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There are some car brands that happen to be icons of a particular era, and somehow or rather, the very same icon has made its way to being a long lasting one, where even after a few model generations down the road, the general shape and spirit of the vehicle remains the same, although you can definitely expect a whole lot more technological advancements added to the modern day era car. The MINI is one of them, and to see classic MINIs purring on the road these days is a joy. We are glad to report that MINI does not want to remain as a relic of an era past, which is why MINI Canada and Anomaly have teamed up to create an exhilarating execution for the brand’s ‘Not Normal’ campaign.

In order to depict the ride’s go-kart handling capability, a trio of MINI Cooper S models were specially redesigned in a manner to resemble that of a roller coaster. This was done with the assistance of production company Asymetric. This particular customized MINI Roller coaster has been specially refitted, where the roof and rear seats are no longer part of the equation, while they have been replaced by roller coaster carts, frames, LEDs, decals, and wind blowers.

MINI Roller Coaster Offers Plenty Of Thrills original content from Ubergizmo.

When the HTC Butterfly (better known as the Droid DNA here in the US) launched in China several months ago, it was soon followed by a companion device called the HTC Mini. This accessory — not to be confused with HTC’s One mini — is basically designed to be a Bluetooth handset and remote control for the larger smartphone. It features NFC for pairing, plus a numeric keypad and monochrome LCD. What’s more intriguing, however, is that UK retailer Clove recently outed an update to the product — the HTC Mini+ — which gains an IR blaster and the ability to remote control a variety of TVs, along with HTC’s Media Link HD. The companion device is expected to be available soon fort £54.16 (about $83) before taxes.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC

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Via: Android Community

Source: Clove

The leaks are true: HTC’s rumored M4 is indeed the One Mini. We know because a trusted source in possession of the “petite” 4.3-inch handset has fed us a direct image, while also confirming some specs. From what we’ve seen, the few renders and blurrycam shots that bled out earlier this year appear to be dead-on. The One Mini’s a more approachable (and affordable) version of the One — both inside and out — with some notable differences. For starters, its screen size has been reduced to 4.3-inches, much like Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 Mini, making it much more palm-friendly and deserving of the Mini moniker. But we don’t yet have a clear handle on its resolution. Certainly, the Mini’s not going to ape the One’s dazzling 1080p Super LCD 3 display — what’s more likely is that this “smaller” screen is of the 720p variety.

The Mini still features the much-lauded metallic unibody HTC ushered in with the One and Beats Audio branding on the back, although now its front face is ringed with plastic. The consequence of that latter design change should aid in reducing its weight, but it also means you’re getting considerably more bezel than on the One. There’s also no IR blaster on the device, so you won’t be able to use it as a handy replacement for your tv remote. And cosmetically, that’s about as far as the Mini strays from the One.

Much could change by the time the One Mini is released later this year — should be sometime in Q3 — but for the moment, the handset’s running a Sensed-up version of Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with BlinkFeed on board. Specific details on the UltraPixel cameras weren’t made available to us, but we do know the rear module’s capable of full HD video recording and Zoe share capture. As for the processor inside, our source provided us with a few benchmark results, pegging the CPU as a 1.4GHz dual-core setup — presumably, a Snapdragon 400 just like the HTC First. That’s about the extent of what we have on the One Mini. For anything further, you’ll just have to wait for more leaks or HTC’s official announcement later this fall.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, HTC, Google

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There’s a mysterious new Leica coming next month, and now we know what it looks like. The German camera maker teased its new model, dubbed the Mini M, with an image of a generic black box posted last week. It looks like a French iPad app spilled the beans a bit early, though, and Mirrorless Rumors managed to snag a screen grab. The new cam (in the foreground above) will reportedly sport a 16.1-megapixel APS-C sensor and a fixed 28-70mm f/3.5-6.4 lens — not the interchangeable mount some fans were expecting. The camera is said to be manufactured from aluminum, and includes support for an optional electronic viewfinder. Specs are fairly light, but there’s supposedly HD video recording (that’s a safe bet) and a copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom that ships in the box. Leica is scheduled to introduce the Mini M on June 11th, at which point all of the above, along with the rumored €2,450 (about $3,150) price tag, will likely be confirmed.

Filed under: Cameras

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Via: PetaPixel

Source: Mirrorless Rumors

It may seem like only yesterday when Mini entered the US to sell its cars, but it’s been 11 years since the car maker began selling its vehicles in the states. In that time frame, Mini has sold 500,000 of its cars in the US, marking a new milestone for the British car manufacturer, which is owned by BMW.

Mini has increased its US sales from 24,590 units in 2002, to 66,123 units last year. The Mini Cooper has easily been one of the company’s most popular vehicles, but they also have a small selection of variations of the popular car, including the Hardtop, Clubman, Convertible, Countryman, Coupe, Roadster, and Paceman.

As for Mini dealership around the US, there are currently 116 locations spilled out over the states, but the car maker plans for a total of around 130 locations by the end of this year, with construction already under way on some of those new locations. Of course, though, 500,000 sold in 11 years isn’t anything to write home about when you’re General Motors, but for a boutique manufacturer, this is rather impressive.

Mini originally started as a specific car model, built by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) from 1959 until 2000 when BMW bought the naming rights of Mini. From there, the company built new models of the Mini, and while the new look is rather different from the original Mini, the new models still retain the same 4-cylinder, all-wheel drive configuration.

[via Automotive World]

Mini hits 500,000 cars sold in US is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
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