Get the Samsung Galaxy Fold With 36-Month Instalment & RM699 Rebate

Samsung Malaysia is running a rather interesting promotion for the unique
Samsung Galaxy Fold
. From now until 16 February 2020, you can purchase the foldable smartphone with a 12-month, 24-month, or even 36-month instalment plan. To sweeten the deal, you can also get RM699 rebate from this promotion.

Of course, as with any promotion, there are a number of caveats. For one, this Easy Payment Plan for the Galaxy Fold is limited to the first 1,000 units sold. On top of that, you’ll also need to pay with a credit card issued by participating banks at participating outlets.

As for the RM699 rebate, it’ll be given in the form of instalment waivers. Those who opt to get the Galaxy Fold with a 12-month instalment, for example, won’t have to pay the first month’s RM699 instalment. If you get the 24-month or 36-month instalment plan, the first two (RM349.5) or three (RM233) monthly instalments are waived respectively.

Naturally, this Galaxy Fold promotion is only available to regular customers who are not affiliated with Samsung, dealers, or resellers. They would also have to be above 18 years of age to enjoy this deal. Obviously, this Easy Payment Plan campaign is also limited to the Galaxy Fold only.

Given the steep RM8,388 asking price of the Galaxy Fold, this instalment plan from Samsung does make the foldable smartphone more accessible to consumers. Whether or not it’s a wise choice to get the device, however, is an entirely different question.

In our
comprehensive review of the Galaxy Fold
, we commend the phone’s camera performance, battery life, and display quality. Besides that, it’s also a very,
very
 eye-catching smartphone, thanks to its foldable nature. There really aren’t any device quite like it in the Malaysian market right now, and that’s a good spot to be in.

That being said, the Galaxy Fold is also far from perfect. The durability of the phone is one of the biggest concerns we have, especially with the polymer screen, which is essentially plastic. In fact, our review unit already had a few hairline scratches by the time we were done with it, and you can’t even use a screen protector with this phone.

Regardless, if you’re still keen to get the Samsung Galaxy Fold, you can find more information on the Easy Payment Plan on
Samsung’s website
. Not sure if the Galaxy Fold is for you? Then check out our review of the foldable smartphone
right here
.


The Illegear Ionic Is a Lightweight, Long-lasting Ultraportable for RM3,899

Illegear is mostly known for its range of gaming laptops, so it’s a bit of a surprise when the company unveiled its latest product, the Illegear Ionic. For starters, this isn’t a gaming laptop; rather, it’s an ultraportable that would appeal to those who are looking for a long-lasting, lightweight productivity laptop.

Featuring a 15mm thin chassis and tipping the scales at only 1.45kg, the Illegear Ionic is a reasonably lightweight and slim productivity laptop. Sure, it’s not the lightest laptop in the market now, but that’s because it comes with a
very generous
92WHr battery.

Although Illegear did not provide any battery life estimate for the Ionic, we reckon it’ll last for quite some time. After all, most productivity laptops are not packed with such a huge battery capacity. Take the 2019 Dell XPS 15, which only had a 56WHr cell.

Powering the Illegear Ionic is an Intel Core i7-10510U processor paired with 16GB of RAM. This chip should be powerful enough for most productivity work, and if you want to do some gaming on the side, this laptop’s Nvidia GeForce MX250 GPU should be up for the task. Sure, the MX250 isn’t the most powerful dedicated graphics card, but it’ll do for a laptop of this segment.

Just like other Illegear laptops, the Ionic comes with very slim display bezels, reducing the overall footprint of the ultraportable; an important plus point for productivity machines. The screen itself, on the other hand, is a 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS “iRIS” display, which supposedly covers 100% of the sRGB colour space.

Connectivity options of the Ionic are reasonably good as well. It has a USB Type-C port, an HDMI 2.0 port, three USB-A connections, an RJ-45 port, and a microSD card slot. Other specifications of the laptop include 512GB of fast M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD storage, an “ultra-tactile” keyboard with white backlighting, and a webcam with Windows Hello support.

The Illegear Ionic is now available for purchase and customisation on Illegear’s website from RM3,899. If you plan to pay with cash, you can get a 5% discount, reducing the price down to RM3,705. However, do note that this laptop does not come with an activated copy of Windows 10. You’ll need to pay additional RM439 for Windows 10 Home, or RM649 if you want Windows 10 Pro instead.


Asus ROG Mothership Hands-On: A RM26,999 Gaming Behemoth

When it was
first unveiled to the world
 at CES 2019, the
Asus ROG Mothership
 stood out for its unique tablet-like form factor (for a product in its segment) and the fact that it’s a monster of a gaming machine. Launched in Malaysia back in June last year, I finally got some hands-on time with the gaming behemoth.

Retailing at RM26,999, the ROG Mothership is a decadent gaming machine, and it’s tough to justify that kind of asking price. But what does that kind of money get you? Well, let’s find out.

One of the most unique aspects of the ROG Mothership has to be its form factor. Most would be inclined to call it a gaming tablet, given the machine’s kickstand design and detachable keyboard. But that’s not the most appropriate description, given its lack of a touch-enabled display. With that in mind, it’s more apt to call this product an all-in-one PC.

Putting that aside, the ROG Mothership certainly has a unique design. The kickstand can be deployed by just pushing down the bottom part of the machine on a surface; there are two buttons on the bottom area that pushes out the kickstand. It’s a neat trick to prop up the Mothership on a table easily, especially since it’s such a heavy PC.

So how heavy is the ROG Mothership? A whopping
4.8kg
. Moving this machine from one place to another is quite the challenge, and it doesn’t help that this PC needs
two
 AC adapters to power up. Of course, this isn’t exactly a surprise: the Mothership
is
 touted as “the future of desktop replacement” by Asus.

Aesthetically, there’s no mistaking the ROG Mothership for anything but a gaming machine. On the front, the bottom bezel features a sizeable RGB bar, and right behind the kickstand, there’s even some RGB lighting that acts as an underglow of sorts. Basically, this is a “loud” gaming machine, for better or worse.

Personally, I really dig the RGB lighting on the bottom bezel of the ROG Mothership, but it would’ve been great if the surrounding bezels weren’t so sizeable. It gives the machine a rather…dated-looking design.

Nonetheless, the ROG Mothership is a gaming powerhouse. It features a factory overclocked Intel Core i9-9980HK octa-core processor paired with
64GB
of DDR4 2666MHz RAM. As for the GPU, the Mothership is packing an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 GPU, which is also factory overclocked like the CPU.

Thanks to this CPU and GPU combination, you will have absolutely no issue running even the most demanding games on the ROG Mothership. Granted, I have not put this PC through its paces yet, but I’m confident it’ll deliver excellent gaming performance.

Connectivity option of the ROG Mothership, on the other hand, is also very respectable. It comes with two USB-C ports, four USB-A connections, an HDMI 2.0 output, an RJ-45 jack, and get this: the Mothership even has the increasingly rare SD card slot. Chances are, you won’t be left wanting for more ports with this gaming machine.

As expected, the ROG Mothership has a display made for gaming. It sports a 17.3-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS display with a fast 144Hz refresh rate. On top of that, this panel also supports Nvidia’s G-Sync technology, so screen tearing won’t be an issue with the Mothership.

While it’s a great display for gaming, I do have a couple of qualms with the ROG Mothership’s display quality. Don’t get me wrong, it has good colour reproduction and decent brightness level, but I wish it was
a tad
 brighter with better viewing angles. Given that this is a premium gaming machine with a premium price tag, I was expecting better screen quality.

And then there’s the detachable keyboard of the ROG Mothership. Naturally, it can be connected to the Mothership itself, but you can always detach it. That’s right, it is also a wireless keyboard, but if you’re worried about input lag, you can connect the keyboard to the Mothership with a USB-C cable. Interestingly, you can also fold the keyboard in half to make it more compact.

Surprisingly enough, the ROG Mothership’s keyboard is
very
 pleasant to type on. The keys have plenty of travel, the tactile feedback is pronounced, and the standard layout is easy to get accustomed to. In short, it provides a very “pillowy” typing experience, and I love it.

That being said, I’m not thrilled by the amount of flex the keyboard has when it’s connected to the ROG Mothership. It’s not as stable as I would’ve liked, which will be an issue in…well, heated gaming sessions, or even for those who type with a lot of force.

As for the trackpad positioned to the right of the keyboard, it’s a decent performer. Despite its unconventional and narrow shape, I have no issue using it in lieu of a dedicated mouse. It can also track my fingers quite accurately, and I like the fact that it also doubles as a numpad.

The Asus ROG Mothership is a powerful, unique gaming machine, and it shows the Taiwanese company’s willingness to push the envelope. However, the exorbitant asking price of the Mothership makes it a niche product, and in my opinion, it’s more of a concept PC that you can also purchase.

Really, RM26,999 is a very dear price tag for a gaming machine, and it’s very unlikely the ROG Mothership will see much in terms of sales. But that’s not the end goal of this product: the Mothership is a showcase of what Asus is capable of, and any purchase of the decadent gaming machine is simply a nice bonus.


Level51 Launches Terra 15 Gaming Laptops; RTX 2070 Model Costs Only RM6,229

Level51 just introduced two new gaming laptops, the Level51 Terra 15 and Terra 15 Lite. What makes these two gaming machines particularly interesting is their sheer value for money. The Terra 15 with an RTX 2070 GPU, for one, retails at only RM6,229 – that’s
really
 good value for money.

Based on their monikers, the Terra 15 is naturally the higher-end offering. It’s powered by an Intel Core i7-9750H processor paired with 8GB of RAM, and there are two GPU options: an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060, or a faster RTX 2070 graphics card. It’s worth noting that the RTX 2070 under the hood of the Terra 15 is the Max-P variant, which is about 20% more powerful than its Max-Q counterpart.

Of course, just like any other gaming laptop worth its salt, the Terra 15 features a fast 144Hz 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 display. Thanks to the high refresh rate, every movement on this screen should look a lot smoother and fluid. Needless to say, gaming on this fast display should be very pleasant too, provided you’re running a game that can push out that many frames per second.

Design wise, the Terra 15 looks like your average gaming laptop, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The top lid has orange accents, the keyboard comes with RGB lighting, and the chassis is made out of aluminium. On top of that, it’s a relatively lightweight gaming laptop too, tipping the scales at only 2.1kg. Not the lightest machine around, but not particularly heavy either.

In terms of connectivity, the Terra 15 has a healthy amount of ports. It comes with three USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A ports, a single USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C connection, an HDMI output, a mini DisplayPort, as well as an RJ45 jack. Rounding out the specifications of the Terra 15 include 512GB of SSD storage and a 64WHr battery.

As for the Terra 15 Lite, it shares the same chassis as the Terra 15, but there are a number of differences in the hardware department. Its GPU, for one, is only limited to the GTX 1660 Ti. It’s also slightly lighter at 1.9kg, since this model features a smaller 47WHr battery.

Both the
Level51 Terra 15
 and
Terra 15

Lite
 are now available for purchase and customisation on the company’s
online store
. The Terra 15 Lite retails from only RM4,615, while the Terra 15 starts at RM5,375 and RM6,229 for the RTX 2060 and RTX 2070 models respectively.

In conjunction with the upcoming Chinese New Year celebration, Level51 is throwing in a number of free upgrades. For the Terra 15 Lite, the RAM will be increased to 16GB. The Terra 15 gets the same RAM upgrade, but the 512GB SSD is also swapped out for a very generous 1TB SSD.


The New Dell XPS 13 (2020) Is Coming to Malaysia Soon

The new
Dell XPS 13
 was launched at CES 2020 earlier this month. If you’ve been eyeing to get the new productivity laptop, you may not have to wait that long: there’s a good chance the 2020 XPS 13 will be made available in Malaysia very, very soon.

While we were going through SIRIM’s database, we noticed a particularly interesting laptop registered with the certification body under Dell. Sporting the model number P117G, we managed to trace this number to the new XPS 13 9300’s
user guide
. Curiously, Dell registered this laptop twice: once on 8 November 2019, and another time just yesterday on 22 January 2020.

Now that the new XPS 13 is registered with SIRIM, we reckon Dell Malaysia is gearing up to launch the laptop on our shores very soon. Of course, it’s still much too early to tell, but given that the XPS 13 line has always made it here, we’re confident it’s only a matter of time before the new iteration is introduced here.

Compared to
its predecessor
, the 2020 XPS 13 sports a number of interesting upgrades. One of the biggest changes is a new, taller 13.4-inch 16:10 screen with barely any bezel at the bottom of the screen. That’s right, the PC maker’s signature InfinityEdge bezel-less display is now extended to all four sides of the screen, giving it a much sleeker-looking design.

As usual, three screen options are available for the XPS 13. The range-topping configuration is a sharp 3840 x 2400 4K touch display, while the other two options are 1920 x 1200 touch and non-touch panels. Just like its predecessor, the latest XPS 13’s webcam is still placed at the top of the screen, and it even comes with Windows Hello support now. That’s pretty impressive for a such a tiny camera module.

Processing power of the XPS 13 comes from an Intel Core i3-1005G1, Core i5-1035G1, or Core i7-1065G7 processor paired with up to 32GB of on-board RAM. If you so desire, this productivity laptop can be configured with a whopping 2TB PCIe SSD, though it remains to be seen if this option would also be available in Malaysia.

As for the GPU of the laptop, it’s either an Intel UHD Graphics or Iris Plus Graphics, depending on the choice of processor.

We haven’t heard yet from Dell Malaysia of any upcoming launch event, but it’s likely the local launch of the new Dell XPS 13 will happen soon. After all, the premium laptop is set to be available in more regions sometime in February next month, although Malaysia was not specifically mentioned.


Samsung Launches 4 New Smartphones in Malaysia, Including Galaxy S10 Lite & Note 10 Lite

Samsung just announced the arrival of four different smartphones in Malaysia. These include the recently unveiled
Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite
,
Galaxy Note 10 Lite
, as well as the mid-range Galaxy A71 and A51 smartphones. If you pre-order these devices between 3 to 5 February next week, you can get some pretty neat freebies too.

Out of the four smartphones, the Galaxy S10 Lite is arguably the most interesting one; it’s also the most costly device here. Retailing at RM2,699, the S10 Lite is offered in three distinct colours for our market: Prism Blue, Prism White, and Prism Black. Pre-ordering this smartphone next week will also get you a complimentary Galaxy Fit wearable worth RM369.

Despite the “Lite” moniker of this smartphone, the Galaxy S10 Lite is quite a powerful device. It features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset paired with 8GB of RAM, a 6.7-inch 1080p Super AMOLED Plus Infinity-O Display (that’s right, the same hole-punch design as the
Note 10
 smartphones), a generous 4,500mAh battery, and 128GB of internal storage.

On top of that, unlike other Galaxy S10 smartphones, the S10 Lite has a different triple camera system. It’s made up of a 48MP f/2.0 primary shooter with “Super Steady OIS AF,” a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle sensor, and a 5MP f/2.4 macro lens. The selfie camera, on the other hand, is a 32MP f/2.2 shooter.

If you want something more affordable, there’s the Galaxy Note 10 Lite. While it’s not quite as powerful as the S10 Lite, this smartphone offers the functionality of the S Pen at a lower price point, which could very well be something many consumers have been waiting for. Set to go for RM2,299 in Malaysia, the Note 10 Lite is available in Aura Glow, Aura Red, and Aura Black on our shores.

Oh, just like the S10 Lite, pre-orders of the Note 10 Lite between 3 to 5 February next week will also receive the Galaxy Fit wearable.

As mentioned, the Note 10 Lite isn’t quite as capable as the S10 Lite; the former is only powered by Samsung’s Exynos 9810 chipset. To put this into context, that’s the same SoC found in the Galaxy Note 9 released
back in 2018
. Granted, it should still be a reasonably powerful chipset, especially for day-to-day use.

In the camera department, the Note 10 Lite features a triple camera system, which is made up of a 12MP f/1.7 main shooter with Dual Pixel AF and optical image stabilisation, a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle sensor, and a 12MP f/2.4 telephoto lens with OIS. Basically, a versatile camera configuration.

Other specifications of the Galaxy Note 10 Lite include a 6.7-inch 1080p Super AMOLED Infinity-O Display, a sizeable 4,500mAh battery, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, and a 32MP f/2.2 front-facing camera.

Last but certainly not least are the Galaxy A71 and A51 smartphones, retailing at RM1,799 and RM1,299 respectively. Pre-ordering either one of these two smartphones will entitle you to a Protection Plus plan worth RM119 that includes a one-year extended protection and one-time screen protection.

All four of these Samsung smartphones will be available for pre-order in Malaysia next week from 3 to 5 February 2020
right here
. They will then hit store shelves nationwide from 7 February onwards.


Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G Arriving in Malaysia 7 February for RM4,199

Here’s a rather curious news: despite the lack of 5G network in Malaysia, Huawei just announced the availability of the Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G on our shores. In fact, the Chinese company added that this smartphone is the first 5G device to be certified by SIRIM.

What differentiates the Mate 30 Pro 5G from its standard counterpart is more than just the addition of 5G connectivity. Instead of a Kirin 990 chipset, this smartphone features a Kirin 990 5G SoC. Compared to the former, the 5G variant of the chip is clocked at a higher frequency, so you can expect slightly better performance.

Beyond that, the Mate 30 Pro 5G is almost identical to the standard variant. Well, except for the colour option. For the Malaysian market, this device is only offered in Orange, which has a unique vegan leather texture on the back of the phone. If you want a different shade of colour, you’re out of luck.

Nonetheless, the Mate 30 Pro 5G is a high-end, premium smartphone through and through. It features a 6.53-inch 2400 x 1176 OLED “ultra curved” notched display, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of internal storage – expandable with Huawei’s own NM cards – and a sizeable 4,500mAh battery.

Naturally, this flagship smartphone also supports 40W wired fast charging; 27W if you want to charge the phone wirelessly.

The camera capability of the Mate 30 Pro 5G is very respectable as well. Its quad camera system is made up of a 40MP primary shooter, a 40MP wide angle “Cine Camera” sensor, an 8MP telephoto lens, and a 3D depth camera. This camera configuration also offers ISO of up to 409,600.

So what’s so impressive about this quad camera setup? Well, it’s capable of recording 7680fps slow-motion videos, and it is the only smartphone in the market now that offers such a feature. However, it’s worth noting that recording at this incredibly high frame rate is only limited to 720p.

Set to be available from 7 February onwards, the Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G retails at RM4,199 in Malaysia. To sweeten the deal, every purchase of the 5G-enabled smartphone will come with one-year extended warranty and a Huawei SuperCharge Wireless Car Charger. The extended warranty and in-car charger are said to be worth RM537.

On top of that, you can also get the Mate 30 Pro 5G from selected telcos on 7 February, including Maxis, Celcom, and U Mobile. If you’re a Digi customer, fret not: the 5G smartphone will also be offered by the telco soon.


Huawei Nova 7i with Kirin 810 Lands in Malaysia 14 February

Huawei is set to launch a brand new smartphone here in Malaysia next week. The new device is the Huawei Nova 7i, and it seems to be quite an interesting mid-range smartphone, complete with a Kirin 810 chipset, a hole-punch display, and not to mention a square camera module.

That being said, the Nova 7i appears to be a based on an existing smartphone in China, the Huawei Nova 6 SE. Both devices share the exact same design, and even the specifications of the the two smartphones are similar. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, of course, especially since the Nova 6 SE was only launched in China back in December 2019.

Powered by a Kirin 810 chipset, you can expect to get respectable performance out of the Nova 7i. It’s touted to be one of the best processors in the mid-range segment, and thanks to its 7nm size, power efficiency of the chip should be great as well.

Complementing the 7nm processor is the Nova 7i’s generous 4,200mAh battery. Thanks to these two hardware, battery life shouldn’t be an issue with this smartphone. On top of that, the Nova 7i also comes with Huawei’s proprietary 40W SuperCharge technology; it can supposedly charge the device up to 70% in only 30 minutes.

Just like the
Huawei Nova 5T
, the Nova 7i features a hole-punch cutout at the top left of the screen to house the selfie camera. The display itself is a 6.4-inch 2310 x 1080 IPS display with a 83.5% screen-to-body ratio, which is reasonably good for a device in this segment, though we do wish the bottom bezel was a tad thinner.

In the camera department, the Nova 7i features a quad camera system. While Huawei Malaysia only confirmed the 48MP primary sensor, we reckon the other three sensors in the camera setup are exactly the same as the Nova 6 SE. These include an 8MP ultra-wide angle shooter, a 2MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth sensor.

Other specifications of the Nova 7i include 8GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, a 16MP front-facing camera, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, and EMUI 10 based on Android 10 out of the box.

At the moment, we have no details on the local pricing of the Huawei Nova 7i. But given its similarity to the Nova 6 SE, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume the 7i will be priced similarly as well. In China, the Nova 6 SE retails at 2,199 Chinese yuan, which comes up to about RM1,290. We’ll have to wait and see exactly how much the Nova 7i will cost in Malaysia once it’s launched here on 14 February.


Poco Is Back With the Poco X2; Rebranded Redmi K30

After introducing the
Pocophone F1
 back in 2018, Poco is back with a brand new smartphone, the Poco X2. Except, it’s not
actually
 a new device: it’s a rebranded
Redmi K30
 for the Indian market. It’s not quite the successor to the
well-received Pocophone F1
, but the Poco X2 itself is not a bad smartphone by any means.

In fact, the Poco X2 – and by extension, the Redmi K30 – is really quite a respectable mid-range smartphone with some interesting features. Its standout feature has to be the 6.67-inch 2400 x 1080 IPS display with a fast 120Hz refresh rate; a pretty rare feature on a mid-ranger.

Thanks to the high refresh rate, every movement on the Poco X2’s display would look extra smooth. Whether you’re just scrolling through the settings menu or playing mobile games that support that particular refresh rate, you’ll definitely notice the extra frames afforded by this screen.

What about the display quality? Well, if our
hands-on of the Redmi K30
 is anything to go by, the Poco X2 should have a reasonably good screen. We found the K30’s display to be bright with good viewing angles and punchy colours, so the same should apply to the Poco X2.

Oh, there’s also a hole-punch cutout at the top right of this phone’s screen. Definitely an improvement over the Pocophone F1’s wide notch.

Powering the Poco X2 is none other than a Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G chipset; a relatively powerful upper mid-range chipset. It’s also built on an 8nm process, so it should be quite power-efficient. This, combined with the phone’s generous 4,500mAh battery, should translate to above average battery life.

As with most modern smartphones in today’s market, the Poco X2 supports fast charging as well at 27W. The best part is, the 27W charger is provided in the box of the phone, so you won’t have to purchase it separately. While 27W charging is not the fastest we’ve seen, it’s perfectly acceptable for a phone in this segment.

Camera capability of the Poco F2 is quite good too. It features a quad camera system made up of a 64MP f/1.9 main sensor, an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle shooter, a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor, and a 2MP f/2.4 macro lens. This phone also has two front-facing cameras: a 20MP primary shooter paired with a 2MP depth sensor.

Rounding out the specifications of the Poco X2 include 6GB or 8GB of RAM, three storage options (64GB, 128GB, 256GB), and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.

The Poco X2 is currently only sold in India, and it remains to be seen if it will be made available outside of the country. Nonetheless, three variants of the X2 are offered in the Indian market: the 64GB + 6GB model retails at 15,999 Indian rupee (about RM925), while the 128GB + 6GB and 256GB + 8GB variants go for 16,999 rupee (approximately RM985) and 19,999 rupee (around RM1,155) respectively.


Deal: Grab the Sony WH-1000XM3 With Over RM750 Discount

Even though it’s been in the market for quite some time now, the Sony WH-1000XM3 is still considered to be one of the best wireless headphones with active noise cancellation. If you’ve been eyeing to get it, good news: it is now more affordable than
ever
.

Originally retailing at RM1,599 when it was first launched here, the WH-1000XM3 is now going
for only RM848.90
; that’s over
RM750
worth of savings. This particular deal is a Flash Sale that’s ending today, and it’s offered by Lazada retailer WeSave.my, which looks to be rather reputable.

Of course, this particular listing of the WH-1000XM3 comes with original warranty support from Sony Malaysia, so any form of warranty claim shouldn’t be a problem. On top of that, both the Black and Silver models are offered at this low price tag.

Given the sheer affordability of the Sony WH-1000XM3 now, it’s a very good buy for anyone that’s looking to get an excellent pair of wireless headphones with equally good active noise cancellation performance. Granted, its successor is coming very soon – the WH-1000XM4, even though it’s not introduced yet, is already listed in SIRIM’s database – but
for only RM848.90
, you can’t go wrong with this deal.


Deal: Sony PlayStation 4 Pro Now Only RM1,259 (RM799 for Standard Model)

The Sony PlayStation 5 system is set to be launched by the end of this year, but that doesn’t mean getting the PlayStation 4 now is a bad idea; there are still a number of excellent titles coming to the platform, including
Final Fantasy VII Remake
. Plus, you can now get the PlayStation 4 Pro
for only RM1,259
.

This deal is offered by My Gameland on Lazada, and at the time of writing, there are
only two units
 of the PlayStation 4 Pro left. Needless to say, if you’re keen to get the console, it’s probably best to act fast. It’s also worth noting that this unit comes with a two-year warranty (and three extra months) from Sony Malaysia.

Don’t quite fancy spending that kind of money on the Pro model? Well, we found a pretty good promo for the standard PlayStation 4 too. The 500GB variant of the regular PlayStation 4 is now going
for only RM799
 from LazMall retailer TechMall. That’s a reasonably good deal.

Again, getting a PlayStation 4 system now isn’t a bad idea at all, even if the PlayStation 5 is just beyond the horizon. Check out
this article
 if you’re looking for existing titles to play on the console, including the bizarre (but very captivating)
Death Stranding
.


Deal: Sony WF-1000XM3 Price Drops to RM569

Here’s another great deal for the
Sony WF-1000XM3
. Originally retailing at RM949, this excellent pair of wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation can be purchased
for only RM569 now
 – that’s a
whopping RM380 discount
.

This deal is offered by Preferred Shopee retailer Kronoshop as part of the platform’s Shocking Sale. At the time of writing, there are a total of 13 stocks left: four units of the Black model, and nine stocks of the Cream colourway.

As this is offered as a Shocking Sale on Shopee, this deal will end at 4PM later today. If you’re keen to get the Sony WF-1000XM3
for only RM569
, it’s best to act fast, especially if you want the Black model. Want to learn more about this pair of wireless earbuds? Then check out
our review right here
.

Thanks for the tip, Pang!


Petronas Setel Now Available Nationwide at Over 700 Stations

Petronas just announced the availability of its Setel service nationwide, so it is no longer limited to Petronas stations in the Klang Valley area. Launched back in July 2018, Setel is the company’s “e-payment solution” – Petronas made it very clear it’s not an ewallet service – that lets you make fuel purchases directly from mobile devices, making it more seamless and convenient whenever you have to refuel your vehicle.

Now, even though Setel is expanding nationwide, not every Petronas station supports the payment service right now. Rather, it’s only available over 700 stations throughout Malaysia. That being said, Petronas did say it is rapidly expanding the service nationwide in the next few weeks, so expect Setel to be available in more stations soon.

As mentioned, Setel lets you pay for fuel through the app, simplifying the refueling process. This is especially useful if you don’t have access to a credit card, or if you’d rather not have RM200 withheld every time you use a debit card. Of course, the one big limitation of Setel is the fact that it only works at Petronas stations.

Besides announcing the nationwide availability of Setel, Petronas also revealed its future plans for the payment service. For one, it’ll introduce a drive-through service of sorts. While waiting for the fuel pump to be activated using the Setel app, you can purchase items like mineral water and snacks within the app itself.

After you’re done refueling, you can just drive to the “Setel Pit Stop” to pick up your order. It’s really quite a good feature that’ll make purchasing items from Petronas stations a lot more convenient.

Besides that, Petronas is also planning to add a family feature to the Setel app. Basically, this lets users manage the fuel expenses of their family members. For example, from the Setel app, you can allow your family member to pay for fuel with your Setel wallet. Pretty neat, isn’t it?

Finally, Petronas also teased a rather nifty feature. Once you’ve driven to a Petronas station that supports Setel, your in-car entertainment unit will prompt you if you’d like to refuel with the payment service. This is definitely a lofty integration, and Petronas said that it is already in talks with a car manufacturer to make this possible.

If we had to take a guess, we’d say Petronas is working with Proton to integrate the Setel service into the car maker’s GKUI head unit, though it’s worth noting that both companies didn’t make any mention of this.

Petronas didn’t give any specific timeline for the availability of these three new features, so we’ll just have to keep a close eye for their eventual (hopefully) arrival. Keen to try out Setel? The app can be downloaded from the
Google Play Store
 and
Apple App Store
. The full list of Petronas stations that support Setel can be found
here
.


Deal: Snatch the Samsung Galaxy S10e for Only RM1,799 Now

The
Samsung Galaxy S20 series
 is just beyond the horizon, so needless to say, the current Galaxy S10 smartphones are discounted pretty heavily. The
Samsung Galaxy S10e
, for one, can now be yours
for only RM1,799
.

To put into context just how good of a deal this is, the Galaxy S10e retailed at RM2,699 when it was first launched in Malaysia. Now that it can be purchased
for merely RM1,799
, that’s a
whopping RM900 discount
. It’s a great deal for a compact flagship smartphone like the S10e.

This deal is offered by LazMall retailer TechMall on Lazada, so rest assured, it is a very legitimate listing.

While the Samsung Galaxy S10e may be the smallest, most affordable device in the S10 series, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its own unique charm. To learn more about the Galaxy S10e, check out our
comprehensive review of the flagship smartphone
.


Armaggeddon MKA-17 Hands-On: Surprisingly Good Wireless Mechanical Keyboard

Armaggeddon is known for its range of affordable peripherals, but this time around, we’ve got something a little different. Enter the Armaggeddon MKA-17 Avenger, a wireless mechanical keyboard that costs RM299. While that’s not particularly costly, it’s pretty rare for a peripheral from the company to sit at this price point.

Nonetheless, the MKA-17 is a pretty darn interesting mechanical keyboard. It offers decent value for money, and its feature set is quite compelling. After all, this is a wireless mechanical keyboard.

Let’s start with design: there’s no mistaking the MKA-17 for anything other than a gaming keyboard. It has sharp, angular angles, and the RGB lighting (which is reasonably bright) further drives the point home that this is a peripheral made to appeal to gamers. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, of course.

Speaking of which, there as as many as 19 different lighting effects for the MKA-17, and you don’t need to install any driver to change the mode. All you need to do is use the scroll wheel at the top left of the keyboard to cycle through the different lighting effects.

This method sounds good in theory, but it’s not particularly refined. While the scroll wheel has a soft feedback to let you know the lighting effect has changed, it’s a little bit
too
 soft. On top of that, the scroll wheel itself doesn’t feel very solid either.

But that doesn’t mean there are no good design points with the MKA-17. For one, the two feet on the bottom can lift up the keyboard quite a bit, so it’s easy to get a good angle for a comfortable typing experience. On top of that, it feels reasonably solid too. While most of the keyboard is made out of plastic, it has a metal top cover for improved build quality.

Now, let’s talk about the most important aspect of any mechanical keyboard: the switch. The MKA-17 can be purchased with Blue or Black switches, and unlike the Outemu switches used on previous Armaggeddon keyboards, the MKA-17 uses “MEN” mechanical switches. Really, those three letters are printed on the housing of the switches.

Anyway, how is it like typing on the MEN switch? I only managed to try out the Black switch – I’ll only have access to the Blue model in the next couple of weeks – and it’s just like any other Black linear switches I’ve tried. There’s no tactile feedback whatsoever, and because the actuation force is higher than a Blue or Red switch, it feels “heavy.”

This is not an issue by any means. Black switches, whether it’s from Cherry or Kailh, are known to be a lot heavier than other types of switch. Although I’ve never heard of this MEN switch before, it does feel like your everyday Black switch, and that’s a good thing.

However, I do have one small gripe with the MEN Black switch. It’s not super noticeable, but there is a faint sound of plastic rubbing against each other whenever the switch is depressed. It’s not bothersome by any means, but it does show a need for refinement.

Besides the mechanical switch, pairing the MKA-17 to my desktop via Bluetooth is a fuss-free affair. On top of that, I can also switch between three connected devices with a button combination, which works
seamlessl
y. As far as I can tell, there’s no huge latency issue either. Did we mention that this keyboard also works with Android, iOS, and Mac devices?

If you want absolutely no latency at all, you can always connect the MKA-17 to your desktop via a USB-C cable. That’s right, this keyboard comes with a USB-C port, so you won’t have to dig through your collection of cables for an older standard.

Given that this is a wireless keyboard, it’s important for the MKA-17 to have good battery life. Well, packed with a 2,000mAh battery, this keyboard should last for quite a bit on a single charge. Armaggeddon didn’t give any specific battery life estimate, so I’ll definitely put this to the test in a full review of this gaming keyboard.

At a glance, the Armaggeddon MKA-17 Avenger is a surprisingly good wireless mechanical keyboard. Retailing at RM299, it doesn’t cost all that much either, and you’re getting a number of really good features at this price point. What more can you ask for?

Well, better build quality would be great, and it remains to be seen if there are other issues that might crop up as I use the MKA-17 as my daily driver for the next few weeks. Until then, I’m pretty darn impressed with this wireless gaming keyboard.

If you’re keen to get the MKA-17 Avenger, you can purchase it over at Armaggeddon’s official store on
Shopee
 and
Lazada
. Not sure if it’s the right wireless keyboard for you? Then stay tuned for the full review.


Acer Launches Slew of New Products in Malaysia, Including Spin 3 & TravelMate P6

Acer just introduced a wide range of products in Malaysia. Among them are three pretty interesting one: the convertible Acer Spin 3, the business-class (and rugged) Acer TravelMate P614, as well as the successor to one of Acer’s most popular gaming monitor, the Acer Predator XB273UGS.

Let’s start with the TravelMate P6. It’s worth noting that this isn’t exactly a brand new laptop: it was teased to arrive here in Malaysia
back in the third quarter of 2019
. While it’s not a new product, it’s been refreshed with Intel’s 10th generation processors for our market, so that’s a good thing.

As mentioned, the TravelMate P6 is a rugged commercial laptop that is MIL-STD-810G and 810F certified. On top of that, thanks to its magnesium alloy chassis, it weighs only 1.1kg; that’s remarkably light for a 14-inch laptop. It’s quite a slim machine too, measuring only 16.6mm thin.

Given its intended target audience, the TravelMate P6 is naturally a long-lasting laptop. According to Acer, it can provide up to a whopping 20 hours of battery life on a single charge. On top of that, it can do fast charging as well. Acer estimates that it can be charged to 50% in only 45 minutes.

Other specifications of the TravelMate P6 for the Malaysian market include a 14-inch 1080p IPS touch display, an Intel Core i7-10210U or i5-10510U processor paired with 8GB of RAM, 512GB or a whopping 1TB of fast PCIe NVMe SSD storage, Intel UHD Graphics or an Nvidia GeForce MX250 dedicated GPU, and Windows 10 Pro out of the box.

If you want something more affordable and consumer-friendly, there’s the Spin 3 convertible laptop. What makes this laptop particularly unique is the Acer Active Stylus it’s bundled with; there’s even a dedicated slot to store the stylus. As it uses Wacom AES technology, this stylus has 4,096 levels of pressure. Needless to say, the Active Stylus should be good enough for consumers that need this kind of input device.

Of course, as the Spin 3 is a productivity laptop, it’s meant to be a portable machine. Weighing 1.5kg with a 16.9mm thin chassis, you won’t have any issue lugging it around. With a quoted battery life of up to 16 hours, it’s quite a long-lasting laptop too. It’ll be interesting to see if it can really deliver this kind of battery life in real life usage.

Another important aspect of any productivity laptop are port selections, and the Spin 3 has plenty of them. It has a two USB-C ports with support for Thunderbolt 3, two full-size USB-A connections, an HDMI output, and a microSD card slot. It would’ve been great if it had an SD card slot instead, but hey, at least there’s a card reader.

Rounding out the specifications of the Spin 3 are a 14-inch 1080p IPS touch-enabled display, a Core i5-1035G1 or i3-1005G1 processor paired with up to 8GB of RAM, as well as a generous 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD.

Last but certainly not least is the Predator XB273UGS gaming monitor, the successor to the well-received XB271HU. Just like its predecessor, the XB3 is a 27-inch WQHD gaming monitor with an IPS panel. But unlike the XB1, the XB3 now supports 165Hz refresh rate natively. In comparison, its predecessor only had a native refresh rate of 144Hz, though it can be overclocked to 165Hz.

Besides that, the Predator XB3 swaps out the aggressive styling of the XB1 for a more minimalist design language with a much sleeker-looking stand. Of course, it still looks very much like a gaming monitor. There are even two stripes of RGB lighting on the bottom bezel.

Other features of the Predator XB3 include 1ms grey-to-grey response time, Nvidia G-Sync technology, two HDMI 2.0 outputs, a DisplayPort 1.2 port, an audio out connection, and 90% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, along with support for the DisplayHDR 400 standard.

The Acer Predator XB273UGS gaming monitor is now available for purchase in Malaysia, while the Acer Spin 3 will only arrive here sometime in March 2020. It’s not mentioned exactly when the Acer TravelMate P6 will be sold here, but we do have its retail prices: this business-class laptop goes for RM4,899 and RM6,299 for the Core I5 (512GB SSD, Intel UHD Graphics) and Core i7 (1TB SSD, MX250 GPU) respectively.

As for the Predator XB273UGS, it’s priced at RM2,199, which is really quite good value for a gaming monitor of this calibre. The Spin 3 convertible laptop, on the other hand, is offered in two variants for the Malaysian market. The Core i3 model with 4GB of RAM retails at RM2,699, while the higher-end Core i5 variant with 8GB of RAM costs RM3,199.


Huawei Nova 7i Retails at RM1,099 in Malaysia; Pre-Orders Begin 14 February

The
Huawei Nova 7i
 will be launching in Malaysia on 14 February, and surprisingly enough, the Chinese company revealed the pricing of the mid-range smartphone ahead of its launch. Set to retail at RM1,099, the Nova 7i offers reasonably good value for money.

Huawei revealed the price tag of the Nova 7i over at its official Facebook page.
According to the post
, the smartphone will be available for pre-order from 14 to 21 February. Those who placed their pre-order in this period will also receive a complimentary Huawei Band 4 fitness band worth RM139, though this is only available while stocks last.

Based on the Huawei Nova 6 SE, which was launched in China late last year, the Nova 7i is a respectable mid-range smartphone. Powered by a Kirin 810 chipset, which is considered to be one of the best upper mid-range processors in the market now, you can expect to get a good level of performance with this smartphone.

On top of that, the Kirin 810 is also built on a 7nm process, giving it an edge when it comes to power efficiency. Complemented by the Nova 7i’s generous 4,200mAh battery, we reckon this phone would be able to return above average battery life.

Did we mention that the Nova 7i supports Huawei’s proprietary 40W SuperCharge technology as well? The company estimates that the phone can charge up to 70% in only 30 minutes.

Besides that, the Nova 7i also has a hole-punch cutout at the top left of the screen, much like the
Huawei Nova 5T
. The display itself, on the other hand, is a 6.4-inch 2310 x 1080 IPS display with a 83.5% screen-to-body ratio. It’s not the best ratio, but it’s really quite good for a device at this price point.

On the back, the Nova 7i has a square camera module that houses the phone’s quad camera system. It’s made up of a 48MP primary sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide angle shooter, a 2MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth sensor. The front-facing camera, on the other hand, is a 16MP shooter.

Other specifications of the Nova 7i include 8GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, and EMUI 10 based on Android 10 out of the box.

Now, even though the Huawei Nova 7i runs on Android 10, it doesn’t ship with Google Mobile Services, so it doesn’t have essential Google apps like the Google Play Store, YouTube, and Gmail pre-installed. Keep this in mind if you’re thinking of pre-ordering this smartphone between 14 to 21 February for RM1,099.


Alienware Aurora R9 Quick Review: A Quirky, Powerful Gaming Machine

Pre-built desktop systems are often overlooked in favour of building a PC from scratch, but some folks don’t have the time or experience to do so. If you’re simply not interested to get a custom rig, here’s a desktop for your consideration: the Alienware Aurora R9.

Sporting a quirky design, powerful hardware, and reasonably good (not to mention easy) upgradability, the Aurora R9 is quite an impressive pre-built desktop system. But is it worth its premium asking price? That’s what we’re here to find out.

What It Is

Processor
Intel Core i7-9700K octa-core (3.6GHz with Turbo Boost up to 4.9GHz, 12MB cache), liquid cooling
GPU
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super 8GB GDDR6 VRAM
RAM
16GB HyperX Fury DDR4 2666MHz
Storage
512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
1TB 7200RPM SATA HDD
PSU
850W
Dimensions
481.6 (H) x 222.8 (W) x 431.9 (L) mm
Weight
17.8kg
Ports
Front
1x Headphone / line out
1x Microphone / line in
1x Type-C USB 3.1 Gen 1
3x Type-A USB 3.1 Gen 1
Rear
1x Type-C USB 3.1 Gen 2
1x Type-A USB 3.1 Gen 2
3x Type-A USB 3.1 Gen 1
5x Type-A USB 2.0
1x DisplayPort 1.2 output
1x RJ-45 Killer E2500 Gigabit Ethernet
 1x SPDIF digital output TOSLINK
1x SPDIF digital output coax
1x Microphone in
1x Line in
1x Line out
1x Centre / subwoofer output
1x Rear surround output
1x Side surround output
Price
RM11,398.99

The Aurora R9 we received for this review comes with a Core i7-9700K processor – complete with liquid cooling – and a beefy RTX 2080 Super GPU. Thanks to these two key hardware, practically every AAA game runs incredibly well on this machine. If there’s any shortcoming, it would be the machine’s 16GB RAM, though this can be easily upgraded by end users.

The Good Stuff

Obviously, the performance of the Aurora R9 is the highlight of this machine. I ran a number of graphically demanding games at 1440p to see just what the R9 is capable of, and I’m really impressed with the results. Of course, all of the games below were tested with maxed out graphics settings.

Games (Max settings @ 1440p)
Average FPS
Witcher 3 (HairWorks disabled)
94.61
Borderlands 3 (DX11)
63.74
Fortnite (DX11)
117.53
Apex Legends
122.58

Not many machines can run these games at such high frame rates, and the Aurora R9 managed to deliver this level of performance without even breaking a sweat. Thanks to the liquid cooling system, the CPU’s temperature was kept in check
extremely
 well. In prolonged gaming sessions, I never see the processor go past 55°C, though the GPU did get quite toasty at around 80°C.

That being said, it’s worth noting that I tested the Aurora R9’s thermals in an air-conditioned room. Needless to say, expect the system temperatures to be higher in other room conditions.

System noise of the Aurora R9 is pretty good too. With the thermal plan set to balanced, it’s almost whisper quiet when I’m not gaming. Naturally, setting the thermal plan to performance does make the fans quite audible, especially in extended gaming sessions. However, they are by no means unbearably loud, and that’s great.

Besides that, upgrading certain components of the Aurora R9 is relatively easy, and it’s equally effortless to get inside the system. All I have to do is just remove one screw, and…that’s it. The side panel can then be removed, and pushing on a couple of tabs unlocks the PSU door, which swings out to reveal the components.

Once you’re here, you can easily add more storage drives, swap the GPU, or even install more RAM. If you ever want to mess with the CPU and PSU, you’d need a screwdriver. Not many pre-built desktop systems allow this kind of upgradability, so it’s great to see that this is possible with the Aurora R9.

Last but certainly not least is the design of this gaming desktop. Unlike other products in this segment, the Aurora R9 actually looks quite understated and minimalist. In fact, the only RGB lighting is at the front of this “Dark Side of the Moon” colourway. As expected, the colour of the RGB strip and Alienware logo are both customisable from the Alienware Command Centre software.

The Bad Stuff

While some may be fond of the Aurora R9’s minimalist design, I imagine there are also folks that think otherwise. Personally, I’m not too keen with the system’s aesthetics. The quirky design language doesn’t appeal to me, and it would’ve been great if the side panel had a window to peek into the system’s powerful hardware. Basically, like a conventional gaming PC.

Granted, the inner components of the Aurora R9 don’t look particularly…well, eye-catching. That’s usually the case with pre-built desktops anyway, which is one of the reasons why I prefer to build my own machine. I have the freedom to choose individual parts that suit my design preferences, among other things.

And that brings me to the next point: the Aurora R9 doesn’t offer particularly good value for money in comparison to a custom gaming PC. This highest-end configuration costs a whopping RM11,398.99 from Dell’s online store; building a custom PC with the same hardware would easily cost RM2,000 less.

That’s not really a surprise, of course. Pre-built desktop systems are often more costly than custom gaming machines, though you do (usually) get better after-sales service and easier warranty claim with the former.

Is It Worth It?

Well, that’s not an easy question to answer. If you don’t want to deal with the headache of building your own PC, troubleshooting issues whenever they crop up, and you don’t mind paying the extra money, then yes, the Alienware Aurora R9 is worth it.

But if you don’t want to spend more than what’s “necessary” to get the same level of performance, and you’re comfortable with either building your own PC or let a retailer do it for you, then the Aurora R9 isn’t exactly the best option. It can be a hassle
going down this route
, but it
can also be a rewarding experience
.

That is not to say the Aurora R9 is not a good product. It certainly is for what it is: a powerful pre-built gaming desktop with a minimalist design and room for easy upgrades. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Aurora R9, especially when I’m gaming at over 100 frames per second with maxed out graphics settings.


This Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip in All Its Glory

Samsung’s next foldable smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, is expected to be launched tomorrow morning. But ahead of its official unveiling, the Korean company aired a commercial of the Z Flip, showcasing the device in all its glory. As expected, the foldable phone is in fact sporting a clamshell design, just like
the new Motorola Razr
.

But unlike the Razr, it appears the Galaxy Z Flip doesn’t fold completely flat. Looking at the commercial, the Z Flip has a small gap when the display is closed. While that doesn’t sound particularly impressive, it doesn’t seem to be a huge gap – it’s much smaller than the
Samsung Galaxy Fold
‘s screen gap. At least, that’s assuming the video is true to life.

Samsung just showed off the entire Z Flip during its Oscars ad. Small print says screen crease is normal, heh
pic.twitter.com/uBesJ0FonT
— nilay patel (@reckless)
February 10, 2020

On top of that, there’s an interesting disclaimer in the Galaxy Z Flip video too, stating that “you may notice a crease at the centre of the main screen, which is a natural characteristic of the screen.” That’s right, just like how it was with the Galaxy Fold, the Z Flip will also have a crease running across the display. But if it’s anything like the Fold’s crease, it shouldn’t be very noticeable in normal use.

Also shown in the video is the Galaxy Z Flip’s secondary display on the clamshell of the phone right beside the rumoured 12MP + 12MP dual camera module. Not only is it a full colour display, it also seems to be a touch-enabled screen as well. That’s quite a surprise, given how minuscule the display is.

a detour
pic.twitter.com/AirJTtIn3h
— WalkingCat (@h0x0d)
February 10, 2020

That’s not all: there is also a separate leaked video showing a special edition of the foldable smartphone. It’s called the Galaxy Z Flip Thom Browne Edition, which – as its name suggests – is a collaboration between Samsung and Thom Browne, a New York-based fashion designer. Beyond the aesthetic changes, it’s not clear if there are any other differences compared to the regular model.

There have been quite a number of leaks surrounding the Galaxy Z Flip, and based on these rumours, we have a pretty good idea regarding the smartphone’s hardware. It’s expected to feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset, a 6.7-inch 1080p AMOLED display with a tall 22:9 aspect ratio, and a 3,300mAh battery with support for wireless charging.

Whether or not these rumoured specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip are true or not will be revealed early morning tomorrow on 12 February at 3AM. You can catch the Galaxy Unpacked livestream
right here
 and also sign up for your interest.


Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Hands-On: Ultra Impressive, Ultra Expensive

The Samsung Galaxy S20 series is finally official, and the Galaxy S20 Ultra sits at the top of the range. Sporting a huge 6.9-inch display, a generous 5,000mAh battery,
and
 a powerful quad camera system capable of doing up to 100x zoom, it’s a very feature-packed flagship smartphone.

I managed to spend some time with the S20 Ultra, and it really does live up to its Ultra moniker. It is easily Samsung’s most impressive mainstream smartphone to date, but that also entails an equally premium price tag. Retailing at RM4,999, the S20 Ultra is Samsung’s most expensive Galaxy S series smartphone yet.

So what do you get for that kind of money? Let’s find out.

Without a doubt one of the most highlighted features of the Galaxy S20 Ultra is its camera performance, so let’s start with that. This phone’s quad camera system is made up of a 108MP f/1.8 primary shooter, a 48MP f/3.5 telephoto sensor, a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle lens, and a DepthVision (ToF) shooter.

Collectively, this quad camera system can do 10x “Hybrid Optic Zoom,” and up to 100x digital zoom. While this sounds impressive on paper, it’s less so in actual usage. Yes, it’s capable of 100x zoom as advertised – and I really appreciate the viewfinder at the side when I’m doing more than 30x zoom – but the results are not exactly picture perfect.

Granted, I only had limited time with the S20 Ultra, but pictures I shot at 100x zoom were usually blurry, washed out, and lacking any real detail. Is it impressive? Of course. Is it groundbreaking? Well…I’ll need to spend more time photographing with the phone first before I can answer that.

How about the 108MP main camera? Very promising, actually. It’s capable of capturing images at 108MP, but by default, it shoots at 12MP using what Samsung dubs “nona binning” – it’s a 9-in-1 pixel binning method. Thanks to this, the low light performance of the camera should be greatly improved.

Again, I’ve only spent a very brief time with the S20 Ultra, so it still remains to be seen just how good the phone’s quad camera system really is. But for what it’s worth, it does feel like a very capable shooter with a responsive camera interface. Plus, mobile photography has always been Samsung’s strong suit – I reckon this will remain true for the S20 Ultra.

Not surprisingly, Samsung also added a number of new camera features with the S20 Ultra, and one of the more interesting ones is Single Take. Basically, it’s a burst mode of sorts. All I have to do is press on the shutter button in Single Take mode to start recording whatever I want to capture, and the AI would do its thing.

Once you’ve hit the 10-second mark (or whenever you decide to end the recording before that), Single Take will generate a number of images in various formats. These can either be videos, images with filters added, or even shots focusing on a single subject matter. Single Take does seem like a fun feature to experiment with, but I’m not entirely convinced it’d be something I’d use on a regular basis.

Okay, so that’s the camera system of the Galaxy S20 Ultra; what about other aspects of the phone? Design wise, I quite dig the aesthetics of the S20 Ultra…when I’m looking at the front of the phone. The hole-punch cutout for the 40MP f/2.2 selfie camera on the Infinity-O Display is smaller than the
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+
‘s cutout, the bottom “chin” bezel is reasonably small, and the display no longer curves on either sides, making it a more ergonomically-friendly device.

But turn the S20 Ultra around, and you’ll be greeted by the absolutely
huge
 camera module. Not only does it take up a big chunk of space, it protrudes from the back panel quite a bit too. If you think camera bumps on older smartphones were bad, you should see this one right here.

Anyway, let’s move on to something more positive: the Galaxy S20 Ultra’s 6.9-inch 3200 x 1440 Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen. As is always the case with Samsung-made displays, it’s an incredibly good screen with searing brightness, punchy colours, deep blacks, and well-tuned white balance. On top of that, the screen’s refresh rate can now be changed to 120Hz, and it
absolutely
transforms the usage experience.

Once the 120Hz refresh rate is enabled, every single motion on the S20 Ultra’s display looks extra smooth. Whether I’m just swiping around the home screens or scrolling through the settings page, it’s a very,
very
 noticeable change. Really, once you’re accustomed to 120Hz screens, you wouldn’t want to go to back to 60Hz.

That being said, there is one caveat: the 120Hz refresh rate cannot be enabled if the display’s resolution is set to WQHD+. It’s only available if the resolution is lower, which is either Full HD+ or simply HD+.

Personally, this isn’t a huge issue for me. Even with my own personal
Galaxy S10+
, I always set the resolution to Full HD+ for the best balance between power efficiency and visual fidelity. Don’t get me wrong, it would’ve been great if the 120Hz refresh rate can be enabled in WQHD+, but it’s certainly something I can live without.

Next is performance. For our market, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is powered by a Samsung Exynos 990 chipset; no Snapdragon 865 variant here. I didn’t manage to really put this SoC through its paces, but the phone itself does feel very zippy and responsive. It’s also a 7nm chip, so it should be power-efficient too.

That power efficiency will be further bolstered by the S20 Ultra’s generous 5,000mAh battery. Chances are, this phone should be able to return above average battery life, even with the power-hungry 120Hz screen.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is an impressive flagship smartphone. It shows just what Samsung can achieve in the mobile space, and the company is finally innovating in
one area it was sorely lacking
 in its
previous smartphones
. Is there anything about the S20 Ultra that can be faulted?

As a matter of fact, there is one thing: pricing. For the Malaysian market, the S20 Ultra costs a whopping RM4,999. Sure, this is a 5G-enabled smartphone, but for that kind of money, you are only getting 128GB of internal storage (expandable, thankfully) and 12GB of RAM.

So the question is: can the Galaxy S20 Ultra justify this kind of price tag? Well, only a full review of the flagship smartphone can shed some light on this. But if you’re already keen to get it anyway, you can place your pre-order right now until 26 February on
Samsung’s official site
. Available in Cosmic Grey and Cosmic Black, every pre-order of the S20 Ultra also comes with a complimentary Galaxy Buds+ wireless earbuds worth RM599.


Samsung Galaxy S20 & S20+ Hands-On: Moving up the Price Range

The
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
 is one impressive smartphone, but it also costs quite a bit of money. If the S20 Ultra is a bit too rich for you, there are still two other devices in the series for you to consider: the Samsung Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+.

Even though these two smartphones aren’t quite as feature-packed as their higher-end sibling, they do have their own appeal. This is especially the case with the standard S20, thanks to its compact size. In fact, after spending some time with both smartphones, I find the S20 more compelling than the S20+.

However, even though these two devices cost less than the S20 Ultra, they’re still not particularly affordable. If you want to get Samsung’s 2020 flagship smartphones, prepare to pay more.

The Galaxy S20 in Cloud Pink
The Galaxy S20+ in Cloud Blue

Before we get to it, let’s break down the specifications of the Galaxy S20 and S20+. Aside from the different display size and battery capacity, both smartphones are virtually identical to each other. They share the same design, an Exynos 990 chipset, a 3200 x 1440 Dynamic AMOLED 2X display (with a fast 120Hz refresh rate), and similar camera configuration.

Okay, it’s not
completely
 the same camera system. The Galaxy S20 features a triple camera system, which is made up of a 12MP f/1.8 main sensor, a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle shooter, and a 64MP f/2.0 telephoto lens. The S20+, on the other hand, has the same three sensors, but it adds on a DepthVision time-of-flight camera.

Now, even though the standard S20 doesn’t have a ToF sensor, you can still expect very similar camera performance as the S20+. Plus – no pun intended – the S20 has one big advantage over its bigger sibling: ergonomics.

Because it has a smaller 6.2-inch display (the S20+ has a bigger 6.7-inch screen), the Galaxy S20 is a lot easier to use with one hand. Reaching for the right side of the screen with my left hand isn’t impossible, though the sheer length of the screen still makes it very hard to reach for the top to pull down the notification shade.

On top of that, the Galaxy S20 just feels
really
 nice to hold in my hands. Given that there’s no successor to the even more compact
Samsung Galaxy S10e
 – a big
personal lost to me
 – the S20 is the next best thing. It’s not quite the same, but it’s better than nothing.

But enough of that: what about other aspects of the Galaxy S20 and S20+? Aesthetically, these two smartphones are very eye-catching, courtesy of the Infinity-O Display. It’s similar to the
Samsung Galaxy Note 10
‘s hole-punch cutout, but the camera cutout for the 10MP f/2.2 selfie camera of the S20 and S20+ is markedly smaller.

Just like the Galaxy S20 Ultra, the S20 and S20+ no longer have the dual curved display of their predecessors; a good call on Samsung’s part. Sure, the curved screen has been Samsung’s signature design element for many years, but it’s not very ergonomically-friendly, especially when it comes to palm rejection.

As for the display quality of these two phones, they’re great. Samsung makes some of the best screens in the market, and it’s perfectly shown here with the Galaxy S20 series. Their displays have deep blacks, punchy colours, excellent viewing angles, and relatively neutral colour temperature. To make things even better, the refresh rate has also been bumped up to 120Hz from 60Hz, though this can only be enabled in Full HD+ or HD+ resolution.

I’ve said it many times before, and I’ll say it again: high refresh rate screens dramatically improve the user experience. Once you’ve used a smartphone with such a display, you really wouldn’t want to go back to a conventional 60Hz screen. Practically every motion on the S20 and S20+’s displays look incredibly smooth. They also give the impression of snappier, more responsive performance.

That’s not to say the Galaxy S20 and S20+ are not fast to begin with, of course. The Exynos 990 chipset under the hood of these two phones should be able to deliver flagship-tier performance. In my brief time with the S20 and S20+, both of them feel very quick with absolutely no slowdowns at all. The Exynos 990 may not seem as attractive compared to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, but that doesn’t mean the former can’t offer comparable performance.

Battery life of the S20 and S20+ are perfectly adequate too. The S20 features a 4,000mAh cell, while the S20+ has a more generous 4,500mAh battery. These large battery capacities are complemented by the power efficiency of the 7nm Exynos 990, so these two phones should be able to return (at the very least) all-day battery life.

Last but definitely not least is the camera performance of the Galaxy S20 and S20+. While I wasn’t able to really test out the camera of both phones, they do seem like capable shooters. The camera interface is snappy, intuitive to navigate, and I really appreciate the zoom selectors. It makes it more seamless to pick my desired zoom level.

Although the Galaxy S20 and S20+’s camera system cannot do 100x zoom like the S20 Ultra, they can still achieve 30x digital zoom. I didn’t extensively try out the zoom performance, but it doesn’t feel particularly…well, amazing. More often than not, it’s a blurry mess at 30x zoom.

Then again, it’s still too early to tell if the S20 and S20+’s camera (and zoom) performance is bad or not. It’s only fair to give them a more thorough test in a full review.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 and S20+ are meant to serve as more affordable alternatives to the range-topping S20 Ultra while still offering a similar feature set. These include the same display, performance level, and design. In short, they don’t feel like compromises, though the S20 Ultra does have a more sophisticated camera system.

That being said, the Galaxy S20 and S20+ still cost quite a bit of money. For the Malaysian market, the S20 retails at RM3,599, while the S20+ goes for RM3,999. It’s also worth noting that these phones are only offered with 128GB of expandable storage and 8GB of RAM.

Sure, compared to the Galaxy S20 Ultra’s steep RM4,999 price tag, the S20 and S20+ don’t appear quite as expensive. But given that their predecessors didn’t cost this much when they were launched here, it’s evident Samsung is moving up the price range of the Galaxy S series. To put this into context, the Galaxy S10 and S10+
retailed at RM3,299 and RM3,699 respectively
.

Of course, the Galaxy S20 and S20+ bring quite a number of upgrades to the table compared to their direct predecessors. But as Samsung raises the price of their flagship smartphones, so do expectations. Hopefully, the Galaxy S20 series’ high asking prices are well-justified, and I can’t wait to see if this is the case once these premium flagships are in for review.

Those who can’t wait to get their hands on the Galaxy S20 series can now pre-order them until 26 February on
Samsung’s official site
.


Xiaomi Mi 10 & Mi 10 Pro with Snapdragon 865 Official; 108MP Camera Ranks First on DxOMark

Xiaomi just unveiled its first flagship smartphones for 2020, the Xiaomi Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro. But unlike their predecessors, these two phones cost quite a bit of money. Then again, they are packed with some high-end hardware, including a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset and a sophisticated camera system.

The latter is especially true of the Mi 10 Pro, the higher-end smartphone of the two. In fact, this device is sitting at the top of DxOMark’s mobile camera ranking with a total score of 124. For comparison, it takes the crown from the
Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G
, which is now in second place with 123 points.

According to DxOMark
, the Mi 10 Pro’s quad camera system is capable of good detail preservation (even at medium- to long-range zoom), great depth estimation, and accurate white balance. The ultra-wide angle shooter is said to be able to capture a good amount of detail as well.

However, DxOMark also mentioned that the Mi 10 Pro’s camera has a tendency to lose focus on faces, with “occasional dull colours.” On top of that, it’s worth noting that the Mi 10 Pro has similar camera hardware as the
Xiaomi Mi Note 10
; the main differences lie in the software side of things and the performance boost from the Snapdragon 865 chipset.

Right, so the Mi 10 Pro’s quad camera system is made up of a 108MP f/1.69 primary shooter – it uses pixel binning to improve performance, so it outputs 27MP images by default – a 12MP f/2.0 telephoto lens (50mm), a longer 8MP f/2.0 telephoto sensor (94mm), and a 20MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle shooter. Basically, exactly the same camera system as the Mi Note 10, minus the macro lens.

As for the standard Mi 10, it also has a quad camera setup headlined by the 108MP main sensor, but the other three sensors are not quite as sophisticated, which include a 13MP f/2.4 ultra-wide angle shooter, a 2MP f/2.4 macro lens, and a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor.

Beyond the camera configuration, both the Mi 10 Pro and Mi 10 are quite similar to each other. Both smartphones feature a 6.67-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display with a hole-punch cutout at the top left to house the 20MP f/2.0 selfie camera. Oh, it’s also a 90Hz panel, so every motion on the screen will look extra smooth.

Other specifications of the Mi 10 Pro and Mi 10 include a Snapdragon 865 chipset, up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB of non-expandable storage (256GB for the Mi 10), 5G connectivity, as well as an in-screen optical fingerprint sensor. Curiously, the Mi 10 has a 4,780mAh battery, but the higher-end Mi 10 Pro comes with a smaller 4,500mAh cell.

At the moment, the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro and Mi 10 are currently only sold in China; no word yet on the global availability of the flagship smartphones. For the Chinese market, the Mi 10 retails from 3,999 Chinese yuan (about RM2,370), while the Mi 10 Pro starts at 4,999 yuan (approximately RM2,960).


You Can Soon Pay for Fuel with TNG RFID at Shell Stations

Touch ‘n Go and Shell recently announced a new collaboration that is quite exciting. From today until 31 March 2020, 10,000 complimentary RFID tags will be given out at selected Shell stations. On top of that, you will also be able to pay for your fuel at Shell stations with just your RFID tag in the near future.

Now that Touch ‘n Go’s RFID tags are no longer offered for free, it’s great that you can still get it fitted to your car at no cost at certain Shell stations. Normally, the RFID tag would cost you RM35, though you do get a one-time replacement for the same vehicle if anything were to happen to it – there’s no time limit for the replacement either.

However, do note that there is one condition to get the complimentary RFID tag fitment from Shell: you’ll have to spend a minimum of RM50 using TNG eWallet. Once you’ve done that, you can claim the RFID tag, though it is only limited to 10,000 tags.

Of course, not all Shell stations are offering the free RFID tag. According to Touch ‘n Go, you can enjoy this promotion at 10 different locations:

Shell Wangsa Maju
Shell Taman Connaught
Shell STN Minyak Kota Warisan 1
Shell PLUS Highway Jalan Duta Klang Bound (Entrance of NKVE Jalan Duta)
Shell Desa Aman Puri
Shell Jalan Kuchai Lama 2
Shell Kota Damansara Seksyen 6
Shell Sri Hartamas
Shell Jalan Kepong 2 (Lot 4086 Jln Kepong Mukim Batu, Kuala Lumpur, 52100)
Shell Jalan Cheras KM 5.5 (PT 7430 HSD 111856, Kuala Lumpur, 56100)

Besides that, there’s also an interesting upcoming promotion for TNG eWallet users that claimed their e-Tunai Rakyat credit with the ewallet service. From 17 February to 14 March, these e-Tunai recipients can get RM5 + RM2 cashback when they spend a minimum of RM20 at Shell stations nationwide. That’s a pretty good deal.

Last but certainly not least is the future implementation of using RFID to pay for your fuel at Shell stations. The concept is simple: a fueling bay would have “an overhead scanner that reads the radio frequency from the TNG RFID tag.” It can then deduct the amount of fuel that you’ve purchased from your ewallet balance.

Once this system is implemented, it’ll definitely make the refueling process much more seamless for those who have TNG RFID installed on their vehicles. Unfortunately, there’s no tentative date on when we can expect the availability of this feature.

Nonetheless, this collaboration between Touch ‘n Go and Shell is interesting, and it’ll benefit those who have yet to to install TNG RFID on their vehicles. Do note that in order to be an RFID user, you’ll have to install the TNG eWallet app first. It can be downloaded over at the
Google Play Store
 and
Apple App Store
.


Samsung Galaxy S20: Spiritual Successor to the Galaxy S10e

I’ll be honest: I was quite bummed when Samsung didn’t introduce a successor to the
Galaxy S10e
. Instead, the Korean company only unveiled follow-ups to the Galaxy S10 and S10+ with the
Galaxy S20 and S20+
 respectively. Of course, there’s also the most premium (and biggest) device of the bunch, the
Galaxy S20 Ultra
.

While there is no direct successor to the Galaxy S10e, there is one device that comes pretty close: the Galaxy S20. Yes, it is technically the Galaxy S10’s successor, but it actually has a number of qualities that made the S10e such a compelling little device.

I consider the Galaxy S20 the spiritual successor to the Galaxy S10e, and that makes it my new favourite smartphone in the S20 series. Not quite convinced the S20 is similar to the S10e? Well, let’s break it down.

The Galaxy S20
The Galaxy S10e

One of the best appeals of the Galaxy S10e is its compact form factor, and believe it or not, the Galaxy S20 is actually quite a compact smartphone too. In fact, the S20 is actually
narrower
 than the S10e; the former measures only 69.1mm wide, while the S10e is wider at 69.9mm. Granted, that’s only 0.8mm of difference, but it will make the S20 easier to use with one hand. This is especially the case when you need to reach for the other side of the screen.

However, Samsung actually made a rather interesting decision with the new Galaxy S20 smartphones: their screens are now taller than ever. Previously, the S10 series had 19:9 displays, but Samsung changed the aspect ratio to a taller 20:9 format with the S20 phones.

This, in turn, makes the Galaxy S20 an unusually tall device. Measuring 151.7mm tall, it’s not
quite
as compact as the S10e, which is only 142.2mm tall. Nevertheless, the S20 is still small enough to fit in most pockets.

Dimensions of the Galaxy S20 aside, it also has flagship-tier hardware under the hood like the S10e. The S20 is powered by the same Samsung Exynos 990 chipset found in the more costly S20+ and S20 Ultra, just like how the S10e had the same Exynos 9820 SoC as the S10 and S10+. Basically, you’re getting the same level of processing power regardless of which device you get in the S20 series.

That being said, one of the biggest shortcomings of the Galaxy S10e was the fact that it felt like a “compromise.” Sure, it had the same processor as the rest of the S10 devices, but it still had a lower resolution 1080p display, no telephoto camera, and a rather average battery capacity – it was only packed with a 3,100mAh cell.

Thankfully, the Galaxy S20 doesn’t share the same fate. While it still has the smallest battery capacity of the bunch, its 4,000mAh battery should be able to deliver above average battery life. On top of that, the S20 also has a similar camera system as the S20+, which include a 12MP f/1.8 main sensor, a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle shooter, and a 64MP f/2.0 telephoto lens.

Of course, the Galaxy S20 is still a “compromise” in some way. For example, only the Galaxy S20 Ultra comes with the sophisticated quad camera system capable of doing 100x digital zoom. The regular S20 and S20+, on the other hand, can “only” achieve 30x zoom. Not quite as impressive, but still very commendable zooming performance.

But what the Galaxy S20 lacks in any possible area is made up by the fact that it doesn’t cost quite as much. See, the Galaxy S20 Ultra costs a whopping RM4,999, which makes the S20’s RM3,599 price tag a lot easier to swallow. Don’t get me wrong, RM3,599 is still a lot of money, even for a flagship smartphone like the S20.

Unfortunately, that’s one area where the Galaxy S20 is unlike the Galaxy S10e; the latter went for only RM2,699 at launch. That’s almost
RM1,000 price difference
, so the price of entry for Samsung’s 2020 flagship smartphone is markedly higher this year.

Even so, it doesn’t change the fact that the Samsung Galaxy S20 is a worthy (spiritual) successor to the Galaxy S10e. It’s not quite as affordable anymore, but it does come with a number of excellent upgrades. There’s the bigger, sharper 6.2-inch 3200 x 1440 Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a fast 120Hz refresh rate, an ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint sensor, and a versatile camera system.

If you, like me, are not thrilled by the absence of a successor to the Galaxy S10e, you should really give the Galaxy S20 a consideration or two. It may not be quite as compact as the S10e, but the S20 is still one of very few flagship smartphones in the market now that you can use comfortably with only one hand.


2020 Proton X70 CKD With New Volvo 7DCT Launched From RM95k – What You Need to Know

After many months of anticipation, the 2020 Proton X70 in CKD form is finally launched. One of the biggest changes the CKD version brings is a new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission; both Geely and Volvo co-developed this wet DCT. Now, the X70 truly has Volvo technology in it.

Thanks to the new 7DCT, the Proton X70 CKD actually has slightly better performance even though it’s still using the familiar 1.8L turbocharged direct injection engine. According to Proton, the new transmission gives the C-segment SUV 5% more torque, bringing the figure up to 300Nm from 285Nm. Power output of the engine, on the other hand, remains the same at 181hp.

Even though this performance increase doesn’t seem particularly amazing, it does improve the car’s acceleration by a fair margin. The 2020 Proton X70 can now go from zero to 100kmph in only 9.5 seconds. Compared to the previous CBU model, that’s a whole second faster. Quite an impressive feat with just a transmission change.

On top of that, the new 7DCT also improves fuel economy. The Proton X70 CKD now has a quoted fuel consumption of 7.6L/100km versus its predecessor’s official figure of 7.8L/100km. A small difference, yes, but definitely not negligible. It’ll be interesting to see how closely this estimate matches real life fuel economy – quoted figures are usually very optimistic.

While the Proton X70 CKD’s 7DCT is practically a complete upgrade over the CBU model’s conventional six-speed torque converter automatic, we’re sure some folks are not too keen about it. This comes down to reliability issues of DCTs in the past, but Proton is very confident its 7DCT will not suffer the same fate.

For one, the 7DCT in the Proton X70 uses a more robust wet clutch design instead of a dry one, so any overheating issues won’t really be a problem with this gearbox. To top it off, this 7DCT adheres to Volvo’s strict durability requirement too: it’s said to have a service life of more than 350,000km. To put this into context, the industry standard is only 240,000km.

But if you’re still convinced the X70’s 7DCT is not as reliable as it’s made out to be, Proton is giving the SUV itself a five-year, unlimited mileage warranty. That should give you some peace of mind, right?

Moving on. Another neat upgrade the new Proton X70 received is a powered tailgate; a feature many existing owners have asked for. Not only is it height-adjustable, the top two variants of the X70 also include a foot sensor. You’ll just have to “kick” the bottom of the SUV when you’re at the tailgate for it to automatically open. That being said, do note that the base Standard model doesn’t have a foot sensor or a powered tailgate.

On the inside, Proton also added a number of amenities. Regardless of which X70 model you get, the rear seats can now be reclined, so those long journey back to the hometown will be that much more comfortable. The front seats got a nice upgrade too: they are now ventilated, so you can get cool air blown from the seats themselves. However, much like the powered tailgate, ventilated seats are not offered in the Standard model.

Beyond these upgrades, other aspects of the Proton X70 CKD remain the same as its predecessor, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Build quality, for one, remains indistinguishable from the previous fully-imported CBU model, and that’s a really good thing. In fact, Proton went as far as to say that the CKD-based X70 “have matched and exceeded the quality standards of the (previous) model.”

But there is one thing that might disappoint some potential customers: the 2020 Proton X70 basically shares the same design as its predecessor. The only way to distinguish the new CKD model from the CBU is to either look at the gear lever – it’s now an electronic shift-by-wire lever – or the new Proton logo on the front grille, steering wheel, and centre wheel caps.

Surprisingly enough, there is one thing from the CBU model that’s not carried over to the new CKD X70: an AWD variant. Proton says that this model has been dropped due to low demand from customers, unfortunately enough. Despite that, there are still four variants (all in 2WD) offered: Standard, Executive, Premium, and Premium X. Just like their names suggest, the latter two models are actually very similar.

After all, the only thing that differentiates the Premium and Premium X models is the panoramic sunroof; only the Premium X variant has it. So if you don’t care for the sunroof, but you still want all the bells and whistles, the Premium trim is the one to get.

The new 2020 Proton X70 CKD is now available for purchase in Malaysia. As mentioned, four variants are offered here. The Standard model costs RM94,800, while the Executive variant is priced at RM106,800. The top-of-the-range Premium and Premium X trims, on the other hand, go for RM119,800 and RM122,800 respectively. All prices mentioned here are on-the-road without insurance.


PlayStation Player Celebration Offers Physical Platinum Trophy & RM400 Store Voucher

PlayStation just launched a rather interesting promotion. Dubbed PlayStation Player Celebration, everyone who signs up for the campaign (no purchase necessary!) stands a chance to win a physical, real-life version of the PlayStation Platinum Trophy, RM400 store vouchers, and a number of other freebies.

Of course, as with any given promotion, there are a number of caveats. For one, only
two winners
 will be selected for the physical Platinum Trophy, RM400 voucher, and digital copies of four exclusive PlayStation 4 titles: The Last of Us Remastered, God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition, and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. That’s right, two winners will walk away with all of these prizes.

On top of that, in order to be selected as one of the two winners, participants are required to answer “a skill-based question” on 17 March at 10AM in Malaysia. Of course, you’ll have to be registered for the PlayStation Player Celebration event beforehand to be able to access the question. The two quickest entrants to answer the question correctly will be deemed the winners.

Needless to say, it’s pretty tough to win the “exclusive PlayStation kit,” and it’s not clear if participants have to compete with other entrants in the same region or just their home country. If it’s decided by region, those of us here in Malaysia are competing with Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, and even New Zealand. It’s a big pool of entrants.

It’s RM400 store voucher for the Malaysian market

But that’s just one half of the PlayStation Player Celebration event. The other half involves players combining their efforts to unlock rewards. The task? It’s pretty simple: just play games on the PlayStation 4 – at least an hour on each game for it to be counted – and earn trophies. It’s divided into three stages, and each stage will unlock different rewards.

The first stage will earn players an exclusive PlayStation 4 static theme and a PSN avatar. Stage two unlocks five additional PSN avatars, and the last stage gives players a dynamic theme. Naturally, the number of trophies earned and games participants have to play will increase in each stage. In fact, the last stage requires players to earn a whopping 2.7 million trophies and play 675,000 games.

That’s a very high figure, but we reckon there are more than enough PlayStation 4 owners out there to complete all three stages. The first stage will take place on 24 February, and you can sign up for the PlayStation Player Celebration event
right here
.


The Compact Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 Gaming Laptop with RTX 2060 Coming to Malaysia Soon

Remember the
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
 the Taiwanese company introduced back at CES 2020? Well, the compact, powerful 14-inch gaming laptop is finally arriving on our shores soon. In a market where such a compact gaming laptop virtually doesn’t exist, the Zephyrus G14 is definitely a unique offering.

While going through SIRIM’s database, three different companies (VSTECS Astar, Servex, and Build Technology Supply) registered a laptop with the model number GA401I. Of course, that model number can be traced back to Asus’ very own specification list for the Zephyrus G14, though we don’t know if it’s the variant with the LED dot-matrix “AniMe Matrix” display on the lid.

Nonetheless, now that the Zephyrus G14 is registered with SIRIM, it’s only a matter of time before Asus officially introduce the gaming laptop in Malaysia. We still don’t have any tentative date on when this could happen, but given that the Zephyrus G14 is set to be available globally sometime in March next month, the local launch could happen then.

Besides its compact 14-inch form factor, the Zephyrus G14’s performance level is also one of its main appeals. Under the hood of this laptop is
AMD’s new Ryzen 7 4800HS processor
. Not only does it perform better than Intel’s equivalent Core i7-9750H chip – based on early benchmark results – the Ryzen 7 4800HS is also built on a more power-efficient 7nm process against the i7-9750H’s 12nm process.

In fact, Asus claims that the Zephyrus G14 can last up to 10 hours on a single charge; quite impressive for a gaming laptop. This can be attributed to the power efficiency of the 7nm processor, along with the laptop’s rather generous 76WHr battery.

Like the display of most modern gaming laptops, the Zephyrus G14 features a fast 14-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS display with a 120Hz refresh rate. On top of that, there are two other screen options: a Full HD 60Hz panel, or a higher resolution 1440p display with the same 60Hz refresh rate. But given that this is a powerful gaming laptop, the 1080p 120Hz screen is definitely the most enticing option.

Depending on which variant of the Zephyrus G14 you’re getting, you’ll either get an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU or a more feature-packed RTX 2060 graphics card. Regardless of which GPU you go for, you will get comparable performance, though the RTX 2060 will give you more features like ray tracing and Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS).

Rounding out the specifications of the Zephyrus G14 include up to 32GB of DDR4 3200MHz RAM, 512GB or a whopping 1TB of fast M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD, a 17.9mm thin chassis (or 19.9mm for the AniMe Matrix model), and 1.6kg of heft; 1.7kg for the dot-matrix variant.

Hopefully, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 will be coming to Malaysia very soon. There’s still no word yet on exactly how much it’ll cost locally, though Asus did say it’ll be offered at a price “that brings gaming to an even wider audience.”

Read more:

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 Receives Overwhelmingly Positive Reviews


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip Appears in SIRIM; Available in Malaysia Soon?

So far, Samsung only confirmed the arrival of the
Samsung Galaxy S20 series
 in Malaysia. Well, there’s a very good chance another highly anticipated smartphone is coming to our shores. That’s right, we believe the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip will be made available locally in the near future.

As usual, we were going through SIRIM’s database to look for anything peculiar. Turns out, Samsung registered a smartphone with the model number SM-F700F/DS back in 31 January 2020. We then managed to trace this model number to a
user manual of the Galaxy Z Flip
 on Samsung’s website.

Granted, a SIRIM certification doesn’t guarantee the local availability of the Galaxy Z Flip, but it is a very promising sign. After all, it wouldn’t make sense for Samsung Malaysia to go through the trouble of registering the foldable smartphone with SIRIM and not launch the phone here, even if this has happened before with other manufacturers.

Nonetheless, the Galaxy Z Flip is Samsung’s second foldable smartphone after the
Galaxy Fold
. Instead of the latter’s tablet-like form factor, the Z Flip employs a more “traditional” clamshell design, much like the new
Motorola Razr
. Thanks to this, the Z Flip is a more ergonomically-friendly.

Sporting a 6.7-inch 2636 x 1080 Dynamic AMOLED display with a 21.9:9 aspect ratio, the Galaxy Z Flip is a rather tall smartphone when it is unfolded. Powering this device, on the other hand, is a
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+
 chipset. Not quite as quick as the latest Snapdragon 865 SoC, but it’s still a plenty capable processor.

Besides that, the Galaxy Z Flip is also equipped with a 3,300mAh battery, which should be able to return reasonably good battery life. Of course, it would’ve been great if the phone had a higher capacity cell, but there’s only so much battery that can be fitted inside the relatively compact chassis.

In the camera department, the Galaxy Z Flip doesn’t have a sophisticated camera system like the
Galaxy S20 series
. Instead, it has a more conventional dual camera configuration, made up of a 12MP f/1.8 primary shooter, and a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle sensor. Not the most impressive camera setup, but should be good enough for most folks.

But there is one design element of the Galaxy S20 series that is also available on the Galaxy Z Flip: the hole-punch cutout at the top of the display for the 10MP f/2.4 selfie camera. It’s not called the Infinity-O Display though; it’s dubbed Infinity Flex Display, for obvious reasons.

At the moment, we haven’t heard from Samsung Malaysia on the availability of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip on our shores. Rest assured, now that the foldable smartphone has been registered with SIRIM, we will keep a close eye on this matter.


Dell XPS 13 (2020) Lands in Malaysia; Retails From RM6,899

We first spotted the
new Dell XPS 13
 in SIRIM’s database
about a month ago
, and now, it is officially available here in Malaysia. It’s a very sleek-looking productivity laptop, but you’ll have to fork out quite a bit of money for this premium machine: it retails from a whopping RM6,899.

Dell just listed the new XPS 13 on its
Malaysian online store
, and the base model, as mentioned, is priced at a steep RM6,899. If you’re wondering why it costs so much, that’s because only the Intel Core i7-1065G7 variant is available here at the moment.

Anyway, for RM6,899, the most “affordable” XPS 13 2020 comes with a 13.4-inch 1920 x 1200 InfinityEdge non-touch display, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of fast PCIe NVMe SSD storage. You read that right: this RM6,899 variant only comes with 8GB of RAM, not to mention the fact that it only has a Full HD+ display.

A tier up is the RM7,299 variant of the XPS 13, which upgrades the RAM and SSD capacity to 16GB and 1TB respectively. Other specifications of this model remains the same as the previous one, so without a doubt, you’re getting better value for your money with this variant. After all, you’re only paying RM400 more to get double the RAM and storage.

If you want the 4K display option with a touchscreen, you’ll be happy to know that Dell also brought this variant of the XPS 13 here. That being said, you’ll have to pay RM7,399 for this particular model. On top of that, you’re only getting 8GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage as well.

And then there’s the top-of-the-range XPS 13 2020, which features the same 13.4-inch 3840 x 2400 touch-enabled display as the model before this, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. How much does this model cost? A cool RM7,799. It’s also worth noting that this variant is only available in the white Frost colour. The other three models mentioned here are the Platinum Silver colourway.

Without a doubt the new XPS 13 carries a steep price tag, but that’s not exactly a surprise: this premium productivity laptop had always been positioned at this price point. Its predecessor, for one, was going for as much as RM8,369
when we reviewed it
.

If you’re keen to get the Dell XPS 13 2020, you can do so over at Dell’s online store
right here
. Regardless of which variant you get, Dell is also throwing in a complimentary laptop sleeve.

Update, 21 February
: This article has been updated with pricing for the Windows 10 Home version of the XPS 13 2020. Previously, we covered the Windows 10 Pro models, which cost RM300 more each.


Armaggeddon Pixxel+ XC27HD Quick Review: A 165Hz Curved Gaming Monitor for RM736

Gaming monitors have gotten increasingly more affordable over the years, but budget-friendly options are not usually very good or feature-packed. However, there are a couple of exceptions, like this gaming monitor right here: the Armaggeddon Pixxel+ XC27HD Super.

Yes, Armaggeddon offers gaming monitors now. Even though the name is a mouthful, the XC27HD is a legitimately good gaming monitor. It sports a blazing fast 165Hz refresh rate, a curved display, and even support for AMD FreeSync.

What’s the best part? It doesn’t cost all that much either,
retailing at only RM736
. If you want a reasonably good sub-RM1,000 monitor, you should really consider the XC27HD.

What It Is

As its name suggests, the Pixxel+ XC27HD Super is a 27-inch gaming monitor with a 1920 x 1080 curved (1800R) AHVA panel. On top of that, it also has a native refresh rate of 165Hz, making it ideal for any fast-paced games that need good motion clarity.

Besides that, it also has a relatively good 2ms response time, along with support for AMD FreeSync and G-Sync. That being said, do note that this is only a G-Sync Compatible monitor; It doesn’t have the specific “scaler” module from Nvidia for it to be a full-fledged G-Sync monitor. But can it eliminate screen tearing? Definitely.

As for connectivity, the XC27HD features a DisplayPort connection, an HDMI input, and even a DVI port. Not a very elaborate selection of ports, but these should be sufficient for most users.

The Good Stuff

What makes the Pixxel+ XC27HD particularly interesting is its high 165Hz refresh rate. This makes every single motion on this monitor look
extremely
 smooth. From the most simple of actions like moving the cursor to playing highly competitive games like Fortnite, you will definitely appreciate the 165Hz refresh rate.

Besides that, the XC27HD has decent colour reproduction too. It may not have an IPS panel, but this AHVA screen is not bad at all. Sure, it does look washed out when compared to an IPS display, but it is far better than, say, a cheaper TN panel. I’m also quite surprised at how good the viewing angles are – there’s barely any colour shifting when looking at the screen from an angle.

But how well does the XC27HD handle screen tearing? Very well, actually. I hooked up this gaming monitor to the
Alienware Aurora R9
 with an RTX 2080 Super GPU, and it exceeded my expectations. It could be the high refresh rate masking any possible screen tearing, but I honestly cannot tell if there was
any
tearing. All in all, I’m thoroughly impressed.

Beyond that, I really quite like the design of the XC27HD. It has a slim side profile, the stand is minimalist, the bezels surrounding the display are tiny, and the curved nature of the monitor gives it a…premium vibe, even if it doesn’t particularly impact the usage or gaming experience. The curvature isn’t very noticeable on this 16:9 monitor.

The Bad Stuff

Since the XC27HD is such an affordable gaming monitor, it’s no surprise that it has several niggling issues here and there. For one, this monitor has absolutely no height adjustment, not to mention the fact that it cannot be swiveled either. The only adjustment that’s possible is tilting it ever so slightly.

Another pain point are the unintuitive controls positioned on the back of the monitor at the right side. Navigating through the on-screen display (OSD) is a pain with the four-button combination, and more often than not, I would accidentally change a setting, or close the menu altogether.

Last but definitely not least is the sheer difficulty of installing the XC27HD’s stand. It’s not an easy task to screw in the stand to the display, and I actually dropped one of the screws
into
 the back of the monitor. Thankfully enough, I managed to recover the screw.

But overall, these are just minor issues with the XC27HD. After all,
for only RM736
, what more can you ask for?

Is It Worth It?

If you want a 27-inch curved gaming monitor with a fast 165Hz refresh rate, the Armaggeddon Pixxel+ XC27HD Super is a great buy. Not only does it offer good value for money, it also comes with a three-year warranty. If anything were to happen to it in this time period, you will get a
one-to-one replacement
. Not many companies can offer this kind of warranty.

That being said, if you don’t care for the curved panel of the XC27HD, there is one very good alternative: the Acer Nitro XV270. Just like Armaggeddon’s offering, the Nitro XV270 is a 27-inch 1080p gaming monitor, but it doesn’t sport a curved display, and it is slightly costlier at RM879. Its native refresh rate also maxes out at “only” 144Hz, though it can be overclocked to 165Hz.

So why would you consider the Nitro XV270 over the Pixxel+ XC27HD? Well, it boils down to one hardware: Acer’s offering features an IPS panel instead of the XC27HD’s AHVA screen. In short, you’ll get better colour reproduction, viewing angles, and (generally) a more pleasant screen to look at with the XV270. You’ll lose out on the curved panel, of course, but this may not matter to certain consumers.

Nonetheless, there’s no denying the appeal of the Armaggeddon Pixxel+ XC27HD gaming monitor. It’s affordable, it has a fast 165Hz refresh rate, its panel quality is perfectly fine, and it looks sleek too. For only RM736, it’s an excellent monitor for budget-conscious gamers.