Angry Birds fans have a special gift this Valentine;s Day — the wildly popular pig-flying game made its official debut on Facebook.
The Facebook app is similar to the original mobile version, with the addition of social components, brand new power-ups, and exclusive new levels. The added social aspect allows players to compete with their Facebook friends for gold, silver, and bronze crowns in any level. Players can also brag about their scores on the social network and give their Facebook friends “mystery gifts” of power-ups.
The Facebook version includes four new power-ups, including “sling scope” (for better targeting), “king sling” (for more power and velocity), “super seeds” (to supersize your bird, turning it into a “pig popping giant”), and “birdquake” (to shake the battlefield and bring down pigs’ defenses). Besides being gifted with power-ups, players can earn them through game play or purchase them.
And — even better — anyone who plays the game between now and Feb. 16 will receive 14 free power-ups as a special Valentine’s Day gift from Angry Birds developer Rovio.
Rovio said it is lining up even more features and gameplay for the Facebook version of the game in the coming weeks.
“This launch is just the beginning for Angry Birds on Facebook,” Petri Järvilehto, Rovio’s senior vice president of game publishing, said in a statement.
The mobile version of Angry Birds has garnered more than 700 million downloads to date, making it one of the most popular games in history.
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Apple has released details of Mac OS X Mountain Lion, its next generation operating system for Mac computers.
Mountain Lion has been released to developers today and should be available for consumers this summer.
new OS incorporates a number of features that jive nicely with iOS, including iCloud sign up and a Messages app that takes the place of iChat, allowing you to continue conversations started on Mac on any iOS device.
As well as the iOS-style messaging app, Mountain Lion includes reminders, notifications and Twitter apps that bring the desktop system more in line with mobile products.
Extreme
Perhaps the most exciting element of the upgrade is AirPlay Mirroring – you’ll be able to mirror your computer screen on another TV wirelessly with 720p HD support and supposedly amazing realtime response rates for gamers using the mirroring app.
Security-wise, there’s a new feature called Gatekeeper that allows for personalised security settings, working as a kind of safety net for less confident users by offering a setting that allows the Mac to accept only software downloaded from the Mac App Store.
After Apple’s massive success at distributing Lion through the Mac App Store, we’re expecting to see it follow suit with Mountain Lion in the summer months.
The Pune based Garware Motors’ partnership with Korean motorcycle manufacturer, Hyosung got into a good kick start with the launch of 2 performance motorcycles, the Hyosung GT650R and the Hyosung ST7 in the Indian market. However, the limelight was snatched away by Bajaj when it launched the Kawasaki Ninja 650R at a killer pricing throwing all its competition away. Still Garware Motors is not ready to give up so soon and is arming itself to strike back in the 250cc segment with its performance motorcycle, the GT250R. The Hyosung GT250R has now more competition but Garware Motors plans to offer better finance schemes to woo prospective customers to their showrooms. The GT250R will be followed by the naked version of the GT250R known as the GT250.
The GT250R will be identical to the GT650R that we saw but will be employing a smaller displacement engine of 250cc. This 250cc V twin motor will be churning out a power output of 28.5 BHP at 10,000 RPM and deliver a maximum torque of 22.68 Nm at 8000 RPM. This high revving engine is mated to a 5 speed manual transmission box. With a high kerb weight of 171kgs and a wheelbase of 1445mm, the bike is sure to have its own road presence.
Overall, the bike is 2060mm long, 655mm wide and 1125mm high and has a fuel tank capacity of 17 litres. The bike rides on 110/70-17 54H tires at the front and 150/70 69H tires at the rear. It is expected to be available in 3 colour combinations; Red+Black, Grey+Black and Black. With the 250cc segment becoming a much sought after segment presently, Hyosung will surely have a challenging time ahead to gain market share especially with big players like Honda and Kawasaki already present in that segment. Are you excited?
Aston Martin has lifted the wraps off the images of its V12 Zagato production model, ahead of the Geneva Motor Show. Like the Aston Martin One-77 supercar, the V12 Zagato will also be handcrafted and will be a limited edition with only 150 examples being made. Aston says that it takes around 2,000 man-hours to make this car with the paint alone taking up an additional 100 hours. Extensive use of carbon fibre will be made in the V12 Zagato and the entire cabin will be laid with seven hide thick hand-stitched quilted leather.
Like the V12 Vantage, the Zagato will be using a 6.0-liter V12 engine producing 517PS of power and 569Nm of torque. It will be mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. The production of this car will start from the third quarter of this year with deliveries scheduled for the fourth quarter.
Mahindra’s global SUV, the XUV 5OO has received an overwhelming response of over 25,000 requests in its second phase of bookings
With applications for the XUV 5OO crossing the five thousand mark in just two days after Mahindrareopened bookings on January 25, 2012, a phenomenal response was expected in the days to come. Mahindra has has now announced that bookings for the company’s flagship model have crossed over 25,000 in the second phase.
The 10-day booking period that ended on February 3, 2012, took place in 19 cities – Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh / Panchkula, Ludhiana, Jallandhar, Patiala, Kochi, Trivandrum, Calicut, Trissur, Coimbatore, Nagpur and Nasik. As the total requests have crossed 7,200 units, Mahindra will allot the XUV 5OO through a draw validated by the audit firm, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Pvt. Ltd. (DTTIPL) as per a mutual agreement between the two firms. The details of the draw process can be viewed on the Mahindra XUV 5OO brand website.
Launched in September 2011, the XUV 5OO has sparked a frenzied rush among people wanting to buy the car. Winner of the ET-ZigWheels ‘2011 Car of the Year’ and ‘2011 SUV of the Year’ awards, the XUV 5OO impresses with a number of features available in cars priced comparatively higher.
Having tasted success with the XUV 5OO, Mahindra is now eyeing a slice of the MPV segment with the face-lifted version of the Xylo launching on February 8, 2012. The updated Xylo sports several design cues that resemble the XUV 5OO, perhaps, in a bid to cash in on the SUV’s popularity.
I shouldn’t say it was a long wait for the Next Generation Pulsar to be launched. Rather I should mention we all have waited on and on and on and looks like God has finally answered all our long – standing prayers. Mr. Bajaj had given life to his words. He had mentioned sometime back that the next generation of Pulsars will be based on a whole new platform and will be the first bike to incorporate a few technologies. That is what exactly Bajaj Auto has done for the Pulsar.
The launch of the 2012 Pulsar took place in Mumbai for a change and the venue was ITC Grand Central this time. There weren’t much of fanfare created in the hotel premises by placing posters or bill – boards here and there. The launch was scheduled at 2 PM and the rooms of the ball room opened right then.
There was an unexpected surprise waiting for us as all the Pulsar models right from its inception in the year 2001 was kept on display. The first Classy looking Pulsar with round headlamp made me stare at her for quite sometime as this is my favourite Pulsars ever. Next to that in the queue was the DTS-i variant and you know the history of Pulsars very well. The Pulsar 135 and the ‘Speed Lines’ variant of the 220 were formed the closing of this long line. There was a small board kept beside every bike displaying their year of launch and their special features, of course.
There was a video played which featured all the commercials of Pulsar till date from the very first commercial which emphasized its tagline ‘Definitely Male’. I really had a nice time watching all these TVCs. I t instilled a sense of Nostalgia within me. Then as an end note of this video was played the 10th anniversary video of Pulsar which we’d posted a long time back in BikeAdvice.
With this ended the hypes that surrounded the bike to be launched. The launch ceremony then begun with an inaugural speech of Mr. K Srinivas, President, Two Wheelers, Bajaj Auto. He said, “Pulsar as a brand is moving front and forward.” He said that he wanted to explain the question ‘What makes Pulsar a legendary bike?’
Here are the points he mentioned:
“When you see one, you recognize one.” Think about the sentence he said and then you’ll understand that every ‘PulsarManiac’ in the country would happily rejoice. He said that the characteristics of Pulsar which includes the fuel tank, the LED lamps, wolf eyes and the speedo are all unique only to Pulsars.
“Pulsar satisfies the burning desire and not the need.” In the year 2001 when first Pulsar was launched for the Indian market, the entire market was dominated entirely by commuter bikes and Bajaj daringly ventured into the Sport – Bike segment.
Thrill of riding is now affordable because of Pulsars. Ina market when ‘Fill it, Shut it and Forget it’ was what drove the minds of Indians, it needs a lot of guts to come up with a bike like Pulsar. (I didn’t tell this. He told!)
Today, around 1 Mn Pulsars are sold worldwide in around 25 countries which includes Philippines and Columbia to name a few.
Pulsar has become a part of culture and then he added that Pulsar is viral as well.
Then came to stage Mr. Mr. Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director, Bajaj Auto to talk a few words about the Pulsar brand of bikes. He marked the beginning of his speech by telling, “When we first made the Pulsar, we didn’t make it for any of the reasons. We simply made it because that was US. ”
In order to explain his quote further he used Dr. Porsche’s famous words ‘I couldn’t find the car I want. Si, I decided to make it.’ Similarly he said the country didn’t have the kinda bike that he’d imagined and so they decided to make their own one by coming up with the Pulsar. He thwen added, “We’re more excited to see the bike and in fact you all would have only half the excitement as us.”
Then started the interesting part of his speech. He referred Pulsar as ‘A Three Layered Animal’. The following are the 3 layers mentioned by him.
Pulsar As A Product – He referred to the best in class functionalities that Pulsar boasts of when one talk about Pulsar as a product from the stable of Bajaj.
Pulsar As A Brand – He claimed that Pulsar is nothing less than the most profitable bike on Planet Earth. Bajaj currently works on an operating profit margin of 20 per cent for Pulsars and them he generalized it for all the Bajaj products. He said, “If a Brand is not profitable and cannot produce better business results and lacks pricing power, then it cannot be claimed as a Brand at all.”
Pulsar As A Strategy – 40 years before the launch of Pulsar, the entire strategy of Bajaj goes in one word – Chetak. People visualized Chetak as a value for money, family vehicle, low cost, durable and a reliable product. He was indeed right. India cannot forget Chetak so easily.
He said the company’s ascent is to make a better and better Pulsar every passing day. He added, “Earlier, Chetak was Bajaj’s centre of gravity and now Pulsar is Bajaj’s centre of gravity. “
He had some interesting points about the Discover brand too. He claims, “Discover is nothing but the commuterized version of Pulsar.” “Even KTM comes from the learnings of Pulsar though both are entirely different products.” Here is the statement which will make every PulsarManiac roam around with his collars up atleast for the next couple of days. He said, “If Pulsar goes wrong, the entire strategy of Bajaj goes wrong. If Pulsar gets it right, so does Bajaj.”
Though the first Pulsar was launched only in the year 2001, the background work for it begun as early as 1998.
Then the dais was taken over by Mr. Abraham Joseph, Chief Technology Officer, Bajaj Auto. He handles brilliantly the features and the engineering aspects f the Pulsar 200 NS. He compared all the aspects with the P220 so as to get a better clarity. He said, P220 is the benchmark for performance bikes till now.
The moment finally came when a guy in racing attire brought the Pulsar 200 NS to the stage from backdrop. That’s when we really gotta take a first glimpse of the 2012 Pulsar 200NS. The first look was just great and was more stunning to know that this time it was a naked bike. I’ve posted all the details of this bike in a separate post titled ‘Insights of Pulsar 200NS’.
So, this is what exactly happened in the venue of the bike’s launch which was indeed much awaited. The bike will most probably be hitting the showrooms in the month of April. The price as I’d mentioned in other posts is less than a lakh and we don’t know the exact price till now. We’ll update it soon in the blog as soon as we get to know about it.
KTM Duke 200 is getting tremendous response across the country. There are only 15 days have passed since Duke 200 is launched on 24th January 2012, but KTM showrooms (Erstwhile Probiking showrooms) are flooded with inquiries. The company initially decided the booking amount of Rs. 30,000 but it was reduced to Rs. 20,000 when Duke 200 hit the showrooms. The booking amount was reduced to encourage more buyers.
The company is also charging Rs. 3,000 as cancellation charges if the booking is canceled, to avoid speculative bookings and timely delivery for genuine buyers. The waiting period is ranging from 30-90 days depending on the location of showrooms. The delivery is expected to start within 2-3 weeks time. KTM Duke 200 is the third motorcycle which is seeing such an encouraging response from the buyers after Honda CBR250R and Yamaha R15 V2.0.
Duke 200 is the first offering from Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM which comes with 200cc engine and power of 25 bhp. It would be easy for Duke 200 to start with 2,000 units a month which is very good figure, considering its price. It seems that KTM Duke 200 may outscore competition in terms of bookings. However, it is to be seen how it performs in longer run against the competition.
Nissan is determined to enhance its image as a sports car manufacturer. The Nissan 370Z sportscar which is offered as a coupe and a roadster variant in the global markets is going to get a facelift in near future. The 2013 Nissan 370Z will be introduced for the first time at the 2012 Chicago Motor Show with considerable changes along the exteriors of the car. The LED daytime running vertical fog lamps will be a standard feature in the new Nissan 370Z sportscar making up for the changes in the front end of the car, while the rear end gets the red colored reflector replacing the black smudge; a fuel gauge meter and two brand new colors across all the variants of Magma Red and Midnight Blue.
Specific to the Nissan 370Z coupe devoid of the sports package will be the 18” alloy wheels, while the Nissan 370Z sportscar variants get a 19” alloy wheels more suited for the sportscar versions, new Brake callipers in red and Euro-tuned shock absorbers. While that was about the global news, focusing on the India-specific news, Nissan India offers just the Nissan 370Z coupe priced at Rs 53.50 lakh with a 3.7 L V6 engine churning out 332 Bhp and 370 Nm of peak power and torque with a six speed manual and a 7 -speed automatic gearboxes. However, it might be interesting to see if Nissan India might decide to bring in the sportscar package for the Nissan 370Z facelift as and when it makes it to India. This said, the Nissan 370Z roadster and the Fairlady Z variants are not offered in India at present. The sportscar will be unveiled at the 2012 Chicago Motor Show and will be available in markets across the world over the next few months.
Taking forward its ‘Solid-Safe-Simple’ design concept, Mitsubishi is all set to unveil its third generation Outlander at the Geneva Motor Show.
Coined as the New Generation Outlander, the company has developed a versatile global vehicle to match up with today’s times. The Japanese carmaker has already revealed the car ahead of the Geneva show.
Similar in size to the existing one, the new Outlander follows the same uncluttered look. The all-new Outlander is packaged with high grade materials like padded surfaces and soft-touch finish. The dashboard is fresh to look at with ergonomic steering wheel controls as well as high-resolution and easy-to-read instrument displays. On offer will be a choice of two low impact engines 2WD or 4WD: 2.0 I MIVEC petrol or 2.2 MIVEC Clean Diesel (depending on market, model, engine and specifications) with Auto Stop & Go and an all-new 6-speed automatic gearbox.
After the unveiling in Geneva, the Next Generation Outlander will be launched first in Russia this summer, prior to European (late summer), Japanese, Oceania, Chinese and North American debuts.
For the record, the Mitsubishi Outlander is a crossover manufactured by Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors and was originally known as the Mitsubishi Airtrek when it was introduced in Japan in 2001. It was based on the Mitsubishi ASX concept vehicle exhibited at the 2001 North American International Auto Show. The second generation of the vehicle was introduced in 2005 and it was then that all markets including Japan adopted the Outlander name.
