Range Rover Evogue

The words 'small', 'Range' and 'Rover' don't often appear in the same sentence, but you'd better get used to seeing them because Land Rover is about to unleash the Range Rover Evoque -- a miniature version of its Range Rover aimed at a younger, more urban crowd.
Looks like teen spirit

The Evoque looks very much like the Range Rover LRX concept that was unveiled towards the tail end of 2009. Its design has been toned down slightly on its way to the real world, but it still retains many of the design aspects that made the LRX such an exciting prospect. We absolutely love the aggressive headlights and front grille, the gently sloping roofline and, in general, the fresh new take on recognisable Range Rover design cues.
Posh Victorian décor

The interior of the Evoque isn't quite as striking as the exterior. It's perfectly agreeable, don't get us wrong, but the black leather seats and plastic fittings didn't particularly set our pulses racing. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you look at it) Land Rover will also release a special edition Evoque, designed by Victoria Beckham.

We've no idea what this model will look like inside or out, but given the former Spice Girl's dVb clothing line, it'll probably involve skinny tyres, bejewelled seat covers and not quite enough material to cover any of its surfaces.
Sound thinking

Whatever you think of the Evoque's interior, there's no denying its fantastic cabin technology. The vehicle will feature a choice of audio systems from high-end audio specialists Meridien. One is an entry-level 380w 13-speaker arrangement, and the other is a more advanced 825w 17-speaker set-up. Both feature Dolby Pro Logic IIx and DTS Neo:6 plus an Audyssey MulteQ XT tuning system. Music and video sources will include iPod, integrated hard drive, USB FM radio, CD and DVD.
Seeing is believing

The Evoque lacks the virtual instruments found in the standard Range Rover and instead uses old-school spinning gauges to indicate speed, engine revs and fuel levels. It does, however, feature the same highly advanced dual-view infotainment display as its big brother.

The 8-inch screen, mounted in the centre of the dashboard, allows users to select the car's various navigation and entertainment functions. More impressively, however, it'll let driver and passenger view different content simultaneously depending on where they're sitting in the cabin.

The screen comprises a backlit colour LCD and a special mask placed over the liquid-crystal layer. Images for the left and right viewing angles are shown simultaneously on adjacent pixel columns, with the mask distributing the picture in opposite directions. The driver sees an image constructed of the first, third, fifth and other odd-numbered pixel columns, while the passenger's image is constructed of the second, fourth, sixth and subsequent even-numbered columns. As a result, the driver can keep an eye on the sat-nav while the front passenger can enjoy a DVD film on the move.
Driving Miss Lazy

The Range Rover Evoque will come with a range of tech features that make life easier for the driver. It'll feature a Surround Camera System, which consists of five digital cameras positioned around the vehicle, giving the driver a 360-degree bird's-eye view of the car's surrounds as they drive.

The Evoque will also feature Park Assist, which automatically parallel parks the vehicle when you pull up in front of an available space; a park heater timer facility that activates the car's heating or air-conditioning at user-selected times; and a rear-seat entertainment system that consists of two 8-inch video displays mounted on the rear, two wireless headsets, a DVD player and AV input ports.
Powertrain of a train

The Evoque is the first Range Rover to give buyers a choice between full-time four-wheel-drive for better traction on all road surfaces, or front-wheel-drive for better fuel economy and lower carbon emissions.

Customers also have a choice of two 2.2-litre turbocharged engines delivering either 190PS or 150PS. A front-wheel-drive Evoque with the 150PS engine will deliver a promised 58mpg and CO2 emissions of 130g/km. A four-wheel-drive Evoque with the same engine will deliver 50mpg and CO2 emissions of 145g/km. Land Rover will also offer a 2-litre Si4 petrol engine aimed at performance enthusiasts, which will deliver a sporty 0-60mph time of 7.1 seconds.
Outlook

Like it or not, the Evoque is a logical step in the Range Rover's evolution. It should appeal to a whole new generation of drivers who want a large, stylish vehicle that delivers decent fuel economy, low emissions and lashings of style.

Nokia N8

The much anticipated Nokia N8 was handed to many of the World’s largest press publications for review earlier this week.

Following the recent releases of some high profile competitor devices of late, it’s been great to see how some of the world’s most high profile journalists think the Nokia N8 will stack up against the rest.

To give you a taste of what the experts are saying, we’ve put together a brief round up on some first impressions of the device’s key features – starting with a comment on the Nokia N8’s camera.

There’s been plenty of hype about the 12MP snapper… so does it deliver? Vladislav Savov at Engadget says:

There’s no getting around it, this phone is indeed a terrific performer when it comes to video, and a 30-second clip we recorded took no longer than a couple of seconds to process and return us to a position where we were ready to film again.

The camera is similarly snappy (we had to do it), with Nokia claiming a half-second delay between shots. Our unscientific experience seemed to corroborate the claim. That says a lot about the processing power encased within the N8, but Nokia also notes that this handset has the biggest sensor that’s yet been integrated in a phone.

Another crucial feature to the Nokia N8 is its HDMI capability. Why is this so important? Andrew Orlowski at The Register hits the nail on the head, so we’ll leave it to him to explain:

It’s a cameraphone first, second and third, and features an HDMI port and Dolby Digital Plus surround stereo. This is a subtle but overlooked point – Nokia envisages people hooking the N8 up to the family flat panel TV as often as they hook it up to the PC. Given that new TVs have HDMI ports to spare, this is no longer Jetsons territory.

We’ve had a fair few comments on the N series Blog and on Twitter @Nseries asking why the Nokia N8 won’t be out until Q3. We’ve always explained that this is to ensure that the device has the best possible user experience once it hits shelves. Flora Graham at CNET UK backs this decision:

Nokia is taking its sweet time with the N8, which we think is a great idea — this is a good-looking phone with plenty of potential, and it needs a smooth, easy user interface to polish it off. Expect to find the N8 is shops sometime in the autumn.

Another exciting facet of the Nokia N8 is its brand new Symbian^3 UI – which we think is a significant step forward from its predecessor. It should be noted that the version of Symbian^3 presented to the Media was still unfinished, and it will a more polished version that hits the shelves in Q3. However, the guys at Pocket Lint are impressed with the debut:

Another nice touch with Symbian 3 is the visual multitasking panel that appears when you hold down the home screen button. This feature allows you to see a decent sized snapshot of all the apps that you have open on your device. Browsing is nice, especially so because it handles Flash with no problems.

So hopefully that’s given you a taste of what to expect from the Nokia N8. All in all, we’ve been delighted with how it has been received so far. What’s even more exciting is the prospect of everyone else getting the device in their hands… so bring on Q3!

In the meantime, let us know your first impressions of the Nokia N8? Tell us what you think in the comments or on Twitter @Nseries.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA

Cellphones, Mobile Handsets
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 review

Review of the world's largest phone manufacturers, perhaps none has taken a more twisted road to smartphone ubiquity than Sony Ericsson. It began its journey back in the pre-joint venture Ericsson days by throwing its weight behind Symbian, a smartphone platform that would ultimately become the world's most popular -- but it made a fatal error in supporting the doomed UIQ flavor that never saw even a fraction of the support its S60 cousin did. UIQ's untimely (but predicted) collapse last year left the company nearly rudderless and ill-equipped to deal with competitors like Nokia, HTC, and Apple, all of whom had long since embraced other platforms -- all with fighting chances of market dominance.

Left without a platform to champion, Sony Ericsson would ultimately continue supporting Symbian through its involvement with the Symbian Foundation and phones like the Satio and Vivaz... and it would ramp up support for Windows Mobile with the Xperia X1 and X2... and it would bring Android into the fold with the X10, all within a few months of each other. All told, Sony Ericsson enters 2010 actively supporting three unrelated smartphone platforms, and comments by CEO Bert Norberg at MWC in February lead us to believe that they'd be happy to take on a fourth (or more) if the opportunity presented itself. It's an odd strategy to be sure, particularly for a company that's struggling mightily and shrinking its workforce more than any other top-five manufacturer. How it intends to effectively compete on three different fronts without spreading itself hopelessly thin, well... that remains a huge question mark.

That said, the Xperia X10 is perhaps the most promising of Sony Ericsson's confusing crop of modern smart phones, combining attractive hardware with killer specs, Android, and an intriguing custom skin. Does it hold its own against modern competitors like HTC's Nexus One and Desire? And more importantly, can it keep Sony Ericsson from going over the brink? Read on to find out.

Note: Sony Ericsson contacted us shortly after the review was published to let us know that this particular X10 is running pre-production firmware, which may account for some of the issues we had with keyboard performance and occasional sluggishness. Let's hope!