Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif to Drive Volvo S60 in Bang Bang

Volvo Auto India, the Swedish luxury carmaker's Indian subsidiary, has associated with Fox Star Studios for their upcoming action romance film - Bang Bang. Films's leading actors, Hritik Roshan and Katrina Kaif, will be seen driving the stylish red Volvo S60 in the Siddharth Anand directed film.

Sudeep Narayan, PR & Digital Director, Volvo Auto India said, "We continuously come up with activations and associations to engage with our current and prospective customers. These partnerships are crucial for Volvo Auto India as an effort to bring the brand closer to its audience. Partnering with Fox Star Studios for their movie Bang Bang was an obvious choice. Both Hrithik and Katrina are a hot favourite of the Indian audience and pairing them with the luxurious Volvo S60 would certainly be a super combination. We are always on a lookout to identify apt industry platforms to participate and showcase our carlines. Showcasing the Volvo S60 in a much awaited movie such as Bang Bang is yet another endeavour for us to come closer towards our customers."

Shikha Kapur, CMO, Fox Star Studios, said, "Bang Bang is a film that rides high on style and glamour. It exudes a scale seldom seen before in Indian cinema, anchored by rock-solid acts, and we have tried in every way to go beyond the conventional to create an unparalleled film viewing experience. We found a worthy partner in Volvo, as it reflects the same brand values of the film : cool, stylish, innovative and with a strong performance at its core. This is truly a dynamic association and we welcome Volvo as an integral part of the Bang Bang stable."

Go Fish Entertainment Pvt Ltd, a movie marketing company that is also responsible for promoting Bang Bang, has been instrumental in getting Volvo Cars to associate with Bang Bang.

McLaren P1 GTR Photo Gallery

 
 Twenty years ago, the then soon-to-be-launched McLaren F1 GTR began testing ahead of an assault on the 1995 GT season. Two decades on, and the covers were pulled off the dramatic and purposeful McLaren P1 GTR design concept during a private event at the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California.

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  The McLaren P1 GTR will be the most track-tailored and most powerful model produced by McLaren Special Operations to date, with a clear target even more focused than its road-going sibling: to be the best driver's car in the world on track.
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  With even greater emphasis on aerodynamic performance through the dramatic bodywork, the McLaren P1 GTR will also feature race-proven slick tyres, a fixed ride height, enhanced power delivery from the IPAS powertrain and Formula 1-derived DRS from the large, fixed rear wing and an ERS-style push-to-pass system, all combining to offer the ultimate track experience.
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  Based on the McLaren P1 road car, the track-focused McLaren P1 GTR design concept further optimises the aerodynamically efficient ‘shrink-wrapped' body shape in order to offer maximum performance, superior handling characteristics and optimised driver engagement on track.
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  The bodywork of the car has been reprofiled to improve aerodynamic efficiency below the large rear wing, and incorporates a quick-release system without affecting the rear wing. The road legal McLaren P1 stows the rear wing within the bodywork, but with the fixed height wing, and therefore no pistons or moving mechanical parts, the bodywork of the McLaren P1 GTR design concept behind the engine bay is now a smooth, flowing surface, feeding clean air below the wing and over the back of the car.
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  Below the rear wing sits the exposed, centrally mounted exhaust, which is an all new design, developed exclusively for the McLaren P1 GTR. Made from inconel and titanium alloy, the system maximises the aural characteristic of the higher output 3.8-litre twin turbo V8 engine to maintain, and further emphasise, the McLaren sound.
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  The McLaren P1 GTR design concept runs on the bespoke slick tyres designed by technical partners Pirelli in collaboration with McLaren, designed to offer a greater level of grip, cornering agility and handling balance. These characteristics enable much later braking into corners, higher apex speeds, and the earlier application of the throttle on the exit of corners, which lead to improved lap times.

Vilner Introduces BMW Stormtrooper

The premiere of Star Wars 7 might be a year away, but you do not have to wait that long to lay your eyes on the latest Stormtrooper. Bulgarian studio - Vilner's latest project sports a sparkling white colour, which is undoubtedly reminiscent of the Imperial Army troops of Darth Vader. However, quite unlike Lord Vader's army, BMW Stormtrooper by Vilner is most definitely unique. The Stormtrooper is the studio's second big project; it debuted the BMW Bullshark - E63 coupe last year. The BMW Stormtrooper is basically the convertible version of Bullshark.

BMW Stormtrooper - a E64 M6 - uses a non-traditional white and brown colour combination; the exterior is white pearl, while its hood is brown. It gets 20-inch black wheels with a white stripe, which tends to remind one of the ion engines of the X-Wing fighters. The white and brown combination continues on the inside too.

However, the kidney in the pre-radiator grille, the lips under the front bumper, the doorsteps and "gills" in the front fenders are in brown mat. Like the Bullshark, the Stormtrooper also uses BMW emblems as side indicators.

As far performance is concerned, the BMW Stormtrooper E64 M6 will put out the same power as the car it is based on, i.e. 500bhp.

Maruti Ciaz Launching On October 6, 2014

The long wait for the much-awaited mid-sized sedan, the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, will finally end on October 6, 2014. Earlier, there were rumours about the car launching on October 5, but the company seems to have postponed it by a day.

Coming in both petrol and diesel versions, the Ciaz will have four petrol and four diesel variants. Powering the petrol model of the car will be a 1.4-litre K-Series engine that is good for 91bhp and 130Nm. The diesel model will derive its power from a 1.3-litre multijet diesel unit, capable of churning out 89bhp and 200Nm. Both the engines will be offered with a 5-speed manual gearbox; however, a 4-speed automatic transmission too could be on offer on select petrol variants.

Coming to the features, the entry-level trim will get projector head-lamps, key-less entry, electrically-operated wing mirors with incorporated turn indicators, front & rear armrests and an audio system with USB, Aux-in and memory card support. The mid-level trims of the sedan will additionally get driver-side airbag, climate control, steering mounted controls, Bluetooth support, reverse parking sensors and ABS with EBD. Whereas, the top-of-the-line trim will carry additional features such as Smartplay infotainment system, full leather upholstery, leather-wrapped steering wheel and 16-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels. Other features like keyless entry with start/stop button, a front passenger airbag, reverse camera, a mix of fabric and leather upholstery, and 15-inch alloy wheels will also be made available on the high end variants.

Expected to be priced between Rs. 7.5 lakh - Rs. 11.5 lakh, the Ciaz will take on the likes of Honda City, Hyundai Verna, Volkswagen Vento, Skoda Rapid and others in the C+ segment.

The 5 tests every iPhone goes through

Faced with charges on how iPhone 6 Plus is vulnerable to bending, Apple gave journalists a rare glimpse into its tests labs. The company took reporters from US-based publications like The Verge, ReCode and The Wall Street Journal to show the tests it subjects its products to. Apple revealed that iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are the most tested iPhones ever, with a total of 15,000 units each tested on various parameters.

Even though the company did not disclose all the tests it conducts on iPhones, here are the five tests that every iPhone model undergoes before hitting the mass market.

1. Sit test

September 27,2014

The first is the Sit test, where Apple sees what kind of damage iPhones suffer when an owner accidentally sits on them. The company undertakes this test as a three-part process.

The test involves the owner with an iPhone in the back pocket sitting on a hard surface. In the second test, the owner sites on a softer surface, like a couch or cushion. The third, which has been described as the worst-case test by ReCode, involves the owner sitting down on a hard surface such the iPhone and the surface are at an angle.

Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering Dan Riccio said that these tests are conducted thousands of times.

2. Three-point bend test

September 27,2014

In this test, weights are put on the iPhones in order to check if they will bend or not under considerable weight. During the tests, a 25-kg bar was used to apply pressure on the middle of the iPhone's back in order to see if it bends.

Though the iPhones that were used for this test did bend, they reverted to their original shape once the pressure was lifted. However, Riccio said that an iPhone, or any phone for that matter, will bend permanently if enough force is applied.

Apple also did not disclose the total weight that an iPhone can bear.

3. Pressure point test

September 27,2014

In the pressure point test, the iPhones are held by the edges and "substantial" force is applied at the centre of the back (the demo showed a weight of 10kg) hundreds of times to see that the device can revert to its original state after being bent.

4. Torsion test

September 27,2014

Another test is the torsion test where the iPhones are twisted and torqued from both ends at various angles for about 8,000 times. The degree to which these products are twisted was not confirmed by Apple.

5. User studies

September 27,2014

In this test, Apple employees with the highest usage rates on their iPhones are handed new iPhones to see how the new models perform in day-to-day situations on durability and performance parameters. Apple then checks these units for any issues.

BlackBerry launches square-shaped smartphone Passport at Rs 49,990

NEW DELHI: BlackBerry has launched its unconventional new square-shaped smartphone dubbed the Passport in India at Rs 49,990.

The smartphone will be available for pre-order starting today at BlackBerry exclusive stores and Amazon.in. Those who book the smartphone between today and October 10 get a Rs 5000 gift voucher on Amazon.in as well as 5,000 frequent flyer miles on Jet Airways.


The device is the size and shape of a closed passport, with a large square touchscreen as well as a keyboard. It sports a 4.5-inch touchscreen (1440x1440p resolution, 453PPI) and a capacitive touch 3-row BlackBerry Keyboard, featuring contextual auto-correction, next-word prediction and a learning engine that gets to know the way users type.

Powered by a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor (MSM8974-AA), Adreno 330 GPU (450MHz) and 3GB RAM, it comes with 32GB internal storage and a removable microSD memory card slot (support for up to 128 GB cards) located under back cover. The Passport has a 3,450mAh integrated non-removable battery and the company claims it offers backup of 30 hours of mixed use.

BlackBerry Passport sports a 13MP rear camera with optical image stabilization (OIS), 5-element f2.0 lens, Back Side Illumination, LED flash and support for 1080p HD video recording at 60fps. It also sports a 2MP fixed-focus front-facing camera that supports 720p video capture.

The Passport runs BlackBerry's new BlackBerry 10.3 operating system and also features a Siri-like voice assistant. Passport users will be able to download apps from Amazon's app store, previously only available for Android-based phones. BlackBerry announced the deal that cleared the way for its customers to access Amazon's store in June.

In terms of connectivity, the phone supports 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy (LE), GPS and NFC.

Huawei launches Honor 6 smartphone at Rs 19,999

NEW DELHI: Huawei has launched Honor 6 smartphone and MediaPad Honor T1 tablet in India at Rs 19,999 and Rs 9,999, respectively. 

The two devices will be exclusively available on e-commerce website Flipkart. The phone will be available starting October 6 while the tablet goes on sale on October 10. 

Huawei Honor 6 sports a 5-inch full-HD display (1920x1080p,440ppi). The phone is powered by a Huawei Kirin 920 octa-core processor and 3GB RAM.

 

The Honor 6 sports a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front-facing camera. The smartphone comes with a 3,100mAh battery. The phone runs Android 4.4 KitKat with Emotion 2.3 UI. 

The Honor 6 smartphone comes with 16GB internal storage variants and a microSD card slot (supports cards up to 64GB). 

In terms of connectivity options, the Huawei Honor 6 supports 3G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS. 

The MediaPad Honor T1 tablet sports an 8-inch HD IPS display. Powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 1GB RAM, the tablet comes with 8GB storage. It sports a 5MP rear camera and comes with a 4,800mAh battery.