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Jaguar XJ with BlackBerry integration hands-on (video)
This week at BlackBerry World 2011, Jaguar is showcasing one of its lovely XJ sedans outfitted with a prototype of its upcoming Connect and View technology which the car manufacturer is developing together with RIM, Denso, and RealVNC. Like Terminal Mode, the system allows a client running on the vehicle's head unit to connect to a server installed on a BlackBerry smartphone. Communication is handled by VNC -- a platform-independent remote framebuffer protocol, which mirrors the handset's display on the car's infotainment screen and maps the device's physical buttons to softkeys. This provides control of the phone directly from the center stack of the XJ sedan but lets the company block potentially distracting apps. Audio is piped via Bluetooth while VNC traffic is routed over USB, thus also keeping the BlackBerry conveniently charged. Jaguar hopes to have Connect and View in its vehicles by late 2012. Until then, check out our hands-on video (above) and the press release after the break.
EU automaker loan may lead to fuel-sipping hybrid Jag XJ
Don't call it a bailout. The European Union has agreed to fund a £307 million loan to the newly minted Jaguar Land Rover conglomeration, known as JLR by those on the inside -- like Tata who owns it. However, unlike the US's rather open-ended (and dire-looking) cash infusions, this offer was made specifically to help the company up its eco-cred. JLR pledges to start with a so-called "Limo Green" version of the next generation XJ luxury sedan (that's the current, decidedly dark one pictured above). The model will use a Volt-like series hybrid drive train, in which the electric motor (or motors) powers the wheels and an onboard gasoline engine serves only to recharge on the go, a combination that should deliver 57 mpg -- three times the current machine's 19 mpg combined figure. The only question now is whether this future-Jag will still smell like leather and tweed smoking jackets, or will the whole thing reek of ozone and patchouli.[Via GM-VOLT]
