Given the current movement to ‘go green’ combined with the high cost of gasoline, the electric car is gaining in popularity. The Smart Car has been spotted weaving in and out of New York City traffic. However, the Smart Car is an energy efficient, practical, relatively inexpensive workhorse with a boxy shape.

The Tesla Roadster is a sports car and America loves a sports car. But due to its high price, it is oriented to a different market than the Smart Car.

The Tesla might also be dubbed an international sports car. Norway produces the chassis. The RTM carbon fiber body panels are made by SOTIRA, in St. Meloir and Pouance, France. Siemens in Germany manufactures the brakes and airbags. The motors are produced in Taiwan. And the Lotus factory in Hethel, England assembles the car.

Lotus has had considerable influence since the inception. Lotus provided design assistance and furnished the basic chassis development technology from the Lotus Elise. The styling was developed by Barney Hatt at Lotus’ design studio however he did consult with Tesla engineers. It was Tesla engineers who decided to use resin transfer molded carbon fiber to construct the body panels.

The Roadster is available in two models, the Standard Model and the Sports Model.

The Roadster is equipped with a 3-phase, 4-pole AC induction motor that can produce 248 hp. The Sport Model can produce 288 hp.

The Standard Model can accelerate from 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds while the Sport model can do this in 3.7 seconds. The electronically limited top speed is 125 mph.

The Roadster’s battery pack is called the Energy Storage System or ESS. It requires three and one half hours to fully recharge the battery. The battery weighs 992 pounds and in 2008, the cost of a replacement was $20,000.

From the very beginning Tesla had transmission problems, which caused several delays in production. Tesla experimented with several transmissions but none were successful. Finally, in September 2008 they decided to use a single speed Borg Warner fixed gear transmission.

The Roadster is a rear wheel drive with most of the weight centered in front of the rear axle.
Weighing in at around 2,700 pounds, it is approximately 13 feet long, 6 feet wide and 4 feet high.

All Roadsters are equipped with left hand drive so at this time, Tesla cannot market in England or countries where traffic stays to the left-hand side of the road.

Paul Boutin of ‘Slate’ gave the Roadster an outstanding review. It also appeals to celebrities such as Jay Leno who dubbed it ‘fun to drive.’

However, owning it will require a celebrity’s income. To date the Roadsters have been sold on a reservation basis. Six hundred fifty were planned for 2008 and all were reserved. In 2009, Tesla plans to market 1500 vehicles. While the 2008 models were priced at $98,000 with a $950.00 destination charge, the price of the 2009 models has been raised to $109,000.

So for people who have $110,000 to $120,000 to spend, are in love with sports cars, and will accept an electric car, the Tesla is the car to buy.

So far infrared germanium lasers required cryogenic cooling systems expensive to operate. The new germanium laser operating at room temperature.To create the germanium laser, the scientists have received six-inch silvery gray disk of silicon and spray with a thin film of germanium. The discs themselves are actually used to produce chips in computers today.

The “three gigahertz, and less than three pounds (1),” The ThinkPad  andike competitors who compromise on the size, weight, performance and cooling, Lenovo x201 is optimized for the experience that you compromise between mobility and performance. The x201 outclocks competitors in its class by 25 percent (1) and included (in Intel R) normal volt Core (TM) processors, while competitors offer low processor volt. The x201 also gets extremely long battery life of up to 11 hours. (3) The new ThinkPad X201s, featherweight fighter X Series’, weighs under 2.5 lbs (4) and now carries more than 12 hours (5) of life.

While your  pack can come anywhere in-between 3.12 hours, more complex operated by the laptop affects the strength of the  battery. The Notebook PC battery is still due, therefore, must ensure that  is fully charge before first use.

Alternatively, the Lenovo last week started offering longand life is justified to hold runtime for 3 years, or about 1.000 charges.Those matched HP which last year introduced the Long-Life Batteries, built from Boston Power Inc., which is also guaranteed to hold charge for 3 years.

In general, our honor to be your guide. In the high end, more expensive cards can be easily stacked with hundreds of dollars for a slice of the extra performance, while at the bottom, spending $ 50 for each video card at all can provide a huge boost in performance. We recommend you stick to the bottom for the best price if you are sure you will benefit from all the extra horsepower. Think 512MB «model” for a graphics card and 1GB supreme.

Apple TV: Cook reiterated Apple ‘s long-held stance that the decoder TV is “hobby” because of low sales compared to the iPod the Mac, and iPhone lines. “We are continuing to invest in [Apple TV] because our gut tells us something there.”

Users looking to get the full runtime of the new ThinkPad will love the new 9-cell Lenovo bumped quiet the 9-cell 84Wh from the previous capacity at a new model 94Wh. The change makes the IBM ThinkPad R50 Battery look slightly larger but not stuck any further from the back of the laptop. The 6-cell battery only got a bump 1Wh to 57Wh.

Bottom line, you get the best performance when you need it and better PA3399U-1BAS battery life when you’re just browsing the Internet or run Microsoft Office. Large switchable graphics solutions from Nvidia and ATI based on a manual switch: You must reboot your laptop or you can tell by hand the notebook to switch between integrated graphics and special graphics. As a result, most people with switchable graphics or leave their laptops in IGP or GPU mode all the time and do not bother to switch back and forth. Optimus is the first switchable graphics solution that does all the work for you so you do not have to think about.

Not so long ago, MSI revealed the fact that the CeBIT 2010 exhibition will feature, among other things, the top-tier PC notebook gaming is known as the Toshiba GT660. This laptop was identified as the king of gaming and together a new look with strong material and world-class sound. Now, the Expo is all set to start, but just two hours before the actual opening, managed to get close enough to the cell powerhouse and take some pictures.

Business users rely too much on the buttons to start using in shale, but companies and hardware vendors computer can still get close to the idea of multitouch PC slate used by professionals and them instead of convertible tablets. Among the latest devices in this category are HP ‘s EliteBook 2740p, an ultra-slim device with multitouch capabilities and high usability in areas such as sales, education and healthcare, among others. This device, along with the EliteBook 2540p and ProBook models in the series, has just officially launched by Hewlett-Packard.

Apple wireless Internet failure acknowledged the existence iPad

Recently, many consumer complaints against the iPad WiFi fault, Apple iPad yesterday acknowledged the problem of wireless network links, and the official web site gives technical solutions.

As early as April 3 iPad listed on the first day, they HP Pavilion ZV5000 Battery have WiFi users reflect the existence of fault iPad, yesterday at noon in the Apple forums, a “bad wireless” post have been a 21-page replies of this topic, click-through rate as high as 3.7 million. Many users said, WiFi there are several problems such as difficult to maintain a stable rate. Some users said, iPad after wake from hibernation can not connect to the network.

Apple Inc. is given followed by a technical Web site solution, indicate a problem yes because you use a third party’s Duo-frequency Lu Youqi cause of, and Jian Yi Zhong Xin independent Shezhi users per frequency band, network settings Tongshibiaoshi you should ensure that the firmware version is Zuixin , the router has the complete functions, in addition to check the location of the router.

But Apple did not recognize the hardware problem. Apple has also hinted that may be because too far away from the router or other equipment caused interference with the wireless link failure.

While Apple gives the solution, but still many users complained that the wireless link failure.

In another development, the flat wind wave riding iPad, Apple’s rivals Hewlett-Packard announced on April 5 for a forthcoming touchscreen Tablet PC – “Slate” video. Nokia is also possible in the second half of 2010 to launch its own Tablet PC.

In addition, there was news this week, Apple will release four new generation mobile phone system iPhone (mobile Internet) OS 4.0, rumors that a new generation multi-mission systems or to support the run.

April 8 morning news, according to foreign media reports, Compuware subsidiary Gomez Internet Performance Department released data show that the main Internet web site page is loaded, the Apple iPad faster than the speed of the Internet this and the Amazon Kindle reader.

Data show that 74% of major Internet sites loaded in the iPad on the Internet this on faster than the speed. But on all Internet sites, the, iPad page loading Dell Inspiron 6400 Battery slightly slower than the Internet this. Gomez CTO Emard @ Mullin (Imad Mouline) that the performance of a large site on the iPad better because these sites are optimized for the iPad. If there are more sites to follow, then the iPad the future will provide a better browsing experience.

However, upgrading of part of the site loading speed is not as iPad load Flash content, which leads to some site functionality is limited. But Mullin said, even taking into account the impact of Flash content, iPad loading large web pages are still faster than the speed of the Internet this.

Apple CEO Steve @ Jobs (Steve Jobs) has said, iPad if you want to be successful, it must in some ways better than the smart phones, in some ways better than the laptop. Portability of smartphones is significantly better than tablet PCs and notebooks, but the performance is also weak.

Jobs said, iPad would be by far the most outstanding Web browsing device, while the Internet is not the advantage in every aspect. iPad portability of this better than the Internet, if the page loading speed better than the Internet of this, it will prove to be Steve Jobs said is true.

According to the foreign site, Apple iPad has been successfully listed, last weekend one-day sales of more than 300,000 units. Apple iPad forum users complain that recent days have been a continuous bombing, the complaint can not be sustained and steady focus on iPad keep Wi-Fi connection. Apple today confirmed that its new iPad existence of Wi-Fi link to the problem and the issue of remedial measures.

On an Apple forum, entitled Weak Wifi Pages (bad Wifi page) the Dell Inspiron 8600 Battery listed in the iPad 48 hours after visits to more than 1 million times.

The following is an excerpt of 2 user comments:

One commented that the 16GB version of iPad on my Wifi signal is also weak, even WLAN is standing in front of the router, the signal is weak when the strong. In fact the router signal is very strong, the other computer can receive a strong signal, even in the 20-30 meters as well.

Another commented that, in the room, my iPhone, iPod touch, two Macbook Pros notebook, Apple TV, and PS games are full of cell signals, but only 1-2 iPad format signal.

User guess Wifi antenna signal is weak due to problems, some people speculated may be a software problem. The latter fact seems to confirm speculation that the majority of the forum completely run Apple network users do not have the same problem.

Monday Apple Knowledge Base article published on the page, to discuss the issue. This article not only to make recommendations on the repair, also illustrates this problem very seriously Apple. The article said that support for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency band of third-party Wi-Fi router connection problems occur, the user’s network settings for each band a different SSID, to ensure that each network uses the same security settings (WEP, WPA or WPA2 ).

Apple’s proposed remedy

Apple said that, if you have connection HP pavilion zd8000 battery, in a more explicit explanation of Apple and rehabilitation measures, it may take the following remedial measures:

Router’s firmware upgrade and a home network connection in the iPad before, to ensure that the latest version of firmware, so that fully functional router.

Replaced the router location is too close to look at the router device causing interference, because the microwave, cordless phones, wireless keyboard, and Bluetooth devices will interfere with W-Fi signal.

Determine the router’s wireless standards currently most routers only support 802.11n, also supports a, b and g networks, set up your router the best network and other wireless devices also do the same change, iPad support 802.11n, so match as closely as possible the router.

Change the router’s encryption settings generally safe and not a problem, but if you want to improve network performance, you may need to change security settings. Try to change the encryption settings, see if can improve connection. Apple also recommends that users across the network use the same security settings.

Apple to rename the network made this suggestion may seem strange, but can also try the next. Each band to create different Wi-Fi network name, for example, in 802.11b / g network name plus a G, the 802.11n network name plus a APPLE M7318 Battery.

Mack Dump Trucks was started by the Renault Véhicules Industriels.

A 2007 Mack Granite Ct173 used goes for approx. 75,000 dollars. the specs are as follows AMI-370 Mack Engine 405 hp; 83,698 Miles; 10 Spd; Engine Brake; Camelback Suspension; 4.64 Ratio; 11R22.5 Tires; Aluminum Wheels; 204″ WB; Tri Axle; 20,000 # FA; 44,000 #

RA.

New Mack GU713 Dump Unit Available. MP8-485 HP Engine, 18 Speed Mack T318 Transmission, Dual 66 Gallon Aluminum Fuel Tanks, All Aluminum Wheels, Pedigree – Slate Gray Interior, Dual Watson/Chalen Drop Axles, 18′ Tesco Dump Bed., Mack Engine, MP8 Diesel, 485 Horsepower, 5,100 Miles, Fuel Type Diesel, Transmission 18 Spd, Engine Brake, Suspension Camelback, Ratio 4.35, Tires 11R 24.5, Wheels All Aluminum, Wheelbase 262″, Quad Rear Axels, Front Axle Lbs 20,000, Rear Axle Lbs 44,000, Can be found with a starting price of 139,000 US dollars or more.

1987 Mack dump, Mileage: 229,703 miles,Type:Dump – box Engine make: Mack Transmission type: Manual,Class: Class 8 (33,001 lbs. or more) Engine horsepower: 300 Transmission speeds: 8LL

Fuel type: Diesel Suspension type: Spring Tire size: 22.5 inches

Number of axles: Three. Used this Truck goes for bout 20,000 US dollars.

On the other hand a new one such as

Title: 2007 Mack CHN613 with a 2006 Benson 30ft dump trailer,Mileage: 320,000 miles,

Type: Semi – daycab cabover Engine make: Mack Transmission type: Manual

Class: Class 8 (33,001 lbs. or more) Engine horsepower: 427 Transmission speeds: 10 Speed direct Fuel type: Gas Suspension type: Spring Tire size: 24.5 inches. Goes for 89,000 US dollars

The Mack model R and U was first used as a highway truck. RD and DM where first set to be used for construction. This started in the ’60s. Mack trucks designed a new engine to be used with the their trucks starting in the 1968. This engine was a Maxidyne engine. This engine had a high torque. It could carry more weight.

A Mack truck can be distinguished by the Bulldog emblem that it has adorning its hood. This was first carved and patented in 1932. This design was originally carved by Alfred Fellows Masury, Mack’s Chief Engineer at the time.

Mack dump trucks have been used to build some of the world most famous buildings from the Hoover Dam to the Third water tunnel in New York. Almost every construction job in the world uses Mack. Mack trucks is a subsidiary of AB VOLVO.

The 2007 Dodge Nitro is an all new mid-size SUV monster. Dodge redesigned the full-size Durango in 2004, and since then has been planning the Nitro. There are many mid-size SUVs out there, and Dodge wanted the Nitro to be distinctive, in order to keep up its reputation for bold styling. The result is a very squared-off vehicle, with larger fender flares.

The Nitro looks and feels larger than its size, with a high seating position that SUV owners enjoy, and good cabin space. It features a cargo storage system whereby the rear seats and front passenger seat fold totally flat in seconds; additionally, the cargo floor slides rearward out over the rear bumper, and can hold 400 pounds, making the loading of heavy objects much simpler.

The Nitro comes in either two-wheel drive or four-wheel drive, with a choice of V6 engines, one old and one new version. The new 4.0-liter V6 is better than the old 3.7-liter, with 50 more HP and fuel economy that’s only a few miles per gallon less. However the 4.0-liter engine only comes in the top-of-the-line R/T model, which costs about $2700 more than the most popular SLT but a five-speed automatic also comes with the R/T, and that transmission is better than the standard four-speed in the SLT.

There are three types of upholstery: cloth, a stain-repellant cloth, and perforated leather. No matter which interior option, the seats are very comfortable. The cabin is quiet thanks to heavy use of sound deadening material, and visibility out the rear and to the front corners of the Nitro is excellent.

For a base price of $19,225, a Nitro owner gets many safety features that are usually optional on other vehicles, such as front and rear side airbags, side curtain airbags, an electronic stability program with traction control and brake assist, and a tire-pressure monitor to cap it all off.

Model Lineup

The 2007 Dodge Nitro comes as three models, each with a choice of two-wheel drive (2WD) or four-wheel drive (4WD).

There are three models of the new 2007 Dodge Nitro: the SXT in 2WD, $20,735 with part-time 4WD), SLT ($22,635 and $24,145) and R/T and with full-time 4WD); all prices plus $660 delivery.

The SXT ($19,225) comes with a 210-hp 3.7-liter V6 and a choice of 6 speed manual transmission or 4 speed automatic ($1000). The 4WD model ($20,735) uses a part-time four-wheel-drive system. Standard equipment includes cloth upholstery, air conditioning, remote entry with power windows and door locks, 115-volt power outlet, flat folding front passenger seat, 60/40 folding rear bench seat, AM/FM/CD with MP3 and six speakers, traction control and brake assist, slate-colored molded front and fender flares, folding power mirrors, rear window washer/wiper, and 16-inch wheels.

The SLT ($22,635) and SLT 4WD ($24,145) come standard with the auto trans. The SLT adds stain-resistant cloth seats, power six-way adjustable driver’s seat, leather steering wheel with audio controls, overhead console, cruise control, heated mirrors, compass, auto-dimming rearview mirror, vehicle information instrumentation, tinted windows, body-colored front and rear fascias and fender flares, and 17-inch aluminum wheels.

The R/T ($25,310) has a new 4.0-liter V6 making 260 horsepower, joined to a five-speed automatic. The R/T 4WD model ($26,970) has a full-time four-wheel-drive system. The R/T comes with a sports suspension with 20-inch wheels and Goodyear Eagle tires. The R/T is equipped like the SLT, though it also has Satellite Radio.

Options for all three models include a power sunroof, foglamps, full-size spare tire, and trailer tow package. Full-time 4WD is an option on the part-time 4WD SXT and SLT models. Options for the SLT and R/T include leather upholstery, navigation system, remote start, hands-free phone, luxury sound system with eight speakers plus subwoofer. The optional Multimedia Info-tainment System features navigation, audio, entertainment and communication wrapped into one, along with voice-command and a 20-gigabyte hard drive to store music and photos.
Dodge Nitro Reviews

Walkaround

Dodge publicity makes a big thing about the Nitro’s looks, citing its so-called athleticism. We’re not sure. We might call it brawny, but mostly it just looks boxy. The exaggerated fender flares are the only rounded parts in the styling. Every other angle is square-ish. It looks and feels larger than mid-size, which some will find to be a good thing.

From the front, it’s unmistakably Dodge. It’s got that big crosshair grille, which looks much better in body color (R/T) than chrome (SXT, SLT). The horizontal headlamps, turn signal slits and foglamps are a tidy fit in the massive face.

However it doesn’t appear as if much attempt was made to have the front bumper/fascia be tidy; it’s got edges all over the place, including a valley that might hold a three-foot-wide license plate, or maybe a bumper sticker that says, “I’m a Dodge so I’m in your face!” Under that, there’s a wide air intake for the power steering cooler, whose thin fins are exposed to flying stones because there is no screen.

Taking a cue from the faux portholes on the Buick Lucerne, or possibly the tradition of a Mercedes-Benz sports car, there’s a trapezoid-shaped insert, black plastic with three chrome ribs, located just forward of the mirrors. It’s intended to look like a cooling slot. It’s a nice touch, and for such a small piece it goes a long way toward relaxing the Nitro’s blocky shape.

In silhouette, with its relatively upright windshield, very high beltline and rectangular windows, plus short front overhang, its shape is reminiscent of, say, a ’62 Dodge Power Wagon. But from the rear three-quarter angle, the lines around the rear glass are reminiscent of its bigger cousin, the Jeep Commander. We like the cleaner black, rather than chrome, around the windows.

Our test Nitro R/T was equipped with standard 20-inch chromed aluminum wheels, and they sure are showy. The much narrower sidewall on the 20-inch tires doesn’t appear to offer much defense against flats.

Interior Features

The SXT comes in a basic cloth, but the cloth in the SLT and R/T is something called YES Essentials; it claims to repel stains, control odors and reduce static electricity. The optional perforated charcoal leather with red stitching in our test R/T was beautiful. The front buckets were very comfortable and supportive, with excellent bolstering.

The steering wheel is a handsome four-spoke, with a big center hub and thick spokes at 9:00 and 3:00 o’clock, smaller spokes at 5 and 7; the info center buttons are under your thumb on the big spokes. There are three big main instruments: speedo in center, tach on right and fuel and temp on left. They’re very good looking and especially legible, with the digital information still visible in the sun because the three pods are thoughtfully shrouded. Chrysler does gauges right, and generally blows GM out of the water when it comes to handsome style and function.

There’s good front seat legroom, and it feels like there’s even more because the dashboard is narrow, making the cabin feel nothing like that in a minivan. The dash also has an insert over the center stack, about 6 by 9 inches with grippy rubber at the bottom, and it’s perfect for, well, things. The glovebox is the full width of the passenger side.

Rearview visibility is very good, with just windows back there, no attempt at swoopy styling with sheetmetal. And again, because the front fenders have no rise or real shape, it’s easy to see the front corners of the vehicle, making parking a relief compared to many vehicles this size.

The square theme continues with the center stack and its instruments and buttons for the sound system and climate control, although nowadays many cars look like that, which isn’t bad, just almost natural. Everything is clean, easy to operate, and easy to understand. We especially like the door handles, an intelligent ergonomic design: they’re like a half loop, and you simply slip three or four fingers of the hand against the door inside the handle, fingers facing forward so there’s no twist of the wrist, and pull.

Between the seats, along with the gearshift, transfer case, and emergency brake lever, there are two fixed cupholders and a small recess for change. There’s a shallow tray in the top of the center console storage bin, and a deep compartment under that; as one lady on the press launch said, it’s big enough to stash her cat, on road trips.

But the Nitro really rises to the occasion behind the front seat. The Load ‘n Go function quickly and easily flops the 60/40 rear seats and front passenger seat totally flat. With the liftgate raised, the carpeted (washable vinyl on the SXT) cargo floor slides rearward 18 inches, out over the bumper, saving a loader’s back. It can hold 400 pounds.

Under half of the cargo floor there’s a four-inch-deep compartment that can store things such as jumper cables and tools, or hide a laptop.

For the past couple of years, Dodge has been working hard on making their SUVs quiet, and the Nitro succeeds. The 3.7-liter engine is rather loud, but the Nitro’s sound-deadening material muffles it well.

Finally, the air conditioning might be fine on a normal day, but it seemed marginal for hot conditions.

Driving Impressions

After long cruises in both the Dodge Nitro SLT 4WD and R/T 2WD, we prefer the R/T.

The 3.7-liter engine in the SLT is slightly harsh and too slow, and the four-speed automatic transmission needs another gear; we floored the SLT once at 40 mph, and the tranny didn’t kick down and the vehicle felt wimpy. The suspension takes bumps with a jolt, especially at lower speeds and mostly at the front wheels. And when we turned off the stability control and drove it aggressively around a hairpin turn, the front end washed out as badly as anything we’ve felt in a long time, on its Goodyear Wrangler tires. This was surprising, because the Nitro is a rear-wheel-drive design.

The R/T costs about $2700 more, but it’s def. worth it. It’s better looking, with more of its trim in the same color as the body, although the 20″ chrome wheels are a bit expensive (as a $1405 option on the SLT, too bad you can’t get 17-” size on the R/T and save the money). Chrysler’s R/T models are considered higher performance, but in this case it’s not hot-rod high performance.

The 4.0-liter V6 is a new single overhead-cam engine. It’s rated at 260 horsepower, 50 more than the engine in the SLT, and it provides 265 pound-feet of torque at 4200 rpm. That’s a lot of horsepower and torque, and we can’t say that the R/T really feels like it has that much.

The R/T engine is quieter than the 3.7-liter in the SLT, and it gets nearly the same mileage: 17 city and 21 highway in 2WD, with 89 octane recommended but 87 acceptable. We got 16.7 mpg driving the R/T very hard.

The five-speed automatic transmission makes a difference in smoothness over the 4-speed. However in manual mode, it doesn’t do well. It responds to a shift by the driver (at least this driver) about half the time. As a result, passing on highways is unnecessarily dangerous. The upshifts near redline (6000 rpm) are also a bit slow. And the shift mechanism is not comfortable, either.

The handling of the R/T is reasonable, and considerably more direct than the SLT; quality tires help quite a bit. But it’s the ride that’s much better, in this 2WD model. In theory, the R/T’s tuned suspension should be much more firm, and surely it is a better vehicle overall, but it’s also a lot more comfortable.

Summary

The Nitro is the first mid-size SUV from Dodge, and has all the Dodge character. It’s built on the same platform as the Jeep Liberty, and actually feels bigger than its size, thanks largely to a high beltline, high seating position, and much glass instead of sheetmetal at the rear corners. It’s not easy to make an SUV look distinctive, and the Nitro does well. Mechanically, it’s stimied by the 3.7-liter engine and four-speed automatic transmission in the SXT and SLT, the most popular models.

Model as tested

Dodge Nitro R/T ($25,310) Base Price

19225

Basic Warranty

3 years/50,000 miles Price as tested

28645

Assembled in

Toledo, Ohio Options as tested

Trailer Tow Group, power sunroof, AM/FM/6 CD/DVD/MP3 with 8 speakers plus subwoofer, full-size spare, hands-free communications ($2675)

Destination charge:

660

Gas guzzler tax:

N/A

Model Line Overview

Model lineup

Dodge Nitro SXT 2WD ($19,225); SXT 4WD ($20,735); SLT 2WD ($22,635); SXT 4WD ($24,145); R/T 2WD ($25,310); R/T 4WD ($26,970) Engines

4.0-liter sohc V6

Safety equipment (standard)

multi-stage frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, curtain airbags; anti-lock disc brakes, electronic stability program with traction control and brake assist, electronic roll mitigation, child seat anchor system, tire-pressure monitor Transmissions

5-speed automatic

Safety equipment (optional)

Specifications as Tested

Standard equipment

air conditioning, remote entry with power windows and door locks, power six-way adjustable driver’s seat, flat folding front passenger seat, 60/40 folding rear bench seat, Load ‘n Go cargo storage system with tie-down rails, AM/FM/CD with MP3 and six speakers, SIRIUS satellite radio, folding power heated mirrors, rear window washer/wiper, tilt steering column, cruise control, tinted windows, overhead console, vehicle information instrumentation, compass, 115-volt power outlet, auto-dimming rearview mirror, leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls, and 20-inch aluminum wheels

Engine & Transmission

Engine

4.0-liter sohc V6 Transmission

5-speed automatic

Drivetrain type

rear-wheel drive EPA fuel economy, city/hwy

17/21

Horsepower (hp @ rpm)

260 @ 6000 Torque (lb.-ft. @ rpm)

265 @ 4200

Suspension

Brakes, front/rear

disc/disc with ABS Tires

P245/50R20

Suspension, front

independent Suspension, rear

independent

Accomodations

Seating capacity

5 Head/hip/leg room, front

40.6/56.8/40.8

Head/hip/leg room, middle

N/A Head/hip/leg room, rear

40.8/47.4/37.7

Measurements

Fuel capacity

19.5 Payload

N/A

Trunk volume

75.6 Towing capacity

5000

Wheelbase

108.8 Track, front/rear

61.0/61.0

Length/width/height

178.9/73.1/69.9 Ground clearance

7.3

Turning circle

36.3 Curb weight

3971
2007 Dodge Nitro User Reviews

The Jeep Grand Cherokee has received some further facelifts from STARTECH, a Germany-based company that exclusively tunes up Chrysler and Jeep vehicle models. STARTECH specifically made their tuning program for the Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD model equipped with a 3.0-liter common rail turbo diesel engine.

According to the German tuning company, “The Jeep Grand Cherokee has arrived and STARTECH presents an exclusive refinement program for the SUV. The extensive product lineup is characterized not only by its professional engineering and innovative design: All components also offer exceptional quality. For the 3.0 CRD model with common-rail turbodiesel engine STARTECH offers the SD6 performance kit and a particulate filter.”

The bold and aggressive body styling of the Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD model was enhanced by STARTECH exterior design cues, which include the STARTECH front apron with integrated design elements, STARTECH rear apron with cut-outs for the two oval chrome tailpipes in the STARTECH sport exhaust system, STARTECH side skirts with integrated entrance lights, and STARTECH chromium plated mirror covers. The sport exhaust system is made of pure stainless steel and available for all engine types for the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

In addition, the five doors of the Jeep Grand Cherokee come with STARTECH door sills with integrated LED lights that can be activated by using the standard keyless-entry remote or with the door handles. The Jeep wheels have been replaced with the high-quality STARTECH Monostar IV 9Jx20 light-alloy wheels. It features five-spoke wheel design wrapped with Yokohama tires measuring 265/45 ZR 20 both in front and rear. This completes the exclusive exterior package of the STARTECH tuning program for the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Inside, the Jeep Grand Cherokee comes with an exclusive interior design from STARTECH.

Chrysler Group’s popular SUV features STARTECH leather dark slate grey interior trim, which is highlighted by a bunch of STARTECH interior accessories including the ergonomically shaped sport steering wheel with a leather cover. Other customize interior features include STARTECH floor mats for passenger compartment, STARTECH mats for the trunk, and polished stainless-steel sill plates with illuminated STARTECH logo.

With the new STARTECH SD6 tuning kit, the 3.0-liter common rail turbo diesel engine found on the Jeep Grand Cherokee now pumps out 262 hp (193 kW), 44 hp increased compared to the Grand Cherokee base model with 218 hp (160 kW). The torque output is also increased from 510 Nm up to 580 Nm rotating between engine speeds at 1,600 and 2,800 rpm. The STARTECH SD6 tuning kit allows the Jeep Grand Cherokee to accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 8.5 seconds, reaching an electronically limited top speed of 130 mph. STARTECH also installed quality sport springs, lowering by about 40 millimeters.

Porsche has released a refined Cayenne line-up for 2008. These include the base, S, and the Turbo. Two of the considered significant changes include the angrier looking, more slated VW headlights and a revised front fascia with ribs cutting across larger vents.

The turbo model keeps its signature hood bulges. It will also be differentiated from the other two models by larger turn indicators that resemble the LED strips found on the front of the new 911 Turbo. Base and S models on the other hand, will have smaller, round indicators. It was recently announced that a refined Boxster with increases of five horsepower for each model will go along with the vehicle. With this, some automotive journalists think Porsche will give a similar increase to the Cayenne.

All three Cayennes, the base, S, and the Turbo, have the trade mark of larger gill-like front fascias. They also all have new engines and suspension options. The new line of V-6 and V-8 engines all feature direct fuel injection, as Porsche calls it the DFI, for greater power and efficiency. As an option, all three models will also have a new electronic suspension system called Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC).

Despite of its impressive performance and record-setting sales, some critics have (and are still) complaining that the first-generation Porsche Cayenne lack in character, and that misfortune continues with the 2008 Cayenne. It has a new face, mildly reworked interiors, and revised engines, but little else feels or looks different.

On a brighter side, the Cayenne S and Turbo are even more muscle-bound than before, with power increasing from 340 and 450 hp to 385 and 500 hp, respectively. Porsche says that highway fuel economy is up 15 percent for the Cayenne S and 11 percent for the Turbo – thanks to the new and improved direct injection or the DFI. The base Cayenne was supplied by VW with V-6 power manual-transmission which has been enlarged from 3.2 to 3.6 liters for an additional 43 hp and 44 lb-ft of torque. Active anti roll bars are now available on air-suspended models.

Coming standard on all Cayenne models is Porsche’s Stability Management (PSM), with its brake assist function, advanced trailer stabilization system and off-road ABS. These functions improve the brakes’ reaction speed, significantly reduce the yawing which can affect vehicles when towing, and optimize braking performance on loose ground. The static and, for the first time, dynamic bend lighting that come with the bi-xenon headlamps fitted as standard to the Cayenne Turbo likewise increase active safety. The system, which can also be ordered for the Cayenne and Cayenne S, is activated as soon a speed of three kilometers per hour is reached.

The X200 Tablet offers easy access to the hard drive and system memory through two access panels. The large panel on the bottom of the X200 exposes the two RAM slots, while the thinner access panel on the HP Pavilion DV1600 Battery edge lets you slide out the hard drive.

The new Eee PC 1101HA Seashell uses a reasonably impressive 11-inch LED-backlit display panel with a 1366×768 native resolution. The glossy screen in the 1101HA offers good color and contrast, though images looked a bit washed out at default settings. Glare and reflections indoors under strong lights or outdoors under direct sunlight can be a problem because of the glossy surface, but the LED backlighting is usually strong enough to overpower any reflections on the screen.

The 18.4″ panel on the Satellite P505 has a resolution of 1680×945, which seems lacking for something this large. Most high-end multimedia notebooks of this size usually offer a 1080P display, which takes more advantage of the greater surface area. That said, the panel still looks very nice for viewing games, images, or HD video. Colors appear bright and vibrant, thanks in part to the glossy surface. Depending on the viewing situations, reflections can play a huge role in what you are viewing on the display at any given time. While using this notebook at my kitchen table in front of a window, all I saw was the bright sunlight and slates to the shade reflecting off the screen.

The screen offered on the UL30-series is a 13.3″ LED-backlit 16:9 WXGA panel. The display rates slightly above average, with good color saturation and contrast thanks to the glossy surface. Black level s are good with no HP Pavilion DV1500 Battery apparent backlight bleed at high brightness levels. The area that doesn’t really shine with this panel are the viewing angles.

Vertical viewing angles show a good amount of distortion with as little as 10-15 degrees movement forward or back. Horizontal viewing angles are better, but still show signs of mild color inversion past 45 degrees. Backlight brightness levels were very good, even at the 70% level we like to use for battery tests. I usually had the screen set at 70% in the office and 40-50% at home with less overhead lighting.

The touch surface is a unique feature for a notebook. On one hand you can directly manipulate objects without a mouse or touchpad, but on the other you have a fixed screen that can’t rotate like a tablet. Another inherent flaw of multitouch is that since it uses your finger as the pointer, it will never be as precise or accurate as a pen-input touch surface. This means that the controls are crude at best, using gesture or tap-based commands.

One last design feature that deserves a mention is the M17x’s screwless design – there are no visible screws on the M17x (other than the four holding in the name plate). That is quite a design feat and makes the HP Pavilion DV8200 Battery look even sleeker. While not everyone will like the looks, it is hard to deny the quality of the design and build. The M17x is one-of-a-kind and looks much more engaging than past Alienware machines.

The laptop is undoubtedly one of the more popular tools for business executives, second only perhaps to the smartphone.  While netbooks have been around for quite some time, it hasn’t quite captured as many users what with issues of limited power and incomplete feature set.  These days, however, it may be more practical to use a netbook in place of a laptop.

Reasons to Use a Netbook

The recently concluded Computex 2009 should be proof that the next generation netbooks will boast of features that may rival that of a laptop’s.  Some of the devices slated for release later this year make use of processors that not only increase performance but also allow for enhanced video and graphics capabilities.  Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chip alone will allow netbooks to have the same appealing attributes of a smartphone such as 3G connectivity and excellent battery life.  Other chips promise to deliver speed even as low power consumption capability is enhanced.  

More and more manufacturers are coming out with netbooks running on the Google platform Android which will perhaps provide superior user experience compared to Windows XP or Linux that netbooks typically run on.

One of the drawbacks of a netbook is screen and keyboard size but that is no longer an issue as there are several docking options available to the user.  You can attach the netbook to an external screen, keyboard or a mouse.  If docking isn’t to your liking, Synaptics is slated to release its latest touch pad model, the ClickPad, which enables consumers to use finger gestures to operate the netbook.  

Recommendations

If you’re looking at netbooks for use as a business tool, there are a few recommendations that provide good value for money.  The HP Mini 1000 is optimized for Internet tasks and entertainment.  It operates on a Linux-based software so you also get open source software as extras such as OpenOffice and Thunderbird.  The HP Mini 1000 is exquisitely designed with a 10 inch screen made of flush glass.  The screen makes for convenient surfing and users might find the keyboard a plus as it is almost the same size as a regular keyboard.

The user interface of the Acer Aspire One makes the computing experience decidedly more convenient. The homescreen is organized into four areas: work, connect, files and fun.  You can create documents, spreadsheets and multimedia presentations easily on this netbook.  Connectivity is also simplified with features such as single sign-on which enables you to manage all your e-mail and IM accounts in one click.  

Challenges

While netbook sales have been steadily increasing over the past few years, there is reason to believe the netbook industry will be in for some serious competition from ultra-thin laptops especially as these laptops will be priced more affordably.  Customers with a few more dollars to spare may not mind shelling out extra cash to get a full-range laptop instead of a netbook.  

The focus on creating low-voltage chips in ultra-thin laptops may also figure in importantly in consumer choices. The chips will be operating under Intel Core 2 which is more efficient than Atom processors typically found in netbooks. GP

A tablet PC is a light weight slate shaped hand-held computer or a slim note book PC. The idea is to replace the traditional pen and notebook with a tablet PC and stylus or digital pen. Historically the tablet was used by the Egyptians to write on clay tablets with a writing stick. In the present day the clay tablet has been replaced with a screen and the writing stick with a stylus. The tablet PC may be considered the pen and notebook of the future. They typically weigh around 2-3 pounds and their main feature is portability. The idea of a tablet PC was floated by Alan Kay of Xerox but was a commercial failure until now, when the prices have fallen down and it is expected that the prices will fall in future. The first widely sold Tablet PC was Newton of Apple Computers.

The hardware consists of a slim touch screen, stylus, optional wireless keyboard and mouse. In this type of computers the data input is not through the traditional mouse and keyboard but through a stylus or a virtual keyboard on the screen. It also has the facility of data input through wireless keyboard and mouse. The stylus is used to write directly/tap on the screen or fingers are used to input data through the touch screen. There is a magnetic field over the screen which interacts with the stylus electronics, hence the user can rest his hands on the screen without distorting the image and only stylus movement affects the screen. They come in various sizes like 8.5 inch, 10 inch and 14 inch.

There are different types of tablet PCs like slates, convertibles and hybrids. Slates consist of just the screen and the stylus. If a slate is attached with a keyboard it is called a convertible. Typically the keyboard is attached with a single joint and it folds/opens onto the screen. The Hybrid has a detachable keyboard so that it can be used both as a slate or a convertible.

Tablet PCs come with resident softwares like handwriting recognition software, speech recognition software, shorthand entry software, virtual keyboard etc,.

There are various advantages like portability, users who are not comfortable with keyboards find stylus more friendly, they do not interrupt line of sight as they are kept on the table and are helpful in meetings and are handheld so can be used in giving presentation while standing up. The disadvantages of Tablet PCs have been cost till now but since the prices have fallen and are falling, hence is not a constraint anymore.

Various companies like Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba Fujitsu, HP, Gateway, Compaq, Motion, NEC etc are manufacturing Tablet PCs.

Are they future proof?Till recent years the Tablet PC was a commercial failure but with the advances in battery technology, handwriting recognition software, wireless internet access, larger memory, better screen resolution they are being accepted as commercially viable option. Many popular science fiction movies portray the use of Tablet PCs. Tablet PCs are bound to replace the notebook