Chevrolet plans to take aim at Ferrari and Porsche with the C7 Corvette

Chevrolet already has a Corvette which can rival the big European names in performance, and for the next generation of the car, they intend to narrow that gap.

Hot on the heels of the announcement that Cadillac would be moving their brand upmarket to compete more directly with their German rivals, Chevrolet has now announced that the next generation of the Corvette will be a closer rival to cars from Ferrari and Porsche. The seventh generation of the Corvette is due to make its first public appearance in January at the Detroit Auto Show, ahead of going on sale for the 2014 model year. The new car’s chief designer, Tadge Juechter, told NBC “We set out to build a world-challenging sports car with design, refinement, efficiency and drive engagement that is second to none.”

The current Corvette, in top ZR1 trim, packs more horsepower than its main European rivals, while still maintaining a lower price. The ZR1 comes in at $105,000 and for that you get a supercharged 6.2-liter aluminum V8 which churns out 638 horsepower. When compared to the Porsche 911 Turbo S and its 530 horsepower for $161,000 or the Ferrari 458 Italia’s 562 horsepower for $230,000, it certainly seems that the Corvette is a steal. But the ‘Vette still lags behind in several key areas. To start with, it just isn’t nearly as sophisticated a machine. Though the C6 comes with more technology than ever, it’s nothing compared to the F1-dervived tech packed into every inch of the 458.

Then there is the question of the interior. Chevy has been hearing complaints about Corvette interiors for years, and about the seats in particular, and they have made some improvements. But the result is still something which no Ferrari owner would stand for, and if Chevy expects to steal any of their business, this will have to be greatly improved on the C7.

We do know that Chevy had a new engine, the LT1, for the Corvette. In the base Corvette, this will have 20 more horsepower and 26lb-ft more torque than the outgoing LS3, for a total of 450 for each number. Chevy also says that the base car will get to 60mph in under 4 seconds, and all of this suggests that the higher trim levels of the C7 will indeed rival the Europeans for performance. But performance is one area where the Corvette hasn’t really had a problem competing. The cars are close enough when it comes to performance that quite of lot of what makes one faster than the other is the skill of the driver. What the Corvette lacks is exoticism, the kind that comes with fancy new materials, launch control, top notch interiors and a high price tag. The trick will be in offering these kinds of things without alienating the nameplate’s loyal fan base, but we’ll see soon enough if it can be done.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Apple no longer calls their Maps the most beautiful and powerful ever

Hot on the heels of the new alternative Maps apps section in the AppStore, Apple has also toned down their elated iOS6 Maps app copy as keen visitors to their website have spotted.

As it’s conveniently clear from the screenshot, the previous copy called the new Maps app “the most beautiful, powerful mapping service ever”. The new wording turns the attention to another key feature – “the beautiful vector-based interface that scales and zooms with ease” and certainly takes a more modest stance.

I wonder when are they going to change the messed up icon as well.

It clearly shows a navigation route making a sharp left off a bridge.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

LG extends its fashionable L-Series Android smartphone range with the Optimus L9

LG has announced the dual-core Optimus L9, a new addition to its L Series family of attractive Android smartphones.

Hot on the heels of the Optimus G, LG’s exciting Snapdragon S4 Pro-powered range-topper, comes another new smartphone from the Korean company: The Optimus L9.

While not quite as high-spec as the Optimus G, the L9 still sits at the top of LG’s L Series line-up — introduced during Mobile World Congress earlier this year, and consisting of the L3, L5 and L7 handsets — meaning style and design is equally as important as the phone’s specification.

Like the other L Series phones, the Optimus L9 is a slim, square slab that uses metal throughout the construction of its chassis. The 125 gram overall weight is still low, although the 9.1mm thick handset may feel a little more chunky than many of its rivals, and is even slightly thicker than the 8.7mm L7.

What separates the L9 from its siblings is its massive screen — a 4.7-inch IPS panel, however at this early stage, LG hasn’t provided any information on the resolution. It’s probably a little too much to hope it’ll be the same 1280 x 720 screen seen on the Optimus 4X HD, especially as there’s no mention of it being a TrueHD display, so expect it to share the same 480 x 800 resolution as the L7.

Dual-core power for the Optimus L9

Inside the new phone beats a 1Ghz dual-core processor along with 1GB of RAM, which considering the L7 has a single-core Snapdragon chip and 512MB of RAM, makes it a considerable upgrade.

A 5-megapixel camera and a VGA forward facing lens take care of imaging duties, plus the 2150mAh battery should be tough enough to keep the phone up and running for a sensible amount of time.

Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is its operating system, and LG has included several new software features to accompany it, such as the QTranslator, the My Style Keyboard and QMemo.

QMemo is a note-taking app and is similar to that seen on the Optimus Vu and other LG phones, while the QTranslator lets you scan foreign language documents with the camera, then uses OCR technology to translate the text. Finally, the My Style keyboard alters itself to make typing easier, based on the way you’re holding the phone and whether you’re typing with one or both hands.

LG hasn’t provided a release date or retail pricing for the Optimus L9 yet, but we’d expect to hear more about it during the IFA 2012 show, which begins in Berlin at the end of this week.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com