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Wednesday 6 June 2012


Audi e-bike: A bicycle that runs at 80 kmph 

























Imagine a sophisticated bicycle that matches the speeds of a bike with just the press of a button. Well, your fantasy has now become a reality, thanks to an incredible new e-bike by auto manufacturer Audi.
The new Audi e-bike Worthersee, built on motor racing design principles, has every possible gadget that you could ever need - just like a Formula 1 car.


Perhaps the most helpful feature is an electric motor to help rest those tired legs of the rider. But this isn't just any electric motor, it can help build speeds up to 80 km per hour, the Daily Mail reported.
According to its developers, a cyclist can choose between a total of five modes, including the pure muscle power mode, the electric motor alone, or pedalling supported by the motor.
In the "Pure" mode, the drive power is purely the product of the cyclist's legs, while in "Pedelec" mode you are aided by the electric motor that then makes speeds of up to 50 mph.
If you select "eGrip", the Audi e-bike Worthersee runs solely on the electric motor and can reach a top speed of 31 mph. The cyclist then controls forward momentum using a gripshift and can configure the power as desired using the touchscreen on-bike computer.
The cyclist can also hook up to the computer using a smartphone. For those looking to record tricks, video images recorded via the in-helmet camera can be uploaded to the Internet in real time via your smartphone. Facebook status reports also pop up on the Audi e-bike Worthersee display.


 Different modes can be set using a smartphone or directly on the e-bike - either "Power Wheelie" mode, with adjustable wheelie angle for less skilled bikers or "Balanced Wheelie" mode for sporting challenges.
It's also fitted with homogeneous LED light strips that create the immediately recognisable Audi light signature.
"When developing the Audi e-bike Worthersee we drew on motor racing design principles for inspiration," said Hendrik Schaefers, one of the designers of the e-bike.





"The e-bike appears incredibly precise, highly emotional and strictly functional. Indeed, the design effort focused on its function as a sports machine. All design elements are thus firmly aligned to the technical features."
As we all know Audi is always doing it big.




Monday 4 June 2012


Lenovo ideaPad Yoga


Lenovo's IdeaPad Yoga is one of the more intriguing products to be announced this year.

The Yoga is a hybrid device and named because of its flexible nature. Rather than following the example of Asus' Transformer Prime - a tablet which plugs into a keyboard dock to make it a laptop, the IdeaPad Yoga is a laptop with a touchscreen which folds into a tablet.
Lenovo has designed the device to be used in four different usage modes or positions called notebook, tablet, tent and stand. The first is a traditional laptop with a keyboard, trackpad and screen. You can then fold the screen all the way over to turn it into a tablet. The third mode involves positioning the device in a triangular tent-like fashion on a flat surface. Lastly you can have the keyboard facing the supporting surface and angle the screen as desired.
The innovation and creativity for the IdeaPad Yoga is superb. The way it folds into different shapes certainly means it will adapt to different situations well. For example, the keyboard and trackpad are automatically disabled when using the Yoga in certain modes.



It is quite big and heavy at 16.9mm and 1.47kg to use a handheld tablet for any length of time but that's the nature of a hybrid device like this.
The IdeaPad Yoga has a 13.3-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 1600 x 900 and runs on Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system. Windows 8 is simply the perfect match for the Yoga and its hybrid nature utilising the touchscreen, keyboard and trackpad.
One downside to the Yoga is the hefty price tag which Lenovo recently announced as £1,200.


The IdeaPad Yoga is designed with Windows 8 in mind, and should ship right around the launch of Microsoft's new OS, likely in the second half of this year. There are no official specs yet, but it will use Intel's next-generation (Ivy Bridge) processors.
The aluminum construction and general shape and size are similar, though Lenovo has replaced the wrist rest with textured plastic that has a "leather-like" feel to it. The display has obviously changed as well, as the Yoga sports a capacitive touchscreen with 10-point multitouch. It's also loaded with 
the sensors you'd expect in a tablet, like GPS, gyroscope, and accelerometer.


 Despite the cool concept, I have my doubts. with the keyboard on the back. How long will the keys last when people just jam the thing into their bag in tablet mode every day? Do people value a laptop that can turn into a tablet enough to live with a tablet that is comparatively thick and heavy.

lenovo seems to have something big coming before the end of this year.


Saturday 2 June 2012

Waterproof Sony Xperia acro S poised to make a "splash in HD" with 12MP camera and 720pixels display



Sony seems to be taking the waterproof trend outside of Japan for its handsets, announcing the Xperia acro S today. The specs seem to jibe with the Japan-only Xperia acro HD that was unveiled recently - a 12MP Exmor R camera capable of 1080p video, 1.5GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal memory, and a 4.3" HD Reality Display.


Besides the top shelf specs its main virtues are, of course, the IP55 and IP57 ratings for dust and water resistance, meaning you can dip it in up to three feet of water for up to 30 minutes or play frisbee on the beach with it without worrying that sand and liquid will damage the internals.


The handset is chubbier and heftier than even the Xperia S, with its 0.47" (11.9mm) thickness and 5.18oz (147g) of weight, but all that weatherproofing must come with some price. Just like the Xperia go announced today, it has the "wet finger tracking" tech that allows you to operate the capacitive touchscreen even when your digits are dripping with salty water, and that's enough to make it stand out.


It sports a fairly generous sealed 1910mAh battery, can stream media to your DLNA gear sans cables, and has an NFC chip for mobile payments and Sony SmartTag-ing. The TV Launcher app that works as a remote for Sony's smart BRAVIA TVs is present as well.

























Sony says that the Xperia acro HD will be available globally in the third quarter in the press release, so we keep our hopes high to see it on GSM carriers, as that's the radio inside. It will be available in white, black and the pink you see in the slideshow below.

Thankfully, the phone will launch with Android Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box, and have a microSD slot for storage expansion.

source : sony