Could this be the much-rumored budget iPhone Apple aims to battle Android at the low-end with? That’s the claim by Techdy, which managed to grab some hands-on time with a plastic-shelled smartphone bearing Apple’s logo and a whole lot of speculation. According to the leak, you’re looking at the white version of the upcoming budget iPhone set to launch alongside the iPhone 5S later this year.
Exactly where the phone came from, is unclear. Techdy has links with M.I.C. Gadget, a site we’ve seen leak pre-announcement gadgets often from manufacturing sources in the past, though if the handset is legitimate then this is certainly one of the biggest to spill out prior to an OEM’s intentions.
Suspending the usual disbelief, if only for a moment, the site claims that the handset as a whole feels far from cheap, despite how it has been billed. Made of polycarbonate – just as Nokia uses for its Lumia Windows Phones – it will have a 4-inch screen like the iPhone 5, going by the display assembly – but is thicker and blunter than the current Apple flagship.
On the bottom there’s a Lightning port and four speaker holes, along with the headphone jack and a hole for a microphone. The display itself has narrower side bezels than we’ve seen on an iPhone so far.
However, it’s also worth noting that Techdy has seized the opportunity to throw together an Android-powered clone (which looks quite a bit like HTC’s ill-fated First, in fact) of the supposed leaked iPhone, and will be selling it as the “Basic Bear”. That could well make this claimed preview of the new iPhone more like a thinly-veiled piece of rumor-mill marketing, but we’ll likely have to wait closer to the official budget iPhone reveal to find out for sure.
The next iteration of Samsung’s Galaxy Note series has been one of the hottest topics in brand-specific forums over the past couple of weeks, with fans of the brand doubling up interest after a device-filled event held by the manufacturer brought on everything but. What we saw back then was glimpses of the machine – an implementation of the S-Pen here, another version of the Galaxy S 4 there, but the Galaxy Note III itself remained a mystery in a large way. Here several weeks before said device is tipped to premiere, rumors of specifications begin to flow.
The illustration above comes straight from Samsung’s Facebook page, linked in that case to “An inspirational talk from blogger & RSA Chief Executive, Matthew Taylor”, found here: (YouTube Link). Tips for the future!
The images you’re seeing below have been shared by microblogger (and several-times proven inside source-connection) TechKiddy, who suggests the photos depict a “prototype” still in testing. While the common guess thus far has been that the machine is an early edition of the Samsung Galaxy Note III, it’s a bit more likely that we’re still looking at Galaxy S 4 ware – perhaps even the Samsung Galaxy S 4 Mini in photos taken in the weeks leading up to its first market-ready edition.
As for the Galaxy Note III, analysis seems to converge on several key specifications, starting with a 5.7-inch display. This would put the display at another .2 inches above the previous model, where the Galaxy Note II was .2 inches larger than the original. The original Samsung Galaxy Note came in at a size that now seems slightly less hand-dominatingly large than it was back at its initial reveal with a cool 5.3-inches of screen real-estate.
Another key piece of this puzzle seems to center on an industry first: 3GB of RAM. While the Samsung Galaxy Note III does not seem to be headed toward a processor any more powerful than the Samsung Galaxy S 4 or the Samsung Galaxy S 4 LTE-A, an extra 1GB of RAM should be well and above what’s needed to keep this machine swift and active. Inside we’ll likely find a Samsung Exynos 5 Octa SoC (as in the international edition of the GS4) or a Snapdragon 800 SoC (as in the LTE-A).
The launch date for the next Note has been tipped as September 4th, just before the international technology convention known as IFA. The original Galaxy Note made its debut at IFA in Berlin – the Galaxy Note III may warrant a Samsung “Unpacked” event of its own.
Google’s recent XE7 update for its Glass Explorer Edition already shows signs of an unactivated locking system for the wearable, as well as a “Boutique” app store and media player. The official changes in XE7 include a web browser – which you can see demonstrated after the cut – using physical head movements to navigate pages, along with boosts to search, contacts, and other features. However, some digging through the update itself has revealed a number of much-anticipated extras that Google hasn’t mentioned publicly.
Zhuowei worked his way through the code, and found a number of dormant or work-in-progress features. Most topical, perhaps is the provision for locking Glass, an absent feature which has meant that, so far, anybody stealing the wearable off your head (or from your bag) can instantly gain access to whatever data it has saved on its roughly 8GB of onboard storage.
Google’s system for dealing with that appears to be coding Glass with a swiping lock with four components. The lock screen code suggests wearers would flick between each of the four lock IDs with swipes up and down on the side touchpad, then set each pattern with swipes left and right.
We’ve seen a similar approach from non-official Glass locking app Bulletproof. That also included the proviso to only turn on the lock if the wearable’s motion sensors showed that it had been removed – either taken off and put down to recharge, perhaps, or pulled off in a theft – rather than demanding an unlock every time the user wanted to activate it.
Google Glass XE7 wearable web browser demo:
Google had already confirmed it was working on a lock system for Glass, as part of the company’s response to a US congressional committee concerned about privacy and security. For the moment, though, Google suggests those who lose their Glass can remotely reset it from the web interface.
However, it’s not the only change spotted in the XE7 code. There’s evidence of the Glass Boutique, what appears to be a version of the Android Market for Glassware apps for the wearable. Not yet usable in XE7 – there’s mention of the Boutique, but not the actual code for it – it appears that the store will allow synchronization to Glass of Glassware and native APKs, which also implies native app support is also on the cards.
That would mean another way of running software on the wearable beyond the existing Mirror API, which basically acts as a conduit between Glass and web-based software. Google currently has Glass locked down, with the only way to install local software being an unofficial hack. Instead, the Mirror API works as a route for Glassware to communicate with the headset – as Google explained using cats back at I/O – while keeping local processing (and thus battery consumption) to a relative minimum.
Other new features center on multimedia. There’s a new set of cards mentioned – though, again, not the code for the actual functionality – for a music player, with the usual play/pause/next/previous skipping support, and album/artist information on-screen; a video player also gets a terse mention, though there’s even less detail around it. Functional already, though (even if it requires a little modification in order to activate it) is a volume control, adding a new option to the Settings that allows adjusting the volume of Glass’ bone-conduction speaker.
The remaining changes are either minor, mysterious, or both. A new, red microphone icon has been added, along with a package installer – not yet functional – that looks like it might eventually permit downloaded APKs to be loaded onto the headset. The ability to only see timeline cards from a specific contact is also hinted at, though again doesn’t yet work; there’s also what appears to be a version of the new contact list – which now includes all of your Gmail contacts rather than just ten as Glass originally supported at launch – that can be navigated by head movements, just as with the new browser.
When Google might go live with any of these newly-spotted features – if, indeed, they ever graduate to public functionality – remains to be seen. However, it’s a sign that Glass is slowly progressing from a wearables novelty to a more legitimate mobile platform in its own right.
Google must change its European privacy policy or run the risk of legal censure, with the UK joining Germany, Italy, France, and Spain in demanding the search giant modify its contentious “unified” policy. The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office, the independent privacy watchdog, confirmed this week it had contacted Google giving it until September 20 to rewrite its privacy policy, as currently it “raises serious questions about its compliance with the UK Data Protection Act.” If it fails to amend the policy, the ICO warns, Google could find itself the target of “formal enforcement action.”
The UK isn’t the first European country to take issue with Google’s single privacy policy that over-arches the majority of its services. Revealed in 2012, the updated terms & conditions replaced the individual agreements for each product with a single per-account policy; at the time, Google claimed it shaved around 60 different agreements to just one, billing it as a more efficient and understandable approach to data privacy.
However, critics also pointed out that Google was explicitly giving itself permission to share data from different services, and in the process build up a more complete picture of each individual user. For Google, that only led to benefits overall: the company would be able to, for instance, use calendar data, location data, and its own understanding of traffic status to give more accurate directions and suggestions on when to travel, what route to take, and by what method to take it, Google argued.
Google privacy policy changes explanation video:
That wasn’t enough to placate privacy watchdogs, however, and a bitter back-and-forth began as regulators sparred with Google’s own legal advisors. In February this year, the French National Commission for Computing and Liberties announced it was unsatisfied with Google’s explanations, and that it would investigate and potentially level fines at the company.
“Our privacy policy respects European law and allows us to create simpler, more effective services” Google said in a statement on the matter. “We have engaged fully with the authorities involved throughout this process, and we’ll continue to do so going forward.”
Meanwhile, a German watchdog announced this week that it would hold a legal hearing with Google’s policy at its core. Professor Johannes Caspar, who heads the Hamburg-based organization, said that Google’s 2012 policy “violates the company’s commitment to full transparency about the use and handling of the data.”
Data use is a sensitive topic at the moment, especially given the ongoing PRISM revelations that forced Google – among others – to categorically deny that the US NSA or any other security agency had “back door” access to its servers. Google is also the subject of privacy concerns in the US, particularly around its Glass headset, which has led one Congressional caucus to question the potential for abuse of wearables.
UK ICO statement:
“We have today written to Google to confirm our findings relating to the update of the company’s privacy policy. In our letter we confirm that its updated privacy policy raises serious questions about its compliance with the UK Data Protection Act.
In particular, we believe that the updated policy does not provide sufficient information to enable UK users of Google’s services to understand how their data will be used across all of the company’s products.
Google must now amend their privacy policy to make it more informative for individual service users. Failure to take the necessary action to improve the policies compliance with the Data Protection Act by 20 September will leave the company open to the possibility of formal enforcement action” Information Commissioner’s Office, UK
Photographers still go wide-eyed when you tell them the Sony Cyber-shot RX1R has a full-frame sensor. The party-trick of 2012′s RX1 is just as impressive in its new sibling; approached by a curious “enthusiast” while we were out in London this week testing out the updated version, we saw once again how disbelief quickly gave way to amazement and then lust when we explained the camera’s 24-megapixel prowess (swiftly followed by horror at the $2,800 price tag). This time around, you’re actually getting less with the RX1R: the anti-aliasing filter from the CMOS has been removed, for what Sony claims is an increase of detail. Read on for our first-impressions and some sample shots.
If you’re familiar with the original Cyber-shot RX1, you’ll hunt in vain for any noticeable differences between it and this new RX1R. Bar the addition of the red subscript “R” there’s literally nothing, externally, to tell them apart. Both are an easily handled 113.3 x 65.4 x 69.6 mm and around 453g, feeling more than sturdy in the hand thanks to solid metal construction. Even the lens cap feels premium, milled from metal rather than the lightweight plastic cover most lenses come with.
Nor has Sony tampered with the core specifications. So, you still get the 35mm F2.0 lens with an ISO range of 100 to 25,600, support for 14cm macro shots, up to 1080p60 AVCHD video recording, and support for various accessories including both optical and electronic viewfinders on the RX1R’s hot shoe. The interface is the same too, navigated via a control wheel next to the 3-inch, 1.2m-dot TFT LCD display (which is non-touch) that also functions as a 4-way joystick with center-select.
There’s also room for a dial to quickly snap through things like shutter speed, depending on which mode you have the top dial set to. Exposure gets its own dedicated dial on the top, too, while aperture and minimum focus are controlled by dials around the barrel of the fixed Zeiss Sonnar T* lens. That’s good for F2.0 to 22, and is near-silent in operation.
Sony RX1R hands-on:
Of course, what makes the Cyber-shot RX1R different is what it lacks: an optical low-pass filter. That’s the layer which is used to reduce moiré – the rainbow-style meshing you get occasionally when fine grid patterns in the subject clash at just the wrong angle with the CMOS’ own grid – by introducing a very slight blurring. The end result is less chance of moiré but at the cost of a slight reduction in sharpness.
Some photographers will do anything to avoid that loss in sharpness, and so cameras without anti-aliasing filters have become popular – albeit niche – in recent years. Sony promises the “sharpest detail ever” in fact, as long as you can stomach the potential for extra moiré.
In practice, you have to be suitably obsessed to notice any difference over the RX1: both versions produce fantastic images. Even Sony admits that those who will get the benefit from the RX1R are those who work only from the RAW images the camera spits out; otherwise, you’re unlikely to spot the changes. Some of that is down to software processing: in-camera JPEGs, for instance, take advantage of new algorithms Sony has loaded to offset the missing optical low-pass filter. Go hunting for it, and you can find it, but otherwise it’s effectively a non-issue.
There’s no denying that the Sony Cyber-shot RX1R is expensive. With an RRP of $2,800 – just like its RX1 sibling, which remains on sale alongside it – you’re paying proper DSLR prices for what’s in effect a fixed-lens compact. That’s a very special, compact, though, and if you prize portability over the flexibility of a DSLR, the RX1R has bags of appeal. The combination of a slight increase in detail probably means the RX1R will be the favorite of the two versions, but we’d not turn our nose up at either.
All of the sample shots in the following gallery are unedited, bar having been resized.
EE‘s DoubleSpeed LTE launch was the big news of yesterday’s event, promising roughly twice the 4G speed across twelve UK cities with no extra charge. It’s the carrier’s latest pre-emptive attempt to corner the high-speed mobile market before its rivals wade in with LTE of their own, so with theoretical peaks of as much 150Mbps, it only seemed fair to put the new DoubleSpeed service to the test. As we found, though, it’s not quite so straightforward.
EE’s promise is based upon some technical shuffling that pairs together extra chunks of spectrum. To be precise, rather than allotting 2 x 10 MHz as it was before, EE now uses 2 x 20 MHz in the 1,800 MHz spectrum band.
The end result, EE says, should be an everyday speed increase to 24-30 Mbps downloads, roughly double what existing users have been seeing so far. Initially, it’s live in twelve cities (rather than the ten initially promised): Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Nottingham, and Sheffield.
We powered up an HTC One on EE and ran through some speed tests in various locations just outside of central London, with 4G indicated and between one and four bars of signal strength showing. Initial impressions were excellent: in a location where previously we’d seen around 13 Mbps down and up to 17 Mbps up, that jumped to over 42 Mbps down and over 22 Mbps up.
Moving round, though, we found things to be more changeable. 42 Mbps – higher, to be fair, than EE suggests – was the fastest we saw, while the fastest upload was just over 29 Mbps. More common, though, was a download in the low- to mid-20s and uploads around 20 to 22 Mbps.
What makes it somewhat frustrating, however, is the difficulty in actually pinning down DoubleSpeed service. Since there’s no change to the indicator – you don’t get “4G+” in the display or anything – it’s hard to know what you can expect. Meanwhile, the actual speeds we saw often proved unconnected to the strength of the connection on the signal meter: our fastest benchmarks actually came when we had just one bar showing.
Nonetheless, it’s an impressive turn of speed overall (when you’re in the right place) and the fact that EE won’t be charging extra for it is welcome. The DoubleSpeed 4G goes live today; if you’re in one of the served areas, run a speedtest and let us know how you get on in the comments below. We’ll be adding to our results with more as we test the network in other locations.
This afternoon several sources have come forth all at once speaking on how Motorola’s next hero device, the Moto X, will be able to be customized. The first and most visually interesting of the collection comes from an in-factory snapshot which shows three of the total 16 different colors set to be available for the device – green, pink, and purple, each of them in a bit of a pastel tone.
The photographer here delivers news through source NWE that additional tones will include blue, purple, green, and additional blues – amongst others, of course. This bit of customization will ride alongside additional choices of inner configurations based on the consumers “needs” – aka wants.
Meanwhile Motorola has silently launched a User Information Page along with the full-page-advertisement it had teased yesterday. As this launch will surely – according to the poster – be a patriotic one, we’ll be expecting more solid terms of connection by tomorrow.
The team at Motorola has also had a logo change-up in the past few days – shown a bit earlier than this campaign complete with its brand new color ring. This ring is obvious evidence of some of the additional colors users will be able to choose from with the launch of the Moto X, a device Motorola also promises will be assembled wholly inside the borders of the USA.
This release is the first that Motorola is suggesting will be one under the Google umbrella, the company having had several projects still in the works at the time of the big G’s acquisition of their company. Motorola continues to operate as a separate entity, but Google does, indeed, have quite a bit of influence over their future.
According to ABC News, further customizations will include color choices in not only the back cover, but the trim of the phone as well. Then as a bit of a bonus, users are said to be able to upload a photo to the website from whens the phone can be ordered and said photo will be delivered to the user as the machine’s background.
It would appear that this device will be delivered to some carriers with the name Moto X, but with Verizon specifically with a different name: DROID Ultra.
It’s not immediately clear if Verizon’s iteration of the device will have the same collection of customization abilities as the rest, but we’ll be looking forward to backside engraving, that’s for certain.
Samsung has shipped 20m Galaxy S 4 smartphones, the company has told South Korean press, pegging demand 1.7x more than the Galaxy S III it replaced. The smartphone – which Samsung claimed “sold” 10m in its first month of availability – is on track to be the company’s first 100m unit smartphone, Yonhap News reports, supposedly the internal target.
However, as ever there is controversy over what counts as a “sale” and what’s a “shipped” device. Samsung counts its sales through to the channel – including retailers and carriers – whereas some rivals prefer to count actual sales to end users. The disparity has led some to accuse Samsung of inflating its count, including phones that are actually sitting in boxes in warehouses, rather than in the phones and bags of actual users.
Either way, compared to Samsung’s last flagship, the Galaxy S 4 is seemingly leaving the company’s factories at a greater rate. Samsung hasn’t stinted on variations, either, borrowing the Galaxy S 4 name for a range of different handsets to address different parts of the market.
For instance, the Galaxy S4 Active – which we reviewed last week – takes the phone and gives it a more sturdy, water- and dust-proof body. That means it can survive dips in the pool as well as trips to the beach, including being used for underwater photography, though Samsung also downgraded the camera slightly in the process.
Samsung Galaxy S4 Active water test:
Meanwhile, there’s also the Galaxy S4 Mini, which shrinks down the phone (and its specifications, for that matter) for those who want a smaller device overall. The Galaxy S4 Zoom throws in a larger-resolution sensor and a full 10x optical zoom, bridging the gap between a phone and a point-and-shoot camera.
The new sales stats come after Samsung has been hit with ongoing speculation that sales of the Galaxy S 4 were underwhelming. Various executives from the company have been forced to insist that demand for the handset was still high, despite suggestions that it was being seen as a mere evolutionary upgrade from its predecessor.
If there’s ever an opportunity to tie a product in with a national holiday, a public relations company is apt to do it. This week the folks at Motorola are set up to release a full-page advertisement for their customizable smartphone, one that’ll go by the name Moto X. This device is prepped to be designed by the user (you) and entirely assembled in the USA – a first for a product such as this.
With this full-page spot, Motorola also once again comes out in force with its new logo, bound and determined to make you understand that the big M belongs to Google now. This logo also shows a collection of colors that the user will almost certainly get to choose from for the battery cover – or perhaps the whole casing – of the Moto X smartphone later this year.
The Google company known as Motorola has hereby been reinvented as one that’s ready to make a real American effort with a 4th of July message for the public.
“What we are doing which is very different is assembling here in the U.S. in our assembly plant in Ft. Worth, Texas. What better time than July 4th to come with a message like that?” – Motorola VP of global brand and product marketing Brian Wallace
Are you ready for a smartphone whose physical attributes you can customize yourself? Could this be Google’s first big influence akin to the color choices available with Project Glass?
Then take note of the leak of what’s called the Motorola DROID Ultra – perhaps the Verizon-specific iteration of the Moto X, made in what they describe as a bunch of glossy colors integrated with DuPont Kevlar – much like the DROID RAZR lineup from the past couple of seasons with the brand. We shall see!
Chevrolet has big ambitions for its tiniest electric car, the Spark EV. The earth-friendly city car follows the Volt, dropping the gas engine in the process and embracing emissions-free motoring at a competitive price. As we’ve seen, though, small EVs can easily fall into the trap of being so eco earnest as to be deathly dull, or alternatively entirely impractical for everyday use. Can the Spark EV keep the best of its gas-powered predecessor and blend it with the benefits of electric motoring? We caught up with Chevrolet for an extended test-drive to see how the Spark EV fared.
Design
The styling of the Spark EV isn’t new, a chunky, angular wedge that looks, with its steeply rising shoulder-line and hidden rear handles, more like a three-door at first glance. In fact, there are doors front and back, pushing the wheels to the very corners, and giving it a squat, punchy stance. Like many subcompacts it’s more cute than it is aggressive, but it wears the new closed upper-grille neatly, and the standard 15-inch alloys are clean.
More importantly, perhaps, Chevrolet says it’s more slippery than its gas-powered cousin. A new underbody design helps there, along with wheel deflectors and a subtle integrated rear spoiler; there’s also an automatic shutter system behind what’s left open in the grille, to adjust airflow.
At 146.5 inches long and 64-inches wide, the Spark EV is shorter and narrower than Nissan’s Leaf, though you lose out on cargo space because of that. Rear seats up, the Chevrolet’s tiny trunk accommodates just 9.6 cubic feet, versus the Leaf’s more ample 24 cubic feet; drop the seats, and you’ll get a healthier 23.4 cubic feet into the Spark EV (or 30 cubic feet into the Nissan).
Still, it’s comfortably enough for a grocery shop, and the smaller Spark EV bests its Nissan rival on overall weight, too. The Chevrolet is 2,989 pounds, while the Leaf comes in at 3,391 pounds; if that still sounds heavy, then you have to blame the electrics. The EV version of the Spark is 621 pounds lighter than its gas-powered auto cousin.
Engines and Performance
We’ll admit it, we’re cautious about conversions, like the Spark’s journey from gas-powered to EV: after all, more than just the engine goes into making a good car. The weight difference too was, on paper at least, another warning sign. Finally, factor in that the original Spark was never going to be mistaken for a sport-compact, and you can understand our reticence.
We needn’t have worried. Both of Chevrolet’s Spark EV variants – the cheaper 1LT and more expensive 2LT – use the same powertrain, a front-wheel drive electric motor mustering 130 HP. That’s already 1.5x more than the gas Spark, but it’s when you look at torque that things get really interesting.
Out of the box there’s 400 lb-ft of torque, which is simply phenomenal for a city car. In contrast, wind the gas Spark up sufficiently, and you’ll squeeze 83 lb-ft out of it at most. The end result is that, like other electric cars, the Spark EV simply throws itself at the road with an eagerness and alacrity that belies its more humble origins.
The good news doesn’t stop there. Since the Spark EV is heavier than its forebear, Chevrolet’s engineers had to do some work to the suspension and weight distribution. That’s worked out to far better ride quality when you’re taking things easily and trying to coax out maximum range, as well as more enthusiastic and eager handling when you’re making the most of all that torque.
Chevrolet quotes a sub-8s 0-60 mph time, along with a top speed of 90 mph, but the Spark EV excels with point & squirt city driving, dashing into gaps in traffic, thrumming forward from lights, and generally feeling considerably more lively than you might expect. It’s still very quiet inside, mind, with just the occasional whine from the electric drive.
Two transmission modes are on offer. In regular “Drive” mode, the Spark EV mimics a normal automatic gearchange, albeit without any noticeable shift-jerk; flip into “Low” mode, however, and the regenerative braking system – which claws back power by momentarily turning the electric drive motors into generators – kicks in more aggressively, rapidly slowing the car when you lift your foot off the accelerator. It takes a little getting used to, but it can add to your overall range.
Range is the big question around EVs, especially pure-electric cars like the Spark EV. Chevrolet quotes up to 82 miles on a full charge of the 21.3 kWh Li-Ion battery, with the option to “fill up” either from a standard 120V AC supply, from a specially-installed 240V supply, or finally from an SAE Standard Fast Charging outlet.
The difference between the three is time. On an SAE connection, which should become more prevalent as this year progresses, the Spark EV will recharge to 80-percent in around 20 minutes time. A 240V charge takes more like seven hours, Chevrolet says; best to treat the 120V cord as a travel emergency option, since a full recharge on that can take up to 20 hours.
We didn’t have long enough with the Spark EV to test the various charging methods, though we did grow to appreciate Chevrolet’s Driver Information Center, which delivers dynamic battery information to a 7-inch screen on the dashboard (more on which in the following section). Rather than simply offer a single figure for remaining range, the Spark EV adds a “confidence” number to the estimate, based on whether you’re driving enthusiastically or sticking to more economical patterns. The Spark EV even tries to gamily the process with an “Efficiency Gauge”, encouraging the responsible driver to keep an animated green ball centered by driving sensibly.
Interior
Given the sticker price, it’s not surprising that Chevrolet has heaped on the standard-fit equipment versus the gas-powered model. So, the Spark EV 1LT still gets that 7-inch touchscreen dash, 6-speaker audio with SiriusXM radio, Bluetooth for streaming and hands-free use, a USB connection, air conditioning, remote keyless entry and power locking, power windows and mirrors, cruise control, an alarm, and fog lamps out of the gate.
The 2LT version throws in “dark pewter” leatherette front seats with blue accent stitching, that are also heated, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. It also gets the DV Fast Charger as an option. Both variants have 10 airbags, hill-start assist, tire pressure monitoring, and OnStar.
Chevrolet’s MyLink entertainment system makes an appearance, too, taking advantage of the Bluetooth connectivity to get the Spark EV online via your smartphone. One connected, the car can stream from internet radio stations as well as services like Pandora, in addition to Siri voice control. There’s also support for BringGo, a turn-by-turn navigation system priced at $49.99, including 3D mapping and overlaid indicators to show how the range remaining of the Spark EV meshes up with your programmed destination.
However, it’s worth noting that – unlike some other MyLink-equipped cars in Chevrolet’s line-up – the Spark EV doesn’t support the enhanced voice recognition system, Gracenote database access for identifying track, or indeed have a CD player. Still, as systems go, it’s impressive – certainly for a city car – and intuitive enough to use on the move.
The rest of the cabin is solid, though you won’t mistake it for a Tesla Model S. The plastics are sturdy though not especially premium to the touch, with the glossy surround for the touchscreen keen to pick up fingerprints. Everything works, and the standard equipment list is bulging, but it’s perhaps where GM’s budgetary constraints show to the greatest extent; the leatherette seats, for instance, aren’t ever going to be mistaken for real leather.
Pricing
On Chevrolet’s books, the Spark EV starts at $26,685 for the 1LT and $27,010 for the 2LT. Throw in the most generous federal tax credit – which varies by state, though initially the car will only be sold in California and Oregon – and you can cut that by up to $7,500, bringing the total cost of entry down to $19,185 excluding the usual destination, registration, and other fees.
Alternatively, Chevrolet will offer you the Spark EV on a $199 per month lease: $999 down to begin with, plus fees and taxes, and then less than $200 a month for three years. It’s hard to ignore the fact that, for under $200 a month, the Spark EV lease could easily be cheaper than many spend in gas over the same period.
As for the optional 240V charger, Chevrolet will offer up to $500 to Spark EV drivers – whether they buy the car outright, or lease it – toward its cost, though they’ll be expected to foot the bill for Bosch installation themselves.
Wrap-Up
Electric cars are still not for everyone. The Spark EV’s 82 mile range is likely fine for city dwellers, but those with more ambitious driving needs could easily find themselves reaching the limits of the Chevrolet’s endurance. If your workplace has a 240V charger than that may not be insurmountable, but relying on the 120V portable charger – and its lethargic rejuicing times – means you’re likely to see the Spark EV spend more time plugged in than one the road.
That would be a real shame, too, since the Spark EV is one of the best driving electric vehicles – and, indeed, city cars – we’ve tried in a long time. The immediacy of the acceleration, the great lashings of torque – more, Chevrolet tongue-in-cheek points out, than a Porsche Carrera S or a Ferrari 458 Italia – and the responsive steering and suspension add up to an eco car that isn’t akin to wearing a hair-shirt in terms of worthy-but-dull driving.
Tesla’s Model S may be the poster child of environmentally friendly transportation, but with its competitive lease pricing and solid balance of performance and features, the Chevrolet Spark EV is perhaps the peoples’ choice. It’s a conversion that easily outclasses its predecessors, and is worth considering by city dwellers looking for peppy frugality without the guilt of gas.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
We powered up an 
