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The Samsung Galaxy Premier is now official with Galaxy Nexus like specs but with improved internals and OS. Earlier, this was the purported Galaxy Nexus replacement as it was initially rumoured with bumped up specs while maintaining the same 4.65″ HD Super AMOLED display. It comes with an improved 8MP main camera with a front facing 1.9MP camera. Naturally, this comes running with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and it carries the same Galaxy S III features such as S Beam, Pop-up Play, Smart Stay and S Voice. The Galaxy Premier comes in 8GB and 16GB capacity and if you need mode, thankfully it comes with a microSD slot which is absent in Galaxy Nexus. No word on the processor but based on earlier leaks, it should be running on a dual-core 1.5GHz processor. Looks like Samsung is on a roll again in releasing more devices to flood the market. After introducing the Galaxy Note II and Galaxy S III, expect Samsung to have a model for every single price range.

2012 Nissan Almera Malaysia, Priced RM67K To RM80K The 2012 Nissan Almera has finally been launched at an official ceremony at One World Hotel. Much is known about the locally-assembled Nissan B-segment sedan except for its finalised pricing, which has been announced as RM 66,800 for the 1.5 E manual, RM 69,800 for the 1.5 E, RM 76,800 for the 1.5 V, and RM 79,800 for the 1.5 VL. Malaysians interested in the Almera will be pleasantly surprised as these prices are lower than the RM70K to RM85K range announced when booking opened almost two months back. The successor to the Latio, the Sentra and the Sunny, the Almera sits on Nissan's all-new V (V for Versatile) global platform that also underpins the March hatchback. The rest of the dynamic package is par for the segment, including an electric power steering, front MacPherson struts, a rear torsion beam, ventilated disc brakes up front, drum brakes at the back, and 185/65 R15 tyres.

The 2012 third-generation Honda CR-V has been updated for the last time, before the arrival of the all-new, fourth-generation Honda CR-V sometime in 2013. Priced at RM 153,980 OTR with insurance, a RM 4K premium over the price tag that has remained unchanged since 2010, the Honda CR-V “Limited” can be visually differentiated by a new Modulo front grille and a tailgate spoiler. Colours on offer are Urban Titanium, Alabaster Silver, Polished Metal, Crystal Black and Taffeta White. Inside, you get leather seats, a built-in 2-DIN head unit with a touch-screen navigator and a rear-view camera, illuminated side steps, and premium security solar film tint that prevents the windscreens from shattering in the event of an attempted break-in. Beyond the eyes are the same key equipment introduced on the mid-life facelifted model in 2010: VSA stability control and two side airbags with OPDS (Occupant Position Detective System).   

The 2012 Nissan Almera has opened for booking from September 6, without any indication of the official prices so we are stuck with the previous indicated price range of between RM70K to RM85K. At least now we know that there will be three variants coming around the rumoured launch date in November: the base Almera E manual, the mid-range Almera V and the range-topping Almera VL. Based on Nissan's all-new V (V for Versatile) global platform that is also used by the March hatchback, the Almera's main selling point appears to be its class-leading rear legroom of 636 mm, derived from the same 2600-mm wheelbase as its predecessor Latio sedan's, and the generous boot capacity of 490 litres. So large is the B-segment Almera that it has been classified as a mid-size sedan by the U.S. agency EPA. We are not sure the claimed "upscale sedan presence" was in view, and the performance on paper appears lacklustre too, at just 102 HP at 6000 rpm and 139 ...

Nissan Almera Earlier today, Edaran Tan Chong Motor, via its Nissan Malaysia Facebook page, showed us a sketch of the Nissan Almera Tuned by Impul before releasing a rear shot of the actual car. Now it’s officially opened for booking, and we have the details of this sporty variant. Besides the Impul aerokit (front grille RM800. side skirts, front and rear bumper extensions, boot spoiler RM3,000 inclduing paint and installation), the Almera gets an Impul “Super Shock” suspension system (RM2,800) which consists of tuned shock absorbers and coil springs. Ride height is lowered by a substantial 25 mm, with “increased lateral force support for more agile handling and distinct road contact”. To go with the sports suspension, the Almera Impul gets 16-inch Impul HS-06 alloys (RM4,000), which are in silver and black with a matte finish. This is an inch up over the stock wheels, but customers can upsize to 17-inch Impul Aura SX-10 alloys (RM4,600). The package is rounded off by...

Kia Cadenza 2013 The Kia Cadenza (known as the K7 in Korea) will get a new look and some enhancements for the next model year – the wraps have come off the updated front-wheel drive luxury sedan at an event in Korea. It will be available in its home market from next month, and go on sale in different parts of the world during the first half of next year. Inheriting some of the design elements from the flagship Quoris (K9 in Korea) and bringing it visually in line with the rest of the current range, the 2013 Cadenza’s bonnet, boot lid, front and rear lamps and bumpers are new, while side air vents now adorn the front wings.

We’re back from the Lexus Centre in Mutiara Damansara, where Lexus Malaysia has just launched the new Lexus LS limo. This latest LS made its world debut just over two months ago at the ‘Lexus Laws of Attraction’ exhibit in San Francisco, USA. It’s not all-new, but this is a thoroughly reworked LS with 3,000 new parts and a new outlook. The LS is available here in four variants – the LS 460 (RM788,000), LS 460 F Sport (RM818,000), the long wheelbase LS 460L (RM878,000) and the top of the line LS 600h L (RM1,068,000). All prices are on-the-road without insurance. The latest LS is easily recognised by its “spindle grille”, Lexus’ new trademark snout that we’ve already seen on the GS sedan and RX SUV. Besides giving the limo greater road presence, Lexus says the new face heralds a significant improvement in driving dynamics, responsiveness and handling. The dashboard is a new design. All eyes will be drawn to a large 12.3-inch high-res split-screen LCD, said to be the...

Just as teased earlier, the 5″ LG Optimus Vu phone-tablet is finally here in Malaysia. The device is priced outright at RM1,899, which is slightly more than the LG Optimus 4X HD. Powering the device is a quad-core Tegra 3 processor running at 1.5GHz mated with 1GB of RAM and a rather generous 32GB of storage. If you plan to expand storage, unfortunately there’s no microSD expansion slot available. For the display, the Optimus Vu utilises a 5″ True HD IPS screen that pushes a XGA resolution of 1024×768. This gives it a pixel density of 256ppi (pixels per inch). There’s a 8MP camera at the back which is capable of shooting 1080p HD videos while the front comes with a 1.3MP camera. With stylus coming back as a trend, the Optimus Vu also lets you take notes with its dedicated Rubberdium pen. Out of the box, it comes running with Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich and it is juiced up with a 2,080mAh battery. The Optimus Vu comes in black and white colour options. Overall, t...

From the early growth of the WWW in 1992-1995, early web-commerce in 1996-1998, Dot-Com boom and bust in 1999-2001 and maturity of internet business model in 2002 to the present day, not to mention the new era of social networking, one wonders what else will happen to the World Wide Web. Already, once cruel and invincible dictators were overthrown in peoples’ uprising , started in the Middle East and now spreading its tentacles to the Putin’s Russia. The WWW’s growth is so rapidly that you can actually measure what is happening in seconds. If the fact that more than a billion new pages are added to it every day doesn’t raise your eyebrows, consider what is happening to the WWW every minute or 60 seconds: - more than 13,000 iPhone applications are downloaded - more than 600 new videos are added into YouTube - more than 6,600 new photos uploaded on flickr - more than 695,000 facebook status updates - more than 694,445 search queries performed using Google - a staggering 1...

2012 Toyota Camry, Honda CRV and Honda CRZ T here would be numerous new car models to be released next year especially for Honda and Toyota fans. The year 2012 would be an exciting year for car buyers looking to show off their new automobile. Heck, in fact, as we speak, there would be new model coming earlier than 2012 – Honda is set to launch its new CR-Z early Nov this year, that’s next month dude. And there would be new 2012 Honda Civic , new 2012 Honda CRV and new 2012 Toyota Camry . There would be also new 2012 Volkswagen Beetle and whatnot. While there’re plenty of choices, you may be disappointed to note that the new models could turn you off especially on the Japanese cars. Somehow it seems the Japanese automakers are still fast asleep, not moving forward and still celebrating from their past success. It may not be a harsh word to say Honda and Toyota become arrogant of their past success, the same way Sony was with their pas...