Author: Serkadis

We all know that Spyker is the "lucky" company that managed to snatch Saab from General Motors. But nobody knew exactly what is actually going to happen to the Swedish company after the Dutch guys take over the brand completely. Well, Spyker today rolled out a long press release through which it aims to put things straight and provide some details on the long-discussed future of the Swedish brand.

First of all, Spyker assures us that Saab will continue to exist as a stand-alone bran… (read more)

After yesterday Tim Lentz, the CEO of Toyota Motor Sales gave an interview on the Today Show on NBC and pretty much managed to dodge all the questions thrown at him, he apparently was more forthcoming during another interview, this time with FOX Business Network (FBN). One of the questions he swirled around on NBC, "how long will it take to fix the pedals?," was at last answered: Toyota will need months, not weeks, to solve perhaps one of the biggest image problems in its history.

… (read more)

The plans for including India in the 2011 Formula One calendar have suffered a serious blow in recent days, when it was discovered that a cemetery is likely to block the construction of India’s first ever Formula One venue.

According to several media reports in the country, it seems the location for India’s F1 circuit is near a cremation ground, some 40km outside the capital Delhi. When initially agreeing on the site, it seems that the company that runs the operations did not know about the v… (read more)

Why can’t mobile phone companies design hardware and create services that are as awe-inspiring as those created by Apple?

Aricent, a communications software maker, is trying to address that question by launching what it calls “Experience Engineering,” which is a holistic way of looking at mobile gadget design that focuses on delivering a truly delightful experience for the user. Its target customers are mobile carriers or phone makers who don’t have the benefit of selling iPhones or Google Nexus One cell phones.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Aricent has the clout to back up this idea. The company makes a lot of the software that powers the world’s mobile phones. It has 8,000 employees and generated revenues of $465 million last year. But no one has ever heard of the company because it doesn’t brand its designs. Rather, customers such as Sprint, Motorola, or Nextel put their names on Aricent’s work and then sell it to consumers.

The problem with a lot of mobile phones is that they aren’t engineered by a single company to run on a particular network. Aricent uses its resources to create a total solution which includes the mobile hardware, infrastructure, software, and connectivity.

“The idea is to create an integrated strategy that focuses on the subscriber’s experience,” said Keith Higgins, vice president of marketing at Aricent.

Aricent was created as the hired gun of the mobile industry a few years ago as a spin-off from contract manufacturer Flextronics in a funding led by KKR and Sequoia Capital. (Other investors are the Family Office and the Canadian Pension Fund Investment Board). Aricent has more than 500 customers and works jointly with Frog Design, the industrial design firm owned by Flextronics, to design software for mobile phones, telecom infrastructure companies, and cell phone service providers. Aricent does everything from testing user interface prototypes on phone users to the billing operations for cell phone services.

It has a product portfolio of scores of products which it licenses to customers. Experience Engineering comes from combining all of Aricent’s resources. With Experience Engineering, Aricent works with mobile phone companies from conception to launch. The period of design could last anywhere from 18 months to three years. Among the recent designs are Intel, which recently showed off a digital sign platform, and Flo TV, the new mobile television service created by Qualcomm.

To do the same thing, rivals might have to engage firms such as Ideo, Accenture and Wipro to work together to build a new product. We’ll see whether this strategy means that those companies denigrated as “clone makers” can rise to the occasion and challenge the likes of Apple.

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Today’s quickie Joy Jolt is all about HOW NOT TO BE  A JERK DURING CONFLICT – where I offer tips on how to trouble shoot problems with your partner — without wanting to shoot your partner. Basically I give you researched advice on how not only to make sure you keep your partner alive – but your love alive and thriving! Listen in and listen up by clicking this line you’re reading now.

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Google News may be a great target for disgruntled news publishers looking for someone to blame, but the service can be a great tool for readers and news sources alike. It’s not perfect, but it does have some unique advantages and today it can add a new tool to its arsenal. Interesting stories can now be ‘starred’, just like in Google Reader or Gmail, so they c… (read more)

The automotive world will not surrender to the tree huggers, and that’s quite a relief. The Americans will not abandon their tradition, as GM vice chairman Bob Lutz said they will keep producing the GM V8. Fiat and Chrysler Group CEO Sergio Marchionne said the Hemi V8 will not be killed and Ford presented its new Coyote V8, says goauto.com.au.

As it is only natural, GM’s V8 will suffer some upgrades, according to Mr Lutz: The V8 is going to have to undergo a substantial transformation and it … (read more)

We know we’ve announced this plenty of times in the past, but Force India is now only a few hours away from announcing British racer Paul di Resta as their new reserve driver for the upcoming season of Formula One. According to media reports in Scotland, the announcement will be made in Glasgow during the course of today.

Di Resta is a Mercedes works driver in the DTM and has tested for Force India in December, during the rookie testing meeting at Jerez. During that particular test, he was jo… (read more)

Sony Ericsson has published this promotional video for their new Aspen handset. The business-focussed smartphone is set to be released in Q2 2010.

It’s all rumor for now, but Canon Rumors has word from a trusted source that a new Rebel is coming next week known as the T2i. According to its source, we can expect a new, higher resolution LCD, selectable FPS video, new LP-E8 battery and grip in the followup to the Rebel T1i. It also brings a new Rebel shape and build quality but lacks an articulating screen. And in case you’re wondering, the uptick in camera news is related to the runup to the big PMA 2010 photog show kicking off on February 19th — so get used to it.

Canon Rebel T2i rumored for next week originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Our crack team over at Engadget Chinese has managed to snag the above roadmap slide for Lenovo’s mobile computer division. We’ve seen earlier versions of the same slide — when the Edge and T410 / T510 were freshly added — but the very latest iteration contains a sprinkling of even newer machines. Most intriguing will be the L400 and L500, which are set to replace the former “corporate mainstream” mainstay R series, which incites the more hopeful among us to believe that perhaps a new chassis design is on the cards too. No less notable are the new X201 models, though we might surmise by the mild numerical change that they’ll just be upgraded to low-voltage Arrandale CPUs and left well enough alone. For more info on the likely specs of the W701, you should check out our breakdown of its FCC appearance right here.

Lenovo X201 Tablet, W701 and new L series revealed by ThinkPad roadmap slide originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Geely will take control of a 100 percent stake in Volvo, despite reports that Ford wanted to keep some technologies developed by the Swedish unit. Citing a Geely top executive, gasgoo.com reported that the Chinese company will thus purchase all factories, cars and parts, R&D centers, production lines and the rest of the assets, even through Ford was planning to keep some hybrid technologies developed by Volvo and Vattenfall.

Ford and Geely have already signed a preliminary agreement on Volvo,… (read more)

In preparation for the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans, Audi’s Sport division will test the R15 TDI at the 8-hour race at Le Castellet in southern France on April 11. As Audi says, the car will only attend the event for testing purposes and will not aim at anything more.

We’re on schedule with the additional developments we’re making on the R15 TDI and so this race should be possible, Wolfgang Ullrich, Audi Motorsport head said.

Le Castellet is a race track that lends itself pretty well to tes… (read more)

…Since 2007, more than 250 college students have served in the Iowa Campus Compact AmeriCorps Program, logging more than 75,000 volunteer hours and recruiting an additional 2,500 college students to volunteer.

“We exist to increase service learning courses among our campuses and to serve our communities by mobilizing volunteers, marshaling financial resources, and building partnerships,” said Cornell College President Les Garner, chair of the Iowa Campus Compact Board, which includes the presidents of all 19 member colleges and universities.

Read the entire article on Cornell College’s website.

There’s an unintentionally hilarious article over at Reuters claiming that TV execs are positively perplexed over the fact that many fans of the TV show Lost are purposely ignoring a leaked new episode of the show, preferring to wait until its aired on TV. Of course, the article doesn’t actually quote any confused TV execs. Instead, it quotes one TV exec at ABC who does seem to understand why fans don’t want to watch it until it airs on TV.

But, of course, that doesn’t play into the media narrative that fans are greedy downloaders who will just get anything as fast as possible when put online. So, instead, the report has to make it out like it’s a “surprise.” Perhaps only to those who haven’t bothered paying attention to what fans actually want. This, by the way, was why there are better ways to respond to movie/TV show leaks than breaking out the lawyers.

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Vehicles that have been previously owned by stars are enjoying a great deal of success when are put up for grabs, so this should also be the case with a Bentley Arnage RL previously owned by legendary musician Rod Stewart. The car, which has a full Bentley service history and cost more than £150,000 when new, is now offered for £47,995 on Auto Trader.

The vehicle is powered by a 6.8-litre V8 engine, which develops 400bhp and 616lb/ft of torque.

This allows it to sprint from naught to six… (read more)

What has only been rumored in recent weeks has now become official, as the F1 Commission today confirmed some important rule changes for the upcoming season of Formula One. As reported by several media before, the point system was the first thing that was discussed by the FIA officials, who all agreed that a new format was needed.

Consequently, the FIA approved the Formula One Teams Association’s (FOTA’s) desire to award points to the top 10 finishers of the 2010 season, under the format: 25-… (read more)

People have always hated getting in their stone cold car in the winter. Pre-heating the engine came as an alternative some time ago, when owners were able to start their engines from their car alarm’s remote control, but this was not an universal solution. It’s not that safe to keep your engine running in an underground parking lot, and it’s definitely not very green of you.

This problem seems to have been solved by Energy Xtreme and Espar Heater Systems, which have built a system capable to… (read more)