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Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Top 10: Europe's best selling cars

BMW 3-Series Touring (Image © BMW)

Official figures just released have revealed the best selling cars in Europe during 2006. Does your car make the list? We give the number of cars across Europe sold, together with a percentage figure against 2005 sales. We start at number 10 and work down towards Europe's best selling motor.
10. BMW 3-Series: 289,053 +19.6%
BMW 335d Coupe (Image © BMW)
Click photos to enlarge them
Proving yet again that premium can be mainstream, the 3 Series sold more than the Mondeo, Megane, Vectra and sister-car MINI.

  • Driven: all new BMW 3-Series cabriolet
9. Volkswagen Polo: 294,762 +7.1%
VW Polo Dune (Image © VW)
VW Polo Dune
The ageing Polo still records good figures, largely due to a loyal home market in Germany.

  • Driven: VW Polo Dune
8. Peugeot 307: 306,558 -18.5%
Peugeot 307 (Image © Peugeot)
It's still in the top ten, but the 307 is getting on a bit now and sales are dropping off sharply.

  • Driven: Peugeot 307
7. Volkswagen Passat: 331,414 +28.3%
VW Passat (Image © VW)
Notable growth for VW's acclaimed and good-looking mid-range model.

  • Driven: VW Passat 2.0TDI Sport
6. Ford Fiesta: 353,296 +8.4%
Ford Fiesta (Image © Ford)
Popularity with rental companies and a mid-life facelift helps keep the Fiesta in the top ten with an unexpected rise in sales.

  • Driven: facelifted Ford Fiesta
5. Fiat Punto: 401,022 +50.9%
Fiat Grande Punto (Image © Fiat)
The new Grande Punto was welcomed by the market. Unsurprisingly, sales in Italy were particularly strong.

  • Driven: Fiat Grande Punto 1.2
4. Volkswagen Golf: 417,894 -12.4%
VW Golf (Image © VW)
A significant slide for the Golf, which was the top selling car in 2005.

  • Driven: VW Golf
3. Ford Focus: 418,490 +2.2%
Ford Focus ST (Image © Ford)
Britain's perennial best seller claims the number three slot across the rest of the continent.

  • Driven: Ford Focus ST
2. Renault Clio: 431,595 +28.0%
Renault Clio (Image © Renault)
The new Clio resulted in a huge boom in sales. It only missed out on top spot by some 6,000 sales.

  • Driven: Renault Clio
1. Vauxhall/Opel Astra: 437,673 -6.2%
Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch (Image © GM)
Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch
And Europe's best selling car is… the Vauxhall Astra, branded Opel in the rest of the EU. Sales of the Astra dipped during its second year on sale, but it still recorded big enough numbers to keep it in pole position.


Friday, July 17, 2009

CARS for 2009 - Top 10

1. 2009 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione

Purity of form—billowing fenders, teardrop windows, and almond headlamps, among other things—and the perfect positioning of details are what makes the 8C so sexy. Its wheels, for example, are already regarded by our staff as among the 10 hottest, and its lower air intakes could quite possibly bring the mustache back in vogue. Given the shapely sheetmetal, it hardly even matters, but what’s underhood is nearly as splendid as the wrapper: a sonorous 4.7-liter V-8 that is closely related to the engine found in another car on this list, the Maserati GranTurismo, as well as several Ferraris. Most Americans currently don’t know—or care one way or another—about Alfa Romeo’s plans to return to the U.S. But anyone lucky enough to lay eyes on the brilliant 8C Competizione that is leading the charge will be darn glad Alfa’s back. Why? Because this is beauty.


2. 2009 Aston
Martin DBS
Short of poaching the entire design staff from BMW, Aston Martin couldn’t design an ugly car if it put the wheels on the roof. And its newest flagship, the DB9-based DBS, is one of the most beautiful Astons yet. At more than $260,000, it’s just about the most expensive, too, until the million-dollar One-77 is unveiled, anyway. Carbon fiber is the dominant material for the body of this quintessential gentleman’s grand tourer, and its brilliant, classic proportions are blessed with better curves than a Bond girl and a more chiseled jaw than Double-O himself. Embellishing those big hips and shoulders are details to die for (another day, presumably), including lacy 20-inch wheels, upward-swinging doors, and perfectly situated, fully functional ducts and grilles. The DBS blends form and function at the highest level. And you don’t have to be Q to appreciate that.

3. 2009 Maserati
GranTurismo
Few brand names in the automobile business—or any business, for that matter—can match the bitchy, prosodic fabulousness of “Maserati.” And few cars in the world can match the voluptuous regality of Maserati’s GranTurismo. In other words, it’s beautiful whether you’re saying it or seeing it. Compared with the similarly designed Aston Martin DBS (long hood, front-midship engine layout), the GranTurismo succeeds not with ornamentation but through the emotional, almost whimsical curvature of its plus-size body. The fact that a raucous, Ferrari-derived V-8 resides under the long hood is just icing on one helluva beautiful cake.

4. 2009 Aston Martin V-8 Vantage

It is entirely accurate to consider Aston Martin’s little V-8 Vantage a seven-eighths-scale DB9. Roughly the same size as a Nissan 350Z and only a little bit quicker, the V-8 Vantage is nonetheless much, much pricier. So how can Aston get away with charging $80,000 more for the V-8 Vantage? Simple: The V-8 Vantage is absolutely gorgeous. With the same long-hood, short-deck formula as that of its larger sibling, but with a slightly different styling edge in the form of large wheels and a ducktail tush, the V-8 Vantage offers a rarely achieved balance of beauty and sportiness, proving that classic GT proportions are indeed scalable.

5. 2009 Pontiac Solstice Coupe

Although most of the cars in this group are rather costly, beautiful cars are not the exclusive domain of the rich. For proof, we submit Pontiac’s upcoming Solstice coupe. Little more than a Solstice convertible with a bit more sheetmetal and cargo space, the Solstice coupe joins the Cayman in proving that more is indeed more when it comes to beauty. With well-integrated rear flanks, a radius-edged liftback window, and a double-bubble targa top, the hardtop corrects the Solstice convertible’s greatest flaw: its wretched fabric roof, which neither fits nor looks right. The Solstice coupe is easy on the eye from any angle, and at an estimated $25,000 when it hits the market early next year, it’ll be pretty easy on the wallet, too.

6. 2009 Audi S5









7. 2009 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class









8. 2009 Porsche Cayman









9. 2009 Audi R8









10. 2009 Lotus Elise/2009 Ariel Atom


Thursday, July 16, 2009

Cars

New and Future 2009 Cars

2009 BMW 5-Series and 3-Series Gran Turismo - Gran Turismo x 2 2009 BMW 5-Series and 3-Series Gran Turismo - Gran Turismo x 2

First Look: 2009 Mitsubishi Outlander GT Prototype First Look: 2009 Mitsubishi Outlander GT Prototype

First Look: 2009 Acura ZDX Concept First Look: 2009 Acura ZDX Concept

First Look: 2009 GMC Yukon Denali Hybrid First Look: 2009 GMC Yukon Denali Hybrid

First Look: 2009 Ford Transit Connect Family One Concept First Look: 2009 Ford Transit Connect Family One Concept

Review: 2009 Infiniti G37 Convertible Review: 2009 Infiniti G37 Convertible

2009 Audi TT RS 2009 Audi TT RS

2009 Aston Martin One-77 2009 Aston Martin One-77

2009 Maserati GranTurismo S Automatic 2009 Maserati GranTurismo S Automatic

2009 Fiat 500C Convertible 2009 Fiat 500C Convertible

2009 Mini Cooper John Cooper Works Convertible 2009 Mini Cooper John Cooper Works Convertible

Sneak Peek: 2009 Audi TT RS Sneak Peek: 2009 Audi TT RS

First Drive: 2009 Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S First Drive: 2009 Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S

First Look: 2009 Scion tC Release Series 5.0 First Look: 2009 Scion tC Release Series 5.0

2009 Lincoln C Concept 2009 Lincoln C Concept

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

MICHAEL JACKSON - King Of Pop

The Bio History of Michael Joseph Jackson began when he was born on the 29th of August 1958 in Gary, Indiana. He was the 7th of nine children. (brothers: Sigmund "Jackie", Toriano "Tito", Jermaine, Marlon, Steven "Randy", and sisters Rebbie, Janet and La-Toya Jackson

Michael began his musical career at the age of 5 as the lead singer of the Jackson 5 who formed in 1964. In these early years the Jackson 5, Jackie, Jermaine,Tito,Marlon and lead singer Michael played local clubs and bars in Gary Indiana and moving further afield as there talents grew and they could compete in bigger competitions. From these early days Michael would be at the same clubs as big talented stars of there days, such as Jackie Wilson and would be learning from them even back then. In 1968 the Bobby Taylor and The Vancouvers discovered the Jackson five and from there they got an audition for Berry Gordy of Motown Records. The Jackson 5 signed for Motown and moved to California. Their first 4 singles, "I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There" all made US No1 hits. The Jackson 5 recorded 14 albums and Michael recorded 4 solo albums with Motown.

The Jackson 5 stayed with Motown until 1976, wanting more artistic freedom they felt they had to move on and signed up with Epic. The group name Jackson 5 had to be changed as it was owned by Motown, so they reverted to The Jacksons as they had be known in the early days. Brother Jermaine married Berry Gordy's daughter and stayed with Motown. Youngest brother Randy joined in his place. The Jacksons had a number of hit recordsand in total made 6 albums between the years of 1976 and 1984.

In 1977 Michael made his first film debut when he starred in the musical 'The Wiz' playing Scarecrow with Diana Ross in the lead role of Dorothy. It was at this time Michael met Quincy Jones who was doing the score for the film.

Michael teamed up with Quincey Jones as his producer for his first solo album with Epic Records. The album titled "Off The Wall" was a big success around the world and the first ever album to release a record breaking 4 No1 singles in the US.

In 1982 Michael Jackson released the world's largest selling album of all time, 'Thriller'. This album produced 7 hit singles, breaking yet again more records, and went on to sell over 50 million copies worldwide. Michael was keen to use music video or short films as he called them to promote his singles from the album. He worked with the best directors and producers, using the latest technology and special effects.for the hit song 'Billie Jean' The short film 'Thriller' used the latest make-up artists technolgy combined with fantastic dancing and cherography, to produce a 14 minute video, with a start, a middle and an ending. So successful was this video that 'The Making Of Michael Jackson's Thriller' became the world's largest selling home video combined with soaring album sales. In 1983 Michael performed the now legendary moonwalk for the first time on the 'Motown 25 years' anniversary show. This performance alone set Michael undoubtable into the realm of a superstar.

In 1984 Michael won a record breaking 8 Grammy awards in one night. The awards were for his work on the 'Thriller' album and his work on the narrative for the 'ET Storybook'.

On December 9th 1984 at the last concert of the Jackson's Victory Tour, Michael announced he was splitting from the group and going solo.

In 1987 Michael released his much awaited third solo album, titled 'Bad', and lauched his record breaking first solo world tour. 1988, Michael wrote his first autobiography talking for the first time on his childhood and his career. At the end of the 1980s Michael was named 'Artist Of The Decade' for his success off of his 'Thriller' and 'Bad' albums.

In 1991 Michael signed with Sony Music the largest ever recording contract and released his fourth solo album, 'Dangerous'. He toured world again in 1992, taking his concerts to countries that had never before been visited by a pop/rock artist. Also Michael founded the 'Heal the World Foundation' to help improve the lives of children across the world.

In 1994 Michael married Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of rock legend Elvis Presley. The marriage only lasted for 19 months, as they divorced in 1996.

1995 saw Michael release a fifth solo album, 'HIStory', which was a double album, first half new material and second half half greatest hits. Michael toured again over a legs covering a 2 year period. In between legs of the tour on November 14th 1996, Michael married for his second time to Debbie Rowe who was a nurse that Michael had met in the treatment of his skin pigment disorder. Together they had their first child Prince Michael Joseph Jackson jr born on February 13 1997 and a daughter Paris Michael Katherine Jackson born on April 3rd 1998. In 1997 Michael released the remix album 'Blood On The Dance Floor' which also contained 5 new song linked with a 38min film "Ghosts". This film Michael played 5 roles using the latest special effects and make-up artistry, combined with his dance and music.


In September, 2001 Michael celebrated his 30th anniversary as a solo artist with two concerts to be held in New York, USA. Many artists such as Whitney Houston, Usher, Destinys Child, Shaggy and many more performed there own and Michael Jacksons past songs. Michael then reunited with all of his brothers performed there biggest hits. Michael then went onto perform solo some of his biggest hits. In October 2001 Michael released the album 'Invincible' so far releasing only 2 singles including the big hit "You Rock My World". Since the release of this first single the album has been surrounded by rumours of a rift with Sony Music and a clear lack of promotion of the album.

News

Troops flood into Chinese riot city

Thousands of troops pour into China's riot-torn city of Urumqi as President Hu Jintao leaves the G8 summit to tackle the crisis.

G8 leaders to meet in quake zone

The leaders of the G8 countries head for the site of a recent Italian earthquake for the beginning of a three-day summit.

Google to launch operating system

Google is to launch a new operating system that is set to go head to head against Microsoft's Windows.


Monday, July 6, 2009

Latest Mobile Phones , Cars And Laptops - News - Videos - Pictures

Mobile Phone is a short-range, electronic device used for mobile voice or data communication over a network of specialised base stations known as cell sites. In addition to the standard voice function of a mobile phone, telephone, current mobile phones may support many additional services, and accessories, such as SMS for text messaging, email, packet switching for access to the Internet, gaming, bluetooth, infrared, camera with video recorder and MMS for sending and receiving photos and video.

Mobile Phones For 2009

Nokia 6730 classic


Device Description:
The Nokia 6730 classic supports EGPRS, WCDMA and HSDPA/HSUPA (3.5G). Enjoy videos, music, and graphics on the 2.2” QVGA TFT display. Take photos with a 3.2-megapixel FullFocus (EDOF) camera. Additional features include integrated A-GPS and Nokia Maps 3.0, USB charging with simultaneous data transfer, Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR, and USB 2.0 High-Speed.



Samsung M8910 Pixon12

Less than a week after the Sony Ericsson Satio officially launched as the first 12-megapixel phone, Samsung has announced the equally specced Pixon 12 M8910.

According to Akihabara News, the M8910 will arrive in Europe in June. It will boast a resolution bump from the original 8-megapixel Samsung Pixon, which some users reckoned was basically an 8-megapixel Tocco.

The M8910 features a 3.1-inch AM

OLED touch screen. Camera functions include touch-based focus, allowing you to tap on the screen to select what you want to focus on. Samsung describes a fast-saving feature, which is designed to allow you to take the next picture quickly rather than waiting the full amount of time for the phone's brain to wrestle with each dozen-megapixel image.

It also includes a 28mm wide-angle lens and Xenon flash. In addition to stills, the M8910 shoots 720x480-pixel video at 30 frames per second. Which all sounds great, but we'll wait until we've had a hands-on and seen some test shots before we get really excited--after all, there's still the matter of that tiny little phone-size image sensor.

With HSPA and built-in Wi-Fi, you'll get instant upload to Facebook, Flickr, Photobucket, and the like. According to reports, it'll pack quad-band GSM/EDGE, dual-band UMTS/HSPA, Bluetooth and GPS.


Sony Ericsson C901 GreenHeart


Sony-Ericsson GreenHeart cell phone features
• Size: 105 x 45 x 13 mm
• Weight: 107 grams
• Colours: Ocean White
• Main screen: 262,144 colour TFT, scratch-resistant
• Resolution: 240 x 320 pixels
• Size: 2.2 inches
• Cell phone memory: Up to 120MB
• Memory card support: Memory Stick Micro (M2)
• Talk time GSM / GPRS: Up to 9.5 hrs
• Standby time GSM / GPRS: Up to 430 hrs
• Video talk time: TBC

Sony Ericsson C901 GreenHeart Eco-functions
• Sony-Ericsson MH300 GreenHeart headset includes 100% recycled plastics.
• CO² footprint of Sony-Ericsson GreenHeart pioneer phones reduced by 15%.
• Smaller phone pa ckaging reduces transport emissions and paper usage.
• E-manual reduces paper usage by over 90%.
• Minimum 50% recycled plastics.












Computer
is a machine that manipulates data according to a set of instructions.

Although mechanical examples of computers have existed through much of recorded human history, the first resembling a modern computer were developed in the mid-20th century (1940–1945). The first electronic computers were the size of a large room, consuming as much power as several hundred modern personal computers Modern computers based on tiny integrated circuits are millions to billions of times more capable than the early machines, and occupy a fraction of the space.Simple computers are small enough to fit into a wristwatch, and can be powered by a watch battery. Personal computers in t

heir various forms are icons of the Information Age, what most people think of as a "computer", but the embedded computers found in devices ranging from fighter aircraft to industrial robots, digital cameras, and toys are the most numerous.


Top 10 Notebooks 2009

1. Asus EEE PC 1000HE

The streamlined and redesigned Asus Eee PC 1000HE takes no prisoners. While the previous Asus Eee PC 1000 offered a solid netbook, Acer's Aspire One stole all the attention with its lean and incredibly affordable approach. With the latest incarnation of the Eee PC 1000, the "HE" might as well stand for "Holy Enhancement!" This model bears only a passing resemblance to last year's Eee PC, and improves upon just about everything from the keyboard to the CPU. Better yet, in addition to losing some unsightly girth, Asus also trimmed the price to $400.

Let's take a quick tour around the machine to kick this off. The first, most obvious thing you'll spot is the cut-out keyboard. Just like you'd find on an Apple MacBook Air or on Sony VAIO laptops, the keys poke through the plastic, creating a wide gap between buttons. In that respect, this feels and looks great, and is generally more usable. The trackpad is just spacious enough -- I particularly like its metal framing and the few multitouch functions incorporated into the design. However, I found the pad slightly twitchy to control. No deal-breaker, but I noticed.

You also get a couple handy shortcut buttons hovering along the top of the unit. They do everything from give the CPU a speed boost (more on that below) and user-definable shortcuts to a screen resolution adapter. That is, you can view 1024-by-768 resolutions even though the native resolution of the 1000HE is 1024 by 600 -- it's a special compression mode that Lenovo employs in the IdeaPad S10 as well, and represents a convenience given that some applications default to a 1024-by-768-pixel resolution and won't work otherwise.

This unit's 10.1-inch backlit LED display is bright and capable of good color reproduction; its glossy coating helps the image pop a little more than you usually see on netbooks. However, the highly polished bezel that keeps the screen in place can get a little distracting at times.

A number of aerodynamic nips and tucks make this 10.3-by-7.4-by-1.4-inch netbook just a hair thinner than the older, clunkier Eee PC 1000 we reviewed last year. It's also a little on the "heavy" side for a netbook, weighing 3.2 pounds. That's the price of strapping an 8700mAH battery to the bottom of this thing; Asus promises that the 1000HE will deliver 9.5 hours of performance (but we got a solid seven hours, nine minutes in our tests).In short, netbooks in this generation are finally packing the battery power required for marathon computing sessions.

Speaking of performance, the Asus Eee PC 1000HE sports Intel's 1.66-GHz Atom N280 CPU. For the sake of comparison, most of the netbooks that came out late last year used the N270 CPU, which runs at a lower frequency (1.6-GHz) and a slower frontside bus speed (533MHz as compared with 667 MHz in the N280). The difference, however, was minimal. Our test unit got a 35 in WorldBench: an average score for what you'll find in netbooks.

The Asus comes with 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard disk drive, and 802.11b/g/n /Bluetooth wireless. Around the perimeter of chassis lies a fairly standard set of three USB 2.0 inputs.

The audio, as on the Eee PC 1000, sounds surprisingly strong for its size. But it lacks a good subwoofer, so don't expect to rock a house party with this thing. Other notable features thrown into the mix: InterVideo WinDVD (which seems to be a little bit of overkill, I'd recommend you try out KMPlayer), and 18 months of 10GB of free online storage.

In the end, this is a fairly solid -- and sizable -- jump over what's come out just a few months earlier. In fact, I'd dare say that amongst the netbook pack, this is one of my current favorites and something that I'd highly recommend that you check out. Considering that its selling in some places for as little as $380, you could do worse

2. Asus EEE PC 1008HA

3. Samsung N110

4. Lenovo Ideapad S10

5. Acer Aspire ONE AOD150

6. Samsung NC10

7. Acer Aspire ONE

8. Lenovo Ideapad S10

9. HP Mini 2140

10. Asus N10JC