Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse: Priciest car we've ever driven

Well, I don't know what to say about the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse that hasn't already been said. Add to that the fact that we only had access to it on public streets with moderate speed limits and you can see I was in a pickle. So I chose to seek out the essence of the car and tell some of its less-told stories. I hope you find it at least something of a departure from the usual fawning and drooling over its top speed and horsepower. 2013 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse I should also point out that, upon reflection, it was not the most interesting car I have driven. The Porsche 911 GTS, Cayman R, Audi R S5, and Nissan GT-R all come to mind as more exciting cars to drive on the street. The Veyron clearly needs track time -- or time parked in front of the casino -- to warrant its $2.25 million price. At the speeds most of us drive, it felt a lot like a $70,000 BMW or Lexus -- except for those noises! What a wonderful assortment of unexpected, guttural sounds come from the engine well.

Head-on collisions are grisly enough, but when they are just slightly head-on they are almost worse. This week in the Smarter Driver we'll show you the nasty effects of a small-overlap frontal collision and how new testing shows a lot of cars are lousy at surviving them.

Few areas of car tech innovation have so much proprietary tech in them as all-wheel-drive systems. In Car Tech 101 this time we give you a solid overview of all-wheel drive, how it differs from four-wheel drive, and why it's about a lot more than just getting out of the snow.

The Xcar guys take us on a trip down memory lane -- at high speed -- with a look at the first BMW M3 and the latest BMW M3. I think you'll find it enlightening which one Alex Goy picks as his favorite and why.

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Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini: No midrange slouch

Samsung's smaller Galaxy S4 Mini is lighter on features than the original flagship.

(Credit: Samsung)

If Samsung's Galaxy S4 is more phone than you think you need, the electronics giant has just offered up the smaller, more midrange -- and surely cheaper -- Galaxy S4 Mini.

Like a decaffeinated beverage, Samsung is hoping to give its lighter smartphone much of the same GS4 taste with just a little less oomph. Although the Mini has stepped-down specs compared to its flagship family, like a lower-resolution screen and an 8-megapixel camera instead of a 13-megapixel shooter, it's no slouch when it comes to the Galaxy S4's core features, like a built-in TV remote control.

As with the Galaxy S3 Mini that came before, this version is aimed more toward the mass market than the high-end sector. Here in the middle, the Mini plays the role of the lower price option compared to the marquee Galaxy S4, without sacrificing too many of the superphone's more defining features.

The CNET crew will first get our hands on the smaller smartphone in London at the June 20 launch event, and we'll have more thoughts to share when we do. Until then, here's what we know about the phone, and how it should stack up against the original Galaxy S4.

Design and build
Samsung's modest Mini is a wee bit shorter, thicker, and wider than the svelte Galaxy S4 but clearly cut from the same cloth. Like the round-shouldered original, the Mini retains its curved perimeter, metallic rim, and rectangular home button, and also comes in black and white versions.

Specifically, the global GS4 Mini stands 124.6 millimeters tall (4.9 inches) by 61.3 millimeters wide (2.4 inches) by 8.9 millimeters thick (0.35-inch) and weighs a lighter 107 grams (3.7 ounces, compared to the GS4's 4.6-ounce weight.) A 3G-only, dual SIM version will weigh a hair more at 108 grams.

The Galaxy S4 Mini has a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen. Inside is a 1.7GHz dual-core processor.

(Credit: Samsung)

The phone's screen quality is perhaps the first place you'll really notice the hardware differences between the Galaxy S4 and its little cousin. Don't expect the S4 Mini's 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display to look as sharp at 960x540 pixels as does the Galaxy S4's 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution on its 5-inch screen. For all you pixel-hounds, that's a 441 pixel density on the Galaxy S4 compared with 256ppi for the S4 Mini. Both Galaxy screens support the same color gamut and OLED display technology, though the Mini won't have the Galaxy S4's ultrasensitive, glove-friendly capabilities.

From the looks of it, the S4 Mini shares most of the S4 family's other physical attributes, including the location and shape of the camera, flash, sensors, buttons, and ports. It seems that the Mini sports the same subtle patterning as the GS4's finish.

OS and features
Importantly, the Galaxy S4 Mini runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean underneath its TouchWiz layer. Custom interfaces like TouchWiz are notorious for stalling Android update efforts, so starting at such a current OS build is crucial for keeping a phone like the GS4 Mini from falling behind the times.

With TouchWiz comes a mountain of software embellishments, like more one-touch system settings in the notifications pull-down and options like Air View, which produces an onscreen cursor when you wag your finger close to the screen.

Samsung hasn't told us exactly which extras will take root in the Mini, but it's safe to assume that it's an almost identical software build as the Galaxy S4. Transporting its signature Galaxy-only abilities across devices is absolutely Samsung's style.

If software enhancements are your thing, the presence of these bonus features is one reason to pick the Mini over any other midtier device: you won't have the most powerful hardware, but you'll still hold onto features like Group Play, and Samsung's built-in apps. (For more on all these, check out this full Samsung Galaxy S4 review.)

I'm most gratified to see the GS4's IR blaster make its way onto the Mini. This little hardware bauble turns your phone into a TV remote control when paired with the WatchOn app. Top phones like the HTC One and LG Optimus G Pro share this soon-to-be living room staple, but the Galaxy S4 Mini will be the first of its class to also bail you out when your TV remote falls behind the couch.

As for connections and communications, Bluetooth 4.0 keeps the Mini current. NFC, which makes content-sharing possible with a tap, will make it onto LTE-enabled versions of the Mini. I'm not sure why Samsung isn't including NFC in non-LTE Mini handsets, but it likely has something to do with cost control for different markets worldwide. 

Cameras and video 

Although the Galaxy S4 Mini may not deliver quite the rich detail of the S4's 13-megapixel camera, Samsung is still gifting the "decaf" device with an 8-megapixel shooter, which is no resolution to sneeze at, especially the way Samsung typically outfits its camera modules. Expect high-fidelity images and smooth 1080p HD video. 

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini's ports and fixtures show up in the same place as on the original S4.

(Credit: Samsung)

The 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera should also pull its weight for casual self-portraits and video chats. The 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera should also pull its weight for casual self-portraits and video chats. Shutterbugs will also get a nice, large helping of Samsung's photo software, including panorama and HDR modes (that's high-dynamic range), night mode, burst shot, and several others that help pick the best of the bunch. While the new Sound & Shot mode makes an appearance (that records an audio clip to narrate the still, but plays back only on GS4 phones,) the new dual-shot mode -- which uses both front and rear camera captures in a single picture -- does not.

Performance

While it's tough to guess how well the Galaxy S4 Mini will perform all around the world, the specs do tell a promising story. First up, there are up to six bands for global LTE support, plus HSPA+ 42 speeds, and 3G and 2G fail-safes.

LTE-ready builds of the Mini won't come to every market, but if you've got LTE phones where you live, that's the version you should expect to see when and if the handset lands in a store near you. Otherwise, you'll get a 3G version of the phone, and, in some markets, even a dual-SIM device. The double-barrel configuration has its benefits, but don't hold your breath for a dual-SIM Mini to hit every country (sorry, U.S.).

Now what about raw computing power? Unlike the superpowered quad-core or octa-core Galaxy S4, the GS4 Mini will pack a 1.7GHz dual-core processor under its hood. That's completely respectable, depending on the chipset's make and model, and I'll guess that most people won't miss the Galaxy S4's high-octane gaming speeds.

The phone's smaller screen size is one explanation for the Mini's 1,900mAh battery, which should still keep the phone charged during the peak hours of the day. Unsurprisingly, there's a smaller bank of storage on this lighter device -- 8GB, with closer to 5GB for the phone owner's content. However, a microSD slot holds up to 64GB extra.

In terms of RAM, The Galaxy S4 Mini splits the difference between the GS4's 2GB quotient and midrange device's 1GB capacity with 1.5GB RAM.

Which to buy: Galaxy S4 or Galaxy S4 Mini?

Without pricing or availability details from Samsung and its global partners, it's hard to make a value judgment about which is the better deal. (I'll update this Galaxy S4 Mini first take with that information as soon as Samsung loosens its lips.)

From the looks of it, the Galaxy S4 Mini has the ingredients to deliver a very solid smartphone experience at a more affordable price, though the screen quality and battery life could flag compared with the real S4 deal. More serious mobile gamers and camera snobs should stick with the fully loaded Galaxy S4.

That advice also goes for anyone who consumes a large amount of reading and viewing material from their phone screen. The GS4's, while fairly reflective, will still trump the Mini's lower-res display.

Still, if you like the sound of a surely less expensive device that keeps most of its key features, and you don't mind some toned-down specs, hold off for the moment until more information about the Mini pours in.

This handy chart lines up the GS4 and S4 Mini specs to help you decide whether to wait.

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How to run Google Glass on your Android device

No matter how you view Google Glass, you can't help but be a little curious about how it all works. What is the user interface like? How do you navigate from app to app, from page to page? Thanks to this post on the Glass Explorers Google+ page, I found a way for Android users to run what amounts to the Google Glass OS on their Android devices.
It seems some developers took the system dump of the Glass OS and repackaged the critical parts of the OS as APK files. If you're unaware, APK is the file format for all Android apps. After installing three APK files, you'll have a new launcher on your device called Glass Home.
Once you launch Glass Home, you'll see the same UI Glass users see, and you'll even be able to give the "OK, Glass" command to wake the app and start giving voice commands.
In my testing I was able to Google random stuff, including images of alpacas, and the results were either displayed (in the case of images) or read back to me (non-image queries). I was also able to take a photo, but there's nothing that can be done with it after it's been snapped. I didn't have any luck when it came to getting directions (this feature needs touch-pad interaction to proceed past the warning) or placing any calls, as I don't have an official Glass account to add contacts to.
Of course, when installing APKs from a third-party developer you need to remain cautious and aware that bad things can happen to your device, or the information on your device. So please download and proceed with caution.
Head on over to the Xenologer GitHub page for more information about what changes were made to the APKs during the build process, and to grab the APKs should you decide to give it a try.
Again, it's really limited, but it gives you the basic idea of what Glass looks and feels like, just without the looking-like-a-weirdo part. Unless, that is, you decide to strap your phone to your head.
I tested this on a Nexus 4, and my colleague Ed Rhee has confirmed it works on a Note II. Your results will vary, but please leave a comment letting us know if you took the plunge, what device it was on, and your general thoughts.
To remove the Glass apps, you'll need to uninstall all three APKs you downloaded, by going into Settings > Apps > Downloaded.

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The make(out)-or-break(up) for Google Glass: Dating

I have a confession to make.
Please don't tell everyone, but I'd like to kiss someone who's wearing Google Glass.
In fact, if you really push me up against this wall and make me talk, I'd also like to kiss someone while wearing Google Glass.
It's not that I don't think Google Glass is stranger than walking up to a stranger and putting your finger in his or her ear.
It's precisely because of Google Glass's sheer strangeness that I want to know whether it would alter my approach to love.
Would I think -- or even feel -- something different? Would I have to dip my head to an unforeseen angle in order to avoid being poked? Most importantly, would I care whether the camera is on or off?
Sadly, some who bowed, scraped, and applied to own one of the these gadgets have already begun to experiment with seeing how Google Glass might alter their love lives.
Rosa Golijan of NBC's Today.com has thrust herself into this new life with a gusto that Matt Lauer would envy.
She says she's been on "half-a dozen" dates with men while wearing her new object of attraction.
I wondered, naturally, whether these half-a-dozen dates were with half-a-dozen men.
She told me: "Half a dozen different fellas, with some of whom I've had additional dates afterward. (Glass was worn on those, too.)"
You must decide whether these men are brave, foolhardy, or merely enchanted by Golijan regardless of her eyewear.
Golijan does concede that the contraption "sure makes the awkward moments more awkward."
Oddly, she says that her dates didn't seem so worried that she might photograph them through her lens. Rather, wearing Google Glass seemed to turn her into a rockstarish object of attraction, which meant that whenever she was out, everyone wanted to talk about them or even try them on.
She admitted that one date had become not best pleased when other men sidled up in alleged fascination with her gadget.
Now to the question that you (and I) want answered: "Yes, friends, Glass can get in the way, uh, physically. I've got no issues making out with glasses on. But things got weird once when a fella started kissing me while I was still wearing the headset. God forbid two Glass wearers ever hit things off."
When two wearers of normal glasses kiss, they often resort to simply taking them off. Should you not have tried this, please just believe me.
But there's a temptation with Google Glass to leave them on, simply because you remain an object of wonder. Perhaps, indeed, they begin to define you.
I did wonder whether, over time, she had created a more disciplined regimen with respect to, perhaps, taking them off at certain appropriate -- or even important -- moments.
Golijan told me: "I've (very gradually) gotten better when it comes to dealing with interruptions!:) That was bound to improve over time."
Yes, Sean Penn says the same thing.
Perhaps, in time, women wearing Glass will find it easier than men wearing these prized objects.
I say this because I asked my colleague Lori Grunin how she would feel if a date turned up be-Glassed.
She said: "It's an immediate signal that your date is a douchenozzle and probably records himself having sex."
I wonder if any of Golijan's dates thought that she might be a voyeuristic filmmaker.
I wonder, too, whether his-and-hers Glass-wearing will catch on, as an expression of some progressive bent. A sort of cooler-than-thou label.
Naturally, some ER workers can't wait for the first patients wandering in with Google Glass injuries, caused by overly enthusiastic, perhaps drunken, Glass collisions as one or both parties moved in to, um, seal the deal.
Most importantly, though, I asked Golijan whether any of her magnificent half-dozen might pan out to be longer-term prospects, who might tolerate her current (and, perhaps, future) obsession with gadgetalia.
"If only I had a crystal ball to predict how my love life will progress!;)," she told me. "Time will tell."

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