mrad01

Very cool SAVs, sound very cool, go VERY well, heaps of room inside despite what some people say, we have one that comes into work that's been lowered, had 21" rims put on and an areo kit, straight awsomeness.

Yep, have to agree - they go like STINK!!! I drove the dealer "test" model X6M after it was launched and it is mad fast. Gives a bit of insight into the nextgen M5 performance possibly.

Hey, remember people thought the e60 5-series looked like sh*t - but now they look fantastic. When I see a mint one with nice wheels - they are a real head-turner - 8 years later. Their design is so good that it is only now that the e39 is looking a bit dated...pretty amazing really.

Roll on F10 M5......

Pretty toys but not for everyone. I find that unless you have a reasonably good platform to place them on they're very fiddly. I can email quicker from my droid as it has a flip out qwerty and is easier to hold. Nice to watch movies on but you have to hold it or prop it up somehow. Can't say much for the 2 as I haven't seen it or played with one yet but based on the 1st i'd pass thanks.

As said before, not for everyone but some people will find a genuinely good use for them, they're a niche product and it's funny watching people go nuts for them then find ways to justify it. My work colleague has the 1st one and, well, doesn't use it at work

Fair enough. See, I tried the droid and couldn't believe that people would use the keyboard, maybe it is ok if your fingers are tiny, but pretty much seemed like a gimmick. For me, the iPad keyboard is great and I bash out emails and small reports while I'm sitting inside the client site. I have the apple cover which sits it up perfectly for typing.

You are right in saying that most people buy it then justify it. But when the personal computer first arrived on the scene all those years ago, it was exactly the same. Turned out to be a hit product.

My old man cant use a computer. Doesn't understand the mouse/pointer concept too well and just finds it too hard. Now, iPad? Yep, he is sorted.

they are a cool little toy but I'd never buy one - IMO they still cant replace a laptop/pc (storage and optical drives) and they're too big to lug around. My flatmate is really keen to get one but can't explain exactly what he'd use it for, just caught up in the hype. I just cant understand what is so amazing about the new one (over the old one) that people are queuing to get it

edit - if they made a 'tough'pad, something that could handle water/dust/scratch-proof it could be pretty handy for work, easier than carrying round a massive folder of plans (that get blown away, soaked, torn, 'borrowed,' etc), could have all contract documents on hand, product info, and take notes, pictures etc.

But, people were NEVER going to buy a PC unless it had a floppy, 2 serial ports and a parallel port. Otherwise, it would be useless!!!

My whole workflow has changed - I use Dropbox for all my file sync - and have got some very useful apps for to-do lists, note taking, drawing diagrams, quoting etc. For presentations, document browsing, images, web, email, games etc - it is insanely useful, compact - and kicks the sh*t out of a laptop on battery life. Oh, and the 3G without tethering just means you pick it up, get what you need and put it down.

So, for me, I didn't really "see" what I could do with it because my laptop was everything - but once I got one - functions that I was lugging the laptop around for have been easily handled by the iPad. Now I leave the office all day with just my iPad. Nuts!

[Also, there are hundreds of cases which would turn it into a tough iPad]

Can someone please help me with whoever can supply me a Statement of Compliance in Auckland. And also where the UN/ECE plate can be found on 2001 X5. Imported an X5 from UK and has a couple of issues i need to get sorted before it can be complied. Your help would be much appreciated.

How is this news?

Woohoo, got one!

Thinking about it. depends if the Wifi will work with the iphone 4 as a personal hot spot.

Yes, this does work. I have used the hotspot with iPad gen 1, laptops etc etc

Laugh at all the kiwis "celebrating" st patricks day with no clue whatsoever on what it is about.

Why is WP7 getting the spotlight now when all the past Windows mobile OS failed (pretty much)?

Where does Blackberry sit amongst all this or are they irrelevant? At around 15% smartphone market share, surely that should mean something?

Because it is nothing like the crap the previous versions were. The interface is actually new and fresh, easy to use, and doesn't have the traditional start menu you would expect microsoft to ram down our necks.

Plus, nokia are going to ship millions of them, so good for developers to support.

Blackberry is over. People want more than phone and email...and rim haven't got a decent sdk for developers, well not compared to Apple and Microsoft anyway. When you don't adapt, you die, especially when you are up against adaptors like apple and ms.

I know lots of companies dropping blackberry and allowing iOS, android and wp7...

I had a go with a windows 7 LG phone ... very nice to use however a little bit too simple for my liking .. Im still a sucker for graphics.

Samsung have announced the Galaxy S2 which is the first of the next gen phones .. to rivel iphone5.

The thing I like about the galaxy over iphone (im not a fan boy of any of them btw) is that it has a microSD slot .. so I can save a little bit of coin and just get the 16GB model and if I use it up I can spend some coin and get more 'disk space' by buying a card.

Iphone has some pretty cool apps however lots of developers are switching to andriod as its a open standard.

A few developers - maybe not lots. Take it from me, Android is a *bitch* to code compared to iOS and WP7 - seriously, it is nasty. Doesn't mean it can't be done, but you will find innovative apps on iPhone and WP7 before Android.

Google showed how open they really are this week by DELETING apps installed on user phones - who is the new big brother? Google. (Sure, they were bad apps - but still)

The Galaxy is some nice kit - and the SD card option is a goodie. Which LG did you get?

So I guess the iPhone 4 is your day to day, "most-used" phone?

With Nokia going to WM7 for their high-end stuff, is there any point in Symbian OS from now? Is Symbian going to stay with the mid-range stuff (5000 series, etc...) or getting phrased out completely over the next product cycle or two.

Actually, my 3GS is the most used phone!!

Symbian is dead. All Nokia smartphones are going WP7 - not just the high end. They will keep selling those dinky little push button phone thingies from the 1990s (I remember when the Nokia 6110 was the machine - thrashed it to death) those will be for those who "just want to make a call". Fair enough.

The latest Symbian SDK update seems to have new widgets which look a bit like WP7 widgets - they are slowly migrating the poor symbian developers over. The Nokia to WP7 transition will take 2 years according to their info. Don't buy a nokia now. Just get a HTC.

Anyway, it is a 3 way phone OS race now (especially for developers). iOS, Android or WP7.

I wonder why 2 degrees has better reception then Vodafone if they are sharing towers!?

For the past 3 days i've been in Alexandra and Cromwell, my iphone sucked on both 2 degrees and Voda but the missus old Telecom (cdma?) had full bars everywhere...i think it's just my stupid iphone 3gs

Go and get an XT sim and drop it into your 3GS and it will kick ass. The reason is that XT is on a better band than vodafail and 2degrees, so it will pretty much always have better reception.

There is nothing wrong with your iPhone.

I've been looking at a HTC 7 Mozart and a HTC 7 Trophy on trademe and like the feature and looks but am still unsure how the windows platform works, can you guys explain if there are apps etc like Android and itunes or is it pretty much a laptop type phone. cheers

I've got the HTC HD7 which I bought at http://www.einfo.co.nz/

They offer a 1 year warranty - and have the HTC Mozart there if you want it. They have a physical store you can go to in Glenfield, Auckland. I always pick my stuff up from them.

Anyway, the reason I got the Windows phone is for app development (I do iPhone and Android apps already) It does have a marketplace with apps you can get for free and purchase. Things like the Yellow Pages, mPass for AirNZ and quite a few others are there. (Youtube, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter etc etc) WinPh7 is a good OS. There is no poxy start menu as you may have seen before on Windows phones - this GUI has been designed for the mobile phone and works quite well. I am impressed. (Usually I don't really like Microsoft's design)

iPhone4 is still a better overall experience for hardware and software - but Windows Phone 7 gets my vote for position 2 - with any Android phone 3rd. (yes, I have 5 phones - iPhone4, iPhone 3GS, HTC HD7, Google Nexus and a HTC Hero)

it's a bit of a pain, would love cheap mobile broadband. 20/gig is pretty sweet IMO.

I'm going to biff my Voda plan this month and switch to the Smartphone 60 XT plan (I already have another XT iPhone). $60 per month, 100 minutes, 300 txts, 1GB of mobile data, reception at my house, and no call dropping as I drive over constellation drive on the mway....north shore voda users know what I mean....

$60 per month? Cheap as for that reception and speed...

' apocolypse is begun

Ummmm, no.

Earthquakes are a scary fact of life. Have been for thousands and thousands of years....lets not get too freaked out people.

Would like to hear from people with smart phones, which network are you using and are you happy with it?

Reason I'm asking is that I find Vodafone to be total $h*t with my iPhone 4. Mobile internet over 3G is soooo slow that I just don't bother using it anymore, even tho I prepay 100mb broadband add on every month. And the reception signal is also mediocre at best, I live in ponsonby and all I get is one or two bars - even with my old phone. So would like to hear other people's experiences as I'm really thinking about switching to another network.

XT is really really fast and solid. Started out crap last year - but the changes they have made really show. It is quick with heaps of reception. 2degrees is fast too - not too many users on 3G at the moment, so quick. Reception is sometime better and sometimes the same as Vodafone. Vodafone are sh*t and you should get off them as soon as possible. They are a joke. Slow, patchy reception and crap.

They tried to blame my iPhone for the reception issues I have. 2 bars in my home office. I thought they might have been right until I got a XT sim and I get 5 bars in the same place. They are full of it.

XT + iPhone 3 or 4 is insanely great!

Haha, great. I just turned it off. Thank you iPhone.

I was happy with that!!! Having driven the S5 (not RS5) around before purchasing my BMW I can see exactly what he was going on about. Their handling is not up to the BMW standard - but good enough for street use.

Funny how people think 4wd means more "grip". If you think about it, you still have the same contact patches as a 2wd - so the grip is the same. With a 4wd you potentially have more "drive" out of a corner.

I knew a guy who had one of those legnum 4wd things and he said it held on in the corners much better than a 2wd...I argued that point, but he never got it.

Cheers for that explanation...there are just so many different phones out there, that i'm not sure what path too travel down.

I use it for pretty much anything!! For apps which i have spent several hundred dollars buying and for e-mail/net and is far less cumbersome then bringing a laptop to bed to check facebook etc.

I'd stick with the iPhone 4 idea - sounds like you have quite a few apps already and it really one of the best all-round smartphones on the market. Just the display alone will blow you away over the 3g display. The iPhone 5 is just rumor - it is so hard to pick with Apple. You could wait and wait and they won't release the product in the timeframe you want, It could go on forever!! Once the iPhone 5 is out, why not wait for the iPhone 6?

Solution: iPhone 4 on XT.

Phones:

iPhone will just work. It's not geeky, or the best reception or the best pixel camera, but It just works and is easy to use. You already know this because you have the 3G. iPhone 4 "reception issues" are utter crap, a few internet trolls stumbled across an idea and made a big deal of nothing. It doesn't affect the phone at all. We have tested extensively and found no real difference compared to other brand smart phones.

Android, specifically the Nexus S or Samsung Galaxy S. Hot bit of kit. Really nice hardware. Android OS itself is a bit trickier to use than iPhone OS, but it works as advertised. Think of android as your super geeky phone which you can hack and mess around with if you want to. I like android because I'm a unix geek, but it isn't my primary phone, i just have one for a secondary number and for development testing.

Windows phone 7 is the new kid of the block. I like it but i couldn't use it as my main phone because some of the apps i need aren't out on it (yet). again, check out Samsung or HTC hardware.

Nokia have just drop kicked their crap phones (thank god) and all nextgen smart phones from nokia will be running windows phone 7. Don't buy a nokia, it is a dead end.

Carriers?

Vodafone are sh*t. Really sh*t. Telecom XT has recovered to be the fastest and have the best coverage of any nz provider. 2degrees are fast and have ok coverage, but their pricing is just awesome. I use all 3, and XT is head and shoulders better than the other 2 overall.

Brain dump from years of development in the mobile space.....phew!!

Apparently Jeremy tests the M3 competition package against the new Audi/VW/Skoda RS5....

Head to your fav finalgear dot com site for a pickup Monday morning...

They are chips new.

Once again it hasn’t actually been crash tested by NCAP or ANCAP so we can’t judge it.

These scummy people that shop at the warehouse, or your average Kiwi know it’s not a 5 star safety car and they don’t expect it to be at half the cost.

It’s cheap. Brand new and has a three year warranty.

Most average Kiwi’s would rather shop at the warehouse for new shoes than wear scummy old ten year old designer hand me downs

Fair enough too.

I remember my first brand new car - what a great feeling!

(I'm not sure you should characterize warehouse shoppers as "scummy" - not nice. Although, I probably started that by describing 30cent saving queuers....apologies!)

Easy to say from your perch up there.

The car itself with be reliable and durable, probably more so than your 150,000 BMW if friends experiences with New BMW’s is anything to go by, all of them are constantly back at the dealers, one guy recons he has spent more time in BMW’s loaner cars than his own brand new BMW.

They may not be as safe as brand new Euro but they are as safe as the 10 year old bottom feeder Japanese import equivalent.

Hahaha, funny. I love BMW loaners! You get to try out all sorts of cars for the price of yours. Win.

I think the point is that a car designed and produced in 2009 hasn't had any thought put into it around safety. Comparing it to a 10 year old bottom feeder jap car shows how bad it must be.

NCAP have not even tested it, its not even in their (Europe's) market.

Looking at the crash data a few model dont do too bad and would score a few stars.

Half the members cars on Bimmersport would score 0 out of 5 though. How do we think a E30 or E28 would fair. A E34 not much better. Food for thought.

I think you are right about some cars, but this is a car designed and made in 2009, it should be better. The problem with this kind of product is that it appeals to the mingy tight kiwi, the type who queues outside the warehouse at the sniff of saving 30cents. Yuck.

I love watching people buying cheap ass, breaking it, buying better and then complaining. Buy right the first time NZ!

Pity most of the public in NZ would think "what a weird looking VN commodore"

Still rather have one lotus carlton over 3 dime a dozen HSV's

Yep, the poor old HSV showed how sh*t it really is in that video!! Huge difference in years and "tech" - but it could only manage just over a second faster.

That is one car I hate - any falcodore.

Nice Dark Blue 540i off Kenmure Ave, Forrest Hill. Parked a few doors away from my house! DHF176 (i think). Bimmersport sticker in the rear window...