Which Swift DZire is better, either petrol or diesel one?

I am just about to buy a new car for my self. But I am really confused as to which car to buy - petrol one or a diesel one. One thing I am sure about is that I would be going for a sedan, most likely Maruti Swift DZire.

Most of us face this dilemma of whether to buy a diesel powered car or one that runs on petrol and we decide based on what others tell us. I have done a lot of research on this. And I found that there is more to this issue than meets the eye. Let’s try to find out which is better and why?

To start with diesel cars have evolved over the years, from being noisy, slow coaches, polluting to the ultra refined CDI and CRDi technologies. Now days you can get cars which are fuel efficient, give earth shattering performance, have low NVH and happen to be diesels. Sometimes diesel cars are more powerful and perform better than petrol ones. Moreover the price of diesel is considerably less than petrol. But some disadvantages include high price of diesel cars compared to the petrol cars and more maintenance. So there is confusion here again about whether diesel cars really save money.

As far as petrol cars go, they need no introduction. They have been with us for a century and have naturally improved over years. Cars that run on petrol usually are associated with better performance, refinement and lower cost. But now they are facing extremely tough competition from their diesel counterparts. As already mentioned, even diesel cars are now evolved and give value proposition like - low NVH, good performance, refinement and the fuel efficiency. In India, petrol powered cars are not as popular as the diesel ones now because of their bad fuel efficiency and high prices of petrol. But maintenance is lesser for petrol cars.

Now if I look at various car options in petrol and diesel, you can find that diesel cars become better and more refined as the price goes up. The lower priced diesels are not too impressive. On the other hand, at the higher end, the petrol cars do not have much to boast about in front of their diesel brothers.

Now coming back to Maruti Swift Dzire; I test-drove it. It is great. Looks cool too. And I hope the performance of both the variants petrol and diesel is good. Do send me your comments and help me decide.

This mobile phone tracking service can be controversial

The creator of a new Australian service that allows mobile phone users to locate their friends is already bracing for an angry reaction from concerned husbands. "It will create a bit of controversy over privacy and I don't know how many husbands will want to be tracked by their wives," he he.

A recently launched the service, called Mapmates, helps friends, family members and workmates to find one another on a map using the GPS navigation systems in their mobile phones.

Once two users have accepted one another as "mates", they can view each other's most recently updated location on the Mapmates website or through an application on their phone.

Similar mobile phone tracking services have been launched recently in the US and Europe, sparking concerns that parents, partners and employers could misuse the technology.

Mapmates is a Java application suitable for any GPS-enabled mobile phone with internet access. Users must download and install the program on their phone, and register their details with Mapmates to use the service.

Once set up, the Mapmates program sends your location co-ordinates to its web servers, and registered users you have allowed to see your details can access your location. Likewise, you can see their locations.

You can find your friends either by looking online, with their location pinpointed on Google Maps, or through a map image sent to your mobile phone. Users could choose how often Mapmates updates their location, to prevent the application draining a phone's battery, and could even specify when each nominated friend was able to view their location, but Mapmates could prove useful to a much wider audience. It’s more useful for the parents who say they want that to track their kids." The service could also prove useful in tracking lost or stolen mobile phones, as phone owners could simply log on to the Mapmates website to track a missing mobile's location. In perfect conditions Mapmates could track phones to within 1m of their location.

But whole issue is that this technology can be really misused and can cause serious damage. I hope this technology is used the way it is meant to be.

“A CUTE KEYBOARD FOR MOBILE PHONES”

If you are a sort of a person who uses mobile phone for blogging and typing long emails like me, then this gadget is just for you. I am comfortable with my current hand set also, or probably I am used to it now, but still when I got to know about this mobile phone gadget I thought how convenient it would be.

Japanese accessory maker I-O Data has come out with a small Bluetooth 2.0 keyboard, which can be connected with cell phones for typing. The CPKB-BT is equipped with Bluetooth 2.0 and is for the hardcore users who spend more time typing on their cell phones than on their computers.
This small device weights only 170 gm and is powered by a pair of AA batteries. The batteries can last around 2-3 months if the keyboard is used for around an hour daily.

This cute keyboard is priced at $153 and will be available from June 11. So will you guys find this thing useful?

“Maruti Dzire – The Right Choice”

Why is it that I am referring to Maruti DZire as the right choice?
You will understand once you go through this post.

Maruti DZire comes in as many as 6 variants — good enough to suit both buyer’s requirements and pocket at the same time.

DZire comes with same two engines that are available in its hatchback version. The petrol engine is a 1298cc 16-valve In-line 4 that delivers 87 bhp@6000 rpm and a maximum torque of 113 Nm@4500 rpm. The diesel variants get a 1248cc turbocharged DDiS engine that generates 75 bhp@4000 rpm and a maximum torque of 190 Nm@2000 rpm.

The Swift DZire variants have lower kerb weight in their class with petrol variants ranging from 1010-1035 kg and Diesel variants ranging from 1090-1115 kg. The lower kerb weight advantage translates to good performance of the car. The gearbox is slick and the clutch is smooth. This makes driving the car a pleasure.

Overall, Maruti Swift Dzire gives the driver good feel and performance. It retains the cheeky appeal of its hatchback sibling with a more premium look. From the side, the sedan has a complete new design. It has bigger doors and larger window glass areas that make occupants feel roomier.

DZire's back is entirely different from the hatchback. The trunk lid is raised and has a lip that merges with the shoulder line of the car. A thick chrome garnish on top of the rear number plate attempts to offset the heaviness of the oversized trunk lid. The rear also flaunts new clear-lens combination lamps.

The car's interior has a luxurious look and feel with the use of good materials. The instrument cluster has round dials with chrome surround and features a white backlight. Compared to the hatchback, the most notable changes in the sedan are in the top-end variants that now come with standard steering mounted controls for the music system and the new music system has been well integrated into the dashboard to add a lot of charm. The DZire also has a comfortable seating position for the rear occupants. The rear seat backrests are angled at 27 degrees.

All these variants VXi, ZXi, VDi, and ZDi come with quality fittings like integrated audio system, tachometer, and convenience features such as audible headlights-on reminder, center and front cabin lights, vanity mirror, rear seat center armrest, and front electric power windows. The top-end variants ZXi and ZDi are equipped with more upscale features like front airbags, ABS with EBD brake assist, rear window defogger, adjustable tilt steering, and automatic climate control.

iSkoot —Skype for Mobile Phones

I was looking for some news related to Skype. I wanted to know if we can use it form our mobile as well. And What I found was really exciting, so thought that I should share it with you all. The news was about “iSkoot” that lets you call your buddy list from your mobile phone without needing your PC. They claim it is the "first Mobile-Voice to Skype Network".

If this can really happen then it would be cool for the ones who have loved ones abroad. As it can keep you connected with them 24/7 at minimal cost.

iSkoot software is simply a software download to your mobile phone, that enables you to make Skype calls. But unfortunately, all mobile phones can’t enable the software Currently, the following phones are supported - Nokia Series 60 handsets: 6600,6620, 6630, 6670, 6680, 6682, 7610, N70. They also plan to soon support MotorolaRAZR, Treo, and Nokia handsets.

iSkoot Mobile Network allows consumers to place and receive Internet calls with their mobile phones without the need for PCs, special hardware, custom phones or Wi-Fi hot spots. While the initial offering is for Cingular customers, and supports Skype Software only, iSkoot plans to expand the reach of Skype service to a wider selection of carriers and Internet phone services, such as Google Talk and other PC calling platforms. To take advantage of the iSkoot Mobile Network, Cingular users need only to download a small piece of software to their mobile phones. The Beta version of the iSkoot Mobile phone application for Skype Software is now available for free at www.iskoot.com and www.go.iskoot.com. Beta users who download the small client software will receive free unlimited use for the term of the beta. This is what the company has to say, "We are extremely excited about offering Skype users true mobility. The iSkoot Mobile Network completely frees Skype users from their PCs. It provides an on-ramp to the PC-PC network for cell phone users. With the iSkoot software solution on your mobile phone, consumers can use the Internet to call their online buddies without ever having to use their PC or a broadband connection. Once cell phone users download the iSkoot software to their regular handsets, they will be able to do everything they do with PC Calling, but with true mobility, even away from Wi-Fi hot spots," said Jacob Guedalia, Chief Executive Officer, iSkoot. "Skype has blazed a path with their cutting edge technology for peer-to-peer voice communications and continue this leadership with the first fully featured peer-to-peer clients on mobile devices. iSkoot offers a complimentary solution that utilizes a light client usable on any mobile phone and enables the full features though its network servers and gateways. In this way our solution extends the reach of mobile Skype, beyond WiFi and 3G.Furthermore it does not require that you have your PC turned on. You do not need a PC, all you need is your cell phone and an iSkoot connection and you can use Skype wherever you are."

iSkoot is dedicated to becoming a leader in enabling mobile Internet telephony. iSkoot extends the reach of Internet telephony by allowing users to make and receive calls over the Web using any mobile phone. With iSkoot users are no longer bound to their PCs to make and receive calls. iSkoot enables users to take advantage of Internet phone services and buddy systems to make unlimited, superior quality voice calls via next-generation peer-to-peer software from their cell phone.

“FixMyMovie offers new features”

I am always on a look out for “what’s new” in the world of mobile technology. The latest I read is that free enhancement service let’s you upload phone videos onto the Web.

“MotionDSP (DEMOfall 07) this week announced some major enhancements to its consumer service, FixMyMovie.com. Updates include one-step sharing of videos from mobile phones via MMS or e-mail, as well as free enhancements and iPhone conversion, the company says.

The company says videos sent to FixMyMovie are automatically enhanced up to four times their resolution, and can also fix poor lighting conditions automatically. Low frame-rate videos are stabilized and smoothed, and videos are also converted to the high-bit rate H.264 for higher quality.

The new features include the ability to send movies directly from their mobile phone to this address – upload@fixmymovie.com, without needing an account on the site. Once uploaded, videos are enhanced, and a link to the fixed video is sent back to the user via e-mail or SMS.

Registered users can then send the videos where they want, whether to You Tube, embedded on a Myspace page, blog or put onto individual Web sites. Links can also be sent to any e-mail address. Registered users also get a personal gallery on the FixMyMovie site, where they can be easily shared. The site can also prepare high-resolution versions of videos for other devices, including iPod, iPhone and Apple TV, as well as a Windows Media version of the file. Users can also grab high-resolution JPEG pictures from any video, clicking 'pause' on the video and hitting a 'capture' button will create a JPEG from the frame of the original video.

Amazingly, this service remains free. During the beta, FixMyMovie will allow for free enhancement of video clips smaller than CIF resolution (352 by 288 pixels) and under 15MB in file size (which covers any video from a mobile phone or digital camera).

While it's nice to have the video enhancement features offered by the service, the real gem of this offering is the ability to get your videos off the cell phone and onto the Web in such an easy way. For many users, it's too difficult to get the videos off the device, so it's nice to see a one-step offering from this service”.

Isn’t the working great…??

“Tough Time For Automobile Industry”

The Indian automobile industry is facing tough times. The industry's overall sales fell 4% during the last fiscal as compared to a growth of 13.5% during the previous year. Only some segments within the industry posted growth. Here’s what a finance portal had to say about the situation.

The post I read says -:

“The Indian automobile industry is fighting hard to keep driving on the growth lane. Only two of the four segments within it grew during the last fiscal and only one posting a double-digit growth. Passenger vehicles grew 12%, with the passenger car category growing a shade below it.

Hyundai, which grew 11% during the period, says industry growth has been slower than expected and the reasons could also be due to the sub prime crisis in the US.

Other players like HS Lheem, MD, Hyundai Motor India, says, "Much less than expected I feel. Many IT cities like Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Chennai may be affected by subprime mortgages from US. It looks like industry demand is down but I hope that by Q2, Q3 it should recover."

And volumes in the commercial vehicles segment, also considered as a barometer of the economy fell over 4%. The figures may not give the actual picture, as the industry is moving towards multi-axle vehicles with better carrying capacity than the conventional trucks. Sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles fell close to 2% and light commercial vehicles grew a little over 12%. Three-wheeler sales, which fell close to 10% also impacted overall industry growth”.

I guess after such a tough year, the Indian auto industry will have to devise new ways to fight the problems of rising inflation and interest rates to avoid a tougher year this time.