Activision unveils a Destiny 2 Ghost Alexa skill that can manage your character with your voice

490

If you are a die-hard Destiny 2 fan then you will be excited to know that Activision has teamed up with Amazon to release a Ghost Alexa skill, Ghost being the AI companion in the game that helps you out in activities and oddly enough, acts as the voice for your character.

As an added feature, you will be able to ask Alexa to as the Ghost to equip loadouts, scout levels and join a clan. If you want more from it, you can also pre-order a $90 Ghost replica speaker that will sync with an Amazon Echo device to carry out your voice commands. The voice that will reply you will actually be from Nolan North, the voice actor of the Ghost in the game, and it has over a thousand custom responses.

If you want the Ghost speaker, it will start shipping on December 19 but will only be available for three hours, and the Alexa Skill is out now. Definitely, a must get for casual fans that want more from the game or hardcore players that need to swap loadouts while in the middle of a battle.

activision
alexa
amazon
destiny 2
ghost
speaker


Ad-Supported Apps will be labelled by Google Play

391

Google Play has been previously labelling applications which has in-app purchases, being pretty useful to dodge “freemium” apps. Coming 2016, it will be more clearer for advertisements. According to Droid Life, developers has been notified by Mountain View stating that they are required to sign into their consoles to declare the presence of advertisements in their applications.

Failure to do so could cause the application or developer to face suspension. The “ad-supported” tag has been originally launched by Google last April for its kid-friendly Play Store, being designed for families program. Now, developers have a deadline at January 11, 2016 to tag their apps appropriately, with the label itself to start showing up in the regular Play Store early next year.

SOURCE:
Engadget

adssupport
androidapps
antiads
flagged
google
googleapps
googleplay


Adam Boyes announces that he has resigned from Sony

317

Adam Boyes is a name that many PlayStation fans would recognize. From announcing indie titles at E3, to making a cheeky video that pokes fun at Microsoft’s Xbox One, Boyes has been a key player for Sony’s PlayStation division ever since the man became the PlayStation brand’s Vice President of Publisher & Developer Relations. However, this is no longer the case, as Boyes has announced that he has resigned from Sony.

After an incredible journey here at PlayStation, I’ve made the very hard decision to return to the world of game development!

— Adam Boyes (@amboyes)
July 8, 2016

@iamironwolf
 Nope, going to make games again on the independent side

— Adam Boyes (@amboyes)
July 8, 2016

In a post made on Twitter, Boyes states that he will be going back to the games development market as an indie developer. Seeing as Boyes was rather instrumental in introducing various indie games to the PlayStation Store, Boyes decision to return to indie development is rather understandable.

Before joining Sony, Boyes has worked with numerous game publishers, including the now defunct Midway, Capcom and Electronic Arts. Boyes also founded his own company, Beefy Media, in 2010. Of course, Boyes’ finest hour (in my own opinion) would have to be the instructional video on how one can share games on the PlayStation 4. Whatever the case, we wish Boyes good luck on his future endeavours.

Source:
Polygon
,
VentureBeat

adamboyes
games
indie
playstation
sony


ADATA released new M.2 SATA SSD – Premier SP600NS34

362

ADATA technology is one of the leading manufacturers of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash product announced the Premier SP600NS34 M.2 2242 SATA 6 Gb/s SSD for Ultrabooks and desktop PCs. It offers slimmer, faster, and power-saving with multiple functions to enhance efficiencies, such as DEVSLP, BCH ECC Technology, and Intel Smart Response Technology.

Its measure of only 22 x 42 x 3.5mm and it is one of the smallest SSD form factors that available in the market. Without sacrificing performance despite the compact size of the SSD, it offers sequential read speed of SP600NS34 is up to 550 MB/s, and the maximum 4K random read/write performance is up to 75K/77K IOPS. Besides that, it also supports DEVSLP (Device Sleep) technology, helping to consume less power than traditional idle and prolonging the battery life at the same time.

In order to improve the efficiency of data transfer, the SSD now supports Intel Smart Response Technology, which automatically ascertains the most frequently used data and applications, increasing the data transfer rate. In addition, it’s equipped with a DDR3 DRAM Cache Buffer to improve the random read/write performance up to 2 times when compared to SSDs without a DRAM cache. The Premier SP600NS34 is awarded with excellent reliability and data protection because it is able to support BCH ECC (Error Correction Code) and it comes with a free software – SSD Toolbox that can help users quickly and conveniently configure, optimize, and monitor the overall health of their SSD.

adata
hardware
m2
msata
ssd


ADATA Releases ISSS332 Industrial 2.5-inch Solid State Drive

582

ADATA Technology released an industrial-grade ISSS332 2.5-inch SATA III (6Gb/s) solid state drive. Available in SLC and MLC NAND Flash types that withstand a wide temperature range, the ISSS332 provides excellent performance and durability for a broad spectrum of industrial equipment applications. The SSD utilizes fast SLC and MLC NAND Flash, with outstanding performance and reliability with sequential read/write speeds up to 560MB/450MB per second and an MTBF (mean time before failure) rating of 2 million hours. Thanks to an industrial-grade operational temperature range of -40’c to 90’c, the ISSS332 enables long-term deployment in harsh environments that experience extreme cold and heat.

These include industrial computing, embedded applications, advanced technologies, including S.M.A.R.T (self-monitoring and reporting technology), NCQ, and TRIM command for high-reliability data transfer. It features wear leveling technology for extended storage longevity and you can download the free value-added ADATA SSD Toolbox software suite, which helps you monitor and manage the SSD, with vital drive status, wear level, and lifespan information. Its SLC version is available in 8GB to 256GB
capacities,
 while the
higher-density
 MLC version is offered in 16GB to 1TB capacities.

adata
mlc
nandslcsolidstatedrive
ssd
trim


ADATA Releases the HD 720 Rugged External Hard Drive

347

ADATA Technology is one of the world’s leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND flash product is announcing the
HD
720

ruggedized USD 3.0 external hard drive. The
HD
720

has a sporty design and crafted for travellers or users that require the most durable portable storage. The external hard disk will compile with strict IEC/EN 60529 IP68 specifications and requirements, which will give you complete dust tight protection for stable and long-lasting operation.

The company has also designed the
HD
720

to surpass the existing MIL-STD-810G 516.6 drop test which the drive can easily survive sudden and violent crashes from the drop as high as 1.8m ;whereas the standard sets a 1.2m drop height. Besides that, you are also able to dip the drive into the water at a depth of up to 2m and it will still able to survive for at least 120 minutes of submersion.

In addition, the
HD 720

external drives are offered in capacities of up to 2 TB, thus users get ample storage for photos, video, music, documents, and more. Other than that, the
HD
720

uses smart cable management that makes the wire to tucking safely into a wraparound groove for pack-and-go convenience (similar to Silicon Power Armor A30).

adata
hd720
usb30


ADATA Releases the HM900 Ultra HD External Hard Drive

334

The HM900 external hard drive is made from ADATA technology and it’s available up to 6TB capacity. The hard drive offers convenient content backup, playback, and management, contained in a highly durable product. TurboHDD technology maximizes USB 3.0 bandwidth for fast data transfers while 256-bit AES encryption ensures robust security. In a time where large Ultra HD video and high bitrate audio are increasingly popular, spacious media-focused external drives such as the HM900 are a-must for entertainment enthusiasts.

In the other hand, ADATA offers the self-powered HM900 in 2TB, 3TB, 4TB, and 6TB to suit different budgets and needs. All provide ample room for large multimedia files and virtually every other type of content such as documents and photos. Users now can playback a previously recorded sports event while recording a favorite TV show in the background. This device supports scheduled backup, auto backup, and multiple-device content sync.

The external hard drive also has an embedded sensor to protect data against corruption in the event of the drive sustaining a shock due to sudden movement or a fall, which trigger a stop on the needle inside the hard drive to safeguard data. Then, users will be indicated via clear LED indicators. Leveraging USB 3.0 throughput to its fullest, the HM900 moves larger multimedia content rapidly with TurboHDD acceleration built-in.

SOURCE:
Guru3D

adata
filestorage
harddrive
hdd
mediastorage
storagesystems
usb3


ADATA Releases the Premier SP550 SATA 6Gb/s SSD

247

ADATA technology is one of the world’s leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND flash products proud to announces the Premier SP550 SSD, which uses triple-level cell (TLC) architecture to offer an affordable SSD without compromising performance. The Premier SP 550 will be the first ADATA drive to include the silicon motion (SMI) SM 2256 controller that uses NANDXtend technology to help ADATA implement SSD technologies such as data protection, stability and reliability.

The Premier SP 550 uses TLC flash and the latest SMI controller as a great upgrade solution with a superior cost-performance ratio. The SSDs features outstanding durability, as indicated by higher total bytes written (TBW) ratings that has the number of times a drive can write a specified capacity in one lifespan. Besides that, the Premier SP550 has SLC caching for faster read/write performance when needed.

In addition, the SSD has low-density parity check error correction or LDPC ECC, data errors are minimized and SSD life is extended. There will be smart data shaping that allow users to maintain consistent operation and prevents NAND flash wear by evenly distributing drive loads while a RAID engine boosts data reliability. The company also include a bundled software that enables quick data migration to new systems; Acronis True Image HD and they also has ADATA Toolbox software includes utilities to monitor and manage the SSD, with drive status, wear level, and lifespan info.

The price and availability apparently haven’t unveiled at the moment, we will updates the latest news as soon as we got the latest news.

adata
pcmasterrace
premier
sm2256
sp550
ssd


Adblock Fast for Samsung browsers removed from Play Store

346

A couple of days ago, Samsung made an announcement about an
adblocking API
 which is supported by its own native browser. Adblock Fast will work alongside the stock browser to block and filter out annoying ads from website. However, Google has since removed the dedicated extension which apparently has violated the Developer Distribution Agreement.

Since Adblock Fast was launched, it had approximately 50,000 downloads and is moving up the ranks. Since it was removed, the developer of Adblock Fast’s company Rocketship Apps has received a letter from Google, citing the violation of Section 4.4 of the Developer Distribution Agreement. The section states:

4.4 Prohibited Actions. You agree that you will not engage in any activity with the Store, including the development or distribution of Products, that interferes with, disrupts, damages, or accesses in an unauthorized manner the devices, servers, networks, or other properties or services of any third party including, but not limited to, Android users, Google or any mobile network operator. You may not use customer information obtained from the Store to sell or distribute Products outside of the Store.

In other words, app developers are not allowed to build apps which interfere with other installed apps. This is not the first time Google is pulling the plug on ad-blocking apps. However, Rocketship Apps claims that the removed app extension has not been monitored by Google just yet.

One thing to note is Adblock Fast isn’t the only adblocking app available on the Play Store, hence it is unclear as to why Google has pulleed the plug on them. Nevertheless, the app developers are awaiting some reasoning by Google.

Source:
Venture Beat
 ,
The Next Web

adblock
fast
google
internet
playstore
plugin
samsung


Adblock Plus manages to circumvent Facebook's ad blocking restrictions

278

Two days ago, Facebook rolled out unblockable ads. Today, Adblock Plus is reporting that they’ve managed to create a workaround to counter this ad-blocker proof format.

Adblock Plus’ method of defeating Facebook’s own blocker-proof ads requires the extension to identify the non-standard indicators that Facebook is using to host ads. While a fully updated version of Adblock Plus would be able to block ads in Facebook’s sidebar and News Feed, Facebook has stated that the Adblock Plus’ attempt at blocking their ads may be flawed. For one, using Adblock Plus may also come with a side effect of blocking regular posts from friends and pages as well.

It probably isn’t too much of a stretch to say that Facebook is currently looking at ways to subvert ad blockers, and the creators of Adblock Plus are likely aware of that. Adblock Plus’ Ben Williams acknowledges that, stating that the battle between the open-source ad-blocking community and circumventers have been “going on since ad blocking was invented.” “If that happens, the ad-blocking community will likely find another workaround, then Facebook might circumvent it again,” wrote Williams in a blog post.

Source:
The Verge
,
Adblock Plus

adblockplus
advertisments
facebook


Add music into your InstaStories with SoundCloud

372

Have you ever come across a situation where you really want your friends to know how you feel but you just couldn’t find the right picture or video to express your feelings? Now you can share music directly into your Instagram stories from SoundCloud with just a couple of taps on the app.

Discover new music and share it with the world via Instagram Stories 📲
pic.twitter.com/mmdRgYB5Gx

— SoundCloud (@SoundCloud)
October 23, 2018

Sharing music with your fellow followers have never been so easy! All you need to do is go onto SoundCloud menu, tap “Share” and choose “Share to Instagram Stories”. When your followers are scrolling through their InstaStory and come across your shared track, all they have to do is tap on “Play on SoundCloud” and they’ll be redirected to the SoundCloud app and enjoy the track that you’ve shared.

If you happen to be some who writes, create, and record your own song, this sharing method is making it more easier for you to share and promote your own music to your followers on Instagram and get feedback even faster as Instagram is one of the most active social media platforms there is out there.

There are other media platforms that are doing the same, but most of the sharing could only be done with the songs or tracks provided in their database. The new SoundCloud integration brings more flexibility to your music sharing options, and best of all there is no license necessary. The feature is available now through the most recent releases of the SoundCloud and Instagram app for iOS and Android.

instagram
soundcloud
SoundCloud Instagram


Adobe Flash Player security update released, addressing critical vulnerabilities

308

Flash is still widely used with many in the midst of making the switch to HTML5. Google has also chipped in to ensure that Flash technology hits the museum as soon as possible, announcing that the Google Display Network and DoubleClick Digital Marketing will completely go HTML5. Apart from that, it seems that Flash is bringing more trouble, as Adobe has released yet another emergency security update to fix certain critical flaws related to ransomware attacks.

Flash Player has proved to be at its most vulnerable state, with Adobe having released another emergency update just last month. Nevertheless, this update turns out to be just as vital as the previous one, and users are strongly advised to have the update installed on Windows, Mac OS X, Chrome OS and Linux powered computing devices. Notable fixes with the update includes flaws that allows the attacker to gain control of your computer via ransomware and malware. The vulnerability is exposed when a malicious Flash file executes codes to your computer, bringing potential harm and collecting private user data.

Full details regarding the security update can be found in the Adobe Security Bulletin
here
. If you’ve received any notifications of the update, it’s best to get it installed immediately. Till then, stay tuned!

Source:
Adobe

adobe
critical
fix
flash
flaw
malware
player
ransomware
security
update


The upcoming Adobe Fresco is for those who love drawing and painting on iPads

293

Many of us are familiar with Adobe, whether we’re casual users or professionals. With its range of applications, Adobe already accommodate for many, especially artists and designers. Now, Adobe is launching an app that will be available on iPad for drawing and painting named Adobe Fresco.

Previously titled as Project Gemini, Adobe Fresco will not be a replacement to the Adobe Photoshop that will be supported by iPads. The difference is that Adobe Fresco focuses on its Live Brushes that is said to resemble real-life painting when it comes to blending and mixing. It will blend seamlessly between colours especially when it comes to watercolour and oil paint brushes.

Apart from that, The Verge pointed out that Adobe Fresco will somewhat be like a combination of tools from Adobe Illustrator Draw and Photoshop Sketch, in addition to supporting Photoshop files (.psd). You can also
apply
 to be one of the early birds to test out Adobe Fresco.

It’ll be soon before we see creative minds showing off their works with just the iPad and the Apple Pencil.

adobe
Adobe Fresco
Project Gemini


Adobe halts Creative Cloud update due to bug that deletes Mac user data

287

Mac users were treated to a very nasty surprise over the weekend as a recent update for the company’s Creative Cloud graphics service has reportedly deleted user data without warning.

This particular bug happens as the user logs in after the problematic update has been applied. When the user signs in, a script activated by Creative Cloud would delete the contents from the first directory in the Mac root directory.

The earliest known report of this particular bug comes from BackBlaze, a data backup service. Due to the fact that BackBlaze user data is stored in a directory called .bzvol, BackBlaze users are heavily affected as their directory frequently appears first alphabetically in the Mac root folder. It is worth noting however that this issue isn’t limited to just BackBlaze as other users have pointed out that their directories have been wiped clean as well.

Following user outcry on Twitter and Facebook, Adobe has since
patched the bug
.

Source :
Tech Rampage

adobe
bug
creativecloud
mac


Adobe launches Photoshop Mix and Creative Cloud apps on Android

317

Android users are finally getting some love from Adobe as the company has introduced Photoshop Mix and a couple of Creative Cloud apps available on Google Play. In contrast to Photoshop Express, Mix replaces Touch, which was once available for Android devices that brings a little more advanced editing features to the table, Mix now has layer functionalities and there are also built-in filters for your photos if you ever need them.

On top of that, the new CC apps include Brush CC, Color CC and Shape CC, which will allow users to create their own preset of brushes, color palettes and Shapes, share it over to the cloud and use it in Photoshop Creative Cloud, these apps are currently available for Android devices and iOS devices should soon be receiving the same awesome stuffs. Download them from the source link down below.

adobe
android
brush
cc
cloud
colors
creative
for
mix
photoshop
shape


Adobe Lightroom mobile on Android now free

376

For those of you who feel that your smartphone’s in-built photo editing software is barebones, you might be interested to know that Adobe Lightroom mobile for Android is now available for free.

Adobe has dithed the Creative Cloud requirement for Lightroom mobile on Android, meaning that you’ll no longer need a desktop software subscription to use the app. This was also done on the iOS version back in October.

While you no longer need to pay to use Adobe Lightroom, features such as syncing your files and edits still require a Creative Cloud subscription.

Besides that, the free version of Lightroom retains most of its functionality, allowing you to edit raw DNG files that the mobile OS captures, as well as offering handy tools, like the ability to copy and paste edits, to help streamline your workflow.

Version 1.4 of Adobe Lightroom mobile is now available on
Google Play
. If you are an iOS user, then you can get it
here
.

Source:
Engadget

adobe
android
free
lightroommobile
smartphone


Adobe makes multitasking easier as Lightroom gets SplitView support on iPad

400

Adobe’s latest updates focuses on Lightroom, offering several new features and improvements in the software for iPadOS, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and ChromeOS.

While the company has already introduced a way to directly import your images from other your cameras and memory cards without going through the camera roll, the experience is now enhanced by letting you configure the default develop settings in a more straightforward way. Previously, you can only do so if you know about the hidden shortcut.

Another great feature is the support of Split View on iPadOS. You can now use Lightroom side-by-side with another app, making it easier for you to multitask or open up references when you’re working on your Lightroom project. Those using Lightroom on PCs and multiple monitors will also get to enjoy selecting which monitor as their secondary display — as in when they open a second Lightroom window.

Lightroom on Windows and Mac also finally supports export in the DNG format and improved its shared albums and photo merge (HDR and panorama), Android finally gets to import presets and profiles from Google Drive and local storage, and both iOS and Android are getting support for more cameras and lenses.

These are just few of the more important updates that have been announced by Adobe. For the full version, visit Adobe’s
blog
.

adobe
android
chromeos
ios
ipad
Lightroom
mac
SplitView
windows


Adobe officially launches Photoshop on iPad, previews Adobe Illustrator and introduces new Photoshop Camera

304

Adobe has made several huge announcements today at Adobe MAX, the world’s largest creativity conference. This includes the launch of Adobe Photoshop on iPad, the availability of Adobe Fresco to Microsoft Surface and the preview of Adobe Illustrator and also Photoshop Camera.

Adobe Photoshop for iPad has been discussed since last year, but it’s finally here with a touch-based UI and some of Photoshop’s essential functions. However, 9to5mac did mention that Photoshop on iPad isn’t fully completed yet, so it might take awhile for more features to be added for the full experience.

As for Adobe Fresco that was available for iPad for quite some time already, it is now also downloadable on the Microsoft Surface Pro X devices and Wacom MobileStudio Pro hardware. Users will be able to sync Photoshop brushes for better workflow between Adobe Fresco and Adobe Photoshop.

In addition, Adobe has also previewed Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop Camera during the conference. Adobe Illustrator will finally make it to the iPad, though Adobe did not mention when that’ll happen. On the other hand, Adobe Photoshop Camera is a new mobile app that supposedly include various lenses and effects so you can capture images immediately with the Photoshop effects applied. The app will also be using Adobe Sensei to improve the quality of photos taken.

Adobe also revealed that there will be several updates to its existing apps such as Lightroom, Premiere Pro, After Effects and more.

adobe
Adobe Fresco
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
ipad
ipados
Microsoft Surface
Photoshop Camera


Adobe Photoshop for iPad is listed on App Store, only for iPadOS devices

376

When the 2018 iPad Pro was launched, Apple has already mentioned the launch of Adobe Photoshop for the iPad. Now, the app is finally ready and listed on App Store, meaning that it will be available soon for those with the newer iPads.

According to the listing on Apple, the app will be available for iPad and will require iOS 13.1 onwards. It will have the full Photoshop features that are available for PCs, including tools like Quick Selection, Lasso, Spot Cleaning and more.

To get the app, you’ll need iPadOS and the newer iPads that support Apple Pencil including the newest iPad Pro models, the iPad mini4 and the iPad Air 2. Both the first and second generation Apple Pencil will also be supported.

The description also mentioned that the app offers a 30-day free trial, so you’ll have to pay a monthly subscription fee if you choose to continue using the app — unless you already have an Adobe Photoshop membership.

adobe
Apple pencil
ipad
iPad Air
iPad mini
ipad pro
ipados
photoshop


Adobe to rename Flash Professional as Animate CC

906

It seems the sun is truly setting on Flash as Adobe has began distancing itself from the aging multimedia platform, beginning with the renaming of the company’s own Flash Professional software.

First introduced to the general public by Macromedia as Macromedia Flash, Flash has slowly been replaced by newer formats such as HTML5 and WebGL.

According to Adobe, a third of the content created using Flash Professional uses HTML5.

To reflect this change, Adobe will be renaming future releases of Flash Professional as Animate CC, with the first release scheduled for a early 2016 release. While the name of the software may change, Flash will still be supported for the foreseeable future.

Animate CC is expected to ship with a slew of new features such as new vector-based brushes and a rotatable canvas. Furthermore, Animate CC will feature CreativeSync integration, allowing the software to work with Adobe Stock and creative cloud libraries.

For those interested, a list of changes and new features for Animate CC can be found
here
.

adobe
animatecc
flash
flashprofessional


Adobe wants to put ads in your “share” and “open with” menus when using their apps

309

Ads are inevitable – with a snap of its creator’s fingers, humankind will be reduced to living in a reality where ads appear where they shouldn’t be. Sadly, this is that reality and fingers are a-snappin’.

Adobe is a pulling a “
Microsoft
” by testing a feature that puts ads in your Android’s “share” and “open with” menus when using an Adobe app. According to Android Police, Adobe would insert a suggestion to download one of its apps in the pop-up menu, when, say you open an image, the “open with” menu will include an option to install Photoshop on top of the list of image-editing apps you have on your phone.

Image credit: Android Police

Microsoft also did something like this last year and
promptly
 got a lot of stick for it.
9to5Google
 adds that Google requires apps on the Play Store to keep ads within the app itself, and not spill out onto your OS’ UI; so this is technically breaking the rules.

Taking from what happened with Microsoft, the good things is that consumers have the power to say ‘no’ to
shady
 ad placement strategies like these, so should Adobe proceed with their plan, we can see a storm of angry rants rolling the company’s way.

adobe
ads
microsoft
pds reader
photoshop


Ads will soon appear on WhatsApp’s Status section

337

WhatsApp has been one of the most popular messaging apps for many years with an estimated amount of 1.5 billion users globally. What differs between WhatsApp and many other apps is that the app has remained ads-less throughout the years, but this is all about to change.

When Facebook bought over WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 million, WhatsApp’s co-founder Brian Acton was regretful to have sold his users’ privacy for a larger profit and had been uncomfortable with Facebook’s constant pressure to monetize WhatsApp with targeted ads.

Though the company has been against ads all these times, Acton left the company last year and this year WhatsApp vice-president Chris Daniels confirmed that ads will soon appear in WhatsApp.

Image credit : Krook News

According to Daniels, the ads will be appearing in the Status section that is similar to Facebook and Instagram’s Story function, allowing users to share photos, videos, texts and links with their contacts which will disappear 24 hours later. The ads will serve as a monetisation mode in addition to providing opportunities for business to reach WhatsApp users. This was not the first attempt to monetise the app though, as there was a $1 per year charge long before Facebook acquired WhatsApp that was inconsistent and removed after proving inefficient.

As for the current Status ads, it is reported that it will begin early next year, though the exact date is not confirmed. The emergence of ads might just encourage users to switch to ads-free messaging apps such as Telegram and Signal.

ads
status
whatsapp


AEON is making payment more convenient with their new e-Wallet app

822

AEON have just launched their very own e-Wallet app that makes paying more convenient for their customers. The app allow customers to pay and earn points at the same time, which means customers could leave their physical member card at home since they could easily earn points through the e-Wallet app.

In order to use the e-Wallet app, customers are required to sign up as an AEON Member Plus which could be easily be done through any of their AEON customer service centre. Once the customer has signed up for AEON Member Plus, the customer could then proceed to download the app “AEON Wallet MY : Scan To Pay” through Google Play or Apple App Store. Customers would only need to type in their identification number that they have registered through AEON Member Plus and the app would automatically create their profile with all of their information’s inside.

Customers could use the app by scanning a QR code that will be provided at the cashier. The e-Wallet could also be topped up with no extra charge, while the balance and transaction history can be monitored in real-time. Customers are rest assured that AEON have taken the steps to secure the app by including biometric log in feature and multi-factor authentication.

What customers could look forward to while using the e-Wallet app is the fact that the points earned through the app could be converted into e-money. For every 200 AEON points earned, it will be equivalent to RM1 which could be accumulated and used in within three years, other benefits include discounts up to 70% and some special priced item. The app can be used at all participating AEON stores, including AEON Big Hypermarkets, AEON MaxValu Prime and AEON Wellness.

aeon
Aeon eWallet
Aeon eWallet app
Aeon Malaysia
eWallet app
Malaysia eWallet


Aerocool Releases Aero-800 and Aero-500 into PGS-A Series

341

Aerocool releases two new additions of two new value-for-money chassis to the PGS-A product series – the Aero-800 and Aero-500 chassis. The new midi-towers might look similar to the already announced Aero-1000 in terms of design. However offer different inner layout and features. The company tries to give users many option when it comes to available color variations.
The new value-for-money models inherited the clean front panel with the fancy mesh-design as well as the removable magnetic dust filter on the top panel. There are a few extra connectivity in front of the I/O panel, which is located in the front for the Aero-800, and includes a power button, two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports, one microphone and one headphone jack. In addition to that, a two-channel fan controller has bene added, allowing users to change the fan speed in three different steps.

These new
case

support the mainstream mainboard form-factors Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX and the standard ATX as well as large high-end VGA cards and CPU coolers. It features two 5.25-inch bays as well as up to 2.5-inch bays and two 3.5-inch bays. Aero-500 offers two 5.25-inch bays as well two 2.5-inch bays and four 3.5-inch bays. Besides that, both casings have such great features like special mounting area for backplate-based CPU coolers and pre-drilled holes in the mainboard tray for cable management purposes have been passed down from Aero-1000 as well.

The company thinks out of the box because they provide a special mounting area for 240 mm water-cooling radiators, which located in the top and the front panel. The Aero-800 will available in black, white, blue, and Gray colors. Aero-500 comes in the most popular colors black and white.

The suggested retail price for Aero-800 is USD 67.90 (approx. RM 300) and Aero-500 is USD 42.50 (approx. 190), both of the chassis will be available this week in selected retail store.

aerocol
chassis
pcmasterrace
pgsa


Affordable 5.4-inch iPhone on the way with A13 Bionic and TrueDepth camera

346

Apple looks to be making the rounds this year with a purported iPhone 9-esque device that will take on the general size of an iPhone 8.

However, it will be updated with the latest A13 Bionic chipset, with Touch ID omitted, making Face ID the only biometric unlocking option.

This comes after sources from Japan spoke to a representative from Apple during the CES 2020 conference recently. The report adds that Apple will use the TrueDepth set of front-facing cameras to make the screen 5.4-inches in size as opposed to the original 4.7-inch shape of the iPhone 8 that it’s based off of. The omission of the Touch ID button plays a role here too.

This phone is reportedly an affordable entry into Apple’s line-up which we think will sell like hotcakes across the globe should it exist.

a13 bionic
ios
iphone
iphone 8
iphone 9
truedeoth camera


Affordable 5G phones with 120Hz displays with the new Snapdragon 768G 5G!

403

The
Snapdragon 768G 5G
 chipset is here to offer a more robust alternative to the
Snapdragon 765G
 SoC – it comes with an integrated 5G modem and can be boosted to 2.8GHz.

Overclocked cores

Image credit: GSM Arena

The chip comes with the same 1xKyro 475 Prime core, but instead of a clock speed of 2.4GHz, the Snapdragon 768G chip has it overclocked to 2.8GHz, and it has the same 1×2.2GHz Kyro 475 Gold core and 6×1.8GHz Kyro 475 Silver SoC.

It also comes with the same Adreno 620 GPU but it’s clocked at a higher 750MHz now instead of 625MHz on the Snapdragon 765G.

Affordable 5G

For connectivity, it supports all key region and frequency bands for mmWave and sub-6GHz 5G networks. It supports both SA and NSA modes and global 5G roaming. According to
GSM Arena
, the chip can offer up to 3.7Gbps download speeds and up to 1.5Gbps upload rates.

Smooth displays for cheap

Image credit: GSM Arena

The chip can also support a screen refresh rate of 120Hz meaning we can expect midrange devices to come with super-high refresh rate displays soon. The first smartphone to pack this new chipset is the
Redmi K30 Racing Edition
 which has a 120Hz display. The phone is priced from 1,999 Yuan (RM1,225) so that gives us a picture of an affordable, 5G-enabled smartphone, that has a 120Hz display, with impressive performance (on paper that is).

120hz display
Kyro 475 Gold
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Kyro 475 Silver
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Affordable BLU Vivo 6 launched in the UK

317

Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales have given most of us a reason to empty our wallets and bank accounts. While the buying frenzy goes on, BLU has launched a new handset headed for the UK. With “bold like us” as the company’s tagline, BLU is bold enough to have the Vivo 6 announced right between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

The BLU Vivo 6 is a mid range device that replaces its predecessor the Vivo 5 which was launched back in January this year. BLU has a rather odd product refresh cycle for this particular Vivo series. The Vivo 5 came after more than a year since the Vivo 4 (Vivo IV), which was announced way back in May 2014, while the Vivo 5 got replaced within a year by the current Vivo 6.

The Vivo 6 sports a Full HD 1080p display at 5.5-inches with Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Internally the handset features a MediaTek Helio P10 processor clocked at 1.8 GHz, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, further expandable for an extra 64GB via micro SD. In terms of camera, the Vivo 6 has a PDAF rear camera of 13 megapixels and a selfie camera on the front of 8 megapixels, both with the same f/2.0 aperture.

The Vivo 6 packs a 3,130mAh battery which sounds sufficient enough for the handset’s power consumption. BLU claims a full day of several usage or 20 days on standby from a full charge, and the Vivo 6 comes with a 5V/2A rapid charging technology. Apart from that, the phone features a fingerprint sensor on the front, flanked by capacitive buttons. Last but not least, the Vivo 6 runs Android Marshmallow out of the box.

The BLU Vivo 6 is available for pre-orders now before it releases on the 2nd of December as a UK exclusive for the time being. Available in both Gold and Rose Gold, the Vivo 6 carries a price tag of £184.99 (RM1024.34).

Source:
BLU

6
blu
helio
mediatek
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Affordable flagships introduced in the form of the Realme 3

332

We’ve been seeing a flurry of mid-ranged devices introduced in the past month – think the Samsung Galaxy A30 and Galaxy A50, Redmi Note 7, OPPO F11 Pro and more. Today, Realme announces themselves for the year of 2019 with the introduction of their new affordable flagship, the Realme 3.

Although typically priced at low-end prices, Realme always impresses with mid-tier specs and design; and the Realme 3 is no different. The phone boasts a unibody design with gradient aesthetics along with a 6.2-inch dewdrop-notch IPS LCD display.

At the back, the dual-camera setup (13MP main + 2MP depth sensor) is a slight upgrade from the Realme 2. The front camera in the Realme 3 is a respectable 13MP sensor.

Under the hood, the Realme 3 is powered by a MediaTek Helio P60 chipset along with 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM or 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM memory and storage configurations. You can also expect a 4230mAH battery in the Realme 3 which is a welcome surprise considering the phone’s price.

There’s also a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and a headphone jack. But what comes as a bit of an odd decision is the use of a micro-USB port.

The Realme 3 ships with Android Pie and Color OS 6. The phone comes in three colors – Dynamic Black, Radiant Blue and Classic Black. The 3GB + 32GB ROM variant is priced at a very affordable RM599, while the 4GB + 64GB ROM variant is priced at RM699. You can get the phone from April 6 onwards, but on March 27, you get the 3GB version of the phone at a discounted price of RM549 on Lazada.

android
launch
oppo
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Realme 3


Affordable Moto E3 Power goes official in India

322

India, one of the biggest affordable smartphone consumer markets in the world, has seen yet another budget handset being introduced to them via online retailer FlipKart. The Moto E3 Power by Lenovo has just been unveiled in the country today.

We have stress that the Moto E3 Power is very affordable, hence you shouldn’t be to picky when it comes to its specs. First off, the phone features a 5-inch display at 720p resolution, with 294ppi, which isn’t too shabby. Underneath the hood is an entry level quad core MediaTek MT6735P processor clocked at 1.0GHz, supported by 2GB of RAM, plus 16GB of internal storage that is expandable via the micro SD slot.

The E3 Power sports an 8MP rear facing camera with LED flash, capable of shooting 720p videos. On the front side is a 5MP selfie shooter which seems to be the standard of many current smartphones. The phone is packing a 3,500mAh battery, which should offer excellent battery life given its internal specs. Lenovo is also shipping a 10W rapid charger for fast charging. The Moto E3 Power will run Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box, and supports 4G LTE. Though the handset isn’t IP rated, it happens to have a water repellent nano coating that will withstand against splashes.

The Moto E3 Power will likely be an Indian exclusive and can be obtained through FlipKart for a price of INR 7,999 (RM494.46). What are your thoughts on the affordable handset?

Source:
GSM Arena

battery
e3
flipkart
india
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moto
power


Affordable OnePlus 9 touted to come with Snapdragon 865

306

OnePlus seems to be listening to its consumers when they launched the pretty expensive
OnePlus 8
 lineup this year. There was a call for the brand to go back to its roots by delivering affordable flagships – and it appears that they will be doing so in 2021 with the OnePlus 9 series.

Aside from the full-fledged premium models that will arrive next year, is a more affordable variant of the OnePlus 9 which will pack this year’s Snapdragon 865 chipset. This makes it a
bona fide
 flagship, at least in the performance department, and it’s likely to carry a few other premium features too like an AMOLED display, high-res cameras, and stereo speakers.

The odd thing is, this sounds a lot like the
OnePlus 8T
, which costs RM2,699 at the time of writing, so it’ll be interesting to see how the affordable OnePlus 9 will up the ante to at least make it a worthwhile investment over the former device.

In any case, we’ll have to wait and see what
OnePlus
 can deliver next year; and we’ll be sure to keep you updated on the latest happenings
surrounding
 the OnePlus 9.

oneplus
OnePlus 9
Snapdragon 865


AfterShokz debuts in Malaysia; launches the Trekz Titanium

300

The award-winning headphone brand known for its patented bone conduction technology and open ear design, AfterShokz, has officially made landfall in Malaysia. To mark this occasion, the company has debuted its signature product, the Trekz Titanium, to the local market.

With its unique design, the Trekz Titanium is an open ear headphones that is targeted towards the outdoorsman. It’s titanium frame and sweat resistance allows the Trekz Titanium to be incredibly durable and flexible, allowing the headphones to withstand a generous amount of punishment. The Trekz Titanium’s OpenFit design allows for uncompromised situational awareness which is crucial to those who are into activities such as cycling and running, allowing them to listen to their music without tuning out the everything else, which can potentially lead to accidents.

So how does the Trekz Titanium manage to deliver sound to the user without covering up the entire ear? Well, this particular pair of headphones utilise a relatively new piece of technology called ‘bone conduction technology’. Initially developed for military forces, bone conduction technology allows the headphones to broadcast clear sounds without any restriction to ambient noise in the surroundings. Besides the bone conduction technology, AfterShokz has also implemented PremiumPitch+ Sound technology into the Trekz Titanium in order to beef up the weak bass and the natural sound leakage issues that stems from using bone conduction technology.

As for longevity, the Trekz Titanium is capable of lasting for quite a while. A full charge, which takes 1.5 hours, will give the headphone six hours of play time. Even a quick 15 minute charge would provide the headphone with enough power to last you through a long workout or marathon call.

The AfterShokz Trekz Titanium is now available for a retail price of RM 499.

aftershokz
headphones
sports
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AGM’s upcoming rugged phone comes with a Snapdragon 845 processor

345

AMG is a company that has made a name of its self by releasing rugged and extremely durable phones that comes with decent specs as well. The company was put in the spotlight when they released the AGM X2 which came with an IP68 certification, 5.5-inch FHD AMOLED display, Snapdragon 652 processor, 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. Now, the company will be releasing the successor to the X2 simply called the X3.

The AGM X3 is a huge step up from its predecessor and comes with the latest flagship specs like the Snapdragon 845, 5.99-inch 18:9 aspect ratio AMOLED or JDI screen, 6GB or 8GB of RAM coupled with a 64GB or 128GB of storage. Keeping up with the times, AGM has also placed a 24MP+12MP dual-camera setup on the back and a 20MP camera on the front with support for facial recognition. There is no information on the battery capacity but we do know it comes with QuickCharge 3.0, wireless charging Android 8.1 and a fingerprint sensor on the back.

AGM has not hinted on the price but the X3 will arrive Summer 2018 and if our sources are correct, it may be priced less than the Samsung Galaxy S9.

AGM
phone
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AirAsia might launch its own cryptocurrency through their BIG Points loyalty card

323

It seems that the cryptocurrency fever has not stopped and has spread to one of our nation’s airlines. Tony Fernandes has told TechCrunch that he is understanding the potential to have an ICO to raise money and bring about a new cryptocurrency.

However, the method on how he plans to introduce the new crytocoins is quite interesting. During Money2020 in Singapore, he has mentioned that the BIG Points, AirAsia’s loyalty card, can be easily transferred to blockchain, and with a new payment system so users will have a platform to use the new currency. From what we have viewed with ICOs, they don’t seem to work out very well, with some being a scam and the others not picking off with users. Seeing as it is coming from a reputable company like AirAsia, this could be something to keep an eye out for. Nevertheless, it is always better to know what is the plan for the new coins and how users can not only redeem from the company but if it can be converted to physical, real-world currency.

Malaysia is not known for utalizing cryptocurrency, but if AirAsia’s cyptocoins were to get approved for use in the country, this might open up some doors to finally allow this digital currency to flourish in Malaysia

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AirAsia Ride e-hailing service launched: Lets you request rides from pilots and cabin crew

1.1K

With global warming breathing down our necks, e-hailing services are a godsend; so naturally we welcome new players in the market, and one such player is
Air Asia Ride

The local airline operator is now branching out, offering the service, which rides on (pun intended) the back of Dacsee, an e-hailing brand which Air Asia acquired.

Thanks to this, Air Asia Ride is able to offer a plethora of ride options including Lady Drivers, which is specifically meant for female passengers. Other notable options include Allstar Ride which allows users to request to be picked up by AirAsia pilots or cabin crew – neat-o.

CEO AirAsia Ride Lim Chiew Shan says that there are currently 1,500 registered drivers available now, with 5,000 more expected to come onboard within the next six months to cover more parts of Malaysia. Chief Safety Officer Captain Ling Liong Tien adds that the platforms driver fleet are 100% vaccinated, and are regularly tested.

He continues by noting that AirAsia Ride fares are set at an average of RM1 per kilometer, excluding toll charges. If you’re interested in
joining

the fleet instead, Ling says that drivers take 85% of the net fare (excluding toll charges), which he says is higher than what their competitors offer.

To book a ride, go to the Ride tab on the AirAsia mobile app. You can use the promo code ‘AARIDE3’ to get RM3 off your first ride from now until 30 September. Visit their website
here

to learn more about AirAsia ride.

airasia
airasia ride


Airbnb provides flexible cancellation policies and full refunds in light of COVID-19

311

As the COVID-19 outbreak progresses, Airbnb decided to update its reservation policies by offering a new suite of tools called “More Flexible Reservations”.

With the new tools, there are already over 60% of active listings that come with flexible and moderate cancellation policies. This will help guests to make safe (finance-wise) plans and help hosts reduce their loss when dealing with cancellations.

Airbnb will waive its 3% host fee on all listings that are willing to offer higher refunds than required from the Airbnb cancellation policy. This will benefit travellers who decided not to travel during this outbreak period. If hosts agree to do so, Airbnb also promises to increase the visibility for these listings. However, this is only applicable to reservations made from now till June 1, 2020.

As for travellers, Airbnb will include cancellation policy filters — Flexible, Moderate or Strict. This will help them pick the most suitable accommodation based on the current COVID-19 situation. In addition, travellers who choose to cancel any booking that was made now through June 1, 2020 will also be refunded with travel coupon — this is only if they were charged for the Airbnb guest service fee.

Airbnb will be offering a full refund if you’re eligible for an “extenuating circumstances” cancellation; this means that if you’re a guests who’ve recently visited high-risk areas, you or your host can choose to cancel without charges. You’ll also be eligible for this policy if you can’t travel due to official orders related to COVID-19.

airbnb
More Flexible Reservations


Airbnb is reportedly building a flight-booking tool

359

Short-term rental listing service Airbnb has been expanding its services as of late, with the company introducing Airbnb Trips last month that allow travellers to book tours, restaurant reservations and other travel services. If reports from Bloomberg are to be believed, Airbnb’s next step would be its most ambitious yet, as it appears that the company intends to let travellers book a flight from the service itself.

According to people who are familiar with the plans, Airbnb is currently developing a flight-booking feature that is internally known as Flights. While development of Flights is still in its early stages, Airbnb is looking to get the service up and running before it pursues an initial public offering. This is expected to happen within the next 18 months. In order to break into the market, Airbnb may decide to acquire an online travel agency or license data from a provider.

If Airbnb’s Flight service does go online, the company will be competing directly with established flight booking services like Priceline and Expedia. More recently, Google’s parent company Alphabet has moved into the space as well, and Google has since introduced Google Flights to the public. It’ll be interesting to see if Airbnb will be able to come up with a unique flight booking experience, or if the Flight service will be little more than a flight ticket price aggregator.

Source:
Bloomberg

airbnb
alphabet
expedia
flights
google
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trips


Airbnb is making sure you always know how to find your accommodations

378

With the Government implementing tourist tax on Malaysians that are visiting other states in our country, finding a place to stay such as hotels and other forms of established accommodations might become a slightly bigger hassle, but there is always that useful and friendly app called Airbnb which just got a whole lot better with a new feature that they plan to roll out this month.

Homeowners can now implement a step-by-step photographic guide to check-in or finding the place altogether and this feature is also available offline for those that are traveling to locations where Internet connection is a privilege. This feature is very beneficial to both visitors and homeowners as some situations have come up where it is extremely tedious to find the location and I experienced this first hand on my trip to Camerons last month where Google Maps could not tell us the roads to take.

This new feature could potentially bring in more host and guest to try out the app and increase the ratings of hosts that implement this feature into their listing, as hosts that own accommodations which are straight forward to check-in could use this feature to instead, show the roads that would lead up to the location.

airbnb
app
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guide
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Airbnb introduces $10 million Superhost Relief Fund and updates policy to help hosts

517

As the current outbreak situation continues, Airbnb updates its Extenuating Circumstances policy and allows guests to cancel their reservations that are set from March 14 to May 31.

It hasn’t been a smooth ride for Airbnb hosts; many are disappointed when the company first announced its updated policy that overrode their own cancellation policies. Now, Airbnb will allocate $250 million to help hosts cover the cancellation costs due to COVID-19.

Guests who choose to cancel their stay on or before March can get a standard refund or travel credit, while hosts whose reservations are cancelled between March 14 to May 31 will be paid 25% of their usual cancellation policy.

In addition to that, Airbnb also started a $10 million Superhost Relief Fund, in which Airbnb employees will donate $1 million to Superhosts, while the remaining $9 million will be donated by the co-founders, Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk. Airbnb will also allow guests to send notes and contributions to hosts that they’ve previously stayed in, in case they want to show their support and appreciation.

airbnb
Cancellation policy
Extenuating Circumstances Policy
Superhost
travel


Airbnb updates its rules in an attempt to combat discrimination

287

Over the course of 2016, Airbnb has been in the spotlight thanks to the ease of which its users could refuse to rent out their rooms based on race, age, gender or other factors. Indeed, the problem was so widespread, Airbnb themselves were sued for this. Today, Airbnb has taken its first step to combat this practice, and it’ll do so with some amendments to its rules, as well as hiring a team of specialist to work on suspected discrimination cases.

According to The New York Times, Airbnb has begun requiring its users to agree to something called “Community Commitment” before allowing them to put their rooms on the website. While this plan isn’t due to go into effect until the 1st of November, all users, be it new or existing, must agree to terms included within before being able to list their rooms on the website. Other actions that will be taken by Airbnb include to reduction of prominence of user photographs, as well as accelerating the use of instant bookings.

Rule changes aside, Airbnb will also be hiring a team of engineers, data scientists and researchers as part of the company’s new full-time anti-discrimination team. Their jobs include discerning patterns of host behavior and move to defuse or settle any issues. Airbnb has also
published a 32-page report
 that will serve as a blueprint for how the company aims to fight discrimination on the website.

“Bias and discrimination have no place on Airbnb, and we have zero tolerance for them. Unfortunately, we have been slow to address these problems, and for this I am sorry,” says Brian Chesky, Chief Executive for Airbnb.

Source:
The New York Times

airbnb
communitycommitment
discrimination


Apple’s 3rd generation AirPods might arrive this year

522

The AirPods 2 were just released about a month ago but Apple is set to launch the third generation AirPods, rumoured to be by the end of this year or early next year.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that the AirPods 3 will be released within a timeframe of 2019’s Q4 and 2020’s Q1. The AirPods will also be arriving in two models where one resembles the existing AirPods while the other comes in a brand-new design.

Image credit: iMore

Rumour has it that Apple might be focusing on improving the new AirPods with better noise-cancelling features and water-resistance design. Kuo also mentioned that the new models might come with the same price point, which will probably cause a decrease in sales of the AirPods 2 if true.

We are definitely looking forward to a new design for the AirPods, and even though it seems a little bit farfetched, we hope to see the new AirPods by this year.

airpods
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AirPods 3 leaked: They look like the AirPods Pro now

576

The third generation AirPods is supposedly launching this year and a leaked image has revealed the AirPods 3 to sport a design similar to the AirPods Pro.

AirPods 3’s design is very, very familiar

Image credit: 52audio

The stems on the AirPods 3 will be shorter than the previous AirPods models, but unlike renders that suggest the AirPods 3 to come with an in-ear design, the leaked image reveals an open-ear design — we’re not certain which information is true at the time of writing.

It’s like the AirPods Pro without ANC

Apart from that, the AirPods 3 will also have a slightly wider charging case — again, like the AirPods Pro’s. They’re also expected to support Spatial Audio like the premium
AirPods Pro
 and
AirPods Max
, but Apple won’t be including ANC.

These earbuds are expected to launch during Apple’s March event, but we still don’t have the full details yet.

airpods
airpods 3
apple


AirPods 3 and mini LED iPad to arrive in first half of 2021

406

With the recent announcement of Apple’s new lineup of Mac devices powered by their latest
M1
 chipsets, it looks like the company is ending the year quite strongly, ushering a new era for their computer lineups; but they’re not resting on their laurels either because reports say Apple will start next year with the launch of the
AirPods
 3 and a new
mini-LED iPad
.

Apple AirPods Pro

According to reliable tech analyst
Ming Chi-Kuo
, the new
AirPods
 will look a lot like the current iteration, but the charging case will come with a new type of battery that only uses soft board material, which uses less layers to build a battery, making it smaller; thus allowing more space within the case.

Speaking of new battery, Ming Chi-Kuo also reports that the upcoming iPhone 13 will have the same type of battery. Created by Taiwan Career Technology, the battery costs less to produce and will apparently lead to a 100% rise in year-on-year revenue for Apple starting next year.

iPad Air

Lastly, also on the menu is a new iPad that will be of a small form factor, and will pack an LED screen. This will be mass-produced somewhere in the middle of the first half of 2021, meaning it may arrive late first half.

The
AirPods
 3 will arrive in the first half of the year, while the iPhone 13 will come later in 2021. There’s a
ways
 away before we see any of these devices, so for now, let’s
ogle
 at the
iPhone 12
 while we wait.

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Emoji engraving is now a thing on Apple’s AirPods

1.2K

Think engraving your name no longer makes your Apple devices cool? You can now engrave your favorite emoji on your AirPods case when you place an order over at Apple’s Online Store, and yes, it is free of charge.

At this time of writing, there are a total of 31 emojis to choose from and we assume Apple could possibly add more at a later time. When you purchase an AirPods or AirPods Pro, you now have the option to choose either an emoji or text engraving, its a shame that you can’t have both at the same time or choose the location, where you’d want to have your emoji engraved or the amount of emojis you want printed on your AirPods case.

Now, perhaps Apple would let us engrave memojis or our own reactions of animojis on our AirPods case in future?

airpods
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apple


AirPods Max: Apple announced its new premium headphones

539

Just when it seems like Apple is done with 2020, the tech giant decided to surprise its fans one more time with the AirPods Max, the first AirPods with an over-ear design.

The rumoured AirPods Studio is actually the AirPods Max

Reports have initially suggested that it’ll be called the
AirPods Studio
 but well, Apple has officially named it the AirPods Max. If you’re expecting these headphones to only be slightly pricier than the AirPods Pro, then you’re out of luck; the AirPods Max comes with a hefty price tag of RM2,399 — that’s pricier than the PS5 Standard Edition.

There’s something familiar that will remind you of the Apple Watch

Still, the AirPods Max is a premium pair of headphone. It comes with an innovative design that uses breathable knit canopy mesh canopy to reduce on-head pressure and stainless steel headband frame for durability. Apple claims the ear cups are using acoustically engineered memory foam and you’ll also get the Digital Crown on these headphones to control volume and music playback.

It’s almost like the AirPods Pro in another form

Just like the AirPods Pro, the AirPods Max also come with Active Noise Cancellation, but you can also switch to Transparency mode to listen to the surrounding noises. Apple uses 40mm dynamic drivers and also included Adaptive EQ that can adjust the sound based on the fit of the ear cushions to offer better audio experience.

The AirPods Max will come in a Smart Case and charge via a Lightning to USB-C cable. It can offer about 20 hours of battery life and when in its Smart Case, it enters an ultra-low power state that preserves battery charge.

AirPods Max price and availability

The
AirPods Max
 is priced at RM2,399 and will start shipping from December 15. These headphones are compatible with devices running on iOS 14.3, macOS Big Sur 11.1, watchOS 7.2 and tvOS 14.3 and any newer versions.

AirPods Max
apple


Apple may be working on an inexpensive AirPods Max

414

Apple is rumoured to be working on a less expensive model of the AirPods Max that was launched last year.

Cheaper AirPods Max likely to use plastic body frame

The
AirPods Max
 that was launched awhile back is priced at RM2,399 and is made with premium materials in addition to ANC support and Transparency. Reports suggest that these upcoming headphones will be more affordable and can probably cost less than RM2,000. To reduce cost, Apple will be using plastic materials instead of the premium ones on the AirPods Max.

“AirPods Max is too heavy,” complained users

The current AirPods Max uses a breathable knit canopy mesh and a stainless steel headband frame. Many have stated that these headphones are heavier than the average headphones and can be uncomfortable when worn for longer periods. The AirPods Max also come with the Digital Crown that we’ve seen on the
Apple Watch
 to control music playback and volume.

We don’t expect the cheaper variant of the AirPods Max to launch anytime soon — if it’s really in the works, it will probably launch earliest in September 2020 along with the new iPhones.

AirPods Max


2020’s AirPods will have noise-cancelling technology while the HomePod will be cheaper

282

Rumour has it Apple is trying to integrate noise-cancelling technology in the AirPods and offer a cheaper HomePod model next year.

The AirPods will not only have noise-cancelling technology but will also be water resistance so they can be worn to the gym or the beach. These AirPods will definitely be pricier than the first and second-generation AirPods thanks to its new feature, but it will delight the Apple users who have been wanting noise-cancelling AirPods.

On the other hand, the HomePod will be expected to be cheaper than the original one because its tweeters will be reduced from seven to two. The new HomePod will probably be priced around $150 to $200 since the current HomePod already costs $299. Like the AirPods, the HomePod is expected to make its appearance sometime next year.

In the meantime, the iPhone 11 and Apple Watch Series 5 will be launching within the first half of September, meaning that it’s only two to three weeks away before we get to check out the new Apple products.

airpods
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AirPods Pro 2: Patent reveals “through-body” controls

480

A new patent found by
Patently Apple
 recently revealed that Apple is planning to add through-body inputs that allows users to control their AirPods Pro 2 with body gestures.

Control the AirPods Pro 2 via through-body input

Image credit: Patently Apple

The tech giant filed a patent that focuses on through-body sensor so users can touch their faces, click their teeth together or even their tongues to trigger a control. There’s also input actions that body movements like shaking heads, moving hands/legs and more.

Or control it quietly using your voice

Apple’s patent also included subvocalisation to control the wearable audio device, which we’re assuming is the AirPods Pro 2. Simply put, users can control the AirPods Pro 2 by making different kinds of sounds at a very minimal volume in which most humans will not be able to hear.

This all sounds very futuristic, so it’s highly unlikely that you’ll see this unique control method in the near future. It’s also possible that Apple may include through-body controls in other audio devices instead of the AirPods Pro 2, like the AirPods 3 or even the AirPods Max.

AirPods Pro 2


AirPods Studio: Apple’s premium ANC over-ear headphones

540

Apple is launching over-ear headphones with the same ‘AirPods’ branding and these headphones – AirPods Studio – are expected to debut alongside the iPhone 12 this year.

Design

Bloomberg
 has recently confirmed that Apple is launching a few products in the fall – a new iPad Air, two new Apple Watch versions, a HomePod and the new AirPods Studio. The new AirPods Studio will come in two variants; one comes with a premium leather-like fabric material while the other uses breathable material suitable to be used for fitness activities. The earcups and the head padding are also attached magnetically – meaning you can swap the earcups to your own liking.

AirPods Pro features: ANC, head and neck detection

Similar to the
AirPods Pro
, the AirPods Studio is expected to come with Active Noise Cancellation. There’s a high chance that Apple will also include the Transparency Mode that will allow users to listen to their surroundings.

The AirPods Pro has an ear detection feature that pauses the music when either one of the earbuds is removed; this applies to the AirPods Studio with its head and neck detection feature. When the headphones are detected to be taken off the head, the playback will automatically pause music playback.

New features: Orientation detection, equalizer controls

In addition to that,
MacRumors
 also reported that the AirPods Studio will also come with orientation detection so users can use the headphones without determining their left and right – a dedicated sensor will detect the orientation for you.

An extra feature that these headphones may get is the equalizer controls which will probably come with a companion app; if not, it will be available in its settings which is accessible for Mac and iOS devices only.

The AirPods Studio is estimated to be priced from $349, which is around RM1,430 when converted.

AirPods Studio
ANC headphones
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AirTag: Apple finally releases its Tile-like tracker

663

We’ve been waiting for this; Apple’s new AirTag is the tracker that we’ve been hearing for at least a year now and it’s finally here.

Apple took its time with AirTag

This isn’t anything new; if you’ve heard of Tile or even the Galaxy SmartTag that was launched earlier this year, it’s basically a similar product. AirTag comes in a circular design and works with the Find My network to help users detect their items. You can hang this track anywhere you’d like, plus Apple promises that it will not store any location data/history and communication between the tracker and user’s Apple devices will be encrypted. This means that even Apple won’t know your device’s location or what is actually is.

Don’t worry, you can hear it if it’s near

Apple’s AirTag uses the U1 chip that offers Precision Finding for iPhone 11 and newer users. Using the Ultra Wideband technology, you can easily track your lost item as you will be informed of the exact distance and direction of your belonging. You can use the Find My app to trigger your AirTag to play a sound so it’s easier for you to track it down.

AirTag comes with an IP67 rating, is lightweight and also durable due to its stainless steel exterior. You can even engrave text and emojis onto your AirTag for free when you purchase from the official site. AirTag is
available
 at RM149 and will be available by the end of this month

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Airtame wireless-screen mirroring dongle to ship for $99

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We have AirPlay for Apple devices and Google’s Chromecast to mirror your display. Airtame, a Danish company that got some fame back in CES 2014 has confirmed that they will be shipping their first ever wireless-screen mirroring dongle to the masses in October for $99. The Airtame is a HDMI dongle like Google’s Chromecast, which can be plugged into any HDMI source and get hooked up to any Windows, Linux and Mac machines via its own software. The company claims that its invention will be far more superior to Miracast dongles and Chromecast at a very low latency of 25-30ms, which is good for mirroring fast actions showing on your device such as gaming. Till date, the company has funded $1.26 million for this project through Indiegogo.

Airtame will also support smartphone and
tablet
 video transmission, the feature will however be only available if developers use Airtame’s SDK. If you are interested on it, the company is doing preorders and delivers the product over to Malaysia at a very reasonable shipping fee of $15, check out the source link down below.

Source:
Airtame

Via:
 Engadget


AirVR and AirVR+ lets you do Virtual Reality with your iPad Mini and iPhone 6+ respectively

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When
Samsung
 announced the Gear VR in collaboration with Oculus, you might start to think if this is possible with other portable devices – Yes, you can now with this new Kickstarter project, the AirVR and AirVR+ that will let your favorite
iPad
 Mini and iPhone 6 Plus do virtual reality on your head, think about having that bitten fruit logo on the front of these VR glasses, it’s definitely going to sell well.

You might ask how will AirVR work for your beloved Apple devices since Apple doesn’t officially support such API, the Kickstarter company Metatacture does this in a very smart way, by implementing what’s best on an Apple device – Apps! There are three apps to go with – PhotoVR, MovieVR, and PanoVR, combined with the specially design VR lens on the device, you’ll be able to experience great 3D content on the headset with your Apple device in beautiful Retina Display quality.

Despite of that, AirVR will still support side-by-side viewing on most native iOS apps and the company will be releasing its SDK to developers who would like to implement the technology on their apps. And you may start asking again, is this an Apple approved SDK? Yes, because the AirVR SDK is implemented in Unity3D, which means developers can easily apply AirVR codes into their Unity3D developed apps if they want.

AirVR requires $20,000 for its development and it has reached $15k at this point of writing, if you want to pledge an AirVR, head on to the source link down below.

Source:
Kickstarter


AirWheel Q5 Review: A transport that redefines convenience (Video)

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Scooters?
Skateboards
? Roller shoes? They are not for everyone. There are times when you are just so lazy to drive nearby to a café for a drink because your mind is probably bogged by parking challenges and traffic, here’s finally something that could probably change the way you move yourself around the roads. Last month, our editorial team was approached by Malaysia Airwheel, a new start up company that produces and sells electric powered unicycles, and our intern here had a first try on one of their flagship models – the AirWheel X8. At first impressions, it seem like an easy thing to ride on however once you step on it, it literally is a whole new learning experience even if you are a professional biker.

The AirWheel Q5 is a much easier to ride model out of the AirWheel line ups, it features dual wheels for better stability, a gyroscope is built-in to ensure the unit doesn’t drop easily when stationed and the user makes full use of it to control the unicycle’s actions – speeding up, slowing down, turning left and right. The Q5 has a maximum speed of 18km/h and travels up to a maximum distance of 23km with its 170Wh battery in a single charge. Our intern took almost two weeks of learning to ride the AirWheel Q5 and it has generally become his daily transport to nearby places for a nice cup of latte. We are not going to spoil too much fun here, play the video to find out the review of the AirWheel Q5.

The AirWheel Q5 retails at RM2,899, visit
www.malaysiaairwheel.com
 for more details.

The Good:

+ The safest unicycle in the market
+ Priced more affordable than a Segway
+ Simple maintenance
+ Long travelling distance

The Not so Good:

– Takes time to learn
– Standing pads slippery when in contact with water
– Usability unsuitable on Malaysian roads

We rate the AirWheel Q5 at 8.4/10


AirWheel S3 Review: Effortless Learning, Safer Ride

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We have been exposing ourselves out of the gadget realm recently and bumped into an electronic unicycle brand called AirWheel, our intern Esmond started off with the company’s flagship single wheel X8 and we followed up with the review of the more stable dual wheel Q5, which is an extremely fun transportation to ride on. This time, we meet the AirWheel S3, the most expensive and fully feature packed rideable in the AirWheel portfolio and it is aimed at the Segway as a much affordable and safer ride.

AirWheel S3 Specifications

Motor:
 1000W
Max Speed:
 18km/h
Weight:
 22.4KG
Max Weight Load:
 120KG
Tyre Size:
 360mm (14-inch)
Battery:
 520Wh (up to 60km distance with 60kg weight load)

The AirWheel S3 may give you an impression as a clone of the bigger and more expensive segway and we won’t blame you for that, in terms of size and weight the S3 is much lighter and smaller than its competition. Despite of that this isn’t a portable transport that you can stow it away in your car or store room, you’ll need space to park the S3 and there’s fortunately a kickstand that stabilizes the vehicle when stationary.

AirWheel S3 vs Segway – The Difference

Many folks have one common question in mine – how does it differ from a Segway? First, the AirWheel S3 has more features than a Segway apart from moving from point A to B, it has LED lights running up its control stick, it even has a pair of bright LED lights on the front and break lights on the rear, these features alone are the safety features for the vehicle itself, which will at least allow you to ride safely in the night.

Second, the LCD display on the AirWheel S3 makes it one major difference from the Segway, although this isn’t really a big deal but it shows information that you will need to know – cruising speed, odometer and battery status. The AirWheel S3 has a pair of built-in Bluetooth speakers so you’ll be able to stream music wirelessly from your smartphone, it might sound gimmicky for the average user however in commercial use, I daresay that the speakers can be very useful for playing commercial shout outs, we might even see an ice cream man riding the AirWheel S3 with that jingle-ling on.

This is not a racing vehicle!

According to Malaysia AirWheel, Segways are able to travel as fast as 40km/h which is similar to a motorbike’s cruising speed, the AirWheel S3’s maximum speed of 18km/h is designed similarly with the rest of the AirWheel products and emphasizes on safety riding. In our very own ride on experience, we rode the S3 at an average speed of 10km/h and it feels scary enough to ride even faster, though you might actually feel the adrenaline for doing so however you would really want to avoid accidents, which is also why AirWheel do not want its products to be as fast as its competitor. Remember folks, this is meant to be a leisure/productive vehicle other than racing.

The AirWheel S3 is an pretty easy vehicle to ride on, you don’t need to be an expert as you simply need to hold on to the handle and step on it, this vehicle should be able to fit the average and slightly fatter body size but you simply have to remain calm and stabilize yourself before you start moving. Unlike the unicycle models, you use the vehicle’s handle the maneuver its motion and direction – push to accelerate and pull to slow down – its just that simple, while this may not be the most practical device to ride on busy roads, the AirWheel S3 does intend to serve its purpose in some ways – for riding to a nearby store or cafe in your neighborhood and transporting people in a huge warehouse, factories, shopping malls and airports.

Lastly, the AirWheel S3 comes with a remote that lets you turn on the device and without it, the vehicle isn’t able to operate and the manual on/off switch won’t just let you start off and go, you’ll need to press both the on/off switch on the vehicle and the remote to get the S3 operational – pretty much like a two-step verification.


Alcatel 11.11 sales offer exclusive discount up to over 40% off on smartphones

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In conjunction of Double 11 shopping festival, Alcatel is set to introduce its greatest online sale with offers up to over 40% discount on its full range of products. The promotion is set to start at 12AM onwards, on 11 November 2018 and ends when stocks are sold out. Partnering with 11street on this festive day, Alcatel will offer great package for three products which includes the Alcatel 1, Alcatel 3L, and Alcatel 5V.

Alcatel 1

Sporting an 18:9 display screen size for the social starters, Alcatel 1 features 8GB internal memory, 1GB RAM, 8MP rear camera with flash and 5MP front camera with flash. Consumers who purchase the Alcatel 1 will receive an Alcatel merchandise bundle which comes with a free screen protector and a phone casing worth RM29. The Alcatel 1 would be available at the price of RM269, instead of the retail price of RM298.

Alcatel 3L

Equipped with a HD+ screen, Alcatel 3L delivers a full scale view for Univisium contents, face key unlock, unique “social mode” feature which offers instant previews, quick share and many more fun features to take your photos to the next level, along with a battery capacity of 3000mAh. Similarly like the Alcatel 1, for every purchase of the Alcatel 3L, consumers will receive an Alcatel merchandise bundle that comes with a free screen protector and a phone casing worth RM29. The Alcatel 3L would be available at RM359 instead of the retail price of RM498.

Alcatel 5V

Alcatel 5V delivers a high end feature with stunning edge-to-edge screen, along with Full view 18:9 display and an enhanced camera that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to produce superior photographs. Customers who purchase the Alcatel 5V will get to receive an exclusive Alcatel merchandise bundle which includes a Bluetooth headset, selfie stick, i-ring, screen protector and a phone casing worth RM99. On top of that, you may now purchase the Alcatel 5V with an amazing price of RM539 instead of its retail price of RM898.

Interested customers are welcome to purchase the following Alcatel phone offers exclusively on 11street while stock lasts.

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Alcatel 5V Review: A Decent Comeback

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When I visited MWC 2018 this year, Alcatel was one of the very first companies to make announcements on new smartphone releases, I visited the company’s booth and was told that they would be revisiting the  Malaysian market after several exits with the Alcatel Onetouch and Flash branding. Little did we know, the company made its debut here again two months ago with a number of smartphones, with the more interesting one being the Alcatel 5V, which I was rather keen to review and have received a unit to do so.

Most can easily dismiss the Alcatel 5V as another typical Android phone at first impressions, because its got the familiar front face with the controversial notch that devices this year tend to adapt, but once you actually hold up the phone, it actually feels pretty good that I really don’t mind it looking like the rest.

However, let’s get to the great essentials that TCL, the company that manufactures Alcatel phones, has done well on this device. First, I like the fact that the phone’s display has very thin side bezels and a not so thick chin, the 6.2″ LCD panel uses a 2.5D Dragrontrail glass that’s laminated, it produces great colors and contrast, though it only has a 720p resolution, I actually thought it was a much higher resolution display until I revisited the phone’s spec sheet.

Aesthetically, I was surprised that the phone isn’t too hefty to handle, as it has a huge 4000mAh battery inside, which in most mid-range devices you would have realized an unbalanced weight distribution that causes discomfort to your hands, the lightweight form factor can also be attributed to the glass-like plastic cover, which unfortunately is a pretty bad fingerprint magnet if you decide not to use it with a case.

Other than that, there’s noteworthy details on the Alcatel 5V’s hardware, such as the textured power button, the symmetrical design on the dual camera module and fingerprint scanner, these details are things that makes anyone think that it’s a flagship device, which brings us to the phone’s specs.

The Alcatel 5V is by all means no power house, but it doesn’t have bad hardware either, it is powered by a Mediatek MT6762 Octa-Core processor that uses a similar architecture to the Snapdragon 625, there’s 3GB RAM and 32GB of onboard storage, which you can expand up to 128GB if the latter isn’t sufficient.

Unlike some other Chinese phones, I’m glad that the phone ships with a rather clean version of Android 8.1, though Alcatel uses its own launcher which fortunately comes with an app drawer, it didn’t come preinstalled with non-removable bloatware. Alcatel has also kept most of the UI elements close to vanilla Android, hence you won’t find any unnecessary and complicated configurations throughout the experience. Things aren’t entirely boring on the phone’s software too, as it supports face unlock that works well in good lighting and dual accounts on selected social and messenger apps.

[fshow url=https://flic.kr/s/aHsmpYvnAQ]

The Alcatel 5V’s dual camera comprises of a 16MP main sensor supported by a 2MP depth sensor, a pretty  standard setup used by many other competing mid-range devices, image quality is acceptable for its standards with accurate colors and sharp details in good lighting, low light performance is however limited by its f/2.2 aperture and it generates an amount of noise even in brightly lit street shots at night.

Although the camera features AI scene recognition that automatically enhances picture quality based on the objects it detects, I don’t notice much difference apart from having more saturated colors in some instances. Interestingly, the camera software has modes that lets you conveniently take photo collages in the square format, and there’s a micro video mode that lets you take videos like you do in Instagram videos, these two modes are available for both the main and front camera.

I have no issues on getting more than a day of battery life with a full charge, all thanks to the huge 4000mAh battery, however it does take an extremely long time to charge once you reach single digit percentage, which I wished Alcatel could have at least allowed a 9V2A charging rate. If you are thinking to use this as your daily communications device, I’m glad to report that the Alcatel 5V has excellent cellular and GPS performance as I haven’t encountered any signal drops when making phone calls, it also supports VoLTE on certain networks.

The Alcatel 5V may not have all the bells and whistles you are getting on some other devices, but that’s not to say that it isn’t a great device, it will work well for the average user, but the limited set of features and gimmicks it has puts it at an disadvantage against other manufacturers, especially the RM898 price tag, it makes it a very difficult device to recommend. Nonetheless, this is a great comeback device for the company, and we’d definitely love to see more of what it has previously achieved with its Flash branded devices, and the company is sure going to have a hard time catching up with devices from ASUS, Xiaomi, Vivo, OPPO and Samsung.

The Good

Aesthetics and design

Surprisingly good display quality

Clean software

Good battery life

The Not so Good

No fast charging

Unattractive price tag

alcatel
alcatel 5v
tcl communications


Alcatel introduces three new phones that are priced below RM1000

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Alcatel is back once again in Malaysia and they recently had a product launch where they introduced three new smartphones to the market that are all priced below RM1000. The three phones are the Alcatel 5V, Alcatel 3L and Alcatel 1, these phones come with a FullView 19:9 displays and cameras that harness the power of AI.

Alcatel 5V

The 5V comes with a 19:9 FullView display along with a 6.2-inch screen in a 5.5-inch form factor. This allows for an 88% screen-to-body ratio which can be used for split-screen multitasking. Other than that, it comes with a MediaTek 6762 processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, powering the device is an impressive 4000mAh battery. For photography, the rear houses a 12MP+2MP sensor and the front has a single 8MP sensor.

Alcatel 3L

The next phone is the 3L which comes with a 5.5-inch 18:9 display, MediaTek 6739 processor, 16GB of storage expandable to 128GB and 2GB of RAM. On the rear, there is a single 13MP camera and the front houses 5MP sensor. Powering the device is a 3000mAh battery.

Alcatel 1

The Alcatel 1 is the cheapest of the three models and to keep it cheap, the company has implemented Android Oreo Go edition with this phone. Specs wise, it comes with a MediaTek MT6739 processor, 8GB of internal storage and 1GB of RAM. The rear houses a 5MP sensor while the front sports a 2MP sensor. Powering the phone is a 2000mAh battery.

All three phones will be available in Malaysia through 11street, Shopee and all official retail outlets from 29 August onwards. The Alcatel 5V will be priced at RM898, Alcatel 3L at RM498 and the Alcatel 1 is priced at RM298.


Alcatel OneTouch Flash Plus Review: The Serious Contender to the Entry-Level Segment

632

Mid-range smartphones today have become flagships of yesterday, you may hear familiar numbers and specs that were once available on flagship devices, 13-megapixel camera, HD display, octa-core processors and LTE connectivity, we have come a long way and there are times I asked myself, do I really need to shell out close to almost RM3000 for a flagship smartphone? The Alcatel OneTouch Flash Plus answered my question to my basic smartphone needs, the phone doesn’t have the most premium build quality, nor does it have the fastest processor and the most amount of RAM, however this mid-range phone just can’t stop impressing me during the review period, and I shall explain why in this detailed review.

Hardware and Design

I have not been a fan of Chinese phones, as I have written back then on my opinions of Chinese devices and I wasn’t fond of Alcatel OneTouch devices, just as you know my first impressions of this particular device isn’t a good one. First, those flimsy flaps that takes my SIM card and Micro SD has truly annoyed me in the very first place because the spring loaded slots are so difficult to deal with when you don’t have nails, there have been some occasions that I accidentally ejected the flap that I took some time to fix it.

I am satisfied with the grip of the device and the polycarbonate material that Alcatel has opted for the phone’s body, the overall design language reminds me a lot of Samsung’s Galaxy S4, while being slimmer and a little bolder, the Flash Plus is nonetheless a good looking device and fits in the price tag that it is asking for.

As mid-range devices don’t usually incur any design effort from the manufacturer, I still have to commend Alcatel for taking care of some details. First, the phone’s 5.5-inch screen estate is one handed operation friendly thanks to reduced bezels; the power button and volume rocker placements are within my hand’s reach, and the spacious capacitive functional buttons is a welcome feature if you do not favor on-screen buttons.

Software

Alcatel’s software is kind of random depending on phones and on the Flash Plus, you will find Lewa OS launcher representing the user experience, expect the same common set of features found on Chinese smartphones, such as a theme store, gesture controls, and lots of sensor features. Build on the foundation of Android 4.4 KitKat, Lewa OS is a Chinese fan made community ROM just like MIUI, you are set to receive timely updates from the manufacturer from time to time once there are feature updates from the community itself.

Fortunately as a mid-range device, the phone works snappily most of the time while there are some occasional hiccups which is commonly found on MediaTek powered devices. During the review period, I had most of its gesture features turned off so that I could save up on battery life and avoid the screen being turned on without me noticing, I am glad to report that the device behaved properly and didn’t have any weird random actions as I have encountered in many other Chinese smartphones.

Camera

So, a 13-megapixel main shooter on a mid-range phone and Alcatel seems to be extremely proud of that, the PR did include a couple of sample photos in our review package and I daresay they looked pretty impressive on print. In my tests, the camera software features a comprehensive set of modes that you can play with which is considerably decent for a mid-range device, I can adjust the exposure point to get correct lighting, and there’s a picture in picture (PIP) mode that I could use to take pictures from the main and front camera at the same time. Overall, images turn out to be quite decent with naturally saturated colors, but definitely not the best in class, check out the images down below.

Benchmarks and Battery Life

The MediaTek MT6752M octa-core chip is a pretty high performance chip for a mid-range device and competes directly with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 615 processor and judging from the phone’s benchmarks, it matches with some great Snapdragon 615 devices that we’ve used before, which also explains why the phone’s responsiveness in my review period, graphics performance is also impressive in Epic Citadel when rendering Ultra High Quality settings on the phone’s HD resolution.

Even though Alcatel hasn’t allowed removable batteries on the Flash Plus, its 3500mAh battery delivers every percentage of usage extremely well even when used heavily, its so good that you might forgot to recharge your phone daily until it sounds that critical battery tone, I like it.

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Alcatel OneTouch Idol 4 Pro to run Windows 10

369

Windows 10 Mobile has been increasingly adopted by upcoming smartphones, raising up the competition with Microsoft’s own Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL. We have news that the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 4 Pro will be running Windows rather than Android.

But of course, the Idol 4 and Idol 4S will still be on Android, leaving the Pro version to experiment with Windows 10. The Idol 4 Pro is also reported to receive an upgrade to the all powerhouse of a Snapdragon 820  processor, the same chip which is to be featured in most of the flagship devices to be launched this year.

Diving back into Windows 10, the Idol 4 Pro will be getting Continuum support and Display Dock PC convertibility. The device is tipped to sport a standard 1080p screen instead of a 2K display.

The release date of the Alcatel OneTouch Idol Pro 4 still remains a mystery. Whether or not the device will unveil itself at MWC remains to be seen. So stay tuned!

Source:
Pocketnow

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Alcatel OneTouch spills specs of Idol 4 and Idol 4S

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OEM Alcatel OneTouch has accidentally posted up product pages of the Idol 4 and the Idol 4S on its website. The pages however, have since been taken down. Slip-ups like this aren’t surprising, with manufacturing giants such as Apple having made such blunders before.

Back in 2014, Apple has mistakenly updated its manual for iOS 8, with new images of the iPad Air 2 before the tablet was officially launched. This proves that Alcatel OneTouch wasn’t the first out of many past blunders by other OEM’s.

We’ve had our eyes on the specs of both the Idol 4 and Idol 4S before both their pages were removed by Alcatel OneTouch. The Idol 4 will have a 5.2 inch 1080p display, 2 or 3GB of RAM, a 13MP rear facing camera and 8MP selfie shooter, powered by a 2160mAh battery.

The Idol 4S on the other hand will be sporting a 5.5 inch QHD display, maintaining 3GB of RAM, a 16MP rear facing camera and 8MP front facing camera, powered by a bigger 3000mAh battery. Both devices will be featuring Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The Idol 4 and 4S will be featuring a Snapdragon 617 and 652 underneath the hood respectively.

Since the pages were taken down, there seems to be no remnants left of both these devices which have yet to be launched. What do you think about both their specs? Comment below!

Source: Alcatel OneTouch
(4)
,
(4S)
  Via:
Android Central

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4s
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Alcatel OneTouch will be introducing its first Windows 10 tablet

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We usually hear of Alcatel OneTouch churning out Android devices, but looks like Microsoft will be getting some loving from this brand as well. According to Alcatel OneTouch, they will be unveiling an entry level PIXI 3 tablet that features a Windows 10 mobile operating system, on top of other a full line of entry-level PIXI 4 devices during the upcoming CES 2016.

The PIXI 3 Windows 10 tablet will sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and LTE connectivity. This 8-inch tablet will also offer TV remote control, voice-call enablement, GPS, and front and rear cameras. Since this will be an entry-level tablet, most likely we will be getting it at a low price (hopefully). So far, there is still a few unknowns such as the exact specs, pricing and its availability.

As for the PIXI 4 family of devices to be showcased during CES 2016, we will be expecting 3.5-inch and 4-inch smartphones, a 6-inch phablet, and a 7-inch tablet.

Source:
Alcatel OneTouch Pressroom

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ALCATEL Released Flash Plus exclusively together with Lazada

328

Today, Lazada announces its exclusive partnership with ALCATEL FLASH to launch their latest prime smartphone model, the ALCATEL Flash Plus. The ALCATEL Flash Plus is one of the perfect phones that combine a superb camera, dual SIM feature and long lasting battery.  The phone features a 5.5-inch IPS Display by 1280 x 720 resolution (267 ppi) to ensure fantastic wide-viewing experience, then the company include One Glass Solution (OGS) full lamination that will providing a visual treat to the eyes with real life-life picture quality.

The ALCATEL Flash Plus has an 8 MP front camera that comes with voice recognition (Cheese) so that you will not miss out any perfect moment for the selfie. Besides that, the front camera features facial-enhancement capabilities with an 84-degree wide angle to capture more of your background. The 13 MP
rear
camera
 comes with an aperture of F2.2 to allow the phone makes low-light captures.

The device is powered by an Octa-Core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 processor (
MediaTek
 MT6752M) with 2GB RAM to ensure the capability for multitasking. Besides that, with the Mali-T780 GPU on the phone that allows for a better audio and multimedia experience when watching High Definition (HD) movies and playing games. Luckily, the company provides a Dual SIM feature with TDD-LTE and FDD technology for eliminating the need to carry another whilst traveling.

The ALCATEL Flash Plus are available from August 25 to September 7 for pre-order from
Lazada
with a special price of RM 499. Then, the phone will be available for a limited period at RM 549 at
Lazada
.

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Alcatel unveils the Idol 4, Idol 4s and Plus 10 at MWC 2016

303

Since the Alcatel Flash 2, the Alcatel OneTouch brand is no more, the company has now continued to use its new but once popular branding to unveil three new devices over at Mobile World Congress 2016, the Idol 4 and Idol 4s are the company’s latest smartphones that comes with a premium metal and glass design, which looks very identical to…ehem…Samsung’s flagship. Well, at least they don’t come with any crackpot hardware onboard.

The Idol 4 has a 5.2-inch 1080p display and is powered by a Snapdragon 617 processor, the very same one found on the One A9 and it comes with 3GB of RAM, 16GB internal storage with MicroSD expansion, a 13-megapixel main camera and 8-megapixel front camera with an LED flash for low light selfies, a pair of stereo speakers and a 2610mAh battery. On the other hand, the Idol 4s gets a bigger 5.5-inch Quad HD display with an AMOLED panel, its processor is also a more powerful Snapdragon 652 SoC paired to 3GB of RAM, storage is doubled up to 32GB and its main camera gets a bump to 16-megapixels, battery size is also increased to 3000mAh to cope with the more powerful hardware. Both phones also feature a Xperia like round button on the side called the Boom key, it offers functionality such as launching the camera, boost audio output, change video playback options, and activates a pseudo 3D parallax effect for the phone’s launcher. The Idol 4 and Idol 4s will come preloaded with Android Marshmallow out of the box.

The Plus 10 is a 2-in-1 detachable Windows 10 device that sports a 10-inch IPS display with a 1280×800 resolution, it comes equipped with 32GB of storage and can be expanded via a MicroSD card, what makes it interesting is that the keyboard dock features a built-in LTE modem and can be served as a WiFi hotspot up to 15 users when required, the Plus 10 has a 8410mAh battery that will deliver 8 hours of usage, which is considerably reasonable for such devices.

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