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Free iPads no longer offered with high-end Hyundai
We reported last year that Hyundai was offering a free iPad with a pre-loaded manual for everyone who purchased the new Equus sedan. Well, no more. USA Today reports that Hyundai America CEO John Krafcik says the 2012 Equus will have plain old paper manuals. Krafcik adds that a year ago an iPad was a novelty, but no more. It's "redundant to our owner base." Hyundai heavily promoted the iPad with a manual last April when the car was introduced. Now it's just a memory.
Hyundai shows off Equus iPad owners manual, available for test drives in the App Store (video)
Yeah, we know, you're still having a hard time thinking of Hyundai as a luxury car brand. Get with the times, man. The Equus ("echoos") is legitimately high-end, and not just because each and every one comes with a 16GB WiFi iPad pre-loaded with the car's owners manual. Naturally this isn't just a boring stack of info that you'll only pull out to look up tire pressures and engine oil capacity -- oh no. This is a properly interactive experience showing you how the directional headlights work, providing videos of various interior configurations (including the reclining "First Class" rear seats with legrests), and even offering what looks to be something of a driving game. Sure, it's no Real Racing, but it is free, and you can check it out in the App Store now. Or, you can just live vicariously through the video below.
Addon Spotlight: Equus Infinata
Addon Spotlight focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience: the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same. This week, Addon Spotlight reaches into the addon grab bag and pulls out some delicious randomness for you. Salutations, friends. Welcome to another exciting week on Addon Spotlight, where addons reign supreme amongst the pitiful, smelly masses of other crap you could talk about related to World of Warcraft. Addons encompass it all! We are champion. This week, Addon Spotlight is heading into mount and pet territory, discussing a wonderful little addon called Equus Infinata. Equus not only caught my eye because of how simple and pretty the addon looks, but how it integrates straight into your already existing mount and pet interface pane. As a special treat, I asked Robert, the addon's author, a couple of questions about creating his first addon. Click for more!
2011 Hyundai Equus user manual to be pre-loaded on a custom iPad
We thought of theiPad as soon as we first heard the 2011 Hyundai Equus would come with its user manual preloaded on a "multimedia tablet" instead of being printed out, and it looks like our hunch was correct: our friends at Autoblog have confirmed that Hyundai will be shipping a 16GB WiFi iPad with every Equus. The iPad will be packaged in a bespoke leather case with an embossed logo, suede interior, and even kickstand -- which'll come in quite handy as the user manual comes complete with video tutorials for many of the car's functions. Updates to the software will happen through iTunes, and the iPad sounds pretty stock otherwise, so that's a nice little perk. Just don't use it while you're driving, okay?
2011 Hyundai Equus to come with 'multimedia tablet,' learning tutorials from Video Professor
It's certainly not the first time we've heard of an automobile shipping sans a paper-based user guide, but unlike those other guys who toss you a CD-R with a couple of PDFs on there, Hyundai is seriously upping the ante with its 2011 Equus. Revealed today over at the New York Auto Show, the company announced that the aforementioned vehicle would ship with an Equus Multimedia Tablet, enabling users to easily and quickly pull up a slew of information and diagrams about their new whip. The outfit's US president John Krafcik didn't specifically mention the brand or model of the tablet that'd be included, but the image shown to the crowd (and to you, above) certainly reeks of iPad. What's even more interesting is that the tablet will be used as more than just an owner's guide, but as an interface for handling "customer / dealer interactions like scheduling service appointments." We suspect we'll hear more about what kind of device will be included as the vehicle's ship date nears, but if we were the betting kind, we'd say that a massive, undercover deal with Fusion Garage will put a JooJoo into each and every Equus owner's hands. Kidding.
Kiddie porn trumps video games
British Home Secretary John Reid addressed European Union members this week in Brussels regarding violent video games. He acknowledged that violent games are an issue in the gamut of problems that affect youth, tempering his statement by saying, "But I am also concerned about what more we can do to tackle the most extreme and harmful end of the spectrum. In particular I am concerned about child pornography." Reid said most games do not feature objectionable material and went on to propose numerous ways for the EU to fight child pornography.Reid's statements come following issues in the U.K. and Europe over the survival-horror game Rule of Rose, which features very sinister little girls and is considered by some to be "erotic." The game currently has no publisher in the U.K. Coincidentally, if London audiences want to get their creepy child fix on, 17 year-old Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame will perform Equus in London early next year, which has "a lengthy nude scene during which Strang (Radcliffe) blinds six horses with a spike." So, naked Harry Potter live on-stage stabbing out horses eyes is fine, but fully clothed little girls terrorizing a woman with live rats tied to sticks is too much -- interesting.