*LAND ROVER FREELANDER

Land Rover, always proud of its 50 years of automotive excellence and long-time use by the British royal family, proudly introduced a new 4x4 SUV, the Freelander, to the public in 1997. The Freelander has inherited Land Rover's unique style and excellent design and is a perfect companion for urban dwellers, as an elegant representation of sophistication. The Freelander has a 2.5-liter V6 engine rated at up to 177ps/6250rpm, with the fastest gear shift to 240nm/4000rpm. The aluminum alloy engine makes the vehicle lighter in weight but stronger. The steptronic transmission also makes the experiences of offroading, traveling and hauling more exciting, yet safer. Other features include a suspension that automatically adjusts to various road conditions. This excellent suspension system provides a smoother ride on bumpy roads and keeps noise levels to a minimum. The Freelander comes in many different models, including a 3-door softback, 3-door hardback, and 5-door station wagon. A test drive is the perfect way to find out more about the Freelander.

*APPLE POWERBOOK G4

Apple's much-anticipated Powerbook G4 will be available in mid March, which should be good news to the many users who prefer Apple's artistic and contemporary designs, and excellent product line. With the release of the PowerbookG4, there are two different sizes (17¡¨ and 12¡¨) of notebooks being introduced. To highlight the size differences, Apple has hired NBA basketball player Yao-Ming and a midget for an ad campaign. This new generation of Powerbooks represents a new trend in computer world and, accompanied by successful commercial marketing campaign, was officially released in Taiwan on February 17. The 17-inch PowerbookG4 is only 1-inch thick and the aluminum alloy monitor only weighs 3.1 kilograms. This is the first model to support the AirPort Extreme 54Mbps802.11g wireless Internet system. The first generation of high-speed FureWire800can will detect the brightness in the computer area and automatically adjust the display accordingly. The built-in Bluetooth chip allows wireless connections with cell phones and other Bluetooth products. The 12-inch Powerbook G4 has the same modern design with a lighter, 2.1-kilogram weight. It has 867Mhz PowerPC G4 processor, NVIDIA video, and DvD-Rom/ CD-RW Combo. The Bluetooth built-in battery can last five hours. The price is NT$122,900 for 17¡¨ model and NT$66,900 for 12¡¨ model.