Blackberry launches Playbook rival to iPad

Blackberry has announced its answer to Apple's iPad with a device called the Playbook.

The company unveiled its tablet computer to much anticipation at its developer conference, Devcon, in San Francisco. It is one of the first business-centric devices in the tablet market.

Analysts said that the release was a clever move by the Blackberry maker Research In Motion whose smartphones dominate the business sector.

"RIM's Blackberry Playbook tablet looks to be a real challenger to Apple's iPad, playing on its business credentials, rather than being just another joy machine'," Stuart Miles, editor of mobile technology website Pocket-Lint told BBC News.

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source: BBC

DfT days driving is getting safer

Newly published Department for Transport (DfT) figures show that compared to previous figures, driving is becoming far safer.

According to the DfT, in 2009 there were 222,146 reported casualties of all severities, 4% lower than in 2008. Of these, 2,222 people were killed, 12% lower than in 2008. The number of fatalities fell for almost all types of road user, most notably with a drop of 16% for car occupants.

Figures on the number of people killed and injured on the roads in 2009 were published in June, but this report provides more detailed information about accident circumstances, vehicle involvement and casualties, as well as trends in accidents and casualties.

Further information on Reported Road Casualties Great Britain 2009: Annual Report can be found on the DfT website by clicking here...

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source: BVRLA

Safety concern over choice of driving shoes

An AA survey for the BBC suggests that some drivers feel unsafe driving because of their choice of footwear.

The survey for BBC Breakfast, which questioned over 18,000 people, found that more than one in four drivers have at some point not felt fully in control of their vehicle - because of their footwear.

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source: BBC

F1 designer Gordon Murray unveils lightweight city car

Imagine a car so narrow that two can drive next to each other in one lane; a car so small and short that three can park in one parking space. Now imagine that the car is built in a shed from glass fibre, recycled plastic bottles and hollow steel tubes, using just a fifth of the material required to build a conventional car.

Such a vehicle would have the potential to prevent gridlock on the world's roads as the number of cars quadruples to 2.5 billion by 2020. It could also help hundreds of millions of people achieve their dream of owning a car, without depleting scarce resources such as water, energy or steel.

Well, that car has been made. It seats three, weighs just 575kg, has a top speed of almost 100mph and is expected to cost about £6,000 ($9,000).

Using fewer and cheaper parts to build cars provides manufacturers with tremendous cost savings, but perhaps more importantly it reduces investment risk as less money is required upfront to get a project started, according to Prof Murray. In the future, car factories could be smaller, cheaper and less polluting than they are today "I love efficiencies in design, but I love efficiencies in business even more," he says. "The actual factory that builds an iStream car - no matter what shape it is, no matter what size it is - is about 20% of the capital investment and 20% of the size of a conventional car manufacturing plant - and about half the energy."

"What we want to do is to sell as many iStream licences to as many people for as many different cars as possible, all around the world," Prof Murray says, hoping to kick-start an automotive revolution.

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source: BBC

Nissan increases China production target

Japanese carmaker Nissan has increased its vehicle production target for China over the next couple of years.

The company now says production will increase from the current 670,000 units per year to 1.2 million in 2012. It had previously targeted production of one million units in 2012.

Nissan has overtaken Toyota as the top-selling Japanese carmaker in China and is expanding its facilities there. The firm is aiming for a 10% share in China - the world's biggest car market.

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source: BBC

Inside world's first hydrogen-powered production car

The world's first hydrogen-powered production car has arrived in the UK for the first time.

The Honda Clarity is not on sale yet, and may not be for many years. But does the technology behind the car - which emits just water and has a range of more than 200 miles - represent the future of motoring?

To see the BBC transport correspondent Richard Scott looking around the vehicle visit the BBC website by clicking here...

source: BBC

Scotlands 2020 vision

A £300-a-year workplace parking levy, lower speed limits and a national emission-based road pricing scheme are some of the proposals being looked at by the Scottish Government to help combat climate change.

It is has been suggested that these proposals could help to cut vehicle CO2 emissions from the current level of 70 million tonnes to 40 million tonnes by 2020. However, the plans have been condemned by the CBI and the Institute of Advanced Motorists, who claim the charges will disadvantage Scottish businesses and drivers.

The Scottish Government has already announced a £4.3m financial package to help encourage the use of low-carbon vehicles by Scotland’s public services, as well as the installation of publicly accessible charging points, of which there are at present only 14.

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source: BVRLA