010, and now they say the second half of 2010. We think it will eventually ship, but we’re glad we didn’t hold our breath. Who knows how it will perform?

Fourth, there’s battery life.

To achieve long battery life when playing video, mobile devices must decode the video in hardware; decoding it in software uses too much power. Many of the chips used in modern mobile devices contain a decoder called H.264 – an industry standard that is used in every Blu-ray DVD player and has been adopted by Apple, Google (YouTube), Vimeo, Netflix and many other companies.

Extended battery life.

Although Flash has recently added support for H.264, the video on almost all Flash websites currently requires an older generation decoder that is not implemented in mobile chips and must be run in software. The difference is striking: on an iPhone, for example, H.264 videos play for up to 10 hours, while videos decoded in software play for less than 5 hours before the battery is fully drained.

Safari Browser.

When websites re-encode their videos using H.264, they can offer them without using Flash at all. They play perfectly in browsers like Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome without any plugins whatsoever, and look great on iPhones, iPods and iPads.

Fifth, there’s Touch.

Flash was designed for PCs using mice, not for touch screens using fingers. For example, many Flash websites rely on “rollovers”, which pop up menus or other elements when the mouse arrow hovers over a specific spot. Apple’s revolutionary multi-touch interface doesn’t use a mouse, and there is no concept of a rollover. Most Flash websites will need to be rewritten to support touch-based devices. If developers need to rewrite their Flash websites, why not use modern technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript?

Mouse vs Touch Screen.

Even if iPhones, iPods and iPads ran Flash, it would not solve the problem that most Flash websites need to be rewritten to support touch-based devices.

Sixth, the most important reason.

Besides the fact that Flash is closed and proprietary, has major technical drawbacks, and doesn’t support touch based devices, there is an even more important reason we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads. We have discussed the downsides of using Flash to play video and interactive content from websites, but Adobe also wants developers to adopt Flash to create apps that run on our mobile devices.

Adobe.

We know from painful experience that letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform. If developers grow dependent on third party development libraries and tools, they can only take advantage of platform enhancements if and when the third party chooses to adopt the new features. We cannot be at the mercy of a third party deciding if and when they will make our enhancements available to our developers.

iPad 2.

This becomes even worse if the third party is supplying a cross platform development tool. The third party may not adopt enhancements from one platform unless they are available on all of their supported platforms. Hence developers only have access to the lowest common denominator set of features. Again, we cannot accept an outcome where developers are blocked from using our innovations and enhancements because they are not available on our competitor’s platforms.

Latest OS for Apple computer.

Flash is a cross platform development tool. It is not Adobe’s goal to help developers write the best iPhone, iPod and iPad apps. It is their goal to help developers write cross platform apps. And Adobe has been painfully slow to adopt enhancements to Apple’s platforms. For example, although Mac OS X has been shipping for almost 10 years now, Adobe just adopted it fully (Cocoa) two weeks ago when they shipped CS5. Adobe was the last major third party developer to fully adopt Mac OS X.

Please help the web developer!

Our motivation is simple – we want to provide the most advanced and innovative platform to our developers, and we want them to stand directly on the shoulders of this platform and create the best apps the world has ever seen. We want to continually enhance the platform so developers can create even more amazing, powerful, fun and useful applications. Everyone wins – we sell more devices because we have the best apps, developers reach a wider and wider audience and customer base, and users are continually delighted by the best and broadest selection of apps on any platform.

Conclusions.

Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.

Goodbye PCs?

The avalanche of media outlets offering their content for Apple’s mobile devices demonstrates that Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content. And the 250,000 apps on Apple’s App Store proves that Flash isn’t necessary for tens of thousands of developers to create graphically rich applications, including games.

Touch screen era!

New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too). Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind.

Steve Jobs

April, 2010