NEW DELHI: Volkswagen has been actively working on its India 2.0 strategy over the last few years. The German giant had already revealed that as a part of the SUVW plan, 4 new SUVs will be launched in the Indian car market. Two of these the T-Roc and Tiguan Allspace were launched last year, and now the 2021 model T-Roc has been introduced in the market. The company has also unveiled the other 2 SUVs that will be launched later this year. First, the 5-seater Tiguan will make a comeback, albeit in a petrol avatar and then the all-new Tiguan will hit the roads ahead of the festive season in the very competitive compact SUV space.

VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN

The Tiguan was seen in the concept form at Auto Expo 2020 and now its production version has been revealed. Like the other 3 SUVs, it is built on the brands MQB platform. But for the Tiguan it has been further localised and is called the MQB A0 IN and boasts of 95% localization of parts. This certainly will ensure that it will come to the market with a competitive price tag. There are a lot of likable bits on the exterior including the chrome laden grille which houses the new Volkswagen logo. LED headlamps with DRLs and specially the width spanning LED tail lamps wrapped in piano finish stand out on the SUV. It gets 17 dual tone alloy wheels and cladding on the wheel arches as well as on doors. According to VW, the Tiguan gets the longest wheelbase in the segment – 2651 mms.

Volkswagen hasn’t really revealed the cabin of the Tiguan but is promising a host of features. These include a digital cockpit, 25.4 cm touchscreen infotainment system, multi-function leather wrapped steering wheel, electric sunroof, and type C USB charging ports. It also will be a connected car which gets My Volkswagen Connect and Wireless AppConnect features. It is also Apple Carplay and Android Auto compatible. But that’s not all, the Tiguan will also come with features like ventilated leather front seats, ambient lighting, and a flattened tunnel at the rear.

The SUV will be launched with 2 Petrol engine options. The 3-cylinder 1.0 litre mill churns out 115 PS and 175 Nm while the 4-cylinder 1.5 litre unit makes 150 PS and 250 Nm. The former will come with 6-speed manual and 6-speed Automatic gearbox options while the latter gets 6-speed manual and 7-speed DSG variants. And to the enthusiasts’ delight, the DSG will also come with a GT variant that will get some exclusive highlights inside and outside. VW is promising a GT version of the 1.5 Manual later as well.

VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN

The 4th SUV from Volkswagen’s stable, the new Tiguan, will be powered by a 2.0 litre Petrol engine delivering a peak power of 190 PS and 320 Nm of torque. In its earlier avatar in India, the SUV was sold with a Diesel engine. It will come with 7-speed DSG transmission with paddle shifts along with a manual version. When compared to the earlier car, the new Tiguan gets updated grille and bumpers along with dark red LED tail-lamp with new light signatures. The SUV also comes with Volkswagen IQ Light technology which has a LED matrix with advanced light control module. You get different light modes, dynamic headlight range control, dynamic cornering lights, poor weather lights, LED headlamps & DRL and LED cornering lights.

In terms of interiors, it gets premium Vienna leather seats, illuminated scuff plates, panoramic sunroof and 30 shades of ambient lights. The list of safety features is long as the car gets 6-airbags, ABS, ESP, ASR, EDL, Auto-hold, hill start assist & hill descent control. You also get a tyre Pressure monitoring system, 3 headrests at rear, 3-point seat belts, ISOFIX feature and Driver Alert System. The car will make its way to the Indian market before the Tiguan.

T-ROC AND TIGUAN ALLSPACE

Volkswagen has started taking bookings for the new T-Roc at an ex-showroom price of Rs 21.35 lakh and the car can be booked online or at company dealerships. Customer deliveries for the T-Roc will start from the month of May 2021. The SUV is powered by 1.5L EVO TSI engine mated to a 7-speed DSG transmission. The Tiguan Allspace on the other hand will be re-launched later in the year. The 7-seater SUV comes equipped with a power-mill of 2.0 litre TSI engine, 4MOTION and a 7-speed DSG transmission with paddle shifts.

Volkswagen has started taking bookings for the new T-Roc at an ex-showroom price of Rs 21.35 lakh and the car can be booked online or at company dealerships. Customer deliveries for the T-Roc will start from the month of May 2021.

The call for ‘Make in India’ products started in 2014 and over the past seven years, we have seen a massive amount of products being made in India. The China ban has also helped by increasing the demand for Indian products. The product I review today is from one such company, Mivi, which is a Hyderabad-based company). The product in question is the Mivi Collar 2 wireless earphones.

Inside the box, you’ll find the Mivi Collar 2 wireless neck band, two pairs of silicone ear tips (one pair comes pre-installed on the neck band), a micro USB port cable to charge the band, user manual, a craftsman’s note with details on the making of the product, a welcome note from the founders, and warranty registration instructions.

DESIGN

The Mivi Collar looks like most other wireless neck bands, with functional buttons on the sides. The left side of the neck band has the volume rockers with the power/MFB (multi-function button) to the device switch on or off. The micro USB port sits next to it, which helps charge the device. The right side has the Mivi branding printed on it.

This neck band comes in six vibrant colors, blue, black, red, orange, green and grey. The product is lightweight and comfortable and the built quality is good.

FUNCTIONS

The Mivi Collar 2 Wireless Neck Band comes with Bluetooth 5.0. A key feature is that the neck band comes with dual pairing, so you can connect your laptop and phone simultaneously.

The neck band also comes with a IPx7 rating which means it is a device with level 7 water resistance and can survive (without any damage) immersion in water of up to 1m (approx. 3ft) for up to 30 minutes.

AUDIO AND CALL QUALITY

Mivi claims that these neck bands have HD Stereo Lossless Audio. They come with a built-in MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) mic which gives a crystal-clear call experience. You can also use or enable Google Assistant and Siri with this product. However, listening to music was an average experience with this device. It does the work but there is nothing out of the box.

BATTERY

The Mivi Collar 2 Wireless Neck Band provides ten hours of play time (at mid volume) after 10 minutes of charging, as claimed by the brand. For a full charge, you would need to give it around 40 minutes.

VERDICT

The Mivi Collar 2 Wireless Neck Band, priced under Rs. 2000, is a Made-in-India product with good battery life, good built quality and clear call quality. But it lacks noise cancellation, which its competition provides, and comes with micro USB charging which might be outdated for a few consumers. The earbuds also tend to fall out while working out. However, priced at a competitive cost and ticking the right boxes, the Mivi Collar 2 Wireless Neck Band can be a good choice for many who now want to indulge in Made in India products only.

Washington DC: American multinational technology company Amazon recently announced Alexa integration for its Halo fitness-tracking gadget. This new feature will allow Halo owners to ask Alexa devices about various health stats, such as their sleep score or activity points obtained during the day. According to The Verge, this new Alexa integration will be off by default in the Halo bands and users will have to upgrade their devices to the latest firmware and OS version. The new feature roll-out started on Thursday and will continue over the next week. The Halo band from Amazon is the company’s first fitness-focused product and so far, has had a less than stellar reception since its announcement last fall. The $99.99 Halo, aside from the standard fitness things of tracking movement and sleep patterns, also has the ability to police the tone of your voice and tell you when you’re being dismissive or condescending with your words.

Washington DC: Apple is teaming up with non-profit organisation Common Sense Media to help parents find kid-friendly podcasts from its vast library of content. As per The Verge, the tech giant has launched a new Kids and Family podcast experience that will feature shows appropriate for young listeners. Common Sense Media will select each show featured, offering recommendations by age and collections like One More! for mysterious tales and action-packed dramas or Story Time for shows that transport listeners to new worlds. Creators of children-centric shows who will be featured include Tinkercast, American Public Media, Gen-Z Media, Pinna, Tumble, Highlights, WNYC Studios, Rebel Girls, and Nickelodeon.

Washington DC: Tech giant Google will finally be updating its map editing experience in order to allow users to add missing roads and realign, rename or delete incorrect ones. According to The Verge, the new experience dubbed as “drawing” will be similar to using the line tool in Microsoft Paint. This new updated tool will be rolling out over the coming months in more than 80 countries. At the moment, if a user tries to add a missing road, they can only drop a pin where the road should be and type in the road’s name to submit that information to Google. The aim of the new tool would be to make it easier to not only add missing roads but also to make corrections such as fixing a road’s name or its direction. It is obvious that Google will still oversee the corrections to make sure that they are accurate. After the submission of a change, Google will display a screen where it warns that it does not want a bike path to be marked as a road, or for someone to make a road intended to hurt people. That same screen also says that it will take about seven days for the company to review the submission.

Washington DC: Apple, the American multinational technology company, has reportedly reduced the production of iPhone 12 Mini because of its less popularity among buyers. One must have heard a lot of banter of Apple’s new tiny iPhone models online, which the company launched last year. But a new report from Mashable India claims that the company is vastly concerned about its popularity among people. Following which the techno giant has decided to cut all the iPhone mini orders by 20 per cent. Mashable India reported that earlier, the company told suppliers that it “wanted to produce 96 million iPhones for the first half of 2021. This would include the entire iPhone 12 range, along with older models like the iPhone 11 and 2020 iPhone SE. However, the reduced demand has forced the company to target production of around 75 million units.”