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Autoweek and Fourtitude were able to enjoy some seat time in the Audi R8 V12 TDI LeMans concept before its official unveiling in Geneva last week. Their drive was short (about an hour with a 50 mph speed limit imposed by Audi’s boffins), but their time at the airport adjacent to Sebring International Raceway has made an impression.

The crimson beast we saw in Geneva was the same concept that was displayed in Detroit, simply sporting a new paint job, but spending quality time with the R8 V12 TDI revealed a few interesting tidbits about the concept. First, the firewall behind the driver and passenger had to be extended by some six-inches to accommodate the oilburner and although claimed torque output is somewhere in the 737 lb.-ft. range, the few journos asked to take part only got to experience 442 lb.-ft. of twist – a good thing considering that the transmission mated to the engine is an A4 case with modified internals.

While the performance was impressive, the short gearing and shorter redline (not disclosed) seemed to make all that grunt superfluous in first and second, but Audi is expecting the R8 V12 TDI to return around 24 mpg and meet the 2014 Euro 6 emissions standards if, and when, it goes on sale.

While the Autoweek piece only provided the “50/50″ quote in the title, the Fourtitude article is far more entertaining and informative — well worth a read.

Read

The fine folks at GPS review have gotten their hands on the new TomTom GO 930, a followup to the GO 720 — TomTom’s previous flagship device. As far as looks go, the 930 is pretty much a 720 in shiny black clothing, so the review concentrates on the new features included like Active Lane Guidance, static intersection images and IQ routes. Nothing’s going to blow you away if you already have a 720, but the lane guidance should help with that all-important “which lane should I get in?” conundrum, while IQ routes has significantly improved route time estimations. Intersection images were too few and far between to be much help, but overall this is a decent improvement to an already impressively-reviewed device.
source:engadget

Olympus’ Mju 1030 SW compact digital camera got a little lost in the jumble of cameras that the company released earlier this year, but the folks at Photography Blog have now given the compact shooter its due with a full review. As you might expect, the 10-megapixel camera’s main selling point (its toughness) earned it the highest marks, with its metal case proving to be decidedly studier than the competition — not to mention shockproof and waterproof, although the site apparently didn’t test those features too strenuously. It was a bit of a different story when it came to actually taking pictures, however, with the Mju turning in only “acceptable” results, and only then after some basic tweaking. The fact that you have to pay a fairly hefty premium for all that sturdiness ($399) doesn’t help things either, but if you’re the type that goes through cameras like nobody’s business, it may not be the worst option to consider.
source:engadget

For some

, tossing around phrases like “live preview” and “flip-out swivel screen” would be enough to sell Sony’s Alpha A350, but we know you’re more discerning than that, right? Right. Truth be told, Sony’s feature-packed Alpha only turned out okay — not great — during a review session with the folks over at CNET. Still, the unit did offer a sturdy feel, a fantastically useful LCD monitor and satisfactory color / dynamic range. Unfortunately, the extra $200 or so you pay for 14-megapixels (over 10MP on the A300) wasn’t deemed worthwhile, as the extra processing “exacted a performance toll” in real-world use. The bottom line? These critics felt the Rebel XSi would be a better bet if you’re just looking for a nice resolution bump, but for the vast majority of folks, you’re likely better off snagging the A300 and putting your leftover dough towards a decent piece of glass.source:engadget

We’ve seen the official images, but those itching for a better look at 3DConnexion’s new SpaceNavigator 3D mouse for laptops can now get their fix courtesy of Flickr user zeta.phoenix, who has kindly chronicled the traditional unboxing process for us. As you can see above, the peripheral definitely won’t take up too much space in your laptop bag, and the just-long-enough USB cable means it likely won’t be doing double duty on your desktop (at least without an extension). If that’s whet your appetite, you can find plenty more pics where it came from by hitting up the link below.

source:engadget

If you’re making wagers with your SO that Asetek’s Low-Cost Liquid Cooling system has graced your memory bank before, kudos to you. Although this innovative (and simplistic) cooling solution has been kicking around in laboratories and a few OEM pieces for awhile, it’s remained largely in the shadows until recently. Now that liquid cooling has risen (somewhat) to the mainstream, the LCLC — which was featured in HP’s Blackbird 002 gaming rig — is finally moving to retail chains. That being the case, the kind folks over at Hot Hardware decided to put the heat on the firm’s liquid cooling system and see if it lived up to the hoopla. All in all, reviewers felt that the LCLC went a long way in overcoming the typical limitations present in water cooling setups, and thankfully, the price / performance were both very impressive indeed. We can’t cover six pages worth of in-depth analysis in this space, but all the gory details are just one click away.

source:engadget

We briefly got our hands on Sony’s DSC-T300 digital camera (along with a bevy of other Cyber-shots) back at PMA earlier this year, but the folks at Digital Photography Review have now come through with a thorough review of the camera which, among other things, is particularly notable for its use of touchscreen controls. On that important point, they found the controls “generally pleasant to use,” aided in no small part by the “largest possible screen for a camera of its size” (3.5 inches). They were also particularly impressed with the Cyber-shot’s “small, smart design” and its impressive 5x optical zoom. It’s not all good news, however, with the camera also boasting what Digial Photography Review describes as “terrible battery life,” as well as “over-enthusiastic reds,” and a noise-reduction feature that not only eliminates noise but reduces image quality no matter what the setting. Some pretty big trade offs, to be sure, but apparently not enough to keep it from getting an above average rating.
source:engadget

Sweet heavens, Dell hasn’t forgotten that there’s a 15-incher in between the Penryn-stocked M1330 and M1730! As we suspected it would, Dell really, truly went ahead and added options for a Core 2 Duo T8300, T9300 and T9500 to its XPS M1530 in short order after a mysterious message popped up hinting at as much on Friday. The 2.4GHz, 2.5GHz and 2.6GHz chips come at an upgrade cost of $75, $200 and $475 (respectively) and can actually be ordered right now. No, celebrating wildly in your cubicle wouldn’t be overreacting.

source:engadget

In case you weren’t aware, ASUS has a little bit of thing for bamboo, and its passionate displays of affection were unapologetic at CeBIT this year in Germany. The company was showing off a number product concepts on the show, as seen above, and while little info was given on specs or releases, they certainly seem to be a sign of things to come. We’re actually a bit more excited about that Essentio 5110 bamboo desktop than the various laptops, but, as demonstrated by the EcoBook, ASUS is probably going to be pushing this mostly in a laptop direction.

source:engadget

Remember that Sansa Fuze from yesterday? Well, we’ve gotten some sweet PR on it with a few more details we didn’t hear about yesterday. The device will come in 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB configurations, feature playback of MP3, WAV, Audible, WMA, MPEG-4, and JPEG files, and will be compatible with subscription services like Rhapsody To Go, Napster, and eMusic. As we mentioned in the previous post, the 4GB model will be available in black, red, pink, or blue, while the 2GB version only comes in black, and the 8GB is only available in silver. The models are priced at $79.99, $99.99, and $129.99, and will be available sometime in April.

source:engadget