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<title>Haaze.com / fashionchic / All</title>
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<pubDate>Mon, 23 May 2011 07:10:38 +0000</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[2012 Toyota Prius V first drive]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=2012-toyota-prius-v-first-drive</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=2012-toyota-prius-v-first-drive</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 23 May 2011 07:10:38 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>fashionchic</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=2012-toyota-prius-v-first-drive</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Toyota brought a fleet of its new Prius V model out to California for testing.(Credit:Wayne Cunningham/CNET)When Toyota first introduced the Prius, not everybody understood how a hybrid works. After years of publicity, and the Prius becoming a common sight on the roads, most people get it. But now Toyota reintroduces confusion to the Prius brand by creating new models that share the name. The first of these to hit the market will be the 2012 Prius V, acar that uses similar styling and power train to the current Prius, but offers substantially increased cargo area and seating room. 2012 Toyota Prius V first drive (photos) Toyota designed the Prius V, the &quot;V&quot; standing for versatility, to accommodate U.S. drivers' penchant for loading up on 64 packs of toilet paper rolls at Costco. As chief engineer Hiroshi Kayukawa noted during a presentation on the new Prius, Japanese people don't buy as much big stuff as Americans.More exciting than extra cubic feet of cargo space, however, is the new navigation and audio head units Toyota is introducing with the Prius V. Along with a premium hard-drive-based navigation system, Toyota offers a lower-priced flash-memory-based unit. And all of these head units work with Toyota's new Entune system, bringing apps such as Pandora and Opentable into the car.Toyota will roll this new head unit technology out into its other models as they receive updates, replacing the severely outdated DVD-based navigation systems currently in use.For a preview drive, Toyota chose the picturesque but nonoptimal roads of the Santa Cruz Mountains around Half Moon Bay, in California. The driving route included steep ascents and tight corners, all of which would conspire against the Prius V's EPA-rated fuel economy of 44 mpg city and 40 mpg highway.Prius fans may lament the drop in fuel economy from the Prius hatchback's 50 mpg, but the Prius V is 6 inches longer, and boasts 50 percent more cargo area, according to Toyota. The rear opening of the Prius V is a little bit low, but the cargo area is roomy.(Credit:Wayne Cunningham/CNET)For comparison, the Honda CR-V has 35.7 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats up, and 72.9 cubic feet with the seats down. The Prius V claims 34.3 cubic feet with the rear seats up and 67.3 cubic feet with them down. But fuel economy for a four-cylinder CR-V is only 21 mpg city and 28 mpg highway.The Prius V offers more passenger area than the standard Prius, with rear seats that slide forward and back, and recline. In the front seats, the extra space is notable, with the feeling of more elbow room and a wide console working as an arm rest. Six-footers will find their heads brushing the ceiling in the rear seats, but reclining those seats restores inches of headroom. Hybrid powerSimilar to the Prius hatchback, the Prius V uses a 1.8-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine coupled to a hybrid system that can drive the car with an electric motor. Total output from this system is 134 horsepower, but Toyota changed the differential ratio to get a little more torque from the system to cope with the larger vehicle. Little is changed from the driving experience between the Prius models. With the brakes on, the gas engine shuts down, causing that unnatural quiet familiar to hybrid drivers. A light tap on the accelerator and the Prius V rolls forward under electric power, running silent. The Prius V uses the same hybrid drive system as its smaller sibling, but is tuned for greater torque.(Credit:Wayne Cunningham/CNET)Or, it would be silent, except for the pedestrian safety sound system Toyota installed. This system uses an external speaker to broadcast a synthetic sound at speeds up to 30 mph, giving parking lot pedestrians warning of the Prius V's presence. The sound is barely audible to the driver when the window is open.As with the original Prius, the V's gas engine seamlessly kicks in when the driver calls for more acceleration, adding to the boost from the electric motor. Over flat highways and up mountain roads, the extra bulk of the V was barely felt. Going up a long, fairly steep, ascent with the V in Eco mode, it took a lot of pressure on the accelerator to keep up with traffic. But tapping the Power mode button alleviated this anemic behavior, getting the Prius V up the hill with a more comfortable quarter throttle.The electric power-steering system felt a little more boosted than in the standard Prius, allowing effortless turning of the wheel. Banging the Prius V around switchback turns in the mountains, the steering reacted well but felt lifeless, but this was not the home territory for the car. In a more appropriate urban environment the car would easily handle low speed turns. During one run through a yellow left turn light, the Prius V didn't feel particularly stable as we hooked the wheel to clear the intersection.The power animation, showing when the gas engine and electric motor are turning the wheels, gets an updated graphic treatment in the Prius V.(Credit:Wayne Cunningham/CNET)While not spectacularly comfortable, the Prius V's ride was about what you would expect. Bumps in the road make themselves felt in the cabin, but the car damps out jolts well enough.Toyota also fits the Prius V with new anti-oscillation technology, to keep the car from bouncing up and down when going over recurring bumps. Wheel sensors detect when the suspension starts to oscillate in reaction to something like evenly spaced freeway expansion joints. The drive computer then applies a little bit of torque from the hybrid system's electric motor that cancels out the bouncing motion.Over the mountain driving route, the Prius V's trip computer showed a mid-30s average fuel economy. But that number pushed continually higher, approaching 40 mpg, on flatter sections of road during this preview drive.Trim levels and techWhen the Prius V goes on sale sometime in the fall of 2011, Toyota will make it available in three trim levels: the Prius V Two, Prius V Three, and Prius V Five. The Two comes standard with Toyota's new Display Audio system, essentially a 6.1-inch LCD in the dash to make using the audio system easier. The upper two trim levels add a flash-based navigation system as standard, but the top trim level, Five, can be optioned with Toyota's Premium navigation, a hard-drive-based system with a 7-inch LCD.Toyota&amp;39's new basic navigation system uses flash memory for map storage.(Credit:Wayne Cunningham/CNET)Using both the flash and hard-drive navigation systems, the maps showed bright colors and good resolution. The systems tracked the vehicle location well and the onscreen interface reacted quickly enough to touch-screen input. Both systems also overlay traffic information on the maps.Beyond basic navigation system utility, Toyota's new Entune system brings in some very useful connectivity. To enable Entune, the driver must have a smartphone with the Entune app paired to the car. The Entune app is available forAndroid,iPhone, and BlackBerry. Entune uses the phone's data plan to enable a set number of apps. Entune will launch with Pandora, iHeartRadio, OpenTable, MovieTickets.com, and Bing.The first two, Pandora and iHeartRadio, add Internet-connected audio sources to the car. With Entune's Pandora interface, not only can you choose stations and give songs a thumbs up or thumbs down, you can also create a custom station when the car is parked.Bing adds Internet-connected local search to the car, integrated with the navigation system. Not only can you use the touch screen to enter search terms, but Bing also works with voice command. For each search term, Bing returns a list of its best-matching locations. Entune looks to be a smart way for Toyota to add connected features to its cars, starting with the Prius V.(Credit:Wayne Cunningham/CNET)As a test, one journalist on the preview drive entered the phrase &quot;paris hilton,&quot; to which Bing responded with a list of locations in France. In a more prosaic test, the term &quot;pizza&quot; brought up a list of nearby pizza joints. Strangely, the search results were not sorted by distance, an oversight on Toyota's part.The standard navigation system also uses the phone's data plan to bring in traffic, weather, and fuel prices. The premium navigation system relies on satellite radio for this data.A backup camera featuring distance and trajectory lines comes standard on the Prius V. The top trim can also be had with adaptive cruise control and an automatic parallel parking system. A feature that would be nice is blind-spot detection, as thick rear pillars on the car make it difficult to see during lane changes.In sumToyota has not announced pricing yet, but says the Prius V will bepriced just a little more than the hatchback Prius. With its interior space and fuel economy, it should present a compelling choice for buyers, especially those looking to upgrade from the standard Prius.More exciting is the cabin tech, which will find its way into other Toyota models. The flash-based navigation system presents a cheaper option than the hard-drive-based system, with few feature sacrifices. Entune also looks to be an excellent strategy for bringing connected services into the car. Using a paired phone means owners won't be paying for two data plans. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Verizon iPhone hot spot to cost $20 a month with 2GB of data]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-iphone-hot-spot-to-cost-20-a-month-with-2gb-of-data</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-iphone-hot-spot-to-cost-20-a-month-with-2gb-of-data</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>fashionchic</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-iphone-hot-spot-to-cost-20-a-month-with-2gb-of-data</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Just as we suspected, Verizon will be charging $20 a month for its iPhonea4a4s mobile hot spot feature, the same as it does for other smartphones, the company told Macworld yesterday.The  feature will allow up to five wireless devices to connect to Verizona4a4s  iPhone and share its mobile data connection. The hot spot will come with  a 2 gigabyte pool of data separate from the iPhonea4a4s own data pool.  Each additional gigabyte of data will cost another $20.The  mobile hot spot is one major differentiator between AT&amp;amp'Ta4a4s iPhone  and Verizona4a4s (other than the fact that Verizona4a4s model features  different hardware to run on its CDMA wireless network). The feature will likely make its way to other iPhones in the upcoming version 4.3 update of the iPhone OS, but like the  initial ability to share your iPhonea4a4s mobile internet connection with a  single device via tethering, it will likely be left up to carriers to  enable it.That  means we shouldna4a4t expect AT&amp;amp'T to enable it any time soon &amp;8212' the company was  notoriously slow about offering tethering, and the last thing it needs are more data hungry users on its network. AT&amp;amp'T is also more stingy  about data for its tethering plan &amp;8212' it charges $20 a month for iPhone  tethering, but the data used is taken out of users&amp;' data plans, which  for new users is capped at 2GB a month.Due  to limitations of CDMA technology, Verizona4a4s iPhone cana4a4t  simultaneously handle voice and data traffic. But the promise of a more  robust 3G network, plus mobile hot spot support, may be enough for many  users to overlook that deficiency.Check out a video of the Verizon iPhone&amp;'s hot spot in action below:Calling all developers: We want to write up your app for VentureBeata4a4s Mobile App Spotlight! If you have an innovative mobile app that hasna4a4t been featured on VentureBeat yet, submit it for consideration right away. The Mobile App Spotlight is sponsored by The Intel AppUp developer program.Next Story: Mobile app revenue will hit $15B in 2011 Previous Story: Greystripe partners with MNI for local mobile adsPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: hot spot, iOS, iPhone, mobile hot spot, smartphones, tetheringCompanies: Apple, AT&amp;amp'T, Verizon          Tags: hot spot, iOS, iPhone, mobile hot spot, smartphones, tetheringCompanies: Apple, AT&amp;amp'T, VerizonDevindra Hardawar is VentureBeat's lead mobile writer and East Coast correspondent. He studied philosophy at Amherst College, worked in IT support for several years, and has been writing about technology since 2004. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can reach him at devindra@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @Devindra. Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.comVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Wireless carriers say the future looks &''pretty good&'']]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=wireless-carriers-say-the-future-looks-8220pretty-good8221</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=wireless-carriers-say-the-future-looks-8220pretty-good8221</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>fashionchic</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=wireless-carriers-say-the-future-looks-8220pretty-good8221</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Major wireless carriers are satisfied with their current progress in evolving their networks to meet the needs of increasingly data-hungry customers,  according to top executives from Sprint, AT&amp;038'T and Verizon who  participated in a panel at the CTIA Wireless 2011 convention in Orlando,  Fla.However, those carrier road maps will become far more difficult to navigate through into the future unless more of the wireless spectrum is made  available by the FCC. Such was the consensus opinion of discussion from  AT&amp;038'T chief technology officer John Donovan, Verizon CTO Tony Melone and Sprint Senior  Vice President of Network Bob Azzi.a4AWe feel pretty good about the next 3 to 5 years,a4 Melone said, adding that  Verizona4a4s he road map includes the faster data speeds that utilize most  but not all of the network&amp;'s resources.Verizon, Melone said, is interested in dedicating a4Aa slicea4 of their new LTE  network toward broadcasting video, despite limiting ita4a4s maximum speed  capabilities.Noticeably  absent from the panel was T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray, whose company is currently in the process of being sold to AT&amp;038'T.With the roll out of LTE networks &amp;''there&amp;'s a lot to be excited about because it&amp;'s not like the one we built (before it).&amp;'' Donovan said, adding that  the additional spectrum available to them from the T-mobile deal will benefit customers in the end by allowing them faster wireless access and much more.T-Mobile&amp;'s  portion of the spectrum would level the playing field for AT&amp;038'T against Verizon, which purchased the 700 MHz for their 4G LTE network  and Sprint, whose deal with Clearwire gives customers access to the 4G  network that was recently rolled out.This post is sponsored by Sprint, the Now Network. Learn more here.  As always, VentureBeat is adamant about maintaining editorial objectivity. Sprint had no involvement in the content of this post.Next Story: The next evolution of radar detection comes to Android Previous Story: Y Combinator&amp;'s best startups ever Here are my favoritesPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: 4G, wireless, wireless networks, wireless spectrumCompanies: AT&amp;amp'T, Clearwire, sprint, T Mobile, VerizonPeople: Bob Azzi, John Donovan, Tony Melone          Tags: 4G, wireless, wireless networks, wireless spectrumCompanies: AT&amp;amp'T, Clearwire, sprint, T Mobile, VerizonPeople: Bob Azzi, John Donovan, Tony MeloneTom Cheredar is a contributing reporter at VentureBeat and freelance journalist. He graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a degree in Journalism. In addition to covering technology, his work can be found at geeksofdoom.com. You can reach him on Twitter at @tched. Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.comVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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