The Apple Watch: Why not just stick to being a watch?

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Apple just unveiled the availability of their
Apple Watch
, it is beautifully made and the display is gorgeous, but does a display like this really belong on the watch? It comes with some basic communication options that we’ve seen on the likes of the
Samsung
Gear such as toggling Siri and replying with voice messages, or even answering calls with the built in mic. The bands are replaceable (which you have to purchase from Apple) and the watch itself comes in stainless steel, brushed aluminium and 18K gold. Yup, you read it right: 18K Gold. It promises all-day battery life and will enhance your life with it’s mere presence on your wrist — promised Apple’s Tim Cook.

I don’t bash a device for what it is, I bash a device for what the manufacturer says it is without thinking. I have to give it to Tim Cook, he uses words like “personal” and “intimate” so enthusiastically that it borders on sociopathic. There are so many things the Apple Watch does that current smart watches already do. Apple talks about how their watch works like it’s the messiah that Apple fans have been waiting for to take them out of the oppression of Pebble. Sure, Apple wants to create a watch that enhances people’s live. They even go as far as to say “We want people to be more healthy by being more active”. Sure, but you’re gonna need to pay about 349USD to 17000USD for such “intimate” and “personal” care. (Did I mention the
Pebble Time
 is 159USD on
Kickstarter
 right now?)

First, let’s go through what I think about the Apple Watch aesthetics. Do you really need a full color IPS display on the front of the watch? The problem with full-color LCDs is that you need them to be dim enough to not blind you (and the people around you) in dim situations as well as bright enough so that you can read the time in sunlight. You can even see in the photo above that this display appears super washed out in what appears to be florescent lighting. Since Apple has declared this as a watch that will aim to keep you fit and even got Christy Turlington Burns to run a half marathon with it on her wrist, it makes me wonder if that she had to do that shade thing with her hands just to tell the time or see her statistics under direct sun light. It looks extremely bulky from the side and I don’t think really like how you interact with the display touchscreen. Just to note, this is just by observation and watching how they were interacting with the watch during the Apple event.

This is certainly the most advanced time piece that Apple has ever created, because it is the only time piece that Apple has ever created. It is advertised to be extremely accurate — Although, seriously what watch that uses an RTOS processor isn’t? — and has different watch faces which is able to express time like never before. To note that an animated LCD screen is definitely not the way you want to see the time on your watch, except if you only plan on looking at your watch once ever 4 hours. If Apple were to go e-ink, but keep all their functionality, they would be able to slim down their device and still bring the user experience they have been famous for. Sure, the Apple Watch has a gorgeous shell, but the display could’ve been more reliable and easy on the eyes. They should’ve just called it the Apple Wrist and tell people it’s an advance monitor you can have on your wrist.

The apps you find pre-installed on the Apple Watch is pretty gimmicky as well, you want things on a smart watch that does not distract you as much but informs you well. It also tries to be something it is not. The Apple Watch tries to make you do stuff on your watch rather than on the phone, like sending replies and “getting other people’s attention” by sending over poorly drawn graphics or sending your own heart rate to someone using the watch (all of which will suck the life out of the iPhone in your pocket and the Apple Watch on your wrist). Sure, it’s cute and cool and everything, but that’s like sticking a
Bluetooth speaker
into a fish and then selling it, telling people you can use the fish to talk to people at a distance via Bluetooth. It’s cool and all, but unnecessary. You’ll spend your first few days showing it to friends, messing around with the moon-phase app, showing them the floor thingie magicky, Mickey Mouse dancing on your clock face and that will be it, you’re going to revert back to using the plain old watch face with the notifications in the end.

My vision of a smart watch is something to tell you what is going on in your phone without having to actually look at your phone. It tells you the time and gives you notification based on priority and severity but that’s all. It’s something you can politely look at in the meeting room and then handle under the
desk
 without appearing rude (like dismissing a notification with the touch of a button). It has to be something that works without having to interact with it too much. So far, the only product that has come close to realizing that would be the Pebble Time, but they too have still much room to improve. A full day battery life as promised by Apple is not something I want to rely on for an every day driver, it just means I have an extra device to charge every night before I go to sleep — then again this can be said about almost all smart watches actually. Maybe a better daily companion would be the
COOKOO 2
.

In the spirit of trying to be something it’s not, Apple Watch tries its best to be a health and fitness tracker, annoyingly updating you when you’re sitting down for too long, sleeping for too long, walking for too long, or doing something for too long. If you really need a device that costs more than your health insurance, to sit on your wrist and tell you how to be healthy, it just proves that we live in a generation full of idiots who don’t know how to take care of ourselves — and again, it’ll cost a minimum of USD349 to get this kind of care. Also, if the Apple Watch was such a great fitness tracker like they so marketed it to be with the Christy Turlington Burns video — no offense to Cristy Turlington Burns, I have no idea she is but I’m pretty sure Apple put her up to this — why didn’t Apple give it to a real athlete to push it to the limits. A watch should be a watch, give it some ability to display simple notifications and some scrolling information and it’s perfectly basic. Apple Watch has way too much hands in way too many places. Lastly, Apple Pay is just dumb, I could hold up scanner to the watch just to steal information and you wouldn’t even realize you’ve been robbed till it’s too late.

The Apple Watch, I do not know what to feel, except that a lot of Apple heads are going to buy this and say that it is the greatest watch in the world. That opinion is very subjective, so please don’t push it onto others.


The ARCHOS 133 Oxygen tablet has an XL screen and a low price tag

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So many new products, so little time! With IFA and PAX West 2016 coming to an end at Berlin and Seattle respectively, most of you tech fans are most probably looking forward to Apple’s September 7th event where the Cupertino company will be announcing its annual refresh of the iPhone, plus LG’s launch of the V20 handset later tomorrow. In the light of these events, French manufacturer ARCHOS has once again managed to catch our attention. This time, a budget tablet with a massive display, the ARCHOS 133 Oxygen.

Starting off, the ARCHOS 133 Oxygen features a “metal finish” body with a soft touch texture to it. The earlier mentioned massive display is of 13.3-inches at 1080p resolution, which is fairly impressive for media consumption at that size. Speaking of which, media consumption will most probably be one of the few functions of this tablet, given its huge form factor and ARCHOS has inlcuded a micro HDMI port to connect the tablet to even bigger displays. Underneath the hood lies a Rockchip RK3368 processor clocked at 1.5 Ghz together alongside a PowerVR SGX6110 graphics processing unit. ARCHOS has also fitted the tablet with 2GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage.

Cameras on tablets as usual, shouldn’t be complained about, and the ARCHOS 133 Oxygen sports a 5MP/2MP pair of rear and front facing shooters. ARCHOS has claimed an average of 5 hours of video playback on this tablet with the 10,000mAh battery packed in it. Also, the tablet runs on Android Marshmallow 6.0. How about its price? £179.99 (RM975.82), which sounds like a pretty good deal for a tablet of 13 inches. What do you think?

Source:
ARCHOS

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massive
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tablet


The ASUS Fonepad 7 FE170CG is now even more affordable at RM429

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Remember a few months back we reviewed the ASUS Fonepad FE170CG? ASUS Malaysia has dropped the retail price of the 8GB from RM599 to RM429, which is a big deal since we highly recommend to you readers who wants a phablet that performs reliably without paying too much. Just a recap on the Fonepad 7 FE170CG’s hardware, this phablet features a Intel Atom Z2520 1.2GHz CPU with 1GB of RAM, a 2 Megapixel AF main camera, 7” 1024×600 IPS display, a single front firing speaker with ASUS SonicMaster sound enhancement and Dual SIM capabilities.

The Fonepad FE170CG comes with Android 4.3 with ZenUI onboard, which provides a very relaxing and refined Android experience as the name suggests, of course, the device will have a promise update to Android 4.4 KitKat really soon. Want a cheap phablet that works well, head on to retail stores to grab the Fonepad 7 FE170CG! Watch our review video to convince yourselves.

See Also:
ASUS Fonepad 7 FE170CG Review


The ASUS M32AD is a budget friendly yet efficient desktop computer

348

Desktop PCs, they are still the best when it comes to real productivity and entertainment consumption, you can do all that DIY stuffs if you are the geeky type of person. ASUS Malaysia has announced the availability of their M32AD Series of desktop, which comes in a mini tower form factor and has pretty humble hardware specifications.

The M32AD comes in two variants, both are powered by an Intel Core i5-4460 3.4GHz CPU and comes with 4GB RAM as standard hardware, the MY001S variant will have a discrete GeForce GT 720M GPU and 1TB of hard drive where as the MY001D comes with Intel
HD Graphics
 with 500GB of storage. In addition, you’ll be getting an 8 channel sound chip powered by MaxxAudio, a built-in DVD writer, 6-in-1 card reader, 2 x USB 3.0, 3 x USB 2.0 ports and Gigabit LAN. Unfortunately, the M32AD desktop doesn’t come with WiFi or Bluetooth built-in.

Do visit local retailers if you are thinking of buying a simple PC for your home or office, the M32AD-MY001S retails at RM2,099 with genuine
Windows 8.1
 and the M32AD-MY001D at RM1,599 with FreeDOS, ASUS does bundle a keyboard and mouse in the package so you should be contended enough.


The ASUS ROG Ally might cost US$699.99 with 512GB of storage

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All thanks to the Steam Deck, we are finally seeing bigger guys like ASUS releasing a mobile handheld gaming PC to the market to directly compete with, as the company is set to introduce the ROG Ally on May 11, which is confirmed to be powered by a custom AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip with RDNA 3 graphics and features a 7-inch 120Hz Full HD touch display with FreeSync support.

ASUS ROG Ally (AMD Z1 Extreme) = $699.99
https://t.co/GDkz6wZNWI

— SnoopyTech (@_snoopytech_)
April 26, 2023

As the launch date draws near, Twitter user SnoopyTech has leaked that the ROG Ally could have a starting price of US$699.99 (RM3,122) with 512GB of storage, which is US$51 more than the Steam Deck of the same storage, though the ROG Ally will feature a more powerful processor and runs Windows 11, which you can literally treat it like a typical computer, run full Windows programs and games on other platforms.

Other features of the ROG Ally include having 16GB of LPDDR5 memory, upgradable M.2 2230 storage and support for 65W fast charging that gets the device charged from 0 to 50 percent in 30 minutes.

Prior to the launch, I had a brief moment with an engineering sample of the ROG Ally in closed doors, while I am not allowed to share any photos of the device, my first impression of it was a good one when I briefly played Cyberpunk 2077 on it, I especially loved the aesthetic and controls of the device, and the Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip that powers it is going to impress many gamers.

The ROG Ally global launch event will happen 11th May 2023, 10pm Malaysia time, which you can watch the event
here
.

asus
rog ally
rog ally malaysia


The ASUS ROG Flow Z13 is now official in Malaysia from RM7999

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Want to keep on the go PC gaming a little more swag? ASUS Malaysia has brought in the long awaited ROG Flow Z13 gaming tablet, announced back in CES 2022, it is the most powerful gaming tablet that’s powered by 12th Gen Intel processors and up to a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050Ti graphics, and all of that is packed into a 12mm thin form factor that weighs a mere 1.1kg.

The ROG Flow Z13 is inspired by the original ROG Mothership, which took the gaming industry quite a storm back then, it continues to feature a Surface Pro-like form factor with a detachable keyboard and houses all of its components behind the screen.

In terms of cooling, the ROG Flow Z13 lacks a hinge mechanism allows for a wider vapor chamber and larger fans in the chassis, paired with liquid metal thermal compound, ASUS claims that the tablet’s fans can stop spinning when it doesn’t require the power but when it spins up, fan noise should still remain below 40dB, which is an incredible engineering feat that no other gaming brands have achieved.

In terms of specs, the ROG Flow Z13 will come in Core i7 and i9 variants with 16GB of dual channel LPDDR5 RAM, customers can opt between a Full HD 120Hz or 4K 60Hz 13.4-inch panel variant with both being Dolby Vision HDR certified and Pantone Validated displays, storage will start from a 512GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, while an 8MP main camera and 720P webcam will come as standard on all variants.

The ROG Flow Z13 can now be purchased from the price of RM7,999 for the Core i7-12700H variants.

The top of the line Core i9-12900H model with a 4K display and RTX 3050Ti graphics will cost RM15,999, which is bundled with the ROG XG Mobile station that’s equipped with a desktop RTX 3080 GPU and for a limited time, ASUS is also throwing in a ROG Delta headset when you purchase this variant starting April 2022 onwards.

The ROG Flow Z13 can be purchased at authorised dealers and ASUS ROG Malaysia’s Lazada store
here
.

Model Name

GZ301Z-CLD132W

GZ301Z-ELD236W

GZ301Z-ELC214W

Product Name

ROG Flow Z13

Color

Black

Dimension (W x D x H)

30.2 x 20.4 x 1.20 ~ 1.20 cm

Weight

1.18 Kg

Processor

12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-12700H Processor 2.3 GHz (24M Cache, up to 4.7 GHz, 14 cores: 6 P-cores and 8 E-cores)

12th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-12900H Processor 2.5 GHz
 (24M Cache, up to 5.0 GHz, 14 cores: 6 P-cores and 8 E-cores)

Laptop Graphic

NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3050 4GB GDDR6

NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3050 Ti 4GB GDDR6

DGPU Feature

MUX Switch + Optimus

Max Graphic TGP

40W

IGPU

Intel® Iris Xᵉ Graphics

Panel Size & Info

13.4-inch IPS WUXGA (1920 x 1200) 16:10
 120Hz 500nits
 Touch Screen Panel
 Adaptive-Sync
 SRGB 100%
 Pantone Validated
 Dolby Vision HDR
 Stylus Support

13.4-inch IPS WQUXGA (3840 x 2400) 16:10
 60Hz 500nits
 Touch Screen Panel
 Adaptive-Sync
 SRGB 100%
 Pantone Validated
 Dolby Vision HDR
 Stylus Support

Total System Memory

Total 16GB RAM
 On-board: 8GB LPDDR5 x2

System Storage Installed
 M.2

Slot 1: 512GB M.2 2230 NVMe™ PCIe® 4.0 SSD

Slot 1: 1TB M.2 2230 NVMe™ PCIe® 4.0 SSD

Wi-Fi/Bluetooth

Wi-Fi 6E(802.11ax)+Bluetooth 5.2 (Dual band) 2*2
 (*BT version may change with OS upgrades.)

I/O Ports

1x ROG XG Mobile Interface
 1x Thunderbolt™ 4 support DisplayPort™ / power delivery
 1x USB 2.0 Type-A
 1x card reader (microSD) (UHS-II)
 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C support DisplayPort™ / power delivery / G-SYNC
 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack

Camera

8MP camera and 720P HD Webcam

Mic

Built-in 3-microphone array

Keyboard Type

Backlit Chiclet Keyboard RGB

Aura Sync

YES

Speakers

2-speaker system with Smart Amplifier Technology

Audio Tech

AI noise-canceling technology
 Dolby Atmos
 Hi-Res certification
 Smart Amp Technology

FingerPrint

FingerPrint function available

Operating System

Windows 11 Home

Battery

56WHrs, 4S1P, 4-cell Li-ion

Power

TYPE-C, 100W AC Adapter, Output: 20V DC, 5A, 100W, Input: 100~240V AC, 50/60Hz universal

Bundled Items

ROG sleeve bag
 ASUS PEN (SA201H)
 ROG Impact Gaming Mouse

ROG sleeve bag
 ASUS PEN (SA201H)
 ROG Chakram Core mouse P511
 ROG Delta headset

XG Mobile

Not included

Bundled
 ROG XG Mobile (GC31S)
 208 x 155 x 29.6mm (1kg)
 NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3080 16GB GDDR6
 TGP 150W
 Power Supply 280W
I/O ports
 1x HDMI 2.0b
 1x DP 1.4 support G-SYNC
 1x RJ-45 LAN port
 1x DC input jack
 4x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
 1x SD Card reader(Standard)/UHS-II(312MB/s)

Warranty

2 Years Global Warranty
 (1st Year with Perfect Warranty)

SRP

RM7,999.00

RM8,799.00

RM15,999.00

Availability

Available Now in Malaysia (March 2022)

April 2022

asus
gaming laptops
rog flow z13
rog flow z13 malaysia


The ASUS ROG GR6 is an absolutely quiet gaming machine

517

ASUS ROG’s GR series have been famous for being small and compact gaming machines, the company has just announced a lower end model but an even more quiet machine than its higher end brother, all thanks to NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 960 graphics that delivers superbly low power consumption and low noise even under full load.

The ROG GR6 measures 238mmx245mmx60mm which is relatively compact similar to its GR8 brother, hardware specs include an ultra low voltage Intel Core i5 5000U processor, 8GB DDR3-1600L RAM (supports up to 16GB), optional SSD storage, 802.11ac WiFi, Gigabit LAN, two USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, HDMI and MiniDisplay outputs.

In terms of noise levels, ASUS has benchmark the machine to output a noise level of 20dB and 26dB on idle and full load respectively which is rarely audible, which should be good for gamers who wants to have a small gaming machine in their living room or having it turned on the whole time without actually worrying about noisy fans. According to sources, there has been no word on availability and pricing, but we guess it should be around RM3500 given its mid-range specs sheet.


The ASUS ROG Phone will launch on October 22 with two storage variants

406

Unveiled in COMPUTEX, ASUS is ready to rock the Malaysian market with the debut of the ROG Phone on October 22. The ROG Phone is the company’s first gaming centric device that is built from the ground up, it features extremely speedy hardware such as a custom Snapdragon 845 chip with a 2.96GHz frequency mated to 8GB RAM with either 128GB or 512GB of onboard storage, there’s unfortunately no MicroSD expansion.

In other specs, the ROG Phone features a dual camera system that comprises of a 12MP Sony IMX363 sensor with a f/1.7 aperture and a 5MP wide-angle lens, it is also the first phone to be able to connect to WiFi 802.11ad networks, which ASUS mainly promotes it for a lag-free wireless display experience. Like the Razer Phone 2, it has a 4000mAh battery and supports Quick Charge 4+ out of the box.

We have already gotten the retail version of the ROG Phone in our labs and while we are working on the review, it already impressed us in some ways. Starting with the display, the ROG Phone employs a 6-inch AMOLED panel with a 90Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time, color reproduction and contrast is excellent like what you’d expect.

Furthermore, we also tested games such as PUBG Mobile and Asphalt 9 and realized that the phone does indeed offers a lot more consistent frame rates than other Snapdragon 845 devices we have tested. The ROG Phone’s dual front facing speakers are also impressively loud and clear, which we absolutely love it.

Unlike the
Razer Phone 2
 that was launched earlier today, the ROG Phone has a more interesting hardware design that makes it a lot more appealing, such as the stylish aerodynamic cooling system on the back, which ASUS says that it is made of Nickel for better cooling performance, the ROG logo also glows in RGB colors like its rival.

According to leaks, the ROG Phone is expected to retail for RM3,499 for the 128GB storage model and RM3,999 for the 512GB storage model. We do however expect ASUS to come out with even more surprises on its launch price on October 22nd, stay tuned for our review coming up.

asus
rog phone
rog phone malaysia


The ASUS ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1070 is now in stores

337

The momentum of NVIDIA’s most powerful GPU continues to be strong, as ASUS have brought in the ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1070 GPU into the Malaysian shores, available in factory overclocked and stock variants, the ROG Strix GTX 1070 is priced at RM2,599 and RM2,499 respectively. In terms of specs, the GPU has the same amount of 8GB GDDR5x memory found on the Founder’s Edition, the overclocked variant of the GPU is clocked at 1835MHz out of the box and goes up to 1860MHz in OC mode, ASUS claims that the GPU could deliver up to 7.1% faster performance in 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme and 8.5% faster gaming performance in Doom.

Apart from having better performance, the ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1070 also features ASUS’ DirectCU III cooling system that delivers up to 30% cooler and three times quieter performance, cooling can also be further improved with the ASUS FanConnect technology which allows gamers to connect their system fans to the GPU via two 4-pin GPU-controlled headers to provide supplemental cooling for optimal thermal performance. Last but not the least, the ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1070 also has Aura RGB Lighting for spicing up your gaming rig and two HDMI ports for providing a convenient VR experience without having to swap cables.

The ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1070 is available now in most IT retailers, visit
ASUS Malaysia Facebook
 for more details.

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geforce
gtx1070
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The ASUS Vivobook 16X offers great hardware value at RM2,999

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For under RM3000, there isn’t a lot of choices when it comes to 16-inch laptops, and ASUS has decided to offer the Vivobook 16X as a great choice if you are hunting for one, the laptop comes in a single variant that’s powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H processor along with 8GB onboard DDR4 RAM (additional RAM slot available for upgrade) and 512GB of storage, which will cost you just RM2,999.

While it is indeed a little disappointing that ASUS didn’t fit this with an OLED display just like recent releases, you still get a pretty good 16-inch display that pushes 1920×1200 resolution and 300 nits of brightness, while the display hinges can be laid down to a flat 180-degree angle, which can be useful if you require to use the laptop while standing or show your screen to the opposite party.

Ports selection is also pretty similar to other Vivobooks, you get a single USB-C 3.2 Gen 1, two full-sized USB 3.2 Gen 1, USB 2.0, HDMI 1.4 and an audio jack. Unlike the Vivobook 14X OLED we reviewed recently, the Vivobook 16X has a 50Whr battery, which can be a little concerning due to its screen size even though the processor it employs has good power efficiency.

Available in colours of Quiet Blue and Transparent Silver, the Vivobook 16X is available now and can be purchased at
Lazada
,
Shopee
 and most PC retailers nationwide.

asus
vivobook 16x


The ASUS ZenBook Pro 15 comes with a Core i9 processor

350

While most manufacturers are equipping high end gaming laptops with Intel’s most powerful mobile processor, ASUS is doing differently by having it’s premium ZenBook Pro 15 use the Core i9 processor, making it the most powerful high-end premium laptop in the market. The ZenBook Pro 15 is an extremely lightweight 15-inch laptop that weighs merely 1.8kg and measures 18.9mm thin, matching the Dell XPS 15 and MacBook Pro 15-inch in terms of weight.

The upcoming
#ZenBook
 Pro 15 is designed for pure power with the latest 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i9 hexa-core processor, gaming-grade NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti graphics, and a Harman Kardon certified audio system.
pic.twitter.com/1EbnMDmoRx

— ASUS (@ASUS)
April 3, 2018

On top of having the Core i9 hexa-core processor, the ZenBook Pro continues to use the GTX 1050Ti for it’s graphics processing power, it has a 4K resolution display and impressive Harman Kardon quad-speaker audio system, a 1TB PCIe Gen3 SSD, support for fast charging via USB-C, and up to 14 hours of battery life. In terms of thermal design, the ZenBook Pro 15 features dual fan and three copper heat pipes to keep heat out of the thin chassis, it will be great to find out on how well it performs when equipped with the Core i9 processor.

We should expect ASUS to announce the new ZenBook Pro 15 in COMPUTEX this year, so stay tuned for more details.

asus
core i9
zenbook pro 15


The ASUS ZenFone 3 might look prettier than you think

246

The ASUS ZenFone 2 was unveiled a little over a year ago, packing pretty impressive specs for an attractive and seemingly low price point. Being the world’s first smartphone with 4GB of RAM, the device certainly raised many eyebrows in the consumer market. It is powered by an Intel Atom Z3580 processor, which some modder’s have taken into their own hands to run desktop versions of Windows. But that’s a story for another day, if not already told.

Red Dot 21, a site known to give awards to tech products based on their design, have displayed an alleged ASUS ZenFone 3 and a Deluxe variant of it online. An image of the supposed handset lineup is also being displayed and together with the description, they don’t seem any bit as dodgy as the usual leak sites or Chinese online phone shops where regular rumors originate from.

However, the description, which is under the “About” segment, seems more long winded than detailed, making it seem like how OEM’s will describe their products, which tells us that the entry was submitted by none other than ASUS. Not many specs were revealed, but according to the description, the ASUS ZenFone 3 series will be sporting 2.5D glass on both front and rear sides, surrounded by an aluminium frame. USB Type-C will be making its way into the smartphones, with fast charging support, including a rear fingerprint sensor. As for the camera, the selfie shooter will be equipped with a front flash. The rear camera will come with laser auto focus. An optional Smart Flip Cover will be available as an accessory for the ASUS ZenFone 3.

That’s as far as we know about the ASUS ZenFone 3 series, also hoping that it’s official and not an outdated April Fool’s Joke. What do you think about the “revealed” specs so far? Tell us your thoughts!

Source:
Red Dot Design

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sensor
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The ASUS ZenFone 3s Max is a slight upgrade from the ZenFone 3 Max

274

Although The ASUS ZenFone 3 Max was just launched not too long ago, the company has unveiled its successor in India, three months after it released the ZenFone 3 Max in the region. Packing a bigger battery, the ZenFone 3s Max is sports just enough to qualify it as an upgrade from its six month old predecessor.

Jumping into the spec sheet, the ZenFone 3s Max unfortunately still features a mediocre 720p display measuring at 5.2-inches, though its screen to body ratio has signifcantly improved from 67.7 percent to 75 percent. The ZenFone 3s Max remains powered by a MediaTek processor like its predecessor, but runs on a different MT6750 chipset clocked at 1.5 GHz. ASUS seems to only have one memory configuration this time round, with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage, with expansion via micro SD.

The ASUS Zenfone 3s Max sports a 13MP rear facing shooter with an f/2.0 aperture. The front facing selfie camera has been bumped up to 8 megapixels from the 5MP snapper on the ZenFone 3 Max. One of the key selling points of the ZenFone 3 Max is its battery, and ASUS has greatly increased its capacity. The ZenFone 3s Max packs a huge 5,000mAh battery, nearly 20 percent more than the ZenFone 3 Max. On top of that, the handset operates Android Nougat out of the box, which is a great welcome as well.

Available on India’s online retail channels such as Flipkart, the ASUS ZenFone 3s Max comes with a price tag of 14,999 INR (RM987.10). Do you think the ZenFone 3s Max will be worth the upgrade?

Source:
Flipkart

3
3s
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battery
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The ASUS ZenFone 5 is now available in Malaysia

304

It’s been a long wait but better late than never, after a very much heated up battle between the company and consumers on the ZenFone 5’s variant and preorder issues, ASUS Malaysia has finally brought in the ZenFone 5 with the better specifications variant. The Malaysian version of the ZenFone 5 will come with an Intel Atom Z2560 1.6GHz processor, 2GB RAM and 8GB of flash storage with MicroSD expansion supported. A recap on the ZenFone 5’s features, the phone features a 5” IPS 720p display coated with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, 8 Megapixel F2.0 PixelMaster camera that is able to take amazing low light shots, Dual SIM standby with DC-HSPA+ support and a 2110mAh battery. The ZenFone 5 ships with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with ZenUI running on top, the device will receive its Android 4.4 KitKat at a future date which hasn’t been mentioned by ASUS. So peeps, run off to your nearest local phone retailer to check out this awesome device for a very affordable price tag at RM599, remember to stay tuned to our site for a review soon.

ASUS ZenFone 5
 Commerical

ASUS ZenFone Series First Look at Jakarta Regional Media Launch


The Asus ZenFone 5 Max specs and benchmark appears on Geekbench

357

Back in MWC 2018, Asus announced three new phones that targeted the different types of users with, but there was one phone that we heard about back in January. That phone was the ZenFone 5 Max which did not make an appearance during the conference, but it looks like we have some information on it.

The ZenFone 5 Max was recently discovered on Geekbench and it falls under the mid-range category of the ZenFone 5 devices, coming with a Snapdragon 660 processor and 4GB of RAM. Other than that, based on the benchmark, it has a single-core score of 1518 and a multi-core score of 5386 which shows some decent mid-range performance. It comes with Android 8.0 out of the box, 5.7-inch FHD+ display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, which means they are bringing the notch, 3/5mm jack and a Type-C port.

Sadly, there is no mention on the battery size or what kind of camera setup it will have, but seeing as the benchmarks are already out, we should be hearing more about the phone in the coming weeks.

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The ASUS ZenFone 5z is extremely affordable at RM1,899

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This isn’t the first time, and never going to be the last, as online e-commerce store Lazada has accidentally listed the ZenFone 5z on the ASUS Official Store, the Snapdragon 845 powered flagship is expected to make its local debut at the end of next week, whether this is intentional or not, ASUS has made sure that it wants Xiaomi out of the way with the phone’s attractive price tag.

The ZenFone 5z was introduced at MWC 2018 and looks identical to the mid-range ZenFone 5, it is powered by a Snapdragon 845 AIE processor supported by 6GB RAM+128GB storage or 8GB RAM+256GB storage, it has a 6.2-inch 19:9 FHD+ display, 12MP+8MP dual rear cameras, 8MP selfie camera and a 3300mAh battery. With a retail price of RM1,899, the ZenFone 5z challenges other Snapdragon 845 devices such as the Xiaomi MIX 2S, Mi 8 and OnePlus 6, while the particular chipset used is expected to offer better performance and power efficiency in the long run all thanks to AI.

Both storage variants of the ZenFone 5z will be sold in Malaysia, the top of the line 8GB RAM+256GB storage model is expected to be sold less than RM2,500. Stay tuned throughout the end of July and get your pay checks ready, because ASUS could pretty well empty your wallet with the ZenFone 5z.

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The ASUS ZenFone 6 is finally launched and it features a folding camera module as well as a Snapdragon 855

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ASUS has been quiet on the smartphone front of late – partly due to uninspiring phones that competitors blow over. This time however, with their newest ZenFone 6, ASUS may well be back in the race.

The phone was officially launched during an event in Valencia and it shows off the phone’s flip camera – it’s a module that’s slotted neatly in a cut-out on the back panel, when activated, the module then flips 180-degrees, allowing you to use its 48MP main camera for selfies. What’s cool is that you can control at what angle the module rises, meaning you can snap photos from different angles while keeping your phone in a less awkward position.

The module also houses the 13MP ultra-wide lens so that means when fully erect, the camera can take ultra-wide group selfies of up to 125-degrees. Pretty neat.

The phone is a 6.4-inch mammoth equipped with a Full HD+ IPS screen – because this phone has no notch, the phone has very thin bezels – ASUS likes to call it the NanoEdge Display; with the ZenFone 6, you get a 92% screen-to-body ratio.

Under the hood the Snapdragon 855 chipset, making this a bona fide flagship. The phone comes with either 6GB RAM or 8GB RAM plus 64GB, 128GB or 256GB of internal storage. If you need ridiculous amounts of storage, you’ll be glad to know that storage is expandable up to 2TB – yikes!

You’ll also find a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor as well as a headphone jack on the ZenFone 6. The phone is powered by a massive 5,000mAh battery which charges via USB-C. The phone also shops with Android Pie layered beneath ASUS’ ZenUI 6.

The ASUS ZenFone 6 is priced at €499 (RM2,328) for the 6GB + 64GB variant, €559 (RM2,607) for the 6GB + 128GB variant and €599 (RM2,794) for the 8GB + 256GB variant. However, we do need to keep in mind that Europe, or Spain in this case, is subjected to 21% VAT, so when the phone arrives in Malaysia, it should cost much less.

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The ASUS ZenFone Max M2 is launching on 11 January in Malaysia

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The ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M2 was already released in Malaysia last month, and now a cheaper version of it is about to be launched this month, on 11 January.

The ASUS ZenFone Max M2 is somewhat like a lite version of the Max Pro M2, which is also why it’ll be cheaper than the Max Pro M2.

The ZenFone Max M2 sports a 6.3-inch HD+ IPS LCD display, and comes with a notch like the Max Pro M2. It has dual-sim support and expandable storage, and also has a fingerprint sensor on its back.

On the inside, the ZenFone Max M2 holds a Snapdragon 632 processor with either 3/4GB RAM and 32/64GB storage. Battery wise, the device holds 4000mAh battery that can be charged through the microUSB port, and though it’s not as impressive as the Max Pro M2’s 5000mAh battery, it’s still pretty good.

Apart from that, the ZenFone Max M2 has a dual rear camera with 13MP+2MP lenses while its front holds a 8MP camera with f/2.0 aperture. Like the Max Pro M2, it will be getting AI support in its cameras.

Back when it was launched in Indonesia, the ZenFone Max M2 is priced at RP2,299,000 for the 3GB RAM with 32GB storage variant whereas the 4GB RAM with 64GB storage variant costs RP2,699,000. When converted to Malaysian Ringgit, the price is around RM663.04 and RM778.41, though these prices are not the official Malaysian price.

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The ASUS ZenScreen Touch is a portable monitor that can connect to Android phones

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ASUS announced a bunch of stuffs at Computex, and this included its ZenBook Edition 30, ZenFone 6 30th Anniversary edition and its ZenScreen Touch.

The ZenScreen Touch is a like a multi-functional display — you can use it as a second monitor for your PC, an external display for your phone and even Nintendo Switch. It’s compatible with devices that has Android 6.0 and above, though it was mentioned that there are different resolutions and aspect ratios depending on the devices.

It sports a 15.6-inch IPS display and is only around 9mm thick. It is equipped with two speakers and is compatible with Windows 10, in addition to getting the ZenScreen Touch App which connects your phone to the monitor.

That aside, the ZenScreen Touch has a Hybrid USB-C port and a Micro-HDMI port that allows charging and connection with other devices. It has a 7,800mAh battery that can last around 4 hours before the next charge.

The portable monitor will be launched later this year, but its availability and price were also not revealed during the event.

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The Bafta Games Awards 2014

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This week on our Tech Weekly podcast with Aleks Krotoski, Stuart Dredge reports from this year’s South by South West festival and the reaction to Edward Snowden’s video address. Click here for all our coverage of tech at SXSW.

Charles Arthur and Samuel Gibbs join Aleks to discuss this week’s news about Apple’s tax arrangements and the book Haunted Empire: Apple After Steve Jobs by Yukari Iwatani Kane.

Ahead of the Bafta awards for excellence in computer gaming, Keith Stuart meets three of this year’s nominees to discuss the best of UK gaming: Jack de Quidt and Dan Pearce, nominated for their game Castles in the Sky in the best debut game category; and Barry Meade from Fireproof Games, whose puzzle adventure Room Two is nominated in the best British game and best mobile and handheld categories. Click here to see all the nominees and winners.


The Beatles to hit music streaming sites on Christmas Eve

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In a time where online music streaming seems to be gaining popularity, one legendary rock band seems to be missing. The Beatles catalogue of music has yet to be seen in various music streaming services like Spotify and its likes, but that might be changing come Christmas Eve.

According to Billboard
, The Beatles will be hitting various music streaming sites on the 24th of December. While details are scarce on whether or not The Beatles will only be available on some or all music streaming services, sources indicate that the rock band will be coming to most of the major music streaming services.

Music streaming services have been keeping mum on this development as Spotify and Rhapsody have refused to comment while Apple, Tidal, Deezer and Slacker have yet to reply to inquiries regarding The Beatles.

Source :
Billboard

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The BenQ XR3501 has a gorgeous 2000R curvature 35-inch panel with 144Hz of refresh rate

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BenQ has gotten really aggressive with its monitors these days, the company has just announced the world’s craziest monitor ever made, the XR3501 is the company’s latest kickass gaming monitor that comes with a 2000R ultra high curvature 35-inch panel and 144Hz refresh rate, BenQ says that the monitor is tailored for gaming enthusiasts who wants to play modern games such as GTA V, Witcher III, Project Cars and Battlefield 4.

The XR3501 comes with a 2560 x 1080 resolution panel that makes it a wide 21:9 cinematic viewing angle, which will give gamers an immersive wide screen gaming experience, the monitor also sports BenQ’s standard gaming features such as BlackeQualizer, ColorVibrance and Game Mode, these features will allow gamers to take full control of their viewing experience which lets them adjust colors and brightness to game better.

We know some of you folks out there would have expected at 1440p resolution however BenQ has done a pretty kickass job in making a huge bad curvy screen for your desktop, and since this is pretty much the first 35-incher, you are going to need to shell out RM3,999 from your pockets when it gets released here in July 2015.

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The best Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto adapters you can buy in Malaysia

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Have a car that supports wired Apple CarPlay but don’t want to mess with cables in your car? Or your wired CarPlay system doesn’t support Android Auto? Well, its just a shame that most cars simply don’t let you swap out head units that easily and Android-based head units are usually unreliable and expensive, this is why we have listed three of our most recommended wireless CarPlay and Android Auto alternatives you can buy in Malaysia.

KyeBriq Android Box

Our top recommendation goes to the KyeBriq Android Box, which can be purchased in Malaysia at our e-store
Good Deals by KLGG
 at the price of RM1,099. Hailing from Singapore, the KyeBriq Android Box basically uses the Apple CarPlay connection of your car to run a full fledge Android 9 operating system, it also comes preloaded with Google Play Store, albeit a non-certified device, and a handful of streaming apps at first boot.

Making phone calls over your smartphone through Kyebriq is still possible, all thanks to its dual Bluetooth connectivity, the Bluetooth 5.0 connection is used exclusively for your smartphone, while Bluetooth 4.2 is used exclusive for the box to connect to external devices such as a remote control. KyeBriq uses the ZLINK5 app to enable wireless Android Auto and CarPlay, which has worked very well in our tests.

However, the KyeBriq Android Box isn’t suitable for car head units that doesn’t have a touch screen, although there is a remote control with an air mouse function that you can purchase separately, you probably don’t want to use that to navigate through the touch optimized interface while driving.

Otherwise, the KyeBriq Android Box is a gadget that you should consider for your car if you don’t want to mess around with your existing head unit.

Tophatter Car Universal Linux Dashboard Display

This is the most affordable solution at RM400 which you can consider if you don’t mind having an external display placed on top of your dashboard, just like how you have a GPS navigation unit during the old dumbphone days.

The 7-inch display runs a very light version of Linux that will let you do the essentials of running wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, while it has a built-in media player that lets you play media files on your USB flash drive, and screen mirroring function for your smartphone, you can connect the display to your car’s stereo with a 3.5mm cable for audio and though it comes with built-in speakers, we don’t recommend using it for music listening

Click
here
 to purchase from Lazada.

TUMXIUSU Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto adapter

If you prefer to keep things simple, this adapter from TUMXIUSU will simply enable wireless CarPlay and Android Auto in your car. Like the KyeBriq Android Box, it connects over wired CarPlay so you need to ensure that your existing head unit already supports that, though don’t be too excited when you see an Android 11 splash screen when you boot it up, because it merely uses it as its core operating system so that you can do extra stuff such as wireless mirroring and casting, media playback over USB and making phone calls over Bluetooth.

Overall, our experience with it has been very pleasant, it has worked well on a non touch-screen head unit and boots up really fast, wireless connection is also reliable with both CarPlay and Android Auto, the adapter will cost you $130 which you can purchase it with our code
here
 for a 8% discount.

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The BIOSTAR Hi-Fi B85Z5: A motherboard for business and audio fidelity

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On the board, we see a good selection of ports available to the user — or builder. The board features the Intel B85 chipset that comes with Intel Rapid Storage Technology for faster load speeds from an SSD (or HDD), Intel Small Business Advantage for business-centered security and data reliability as well as Intel Smart Connect Technology. Riding along side the chipset is BIOSTAR’s home brewed Hi-Fi technology, which promises to bring support for Blu-ray audio as well as high fidelity audio output of 24bit192KHz. The Hi-Fi chipset that runs on this board features a new Double Hi-Fi integrated amplifier that allows the user to enjoy the same high quality sound output, whether from the front or the back of the PC. The BIOSTAR Hi-Fi B85Z5 boasts 100% solid capacitors with Super Durable Ferrite Chokes. At only $89 (USD), this is a pretty feature rich board, it looks absolutely gorgeous for a board this price and is very competitive in the market.

BIOSTAR’S Hi-Fi B85Z5 has a slot for LGA 1150 Processors (No AMD here, as expected). There’s support for 4 DDR3 DIMM at 1600MHz and up to 32GB of memory. For expansion, we have one PCI-E x16 3.0 slot, one PCI-E x16 2.0 slot, two PCI-E x1 2.0 slots and two PCI slots. On storage, there are four SATA3 connectors and two SATA2 connectors. On USB, there’s a USB3.0 header for the front panel if your casing supports it and two USB3.0 slots on the I/O on the back.

The I/O on the back has one PS/2 slot for a keyboard, two USB3.0 ports, 4 USB2.0 ports, a HDMI port that supports 4K video, one DVI connector, a VGA port, the RJ-45 port and three audio connectors. You’re not going to be able to get full-surround going on this motherboard, but I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy using this in the office while enjoying some audiophile quality FLACs.

So, this is a pretty feature-rich board, looks really good even as a pretty high quality home computer, but did I mention this thing costs $89(USD)? Would I get one? Maybe, just maybe — maybe for a secondary computer for my girlfriend for some gaming and for her work. For more information, you can go
here
.


The Black Shark 4 Series are handsome and powerful gaming phones

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It has been a frenzy week of smartphone launches and it hasn’t ended yet, as the Black Share 4 series gaming phones have been unveiled to the public with several interesting features that will finally make you want to own a gaming phone.

Black Shark 4 vs Black Shark 4 Pro – What are the differences?

For starters, two models are being announced by Black Shark – the Black Shark 4 and Black Shark 4 Pro, both phones are rather identical when it comes to design and the only way that you can tell them apart are their specs sheet, though fortunately they feature the same 6.67″ FHD+ Super AMOLED panel that pushes 144Hz refresh rate and an impressive 720Hz polling rate, a 4500mAh battery with 120W fast charging and stereo speakers.

What’s different between the duo is their gaming firepower, the Black Shark 4 is powered by a Snapdragon 870 SoC with a maximum memory configuration of 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage, the Black Shark 4 Pro is powered by a Snapdragon 888 SoC with a higher maximum memory configuration of 16GB RAM and 512GB of storage, which are by all means an overkill for whatever you intend to do with them. On top of that, the Black Shark 4 Pro has a RAMDISK feature that takes advantage of the RAM as disk storage that results in faster storage speeds than its non-Pro sibling.

Black Shark 4 Series Cameras

In terms of cameras, the Black Shark 4 Pro features a higher resolution 64MP f/1.8 main sensor as opposed to the non-Pro’s 48MP f/1.8 main sensor, otherwise they both feature the same 8MP ultrawide angle lens and a 5MP f/2.4 macro lens, both phones are capable of shooting 4K videos up to 60fps. On a side note, the Black Shark 4 Pro has a better 20MP selfie camera with a faster f/2.0 aperture, which should result in brighter selfies in low light.

Improved Mobile Gaming Features

What mobile gamers would be really excited about is the mechanical pop-up shoulder buttons, which offers better precision and tactility when playing touch based games, they can also be configured as shortcut keys for taking screenshots, screen recordings and more. Black Shark also teased Cinematic Audio on their stereo speakers that has gained No. 1  in DXOMARK’s audio benchmark, which is all thanks to inputs from senior engineers from DTS, Cirrus Logic and AAC Technology, audio recording is also improved with the “Vocplus Gaming” AI noise reduction technology that’s co-developed with Elephant Sound.

Unlike their predecessors, the Black Shark 4 series has taken on a minimalist design and doesn’t have any flashy RGB lights, instead it has a holographic X reflection on the back case that looks unique and maintains the brand’s quintessential “X Core” design. Cooling capabilities has also been upgraded with a new generation Sandwich liquid cooling, which independently cools down the 5G network chip, SoC, and 120W charging chipset.

Black Shark has also launched the new FunCooler 2 Pro cooler that promises up to 15% better cooling efficiency than its predecessor and a “normal” and “Pro” 3.5mm earphones in conjunction with Black Shark 4 series.

Black Shark 4 Series price and availability

Black Shark will begin pre-orders of the Black Shark 4 series in China on March 26th, an imminent launch happening outside of China will be announced at a later date, the Black Shark 4 series are available with the following memory configurations and respective price tags:

Black Shark 4 Price

6GB+128GB – 2499 RMB (RM1582)

8GB +128GB – 2699 RMB (RM1708)

12GB + 128GB: 2999 RMB (RM1898)

12GB + 256GB: 3299 RMB (RM2088)

Black Shark 4 Pro Price

8GB + 256GB – 3999 RMB (RM2531)

12GB + 256GB – 4499 RMB (RM2848)

16GB + 512GB – 5299 RMB (RM3354)

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The BLU Life Max focuses on maximum battery life

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BLU has unveiled yet another handset which won’t break the bank, which will be available on Amazon real soon. The phone features decent mid range specs, but flaunts a rather huge battery underneath the hood. Introducing, the BLU Life Max.

First things first, the BLU Life Max has a 5.5-inch IPS display on the front, with a rather disappointing resolution of 720p instead of Full HD, but features a slightly curved glass. Moving on internally, the phone sports a quad core MediaTek MT6737 processor clocked at 1.3 GHz alongside 2GB of RAM and 8GB of internal memory with micro SD card expansion.

As far as the camera department goes, the BLU Life Max sports a rear camera of 8 megapixels and a selfie shooter of 5 megapixels on the front. Both snappers are equipped with flash respectively to enhance image quality in low light conditions. Seen below the camera is the Life Max’s rear fingerprint sensor. The main highlight of the device is its whopping 3,700mAh battery. BLU claims the monster battery to last up to 3 days of normal usage, with a standby time of up to 30 days.

The BLU Life Max carries a price tag of $118.87 (RM532.48) and will soon begin its sale on Amazon in the US soon. Would you bear with this handset’s mediocre specs for good battery life?

Source:
Amazon

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The BLU Life One X2 gives you 4GB of RAM for RM800

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BLU is at it once again, showing us what they can offer within a price bucket. This time round, the BLU Life One X2 has made its debut in the US, and unsurprisingly, it comes with a heck of an attractive price point for what the phone provides.

First off, the BLU Life One X2 boasts a full body metal design for a premium feel. At the front, the phone sports a Full HD 5.2-inch display, managing pixels at 424 ppi. Underneath the hood is a Snapdragon 430 SoC, the same one seen in Xiaomi’s Redmi 3S, along with an Adreno 505 GPU. The Life One X2 is being offered in two variants with different memory configurations – 2GB of RAM with 16GB of internal storage and 4GB of RAM with 64GB of internal storage. Onboard storage is expandable up to a further 64GB via the micro SD slot.

Moving on, the BLU Life One X2 features a 16MP PDAF rear camera with LED flash, plus an 8MP selfie shooter on the front, also equipped with an LED flash. The handset packs a 3,000mAh battery and supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0, with BLU claiming that the phone can be charged up to 70% in half an hour via the USB Type-C port. Also, the phone has FM radio if you intend to listen to good old radio as opposed to online music, not forgetting, a fingerprint sensor as well.

The BLU Life One X2 is priced at $149.99 (RM620.43) for the lower end variant and $199.99 (RM827.25) for the premium model. The phone is offered on Amazon with a 10% discount for two days starting right now, meaning that you will be able to get the models for $135 and $180 respectively. Do note that the BLU Life One X2 is a US-exclusive device. What do you think?

Source:
BLU

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The BLU Pure XR is an affordable "high end" mid range device

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BLU continues its focus on the mid range and entry level device spectrum competition, and the company couldn’t really care about what’s happening on the elite side of the market, hence it launched another handset, which sports specs pretty close to what you see on high end smartphones these days. With the Pure XL launched last year, BLU has announced the Pure XR to continue its strive in the consumer market.

Metal bodies are the in thing, especially among mid range smartphones for a premium touch, and the BLU Pure XR didn’t fall short of that standard. Though the overall design seems very typical, we can’t say that a metal built handset would disappoint. On the front, the Super AMOLED display stands at 5.5-inches in 1080p resolution. Protected with Gorilla Glass 3, the display appears to support 3D Touch functionality. Under the hood is a 64-bit Octa-Core Mediatek Helio P10 processor clocked at 2.0GHz, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage expandable via micro SD.

The Pure XR sports a 16MP rear PDAF camera with a 6P lens at an impressive f/1.8 aperture, coupled with a wide angle selfie camera of 8MP at the front. The handset features a USB Type-C port, packs a 3,000mAh battery and will be running Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box. The US-exclusive BLU Pure XR comes in Gold and Gray color options at a price tag of $299.99 (RM1211.34). Seems like a good buy for what the device offers. What do you think?

Source:
Amazon

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The BLU Tank Xtreme 5.0 looks to be indestructible

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American manufacturer BLU has made smartphones of all ranges, but this time, the company has unveiled a very rugged looking handset. It is meant to function like one as well. Meet the BLU Tank Xtreme 5.0, an entry level smartphone that is made to endure the daily beatings of a clumsy user.

For its design, the BLU Tank Xtreme 5.0 features rubber dual injections on its protective frame that is meant for cushioning a fall and impact absorption. The handset has an IP65 rating of water and dust resistance, which isn’t at all too impressive, but it is definitely better than nothing at all. As the BLU Tank Xtreme 5.0 is an entry level device, its specs will probaby disappoint.

On the front is a 5-inch IPS display at 720p resolution, protected with Gorilla Glass 3. Underneath the hood lies a MediaTek MT6580 processor, 1GB of RAM and a measly 8GB of internal storage, expandable to a further 64GB. The handset sports both 5MP cameras on the rear and front sides, which are under par given the fact that it is already 2017. The BLU Tank Xtreme 5.0 packs a 3,000mAh and runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box.

The BLU Tank Xtreme 5.0 carries a price tag of $130 (RM577.03) and is currently only available in the US on Amazon.

Source:
Amazon

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The BPhone is a premium Vietnamnese smartphone with decent specs

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If you are sick of Chinese smartphones, Vietnam’s BPhone is the next smartphone you should be looking out, it comes with a premium aluminum unibody that reminds us of the Xiaomi Mi 4 and with that, don’t expect to come cheap as the phone starts from RM1800 up to RM3700 depending on storage models and they come in different premium colors as well.

BKav Corporation, the manufacturer of the BPhone has packed the phone with some decent hardware internals despite not being the latest and fastest, the phone sports a Snapdragon 801 2.5GHz processor mated to 3GB RAM, it has up to 128GB of non-expandable memory, a 5-inch 1080p Sharp manufactured display, a 13-megapixel main camera from Omnivision that takes 4K videos and slow motion videos of up to 120fps at 720p resolution, a 5-megapixel front camera, 3000mAh battery with QuickCharge technology, and runs Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box. Other features of the phone includes high fidelity audio playback at 24KHz/192bit and the company’s proprietary TransferJet wireless data transmission technology with transfer speeds up to 200Mbps.

While the phone’s price point and hardware internals isn’t attractive, the phone’s design and hardware internals proves the company’s ability to manufacture a good and unique looking smartphone, it will certainly take a while for people to start appreciating the product, but we believe this is certainly a good start for the Vietnamnese firm.


The Canon IXUS 275 is a 20.2-megapixel compact camera with Full HD video recording capability

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Today, Canon has announced a new addition to its IXUX compact camera family, the IXUS 275 is a 20.2-megapixel point and shoot that that comes with 12x optical zoom and Full HD (1920×1080) video recording at 30 fps. The IXUS 275 will be available for purchase at the end of April and pricing has not been revealed by Canon Malaysia.

The IXUS 275 is powered by Canon’s DIGIC 4+ imaging processor, its sensor has a focal length of 25-300mm and an aperture range of f/3.6-f/7.0, ISO range is also pretty decent from ISO80-3200. The compact camera has a 3-inch LCD display and comes with WiFi/NFC connectivity for sharing photos to supported smart devices easily, users will also be able to use Canon’s smartphone app to remotely control the camera’s shutter and take pictures, its weighs 147g which makes it a superb travelling companion.

Despite of its pricing not being revealed, one could simpy assume that this camera should be priced slightly below or above RM1000 for its features and the image quality produced by this camera should be pretty good in brightly lit conditions with that low ISO sensitivity and WiFi connectivity is such a necessity these days.


The CES experience: Has innovation hit a plateau?

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The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) the dreamy convention that every tech enthusiast is dying to go to. The show celebrates its 50th anniversary this year at Las Vegas, where thousands tech companies perform their annual pilgrimage to flaunt their stuff. It is also the time where tech fans and media from around the world flock the sin city of the US to catch the latest and the trendiest in tech. But is it all glamour in tech like we see in magazines and online media?

This is indeed my first ever trip to CES, not to mention that it is also my first appearance at a global tech convention, given my measly 1 year experience in the industry. Of all conventions to begin with, I was lucky enough to attend and face the world’s largest consumer tech show, depending on which way I look at it. I’m not gonna lie, CES turned out to be way more overwhelming than I thought it would be. It is no doubt, a monumental trade show. In a typical competitive fashion of these tech companies, CES may commence as early as 2 or 3 days before it officially begins. Well, not exactly but companies tend to hold their press events for the press before CES kicks off. A good tactic I would say, before the public crowds the convention, and just to get our media minded engines warmed up.

I had the opportunity to attend the press event by Honor, which saw the global unveiling of the dual camera Honor 6X, also spotting the appearance of Honor’s beautiful Artificial Intelligence driven concept phone, the Honor Magic. ASUS has also launched two handsets – the ZenFone 3 Zoom, which now sports an extra camera and a significantly larger battery, plus the ZenFone AR, the world’s first ever Google Daydream and Tango compatible device, also the first ever 8GB RAM smartphone. The real thing however, which is the hustle and bustle of CES itself, hasn’t hit me just yet.

I’m gonna take a step back and say that I came to this tradeshow with a lot of expectations, not from the human experience aspect but from the tech aspect. I was hoping that a thing or two will actually wow me and rock my socks off, to make the flame of passion for technology continue to burn, if not burning even brighter than before. On the other hand, a small part of me told myself to take everything with an open mind, so let’s find out.

I can confidently say that I’ve managed to walk through the whole floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center, which is where majority of the CES tech booths were at. From smartphones, PC’s, fitness gadgets, drones, VR and AR devices, electric cars, and many more on the endless list. You name it, and I’ve probably seen it. However, the first word that stood out to me the most was “concept”. I did some homework to find out that the word “concept” is an abstract idea. For example, a concept phone will mean that it is an abstract idea of a phone, a heightened perception of what a person calls a phone. Concept devices and products are what I came across most at the show floor, and at some point of time, I was ticked off.

Don’t get me wrong. Concept inventions can be a pretty sight, but most ideas and concepts about products have been existent for many years now. Inventors and manufacturers manage to birth out concepts, but are mostly for the future. Why not work on what we have in the present and perfect them, Rather than thinking from a futuristic mindset the entire time? I personally do think that companies have been too focused on adding new features to their products, even if they aren’t fully ready or optimized. To top that off, some of the current features don’t work well enough to begin with. It seems as though companies are trying to push out new stuff that mankind does not require at this point of time. But then again, there are probably just too many concept inventions and features that triggered this little rant of mine.

By saying that, the next thing I would like to point out might be a contradiction to my earlier statement. The tech fanboy in me feels that there isn’t enough innovation to be seen at CES 2017. As mentioned earlier, I was looking forward to come across a thing or two to get heads rolling, to trigger the “techgasm” inside of me. As i recalled, there seems to be nothing at all which is completely new, or haven’t been seen before. Yes, there were newer and more capable drones, safer self driving cars, slimmer and better display TV’s, new speakers with better sound quality, but those weren’t unexpected. There wasn’t “some cool totally new thing” out of my expectations, so my tech hunger pangs weren’t entirely cured.

As for the experience as a normal human being at this gargantuan tech convention, since it is a global tradeshow, I crossed paths with all sorts of people from all over the world. Based on their badge labels, ranging from industry attendees, industy advisors, members of the press, exhibitors, buyers, engineers and probably a couple more whom I’m still trying to recall. Some of these people have been loyal attendees to CES, for a couple of years ranging to decades, indicated on their badges as well, which makes me wonder whether I would still grace another global tradeshow with the same mindset and passion. Other than that, it is a convention with a constant sea of people from morning till evening, for 4 days.

Today marks the third day of CES, also the second last. Should I make my rounds at the CES show floor again to hunt for hidden gems? What would you like me to visit at the tradeshow? Let me know at the comments section below! Also, tell me your thoughts!

2017
ces
opinion


The classic Angry Birds game will be delisted from Google Play

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Rovio, the developer of the Angry Birds, has announced that they will be taking down the original classic Angry Birds game – the one without ads and all with a one off price of RM5.49 – from the Google Play store, though the game isn’t going away just because it no longer supports newer devices or no one ever plays it, but Rovio claims that it has impacted their wider games portfolio.

Simply type Angry Birds on either Apple App Store or Google Play Store, you will find many of the company’s Angry Birds games mostly come with in-app purchases, though thankfully all of them don’t really force you into performing micro transactions unlike other games.

Interestingly, Rovio will still maintain the classic Angry Birds game on iOS, though it will be renaming it to Red’s First Flight, and this leads to the question of why it has to remove the game on Google Play instead of doing the same thing.

Here is an official statement from Rovio on the decision:

We have reviewed the business case of Rovio Classics: Angry Birds, and due to the game’s impact on our wider games portfolio, we have decided that Rovio Classics: Angry Birds will be unlisted from the Google Play Store on Thursday, February 23. Additionally, the game will be renamed to Red’s First Flight in the App Store pending further review. Rovio Classics: Angry Birds will remain playable on devices on which the game has been downloaded, even after it has been unlisted.

We understand that this is sad news for many fans, as well as the team that has worked hard to make Rovio Classics: Angry Birds a reality. We are extremely grateful to the Angry Birds fans who have shown their love of the brand and this game from the beginning. We hope those fans can continue to bring that passion to our live Angry Birds slingshot games such as Angry Birds 2, Angry Birds Friends, and Angry Birds Journey, where our goal every day is to craft the best possible experience for players.

So, if you own an Android device and want to keep the game for good instead of downloading APKs later, you might just want to purchase the game for good old nostalgia’s sake, as even after Rovio has totally remove the app thereafter, you should still be able to download the game from your app library since you have owned it.

Source:
Twitter (Rovio)
, via
The Verge

android
angry birds
ios
rovio


The Collector’s Aegis of Immortal will be giving away to Dota 2 Conpendium users

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The International 2015 is just around the corner, Valve announced an exclusive reward for the players that reach the Compendium Level of 1000 or above. During in a Dota match, the Aegis of Champions in the player’s fountain will have a special glow effect that will lasts until the next International. The Collector’s Aegis is a 1/5th scale alloy replica, with antique brass plating, of the winner’s trophy at The International.

The Aegis inscribed on the back with the year and a gold finished insignia signifying this year’s theme, the Collector’s Aegis is a symbol to reward those who’s Compendium Level has reached 1000. If you have a Level 1000 compendium by the end of the Grand Finals, you can fill in your shipping information on this website. Besides that, the Immortal Treasure III is coming soon and Valve will release it and the additional Compendium Pet style by the end of the week.

The International 2015 has become the biggest event in Dota’s history, and one of the largest events in competitive gaming. Stay tuned for more updates for one of the largest eSport event from Valve.


The convertible ASUS ZenBook Flip UX360CA laptop is now on sale in Malaysia

426

ASUS Malaysia has announced the availability of the ultra slim and convertible ZenBook Flip UX360CA laptop today, this laptop measures 13.9mm of thickness and weighs a mere 1.3kg, which makes it one of the lightest 2-in-1 laptops available in the market. Featuring a touch enabled 13.3-inch Full HD IPS display, the UX360CA is powered by a 6th generation Intel Core M3-6Y30 processor with 4GB of LPDDR3 RAM and has 128GB of M.2 solid state storage. In terms of connectivity and I/O, the laptop has a dual band WiFi AC adapater, Bluetooth 4.1, two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, one USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C port, one MicroHDMI port, a 3.5mm audio jack and SD/SDXC card reader. Last but not the least, the UX360CA boasts up to 12 hours of battery life with a 4590mAh Lithium Polymer battery.

The ZenBook Flip is the first convertible model in the ZenBook family and adapts the iconic ZenBook design, which has a Zen-inspired concentric circle design on its unibody aluminum chassis, its flexible form factor and lightweight design will allow business users and road warriors to perform tasks conveniently on the go even in congested workspaces. The ZenBook Flips UX360CA is available in color options of Icicle Gold and Mineral Gray, it can be purchased starting today from ASUS dealers at a suggested retail price of RM3,099. For more information, do check out the minisite of the
ZenBook Flip here
.

asus
ux360ca
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“The Crew 2” is free-to-play this week, includes Demolition Derby mode

290

From 13 to 17 December 2018, gamers are able to play “The Crew 2” for free on PS4, Xbox One and PC. The Crew 2 is a racing game unlike any other that allows you to travel at an unsafe speed from coast to coast, drive road vehicles however you like, be it on water, land or even through air.

In order to play the game for free, console owners would have to own either a PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold subscription to take part in the free-play weekend. As for PC players, there’s no subscription needed and players could pre-load the game via Uplay.

The full game will be available for players when they play the free trial, which includes PvP mode as well as the new Demolition Derby mode. Should the players want to purchase the full game after trying the free game, any progress done through the game from the free trial would then be carried over to the full game. Players are also able to buy the digital version of The Crew 2 at a discounted rate.

For players who participates in the free weekend play, they will be entitled to get a free in-game car by Ubisoft. The car given to the players depends on which platform they play the game in, for example, if the player plays the game on Xbox One then they will get
BMW Z4 GT3 2011, whereas if they play the game on PlayStation 4, they will get Maserati Gran Turismo S 2009 (Touring Car Edition), and on PC, they will get Ford GT 2005 (Touring Car Edition).

 For more information about The Crew 2’s free-play weekend, you can check out the
Ubisoft blog
.

pc
ps4
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The deets on the new Proton X70

1.1K

Following on the updates of the new Proton X70, PROTON has finally released more details about their new SUV car. In their second preview of their first co-developed vehicle by Geely and PROTON, they have announced that the Proton X70 would have a special feature known as Integrated Cockpit Information System (GKUI). GKUI offer new owners multiple use functions via apps as well as the option to stay connected to their car via their mobile phones.

According to PROTON Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Abdul Rashid Musa, Other than GKUI, the Proton X70 has also focus on three main things to ensure that the car perform at its best. The three focus on the car would be “Safety, performance, and redefined connectivity.”

For safety, the Proton X70 has done its crash test in China which resulted in a high score of 58.2 complying to 2016 C-NCAP. According to Mr. Abdul Rashid Musa, it is said that the Proton X70 body structure is five times stronger than your average Proton car. As for Active safety, the proton X70 utilizes Bosch 9.1 technology, alongside with Electronic stability control (ESC), Anti-braking system (ABS), Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Brake assist (BA), and traction control system. Also, the Proton X70 comes with Hill Hold Assist (HHA) which prevents the car from rolling back while going up hill and controls the speed of the car while going downhill.

The car is equipped with 5 cameras and 19 censors all around the car to support the car with Autonomous Emergency braking, Front collision warning, Blind spot information system, and many more. With the Proton X70, users do not need to check their own tyre pressure and temperature via manually as Proton X70 has a Tyre pressure monitoring system that will inform the user the tyre’s condition.

For music lovers, the Proton X70 are equipped with 9 power amplifier speakers alongside with one subwoofer. Knowing that drivers are constantly charging their phones, PROTON designed the car with 6 USB ports that allows drivers to charge their phone on the go. While driving, drivers will get to choose from three different drive modes which is Normal, Eco and Sport. User will be able to differentiate what mode they are using by looking at the colour of the monitor ring. In Normal mode, the ring will be in white, Eco is green and Sport is red.

The Proton X70 will be open for booking on the 17
th
 of October 2018, via their website. Customers who are interested to place a booking for the Proton X70 will be able to book and pay a deposit for their order online, thus making it incredibly convenient for those who do not have the time to go to any PROTON showrooms. “To promote our new channel, we will run a promotion for three days from the date the function goes live, where those who place a booking for the Proton X70 will also receive special gifts,” said Mr. Abdul Rashid Musa.

GKUI
proton
proton x70
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The DJI Mavic Air 2 is a big step up from the original

1.1K

DJI has unveiled the Mavic Air 2 this morning and it boasts a slew of upgrades that excites drone enthusiasts (me included).

Armed with a new quad bayer 1/2″ 48MP f/2.8 camera, the Mavic Air 2’s photography and videography capabilities has significantly improved over its predecessor’s 12MP camera and now supports up to 4K60p video recording at 120Mbps, it will also take 8K Hyperlapse videos, 1080p slow motion videos up to 240fps, and finally, it supports D-Cinelike flat color profile that isn’t available previously.

Like a smartphone high-resolution camera, the Mavic Air 2 shoots at a pixel-binned 12MP resolution by default and pilots will need to manually enable the 48MP resolution.

The camera also has a Night Mode feature known as HyperLight, which works similarly to smartphones that brightens photos and lower noise levels while ensuring sharp details. In strong lighting, the camera features HDR and an intelligent scene recognition feature to improve picture quality.

On top of that, the Mavic Air 2 features an improved ActiveTrack 3.0 object tracking, which is now able to quickly retrack lost subjects when it moves behind an obstacle; Point of Interest 3.0 that allows pilot to set a flight path with improved surface recognition and Spotlight 2.0, a tracking feature available on higher end models that focuses on the subject while allowing the pilot to move the drone freely.

Weighing at 570g, the Mavic Air 2 is heftier and slightly larger than its predecessor, however it is still pretty lightweight and should resist wind better, though DJI still rates it at 10.5m/s (37.8km/h), it isn’t too different from the original Mavic Air.

The Mavic Air 2’s new remote control is more robust and friendly than the original, where it uses a more reliable clamp that mounts your smartphone on the top rather than the awkward side clamp on the previous remote, which is great for pilots that use a bigger phone screen

On the other hand, rated flight time has now been bumped up to 34 minutes from the original’s 21 minutes and thanks to the OcuSync 2.0 transmission, the bird can fly up to 10km of distance and streams Full HD video to your smartphone.

DJI is introducing its new Advanced Pilot Assistance System (APAS 3.0) on the Mavic Air 2 along with improved obstacle sensors on the front and back, which now uses 3D mapping to identify obstacles and steers around complex environments better.

Furthermore, the Mavic Air 2 is the first consumer drone to introduces AirSense, a technology that senses other aircrafts around using ADS-B to receive signals, which is generally used by helicopters and planes, this will warn the pilot if an aircraft is nearby to prevent accidents.

As usual, DJI is selling the Mavic Air 2 with a Fly More Combo, which comes with a shoulder bag, ND filter sets, propeller guards, charging hub and two extra batteries for RM4,299, the standard variant will only come with the aircraft, one battery and necessary cables for RM3,299.

The DJI Mavic Air 2 goes on sale in Malaysia starting May 10th.

dji
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mavic air 2 malaysia price


The DJI Mavic Pro and Osmo Mobile has arrived with a price of RM4,299 and RM1,299 respectively

310

Its a rainy morning today and this hasn’t stopped DJI from launching the Mavic Pro and Osmo Mobile here in Malaysia, the Mavic Pro is the smallest drone that DJI has ever made and features a plethora of new features that let’s bothe the novice and professionals take aerial photography to the next level, while the Osmo Mobile is currently the most affordable handheld gimbal that helps stabilize shots taken with your smartphone’s camera.

Despite its size, the Mavic Pro has all the features that its bigger Phantom 4 sibling posseses, there’s a 12-megapixel camera that takes 4K30 and 1080p96 videos with a 79-degree FOV, five optical sensors for obstacle detection and up to 27-minutes of flight time. Powered by 24 computing cores under the hood, the Mavic Pro has a number of new tricks that isn’t available in the Phantom 4, such as triggering a camera shot with the gesture of your hands and an improved ActiveTrack feature that understands subjects even better, there’s also the new Terrain Mode that is extremely useful for tracking a moving subject on a slope. Furthermore, the Mavic Pro has a new Tripod Mode made for indoor use, it reduces the drone’s speed and increases the precision of the control stick to allow users capture their shots properly.

DJI’s Kevin On mentions that the Mavic Pro’s remote control is designed based on the concept of a gamepad, it supports snapping a phone with a 6-inch display and comes with a short custom Lightning and MicroUSB cable in the box, the remote control is so compact that users could slip into their pockets easily. With the Mavic Pro’s new OcuSync connection, which combines both DJI’s own Lightbridge technology and dual-band WiFi, you can also control the drone by simply using your smartphone without the remote, two virtual joysticks will appear on your phone’s screen for controlling the drone.

Last but not the least, the DJI Osmo Mobile is made for those who have wanted to use their smartphone cameras for doing vlogs and live streaming, by using the DJI GO app your smartphone camera becomes smarter with DJI’s ActiveTrack, Motion Time Lapse and other features, which brings smartphone photography and videography to the next level in certain challenging situations. The Osmo Mobile will fit phones with display sizes of up to 6.4-inches, it connects with your phone using Bluetooth LE 4.0 and comes with a 980mAh battery, which lasts up to 4.5 hours and is chargeable via a custom USB port. While the Osmo Mobile is compatible with current Osmo accessories, you are not able to switch the gimbal module like the current Osmo, which explains why the Osmo Mobile is priced significantly cheaper.

These new DJI products will be available by end of this month, the Mavic Pro retails at RM4,299 (RM4,556.94 after GST) while the Osmo Mobile retails at RM1,299 (RM1,376.94 after GST), they will be distributed by ECS Astar Sdn Bhd and carry a 1-year warranty.

dji
drones
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osmomobile


The DJI Mini 3 Pro is a small drone made for professional creators

4.7K

DJI has unveiled the Mini 3 Pro drone, a small-sized UAV that weighs 249g just like its predecessors, but this time, the Mini 3 Pro isn’t a mere recreational drone but is targeted at Pro users with an upgraded camera, three-way obstacle sensors and more.

Featuring a large 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor that takes 48MP stills at f/1.7, the DJI Mini 3 Pro is capable of recording videos of up to 4K60p with HDR at 150Mbps, videos can also be shot in the flat Cine-like profile for color grading purposes, flight time is pretty impressive at 34 minutes with the provided Intelligent Flight Battery and pilots can purchase an Intelligent Flight Battery Plus to extend their flight session up to 47 minutes, flight speeds can go up to 57km/h on Sports mode and reach as far as 25km, which is a significant upgrade from the DJI Mini 2.

Video transmission is also improved over the Mini 2 with the DJI O3 transmission system, where pilots are presented a clear 1080p30 live view of their footage at 18Mbps, with the DJI RC-N1 remote controller for as far as 12km, users can also upgrade to the new DJI RC with a built-in display.

The DJI Mini 3 Pro also caters to new pilots with APAS 4.0, which detects objects in the aircraft’s path in real time to avoid obstacles even in complicated environments with the help of the forward, backward, and downward dual-vision sensors, it also supports QuickShot modes for taking cinematic video shots, MasterShots and FocusTrack object tracking.

Starting today till 16th May 2022, the DJI Mini 3 Pro can be preordered in Malaysia from RM3,399, customers will receive exclusive free gifts and a RM50 accessory cash back voucher, customers can also opt to bundle with the DJI RC remote controller for RM4,199, or choose the Fly More Kit Plus bundle for RM5,199.

Visit DJI Malaysia’s official
Lazada
 and
Shopee
 store to preorder the DJI Mini 3 Pro.

dji
dji mini 3 pro
dji mini 3 pro malaysia


The DJI Spark LINE FRIENDS edition is so adorable that you will actually want it

395

The DJI Spark is one cute little drone that measures as tall as a can of Coke with great imaging capabilities, who would have known that DJI has worked alongside with LINE to feature BROWN, one of the LINE FRIENDS characters, on the drone’s exterior, the box has also been themed with the LINE FRIENDS design, and DJI has surprisingly maintained the price at $399 (RM1,626) by bundling a remote control, which doesn’t come in the Spark’s original retail package.

Sporting a 12MP f/2.6 camera sensor, the DJI Spark uses a 2-axis gimbal to stabilize shots and has the ability to shoot videos up to 1080p at 30fps. The Spark has a flight time of up to 16 minutes on a single charge and can fly as fast as 50km/h in Sport mode, it is DJI’s first drone that lets you control using hand gestures, such as taking a selfie. Also, the Spark also features a set of intelligent flight modes that aren’t available on DJI’s higher end drones.

The DJI Spark LINE FRIENDS edition is now available for purchase over at
DJI’s online store
, and we believe it won’t take long to reach here.

dji
dji line friends
dji spark
dji spark line friends


The DreameBot L10s Ultra is the ultimate robot vacuum you will want to own

6.4K

Dreame Malaysia has introduced the DreameBot L10s Ultra robot vacuum, featuring an all-in-one charging station with automatically empties dust, washes and rinses the robot’s mopping cloth, ultimately delivering a hassle-free cleaning experience.

The DreameBot L10s Ultra features a sleek body that incorporates many advanced technologies under the hood to ensure the cleanliness of your home, it maps your home quickly with its LiDAR sensor and is assisted by a RGB camera that helps identify objects around your home, intelligently avoiding them as it cleans your home.

Unlike other robot vacuums in the market, the DreameBot L10s Ultra comes with dual rotary microfibre mop pads that cleans the floor thoroughly, they are automatically raised up to 7mm from the floor when the robot vacuum runs on thick carpets.

Depending on the user’s configuration, it can be set to return to the base for self-cleaning based on the distance or cleaning time, while the all-in-one station features a large 2.5L clean water tank that can last multiple cleaning sessions.

The DreameBot L10s Ultra is also Dreame’s most powerful robot vacuum yet as it has a suction power of up to 5,300Pa, it has a total run time of 210 minutes of runtime vacuuming and up to 160 minutes for both vacuuming and mopping.

Available on 8th January 2023 onwards, the DreameBot L10s Ultra will retail at an introductory price of RM3,999, customers will be able to score an additional RM200 voucher when they purchase the robot vacuum during launch day at Dreame Malaysia Official Store within time frames of 12am to 2am and 12pm to 2pm, while enjoying 0% installment for up to 18 months from just RM211.05/month.

On top of that, the first 100 customers to purchase the robot vacuum will get a free Dreame Hair Dryer worth RM599. Dreame has also held a Spend & Win contest for customers who purchase the Dreame L10s Ultra on 8th and 9th January 2023, where customers can stand a chance to win a Dreame P10 Pro Cordless Stick Vacuum worth RM1,199.

Visit the Dreame Malaysia Official Store
here
 to purchase.

Dreame
dreame l10s ultra
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The dual-slider ASUS ZenFone 6 is coming on May 16 with a Snapdragon 855 chipset

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The ASUS ZenFone 6 is now certified by the Federal Communication Commissions (FCC) and is found on its website. The ASUS smartphone is expected to launch on May 16, but a few of its specs have already been revealed.

The ASUS ZenFone 6 is expected to come with a screen with 1080x2340p resolution, and reports suggest that it might not have any notches or holes on its screen. It is also spotted with a fingerprint sensor on its back, and some believe that the ZenFone 6 will be sporting a dual-slider design that has been leaked recently.

Image credit: Evan Blass

In addition, the ZenFone 6 will be powered by the latest Snapdragon 855 processor paired with Adreno 640 GPU. There will be 6GB RAM and 128GB storage included in the phone, and it will ship with Android Pie 9.

The phone is also said to come with dual camera setup, but there’s not thorough information on it yet. If the phone really comes with a dual-slider design, it’s no doubt that the slider will hold the front camera. There’s also no absolute detail regarding the ZenFone 6’s battery size, but it’s reported to support 18W fast charging.

asus
ZenFone 6


The DxO One camera turns your iPhone into a powerful point and shoot

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The iPhone already takes great pictures out of the box, but if you are craving for more megapixels and sick of the iPhone camera’s f/2.4 aperture but still don’t really want to carry a heavy DSLR with you, the DxO One is a camera that you may want to consider buying, at $600, it connects to your iPhone’s Lightning connector and you can start shooting with a f/1.8 20-megapixel lens right away.

The DxO one has an LED display that shows you the camera’s operation mode and battery life, it also has a MicroSD slot that lets you save your photos. In technical aspects, the 1-inch 20.2-megapixel f/1.8 sensor has a good 32mm focal length, not the widest out there but if should be good for most travelling shots. The camera has an ISO range from 100-51200 which is good for low light photography and takes videos at 1080p resolution with 30 frames per second. Most impressively, this little gadget has an extremely fast 1/8000 shutter speed and even takes RAW images if you want it to.

One of the things to love about the accessory is that you are able to twist the device and treat it like a
front
facing
camera
, which reminds us of the
Nokia
3250
 that has a twisting keypad with a built-in camera module. There is also a two-stage shutter button on the top which makes taking pictures more convenient and camera-like. If you don’t have an iPhone, you can still pretty much use it as a standalone camera since it has its own
built
–
in
battery
 that offers an estimated practical 200 shots per charge. According to DxO, the device doesn’t rely on and drain your iPhone’s battery when connected to it.

DxO is currently available for pre-order in the US and while this isn’t exactly a cheap accessory, it does deliver some advantages over some standard point and shoots and eventually better pictures on your iPhone and it is definitely much more portable than lens style cameras  or your DSLR, I just hope DxO will consider Android support one day.

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The Encryption Conundrum : Apple vs FBI (Part One)

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The legal battle between Apple and the FBI surrounding encryption is going to be one that will stretch on for the entire year. It is not an exaggeration to say that the FBI wanting Apple to provide it with tools that would allow the agency to circumvent encryption is something that may have very dire consequences in the near future, even if you’re not living in the United States.

Seeing as the battle between the Apple and the FBI is a rather complicated case, for the first part of this story, I’ll be giving you a rundown of everything that has transpired that led up to the FBI getting a court order to compel Apple into creating a method to gain access to a locked iPhone.

Image source:
The New York Times

The Beginning :
The San Bernardino Attack

On December 2nd, 2015, an American couple conducted a mass shooting as well as an attempted bombing at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California. The perpetrators, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, are considered “homegrown violent extremists” that were inspired by foreign terrorist groups such as ISIS. The attack caused the death of 14 people and seriously injured 22 others. The attack culminated in the couple being killed by the police after engaging with a firefight with them.

Court Order : FBI compels Apple to assist in case

As the FBI was investigating the terrorist attack that occured in San Bernardino, they’ve stumbled upon a San Bernardino County-owned iPhone 5C that was used by Farook. On the the 9th of February 2016, the FBI
publicly reveals
 that they have been unable to unlock the iPhone in question due to its advanced security features, including encryption of user data.

Because the accessible iCloud backup data from the phone does not include the shooter’s recent online activites, the FBI approached Apple to create a new version of the phone’s iOS operating system. This operating system could be installed and run in the phone’s random access memory, allowing it to disable certain security features. Apple refused, stating that it is the company’s policy to never undermine the security features of its products. With Apple not willing to co-operate with them, the
FBI successfully acquired a court order from a federal judge
, compelling Apple to provide the FBI “reasonable technical assistance” in order to recover data from the iPhone.

Source:
The Washington Post

Now usually, should a court want to compel an individual or a company to do something, they would issue a subpoena. In this case, the federal court issued Apple not a subpoena, but an order under the
All Writs Act of 1789
. The
All Writs Act
 authorizes the United States federal courts to “issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions and agreeable to the usages and principles of law.” However, there are four conditions that must be fulfilled before the All Writs Act can be applied, one of which is that the act is only applicable when other judicial tools are not available. The last time that the All Writs Act was successfully applied was in
United States v. New York Telephone Co.
 of 1977. In this case, the United States Supreme Court held that law enforcement officials may obtain a court order forcing telephone companies to install pen registers in order to record the numbers called from a particular telephone.

The usage of the All Writs Act in this case is, according to
legal experts
, unprecedented. Furthermore,
some believe
 that should Apple be successfully compelled to assist the FBI in such a way via the use of the All Writs Act, it would set a legal precedent that may affect future cases.

The Rebuttal : Tim Cook’s Letter

Upon receive the court order from the FBI, Apple publicly states that it would oppose the order.
In a public letter
 issued by Apple and signed by Tim Cook, they believe that by designing a backdoor for the FBI, they would be “undermining decades of security advancements that protect our customers – including tens of millions of American citizens – from sophisticated hackers and cybercriminals.”

Source:
ABC News

Apple would also go on to state that the FBI’s use of the All Writs Act have terrifying implications. They claim that if the government could use the All Writs Act to make it easier to unlock the iPhone, it would potentially “have the power to reach into anyone’s device to capture their data.” They further stated that the government could “extend this breach of privacy and demand that Apple build surveillance software to intercept your messages, access your health records or financial data, track your location, or even access your phone’s microphone or camera without the user’s knowledge.”

Apple’s rebuttal of the court order has led the
United State’s Department of Justice
 to file a separate application that urges a federal judge to compel Apple to comply with the order. Seeing the amount of negative PR that the FBI was receiving, director of the FBI James Comey wrote on Lawfare that the FBI isn’t interested in setting any new precedent. Comey states that they’ve merely requested of Apple to give them “the chance, with a search warrant, to try to guess the terrorist’s passcode without the phone essentially self-desructing and without it taking a decade to guess correctly.” Comey further states that the FBI has no intention of “breaking anyone’s encryption or set a master key loose on hand.”

The Mistake : FBI misses opportunity to get data via iCloud backup

Eventually, Apple executives would reveal that the company has provided the FBI with four alternative ways to access data from the iPhone aside from the controversial backdoor method. Out of the four options, one of the more encouraging ones relies on the fact that the iPhone in question would have its data backed up into iCloud, allowing the FBI to some data from the iPhone without needing to crack it.

This method would be ruled out as when the iPhone was first retreived, the San Bernardino Department of Health worked with the FBI to reset the iCloud password as the county owned the account and was able to reset the password in order to provide immediate access to the iCloud backup data. This caused the iCloud password on the iPhone itself to be wrong, and if they wanted to receive the backup data, they need to re-enter the correct password on the iPhone that they couldn’t access in the first place.
The Department of Justice
 admitted that this was indeed the case, but added that any backup would have been “insufficient” because it didn’t have the same amount of information as what was on the phone itself. They also believe that the shooter had turned off auto-backup, saying the phone had been auto-updating weekly until the last backup six weeks before the shooting.

Now that you have the general picture of the encryption battle between the FBI and Apple, we’ll be looking at the supporters and arguments for both sides of this particular case.

Source:
Reuters
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NBC News
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The New Yorker
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ABC News
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KTLA