The store’s design and interior were first revealed earlier last week when iStore finally had the barricades removed after months of work.

Part of iStore’s goal with redesigning their stores is to change the public’s perception of the locations as simply places to buy Apple products and third party accessories. A spokesperson has said that they want their stores to be viewed more as meeting spots, much like Starbucks, or as places where interesting events take place, with friends wanting to check it out together. To celebrate the opening of iStore Canal Walk, on 17 and 18 August, iStore has planned exciting events with some of Mzansi’s leading artists.

Design is subjective, but I’m of a mind that it’s Range Rover’s best looking car in years – I even tweeted this. Side by side with a Range Rover Sport, and the Velar leaves the bigger, older car looking fussy and overly sculpted. If the full-size Range Rover looks as though it’s been built up of layers of the very rock strata it can scale so adeptly, then the Velar is the smooth stone shaped by the flow of rivers and fjords (and yes, it can wade through those, too). 

If there’s a weak spot it’s the rear, which could do without the silver lower valance trim, but Range Rover’s narrow LED tail-lamps are a joy. You couldn’t mistake it for anything other than a Range Rover, but neither is it bogged down in nostalgia.

It feels a larger car than Jaguar’s F-PACE, with which it shares a chassis, and much closer to the Range Rover Sport in scale than the Evoque. That sensation persists on the road, where the high hood and tall dashboard left me a little uncertain where the corners of the SUV were. All-wheel drive is, of course, standard, with four-corner air suspension an option.

The detailing is key. The flush-fitting door handles which slide out when you unlock the Velar, for instance, and which somehow manage to still feel as sturdy as those on a regular Range Rover. They’ve been cold weather tested so that, even if your SUV is encased in ice, they’ll still punch through.

Then there are the copper accents, an unusual finish on a modern vehicle, and the super-slim headlamps. The 22-inch wheels that come standard on the Velar First Edition – and which are options for the rest of the range – fill the wheel arches deliciously.

Mzansi will get all of the six engine options Range Rover will offer in European markets: Clean, refined four-cylinder Ingenium diesels are offered n 132kW and 177kW variants, noted for their low 142g/km CO2 emissions and high 500Nm torque output, respectively.

These engines are joined by the new, two highly-advanced four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engines delivering 184kW and 365Nm, for 0-100km/h acceleration in 6.7 seconds, and a more powerful variant with outputs of 221kW and 400Nm, to achieve the 0-100km/h sprint in just 6.0 seconds. The V6 diesel combines an extraordinary 700Nm of torque for effortless acceleration and off-road capability with CO2 emissions of only 167g/km. The 280kW supercharged V6 petrol engine combines exhilarating performance with a unique soundtrack and enables the Velar to reach 100km/h in only 5.7 seconds, before reaching an electronically-limited top speed of 250km/h. Like the others it’s paired with a standard ZF eight-speed automatic transmission.

The V6 Velar is eager on the road, the gearbox quick to downshift and hard to confuse. Sadly it doesn’t come with the sonorous soundtrack familiar from other implementations of Jaguar Land Rover’s Ingenium powertrain; its growl is subdued and doesn’t exactly encourage eager driving. We’ll have to wait for an – unconfirmed, but hardly unbelievable – SVR variant for that.

What you do get now is a smooth, compliant ride. Leave the air suspension in Comfort mode and the Velar is every bit as undemanding as its biggest sibling, the steering light enough for a few careless fingers on the leather-wrapped wheel to ease the SUV levelly around corners. Flick to Dynamic and the steering loses the slight play Comfort dials in, weighting up nicely. This isn’t a sports SUV, certainly, but neither does it shirk the “R-Dynamic” badging that the First Edition – a limited run of the very first cars – bears.

Like the exterior, the interior design language is instantly recognisable. At a second glance, though, the departures from what you’ll find on the dashboard of Range Rover’s existing models becomes more apparent. Most striking is the sheer reduction in the number of physical controls, replaced with touchscreens, multi-function dials, and a few touch-sensitive buttons. A sharply-canted, leather-wrapped console still runs the width of the car, but the narrower air vents and pared-back switch gear leave it far cleaner.

With the new InControl Touch Pro Duo, the infotainment system has been split into two touchscreens. The first is a wide-aspect 10-inch capacitive panel; it motors upright out of the dashboard when you start the engine, and its angle can be adjusted. The second sits lower, in the center console, and is a squared-off 10-inches.

Together, they allow Range Rover to separate out the different elements of the interface. Up top, the familiar side-scrolling boxes offer access to navigation, multimedia, phone, and other features. However, because you can also show multimedia and other secondary functions on the lower touchscreen – in addition to HVAC and settings – there’s no need to choose between having, say, both a map and album information visible at once. 

Continue Reading for Part 2…

To make up for this, Orange is positioning this as an “experience” with a water bar as well as plans for both customer training and get-togethers. Plans for a Jozi store seems like a definite although mum — so the company has a long way to go before it can even consider a worldwide retail empire.

Samsung SA hosted a highly successful “Ditch The DSLR Day” event from noon to 6PM, letting you trade in a digital SLR (any DSLR) for a brand-new NX30 mirrorless camera, “while supplies last.” Unfortunately Samsung reps were only able to allow 100 consumers to trade in their old DSLR’s in Johannesburg, so if you want the best chance of getting R10 000 worth of free loot, you might want to queue up early at the upcoming events in Cape Town on 29 & 30 November at Canal Walk, followed by Durban on 13 December at Gateway.

Alternatively, if you can’t get your hands on a DSLR worth “ditching,” you’ll still be able to walk away with promotional discounts off a Samsung cam, such as the NX Mini or Galaxy Camera 2, both of which will be on hand for you to try out at the events in the respective cities.

UPDATE: Samsung provided more information regarding which DSLRs qualify for the trade-in, which you’ll find below.

Qualifying Digital Camera : For your existing digital camera to qualify for the Trade Up Reward, it must be a digital camera which is fully operational, including the main battery. and power supply and functioning lens, must not be permanently marked or defaced and must be complete and undamaged (reasonable wear & tear excepted) (the “Trade-In Criteria”).

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Well, this once-a-year event made it’s come-back-debut in SA this past weekend, in their efforts of now reaching more people across the globe, even in places where Uber’s services aren’t usually available. This past July 18th and 19th – for us – Uber had ice cream trucks going around 144 cities in 38 countries (last year’s event included only 33 cities), serving a variety of treats like gelato on sticks, sundaes and froyo. And in Johannesburg, the ride-sharing company even took the chance to do some charity work as part of Nelson Mandela Day on July 18. Uber gave the children from both the Alex Aids Project in Johannesburg and Uluntu Centre in Cape Town an opportunity to enjoy a special frozen yoghurt experience. Since each region and city will its own frozen goodies at different prices, it’s best to check the Uber blog to know what time you can conjure up the ice cream truck and how much it’s going to eat up from your weekly budget.

Speaking exclusively to SA Vibe, Jeffrey Mann, Gartner’s research vice president said; “As the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart objects meet cloud, mobile, social and information, the IoT will create entirely new combinations of technology at accelerated speeds.”

“This will disrupt existing business models, reshape entire industries and redefine the role of IT as the digital business is the coming together of possibilities in the physical and virtual worlds to create new business designs that can drive competitive advantage.” concluded Mann. 

Diving a little deeper into the ITxpo Africa, it’ll focus on emerging technologies, defining strategy, what leaderships skills are going to be necessary and readying for the new digital industrial economy.

The Gartner Symposium/ITxpo Africa 2014 will take place at the CTICC from 10-12 September