Car Sales June 2019: Maruti Suzuki Registers 17.2 Per Cent Decline In Sales

While Maruti Suzuki recorded a negative growth in all other segments, the Ciaz mid-size sedan recorded a healthy growth of 47.1 per cent.

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Sunidhi Chauhan, Armaan Malik to Sing in Hindi for The Lion King

Sunidhi Chauhan and Armaan Malik will lend their voices to the Hindi-language soundtrack of the upcoming remake of The Lion King, Disney India has announced. They will cover "Can You Feel the Love...

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Apple to Reportedly Improve Its News+ Service After Poor Start

Apple's News+ service is reportedly in for a design overhaul, among other improvements. Multiple publishers have been unimpressed with the revenue generated from Apple News+.

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Carlin Dunne passes away

Carlin Dunne, 36, lost his life after a crash at the 97th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on Sunday. Dunne, who was riding a Ducati Streetfighter V4 is said to have crashed near the finish line while competing in the heavyweight division.

Reports suggest that the ace rider was on his way to break his own record at the Pikes Peak before the crash. Dunne was also the fastest rider last year, where he set a winning time of 9:59.102 min on a 2018 Multistrada 1260 Pikes Peak.

A joint statement issued by PPIHC (Pikes Peak International Hill Climb) and Ducati North America said, “throughout the 97 years that this unique race has been conducted on America’s Mountain, we have experienced the ultimate joy in victory, the disappointment of failure and now, the unexpected heartbreak of the loss of a competitor, whose love of the race brought him to Pikes Peak. We mourn the tragic death of Carlin and he will remain in our hearts forever as part of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb family. Carlin will be remembered as a warm-hearted mentor with a competitive spirit. He was a gentle and thoughtful man who touched everyone who met him. We will always remember his contagious smile and genuine love for sport.”

Jason Chinnock, CEO Ducati North America said, “There are no words to describe our shock and sadness. Carlin was part of our family and one of the most genuine and kind men we have ever known. His spirit for this event and love of motorcycling will be remembered forever as his passing leaves a hole in our hearts.”

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Redmi K20 series sold in 1 million units

Xiaomi's Redmi K20 and Redmi K20 Pro sold 200,000 units in their first flash sale, and today the company announced that the duo reached 1 million sales. The series was introduced on May 28, which means the company needed just 4-5 flash sales to push over a million smartphones.The numbers might have even been higher, but the production capacity is seemingly limited at this point - the Pro version isn't even available outside China yet. To celebrate the seven-digit sales, Redmi brand manager Lu Weibing announced promo sales in China - every buyer of a Redmi K20 smartphone will get...

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Facebook to Make Jobs, Credit Ads Searchable for US Users

Facebook says it will make advertisements for jobs, loans and credit card offers searchable for all U.S. users following a legal settlement designed to eliminate discrimination on its platform

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Japan Restricts Export of Some Materials Used in Smartphones to South Korea

Japan will tighten restrictions on exports of high-tech materials used in smartphone displays and chips to South Korea in response to a South Korean ruling on war-time forced labour, the industry...

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Redmi K20 Series Shipments Cross 1 Million Units in a Month: Xiaomi

Xiaomi's global spokesperson Donovan Sung has revealed that shipments of the Redmi K20 series phones have crossed 1 million units in just a month.

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Spider-Man: Far From Home Full Movie Leaked on Torrent, Piracy Networks

Just days since its release, Spider-Man: Far From Home has leaked onto torrent sites and other networks that enable piracy, with multiple low-quality versions of the full movie now available.

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Redmi 7A Set to Launch in India on July 4, Flipkart Reveals

Redmi 7A has received a dedicated microsite on Flipkart that confirms its launch date in India and highlights online availability through the e-commerce site.

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Two-Wheeler Sales June 2019: Bajaj Auto's Overall Sales Stay Flat

Bajaj Auto's domestic two-wheeler sales fell by one per cent while the exports grew by 11 per cent in June 2019.

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Huawei Ban Reversal to Cover Only Widely Available Goods, Trump Aide Says

Donald Trump's decision to allow expanded sales of U.S. technology supplies to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei will only apply to products widely available around the world, and leave the most...

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China's BOE to Mass Produce LCD Screens With Fingerprint Sensor

China-based BOE Technology Group has successfully made an in-display optical fingerprint sensing solution for LCD screen.

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Toyota To Invest $2 Billion In Developing Electric Vehicles In Indonesia

The Japanese carmaker said this month that it aimed for half its global sales to be from electric vehicles by 2025, five years ahead of schedule, and will tap Chinese battery makers to meet the...

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Vulgar Videos Made on Chinese Social Media Apps Now Infiltrate WhatsApp

The titillating videos made on Chinese social media apps have now found a bigger mobile-based messaging medium to corrupt young minds: Facebook-owned WhatsApp.

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5 essential tips for driving through floods

The monsoon has arrived and with it comes the threat of floods, especially in cities like Mumbai where the infrastructure can barely handle the torrential rain. Potholes, drains packed with waste and a general lack of quality in road construction means that water logging is quite common. Here are five tips you should follow when driving through flooded areas. 

1. Avoid standing pools of water

In general, avoid driving through flooded areas when possible. While some SUVs come with a company-claimed water wading depth, most cars are not meant be driven through more than half-a-foot of water. Check Google Maps, talk to people on the road, follow traffic updates on social media or radio, and be alert while driving, to stay away from flooded roads and find alternate routes. Pay attention to other road users (cars, bikes, trucks and pedestrians) to gauge how deep the water is before attempting to wade through.

2. Keep on moving

If a flooding situation does arise, do your best to keep moving through the water and don’t stop. Do not accelerate suddenly or brake too hard, just keep a steady momentum. If the car stops in standing water, there is a chance that water may creep into vital parts like the intake and exhaust. When moving through water, use a lower gear (first, second or third, depending on the speed) and keep the engine revs on the higher side. Wading through water puts additional strain on the engine and using the third gear, instead of the first, could lead to the car stalling.

3. Do not restart the engine if stalled in water

In case the car has stalled in a water-logged area, don’t try and restart it immediately. There are multiple reasons – starting with the water putting more pressure on the engine’s connecting rods, which could lead to them breaking. In addition, if water has entered the engine through the intake or exhaust, it could cause serious engine damage and burn a rather large hole in your pocket when it comes to repairs. If you suspect water has entered the engine, immediately switch off the car to avoid any further damage. Push the car to an area that is not flooded and then call emergency services for help.

4. Don’t panic if you get stuck inside

When a car is stuck in water, the force that standing water exerts on the doors is much higher than you might think. This could prevent the doors from opening. In such a scenario, the first thing to do is to keep calm and not panic. Then, attempt to open the doors by pushing it with both legs. In case this does not work, use a heavy, blunt object (anything from a tyre iron to the headrests) to break one of the windows. However, don’t try and break the windscreen as it is usually far more difficult break than the door windows. Remember that it is always safer to ditch a water-logged car and walk to reach dry ground than attempt it in a submerged car.

5. Pump the brakes once clear of water

After you’ve successfully cleared a body of water, pumping the brakes will help push out any water that may have accumulated in the area. Water in the brakes naturally hinders proper brake usage. This issue is more prevalent on cars with drum brakes, and considering most models on sale in India have rear drums, this action is recommended.

Keep these pointers in mind while driving this monsoon and stay safe.

from Autocar India - Cars https://ift.tt/2ON4hEE

5 essential tips for driving through floods

The monsoon has arrived and with it comes the threat of floods, especially in cities like Mumbai where the infrastructure can barely handle the torrential rain. Potholes, drains packed with waste and a general lack of quality in road construction means that water logging is quite common. Here are five tips you should follow when driving through flooded areas. 

1. Avoid standing pools of water

In general, avoid driving through flooded areas when possible. While some SUVs come with a company-claimed water wading depth, most cars are not meant be driven through more than half-a-foot of water. Check Google Maps, talk to people on the road, follow traffic updates on social media or radio, and be alert while driving, to stay away from flooded roads and find alternate routes. Pay attention to other road users (cars, bikes, trucks and pedestrians) to gauge how deep the water is before attempting to wade through.

2. Keep on moving

If a flooding situation does arise, do your best to keep moving through the water and don’t stop. Do not accelerate suddenly or brake too hard, just keep a steady momentum. If the car stops in standing water, there is a chance that water may creep into vital parts like the intake and exhaust. When moving through water, use a lower gear (first, second or third, depending on the speed) and keep the engine revs on the higher side. Wading through water puts additional strain on the engine and using the third gear, instead of the first, could lead to the car stalling.

3. Do not restart the engine if stalled in water

In case the car has stalled in a water-logged area, don’t try and restart it immediately. There are multiple reasons – starting with the water putting more pressure on the engine’s connecting rods, which could lead to them breaking. In addition, if water has entered the engine through the intake or exhaust, it could cause serious engine damage and burn a rather large hole in your pocket when it comes to repairs. If you suspect water has entered the engine, immediately switch off the car to avoid any further damage. Push the car to an area that is not flooded and then call emergency services for help.

4. Don’t panic if you get stuck inside

When a car is stuck in water, the force that standing water exerts on the doors is much higher than you might think. This could prevent the doors from opening. In such a scenario, the first thing to do is to keep calm and not panic. Then, attempt to open the doors by pushing it with both legs. In case this does not work, use a heavy, blunt object (anything from a tyre iron to the headrests) to break one of the windows. However, don’t try and break the windscreen as it is usually far more difficult break than the door windows. Remember that it is always safer to ditch a water-logged car and walk to reach dry ground than attempt it in a submerged car.

5. Pump the brakes once clear of water

After you’ve successfully cleared a body of water, pumping the brakes will help push out any water that may have accumulated in the area. Water in the brakes naturally hinders proper brake usage. This issue is more prevalent on cars with drum brakes, and considering most models on sale in India have rear drums, this action is recommended.

Keep these pointers in mind while driving this monsoon and stay safe.

from Autocar India - Cars https://ift.tt/2ON4hEE

Suzuki, Mazda, Subaru Join Toyota-Softbank Self-Drive Venture

Suzuki, Mazda, Subaru Corp, Isuzu Motors Ltd and Toyota's compact car unit Daihatsu will each invest 57.1 million yen ($530,620) in the venture - dubbed Monet

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Stop Calling Luxury Cars As Sin Goods; Reduce GST: Jaguar Land Rover

Luxury cars are often under scrutiny for being extravagant purchases, which has resulted in the cars attracting the highest taxation. However, Jaguar Land Rover India's President and Managing...

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Xiaomi Mi 9 SE in for review

A lot like the Xiaomi Mi 9, but lighter and smaller. Also comes without the 3.5 mm audio jack and with more modest chipset and price - that's the Xiaomi Mi 9 SE's short story. Now that the phone is with us we will try and tell you the long one once we take it through our full testing procedure. You even might think SE stands for Small Edition, because it doesn't look that special. But when we tinkered around a little more, we realized it is a very snappy phone, with its Snapdragon 712 chipset and the 6 GB RAM. The weight of 155 grams and the small footprint will...

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Asus 6Z 128GB, 256GB Variants to Go on Sale for First Time Today

Asus 6Z comes with features like a 6.4-inch full-HD+ screen, 5,000mAh battery, a rotating dual camera module, and octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC.

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New Renault HBC compact SUV in the works for India

Renault has had a quiet few years in India but things are now set to change. In the coming months, we'll witness the arrival of the updated Duster and the all-new Triber, which recently had its global unveiling in India. The Triber promises to be a novel offering, with seating for seven and up to 625 litres of boot space, all within a sub-four-metre footprint. The new CMF-A+ platform on which the Triber sits is built to support different body styles and Renault intends to use every bit of the platform's flexibility. In development is an all-new made-for-India compact SUV (codename: HBC).

The Renault HBC SUV will go on sale in 2021 and will be positioned as a rival to the ever-widening spread of sub-four-metre SUVs. By the time the HBC is made available, the competition will include a new SUV from Kia and Toyota's version of the Maruti Vitara Brezza, in addition to the current lot of compact SUVs.

The new Renault HBC compact SUV will not only share underpinnings with the Triber (which was previously known by its codename: RBC), but is also expected sport similar styling cues and share many interior components. However, the HBC will be a pure five seater and will not come with the removable third row available on the Triber.

Under the hood, the Renault HBC compact SUV is expected to come with a turbocharged version of the 1.0 Energy petrol engine that will power the Triber initially. Gearbox choices will include a 5-speed manual as well as an AMT gearbox. Interestingly, the HBC will not come with a diesel engine as Renault expects demands for small diesels to dry up in the years to come. Renault could have an all-petrol line-up by as early as 2020, as there's not a strong enough business case to upgrade the long-serving 1.5 K9K diesel engine to BS6-spec.

The Renault HBC compact SUV will be closely linked to Datsun's own compact SUV for India. The Datsun SUV will sport unique styling but will share major components with its cousin from Renault. The Renault-Nissan alliance has not performed to potential in India and a presence in the hot compact SUV is almost a necessity to improve sales.

Click here for Renault India models, pricves, reviews, images, videos and more

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Top 10 trending phones of week 26

It's been a while since we had a week as calm as this one. With no major launches or aggressive promo campaigns most of the phones on our chart have retained their positions. The Samsung Galaxy A50 leads ahead of its Galaxy A70 sibling, followed by a trio of Xiaomi phones. This time around though the Redmi Note 7 is the one to take the bronze medal, while the Xiaomi Mi 9T has dropped down to fifth. The Redmi K20 Pro still splits those two, taking the fourth spot for the third week in a row now. Samsung Galaxy M40 and Galaxy A30 are exactly where we left them last week - sixth...

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F1: Verstrappen Edges Leclerc To Win Dramatic Austrian GP; First Win For Honda

In a thrilling finish to the 2019 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen took a spectacular win as he passed Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in a battle during the closing stages....

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Week 26 in review: The under-screen camera is here but it's not great

While there weren't many big smartphones announcements this week, there were plenty of very interesting stories. Starting off with Oppo and the reveal of the first under display selfie camera. It has a large sensor with resulting large pixels but its image quality isn't great and it might take some time before it makes it to an actual product. Still, it is an exciting development in the long battle for the full-screen phone. We saw official press renders of upcoming Xiaomi CC9 as well as invitations for its July 2 unveil. The specs include a 48MP main camera as well as a 32MP...

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Talking UDAY and Smart Meters With UK-Based CyanConnode

The Modi government has been pushing for smart meter adoption by discoms.

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Our Samsung Galaxy M30 video review is up

Looking for a mid-ranger with a big OLED screen on a budget? Well, the Galaxy M30 might just be the thing for you. This is actually the only handset from the M-series so far to boasts an AMOLED screen and among the few in this entire price segment. More rare finds on this kind of budget are the ultra wide-angle camera and the gigantic 5,000 mAh battery. But let's not spoil the video for you any further. Check it our below. If you want to learn more details about the phone head this way for our in-depth written review

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Weekly poll: under-screen cameras vs. pop-ups and flip-ups

This week, Oppo showed off the first under-screen camera. It's the perfect solution as it not only avoids problems, it will actually improve how people use the camera. First off, notches and punch holes are an unsightly compromise that contorts the screen and UI of the phone. And people have made it clear in previous polls that they are not a popular option (not a deal-breaker, perhaps, but still better avoided if possible). Then there are pop-ups and flip-ups, both of which enable a full-screen design. The downside is that a pop-up mechanism takes more room inside the phone than a...

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Include Battery Swapping For Incentives Under FAME-II Scheme: FICCI

Industry chamber FICCI called for the inclusion of battery swapping model of charging for incentives under FAME-II scheme on Friday to help the acceleration of electric mobility in India. The Rs....

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Weekly poll results: punch holes begone!

The tide has turned - in a poll just over 6 months ago, punch holes won over notches and even old-school bezels. The poll from last week shows that holes are no longer welcome. It's unequivocal, the "holes are a bad idea" option collected over half the votes. Of the remaining options a punch hole in the top left corner won with just 18% of the votes. Interestingly, a centered punch hole was the least favorite option. This poll was all about punch holes, so there was no breakdown of the alternatives. However, reading through the comments makes it clear that notches haven't suddenly...

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How to Watch India vs England World Cup Match Live Online Around the World

India vs England match is a must win game for the hosts, if they wish to remain in control of their own ICC World Cup 2019 destiny. How to watch live stream telecast.

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Expect India To Be Among 3 Markets in APAC; China, Russia, Africa This Year: BMW Motorrad

BMW Motorrad, the two-wheeler arm of German luxury carmaker BMW group, expects India to become its number three market in Asia Pacific, China, Russia and Africa region this year on the back of good...

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Honda CB300R Recalled In The US

American Honda Motor Co. has issued a voluntary recall for the CB300R in the US. The recall was filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and states that the affected...

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Redmi K20, Vivo Z1 Pro, Mi CC9, LG W Series, and Other Tech News This Week

Redmi K20 is being teased by Xiaomi, Mi CC9 is set to launch, Vivo Z1 Pro price in India set to be revealed, LG W series launched in India, and more tech news this week.

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Next Generation Honda Jazz Image Leaked

The next generation Honda Jazz is slated for a global debut later this year. However, ahead of the unveil, a leaked image of the new hatchback has made its way online revealing the all-new design. The...

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In Stranger Things 3, the Hawkins Crew Feel the Pain of Growing Up

In Stranger Things season 3, set in the summer of 1985, the Hawkins crew are full-fledged teenagers dealing with new romances and threats old and new. Stranger Things 3 release date in India is July 4...

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MG Hector interior highlights detailed

Ever since the MG Hector broke cover, we’ve been inundated with questions about all aspects of the SUV. While we’ve already brought you our full review and talked at length about the Hector’s price, this piece takes a deep dive into the MG SUV’s interior. What’s good? What’s bad? Read on to know.   

What’s the Hector interior design like?

While the MG Hector’s exteriors might split opinion, there is bound to be more agreement about its interior. The MG Hector’s interior is high on wow factor and you’ll like what you see on the inside. The focal point on the inside is the massive 10.4-inch, portrait-oriented touchscreen, that’s standard on all but the base Style versions. The screen is your go-to control for most settings which is why you won’t find too many physical buttons on the dashboard. In all, the dash is neat in look with a layered finish adding some visual appeal. Do note, only top-spec Hectors get a 7.0-inch MID screen and the high-res coloured screen does play a role in contributing to the interior’s new-age look. That said, we aren’t fans of the counter-clockwise orientation of the tachometer.

The MG Hector is available in a single interior theme for the moment. Black is the primary colour in the cabin though the pillars and roof-lining get a lighter grey finish.

 

What’s the Hector interior quality like?

This is a question that comes up often. Well, the Hector interior scores really well on perceived quality. Many parts feel rich and bits like the band of leather on the dashboard and chunky steering uplift the cabin ambience further. The faux-aluminium highlights on the dashboard, steering and doors look convincing too, and of course versions with a panoramic sunroof give the all-important feel of being in an expensive SUV. However, a closer look will reveal crinkles in the leatherette trim and you’ll also find many of the plastics are hard and scratchy. Fit and finish is decent but panel gaps are not as tight as you’d find in say, a Hyundai.  

What’s the Hector interior space and comfort like?

The Hector, available only in five seat form, is larger than most like-priced SUVs and its large size translates into an incredibly roomy cabin. There’s exceptional legroom in the back and ample headroom for six footers to sit in comfort too. The cabin’s width and an absolutely flat floor also makes seating three abreast a comfy enough affair. The option to recline the rear seat backrests is another plus point. The MG’s large glasshouse also means the view out is good, no matter where you may be seated in the SUV. Once again, the panoramic sunroof on top-spec Hector’s elevates the experience further.

Drivers too will appreciate the sense of space inside the Hector and will find it easy enough to find a comfy driving position. What marks the Hector down, however, are the seats. As large as the front seats are, they don’t offer the best support and some will even find the bolstering for the lower back excessive and bothersome. We aren’t fans of the faux-leather upholstery either. It doesn’t ‘breathe’ and feels like rexine.  

What features does the Hector get?

The Hector is available in four variants and each of them gets you plenty of features for the money.  Talking safety features, what’s commendable is that rear disc brakes, ABS, ESP, traction control, hill-hold control, ISOFIX child seat mounts and 3 point seatbelts for all seats are standard across the board. The Style and Super trims get 2 airbags, the Smart takes the airbag count up to 4 while the range-topping Sharp versions get 6 airbags.   

Our value-pick of the variants is the Super trim. Aside from the aforementioned safety kit, it gets LED headlamps, cruise control, a rear parking camera, front and rear parking sensors and a 10.4-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. However, if you want your Hector with the much talked about connectivity features, you’ll have to opt for the Smart trims which gets embedded sim tech and MG’s iSmart connectivity suite. In short, the system keeps you in contact with your car via an app and also adds in as many as 100 voice-activated functions. A six-way power-adjustable driver’s seat and keyless entry and go are other features of interest on the Smart trim. The range-topping Hector Sharp goes the whole hog adding in a 360-degree around-view camera, a four-way power-adjustable co-driver’s seat, a panoramic sunroof, heated mirrors, rain-sensing wipers, automatic headlights and mood lighting with eight colours.

 

What’s the Hector like on practicality?

The Hector is a large SUV and comes with a suitably large boot. The 587-litre luggage bay is simply massive and the powered tail gate on the top-spec version is a premium touch. However, the high loading lip and the low height of the removable parcel tray hurt ease of use to an extent. You can fit in loads of luggage though, and should you need more space, the rear seats split 60:40 and fold flat to give cargo-van rivaling room.  

The interior also offers reasonable room for odds and ends. There’s a bottleholder in each of the doors a small storage box between the front seats and other bays scattered around the cabin. However, the door pockets, cupholders and glovebox could have all been a size larger.

Smartphone addicts will be happy note the MG Hector comes with 3 USB charging ports, including a fast charging outlet for the rear seat.   

Click below to watch our MG Hector video review:

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Counterclockwise: phones that rotate

Phones have had rotating controls since the early days. In the 19th century, if you wanted to call someone, you had to crank a handle (it generated the electric pulse that rung the bell of the other phone). In the 20th century, there was the rotary dial. While cell phones never had a rotary dial, the likes of the Sony CMD J7 had a Jog Dial - a wheel on the side of the phone that can be used to navigate menus. BlackBerry started with trackwheels too, but the iconic Pearl series introduced the trackball. The T-Mobile G1 had a trackball too. Of course, later models swapped out the...

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Living with a Jaguar I-Pace

It’s the EV of the moment, having just swept the 2019 World Car of the Year (WCOTY) Awards by winning in three categories. The Jaguar I-Pace won not just the World Car Design and World Green Car awards, but also the main World Car of the Year award. This is the first time an EV won the top WCOTY prize and it certainly won’t be the last. Sign of things to come? Sure. But it’s not just for its eco credentials that the jury (myself included) scored the I-Pace highly. The fact is, unlike most EVs, which are boring and similar to drive, this one puts a big smile on your face.

We knew the I-Pace was brilliant to drive when we first sampled it (July 2018 issue), but what’s it like to live with? That’s the question I am hoping to answer after a week with the I-Pace in London.

A faulty charger at the airport hotel, where the I-Pace was plugged in and waiting for me, meant the lithium-ion battery pack wasn’t fully charged by the time I arrived. Thankfully, it still had a range of around 160km, which was more than enough to get me home, but any plans of enjoying the car in the countryside that Saturday afternoon were shot and the only thing on my mind was to find a socket to fully charge the I-Pace. The hunt was on.

That’s when I discovered that, even in London, charging an electric car isn’t as easy as I thought. Firstly, the really quick 100kW charging points are far and few between, and secondly, it’s a real hassle to figure out how to use the multitude of charging stations that, depending on the service provider, have different apps and pay-as-you-charge cards to access the service.

Finally, it was a bit of improvisation, or jugaad as we call it, that worked out best. A 30-foot extension cable from Sainsbury’s, plugged into a domestic socket at a home, long enough to reach the I-Pace parked outside, did the trick. It’s just that charging any EV this way takes an excruciatingly long time, but the next day, with a fully topped-up battery that translated to a range of around 350km, I was all charged up too and all set to enjoy the I-Pace.

The instant power delivery is simply staggering. There is no delay, no wringing the engine to rev limit or selecting the right gear. Just press your right foot and the I-Pace takes off like a scalded cat (it is a Jaguar after all) and it’s so easy to zap through traffic. The pair of electric motors, which produce a combined 394hp, catapult the 2.1-tonne I-Pace from 0-100kph in 4.8sec – very quick by any standards. And all this performance is silently and efficiently delivered without the noise and drama of a high-performance engine. That’s not necessarily a good thing because the absence of sound, and the utterly linear way in which the I-Pace accelerates, has a synthetic feel and robs the car of some character. And to be honest, most high-performance EVs deliver the same sort of thrust and in some cases, more. But what sets the I-Pace apart is how it steers and rides.

The steering has a lovely heft to it and none of that disconnected EV feel, which, along with the taut chassis and well-judged damping, makes the I-Pace, despite its heavy weight, pretty good fun to flick through corners. No doubt, the massive 90kWh battery pack weighs down the I-Pace, but as it’s placed in the floor, it also pulls down the centre of gravity and this high-riding SUV doesn’t feel top heavy in the least. In fact, the I-Pace is genuinely fun to drive, offering agility and a level of driver involvement you don’t associate with this genre of vehicles.

It’s rare for an EV to make you smile but the I-Pace certainly can, though you do have your moments of angst when the range drops suddenly after you’ve been hoofing it. The thing is, even with a full charge and enough range to get you home, you always end up having one eye on the range indicator. I just couldn’t get rid of that underlying worry of running out of juice and getting stranded, which always lingered. Which is why, to make that smile permanent, the charging infrastructure needs be sorted out first.

 

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Fuchsia OS is moving forward - developer portal goes live

Remember Fuchsia OS? It seems like every time we stumble upon an exciting new development regarding the mysterious open-source OS we have to dust it off from obscurity. That's just the nature of early development stage software, plus things are actually looking up on the exposure and availability side of things. After sharing a few tasty details about its side-project at the last I/O event, Google has now quietly launched a developer portal for Fuchsia OS. And to re-iterate the answer to everybody's pressing question before the comment section gets flooded again - NO, it is not...

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Google Maps introduces ‘Stay Safer’ feature in India

Google has introduced a new feature for its Maps application in India, called ‘Stay Safer’. The new feature has been under testing for a few months now. In essence, what this feature does is give the user two additional options when they select a route, which are ‘get off-route alerts' and ‘share live trips'. Both these options are aimed to aid users' safety while travelling by public transport such as taxis and auto-rickshaws in regions that they are unfamiliar with.

For Android users with the latest Maps application update, when they search for directions on the app, a new ‘Stay Safer’ button will visible at the bottom right side of the screen. Once the users click on the ‘Stay Safer’ button, two options will be provided to them.

The first option is called ‘share live trip' which allows users to share their live location with family and friends directly. It also allows live location sharing with popular third-party applications like Facebook and WhatsApp.

The second option is ‘get off-route alerts' which gives a prominent alert to the user if the driver strays over 0.5km from Google’s recommended route. With the alert, the user can then compare the current and recommended routes and rectify any confusion regarding the route with the driver.

As things stand, Google has already begun rolling out the ‘Stay Safer’ feature to Android users in India, although it has not yet made any announcement regarding when the feature will reach iOS devices.

In related news, Google has also recently given Android Auto a major update.

Also see:

Apple CarPlay to be upgraded with iOS 13 update

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Dual-tone Tata Harrier coming soon

The Tata Harrier will soon be available in dual-tone colour schemes. Tata Motors' cryptic teaser campaign on social media suggests the SUV is set to be offered with the option of new black-on-orange (Calisto Copper-Black) and black-on-silver (Ariel Silver-Black) schemes. In either case, orange and silver will be the primary body colours while the roofs on these dual-tone versions will sport a contrast black finish. So far, the Harrier could be accessorized with official roof decals though full length roof wraps were offered as dealer level extras. Expect the dual-tone combos to add about Rs 60,000 to the Harrier’s price. The Harrier will remain on sale in the existing mono-tone paint schemes namely Calisto Copper, Ariel Silver, Thermisto Gold, Telesto Grey and Orcus White, the last of which is the only colour available on base XE trim.

The Harrier will be the latest Tata model to be offered with dual-tone colour options. Dual-tone paint schemes are an option on the Tiago, Nexon and Hexa and are standard on the Tiago NRG, Tiago JTP and Tigor JTP.

The Harrier dual-tone’s teaser campaign comes at a time when the Tata SUV's latest competitor, the MG Hector, has been in the spotlight. The Hector’s competitive price tag is sure to wean some buyers away from the Harrier that has been the value pick among SUVs of the size so far. Also, Tata Motors had only recently hiked Harrier prices.

Dual-tone paint options aside, the Harrier is set to get crucial mechanical updates in the months and years to come. First up, will be the upgradation to a BS6-spec version of the 2.0-litre Kryotec diesel engine. In BS6-spec the Fiat-sourced engine will make in the region of 170hp, up from the current 140hp. The Harrier will also get a Hyundai-sourced 6-speed torque converter automatic gearbox further down the road and a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine powered version is also in the works. Come 2020, the larger and seven seat version of the Harrier, shown as the Buzzard at the 2019 Geneva motorshow, will also go on sale.   

Click for Tata Harrier prices, images, videos, reviews and more

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MG Hector crosses 10,000 bookings in 23 days

After much hype and anticipation, MG Motor has begun its India journey with the launch of the Hector at an introductory price of Rs 12.18-Rs 16.88 lakh (ex-showroom, pan India). The SUV comes with the choice of petrol, petrol-mild hybrid and diesel engine options, with a manual transmission as standard. The convenience of a DCT automatic gearbox is available too, albeit only on the non-hybrid petrol motor.

The carmaker has announced that bookings for the Hector crossed the 10,000 mark just 23 days after pre-orders officially began on June 4, 2019. Surprisingly, for an SUV in this segment, over 50 percent of the orders are for the petrol variants. MG officials have confirmed that petrol seems to the more desirable fuel choice, not only in regions like Delhi-NCR, but also in southern parts of the country. Out of the said 50 percent bookings, 70 percent are for the DCT automatic variants, while the hybrid too has found popularity with a 15 percent share. 

The Hector line-up comprises four variants – Style, Super, Smart and Sharp. The range-topping Sharp trim comes packed with goodies like LED headlamps, DRLs, dual-tone alloy wheels, a 10.4-inch touchscreen infotainment, Android/Apple smartphone compatibility, i-Smart connectivity suite, ambient lighting, leatherette upholstery, panoramic sunroof, powered driver’s and co-driver’s seat and much more. The exhaustive features list seems to have caught the fancy of the Indian buyer, with 75 percent of the pre-bookings being made for the top two trims.

However, prospective customers may need to wait. “In the next 2-3 months, we can produce around 2,000 units of the Hector a month,” said Rajeev Chaba, president and managing director, MG Motor India. The waiting period for the automatic is pegged at about four months, while for the manuals, it is close to a month. The company has announced that deliveries for those who have already made their reservations will start in the first week of July. 

Also see:

Click here for MG Hector prices, details, reviews, images and videos

MG Hector price, variants explained

MG Hector launched at Rs 12.18 lakh

MG Hector 7-seater India launch confirmed for early 2020

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India, Indonesia Set $50 Billion Trade Target By 2025

India and Indonesia on Saturday set an ambitious USD 50 billion target for bilateral trade over the next six years as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joko Widodo discussed ways to deepen...

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China, US Agree At Xi-Trump Meeting To Restart Trade Talks: Report

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his American counterpart Donald Trump agreed Saturday to re-launch the stalled negotiations to end the bruising trade war, according to the Chinese state media which...

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Samsung Galaxy A50 Update Brings Night Mode, Slow-Mo Functions: Report

The latest Samsung Galaxy A50 update reportedly also brings along the ability to scan QR codes from the camera app without requiring Bixby Vision.

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Trump confirms US companies will continue to sell to Huawei

US president Trump made a few very important and surprisingly hopeful announcements regarding the US - Huawei saga at today's G20 summit. In case you haven't been following the recent ban closely, here is a quick refresher course to get you up to speed. But aside from all the complex political and economic concerns, the situation quite simply boils down to major losses and setbacks on all sides. Hence, the extreme backlash, followed by bargaining and delays and more recently, legal loopholes just to keep the delicate economic balance between the US and China. Well, at the risk of...

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Spotify Sharing User Data With Music Labels: Report

Spotify is reportedly sharing personal information of users who pre-save music on the app with content labels.

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OnePlus 7 Update Brings Camera Improvements, June Security Patch, More

As per the changelog, the OnePlus 7 latest update brings the June 2019 Android Security Patch, improved audio quality, optimised photo quality, and optimised sensitivity of automatic brightness.

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Google Announces New Subsea Cable 'Equiano', Connecting Africa and Europe

Google said Equiano is the company's 14th subsea cable investment globally.

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Xiaomi Mi CC9, Mi CC9e, Mi CC9 Meitu Custom Edition: All You Need to Know

Xiaomi Mi CC9, Mi CC9e, Mi CC9 Meitu Custom Edition series are confirmed to sport a 32-megapixel selfie sensor, a triple rear camera setup, and colourful gradient back panels.

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OnePlus 7 OxygenOS 9.5.6 update arrives with June 2019 security patch

The OnePlus 7 got OxygenOS 9.5.4 update earlier this month which came with DC Dimming and Fnatic Mode. And a week later, it received OxygenOS 9.5.5 with May 2019 security patch and camera improvements. Now, this latest OnePlus flagship is getting its third update of the month - OxygenOS 9.5.6. This new firmware comes with improvements to the photo and audio quality, and that's as specific as it gets as OnePlus hasn't provided any details about these improvements. That said, OxygenOS 9.5.6 also bumps up the Android security patch level to June 2019 and squashes some bugs. Here's the...

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Audi Previews The e-tron Electric SUV In India; To Be Launched Later This Year

Audi India intends to launch the first luxury electric SUV in India and on its way to doing that later this year, the company has previewed the car ahead of its official unveil on July 12, 2019. The...

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Honda To Recall 1.6 Million Vehicles, Finish Takata Recalls Early

Honda is recalling 1.6 million vehicles in the U.S. to replace potentially deadly Takata air bag inflators, completing its required recalls six months ahead of schedule, the automaker said.

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PhotoGallery: 2019 Audi E-tron India image gallery

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Land Rover India teams up with Rapid Response

Land Rover has just completed 10 years in India and has commemorated the milestone with a novel initiative.  The SUV specialist has loaned a Discovery Sport to Rapid Response, non-profit organisation that works in the field of disaster management. The specially-prepped vehicle will be used in the coming months as an emergency responder for providing medical assistance and distributing emergency supplies across monsoon-ravaged parts of the country. The Discovery Sport’s off-road prowess could prove to be a big help in accessing flood-hit regions.

Commenting on the development, Rohit Suri, President & Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover India, said “Land Rover vehicles, such as Discovery Sport are renowned for their capability in tackling difficult terrains and situations caused by floods and other such catastrophic events. On the occasion of completion of 10 years of Jaguar Land Rover in India, we are proud to offer a Land Rover to aid the team at Rapid Response in their efforts to help victims of such natural calamities in India.” Rapid Response CEO, Mohamad Farukh added, “India is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. At Rapid Response, we aim at providing immediate, effective and sustainable support for the victims of natural disasters. Equipped with capability and technology of Land Rover, we are confident in providing more timely and effective assistance in disaster-stricken situations”.

The Discovery Sport has long been Land Rover’s best seller in India. Recently, Land Rover revealed the substantially updated Discovery Sport and the model should be India-bound by early next year. Also in the pipeline for India is the second-gen Range Rover Evoque and hybrid versions of the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. The SUV specialist will also take the wraps of the all-new Defender in the months to come.     

Click here to know about Land Rover models, prices and more

Click here for Land Rover Discovery Sport prices, images, reviews and more

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Audi targeting 200+ unit sales of e-tron in India

It was only recently that we told you how Audi is aiming to launch the e-tron in India as per schedule, global delays not withstanding. Now, we have more details as the Audi e-tron has been previewed in India for the first time before it is launched in the months to come.

Audi is upbeat about the e-tron's India prospects. Speaking to Autocar India, Audi India head Rahil Ansari confirmed the company is targeting sales of over 200 units of the e-tron annually, a substantial figure for an electric vehicle that’s likely to cost a fortune.

“We’ll be targeting sales of over 200 units (of the e-tron), and for a car that’s going to cost over Rs 1 crore, that’s quite an amount”, said Ansari in an interview with Autocar India.

The e-tron showcased at the India preview was a left-hand-drive, Euro-spec model, and final specifications for the India-spec e-tron haven’t been confirmed yet. That said, expect it to be more or less unchanged compared to the model sold in Europe, and that includes the cameras that replace the conventional wing mirrors. Audi is bringing the e-tron to India as a full import now that the government has relaxed norms, allowing carmakers to import 2,500 passenger vehicles a year without requiring them to be homologated in India. As a result, the cameras – approved by the authorities in Germany – will also be legal in India.

Audi also shared some details about the charging infrastructure it plans to install for the e-tron. Every e-tron buyer will get a standard home charging setup, but fast chargers will only be installed at select Audi dealerships across the country, likely only in the metros and in locations with a higher concentration of e-tron buyers. To put it into perspective, the E-tron can be charged to 80 percent capacity in just 30 minutes via a DC fast-charger, but it’ll take 8 and a half hours to be charged via a 400-volt three-phase outlet.

To give you a recap, the Audi e-tron is a five-seat SUV that sits between the Q5 and Q7 in terms of size, gets a 95kWh battery pack which powers two electric motors – a 125kW unit at the front and 140kW unit at the rear – with a total of 360hp and 561Nm of torque being sent to all four wheels. In Boost mode, power is cranked up to 408hp and 661Nm of torque, and in that mode, the e-tron cracks 0-100kph in 5.7sec, and is limited to a top speed of 200kph. And while Audi states a range of over 400km on the WLTP cycle, our first drive revealed owners can expect a real-world range of over 300km.

Audi intends to launch the e-tron in India by early-2020, but is trying to pull it forward to late-2019. Being a fully-imported luxury EV, expect the Audi e-tron's price in India to be upwards of Rs 1 crore.

Click here for Audi e-tron pictures, news, review, videos and more.

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Paris Bans Up To 60% Of Its Cars As Heatwave Worsens Pollution

Paris has banned more than half of the cars registered in the region from its roads as a record heatwave worsens air pollution, the most drastic restrictions ever imposed there, officials said.

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Apple to Move Mac Pro Production From US to China: Report

The move comes at a time when the Trump administration has threatened to impose new levies to cover nearly all imports from China.

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TRAI Said to Be Unlikely to Review 5G Spectrum Prices in India

The Digitial Communications Commission (DCC) in its last meeting on June 13 decided to refer the spectrum proposals back to the regulator for a review and clarification on many aspects, including a...

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DeepNude Deepfake App to Undress Women Shuts Down After Furore

The creators of "DeepNude" said the software was launched several months ago for "entertainment" and that they "greatly underestimated" demand for the app.

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Facebook's Libra Coin Likely to Run a Regulatory Gauntlet

Libra announcement was met with immediate backlash from U.S. lawmakers and regulators across the globe, who are concerned that Facebook is already too massive and careless with users' privacy.

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Big Boyz Toyz Kick Starts Online Sales

Big Boy Toyz, a pre-owned, multi-brand luxury car dealer, has kick started sales online. The company has put a transparent e-booking mechanism in place, and has been able to generate almost 50 per...

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India-bound Benelli Leoncino to get only one variant

The Benelli Leoncino has been a long time coming. The company originally had plans to launch the Leoncino 500, its neo-retro scrambler motorcycle, in India by February 2018. That, however, didn’t go as planned, and the company has now told us that it will launch the Leoncino very soon, and only in the standard, road-oriented variant.

Internationally, the Leocino has been shown in three variants – standard, Trail and Sport. While speaking about the Trail, Vikas Jhabakh, managing director, Benelli India, told us, “At this moment, we are planning to launch only the street version. We will consider the Trail variant based on the feedback from the market”. Benelli has also not said anything about the Sport variant.

The Leoncino 500 uses a tubular steel-trellis frame and the standard variant sits on 17-inch wheels at both ends. The fork is a 50mm USD unit, while the rear gets a monoshock. ABS is standard and it gets a 320mm twin-disc setup (with four-piston calipers) at the front, and a 260mm disc (with a single-piston caliper) at the rear. The standard variant has a 207kg kerb weight and a 13.5-litre fuel tank capacity. The Leoncino 500 is powered by a 499.6cc, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected parallel-twin that produces 47.6hp at 8,500rpm and 45Nm at 5,000rpm.

We originally expected Benelli to price the standard Leoncino 500 around the Rs 5.5 lakh mark, but seeing how competitively the TRK 502s are priced, we have enough reason to believe that the Leoncino will be priced more competitively. But even at the initially assumed Rs 5.5 lakh, the Leoncino is around Rs 2.4 lakh cheaper than the base Ducati Scrambler Icon (Rs 7.89 lakh), although that bike brings much more power and badge value. 

(Prices ex-showroom, India).

Also see:

Benelli TNT 600i to be made BS6 compliant

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Review: Range Rover Sport 2.0 petrol review, test drive

What is it?

The Range Rover Sport got a facelift last year and this time around it’s in the news for its engine. This new version of the Sport comes powered by a, wait for it, 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. If you’ve seen a Range Rover Sport in the metal, you wouldn’t be wrong to think that’s too small an engine for so large an SUV. However, this isn’t any other 2.0 unit.

This Jaguar Land Rover Ingenium family engine uses a twin-scroll turbocharger to eke out every last bit of power available. It’s the same engine that powers the base Jaguar F-Type P300. The final power and torque figures stand at 300hp and 400Nm. For reference, the Sport’s supercharged V6 petrol makes 340hp and 450Nm of torque while the V6 diesel is down on power (258hp) but substantially up on torque (600Nm). If anything, the new engine at least deserves a fair hearing.

What's it like to drive?

Leave the engine and 8-speed automatic gearbox to their own devices and you’ll find power delivery to be nice and progressive. The build of speed is friendly, something you’ll appreciate in town. It’s just that when you want that punch, you’ll have to press down hard on the accelerator to get the engine excited. The engine comes into its element after 2,000rpm and there on there’s a constant supply of power till almost 6,000rpm. We registered a 0-100kph time of 8.36sec for the Range Rover Sport. It’s not a shining figure for an SUV with ‘Sport’ in its name but you really won’t find its performance wanting.

The way the engine sounds is also nice. It doesn’t have the whine of the supercharged V6 or the rorty note of the SVR’s V8 but it’s fun to hear the four-cylinder unit’s soundtrack transition from a muted growl to a louder snarl as you press on. Whoever tuned the acoustics of the engine sure has done a good job. In town too, the engine runs quiet and smooth and overall refinement is not much down on the larger-hearted petrols.

If anything, it’s the 8-speed automatic transmission that fumbles on occasion in low speed settings. It’s a non-issue really and should you want to take manual control of gearshifts, there are paddleshifters and manual shifts at the gear lever too.

In all other areas, this Sport feels like all its siblings (barring the SVR, of course). There’s a lot of roll in the corners and you are always aware that you are driving a large and heavy SUV. On the positive side, there’s a lot of grip at all times (all-wheel drive is standard) and the nicely weighted steering also helps work a good rhythm with the SUV. Particularly good is the Sport’s ride quality. On its 20-inch rims, our test car felt more absorbent than the 21-inch-equipped versions we’ve driven in the past. There is a mild pitter-patter at times; but on the whole, the ride is cosseting to the point you often won’t know how bad the surface beneath you really is. The ability to control the standard-fit air-suspension’s height is also handy, particularly in ingress and egress. You really do need all the help you can get to make your way into this Rangie’s high-set cabin.

What's it like on the inside?

There’s nothing new to report of about this particular Sport’s interior. It’s new-age Range Rover in here with the dual 10.0-inch touchscreen Touch Pro Duo infotainment system being the talking point. The system has been upgraded with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto off late but it’s not its features as much as the interface itself that has divided opinions. The upper screen, adjustable for angle, controls the commonly accessed functions while the lower screen is dedicated to the climate control and off-road mode settings. Frankly, you can get by using the upper screen and voice commands for the majority of functions but, say, when you need to adjust blower speed, you will have to find your way around the lower screen, and this is a distraction. The screens themselves are high-resolution and have fantastic graphics. The digital dials are slick too and you’ll love the touchpads on the steering for the way they look, if not entirely for how well they work.

As ever, you sit high-up in a Range Rover Sport, cabin space is immense and the seats are very comfortable. Land Rover has done away with the option of a third row for India but as a space for five occupants, this interior works really well.

The Range Rover Sport 2.0 Petrol is available in three trims. Air suspension, LED headlights, off-road modes, leather upholstery, reclining backrests for the rear seats and the dual-screen infotainment system are all standard across the board, while a panoramic sunroof is available from the mid-spec SE trim upwards.

Should I buy one?

The 2.0 Petrol is where the Range Rover Sport range starts and there’s really nothing entry-level about the package. It’s quick enough, quiet enough and refined enough to make you think twice about opting for the V6 versions – and that’s even before you bring prices into the equation.

Prices start at Rs 86.71 lakh (ex-showroom, India) for the S trim and top-off at Rs 1.01 crore for the fully-loaded HSE. The mid-spec SE will set you back by Rs 94.49 lakh, which is a full Rs 20 lakh and Rs 25 lakh less than the equivalent petrol V6 and V6 diesel versions, respectively. True, the Range Rover Sport 2.0 Petrol isn’t cheap by any means, but it could just be all the Range Rover Sport you need.

Also see 

Click here for all Land Rover models, prices, reviews, images, videos and more

Click here for Land Rover Range Rover Sport prices, reviews, images, videos and more

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Analysis: MG Hector plays the price card

After months of hype and promotional activity, the long-drawn-out market launch of the MG Hector has finally taken place. On paper, MG’s first model for India has a lot going for it, but how well it would be received depended on the pricing. Knowing this key fact, MG has priced the Hector between Rs 12.18-16.88 lakh (ex-showroom, pan-India). Viewed in isolation, the prices seem impressive enough, but it’s only when you line up the Hector on the price graph against other midsize SUVs that you’ll see how cleverly it’s positioned.

To keep things fair and square, we’ll only look at the two-wheel-drive versions of each of the Hector’s rivals, and yes, the Hyundai Creta – which is a size smaller than the other SUVs here – is also part of this story, but the diesel version we’ll take into consideration is the 1.6-litre model, and not the 1.4.

MG Hector vs rivals: Price
	Hector	Creta 1.6	Harrier	XUV500	Compass
Petrol-MT	Rs 12.18-15.88 lakh	Rs 10.00-14.16 lakh	-	-	Rs 15.60-15.99 lakh
Petrol-AT	Rs 15.28-16.78 lakh	Rs 13.75 lakh	-	Rs 16.09 lakh	Rs 19.00-21.67 lakh
Diesel-MT	Rs 13.18-16.88 lakh	Rs 13.60-15.65 lakh	Rs 13.00-16.56 lakh	Rs 12.31-18.51 lakh	Rs 16.61-23.11 lakh
Diesel-AT	-	Rs 13.36-15.20 lakh	-	Rs 15.38-18.61 lakh	Rs 26.80 lakh

At Rs 12.18 lakh, the base Style variant of the Hector petrol costs Rs 2.18 lakh more than the base E variant of the Creta petrol, but presents a significantly lower entry point to Hector ownership than the Jeep Compass petrol (which starts at Rs 15.60 lakh), Mahindra XUV500 petrol (only available in G AT form for Rs 16.09 lakh), and the Tata Harrier, which doesn’t have a petrol engine option.

Even the diesel Style variant of the Hector, which is priced at Rs 13.18 lakh, costs only Rs 18,000 more than the base Harrier, which doesn’t score high on features. What it also undercuts is the Creta SX MT, which has a higher sticker price (Rs 13.60 lakh) but packs in more features such as a reverse camera, alloy wheels and more. That said, the Hector Style diesel is priced significantly lower than the entry-level Jeep Compass Sport – undercutting it by close to Rs 3.5 lakh. Yes, it is more expensive than the base XUV500, but the W3 variant is almost bare-bones in terms of spec. And in terms of equipment, the Hector Style packs a decent amount of kit – it gets an audio system with four speakers, rear disc brakes, two airbags, ABS, rear parking sensors and a reclining second row, among other things. For those wanting a big vehicle, even the base version of the Hector will be a lot of SUV for the money.

Those seeking some more features will be drawn in by the Super variant. It sits just above the base Style and packs in a massive 10.4-inch portrait-oriented touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, reverse camera, front parking sensors, LED head- and tail-lights, alloy wheels, cruise control, and steering-mounted audio controls. What’s more, the petrol Super costs only Rs 80,000 more than the Style (Rs 1 lakh more in the case of the diesel Super). At its price point, the Hector Super diesel is almost on level terms with the Creta SX dual-tone and XUV500 W7, and only costs Rs 12,000 more than the Harrier XM.

The variant that could end up being the most popular is Smart. The diesel-engined Hector Smart only costs Rs 12,000 more than the Creta 1.6 SX (O) and Rs 22,000 more than the Harrier XT, but undercuts the XUV500 W9 by Rs 40,000. With the Smart variant, you get most of the goodies, including four airbags, a tyre pressure monitor, iSmart connected car tech powered by an Airtel e-SIM, leather seats, six-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, push-start button, power-folding ORVMs and an eight-speaker Infinity audio system.

At Rs 16.88 lakh, the range-topping MG Hector Sharp diesel costs a full Rs 1.23 lakh more than the Creta SX (O) Executive and Rs 32,000 more than the Harrier XZ, but still manages to undercut the XUV500 W11 (O) by Rs 52,000. What it brings to the table for Rs 1.4 lakh more than the Smart diesel is automatic climate control, a massive dual-pane panoramic sunroof (the largest in the segment) with remote open-close function, six airbags, 360-degree surround view camera, a 7.0-inch colour MID, ambient lighting, auto headlights and wipers, and segment-firsts in the form of heated ORVMs, a four-way power-adjustable co-driver’s seat and powered tailgate. The Hector is also the only SUV in its class to also be available as a 48V mild-hybrid variant.

It’s worth mentioning that there are some features exclusive to its rivals – the Harrier is the only one to get drive modes, the XUV500 is the only SUV to offer a seven-seat option and the Creta packs in cooled seats and wireless smartphone charging, none of which are available on the Hector.

One thing’s clear - price-wise, the MG Hector sits bang in the middle of the midsize SUV segment. It’s positioned higher than the all-conquering Creta (but only slightly), the diesel Hector is priced within Rs 12,000-32,000 of the corresponding Harrier variant and notably lower than the aging XUV500. The price gap between the Hector and Compass is vast – the top-spec Hector Sharp petrol AT undercuts the Compass Limited Plus petrol AT by Rs 4.45 lakh, and the same Hector variant with a diesel engine undercuts the Compass Limited Plus diesel by a whopping Rs 4.89 lakh.

Of course, it’s important to remember that these prices – in the words of MG president and MD Rajeev Chaba – are “very introductory”, and even after they go up, they will see another upward revision when the engines are upgraded to BS6-spec. However, MG has hit the right note with the audience as far as the pricing is concerned, and to assuage any fears prospective buyers may have, has also rolled out a comprehensive warranty and roadside assistance plan (5 years/unlimited km), along with maintenance packages at fixed charges, which should help do away with doubts about the Hector’s long-term reliability and inspire confidence in buyers. The keen pricing is also likely to force Kia to rethink the pricing strategy for the Seltos, which will soon join the midsize SUV fray.

As it stands, MG seems to have found the sweet spot with the Hector’s price; a price point where it’s a bigger, more feature-rich SUV that’s within reach for potential Creta buyers, and a clear value-for-money alternative to the like-sized Harrier and XUV500.

Click here for MG Hector prices, reviews, pictures, videos, details and more

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Salma Hayek Might Join Growing Cast of Marvel's The Eternals

Salma Hayek is reportedly being considered to star in The Eternals, Marvel Studios' adaptation of the comic book series of the same name, which has already cast the likes of Angelina Jolie, Richard...

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Apex Legends Season 2 - Battle Charge Trailers Reveal Major Changes

The King's Canyon Repulsor Tower is also seen to topple in the trailer, indicating that the defences against these beasts may have been toppled.

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MG Motor India Introduces Annual Maintenance Package For The Hector

MG Motor has introduced four annual maintenance service packages- Classic, Classic 360, Premium and Premium 360 for Hector customers.

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Facebook Enlists Plain English to Clarify How It Makes Money

Facebook is updating its terms and services guidelines to clarify how it makes money from the personal information of its users.

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PUBG Taps Ex-Call of Duty Director to Build a 'Narrative Experience'

PUBG Corporation, the developer behind the massively popular PUBG game, is creating a new game studio to build a new "original narrative experience" for the game.

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Jony Ive leaves Apple, to start his own creative company

The person behind the iconic designs of the iPhone, iPod and the Mac, Jony Ive, is leaving Apple, after more than two decades at Cupertino. He revealed the next adventure in his life will be his own creative agency, called LoveFrom. It will launch in 2020, with Apple as its first client. Jony Ive, or as is his full name, Sir Jonathan Paul Ive, will have no immediate successor. People like Alan Dye, the director of the UI team, and Evans Hankey, the leader of the industrial design team, will report to Apple's COO. Speaking about his departure, Ive simply said: This just seems...

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Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott Dazzle in First Trailer for Charlie's Angels

The first trailer for the new Charlie's Angels is here. Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and big-screen newcomer Ella Balinska are the new female trio, with Elizabeth Banks as writer and director.

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Realme X Spider-Man: Far From Home Special Edition Coming on July 9

Realme X Spider-Man: Far From Home Edition price in China has been set at CNY 1,799 (roughly Rs. 18,100) for the lone 8GB RAM + 128GB storage configuration.

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Realme 3 Pro Gets 240fps Slow Motion Video Recording, June Security Patch

The Realme 3 Pro update brings new swipe gestures from both sides in notification mode, and a new lock screen magazine function in some regions as well.

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Boeing Now Aims to Finish Software Fix for 737 Max in September

Boeing says it expects to finish work on updated flight-control software for the 737 Max in September, a sign that the troubled jet likely won't be flying until late this year.

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NASA Will Fly a Drone to Titan to Search for Life

NASA plans to fly a drone copter to Saturn's largest moon Titan in search of the building blocks of life, the space agency said Thursday.

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Facebook Outlines Ideas for Oversight Board

Facebook released the findings from its consultations with outside experts into its content review process.

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Apple Music Hits More Than 60 Million Subscribers, Trailing Spotify

Apple confirmed that the company's streaming music service has more than 60 million subscribers, trailing rival Spotify's 100 million premium subscribers.

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Twitter adds new policy aimed at high-profile government officials

The term "public interest" is hard to define, especially when a public official has gone on record (i.e. actually tweeted) statements that violate Twitter's rules and clearly condone acts of violence. If you haven't figured out by now, the new policy change is aimed largely at President Trump, whose every (often inaccurate and reckless) Tweets are endlessly analyzed and reported in the news around the world. Starting today, Twitter will enable a new policy on the accounts of government officials that fit the following criteria: Be or represent a government official, be running...

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Volvo XC90 Armoured Vehicle Revealed

The armoured car is built on the Inscription version of the Volvo XC90 T6 AWD, which is manufactured at the Torslanda plant in Sweden.

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Twitter to De-Emphasise, Label Politician Tweets That Break Rules

"We'll now clearly label any tweets which violate our terms of service but decide to keep up due to public interest," Twitter Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey said.

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Volkswagen Enters Car Sharing Market; Launches WeShare In Germany

Initially, the service area of WeShare will cover about 150 km. Later, the area will be extended in line with the expansion of the fleet.

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Apple Music reaches 60 million users

Apple Music has reached 60 million users - paying subscribers and people trialing the service for free - in the past four years, since its launch. The number was shared by Eddy Cue, Apple's SVP in charge of services. That definitely represents solid growth for Apple Music, and yet it still lags behind Spotify - that service announced it has passed 100 million paying users back in April. Apple Music gained 10 million subscribers in the first six months after launch, and went up to 20 million in December 2016. In April 2018 the number climbed to 40 million, and a report from July last year...

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Design Chief Jony Ive to Leave Apple After 30 Years

Ive's departure marks the end of an era for the company after helping it make a major transformation from a cult computer business to a dominant device company.

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Updated Volkswagen Polo, Vento in the works

Volkswagen is readying another update for its ageing Polo and Vento range in the Indian market. This time, the refreshed cars will not just get cosmetic tweaks, but will also see mechanical changes. 

These images give us the best look thus far of the upcoming Polo. First up, the updated cars get new front styling that is quite similar to the one on the high-performance limited-edition Volkswagen GTI hatchback. Additionally, both cars will get alloy wheels with grey finish (on top-spec variants) and other minor cosmetic tweaks inside out. The updated Polo is also expected to get similar tail-lamps as the GTI. The cars will get a speed warning system, as well as front seat seatbelt reminders and rear parking sensors as standard, to comply with the latest safety norms. These safety inclusions would be in addition to the standard-fit airbags and ABS the cars come with.

Under the hood, the TSI variants of the Polo and Vento will get a new BS6-compliant 1.0-litre turbo-petrol unit replacing the 1.2-litre motor and also the 1.6-litre MPI petrol engine. The new VW 1.0-litre TSI motor is from the EA211 series and is likely to come in a 94hp as well as a 115hp version, depending on the model.  Apart from the Polo and Vento, this new engine will see duty on the Skoda Rapid as well.

This new engine will be locally assembled in India as part of the brand’s India 2.0 strategy, which also includes the market introduction of future models like the Volkswagen T-Cross SUV and the Virtus sedan.

It is yet to be known whether Volkswagen India will bring the cosmetic and mechanical updates together. As BS6 norms may push the pricing higher, the company could introduce the new engine a little later, possibly close to the BS6 deadline.

While the made-for-India SUVs (T-Cross and Skoda Kamiq) from VW Group India will use the 1.5-litre TSI EVO engine, the smaller 1.0-litre TSI motor will power the Volkswagen Virtus sedan that will come a little later to replace the Vento.

Click here for Volkswagen Polo prices, reviews, images, videos and more

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Click here for Volkswagen India prices, reviews, images, videos and more

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Realme C2 Set to Go on Sale Today at 12 Noon via Flipkart, Realme.com

Realme C2 will be put on sale once again today. This Realme phone will be available via Flipkart and Realme.com starting at 12pm (noon) in the country.

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Denver and Providence are the next two cities to get Verizon 5G Wideband

Today, Verizon announces that Denver and Providence are the next two cities to get Verizon's 5G Wideband network. Starting today, Denver's 5G service goes live with Providence, RI getting service starting on July 1. Verizon's 5G Ultra Wideband is designed for supplying 5G connectivity using spectrum higher than 24GHz. This infrastructure requires numerous small cell sites or "nodes" in order to cover dense populations - namely metropolitan areas. Denver will have 5G connectivity in concentrated areas of Highlands below 37th Street as well as areas of LoDo and near Coors Dielf....

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Next-gen Honda Jazz: First picture out ahead of Tokyo reveal

Honda has been road-testing the next-gen Jazz for almost a year now in preparation for its world premiere at the upcoming Tokyo motor show later this year. Now a first image of the new car has surfaced online which also confirms that Honda will add a Type R variant to the next-gen Jazz's line-up.

The fourth-gen Honda Jazz gets fresh styling inside out. At the front, it gets a more rounded look with larger headlamps that look a bit similar to the second-generation car. The headlights get projector units with LED headlamps and DRLs with black inserts. The front bumper is more squarish now, with prominent black inserts and a honeycomb mesh design for the fog lamp inserts and air dam.

It sports a wider and taller grille, again with black inserts, and a prominent Honda badge with red bits, as seen on the other Honda Type R models. The new Jazz's glasshouse is more rounded and it also gets a small quarter glass just aft of the rear door. Also seen on the new Honda Jazz are large alloy wheels that are painted black.

At the back, it gets horizontally positioned wraparound tail-lamps with LED elements. Honda seems to have styled the Jazz like the Mercedes-Benz B-class when viewed from the rear three-quarters. The next-gen Jazz will be 3,990mm in length, and that means it will qualify for the excise benefits in India, just like the current model. Honda will, however, increase the car’s width in order to facilitate more room in the cabin and boot.

While it was known that the new Jazz will get a twin-motor mild-hybrid petrol engine, what’s surprising is the Type R variant seen here will come with a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine delivering a whopping 220hp, making it the most powerful iteration of the Jazz ever built.  Additionally, Honda is also expected to offer a 1.0-litre turbo petrol and a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol for some markets like India. 

The new Honda Jazz will share its underpinnings with the all-new Honda City sedan that is also being road-tested in Thailand before its market launch expected sometime next year.

Also see:

Click here for all Honda models, prices, reviews, images, videos and more

Click here for Honda Jazz, prices, reviews, images, videos and more

 

IMAGE SOURCE

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Selfies: Five Times More Deadly Than Shark Attacks

Selfies, which have become a global sensation in the last decade or so, have remarkably killed five times more people than shark attacks.

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MG Hector Launched In India; Prices Start At Rs. 12.18 Lakh

The MG Hector is the first connected car in its segment and will be offered in four variants and with three powertrain options.

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MG Hector launched at Rs 12.18 lakh

Morris Garages have finally begun their India innings with the launch of the Hector SUV, prices for which begin at Rs 12.18 lakh. One of the most anticipated launches of the year, the MG Hector is priced aggressively, comes in four variants and with three engine-gearbox combinations. 

The MG Hector is available in a total of 12 configurations – there are four diesel variants, four petrol-manual variants, two petrol-automatics and three petrol-hybrids on offer.

The MG Hector is powered by a FCA-sourced 2.0-litre, diesel making 170hp and 350Nm of torque and a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine producing 143hp and 250Nm of torque. A 6-speed manual is standard on both engines, while the turbo-petrol also gets the option of a 6-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. Additionally, there’s a 48V mild-hybrid petrol model too (with the 6-speed manual gearbox only), which is said to aid in being comparatively more fuel efficient than the standard petrol variant. The mild-hybrid system will also provide up to 20Nm of additional torque at low speeds to help counter turbo lag and allow for improved acceleration. The MG Hector's ARAI-rated fuel efficiency is 13.96kpl for the petrol and dual-clutch auto combo, 14.16kpl for the petrol-manual, 15.81kpl for the petrol-hybrid (a near 12 percent increase) and 17.41kpl for the diesel version.

A major talking point in the Hector’s interior is the 10.4-inch iSmart touchscreen infotainment system that comes with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, AI-powered voice assist, pre-loaded apps and an embedded Airtel SIM card. Additionally, the top-spec Hector Sharp is equipped with features like a 360-degree camera, a four-way power adjustable co-driver’s seat, a massive panoramic sunroof, heated ORVMs, rain-sensing wipers, automatic headlights, 17-inch alloys and mood lighting with eight colours. As for safety, the Hector features two airbags, ABS with EBD, ESP, traction control, rear parking sensors and disc brakes on all four wheels as standard, while the Smart variant gets four airbags and the Sharp gets six airbags.

For now, the Hector is being sold only as a 5-seater model. However, a 7-seater version will launch here around the same time BS6 emission norms kick in (April 2020). Engine options for the 7-seat Hector are likely to remain the same as the 5-seater, but they are expected to be BS6-compliant.

The Hector will be retailed via the 50 MG dealerships that are already operational throughout the country. MG is also offering maintenance plans of up to 5 years with the Hector, starting at Rs 8,000. There are four plans on offer – Classic, Classic 360, Premium and Premium 360. However, these maintenance plans are only applicable on private registered vehicles. The brand also offers a 5-year/unlimited kilometre warranty plan, along with a 5-year/unlimited kilometre roadside assistance scheme with the Hector as standard.

With the Hector, MG has positioned the SUV very competitively in terms of price (Rs 12.18-16.88 lakh) as it undercuts rivals like the Tata Harrier (Rs 13.00-16.56 lakh), Mahindra XUV500 (Rs 12.31-18.61 lakh) and the Jeep Compass (Rs 15.60-26.80 lakh*), and comes close to the current leader of the midsize SUV segment, the Hyundai Creta (Rs 10.00-15.65 lakh). The Hector will also find new competition in the form of the upcoming Kia Seltos.

All prices are ex-showroom, Delhi

*MG Hector and Jeep Compass prices are ex-showroom, pan-India

Click here for MG Hector reviews, images, videos and more

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WhatsApp Tests Ability to Share Status to Facebook Story

WhatsApp uses the data-sharing API that is used by several other apps, to share the Status on Facebook Story.

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Trump Signals US Government 'Should Be Suing Google and Facebook'

US President Donald Trump complained again about supposed bias against conservatives at social media companies.

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Xiaomi Reveals Mi CC9 Dark Blue Planet Variant Ahead of Launch

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun has shared a couple of images and a short video showcasing the Mi CC9's Dark Blue Planet colour variant ahead of the phone's official launch.

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Game of Thrones, Marvel Stars Join Netflix's Dark Crystal Prequel Series

Netflix has expanded the star-studded cast of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, by adding Sigourney Weaver, Lena Headey, Benedict Wong, Awkwafina, Hannah John-Kamen, and Dave Goelz.

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2019 BMW S 1000 RR India Launch Live Updates: Specifications, Images, Features, Prices

Catch all the Live Updates from the 2019 BMW S 1000 RR launch here.

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Moto Z2 Force is only getting Android 9 Pie on Verizon, despite past promises

Last year Motorola promised it would bring Android 9 Pie to all models of the Moto Z2 Force - including those sold by AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. If you're wondering about any updates on this long overdue rollout, the news is anything but good. Reneging on its earlier promise, Motorola now says only the Verizon version of the Z2 Force is to ever taste Android Pie. Here's the company's full official statement on the matter: Delivering any Android upgrade is a complex process. For a variety of reasons, some US Moto Z2 Force models will not receive the Android 9 "Pie" update. The...

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Google Workers Petition SF Pride to Exclude Company From Parade

Almost 100 Google employees are urging the organiser of this weekend's San Francisco Pride parade to kick the company out of the celebration.

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Zuckerberg Says Delay in Flagging Fake Pelosi Video an 'Execution Mistake'

Zuckerberg on Wednesday said Facebook took too long to flag as false an altered video of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

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Huawei Says 5G 'Business as Usual' Despite US Sanctions

Huawei said that its 5G business has not been impacted by the recent US sanctions amid a prolonged trade war between the world's two largest economies.

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RBI Says Foreign Firms Can Process Abroad, but Must Store Data in India

Foreign payment firms can process transactions made in India outside of the country but the related data should be brought back for local storage within 24 hours.

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Hands On With the LG W10 and LG W30

LG W series phones LG W10 and LG W30 face stiff competition from Xiaomi and Realme offerings in the sub-Rs. 10,000 price bracket.

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MG Hector India Launch Live Updates: Price, Features, Specifications, Images

MG Motor is all set to launch its first model, the MG Hector, in India today, and we'll be bringing you all the live updates from the launch here.

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WhatsApp tests sharing your status to your Facebook Story

WhatsApp's latest beta adds a new feature that's bound to be at least a little bit controversial: sharing your Status to your Facebook Story. This however does not imply linking your WhatsApp user ID to your Facebook account, the company insists, as it's using the standard Android and iOS data sharing APIs. That means you can also share your WhatsApp Status to other apps - Instagram, Gmail, Google Photos, and so on. And when you do share data to another Facebook-owned service like Instagram, the company says the two posts will be separate events in its systems, and will not be...

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YouTube gives you more control over what videos show up in your Home feed and Up Next

YouTube is making some changes today, that will give you more control over what videos show up in your Home feed as well as Up Next. First off, you can explore topics and related videos to see more of what you love. The options that you see are based on your existing personalized suggestions. These could be videos related to the one you're watching, videos published by the same channel, or other topics which may be of interest to you. You can find this new feature on the homepage when you scroll up, and on Up Next when browsing. It will be available for signed-in users in English on the...

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Google now lets you set location history to auto-delete

Today Google has rolled out auto-delete controls for your location history and activity data. These should now be available on both Android and iOS. The feature was first announced at the beginning of May, but it took this long for it to actually be implemented. Auto-delete controls for Location History start rolling out today on Android and iOS, making it even easier for you to manage your data → https://t.co/dX1uoqcR8O pic.twitter.com/Oc3fk66QNm— Google (@Google) June 26, 2019 This is a useful middle-of-the-road option, that lets the company collect your location history and...

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Our Samsung Galaxy A30 video review is up

Samsung has revamped its mid-range lineup this year, and the A series devices now have two digits after the letter. As its name implies, the Galaxy A30 is far from the highest-end of the bunch (that honor goes to the A80, for now), but it is an interesting contender nevertheless, with its water drop notch on its Infinity-U Super AMOLED display, big battery, and octa-core chipset. So how do its specs actually fare in the real world, once you get to know the handset a little bit better? You can check out our brand new video review of the Galaxy A30, embedded below, to find the answer to that...

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Review: 2018 TVS Radeon long term review, second report

I don’t discriminate when it comes to motorcycles, but let’s face it – some bikes are just more exciting than others. Prior to my stint with the TVS Radeon, I didn’t really think commuters had much in way of character. The little Radeon, however, has changed that, to some extent. This TVS fits right into my commute and it has cut down my cost of travel significantly. As a matter of fact, it reduced my travel time too, as compared to travelling by Mumbai’s public transport.

Having squeezed the Radeon through the tiniest of gaps around the city for a couple weeks, I wanted to see how it faired on the highway. So one weekend, I rode to Dahanu, about 140km to the north of Mumbai – a majority of which is on the very smooth and fast NH48. For most of my journey, I had the throttle pinned all the way and this had the Radeon maintain a little above 80kph. At these speeds, the engine doesn’t feel overly stressed but a full tuck got me closer to the 90kph mark; at this point, you can really feel the vibrations at the foot pegs, and then the handlebar. Doing this for longer durations will leave you with a tingling sensation from all the vibrations.

In the 1,000-odd km I’ve ridden it, I’ve found a few things I really like. Firstly, the sound – an Apache-like rumble that’s most familiar when you roll off the throttle. It cracks and pops, too! Then there’s the fuel efficiency. Previous tests of the Radeon saw 78.5kpl on the highway, while the figure dropped to 57.7kpl in the city. On my trip to Dahanu, with the engine at the limit most of the time, I managed to squeeze out 42.4kpl. Quite impressive, considering what the bike had to put up with.

So far, I’ve only been disappointed by the braking performance. It’s dull and the front needs a massive pull at the lever for a quick stop, but I suppose that is expected of a drum-brake setup. The Radeon also comes with SBT (Synchronized Braking Technology), which is a welcome safety addition, especially if you’re someone who tends to primarily use the rear brake. The bike has not been entirely trouble-free, though, and we did face the unusual case of a snapped clutch cable. Clutch cables do wear out and will snap over the lifetime of a motorcycle, but 3,000km is far too early for one that’s only been subject to regular, everyday use.

Aside from the hassle of getting the clutch cable fixed, the Radeon has been a likeable partner and one that does its best to ensure that my wallet has to leave the safety of my pocket as infrequently as possible.

Also see:

2018 TVS Radeon long term review, first report

TVS Radeon available in two new colour schemes

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