Redmi Watch launched: Priced at about RM185

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It’s smartwatch season apparently – the likes of
vivo
,
OPPO
, and realme have entered the market this year with their own takes on the smartwatch; not to be undone by the competition, Redmi too now has their own entry.

Aptly named the Redmi Watch, the 1.4-inch device comes with full-colour 320×320 resolution display. The watch is square and looks to have drawn design inspirations from the popular Apple Watch.

There are over 120 watch faces to make the device your own, all of which can be downloaded through the Mi Fit app. There are seven sports modes on top of health monitoring features such as heart rate-tracking, and sleep monitoring.

You also get Bluetooth 5.0 with NFC, and a 5ATM water resistance-rating which means the watch can be taken for a dive up to 50m underwater.

When it comes to battery life, you are promised 7-days of usage, which is not bad; meanwhile with power saving mode on, you can extend use the watch for up to 12 days. It charges using a proprietary charger and will about 2 hours to fully juice the device.

The Redmi Watch comes in a decent array of
colours
 such as black, navy, white, beige and green. It’s currently only being sold in China for 299 Yuan (about RM185) starting December 1. There’s no word yet on when it’ll arrive in
Malaysia
, but with every major smartphone brand having a presence in the local smartwatch market, we can see Redmi wanting a slice of the pie as well.

fitness tracking
heart rate tracking
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Redmi Watch
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Redmi Watch may be a rebranded Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite

484

Redmi will be launching its own budget smartwatch tomorrow and it’s like to be called the Redmi Watch.

Redmi Watch is a budget, rebranded Mi Watch Lite

The Redmi Watch is launching on the same day with the
Redmi Note 9 series
 which could probably be the new Redmi Note 9 5G model. There’s no confirmation on the local availability of the Redmi Watch, but
reports
 suggest that the Redmi Watch is actually just a rebranded Mi Watch Lite.

The watch may come in two variants

The Redmi Watch is expected to come in two models, one of it will sport a 1.4-inch display and feature a built-in GPS. It will also support 5ATM water resistance and has a heart rate monitor. We expect the watch to come with a bunch of fitness tracking features and some basic smartwatch functions.

If there are two versions of the Redmi Watch, the differences could be on the display size, battery life and perhaps some features — we’ll have to wait for the launch to find out more.

Mi Watch Lite
redmi
Redmi Watch


Redmi will launch its own notebook, the RedmiBook 14 with the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro

342

If you think Redmi only has smartphones to offer, you thought wrong. Apparently, the sub-brand of Xiaomi plans to launch its very own notebook alongside the recently discussed flagship smartphones, the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro.

Called the RedmiBook 14, the notebook is found to be listed on Bluetooth Launch Studio website with almost no further information except for the fact that it will support Bluetooth 5.0. That aside, we are assuming that the notebook from Redmi will measure at 14 inches due to its name.

We were previously expecting the launch date of the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro to be on May 13 — which has already passed — but since it’s untrue, we will have to wait awhile longer. I do believe that the launch date is not far away, and by then we’ll be able to see the two new flagship Redmi smartphones and the new RedmiBook 14.

Both the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro are expected to come with a Snapdragon 855 chipset, and will have up to 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. In addition, there will be a triple camera setup on its back including a 48MP main sensor while its front will have a 32MP pop-up camera.

redmi
Redmi K20
Redmi K20 Pro
RedmiBook 14


The Redmi Y1 marks the debut of Xiaomi’s selfie series

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Xiaomi previously teased an upcoming series of selfie centric smartphones which will be launched in India. Today happens to be the day of the launch, and the company has debuted a smartphone along with a lesser variant to kick off its selfie series.

Introducing the Redmi Y1, first of its name. Xiaomi’s Redmi branded smartphones are the more affordable bunch among its range of already affordable handsets. Apart from the fact that it will be focused on selfies, the Redmi Y1 also runs on Xiaomi’s latest MIUI 9 beta software, which will mean improvement and more optimization over the older MIUI 8 software on Xiaomi smartphones.

The Redmi Y1 sports a 5.5-inch display at 720p HD resolution. A Snapdragon 435 octa core processor powers the device, along with either 3GB or 4GB of RAM with 32GB or 64GB of expandable storage respectively. While the Redmi Y1’s rear camera is only a standard 13MP shooter, its front facing camera is more exceptional at 16 megapixels, with an LED selfie light to brighten pictures up.

There is also a Lite variant of the Redmi Y1 which features a less powerful Snapdragon 425 processor and 2GB of RAM. It comes with 16GB of storage. Apart from that, the rest of the specs are pretty much the same across the board, including the 3,080mAh battery.

The Redmi Y1 will be sold in India beginning with a price tag of INR 8,999 (RM 589.36). The Lite version will carry a price of INR 6,999 (RM 458.36).

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Redmi Y3 unveiled with 32MP AI selfie camera and 4000mAh battery

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Xiaomi sub-brand Redmi has added a new member to its lineup of budget-friendly smartphones. The new Redmi Y3 is targeted at all selfie fanatics out there with its impressive 32MP selfie camera. In other areas, however, the new phone is virtually identical to the
Redmi 7
.

The Redmi Y3 comes with a 6.26-inch Dot Notch display featuring HD+ resolution, a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 5, and a high screen-to-body ratio. Just like the Redmi 7 launched last month, Redmi Y3 is powered by a 14nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 octa-core processor. It comes with up to 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage.

At the rear, Redmi Y3 has a 12MP primary sensor and a 2MP depth sensor. The back of the phone also houses an LED flash and a fingerprint scanner. On the front is an impressive 32MP AI selfie camera featuring 1.6um 4-in-1 Super Pixel for impressive low-light performance. Fueling the selfie-focused handset is a 4000mAh non-removable battery with 10W charging.

In terms of design, the Redmi Y3 boasts the company’s new Aurora design language with gradient color options. It comes with P2i hydrophobic coating as well. The phone runs on Android 9 Pie-based MIUI 10. The first country to get the Redmi Y3 is India, where it is set to go on sale starting April 30 with a price tag of INR 9,999 (RM590) for the base 3GB + 32GB version.

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RedmiBook 14 now official with 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, NVIDIA GeForce MX250 GPU

341

As expected, Redmi has introduced its first notebook alongside the
Redmi K20 and flagship K20 Pro
 smartphones in China. Dubbed RedmiBook 14, the Xiaomi sub-brand’s first notebook comes with a premium metal construction and an impressive screen-to-body ratio.

The RedmiBook 14, as is quite clear by its name, comes with a 14-inch sized IPS display panel offering 1920 x 1080 Full HD resolution and a high 81.2% screen-to-body ratio. Under the hood, RedmiBook 14 is powered by Intel’s 8
th
 Generation Core processors with up to 8GB DDR4-2400 RAM and 512GB SSD. While the base variant comes with an Intel Core i5-8265U processor, the top-end variant gets a Core i7-8565U. All variants of the notebook feature NVIDIA’s GeForce MX250 GPU with 2GB of GDDR5 VRAM.

Fueling the RedmiBook 14 is a 46Wh battery with fast charging support. In terms of connectivity, you will find two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0, and an HDMI 1.4. The notebook’s anodized aluminum body weighs in at just 1.5kg and is 17.95mm thick.

The RedmiBook 14 starts at CNY 3,999 (RM2,423) in China for the base variant with an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, and 256GB SSD. For the 512GB storage variant with the same processor, consumers will need to spend CNY 300 more. The top-end configuration with an Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB RAM, and 512GB SSD has been priced at CNY 4,999 (RM3,028). It is set to go on sale in China starting from June 11
th
 via the Mi online store.

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redONE and HP launches the HP Slate6 VoiceTab in Malaysia

313

Yesterday, MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) redONE announced its partnership with HP Malaysia to launch the HP Slate6 VoiceTab. The phablet will be available exclusively on redONE and when you sign up with the company’s RM58 Postpaid plan together with the device, you will be entitled to a RM10 rebate for 12 months.

The HP Slate6 VoiceTab is HP’s attempt to make a comeback to the smartphone market by introducing a new category in the Slate product family. Available in Black and White colours, the phablet runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and has a 6-inch IPS 720p display, Dual SIM with HSPA+ 42Mbps support, 5 Megapixel AF main camera, 16GB built-in storage, and powered by a Marvel PXA1088 Quad-core 1.2GHz processor with 1GB RAM.

redONE and HP Malaysia intends to increase publicity and market share through this collaboration. With the increasing subscriber base of redONE, the company is set to collaborate with phone makers to offer device subsidies and HP is their very first partner to be onboard.

The HP Slate6 Voice Tab retails at RM999 and comes with a standard 1-Year manufacturer warranty. Meanwhile, check out our quick hands on video with the HP Slate6 VoiceTab below, we’ll be doing a review of it soon so stay tuned.


redONE BeyondLite prepaid plan launched: Priced at just RM10

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If you’re looking for an affordable prepaid plan, redONE has just launched their latest Prepaid BeyondLite product.

This plan is priced at just RM10 and entails RM30 of free credit distributed across a period of six months so you’re actually getting RM5 of credit per month. You also get free unlimited calls to other redONE prepaid users. Subscribers can also enjoy a 30-day validity with a minimum reload of RM10 per month.

You can also opt to add the redFAST 30 plan which gets you 30GB of high-speed data for RM30, plus unlimited calls, and 10GB of basic internet which are all valid for 30 days.

If you’re a heavy user, redBOOSTER gets you 10GB more of high-speed data at RM10, plus other services such as redSOCIAL, redVIDEO, redCALL, redMUSIC, and redSMS. It’s also worth noting that redONE uses Celcom’s network infrastructure.

You can visit their website
here

to learn more about, or subscribe to the new plan.

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The refreshed 13-inch HP Spectre x360 is now smaller and uses 10th Gen Intel Core processors

329

HP also refreshed the 13-inch HP Spectre x360 convertible today with support for 10th Generation Intel Core processors.

Despite having the similar 13.3-inch display size as the previous version, the new Spectre is smaller than before due to its bezel-less display. The refreshed convertible offers the choice to pick between an IPS or AMOLED panel and can also push 4K resolution. With dual 4K support, users can easily connect two external 4K displays for better viewing and working experience.

Since HP upgraded the processor, the Spectre x360 now comes in two options — the i7-1065G7 or the i5-1035G4. It also comes with 16GB LPDDR4 RAM and up to 2TB PCIe NVMe SSD storage. Similar to the Elite Dragonfly notebook, this convertible also has a 65W USB Type-C power adapter to charge its 60Wh Li-ion polymer battery hat lasts up to 22 hours and with HP Fast Charge, users can easily charge the laptop from 0% to 50% in half an hour.

The HP Spectre x360 also comes with two Thunderbolt ports, a HDMI port, a Display port and one USB Type-A port. For better security, HP included a mic mute key, a fingerprint reader and a webcam kill switch. There’s also an option to include the HP Sure View Integrated Privacy Screen which can be activated to prevent others from prying at the data displayed on your convertible.

The HP Spectre x360 is available in three colours — Natural Silver, Nightfall Black with Copper Luxe Accents and Poseidon Blue with Pale Brass Accents. With a starting price of RM5,499, you can get it at selected online store partners and HP Online Store.

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Refurbished Galaxy Note 7 to feature Bixby

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The talks of a refurbished Galaxy Note 7 has been going on for quite some time now. The ill fated phablet of 2016 turned out to be a disaster, after a series of fire incidents caused by the Note 7’s battery, which led to its discontinuation shortly after it was released. The phone has been slated to make a comeback since and rumor has it that it will begin launching in South Korea on the 7th of July.

The refurbished version of the Galaxy Note 7 will be known as the Galaxy Note FE, and Samsung will begin selling it on home soil before targeting other regions. The demand for the Galaxy Note FE is expected to be pretty high, considering that it is the top of the pack among last year’s smartphones and that it will be more affordable compared to the original Galaxy Note 7.

A safe battery will be the emphasis of the Galaxy Note FE, but now the phone is rumored to have Bixby in it. This means that Samsung will have its new virtual assistant pre-installed onto the phone. The installation of the Bixby assistant on the Note FE will probably make it more current when compared to the likes of the Galaxy S8. It will of course, not have a dedicated Bixby hardware button, but will likely be of use as Samsung continues to develop its promising voice assistant.

What do you think of the revival of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7? Will you be considering it as a phone to be purchased?

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battery
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Refurbished Galaxy Note 7 units will be cheaper by more than RM1,000

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The Galaxy Note 7 was a serious contender for the best smartphone of the year award when it was unveiled back in 2016. The phablet possibly passed all smartphone requirements with flying colors, except for one – battery safety. Given its battery fire crisis last year, the Galaxy Note 7 has been slated to make a comeback for a while now, and it looks like the phablet will be launched again at a significantly cheaper price.

According to South Korean news outlet ET News, the Galaxy Note 7 will be returning to its home country in June in refurbished forms just as rumored. The phone was originally priced at 988,900 won (RM3,829.08), but is expected to be shaved to a rough price of 700,000 won (RM2,710.44) when it makes its re-appearance. It will also be renamed as the Galaxy Note 7R when it launches.

The Galaxy Note 7R will likely sport a smaller and safer (hopefully) battery this time round from 3,500mAh down to 3,200mAh. The report states that it would be ideal for Samsung to relaunch the phablet in June before the Galaxy Note 8 launches in late August or early September. According to a recent survey, the demand for a refurbished Galaxy Note 7 was extremely high, with a whopping 96 percent of respondents intend of purchasing one for themselves.

Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy Note 7R won’t be heading to US markets, but the phone will likely launch in countries such as Vietnam, on top of South Korea. Will you get the Galaxy Note 7R if it’s being sold here?

Source:
ET News

galaxy note 7 malaysia
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realme 5s will launch in Malaysia this December 12 with 48MP quad camera and 5,000mAh battery

372

As we edge closer to closing out the decade smartphone brands look to be rushing to push out their remaining list of products – we’ve already seen several smartphones launched this month; but this time,
realme
 looks set to close out their year with their own launch too.

Set for a December 12 date, the
realme
 5s will make its appearance in the country, completing the series strongly. The device mixes the best of both worlds from the vanilla realme 5 and the realme 5 Pro and will sport a 48MP quad camera along with a capable Snapdragon 665 chipset and a massive 5,000mAh battery.

Looking at the phone’s specs in its India launch, the phone will be equipped with a 6.5-inch LCD panel that pushes 720p resolution. There will be two memory configurations – 4GB+64GB and 4GB+ 128GB.

For imaging, the 48MP main lens will be partnered up with an 8MP ultrawide shooter, a 2MP macro lens and a 2MP depth sensor. For selfies, you get a 13MP lens in a traditional drop notch module.

This will be a step up from the regular realme 5 smartphone, and it’s currently priced at INR9,999 (RM584). Stay tuned as we bring you updates on the local launch of the
realme
 5s.

Realme
realme 5s


Relic teases Dawn Of War annoucement scheduled for tonight

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There may be a new Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War game soon as the Dawn Of War Youtube channel has posted a video that states that an announcement is due tonight.

No information was given as to what will be announced during the event tonight, but all signs point to a Dawn of War 3. Seeing as Dawn of War 2 was first released in 2009, the time seems ripe for another Real Time Strategy game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. It is also entirely possible that Relic is out to troll us. After all, the last time Relic announced news regarding the Dawn Of War franchise, it turns out that the developer was teasing that Dawn of War 2 will be getting a new playable hero in the game’s Last Stand mode.

Whatever the case, should Relic officially announce a Dawn of War 3, this woulld be the first game in the franchise to not be published under now-defunct publisher THQ. The event is scheduled to begin at 3pm GMT (11pm today).

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Relive old school gaming with a text adventure

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Those who remember days long gone when text adventure games were a rage, would probably like to check out this cool yet harshly demanding game called “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Game – 30th Anniversary Edition” on

BBC Radio 4 website
. Before you start the game, make sure to type “SAVE” in order to easily restore when you die, which is actually pretty often. However, you do need to sign in before being able to save, so register by clicking the BBCiD icon next to the BBC logo in the top navigation bar. You can also tweet your acheivements should you feel the need to boast about how far you’ve managed to stay alive.

Now excuse me while I try to stay alive with all the words I can think of.

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Relive your favorite cartoons on Boomerang channel, now official on HyppTV Channel 555

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If you have been looking forward to a TV channel that broadcasts all of your favorite classic cartoon characters such as Scooby Doo, Tom and Jerry, Mr Bean and many more, brace yourselves as Boomerang, a global kids network channel has find itself a new home in Malaysia’s fast growing IPTV service HyppTV, customers can now subscribe to the channel alone at RM9/month and if you are subscribed to the company’s Jumbo Pack, Boomerang is already available for you to view.

Available in both English and Bahasa Malaysia, Boomerang is owned by Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific, it is a unique cartoon channel of its own and broadcasts the all time favorite classic cartoons that we have all grown up with, which the company thinks that even adults will also enjoy. Starting September 2015, new episodes of Mr Bean, Thomas and Friends: Blue Mountain Mystery, Monster Beach, The Tom & Jerry Show and Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated will be the highlights of Boomerang.

Boomerang is currently available on HyppTV in Standard Definition (SD) and a High Definition (HD) channel will be made available to users for free of charge starting October 2015, TM has also mentioned that the company is working hard together with local creative content producers in Boomerang as well has having Mandarin as one of the dubbed languages for its programs. For more info on HyppTV packages, head on to
https
://
www
.
tm
.
com
.
my
/
hypptv
/

boomerang
broadcast
cartoons
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iptv
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Remember Microsoft Solitaire? Its back on Windows 10!

324

If you’ve been using Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 for a while, you might actually realize something is indeed missing from the new
tablet
 desktop hybrid operating system that Microsoft has made – the Microsoft Games collection and now, Microsoft has decided to bring back the good old card games back to Windows 10 as a pre-loaded program just like the good old Windows 7 days.

The Solitaire card game will return as Microsoft Solitaire Collection and it has been spotted in the most recent build of Windows 10, Microsoft has mentioned that the company’s board game has been PC user’s favorite game since 20 years back and Windows 10 is all about bringing the best experience back on the PC, hence the card gambling game is coming back to the latest operating system. The Microsoft Solitaire Collection will consist of the following game modes – Klondike, Spider, FreeCell, Pyramid and TriPeaks.

Looks like bosses are going to have problems again with employees addicted to Solitaire on the screen again. However, gamblers rejoice!


Popular “Remove China Apps” now withdrawn from Play Store

295

The app called Remove China Apps is now pulled from Play Store for violating Google Play Store’s
Deceptive Behaviour Policy
.

Remove China Apps became viral in India recently and does what its name suggests — detect and remove apps that are made by Chinese firms. This app is developed by an Indian firm called OneTouch AppLabs and became popular due to the recent
Himalayan border dispute
 that is straining the relationship between China and India.

This dispute fuelled the anti-Chinese frame of mind, leading to Indian citizens downloading the app and deleting Chinese-made apps. According to
TechCrunch
, a spokesperson for BJP, India’s ruling party, also supported the removal of Chinese apps and said, “we ought to hit them where it hurts most.”

Under Google Play Store’s Deceptive Behaviour Policy, the tech giant clearly mentioned that it will not allow “apps that encourage or incentivize users into removing or disabling third-party apps or modifying device settings or features unless it is part of a verifiable security service.” This should be the clause that led to the ban of Remove China Apps.

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Renders of the Meizu 15 Plus leaks, comes with full-screen and dual-cameras

268

Meizu recently launched their M6S which came with a nice design and decent specs. However, that does not mean they are done with the first quarter of the year as leaks indicate they are launching another phone called the Meizu 15 Plus.

The company is launching the Meizu 15 Plus and 15 to celebrate their 15th anniversary and is expected to arrive March 2018. In the leaked render images, we can see that the front of the phone shares a similar design with the iPhone X, minus the odd notch at the top which Meizu decided to make it into a bezel which should house all the phone sensors and the front-facing camera. On the back, there will be a dual-camera setup and what looks to be either a fingerprint sensor, flash or laser focus module. The specs are no joke, as it might come with either a Snapdragon 845 or Samsung Exynos 8895. There are previous reports that indicate the phone will come in two variants, 6GB RAM and 128GB storage or 8GB RAM and 128GB storage.

There is no mention of price but Founder, Jack Wong has confirmed that the Meizu 15 Plus will be introduced around China’s Spring Festival, which indicates that the phone will be available March 2018 onwards.

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Renders of Google's Pixel and Chromecast Ultra leaked

302

In about a week’s time, Google will be hosting an event in which it will show off the new HTC-made Pixel phones and a new 4K-ready Chromecast. Unfortunately for Google, renders for both the Pixel phones and the 4K Chromecast has been leaked today, giving us our first look at the device.

We begin with the Pixel and the Pixel XL, the two phones that will be succeeding the Nexus line of smartphones. Google’s Pixel will come with a 5″ Full HD display and a 2770 mAh battery, while the Pixel XL will sport a 5.5″ QHD display and a 3450 mAh battery. Specifications for both the Pixel and Pixel XL will be identical, with both phones equipped with a 2.0GHz quad-core processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 12MP rear camera, an 8MP front camera and a fingerprint sensor. Prices for the Pixel is rumoured to start at USD649, making it far more expensive than any of the Nexus phones.

Next up is the 4K-ready Chromecast. Called the Chromecast Ultra, this device will run on firmware 1.21. One of the bigger cosmetic changes that has been done to the Chromecast Ultra is the removal of the Chromecast logo, replacing it with Google’s “G” logo instead. As for pricing, the Chromecast Ultra is expected to retail at USD69, almost double the price of the regular Chromecast.

Both the Pixels and the Chromecast Ultra will be making its debut at Google’s event next week alongside other devices like Google’s rumoured VR headset, a Wi-Fi router, and the Google Home.

Sou rce:
VentureBeat

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Renders of the upcoming iPad Pro has surfaced in a recent leak

318

Apple is about to launch new iPhones, iPads and iPad Pros during their 12 September event. Prior to this, MySmartPrice has released renders of the 6.1-inch and 6.5-inch iPhone models and now, they have also managed to get their hands on the iPad Pro 12.9-inch renders and specs.

Straight off, you will be able to see a noticeable difference between the upcoming iPad Pro and the current variants. For starters, the fingerprint sensor is missing, which indicates that Apple is going for their Face ID and the bezels are far smaller than any other iPads the company has released.

At the bottom is the charging port accompanied by two speaker grills and sadly there is no 3.5mm headphone jack, which is a letdown as the iPad is one of the best tablets to enjoy media on. On the back, just above the charging port is the Smart Connector which might change in the final product. The reason behind this is because Face ID will not be able to unlock the device if it is placed in landscape mode.

The renders are not 100% accurate and small changes might be made in the final design. There is still no accurate pricing for the iPad Pro, so we will just have to wait for the launch to know the rest of the details.

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Renders reveal the OnePlus 7 with an elevating front camera and no headphone jack

327

OnePlus CEO Pete Lau has already announced that the OnePlus 7 will not be getting wireless charging because its Warp Charge 30 fast charging is much faster and more efficient. So, while we’ve given up on the OnePlus 7 in terms of wireless charging, we’re still pretty excited to see what the phone has to offer and recent renders just gave us a peek of it.

The OnePlus 7 is expected to come with full display, hence no notch at all. Instead, it seems to be following the footsteps of vivo’s NEX and V15 Pro that has an elevating front camera. With a 6.5-inch display, the OnePlus 7 is finally getting an elevating front camera to allow its users to fully enjoy its display.

Image credit: OnLeaks/PriceBaba

Aside from that, the OnePlus 7’s renders also suggest that the phone will come with three rear cameras, the minimum requirement when it comes to most flagship phones these days. It is possible that the third camera could be an ultra-wide sensor or a telephoto lens.

In terms of appearance, the OnePlus 7 is already confirmed to have no headphone jack. We are definitely expecting an in-display fingerprint scanner but more importantly, a Snapdragon 855 processor. It would be great if the company decides to increase its battery size and also provide 8/10GB RAM.

While the price will definitely be slightly higher, the OnePlus 7 is expected to be launched either at the end of May or early June.

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OnePlus 7


Renders of the Samsung Galaxy S11 reveals a repositioned hole-punch and a quintuple camera setup

279

Even though 2020 is still a month away, renders of the Samsung Galaxy S11 is already all over the Internet, revealing the new design of the upcoming flagship device.

Image credit: OnLeaks/91Mobiles

Thanks to OnLeaks and 91Mobiles, we can slightly know what to expect of the Galaxy S11. The first thing that you’ll notice is the change in position of the hole-punch that is now in the middle. While this is similar to the current Galaxy Note 10 series, it is a change from the Galaxy S10 series. In addition, the Galaxy S11 will also have a new camera design; instead of getting a horizontal alignment, the device now gets a vertically-aligned rectangular camera setup positioned on the top left.

Image credit: OnLeaks/91Mobiles

Based on the renders, the Galaxy S11 will also have lesser curvature compared to its predecessor, but the bezels will remain narrow. We’re also expecting Samsung to keep the physical volume and power button, and maintain the same USB-C port and speaker grill on its bottom. According to OnLeaks, the device will be sporting a glass back paired with a metal frame.

Image credit: OnLeaks/91Mobiles

Samsung is also likely to jump from a triple camera setup to a quintuple camera setup, where the additional two cameras are probably a depth sensor and perhaps a macro sensor. The Galaxy S11 may still sport a single front camera, but it’s safe to say that the Galaxy S11+ will come with dual-front camera — just like the Galaxy S10+.

Image credit: OnLeaks/91Mobiles

The Samsung Galaxy S11 series is expected to come with three models — the Galaxy S11e, Galaxy S11 and Galaxy S11+. Each will come with a different display size, the smallest being a 6.3- or 6.4-inch panel while the largest being a 6.9-inch display. There’s even a possibility of the displays supporting 120Hz refresh rate.

As usual, these flagship devices will be powered by flagship chipsets — in this case, either the Snapdragon 865 chipset or Exynos 990 chipset depending on the market. They’re also expected to come with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, though we can expect more options. The Galaxy S11 series is rumoured to arrive in the first quarter of 2020, possibly near the end of February.

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Renders and specs for the HTC U11 EYEs leaks prior to launch

330

HTC is all geared up to launch a new phone in the U11 line up called the HTC U11 EYEs, which is a mid-range release from the company. The launch will be happening on January 15 in Bejing, Taipei and Hong Kong at the same time but it would seem that the specs and render of the phone has already made its way to on the Internet.

The renders came from HTC Taiwan’s official Facebook Page and it shows that the phone has a very similar back when comparing it to the HTC U11+, but on the front, there is a dual camera setup and a bezeless display.

Aside from that, the U11 EYEs will come equipped with a 6-inch display with 2160 x 1080 resolution, Snapdragon 652 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. Powering the device is a 3939mAh battery and it has an IP67 certification. The front cameras come with features like rapid HDR, Bokeh mode and Beauty mode as well as support for facial recognition.

The HTC U11 EYEs will come in three colours, Black, Silver and Red with a price tag of 3200 Yuan (RM1970.12)

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OPPO confirmed to launch Reno4 series in Malaysia on August 3

361

The
OPPO Reno4 series
 has now been confirmed to be launching in Malaysia on August 3 via OPPO Malaysia’s
Facebook page
.

Reno4 series specs

We’ve previously
discussed
 the differences between the global variant and the China variant. Both the Reno 4 Pro will be equipped with a 48MP quad-camera, unlike the China variant that uses a triple camera system.

We’re also expecting to see the Reno4 series with a 90Hz display, 65W fast charging and a Snapdragon 720G chipset. The phone will also sport a 6.43 AMOLED screen paired with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB storage.

Register to get the latest updates and free gifts upon pre-order

Those interested in the Reno4 series can
register
 here to get updates and also additional gifts worth up to RM229 when they pre-order the phones.

oppo
Reno 4
Reno 4 Pro
Reno4 series


Rent a complete gaming PC set from Orange Esports Cafe and Logitech during the MCO

1.2K

The MCO period is good for two things – it helps fight virus, and it gives us time to play some video games.
Unfortunately
 not everyone has the means to game – I remember a time when all I had was a potato laptop to make-do with 720p Dota 2.

Well, fear not potato-PC gamers, you can rent a full gaming rig and have it sent over to your house so courtesy of Orange Esports Cafe and Logitech Malaysia. The PLAY@HOME Rental Initiative lets
you
 pic from two sets of PCs – Premium Package gets you an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti PC along with a 24” monitor for RM200 for a two-week rental, or RM350 per month.

The Ultimate Package gates you a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070Ti setup
complete
 with a 24” 144Hz monitor for RM300 for a two-week rent or RM500 for a monthly rental.

Both sets come with an Intel Core i5 6
th
 Gen CPU, 16GB RAM, a Logitech keyboard and mouse. Each PC also comes pre-installed with
Dota
 2,
CS:GO
, Apex Legends,
Fortnite
 and PUBG. These games will of course run with absolutely no problem on these rigs so you’ll have a blast staying at home during the MCO period.

You can get your orders in via Orange Esports Cafe’s Facebook page
here
.

adreno
covid 19
cyber cafe
gaming pc
logtech
mco
nvidia geforce gtx 1070ti
Nvidia gtx 1650ti
orange esports
rental


Replaced Samsung Galaxy Note 7 reportedly exploded in a flight

263

Just when you thought Samsung’s Note 7 explosion issue is a thing of the past, reports are coming in that a replacement Note 7 has exploded while on a flight.

According to The Verge, Southwest Airlines flight 994 had to be evacuated this morning as a passenger’s Note 7 smartphone began to smoke. The owner of the smartphone, Brian Green, mentioned that the phone the exploded was a replacement that he had gotten from an AT&T store on the 21 of September. Accompanying images of the Note 7’s box shows that the box came with a black square symbol, which is an indicator for a replacement Note 7.

Green says that the phone has been powered down and placed in his pocket when the device started smoking. When he dropped the phone on the floor of the plane, a “thick-grey-green angry smoke” begun pouring out of the device. Green has stated that his Note 7 was at 80% battery capacity when it ignited, and he has been relying on the wireless charger in order to charge the phone.

Samsung has since issued a statement on this issue, saying that they need to retreive and examine the device before being able to share information regarding this incident. If Samsung finds out that the Note 7 replacements sports defects of their own, it’s probably safe to say that the reputation of the Note 7 may be past the point of recovery.

Source: The Verge

explosion
galaxy
note7
replacement
samsung


Report of top 10 smartphone SoC's released by Antutu

365

Famous benchmark app Antutu has recently released a report comprising of the top 10 chips of smartphones based on their raw performance. The app has also released a report this time last year, in which Apple took the top spot with its A9 chip, closely followed by the Huawei owned HiSilicon Kirin 950. This year’s report see a new champion and some new players taking their places in the top 10.

The A9 chip was dethroned this year by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820, which is under the hood Samsung’s Galaxy S7 lineup. Other flaghips include the Xiaomi Mi 5, LG G5, Xperia X Performance, LeTV MAX Pro and Vivo’s XPlay5. Narrowly behind the A9 stands Samsung’s homegrown Exynos 8890, which is also powering the S7 lineup. With the top 3 SoC’s closely scored, the regional variants of the S7 and S7 Edge are starting to make more sense since those close scores will barely make a difference in terms of real life performance, if not none at all.

The top 3 performing processors seem to be out of the league when moving down the ranks, with the Huawei owned HiSilicon Kirin 950 at fourth place by a significant margin, followed by the Exynos 7420 found on last year’s S6 and Note 5. The Snapdragon 810, which powered most of 2015’s flagships, (OnePlus 2, Nexus 6P, HTC One M9, Sony Xperia Z5) takes fifth place. Mid range SoC’s Snapdragon 652 and 650 have earned their spots in the top 10 as well at 7th and 9th place respectively. These chips have proven themselves to be close to last year’s flagship standards as the Snapdragon 808, running underneath handsets like the LG G4 and Nexus 5X, sits at 10th place.

In terms of GPU performance, the Snapdragon 820 takes the top spot again with the Adreno 530, this time with a way larger margin. The A9 (PowerVR GT7600) and Exynos 8890 (Mali-T880 MP12) take second and third place respectively. Huawei’s HiSilicon Kirin 950 which has a Mali-T880 MP4 went down to third bottom, behind the well dated Snapdragon 805 which was under 2014’s Nexus 6. The Snapdragon 652 managed to remain in the top 10, coming very close to the Snapdragon 808. The former runs an Adreno 510 and the latter, an Adreno 418. According to Antutu, 2K resolution displays are currently trending among flagships, with 1080p being the standard to hit for 2016.

MediaTek processors have not made it to the list since the Helio X20 isn’t in the consumer market powering any smartphone yet. However, we will be expecting the deca-core processor to take its place within the top half of the top 10. Apple has yet to release this year’s SoC so that’s another one to be watched.

Source:
Antutu

a9
adreno
antutu
apple
benchmark
exynos
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mediatek
samsung
snapdragon


Report shows 1.4 billion smartphones shipped worldwide in 2015

295

Since its existence, smartphones have swept the world of its feet with its capabilities. We have come a long way on the development of smartphones with new technologies, features and better specs to bring us better user experience as the years go by. A recent report by Strategy Analytics show a record breaking 1.4 billion units of smartphones being shipped globally, a 12 percent spike from 1.28 billion in 2014.

Based on the report, a whopping 404.5 million smartphones were shipped in only the fourth quarter last year. Samsung takes the biggest piece of the cake, accounting nearly a quarter of the number of units with 81.3 million units, allowing them to triumph over Apple’s 74.8 million smartphones sold, whom only had a slight growth from 74.5 million in 2014.

Chinese OEM Huawei held onto third place, taking 8 percent of the marketshare, a 2 percent increase from 2014, breaking the 100 million unit mark in terms of annual sales of smartphones. The Lenovo-Motorola merger takes fourth place with a decline in smartphones shipped compared to the previous year. Xiaomi, who officially hasn’t yet penetrated the western market, stands at fifth place, with 72 million units sold.

Generally, it seems like a two-player contest between Samsung and Apple, with the rest of the OEM’s far behind. What do you think? Let us know your thoughts.

Source:
Strategy Analytics

apple
huawei
lenovo
motorola
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samsung
xiaomi


Reports indicate that the Galaxy Note 9 will have an under-screen fingerprint reader

319

The fingerprint sensor on the Galaxy S8 is not the best place or easiest place to access the sensor, this was due to a last minute change that made Samsung rush on deciding the next best location of the sensor. Sadly, it was the only flaw in the beautiful looking phone. However, there has been a new report from KGI pointing out that Samsung is keeping the fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone for now.

This decision will be kept throughout the Galaxy S9 but they are targeting to the release the under screen fingerprint sensor in the Galaxy Note 9 when it releases sometime next year. They are not the only company that seems to have trouble with this feature, as Apple was also targeting to get the feature under the screen of the new iPhone but has now decided that using facial detection would be a more viable option. The only company that seems to have this feature in the bag is Vivo, there is even a
video demonstrating
 a prototype of this feature in a 5-second video.

Seeing as how Apple has failed to put the sensor under the screen, Samsung might still have some breathing room to continue developing this technology and hopes that it can bring this feature to consumers in the next phones.

9
fingerprint
galaxy
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under-screen


Reports indicate Google will launching a mini Google Home and a new Chromebook during the Pixel 2 launch

301

Google is planning to release an affordable and smaller Google home that is slated to launch later this year alongside the new Pixel phone and a new Chromebook Pixel. The new home assistant is reportedly smaller and cheaper than the regular Google home which is currently priced at $129.

There are currently no details on the speaker but it is said to rival the popular Amazon Echo Dot which is able to convert your speakers into an Alexa-enabled device. In addition to that, is the Chromebook Pixel which will run on the Chrome OS and not the combination of the Chrome OS and Android which was rumoured to happen sooner or later. Google has publically announced that they have no plans to kill of the Chrome OS although there have been rumours that the company was planing to merge the OS with Android.

2015 Chromebook Pixel

Both these products are exprected to launch later this year at Google’s Fall Hardware event but the main attention will still be the new new Pixel phones which leaks have already shown us how it is going to look like and the hardware in it.

chromebook
google
home
mini
pixel


Reports indicate LG V40 will come with three rear and two front-cameras

329

LG is having a tough time with their phones competing against the competition who has set their dominance in the smartphone world. What can you do to get people to give you the attention you deserve? By putting five camera sensors on their upcoming flagship phone.

This rumour comes from Android Police, who said that the V40 will come with three cameras on the back, similar to the P20 Pro, but with the exception of a dual-camera setup for the front. The front-cameras will support 3D face mapping to unlock the phone. This will be the first time a phone manufacturer places a total of five cameras on their phone. The V40 is also said to look similar to the G7 ThinQ and comes with a Snapdragon 845 processor and a notch display. They are also bringing back the dedicated button to call up Assistant and the Quad DAC.

As with all rumours, it should be taken with a grain of salt, but if the rumours are true, we can expect that the V40 will be one of the more advanced camera phones in the market. LG is expected to release more information on the phone in the next coming weeks, as it is slated for a fall launch.

camera
lg
selfie
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two
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Reports indicate the Nokia 8 will launch on July 31 with Snapdragon 835

258

The launch of the Nokia 3, 5 and 6 was one of the most anticipated and received launch in the smartphone world and Nokia knew that would happen as they banked a lot on nostalgia. Seems like it has paid off, as the whole world is talking about it and we are excited and proud that the Finnish Mobile maker has finally come back strong.

Now, they have just listed out the Nokia 8, which will be the top-tier flagship in the Nokia line of Android phones. Reports indicate that it will be launched on the 31 July with a price tag of around 589 Euros (RM2895.43). Another rumour states that it will be available in four colours, Blue, Steel Gold/Blue and Copper/Gold. Sure the price of the phone might be a giant leap from the previous releases, but wait till you hear what the specs will be. The Nokia 8 will be powered by a Snapdragon 835, 4GB of RAM and a 5.7-inch QHD display, a huge improvement from the Snapdragon 430 that was seen in the previous models.

It seems like the Nokia 3,5 and 6 was just phones that they used to test the market on the return of Nokia, and because of the love it recieved, it is about time to release a phone that would cater to power users and high-end users that want something more powerful from Nokia.

8
835
date
nokia
release
rumor
snapdragon


Reports indicate that Samsung is building their own Bixby smart speaker

339

The Wall Street Journal has reported that Samsung will be developing their own voice-activated smart speaker with Bixby as its virtual assistant. The speaker, Codename Vega, is said to rival the likes of Amazon and Apple own smart speakers and the upcoming ones from Apple and Microsoft.

Not much else is known about the specs or features that it provides, but with the market for smart speakers increasing rapidly, Samsung has to really find a way to make it stand out from the competition. The executive vice president of Samsung mentions that Bixby will start with handphones before moving to other areas including controlling the air conditioner or TV. Since Bixby is stored on the cloud, the device would just need to be connected to the Internet and it would integrate with Bixby.

Although this might sound great in the long run, we have seen that the company seem to have problems developing their voice assistant as seen in the release of the S8 that did not include the voice assistant. According to WSJ sources, it is gradually being rolled out but is unlikely to be completed before the second half of July.

assistant
bixby
samsung
smart
speaker
vega
voice


Reports indicate the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will be announced on 23rd August

299

There was a rumor going around last month about an August announcement on the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, now there more confirmation from two Korean publications, The Bell that stated the release date for the phone will be on August 23rd and The Investor, that said a Samsung executive would only confirm in the month of August without a concrete date.

Based on these reports, it is safe to say that next month the Note 8 will be announced, and the fact that Note devices are usually announced late summer. Speculations from Even Blass at VentureBeat on the phone is that it will come with the same 6.2-inch screen on the Galaxy S8 Plus, dual-camera and the signature S Pen.

Blass also mentioned that the dual-camera will be position horizontally and both will be 12MP sensors. The fingerprint sensor will be positioned next to the camera, similar to the S8 and will cost over $900 in the US. It will come in black, blue and gold. There should be more news in the next couple of weeks seeing as we are just half a month away from August.

8
announcement
date
galaxy
leaks
note
samsung


Reports indicate that Samsung will improve their Facial Recognition with software updates

422

When Samsung introduced facial recognition into their S8 lineup, it was not a feature that caught the attention of its users and they still opted to go for the questionable position of the fingerprint sensor. In addition to that, users could fool the feature by using a photo or video of the owner of the phone.

ETNews however, reported that the company is working hard to improve the iris scanning and facial recognition for the upcoming Galaxy S9 phones. They will still be using the front-facing camera to scan users but the improvements to the feature will allow it to scan faster and more accurate than the previous generation. An industry analyst also mentioned that the company is working on a suite for face scanning that would allow additional add-ons to be installed. This follows in line with Samsung’s strategy to improve their phones through software updates rather than upgrading the hardware.

Wheather they will be improving the feature is still unknown but with the Galaxy S9 slated to launch early 2018, we will only know more about this when the leaks start to come in closer to the launch date.

facial
galaxy
improve
recognition
s9
samsung
update


Reports indicate the next Xbox will launch in 2020

440

The next generation of consoles is coming really soon. Sony PlayStation’s Head has hinted to us that we can expect a new PS console in 2021. However, Microsoft wants to beat them to it, and based on some details that surfaced, a new Xbox will be seen in 2020.

The New Xbox, codenamed Scarlett, comes from Brad Sams of Thurrott who has taken a look at a number of unannounced devices that Microsoft will release over the next few years. The upcoming 2020 Xbox will not be just one device, as Scarlett is a family of devices. You can expect to see multiple consoles or even accessories that are related to the Xbox. Specs wise, we already know that the Xbox One X is more powerful compared to the PS4 Pro, so it will be very interesting to see how Microsoft intends to step up the game again with their newer consoles.

All we can do now is wait and hope that the future Xbox console will have its own range of exclusives, something that the current Xbox console severely lacks.

2020
new
one
s
x
xbox


Reports indicate the Nokia 9 will come with a notch and under-screen fingerprint sensor

261

There might be another company that is joining the notch-phone party, and it could be a new flagship from a well-known phone brand. That’s not all, based on reports, it will also come with an under-screen fingerprint sensor.

The phone is the Nokia 9 and the reports come from NPU which mentions the notch and the under-screen fingerprint sensor. We have already seen the fingerprint sensor working in two Vivo phones and they work pretty well, even showing how the fingerprint sensor can take a large portion of the screen and still produce fast and accurate unlocking. The Nokia 9 was supposed to be the Nokia 8 Sirocco but in a last minute decision, they decided to hold on the Nokia 9 brand for a future flagship.  The phone will come with an 18:9 screen based on the notch design and a curve edge-to-edge display similar to the Nokia 8 Sirocco.

Othe than that, this could be the phone that comes with the patented Penta-lens camera that we have seen previously and a Snapdragon 845 processor with AI. There is no official information on the phone so the reports and rumours should be taken with a grain of salt.

9
camera
fingerprint
lens
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screen
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Reports show that Malaysians spend more on phones, than other electronics

348

According to reports from GfK Point of Sales tracking, 37 percent of smartphones sold in Malaysia had screen sizes ranging from 5-inch to 5.6-inches, compared to the 21 percent in the previous year making it the fastest growing screen size demand in the past 12 months. GfK tracks goods from consumer electronics, major and small domestic appliances, photography and information technology, they found that out of all of these, telecommunications is where consumers spend the most.

In the reports, it is found that consumers bought around RM6.8 billion worth of smartphones compared to the RM5.4 billion in 2015 and the biggest contributor are the mid-range models costing between RM900 to RM1,050. This was thanks to Chinese smartphone brands that sparked the demand for mobile phones last year, which is also the highest number of new smartphones brands entering the market.

In a separate study the company conducted, they also found that the live cycle of smartphones have significantly reduced, as newer models are being introduced at a faster rate. This means that brands have a shorter time to market their smartphones, making it vital for companies to understand their market to cater to those specifics and get the most returns from their lineup.

gfk
smartphones


Reports state that the Pixel 3 will be unveiled on 9 October 2018

317

It’s about time that Google showed off their latest Pixel phone entry with the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, for a long time we were given the impression that the phone will release on 4th October 2018 as they have always been following the same release date when it came to the 2016 and 2017 Pixel phones. However, new reports have indicated that the phone will release at a slightly later date.

The phone is not a surprise any more as some of the phones have found their way on the Blackmarket which were being sold for $2000. Due to that, we know that the phones will come with USB-C earphones and there is even an unboxing video for the phone, it will also come with recent camera features like beautification and wide-angle selfies. Google has not responded to the Blackmarket units, or how the shipment got into the hands of unauthorised personnel.

The reports have stated that the Pixel 3 phones will be unveiled on 9 October 2018 in New York City where they should unveil other products aside from the phone like the Pixel Watch.

3
date
launch
pixel


Researchers are able to hijack your headphones to spy on you

741

Did you know that your headphones could be hijacked to spy on you? Well, a group of researchers managed to do just that as they’ve developed a proof-of-concept code that can hijack headphones and turn them into makeshift microphones which can be used to spy on others.

This code, called “Speake(a)r”,  was developed by researchers at Israel’s Ben Gurion University. The code works by using a little-known feature found in RealTek’s audio codec chip, allowing them to silently “retast” the computer’s output channel as an input channel. Once done, the malware will be able to use your headphones as a surrogate microphone, allowing it to record audio even when the headphones remain connected into an output-only jack. As RealTek chips are rather common these days, the code can work on almost any desktop computer regardless of whether or not it operates on Windows or MacOS.

For now, no known hacking group has used this method to spy on other people. There are also no known malware that operates similarly to “Speake(a)r” yet. Regardless, if you’re afraid of being spied on, it seems that unplugging your headphones when you’re not using it would be a wise thing to do.

Source:
Wired

hack
headphones
malware
security
speakear
spying


Researchers find security flaws in Internet of Things devices

299

Many tech companies these days are pushing smart devices as a way to establish an Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem. One of the main criticisms that many levied against IoT is that security would be a major factor that needs to be addressed. That worry has been completely justified as researchers from Princeton’s Center of Information Technology Policy found out that many of these devices aren’t as secure as they seem.

For starters, the researchers found out that Nest, a popular thermostat that was developed by Google’s parent company Alphabet, was leaking zip codes of the weather station that the user enters when configuring the device over the internet unencrypted. While it isn’t as bad as leaking the user’s actual zip code, the fact that Nest is leaking any sort of information unencrypted is a worrying discovery.

Nest isn’t the only one with security issues as the team discovered that Sharx security cameras transmits video feeds in the clear, allowing anyone with access to the owner’s network to intercept and watch the feed themselves. PixStar Digital Photoframe is a smart frame that pulls pictures from a user’s Facebook account without encrypting it before doing so, allowing packet sniffers the ability to steal those pictures.

The researchers have since stated that companies releasing smart devices needs to ensure that the device’s security are up to scratch. To do so, the researches have provided various methods in order to shore up the security for IoT-related devices.

Source:
Freedom to Tinker
,
Motherboard

encryption
internetofthings
security


Resident Evil 2 remake looks like an entire new game

332

Another Ressy game is coming as a remake to the PS4 and PS4 Pro, Resident Evil 2. The new and improved gameplay footage was shown during Sony’s E3 2018 event and based on the cheers of the crowd, people are pretty excited for this remake.

The game has not just received more detailed texture, based on the gameplay, it looks like it was built from the ground up. Lighting, shadows and ambience have all been improved. It looks like Capcom really had the next-gen consoles in mind when remaking this game. The original came out on 21 January 1998, and after 20 years, you get to slip into the shoes of Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield and survive your way through the iconic Raccoon City where you have to face against Mr X and William Birkin once again.

Capcom has mentioned that the game is currently available for preorder but it has not reflected on the Malaysian’s PS Store. The game will be officially released on 25 January 2019.

2
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Resident Evil 4 remake is in the works – likely to be out for the Sony PlayStation 5

551

‘Tis
 the season for video game remakes apparently with the modern-refreshes of Resident Evil 3 and Final Fantasy VII both coming out recently – and then there’s also Resident Evil 2 from last year; These are games from the ‘90s that we loved made better with modern-day graphics and game mechanics – the formula is a success!

The developers really driving this remake trend is of course Capcom with their Resident Evil series, and they’re going to continue in this vein with Resident Evil 4 apparently. According to reports, development has just begun and the release date is slated for 2022.

Image credit: WCCF Tech

The original Resident Evil 4 was released in 2005 and was regarded by many to be a masterpiece. This was mostly because it revolutionized the horror genre with its over-the-shoulder mechanics. It was one of the first few games of its generation to do it well – everything from movement to physics felt like it had weight and substance – something games like Gears of War would improve upon later.

Image credit: Frondtech

The modern Resident Evil remakes take a page from the Resident Evil 4 playbook with the same over-the-shoulder mechanic – so it’s interesting to see what the new Resident Evil 4 will bring to the table. Could it once again revolutionize the genre?

If indeed a remake for the game is in the works, it will be one of the most high-anticipated titles to come out for the PlayStation 5, and it would do a lot of good for the upcoming console.

capcom
final fantasy 7
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Respawn Entertainment will be working on a new Star Wars title for EA

343

It wouldn’t be a proper May the Fourth if there isn’t any Star Wars-related news. Well, we’ve got one as Respawn Entertainment have announced that they’ve been working on a new Star Wars game that will be published by EA in the future.

Little to no information was given as to what exactly this Respawn Entertainment-made Star Wars game would be, but Stig Asmussen, a game director at Respawn, has said that the game would be a “third-person action-adventure series” that tells a new story set in the Star Wars universe.

The announcement that Respawn Entertainment is creating a new game isn’t exactly a surprise. The Titanfall developers have been hiring programmers and animators for a “third-person action-adventure” series for the past two years. Indeed, Respawn Entertainment is still looking for people to work on this new Star Wars game.

With E3 fast closing in, we fully expect EA to tease this game during their presentation. As for release date, it is safe to say that we can expect it sometime after Titanfall 2 is released.

Source:
Respawn Blog

ea
lucasarts
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Rest in Peace Satoru Iwata, Nintendo fans will miss you

281

Its a pretty sad day to start the week, as
Nintendo

has officially announced the death of its President Satoru Iwata, he died at the age of 55 and the cause of death is due to bile duct growth, a very rare illness.

Iwata succeeded Hiroshi Yamauchi in 2002 and used to be a programmer at the company’s subsidiary HAL, the man is credited for leading the company’s
Nintendo

DS and Wii consoles to success. While the company’s
Wii
U

console hasn’t seen much success as its predecessor, Iwata has announced new initiatives to
move into mobile gaming
 and a ‘Quality of Life’ program.

For the time being, no successor has been announced to replace Iwata however the company maintains two directors – Genyo Takeda and Shigeru Miyamoto. Deep down in our hearts, we will truly miss the kind and polite late Chief of
Nintendo
, fans will definitely miss the “Ask Iwata” series that will involve Mario and Zelda news from the company. We will miss you, Iwata-san.

death
ds
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Return of Warrior is celebrating the Lunar New Year with special loot, extra gold, and rare treasure chests

388

Return of Warrior, a PC MMORPG, is having a Lunar New Year event where users will have the change to get more gold, special items and B and A Level items, to give a chance to players to level up and upgrade their character faster. The event will go on for 10-days starting from 14 to 23 February 2018.

During the event, players can get up to 10M Gold from all mobs, special items and increased chances for both B and A level items can be acquired from all black markets and the Snowrimp respectively. Finally, there is a chance to find a Rare Treasure Chest that will randomly appear in the world. In addition to that, players that are between the levels of 65 to 85 can take place in the Web Drawing game three times every 24 hours. More details about the event, drop rates and experience increase can be found on their
official website
. Players will have the change to meet the Winter Olympics mascot in the game and may receive a special gift as a commemoration of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games.

If you are checking out the game, it might look familiar to you. That’s because it is actually from the same developer as Risk Your Life which was a huge hit in Malaysia back in the 2000s. So if you want to relive the fun and excitement of Risk Your Life, you can give Return of Warrior a try by downloading the client and signing up for an account
here
.

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Revamped Android Auto is now available with proper widescreen support

6K

It’s time to check for an update on Android Auto on your phone, as Google has begun to roll out the revamped version of its car user interface in conjunction with CES 2023, the new Android Auto now features a similar driver dashboard to Apple’s CarPlay and brings split screen support on portrait and widescreen displays.

The revamped Android Auto UI has since been announced back in I/O, which features a more driver friendly design as you get to see maps navigation and music playback on the same screen, a quick launcher now resides below the screen that gives you faster access to streaming and navigation apps. In addition, Google Assistant now provides smarter suggestions including missed call reminders, quick arrival time sharing and instant access to music or podcasts.

Google has also announced that WhatsApp Calls on Android Auto will soon be made available for the latest Pixel and Samsung phones.

On top of releasing the revamped Android Auto, cars with Google’s Android Automotive Operating System are getting more streaming apps this year as Google has made Tubi and MGM+ available on Google Play, YouTube and more are also expected to arrive at a later time this year, which is great news for owners with such cars to stay entertained while they are inside their cars.

Source:
Google

android auto
CES 2023
google


Review: Kogan Action Camera 3 Silver Edition

413

The Kogan
Action Camera
 3+ Silver Edition is from Australia that available to be purchased at Kogan official e-store for just AUD 155 (Approx RM 441.80). Indirectly it’s a GoPro competitor due to the functionality and the price point almost as half as
GoPro
Hero 4 Silver Edition. Will it be a good alternative
action camera
 if you don’t wish to purchase the GoPros? Let me go into the details on what can this action camera do. Despite the price and design of the Kogan
Action Camera
 3+ Silver Edition, let’s take a dive on the camera’s specs compared to the entry-level GoPro Hero 4 Silver Edition and Xiaomi YiCamera.

Unboxing

On the right of the
action camera
 you are able to plug in your audio in, AV out, and slot in your
microSD card
. There also a push button for you to remove the back screen.

The left side will be a mini USB for you to charge the action camera and a HDMI port to output your footage to the screen.

At the back, there is a 1.5″ display and easier maneuver when want to change settings.

On the top of the Kogan Action Camera 3+ there will be the power button, the screen which indicate your battery life and other information, the recording start button and a shutter button to capture image.

When you first getting the Kogan Action Camera out of its packaging. Certainly, the Action Cam is not as streamlined as the
GoPro
 and YiCamera alternative, even if the weight difference is tiny. However, without a
case
 the Action Camera will weight at 88g without the case. The accessories included a waterproof
case
, an extra cover for the waterproof case, charging/data cable, TFT display screen and manual book. The mounting system is incredibly similar to the GoPro, with the screw-based arraignment on the waterproof housing, which allow you to use with some GoPro accessories. Similar with many other action cameras, the Kogan version is not natively waterproof but Kogan included housing that could withstand depths of up to 100 metres.

Other than that, with a built-in motion sensor on the camera that starts and stop recording automatically, a laser pointer to work out direction the camera is pointing, and a 1.5-inch color screen at the back of the unit. On top of the device will be few buttons that will take care of the most important options: record, stop and still photo taking. Connectivity is provided via mini USB and HDMI, with room for attaching an external microphone.

Picture Quality

Image quality is bearable considering the price. The image is saturated to emphasise blues and greens particularly, which you rarely notice when viewing the video on its own. In bright outdoor situations, there are quite a lot of darkened corners (vignetting) at the edge of the frame. Shooting at 1080i at 60fps will amplify this with added interlacing effect, so the best method is stuck to 1080p at 30fps.

Conclusion, for users that require a budget Action Camera, the Kogan Action Cam 3+ Silver Editions provides the starter kit that you require getting started. But if you require best image and video quality you might want to consider Xiaomi YiCamera or maybe
GoPro
.


Review: Kogan Agora 4G+ Pro

422

Kogan, an Australia company partner with BenQ to bring one of the best budget 4G phones out in the market now. Will this phone be a deal-breaker for the Australian market? The Kogan Agora 4G+ pro is based on BenQ F5 LTE, and this phone is a hit to worldwide market because the pricing is very affordable and you are also able to retain LTE functionality. BenQ might be famous for PC monitors in the gaming and consumer market, but can their phone be able to perform as well as their monitor?

Design

The phone might look cheap, but it has an elegant white essence on the phone which looks quite similar with the white monitor BenQ have. Besides that, the phone has a 5-inch screen with 1280 x 720 resolution, which look slightly larger for a small phone size like this and it contain as 294 pixel-per-inch which has slightly lower compared to
Apple iPhone 5s
 retina grade with only 326 pixels-per-inch.

The front-facing speaker grill actually looks nice and you are able to get a full white accent on it and there isn’t any capacitive button at the front. You will need to stick with some kind of touch screen on it, this actually doesn’t annoy me at all because I wouldn’t need to miss click on the capacitive button. The volume rocket located in the ideal place – the right side of the phone and a weird position for the power button which located at the top with a headphone jack.

At the rear has a camera contain
13MP
 camera with flash on it and a removable back cover, but no removable battery which is kind of sad. However, at least include a microSD slot for you to expand your storage from the existing 16GB storage capacity. It’s a weird place to put your speaker slightly bottom of the phone, because this actually doesn’t allow you to enjoy the full enjoyment of the speaker because of the limited sound output potential.

Software & User Experience

You will not receive a stock ROM like the original BenQ F5, but instead you will get a vanilla Android based on KitKat. You will also receive a 4G connectivity that basically can be used in most of the countries. There are a few modifications that have been made to the OS by BenQ to achieve a near-stock feel and in a nutshell, it means it’s been added by bits of chocolate for good measures.

With two fingers, you are able to pull down the quick settings that you can customize according to your taste. Surprisingly, they included gesture in ease usage – Double tap the screen to wake up and flip to silence to mute an incoming call. Since this is a BenQ phone and there will be features called – Low Blue Light, which can reduce the constraint on your eyes for long usage period. Overall, the software doesn’t really bother me much on negativity feedback on this phone, due to its vanilla operating system which doesn’t add bloatware to the system and kudos for BenQ making this happen.

In addition, there is a
13MP
 camera for capturing memories and other stuff during the usage of the phone. However, if you view photos in their native resolution and you’ll get a lot of noises when low-light occur.

Benchmark, Battery Life, and Network Quality

Despite it’s a budget-oriented phone, the Kogan Agora 4G+ is using a
Qualcomm Snapdragon 400
 chip and receive a certain level of performance with 2GB of RAM. Was shocked on the performance on this device, everything run smoothly despite the entry-level processor. Unlike on certain devices, Hearthstone: Heroes of the Warcraft didn’t suffer much lag or heat up like an Intel Atom processor. Thumbs up for the company to keep using Snapdragon 400 chip and shows a significant improvement in gaming and battery life too.

I was completely surprised with the battery life that this smartphone have, it can last for a day even I played a game or even always on social media and remember this phone is running on 4G LTE too. The phone has a very nice screen with near perfect brightness despite the viewing angle and the feeling of holding this phone isn’t that bad either when you try to play games.

Verdict

The Agora 4G+ is the best budget smartphone that released by Kogan yet and you will get a more refined quality than its predecessors in spite of being loaded in plastic. Despite the low costing on the phone, it contains top-tier features, such as a large screen with 4G internet and cost below AUD 300, this will be a big winning point to have this phone. The camera on the phone didn’t disappoint me much for taking portraits and scenery pictures, you still able to take some nice picture with it but not with an extremely low light condition.

Nevertheless, this phone was superb for its performance per price and retain the beauty of a smartphone. Although, this isn’t the best phone that available out in the market and there isn’t any doubt this is the best budget phone you can get.

You are also able to purchase from Kogan official website over
here
.

4g
aggor
android
australia
benq
f5
kogan
lollipop
lte


Review: ZOTAC GeForce GTX 950 AMP! Edition

368

NVIDIA released NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 recently then immediately it become the new entry-mainstream graphics card priced at USD 160. Sub USD 200 price has always been a problematic area for NVIDIA because of price-performance comparisons to AMD, especially if you compare it with the latest AMD Radeon R7 370. Therefore, this newly released graphics card features a solid plus cost effective price point because it uses the same foundation in the 28 nm GM206 silicon on which the GTX 960 is also based.

The chip on this card might be tiny but when the graphics card is compared to R7 370, it has a narrower 128-bit memory bus just for memory chips on the card. NVIDIA improvised the card by increasing the effectiveness on the bandwidth. Luckily, NVIDIA sent us a sample of GTX 950 graphics card from ZOTAC – GTX 950 AMP! Edition and it comes with the company’s signature cooling solution featuring a full-metal, dual-slot, dual-fan cooling solution and a back plate.

Specifications

Overview

The ZOTAC GeForce GTX 950 AMP! Edition 2 GB features a dual fan design with dual heatsink to cool down the Maxwell chip. Besides that, the overall product looks sturdy and solid compared to its competitor out in the market.

At the back of the graphics card is a sexy backplate that most of the manufacturers tend to ignore because it might add cost to the production.

Comparing it to the previous generation of GTX 750 which doesn’t require any power connectors, the new GTX 950 requires a 6-pin power to run the card, which isn’t too bad because now you will have better performance with extra power in the card.

Test Rig Configuration

Test Rig Configuration

CPU Cooler

Cooler Master Nepton 280L

CPU

Intel Core i7 4790K

Motherboard

ASUS Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1

Memory

HyperX Fury @1866MHz

Primary Hard Drive

LiteOn S900 240GB

Power Supply

Cooler Master G750M

Chassis

Cooler Master Test Bench V1.0

Games Benchmark on 1080p

All benchmarks was done on maximum settings without anti-aliasing because anti-aliasing can kill the performance on the card easily. Therefore, we ran all gaming and synthetic benchmarks without turning on anti-aliasing. Even though the card is running at its stock clock speed, we’re already seeing a pretty decent score from the GTX 950, which is placed on the budget-oriented graphics card line.

Synthetic Benchmark

Comparing apple to apple, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 blew away its competitor, AMD R7 370 with a huge margin in synthetic benchmark with better optimization.

Overclocking

The Fire Strike score without overclocking the GTX 950.

After 80MHz and 380 MHz boost to the GPU clock and memory clock, we’re able to gain an additional 456 points to the score.

gtx950
klgg
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Revised Google Glass spotted on the FCC website

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The first Google Glass was an interesting concept, but it didn’t manage to catch on. Now though, a second version of the Google Glass has appeared on the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) website and it seems to have some rather interesting design choices this time.

At first glance, this new Google Glass, which is being dubbed as the “Enterprise Edition”, looks roughly the same as the original. However, unlike the original, the Enterprise Edition is foldable, much like a pair of regular glasses. The Glass prism also seems to be longer than the original.

Other interesting features of the Enterprise Edition is the charging port. Featuring a set of pogo pins with large circles that we assume are magnets on either side of the contacts, it looks like the Google Glass has taken pointers from Apple’s MagSafe connector.

A user manual is available on the FCC’s website with various interesting information on the Google Glass. According to the manual, the power button is now located on the back of the device and there is now a camera light on the front of the device. The manual also states that the Glass is capable of supporting 5GHz Wi-Fi.

For hardware, the new Google Glass will come with an Intel Atom processor as well as some other upgraded internal. It will also support an external battery pack.

If the Enterprise Edition looks like something you’d like to own, you might be disappointed to know that this pair of Google Glass will be aimed at business, being sold only through the “Glass for Work”program.

Source :
9to5 Google
,
Federal Communication Commission

enterpriseedition
googleglass


Revisiting the iQOO Z7 in Supernova Orange

7.1K

iQOO may have just made presence in the Malaysian market not too long ago, but it has certainly delivered compelling value to Malaysian customers in a short period of time, starting with the flagship iQOO 11, the nation’s first Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 powered smartphone at that time, and more recently, the iQOO Z7, which is the unarguably the most value for money mid-range gaming phone with superfast 120W FlashCharge available in an attractive Supernova Orange color.

There’s no denying that we are presented with so many choices of smartphones today, but one thing for sure is that the iQOO Z7 Supernova Orange is one of the more outstanding phones we have seen till today, the Supernova Orange color features a head-turning premium and stylish orange stripe design that’s rarely seen on smartphones, complete with a premium orange color frame, it really makes a fashion statement when you take it out of your pockets.

In addition, the iQOO Z7 has many practical features that you don’t usually find on similar priced phones these days, such as a 3.5mm headphone jack for wired audio, an IR blaster for controlling home appliances, a reliable side mounted fingerprint reader, a 6.64-inch Full HD+ IPS display that offers a buttery smooth 120Hz refresh rate, and dual stereo speakers for a great music listening and movie watching session.

Having revisited the iQOO Z7 for the past two weeks, the one thing it has continued to keep me impressed is the performance, the phone is powered by the Snapdragon 782G processor paired with 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage, though on paper it is far from being a flagship smartphone, it doesn’t slow down at all in a busy workday when I am constantly switching between apps.

When it comes to gaming, the iQOO Z7 is more than capable of delivering a smooth and reliable gameplay, all thanks to its large vapor cooling chamber which allows its performance to remain consistent by dissipating heat efficiently out of the phone’s body, the Snapdragon 782G can deliver smooth 60 fps gameplay on graphics heavy titles such as Honkai: Star Rail, Genshin Impact and PUBG Mobile.

Although the iQOO Z7 features a 5000mAh battery like many similar class phones, what’s different here is the dual cell battery design, which allows the battery to be charged faster more efficiently and the only phone within the same price range to support 120W FlashCharge, it gets you from 0-100% in 26 minutes and a quick 5 minute charge would have easily gotten you 50% of charge if you fully deplete the battery.

Most mid-range gaming phones tend to neglect their camera’s image quality, with brands usually claiming that most gamers don’t really care about cameras on their phones. Thankfully, the iQOO Z7 is equipped with a very capable 64-megapixel main camera with OIS, assisted by a secondary 2-megapixel depth camera, the main camera will take clear photos even in low light conditions when you have shaky hands, while the iQOO Z7’s powerful processor allows it to take videos up to 4K resolution at 30 fps.

iQOO Z7 Camera Samples

1
 of
9

At RM1,499, the iQOO Z7 Supernova Orange retails the same price as other color variants and goes on sale starting 28
th
 August 2023 onwards.

Want to get hands on with the iQOO Z7 Supernova Orange? You can get up close with the iQOO Z7 Supernova Orange at the iQOO Experience Day that’s happening on 11AM-2PM, 2
nd
 September 2023 at the vivo Concept Store, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, customers purchasing the phone on the spot will stand a chance to win lucky draw prizes worth up to RM15,000, including a brand new iQOO Z7, Touch ‘n Go eWallet credits, wireless earbuds and more.

On top of that, mega famous cosplayer Le Josette will be joining the event, so make sure you head there to have some fun.

Visit
here
 to purchase the iQOO Z7 Supernova Orange.

iqoo malaysia
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iqoo z7 review


How to: Reviving Your Classic iPod with Flash Memory and New Battery

329

Let’s face it, Apple’s iPod is the pinnacle of personal audio devices and definitely a classic icon. When it comes to the design, nothing beats the elegant, sleek design and that timeless click wheel in the centre of the iPod. But if you are considering to improve user experience of your classic iPod, this article will tell you exactly what you need to do.

All you need is your iPod (a fifth-generation iPod Video works best), an iFlash adapter (which houses your SD cards, Compact Flash drives, and connects where your old hard drive used to go), some flash memory, a new battery, and an opening tool to pry open your device.

Then, the next steps will just be as simple as cracking open the iPod, removing the power and headphone cables, swapping the battery, swapping the hard driver, reattaching all the wirings and voila! Your iPod will be as good as new after a quick restore session on iTunes.

If it’s still a little too confusing on your end, do try to check out the following video, which starts around the 18:05 mark. Enjoy!

apple
battery
flash memory
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iPod Video


The revolutionary iPhone X does not have a fingerprint sensor

360

It is no wonder that Apple’s introduction of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are underwhelming at best. The iPhone X is Apple’s first revolution in design for a very long time now, marking a new era for the company moving forward. The phone is definitely a league above Apple’s current iPhones and a step up from the iPhone 8 series as well.

Apple definitely took things up a notch with the iPhone X, beginning with its design. The phone sports a all glass design with an edge to edge display on the front. The display is known as the Super Retina display, which measures at 5.8-inches with a resolution of 2436 x 1125. One other thing to note is that the display the first ever OLED screen on an iPhone. The handset is IP67 water and dust resistant like the iPhone 8 series and the iPhone 7 series. Underneath the hood sits the same A11 Bionic processor as the iPhone 8 series, 70 percent faster than the A10 Fusion chip and a new Apple designed GPU which has 30 percent faster graphics performance.

One other significant change is that Apple has forgone the home button which doubles as a fingerprint sensor on the iPhone X. Instead of Touch ID, the iPhone X will rely solely on Apple’s new facial recognition technology known as Face ID. Face ID is made possible with the iPhone X’s TrueDepth camera system. The system consists of a dot projector, infrared camera and a flood illuminator, which in combination produces an extremely secure facial recognition technology for authentication. Face ID will even work even if the user changes his or her appearance, for example wearing a hat, glasses or a change in hairstyle. Face ID has also been designed to reject spoofs such as 3D masks or pictures of people.

Speaking of the TrueDepth camera, it is also capable of producing more impressive selfie images. The 7MP front facing shooter now enables capturing in Portrait mode for more high quality selfies with bokeh and blurred background effects. The dual rear camera setup of the iPhone X is similar to that of the iPhone 8 Plus, but in vertical orientation instead of horizontal. The setup is made up of a f/1.8 wide angle sensor and an f/2.4 telephoto sensor. The dual optical image stabilization on the camera setup is definitely a welcome upgrade. Coupled with Apple’s more advanced and improved image signal processor, the cameras will feature faster autofocus, wider color capture and better lowlight shots. Like the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus 8, these cameras will also feature 4K videos at 60 fps and 1080p slow mo videos at 240 fps.

The TrueDepth camera will also change the way emojis work. Apple has brought emojis to life with Animoji, which detects and analyzes more than 50 facial muscle movements of the user and animates them through Animoji. The usage of Animoji will be available on Apple’s iMessage app. Users will be able to record Animoji messages with facial expressions to be sent to their friends.

The iPhone X will of course support Qi standard wireless charging as well. Apple also gave us a glimpse of AirPower, a wireless charging pad which can charge three devices at the same time. The AirPower will be made available in 2018.

The iPhone X is priced starting at $999 and will be made available to order on October 27. The phone is available in both Silver and Space Gray colors with 64GB or 256GB storage variants.

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Revving and Revolutionising Restaurant Operations with Cuscapi’s REV

369

As time goes on, smartphones and
tablet
s have become part of our lives and they have brought friends and family closer with the power of apps and modern connectivity. Cuscapi Berhad, a company famous for its restaurant Point-of-Sales system has recently made a huge hit in Singapore for its REV
tablet

ordering system and the company is set to make food ordering more trendy in restaurants, which is something for geeks like us to check out other than Instagramming food porns.

REV is both a hardware and software solution, the device itself runs on a customised version of Android in which the company runs its app on, while this allows diners to be able to browse the restaurant’s menu interactively without having bulky food menus on the table, the REV
tablet

and software will be able to ease operations and it is also designed with the tech illiterate users in mind as it features a really cute Avatar to guide first time users on using the system and till the extent of handling payments on the device itself.

The company has recently made its first deployment milestone in Singapore with six Ministry of Food outlets and six more to go by Q3 this year. Following this success, we should expect the local company to sell its new
tablet
 ordering system solutions to local FnB players soon, because local dining industries are seriously requiring such tech to improve dining experiences.

(Image Credit: BigBoysOven, GadgetsMagazine PH)

cuscapi
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Rhapsody to undergo restructure; renames itself as Napster

568

In 2011, Rhapsody bought the peer-2-peer turned music subscription service called Napster.  Today, Rhapsody is announcing that the company as a whole will be undergoing a restructure, and from this point forward, Rhapsody will officially be switching its name over to Napster.

According to
Billboard
, this restructuring would see Rhapsody streamlining the company’s structure, which means that layoffs will be occuring across its global officers. There are further rumours that Rhapsody will be closing down its San Francisco office, but Rhapsody has yet to confirm that such is a case.

If you are currently subscribed to Rhapsody, you need not worry as this name change would not affect the music streaming service outside of a change in the name and logos inside its apps.

“The difficult actions we are taking now will create operational efficiency and position Rhapsody/Napster for growth while further expanding our global partnerships, which last year contributed to a 35% increase in paid subscribers. We’re proud of the product innovations we’ve introduced that connecct music fans with each other to discover new music they love, and look forward to continuing to create experiences and partnerships that increase the amount of music people emotionally connect and listen to around the world,” says Mike Davis, CEO of Rhapsody.

Source:
Rhapsody
,
Billboard

napster
rhapsody


Ringly introduces a “smart ring” for your smartphone

319

Smart wearables are finally getting on to jewelry this time. Ringly, a new startup has introduced a smart ring for busy woman who tends to forget about their smartphones, if you have been always missing a notification or misplacing your smartphone, Ringly’s smart ring can probably make you more attentive to your smartphone. The ring looks pretty much like a fashioned ring, and seriously, it looked more like a man’s ring! The smart ring is able to do things like most wearables do, which includes notifying incoming calls, received messages and more.

Ringly’s smart ring will pair with your smartphone via Bluetooth LE and the app will be available for Android and iOS upon its initial launch, you can use the app to change the ring’s vibrating patterns and light color. The smart ring will last 3 days on a single charge, which feels really impressive on how this people can actually fit a battery into such a tiny device. Ringly doesn’t compromise the build quality of the ring as well, despite looking like a techy ring, the ring is made with 18 karat gold with semi precious stones available in black onyx, emerald, pink sapphire and rainbow moonstone.

Ringly co-founder and CEO Christina Mercando said, “Our goal is to create products that are both stylish and useful, that women will be proud to wear. We believe that the future of wearables is in building discreet technology that integrates seamlessly into your life and makes your day-to-day easier. The more I use my Ringly, the more it’s like a personal assistant telling me what to do – plus there’s something so fun about having my jewelry talk to me!”

If you can’t wait to get your hands on this techy jewelry, Ringly is running its presales campaign today with an early bird pricing at USD$149 with sizes of 6, 7 and 8 available.

We think its pretty cheap for a smart jewelry made with premium materials like this and you should really get one if you don’t want to wear a geeky smartwatch on your wrist as a woman, it looks cool when you have a ring that glows and makes your finger vibrates when you have a notification. Who knows you get to summon Captain Planet with that ring? Fingers crossed.

Source:
Ringly

Via:
9to5Mac


Rise of the Tomb Raider on macOS now supports eGPU

459

If we were to one AAA title that’s available to play on macOS, that would be the Tomb Raider series which is all thanks to publisher Feral Interactive, who has been responsible for porting PC games to Mac and Linux, the company has today announced that Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration on Mac will support eGPUs, which means you can finally take advantage of that additional graphics power to experience better graphics and performance, if you ever want to play that game on your Mac.

While you should technically get better gaming performance when using an eGPU, you should also be aware that performance can also be limited by the power of your Mac’s CPU. There are already several eGPUs in the market that support Macs right now, including the most recent Razer Core X, and while Apple highly advises that users only pair the eGPU with AMD Radeon cards, some users have reported successful results of using NVIDIA GPUs, you will also need to be on at macOS 10.13.4 or later to support eGPUs.

For more support info of eGPUs on the Mac, check out Apple’s support page
here
.

apple
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Rising Thunder – Epic brawl fighting between robots is here

428

Searching for a new fighting game but did not want to pay for it? Radiant recently announce the release of alpha test for the upcoming epic fighting game between robots in an epic one-on-one brawl – Rising Thunder. However, surprisingly this game is built from the ground up to be played online. Rising Thunder is developed by Unreal Engine that make the game looks great and it appears you don’t require a high-end graphics card to play this game.

What make Rising Thunder special is because the game doesn’t require you to do combos like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Guilty Gear and etc. Therefore, they include three special moves that you can execute by the press of a key, which includes a quick, medium, and strong attack. After you use the moves it will go into a cool down period and during that period they require to think of another way to attack with either normal attack, throw, or super attack.

The game have 6 different characters at the moment, each of the class has their own special ability that you need to figure out which suit you the most. Besides that, you can change your special skill in loadout before the game start or during the interval between rounds. Each game will take at least four rounds for two games, two rounds each.

Since this game is just under Technical Alpha and the main issue I face is the ping is over 150 ms at the minimum point. For those interested in applying for the Rising Thunder Technical Alpha, you can click over
here
and wait for the email from Radiant.


RM0.50 for every MyDebit Cash Out transaction starting 1 July 2022

11.7K

It looks like the days of paying for food and shopping with a Malaysian debit card might get a little expensive
, Several banks in Malaysia have issued a notice to inform customers that every transactions made using MyDebit Cash Out will be charged RM0.50, no specific reason has been given for this change.

MyDebit Cash Out is a facility provided by PayNet, the service provider for MyDebit, which allows you to withdraw cash at selected merchants and partners to make payments for goods and services
by deducting the balance of your savings account directly when you use your debit card issued by a Malaysian bank
. Just in case you aren’t aware, PayNet is also the provider of DirectDebit, DuitNow, FPX, Interbank GIRO, and JomPAY, which are also instant cash transfer services that doesn’t incur transaction fees.

At this time of writing, Malaysia banks such as Alliance, CIMB, HSBC, Bank Islam, OCBC and Standard Chartered have already issued the notice on their respective websites.
Until two weeks later, there will be no transaction charges when using your debit card at payment terminals for now.

UPDATE: This article has been updated to reflect the accuracy of MyDebit Cash Out facility, any misinformation is deeply regretted.

Source:
 Rnggt.com
, via
Lowyat.net

debit card
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RM100 digital vouchers for local tourism set to be distributed to every Malaysian

331

In an effort to reinvigorate the local economy, interim prime minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad introduced the 2020 stimulus package which will see monetary incentives being injected into different sectors of our industry.

One of which is the local tourism arena – here, each person will get a RM100 digital voucher for domestic flights, trains, and hotel accommodations to encourage Malaysians to travel locally. The aim here is to offset some of the damage done by the COVID-19 outbreak has cut short the any influx of foreign tourists.

Another travel-related incentive is an income tax relief of up to RM1,000 on spending in the domestic tourism sector.

There are other incentives too for business owners within the industry, but we’re not going to get into too much detail on that.

So, if you’re in need of a short staycation somewhere, why not get it sorted locally and boost our economy at the same time?

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Robi, the build-it-yourself robot, is now available in Malaysia

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Have you ever dreamt of having a robot of your own? Well, you might be interested to know that Robi, a build-it-yourself robot by DeAgostini, is now available for puchase in Malaysia. Robi is a fusion of sophisticated design and advanced Japanese technology that was designed to provide interactive bonding experiences for the entire family. Providing an in-depth understanding of how Robi works, an educational magazine along with instructions and model parts, can be collected over the course of 70 issues, or ordered online. Families and robotics enthusiasts can look forward to assembling Robi with their own hands.

Created by Professor Tomotaka Takahashi, Robi is a humanoid robot that is capable of communicating and interacting with humans in a wide variety of ways like talking, singing, dancing, and even controlling selected household appliances. The robot has an vocabulary of over 250 phrases, and the Malaysian version of Robi is specially designed to recognized English, Malay and Mandarin Chinese languages. Best of all, Robi is also capable of speaking some Manglish phrases.

“We are very happy to be bringing Robi to Malaysia. Ever since its launch, it has been very well received and has received a lot of positive feedback. Today, there are a total of 130,000 assembled Robi robots worldwide, making it the world’s best-selling multilingual humanoid robot,” says Hajime ‘Jimmy’ Murano, Chief Executive Officer of DeAgostini Japan.

For those interested in Robi, the robot will be available for purchase at retailers such as 7 Eleven, Borders, Cold Storage, Kinokuniya, MPH Bookstores, myNEWS.com, POPULAR, RadioShack, Times and more. The first issue of Robi is now available at a special rate of RM24.90 and will then retail at RM74.90 per issue excluding:

Issue 43 (CPU): RM137.0
Issue 62 (Physical sensor): RM99.0
Issue 63 (Physical sensor): RM99.0
Issue 67 (Speech recognition board): RM137.0

Adding up the cost of all the issues, Robi will eventually cost RM5,290.50 to built, we are not sure how this is going to work out in the market here, as this is a rather expensive companion to own. For more information, head on over to
https://www.deagostini.my/Robi/

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