Huawei’s foldable Mate X is officially listed on their global website, and could arrive this June

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The first proper foldable phone may be upon us as Huawei have listed the Huawei Mate X on the official global website. Reports by Gizmochina say that the phone could be available from June of this year.

Why we say the Mate X could be the first proper foldable as opposed to the already existing ZTE Axon M is because he Mate X features a single, gap-less screen which Huawei calls the Falcon Wing Design. The screen is an 8-inch OLED display that pushes a resolution of 2480 x 2200. When folded, the phone display two panels – a 6.6-inches, another 6.38-inches.

Image credit: Huawei

The Mate X comes with a quad-camera setup (40MP wide-angle lens + 16MP ultra-wide-angle lens + 8MP telephoto lens + ToF lens). The camera modules are setup in a vertical orientation along the right edge of the back panel, meaning selfies can only be taken with the phone folded and using the back screen.

The device will come with a Kirin 980 chipset along with Balong 5000 meaning the Mate X will be support 5G connectivity. It will also ship with 8GBs of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. Powering the device is a massive 4,500mAh battery, while the phone supports 55W Huawei SuperCharge.

Image credit: Huawei

The Mate X ships with Android Pie 9 and Huawei’s EMUI 9.1.1. There will also be a side-mounted fingerprint sensor that doubles as the power button. The official specs page detail only one colour option for the device – Interstellar Blue. According to Gizmochina, the phone could cost around €2,299 (about RM10,614), so we don’t see this device deice becoming widely-used when it launches, but with time, foldable phones could become better and cheaper.

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Huawei’s foldable smartphone might be seen at MWC 2019

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Huawei has already announced that they will be releasing a foldable smartphone in 2019, and this smartphone will also be supporting 5G networks.

Some also referred to the smartphone as Huawei Mate X, and while the exact release date is not revealed, the Mate X is expected to arrive at the Mobile World Congress next year in February and expected to be available for sale in June 2019.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhOtffNmWw4]

The Mate X is a smartphone that is assumed to be 5-inch when it’s folded and 8-inch when it’s opened up, making it a tablet-sized device. The smartphone will come with a notch to house the front camera and on its back, it will have dual cameras of 12+20MP lenses. Rumors also suggest that it will be running on EMUI based on Android and is powered by Kirin processor, though it is unsure whether it will be powered by the Kirin 980 processor. Other leaks on the device is still unknown, but the concept video produced by TechConfigurations predicts that the phone might have an in-display fingerprint sensor.

Of course, there are also other smartphone brands such as Samsung and LG that are also revealing their foldable smartphones next year, so we can only compare between the smartphones and test out the foldable technology when all these smartphones are available to us.

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Huawei’s Freebuds 2 Pro can be charged wirelessly via the Mate 20

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Next month we will finally see the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro in all its glory, and it will be the first phone that will be equipped with the Kirin 980 processor. At the same time, we also know that Huawei is releasing the Freebuds 2 Pro.

The Freebuds 2 Pro looks very similar to the Apple AirPods and it comes complete with its charging case that again, similar to the AirPods, support wireless charging. However, the difference between the Freebuds 2 Pro and the Apple AirPods is the ability to use the Mate 20 phones as a wireless charging pad. Other than that, it is also stated that the wireless earphones will come with more features compared to the AirPods. For one, it comes with Bluetooth 5.0 support, noise-cancellation, support for Hi-Res Wireless Audio protocol and bone conduction to improve voice recognition and voice quality.

The Freebuds 2 Pro is expected to be introduced together with the Mate 20 phones and will retail for around $150 – $160. We will have to wait for the launch of the Mate 20 phones for more details.

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Huawei’s Freelace is a pair of wireless headphones with an interesting design

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The Huawei P30 may have been the highlight in Huawei’s launch event in Paris, it has also introduced the Huawei FreeLace, a pair of over the neck wireless earphones that looks very much like a pair of BeatsX, but what’s really interesting here is how it is able to pair with phones and get charged, as one side of the cord lets you detach the headphones and unveils a USB-C port for charging and pairing purposes.

Like Apple’s AirPods, Huawei has made pairing the FreeLace easier on a Huawei smartphone, as users will only need to connect the headphone’s USB-C connector to their phones to get it done, Huawei is calling its fast pairing technology Huawei HiPair, which is supported on its devices that run on EMUI 9.1.

The FreeLace is quite a solid performer in battery life, as Huawei quotes that it could offer up to four hours of listening time in a mere 5 minutes charging time, while it supports up to 18 hours of music playback and 13 hours of talk time in a single charge. Sound is delivered by a large 9.2mm dynamic driver unit, which should deliver some great dynamics and soundstage, its built-in microphone has also been optimized to reduce wind-noise when making voice calls.

Huawei is selling the FreeLace for €99 (RM454) in European markets, and we should expect them to launch in Malaysia shortly with a lower price tag.

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Huawei’s HarmonyOS has ADB mode, could it be based on Android?

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From the day when Huawei announced the existence of its own operating system as an alternative to Android, the company hasn’t been exactly honest about what Hongmeng, otherwise more well known as HarmonyOS, is all about.

During the company’s developer conference in China, HarmonyOS has been said to be based on the Linux kernel and is claimed to be faster and more scaleable than Android. However, a recent discovery by a Weibo user on a working Honor Smart TV, which comes with HarmonyOS preinstalled, has revealed that there is an ADB mode on the operating system.

ADB, otherwise known as Android Debug Bridge, is a command line tool that allows users communicate with their Android devices from a computer, which is commonly used by developers if they ever need to perform functions such as adding/removing a feature or mirroring their device’s screen.

It would seem rather weird that HarmonyOS adopted ADB as a command line tool rather than the usual bash terminal command line that’s usually found on Linux, but users are speculating that HarmonyOS could be based on Android rather than Linux, just like how Huawei’s EMUI is riding on top of the company’s Android phones.

Nonetheless, it is rather common for companies like this not to reveal the actual core of their operating system, Nokia did the same with the Nokia X, where it uses Android as the core of its operating system without any Google services installed, users can easily sideload APK files on it too.

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Huawei’s HongMeng OS is reportedly 60% faster than Android – tested on OPPO and Vivo phones too

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As the Trump-administered trade ban sanctions business ties between Google and Huawei, the Chinese company are set to lose out on Android – an OS that they’ve relied on to power their smartphones for the longest time. We know that Huawei’s plan b is to use their own proprietary HongMeng OS in upcoming devices, but it left people wondering if it’ll be any good.

Reports which have surface recently may have answered part of that question; according to Global Times, the new OS apparently performs 60% faster than Android systems. Huawei were reportedly testing their OS on their own devices as well as other Chinese brands like Vivo and OPPO; all results point towards a significant increase in speed when using HongMeng OS.

It is unsure on what parameters the new OS were gauged with and what the variables of the tests were, but we’re willing to give Huawei the benefit of the doubt that this isn’t just a PR stunt to bolster the brand’s position in their current situation.

It was previously reported that Huawei had shipped out one million smartphones equipped with HongMeng OS to be tested, so it can be assumed that these tests have relation to this new insight. If this is true, Huawei, along with other Chinese brands, will eventually have less reliance on American entities and push their very own products to the mass audience; giving consumers more options down the line.

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Huawei’s Honor 6 Plus & Honor 4C have gone official in Malaysian shores

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#ForTheBrave
 is the hashtag of the day for Huawei Honor Malaysia’s 1st Anniversary Celebration which took place at Symphony Lake Suite, KLCC on 28 April 2015. And what better way to throw a party than to release not one but
two
hero phones exclusively for the budget-conscious-power consumer – the Honor 4C & Honor 6 Plus

According to Abraham Liu, CEO of Huawei Technologies Malaysia
, “the Honor brand was created with a ‘By the consumer, for the consumer’ mindset and up till today, the brand still stays true to its core by empowering users worldwide to unleash the maximum potential within themselves fearlessly.”

#1 Honor 4C

The first new hero device in the Honor family is the up and coming rising little brother – meet the Honor 4C. This little rocker is meant for the budget-conscious consumer but has no intention of settling for any less as well.

Equipped with a 64-bit Octa-Core 1.2GHz CPU, booted with Huawei EMUI on top of an
Android 4.4+ OS
, measuring in with a 5-inch
HD LCD
, embedded with a 13MP rear camera & 5MP front camera powered by a 2,550 mAh juice pack accompanied by 2GB RAM+8GB ROM+32GB Memory expansion and to top it all off, this little rocker is retailing for only
RM529!

It definitely does not get any better than this. Competition is superbly stiff with the Honor 4C entering the market and brands such as Xiaomi better hold on to their seats as Huawei will definitely rock their socks this time around.

#2 Honor 6 Plus

And the hero device that we’ve been waiting for – the Honor 6 Plus. At first glance, you’ll be greeted with a gorgeous 5.5-inch Full
HD LCD
 Corning Gorilla Glass 3 screen with a 78.2% screen-to-body ratio on the front panel of the device.

However, its true power lies in what is unseen. Under the hood, the Honor 6 Plus boasts of a. Octa-Core 1.8GHz Kirin 925 CPU and is Cat6 LTE-enabled. A notable feature is of course its dual 8MP unique bionic parallel eagle eye rear camera with a max resolution of 13MP – which Huawei claims is the first in the world.

With 3GB of RAM not being something farfetched in today’s flagships, the Honor 6 Plus is definitely no exception but not only that, it also manages to house 32GB ROM+128GB Memory expansion – that’s what I call abundant storage space!

Not forgetting all that juice in that powerpack, 3,600 mAh to be exact, you’ll be certain that you won’t run out of juice so abruptly throughout the day. With its SmartPower 2.5 Technology, ultra-low internal resistance; it definitely spells out a lower overall power consumption. And being priced at
RM1,399
for a flagship device, it is definitely worth every cent you have so painstakingly earned.

With that being said, do head on over to Huawei’s official e-commerce site right
here
 when the clock strikes 3:08PM today to be one of the first to get your hands (or wallets) on the Honor 6 Plus and Honor 4C. Definitely a beauty!


Huawei's Honor teases Honor V8 ahead of launch, dual-camera setup

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Honor, a subsidiary of Huawei, has uploaded a teaser onto Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo, also announcing the launch date for next month. The handset teased in the image is of the Honor V8, which will likely be the successor for the Honor 7, which has sold quite well last year.

Based on the teaser image, the Honor V8 will most probably feature a dual-camera setup. Dual-camera setups were featured on the modular LG G5, and Huawei’s own P9 and P9 Plus which were announced just two weeks ago. So far, the dual-camera is the only element exposed in the teaser. Rumor has it that the Honor V8 won’t be using lenses from Leica like on the Huawei P9 and P9 Plus. Instead, the setup is said to consist of two 12MP sensors each.

Other rumors state that the V8 will be packing 4GB of RAM alongside Huawei’s home-grown HiSilicon Kirin 950 processor, the same chip underneath the hood of the Huawei Mate 8. The Honor V8 will be sporting a fingerprint sensor too, since it was already seen on the Honor 7 and the Honor 5X. The device is set to be unveiled at Beijing on the 10th of May. Till then, stay tuned!

Source:
Weibo

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Huawei’s lightweight MateBook 13 laptop is now available in Malaysia but with no touchscreen capability

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Yesterday saw the launch of Huawei’s third instalment to their flagship P series, the P30 and the P30 Pro. Besides the phones however, Huawei also launched the latest addition to their laptop lineup, the Huawei MateBook 13.

The 13-inch device comes with a FullView display that’s capable of 2160 x 1440 resolution and features a screen-to-body ratio of 88%; but it’s no MateBook X Pro in this aspect.

Image credit: Huawei

The laptop weighs around 1.28kg, making it the lightest MateBook to date, and even lighter than Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Pro, which is about 9g heavier.

Now comes the fun part: specs. The MateBook 13 comes with your choice of either an 8th gen Intel Coree i5 or i7, integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620 chip and an Nvidia GeForce MX150 2GB, so light photo editing should be a breeze.

You’ll get LPDDR3 8GB RAM as standard and for storage, 256GB SSD for the i5 model or 512GB SSD for the i7.

The MateBook 13 comes with 2 USB-C ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, along with a 42Wh battery which Huawei claims can get you 9.6 hours of FHD video playback using the dedicated GPU or 10 hours with the integrated GPU.

Image credit: Huawei

Unfortunately, Malaysians won’t be getting the touchscreen version of the MateBook 13 just yet, but we reckon it will be introduced in the near future. The laptop does come with the OneHop feature which allows you to wirelessly transfer files from you mobile to the laptop via NFC.

The Huawei MateBook 13 will be available for purchase this April 6 alongside the P30 smartphones; you can also pre-order the laptop at Huawei’s official online store, and each pre-order will net you a list of free gifts.

The laptop is available in three colors – Space Gray, Pink Gold and Mystic Silver. The Core i5 variant will set you back RM3,999 while the Core i7 variant will cost RM4,399.

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Huawei’s Matebook X Pro is coming to Malaysia soon

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With all the technology companies expanding their range of products, Huawei has also started producing their own notebook, beginning with the Matebook in 2016. After two years, Huawei is back with Matebook X Pro, and it is coming to Malaysia soon.

Img source : Huawei

The Matebook X Pro has a FullView display, which is inspired by the use of such display for smartphones. Matebook X Pro has slim bezel design, which results in an almost borderless display with 91% screen-to-body ratio. It comes with a LTPS display which provides higher picture resolution. The color options available for the Matebook X Pro are Mystic Silver and Space Gray.

Not only is the Matebook X Pro is a touchscreen notebook, it also weighs at 1.33 kg. This makes it convenient for those who tend to bring their notebook everywhere. You can opt for 256GB or 512GB internal storage, with 8GB or 16GB RAM. Other than that, Matebook X Pro runs on Intel 8th Generation processor. It comes with a headphone jack, two USB-C ports one the left side of the notebook, and one USB-A port on the other side.

Img source : Huawei

Logging in with fingerprint is possible as there’s a fingerprint scanner which is incorporated with the power button. However, the rather peculiar feature about the Matebook X Pro is its camera that can be positioned at the top row of the keyboard. The camera is equipped with spring, hence it can be hidden or popped out whenever you need to use it. One can only assume the design is to protect the users’ privacy.

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Huawei’s own OS is called HongMeng and could gradually replace Android

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Many have speculated that Google’s separation from Huawei may be nothing but temporary until both the Chinese Company and the US Government learn to play nice — but in the case that it
is
permanent, Huawei have reportedly been working on their own operating system for some time now and are ready to replace Android on a gradual basis.

Dubbed ‘HongMeng’, the in-house-built OS has reportedly been in the works since 2012 and will be Huawei’s ‘plan B’ should they be left out of the next Android update – which would be Android Q.

Huawei claims that they want to make something that will attract both users and app developers — but it will be a tall order considering both Android and iOS are doing such reliable OSs. It would be interesting to see how this whole trade ban fracas plays out — and if it goes south for Huawei, we might have a new OS on our hands.

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Huawei's P10-line of smartphone arrives in Malaysia on the 31st of March

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Two weeks after making its debut at MWC 2017 in Barcelona, Huawei’s latest flagship smartphone, the P10, will be making its way to Malaysia by the end of the month.

For the local market, Huawei has opt to launch three variants of the P10: the P10 Lite, the P10, and the P10 Plus. The P10 Lite will be the affordable version of the lineup as it sports a Kirin 655 Octa-core processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 5.2″ Full HD screen, and a 3,000mAh battery.

Meanwhile, the regular P10 will come with a Kirin 960 octa-core processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage, a 5.1″ Full HD screen, and a 3,200mAh battery. Finally, we have the P10 Plus, the flagship of the lineup. This particular model comes with the Kirin 960 processor, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, a 5.5 1440p screen, and a 3,750mAh battery. All three models of the P10 will run on Android Nougat with Huawei’s own EMUI 5.1 screen.

For the camera, the P10 will sport the “Leica Dual-Camera Pro Edition”. This setup gives the P10 a F1.9 SUMMILUX-H f/2.2 lens which is accompanied by a 20MP monochrome sensor and a 12MP regular sensor. Accompanying the camera setup is the four-in-one hybrid autofocus system and Optical Image Stabilization technology. The camera on the P10 Plus is largely the same, although that particular phone will have a f/1.8 aperture instead. Both the P10 and P10 Plus sports the same 8MP f/1.9 front-facing camera. As for the P10 Lite, Huawei has outfitted the smartphon ewith a 12MP rear camera and an 8MP front camera.

All three smartphones mentioned above will be available in either Prestige Gold or Graphite Black colours. The P10 Lite will retail for RM1,299, the P10 will retail for RM2,499, while the P10 Plus will go for RM3,099. Pre-orders for the P10-lineup will begin on the 23rd of March on the Huawei Experience Store, Lazada and Vmall. General availability of the smartphones will be available on the 31st of March

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Huawei’s refreshed Nova lineup now features dual camera setups

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Huawei is carrying on its dual camera glory to other non flagships with the announcement of the Huawei Nova 2 and the Nova 2 Plus. Both these handsets are now even more worthy to be part of Huawei’s show boat of dual cam devices.

When Huawei first launched the Nova series, the phones looked only mediocre at best, from looks to spec sheet. None of them stood out among Huawei’s growing line of smartphones, but that has been improved upon with the Nova 2 and the Nova 2 Plus. One key point to note is that both these phones feature pretty much the same specs throughout apart from the display size and battery capacity.

Let’s begin with the similarities. Both phones sport the mid range Snapdragon 625 processor underneath the hood with 4GB of RAM. They also feature the same dual rear camera setup of 12MP + 8MP. The selfie camera of 20 megapixels sounds nothing less than impressive on paper as well. None of the cameras are Leica branded however, but that shouldn’t be much of a deal breaker.

The Nova 2 has a 5-inch display while the Plus variant features a 5.5-incher. Both displays are in 1080p resolution. The former also packs half the storage of the latter at 64GB and 128GB respectively. Storage can be further expanded via the micro SD card slot. Last but not least, the Nova 2 Plus carries a bigger battery at 3,340mAh capacity while the smaller Nova 2 is powered by a 2,950mAh battery.

Both the Nova 2 and the Nova 2 Plus will carry price tags of 2,499 CNY (RM1,554.73) and 2,899 CNY (RM1,803.58) respectively. How’s that for excellent mid rangers with sub RM2,000 price points?

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HUAWEI’s smart products set to launch on November 15, including the noise-cancelling FreeBuds 3

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HUAWEI will be launching a range of its smart products including the HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 Earphones and the HUAWEI x Gentle Monster Smart Eyewear on November 15 — with free gifts and promotion on selected products.

The HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 is HUAWEI’s latest wireless earphones that supports noise cancellation and ultra-low gaming latency. It’s powered by the Kirin A1 chipset and comes with a 14mm driver. The FreeBuds 3 is paired with a charging case that charges up to four times, each time allowing the earphones to last around four hours each charge. In addition, you can set different function for each earbud — for example, you can double tap the left earbud to pick up calls and double tap the right earbud to play/pause the music.

Apart from the wireless charging earphones, HUAWEI also made a wireless charging sunglasses called the HUAWEI x Gentle Monster Smart Eyewear. This sunglasses automatically plays music when you put them on and sports built-in sensors that let you play/pause music and also launch your voice assistant. The smart eyewear’s average battery life is around 2.5 hours and can be charged multiple times with its wireless charging case, giving it a total battery life of eight hours. There will be two designs offered in Malaysia — Smart Jackbye and Smart Eastmoon.

HUAWEI will also be launching the new MateBook 13 with NVIDIA GeForce MX250 graphics card. The MateBook 13 supports either the 7th Gen Intel Core i5 processor or the 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, but both configurations will have 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. These devices are also capable of mirroring the HUAWEI Mate 30 series, so you can transfer your files from the phone to the laptop seamlessly and efficiently.

Last but not least, HUAWEI introduces the WiFi Q2 Pro system that provides stronger WiFi connectivity by enhancing the network performance and boosting the speed up to 200Mbps. With the WiFi Q2 Pro system, the company says that the connectivity strength will increase, the coverage will improve and the set-up will be very convenient.

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, there will be free gifts when you purchase some of the products above. You’ll be getting the HUAWEI Bag Pack and HUAWEI Bluetooth Mouse for free when you purchase the MateBook 13 i5 variant or the i7 variant priced at RM3,599 and RM4,399 respectively. You can also get a free WiFi Q2 Pro Satellite worth RM169 when you purchase the HUAWEI WiFi Q2 Pro.

Meanwhile, if you’re interested in the FreeBuds 3 and the HUAWEI x Gentle Monster, the earphones will cost you RM729 while the eyewear will set you back RM1,599.
 The HUAWEI Mate 30 series will also be available on November 15, whereby the Mate 30 will cost RM2,799 and the Mate 30 Pro will cost RM3,899.

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Huawei’s smartphone with Infinity-O display will be revealed in December

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The Infinity-O display first came to light when Samsung announced that it might be shown on the Samsung Galaxy A8s, but now Huawei has released a teaser on its Weibo account, which also features the same Infinity-O display.

The Infinity-O display is basically a hole in the smartphone’s screen, which will also be the location of the front camera. Huawei seems to be in a race with Samsung, and users are also eager to see which smartphone brand will first release a smartphone with said display.

Image credit: Huawei

On Huawei’s Weibo account, they have stated that they will be releasing the smartphone in December, but so is the Samsung Galaxy A8s. Aside from Samsung’s A8s, it was reported that the Samsung Galaxy S10 will also have the Infinity-O display, so Huawei probably have to come up with a flagship device that has the similar display if they’re trying to go up against Samsung.

The first Huawei smartphone with Infinity-O display is also rumoured to either be the Nova 3S or Nova 4. Leaks suggest that the smartphone will be equipped with Kirin 980 processor, up to 8GB RAM and also 4230mAh battery. To put it simply, we can only wait till December to find out more information on the new smartphone by Huawei.

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Huawei’s StorySign app helps deaf children to learn to read

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Huawei recently launched an app that could benefit deaf children greatly by teaching them how to read. The app called StorySign uses an AI to help the deaf or hard of hearing kids learn to read by translating the texts into sign language.

Huawei partnered with British Deaf Association and European Union of the Deaf to seek consultation and ensure that they can bring a practical solution to the deaf children. Children or parents will have to access the app and select a book from the StorySign library, and as they use the smartphone’s camera, the camera scans the text on the page of the book and translate the words into sign language so that the deaf children can interpret accordingly. That being said, the family will be required to have the physical book of the selected title or else the translation by the app will not work.
 [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btrLZe_tE2U]
 The avatar in the app is designed by Aarman Animations with the goal to make sure that the avatar resonates with the children hence the character Star was created and was made to feel like an older sibling that can help children to read their story books. Joe Marriot, the Commissioning Editor at Penguin Random House to offer a classic book on the app wherever it launches. For now, there is one classic book for each sign language, and there are 10 sign languages available in the app including French, German, English, Italian, Spanish and more.

While now it’s just the one English classic book called Where’s Spots by Eric Hill, soon there will be more and more additions which be greatly lessen the gap between the deaf and non-deaf children. It could be a great achievement since it could help young children grasp the knowledge they need and wasn’t exposed to due to their hearing impairment.

The StorySign app is available for Android devices that runs on Android 6.0 and above and it is available in Google Play Store for free.

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Huawei’s Watch GT welcomes two new additions to the lineup

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During Huawei’s conference in Paris yesterday, a host of products were introduced including the P30 flagship phones and the Freelace wireless headphones.

Along side these items introduced was also the Huawei Watch GT – the original Classic Edition and Sport Editions were released last October, and this time around Huawei have announced two new variants to the smartwatch.

Image credit: 9to5Google

The first of the two new additions is the Active Edition which sports a similar 46mm face and is fitted with a 1.39-inch AMOLED HD touchscreen display that puts out a resolution of 454 x 454 pixels.

Huawei had also introduced a smaller Elegant Edition that’s geared towards female wearers. It comes with a 42mm ceramic bezel face and a 1.2-inch AMOLED HD touchscreen display.

Like the previous Huawei Watch models, both the new additions will also boast two weeks of battery life. and will include feature all the smartwatch goodies such as heart rate monitor, scientific sleeping, distance tracking capabilities and more.

Both the watches are fitted with fluoroelastomer straps which, according to Huawei, improves on overall texture and durability as well as comfort. The Active Edition is priced at €249 and will be available in orange and dark green; while the Elegant Edition will set you back €299 and is available in white and black.

No word on when the watches will be available in Malaysia but we suspect it will arrive soon after the Malaysian release of the P30 series, which is touted to be next week.

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Hub+ lets you have more ports on the new MacBook

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Few months ago when the new MacBook was launched, many have argued on the MacBook’s one and only available
USB-C
 port because they require multiple ports to transfer data or even charging their devices while we certainly won’t deny some doesn’t find it an issue. A company from California called Nonda figured out a way to fix it with its product Hub+ to expand the MacBook ports, which features features 2
USB-C
 ports, 1 SDXC card reader, 1 mini DisplayPort (m
DP
1.2 video output, 4K displays at 60 MHz refresh rate, 3 USB-A 3.0 and surprisingly comes with a built-in lithium ion battery.

The Hub+ is built with an aluminium alloy body for rugged durability and premium design. According to Nonda, you are able to charge your MacBook together with other devices you plug-in to the Hub+. Now you can grab one of the Hub+ by pledging USD 79 (approximately RM 286.00) over at
Kickstarter
.

This is a brilliant product because instead of getting converters that you are able to purchase from the Apple store, you could save up some cash to purchase other stuffs for your beloved MacBook when you get a Hub+.


Hugo Barra departs Xiaomi; will return to Silicon Valley

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Hugo Barra, the man that is instrumental to Xiaomi’s global reach, has announced that he would be leaving the company after Chinese New Year and plans to return to Silicon Valley to, in his own words, “embark on a new adventure”.

Barra first joined Xiaomi back in 2013 where he took on the position of Vice President of International at the Chinese company. During his tenure at Xiaomi, the Chinese company went from a small China-based startup to one of the fastest growing companies in the world. Since then, Xiaomi has managed to penetrate more than 20 markets around the world. Just last year, Xiaomi managed to earn USD1 billion in revenues from India, marking a huge milestone for the company.

Of course, not everything went exactly to plan of course. Xiaomi’s recent performance shows that the company may no longer be the force it once was as sales performance of the company has dropped considerably. In fact,
IDC’s report
 on the global smartphone market shows that Xiaomi is no longer part of the top five smartphone vendors of 2016.

While Hugo Barra will indeed be leaving the company to return to Silicon Valley, Barra will still be involved with Xiaomi as an “advisor”. As for his successor, Xiaomi has chosen Xiang Wang, the Senior Vice President of Xiaomi, to take over Barra’s position as Vice President of International.

Source:
The Verge
,
Android Authority

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Hugo Barra joins Facebook; becomes Vice President of VR

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Just days after Hugo Barra announced that he will be leaving Xiaomi, it seems that the man has found a new place to start his “new adventure”: Facebook.

In a Facebook post made by Mark Zuckerberg, it appears that Hugo Barra will become the Vice President of VR for the company, a position that was previously held by former Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe. With this appointment, Barra would effectively be in charge of all of Facebook’s VR initiatives, including the Oculus team.

Barra will presumably take up his new position after the Chinese New Year passes as the man is still currently employed by Xiaomi. That being said, with Barra helming Facebook’s division, perhaps a local rollout of the Oculus Rift may be in the works? Only time will tell what Barra will bring to Facebook’s VR efforts.

Source:
Facebook

facebook
hugobarra
markzuckerberg
oculus
virtualreality


Hulk Hogan wins lawsuit against Gawker

308

Hulkamania has run wild on Gawker as professional wrestler Hulk Hogan been awarded USD115 million in damages against Gawker Media and its CEO Nick Denton.

This entire lawsuit stems from Gawker publishing a sextape between Terry Bollea (Hulk Hogan’s real name) and Heather Cole, which was recorded by Bollea’s friend Todd Alan Clem (aka Bubba the Love Sponge). Bollea had initially sued Clem for recording the video, but both parties have since settled the case outside of court.

With Clem now out of the picture, Bollea turned his sights to Gawker, the website that was responsible for publishing the sex tape online. Going into the case, Gawker argues that its decision to publish the video is protected by the First Amendment and argues that Bollea referred to his sexual exploits in public so frequently that it is difficult for him to claim that his privacy was infringed.

Bollea’s lawyers argues that the video was not newsworthy and thus, it is not protected by the First Amendment. The lawyers also claim that the publication has caused him “emotional stress and harm” and that Gawker published said video for financial gain. As for Bollea referring to his sexual exploits in public, the lawyers say that those boasts are made by the Hulk Hogan character and not Bollea himself. They claim that while the Hogan character does not have much privacy to violate, Bollea does.

With the trial all done and dusted, the jury has decided to award Bollea USD115 million in damages, with punitive damages to be added to the sum. Not surprisingly, Gawker will be appealing the decision. However, should their appeal fail, it is very likely that Gawker Media and its many websites (Kotaku, Deadspin, Jalopnik etc.) may have to shut down.

Source:
CNN
,
New York Times

gawker
hulkhogan
lawsuit


Huawei Mate 10 will get some AI features seen in the P20

316

The Huawei P20 showed a lot of camera features that put it ahead of the pack, and with DxO giving them the highest score out of all the phones, Huawei has made a pretty good name for its self. However, they are not forgetting about the Mate 10, their stepping stone into the AI world.

Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Group, has confirmed that the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro will be getting six additional AI-detected scenes from the P20 and will come in its Android 8.1 update but he has been quiet on the other features coming. Manufacturers have been slapping on the term “AI” on anything they can, luring less tech-savvy people into believing that the phones are intelligent computer devices and not just a slab that makes calls and takes pictures. Richard Yu has said that “customers will soon learn who’s doing real AI and who’s peddling Fake AI”. He goes on to add that “Huawei will focus on real things, real AI, as it will become more and more important in the future…These other companies are misleading consumers, trying to cheat them.”

Honestly, we can help but to stand on his side, as companies are calling anything slightly unique AI and some even go as far as to rebrand old tech with an AI label. If Huawei is truly bringing real and truthful AI technology to their devices, then perhaps they are the only company we can trust that will offer true AI to consumers.

10
8.1
ai
android
features
huawei
mate
p20
update


Huawei has official unveiled the Kirin 980 procesor, 20 percent improvement over the Kirin 970

261

Huawei has introduced the successor to their Kirin 970 processor during IFA 2018. The Kirin 980 is heavily focused on AI as this time, it comes with Dual NPU AI cores which Huawei has claimed will help in the intelligence of its AI features.

The Kirin 980 is built upon the TSMC 7nm process technology which allows the processor to house 6.9 million transistors within the chip and it delivers 20 percent improved performance and 40 percent improved efficiency. The new processor is using the Cortex-A76 cores which offer 75 percent more power and 58 percent more efficient compared to the previous generation. The processor uses four Cortex-A76 cores, two for high-performance and the other two of high-efficiency. Four of the cores are accompanied by four efficient Cortex-A55 cores.

Huawei has developed a CPU subsystem that will intelligently allocate a particular task to the right cores, the high-performance core will handle immediate and intensive workloads, the high-efficiency cores provide sustained performance and the ultra-efficient cores tackle everyday task. Huawei also introduced the Mali-G76 GPU which will offer 46 percent greater graphics processing power at 178 percent improved power efficiency.

Finally, Huawei also mentioned that the new processor will utilize multi-pass noise reduction that will accurately remove artefacts without tampering with image details and improved motion tracking. The modem that comes with the processor is the first to support LTE Cat.21 with a peak download speed of 1.4Gbps.

The Kirin 980 will first release on the new Mate 20 devices which will be unveiled in October 2018.

980
huawei
kirin
processor


HyperX celebrates 20th birthday with up to 50% discount on Lazada

2.6K

Starting today till 30th September 2022, HyperX will be hosting its 20th Birthday Sale at the
HyperX Lazada Brand Store
, where gamers will be able to score great deals on HyperX peripherals and up to 50% off their usual prices.

For two decades, the formerly Kingston owned gaming brand has launched several award winning products, most notably the world’s first PC gaming headset with a 300 hour battery life – the Cloud Alpha Wireless, and to celebrate the occasion and appreciation to fans support over the years, it will be hosting a series of online and offline events throughout September and October.

In a statement to mark the brand’s 20th birthday, HyperX said, “Turning 20 is a huge milestone in the history of HyperX. As with the gaming industry, HyperX has evolved and come a long way. Originally, HyperX only offered ultrafast gaming memory, but today we design and manufacture award winning gaming headsets, keyboards, mics for content creators, mice and accessories for every type of gamer be that PC, Console or Mobile.

We are so proud of the legacy we have created over the past two decades. We have listened to the evolving needs of gamers globally and have learnt from each product we have launched to market, to ensure we are constantly delivering better. We are pushing boundaries and challenging perceptions of gamers by partnering and blurring the lines between gaming and other industries including music and movies.

Gaming is no longer a niche but part of everyone’s life. Finally, it is not only the fans, the partners and the industries that has made”

Do check out HyperX’s 20th Birthday Sale at
Lazada
.

hp
hyperx
hyperx birthday sale


HyperX CloudX named as the official licensed headset for Xbox One

283

HyperX, Kingston’s high-performance product division, has reached an agreement with Microsoft that will see the HyperX CloudX Pro Gaming Headset be the official licensed headset for the Xbox One.

The HyperX CloudX Pro Gaming Headset marks the company’s first foray into the gaming console market. Basing its design on the award-winning HyperX Cloud II, the CloudX will come with a 3.5mm port, allowing gamers to plug it directly into the Xbox One’s controller. The headset will come with a concenient in-line colume control and uses memory foam ear cushions as well as a soft leather-padded headband with custom stitching for enhanced comfort and style. The over-the-ear, closed-cup design helps block out ambient noise. The CloudX will also ship with a detachable microphone and a hard shell carrying case for gamers who travel often.

More details surrounding the CloudX will be revealed as the headset approaches its late Q2 release.

cloudx
headphones
hyperx
kingston
xboxone


HyperX Releases HyperX FURY DDR4 Kits

449

HyperX has a division of Kingston Technology company that act as the independent world leader in memory products, today announced the addition of 8 GB and 16 GB dual-channel kits of two to the
HyperX
FURY
DDR4

family. These new kits are available in low-latency 2133 MHz, 2400 MHz, and 2666 MHz frequencies and optimized for the new Intel Skylake platform.

The
HyperX
Fury
DDR4

is the first product line to offer automatic overclocking via plug-and-play functionality for the next generation of high-end desktops utilizing 6th Generation Intel Core Processors and the Z170 chipset. The memory features cost-efficient, high-performance upgrade for Intel’s 2 or 4 core processors and helps to provide faster video editing, 3D rendering, gaming and AI processing.

Besides the performance, it features a unique asymmetrical and signature FURY heat spreader. Kingston also claims the memory will be extremely reliable because all the RAM because it has 100% factory tested at the exact frequency. With the black PCB on the memory actually looks more appealing than the previous green PCB that will give your machine have better looking so you are able to show off your machine to your friend.

The pricing and availability of the
Kingston
HyperX
Fury
DDR4

haven’t been unveiling yet, but it might be just around the corner.

ddr4
hyperx
kingston
pcmasterrace
skylake


HyperX ships the Cloud Revolver S Gaming Headset with Dolby Surround Audio

379

One important feature of a gaming headset would be surround sound, and HyperX, a division of Kingston Technology, has started shipping its latest Cloud Revolver S gaming headset, which is no ordinary surround gaming headset and features Dolby Surround 7.1 Sound on a USB dongle. Designed for use for professional eSports teams and professional gamers, the Cloud Revolver S features three sound profiles – bass boost, flat and vocal equalizer modes, which allows gamers to opt for the best listening experience when playing games, the headset also features a rather huge 50mm directional driver, a noise cancelling microphone and signature memory foam with a wider headband, offering comfort for long duration gameplay.

As for the USB dongle sound card, it is a Plug and Play device which requires no additional driver installation, hence not only the Cloud Revolver S can be used on PCs and Macs, it will also support mobile devices, PlayStation systems, Xbox One and even VR devices, which makes it a very versatile gaming headset. The HyperX Revolver S will be availble soon at most IT retail outlets soon with a two year limited warranty. Head on over to www.hyperxgaming.com for details.

Additional HyperX Revolver S Specifications:

Headphone

Driver:
 Dynamic, 50mm with neodymium magnets

Type:
 Circumaural, Closed back

Frequency response:
 12Hz–28,000 Hz

Impedance:
 30 Ω

Sound pressure level:
 100.5dBSPL/mW at 1kHz

T.H.D.:
 <2%

Input power:
 Rated 30mW, Maximum 500mW

Weight:
 360g

Weight with mic:
 376g

Cable length:

Headset:
 1m

Audio Control Box:
 2.2m

PC extension cable:
 2m

Connection Type:

Headset:
 3.5mm plug (4 pole)

Audio Control Box:
 USB

PC extension cable:
 3.5mm stereo and mic plugs

Microphone

Element:
 Electret condenser microphone

Polar pattern:
 Uni -directional, Noise-canceling

Frequency response:
 50Hz-18,000 Hz

Sensitivity:
 -40dBV (0dB=1V/Pa,1kHz)

cloud
hyperx
kingston
revolver


Hyundai Blue Link enhanced with Google Assistant voice command features

490

It’s not often we talk about car-related matters – but this one takes the cake. During the Google I/O 2019 conference this morning, Korean car manufacturing giants Hyundai announced that they will be streamlining voice command controls by enhancing Hyundai’s Blue Link with Google Assistant voice control capabilities.

Users simply need to link their vehicle with Google Assistant, and they’ll be able to utter commands to perform tasks like starting the vehicle, relay fuel information, lock the car doors and more.

Image credit: Hyundai

Drivers can also add Blue Link routines into Google Assistant – by saying “good morning” or “bed time”, Google Assistant will kickstart a series of tasks that can be configured by the user.

Previously, Blue Link requires users to physically tap on tasks within the app; now it’s as simple as saying “hi”.

blue link
google assistant
google i/o
hyundai
voice control


Hyundai Creta launches in Malaysia for RM149,888

9.5K

Hyundai Sime Darby Motors (HSDM) has officially launched the Hyundai Creta today in Malaysian markets, offered in a sole Plus variant, the B-Segment SUV is targeted to those who desire individuality and wishes to stand out and break free the norm, as quoted by Mr Jeffrey Gan, Sime Darby Motors Managing Director of Retail and Distribution for Malaysia.

The Hyundai Creta features a really fun and outgoing design that’s unlike similar class SUVs, the front grille is the familiar Parametric Jewel face that’s also available on the current gen Hyundai Tucson, which have its daylight running LED concealed within the grille, while the taillights has an interesting design that will certainly make one go ‘WHOA, is that still a Hyundai?’.

Despite its unique design, one might question the drivability of the Hyundai Creta, as a Smartstream G 1.5 naturally aspirated engine powers the car, it produces 115PS and 144Nm of torque to the front wheels, while it is mated to a 6-speed Intelligent Variable Transmission gearbox, as compared to its similar priced competitors that feature much powerful engines, it sounds pretty underwhelming for its segment.

However, during our test drive session with the Creta, it actually felt pretty responsive from the starting line and cruising along the speed of 90km/h on the Subang Airport Highway feels very comfortable with a rather noise-free cabin, not until you start slamming your legs on the accelerator to overtake cars, which it will definitely give you that needed boost in power, but you can most definitely feel it struggling to keep up for overtaking cars and the rev meter easily goes up to 5000-6000 RPM, reminding me of the experience I used to have on the Smartstream G 1.6 litre engine on the Hyundai Elantra.

Hyundai claims that the Creta is capable of reaching 100km/h in 12 seconds with a top speed of 170km/h, while it has paddle shifters on the steering, four drive modes and three traction modes to add some fun to your drive.

Inside the Hyundai Creta, you get fabric seats with a good amount of headroom for tall folks and a reasonable 416-litre of boot space. Fold down the seats, you will then get up to 1,384 litres, which will do a pretty good job if you are doing IKEA shopping.

In terms of tech, the Hyundai Creta features an 8-inch AVN infotainment system that supports wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, there’s also a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster that’s taken from recent Hyundai car models, while it comes with Hyundai’s SmartSense safety suite, including Forward and Blind Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, Lane Following Assist, Leading Vehicle Departure Alert, Rear Cross Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, Safe Exit Warning and High Beam Assist.

The Hyundai Creta will retail for RM149,888 OTR without insurance in Peninsular Malaysia, color options include Dragon Red Pearl, Galaxy Blue Pearl, Titan Grey Metallic, Midnight Black Pearl and Creamy White Pearl.

For the first 150 customers that successfully placed their bookings on the Hyundai Creta, HSDM is throwing in a free extended warranty of 5 years/300,000km and a 3 years/50,000km free service.

The Hyundai Creata is now available for test drive and booking at showrooms nationwide, while you can place your booking at Hyundai’s Cl!cktoBuy website
here
.

hyundai creta
hyundai creta malaysia
hyundai malaysia


Hyundai Kona 2020 pre-orders now open in Malaysia: Set to arrive this Q4

725

Hyundai has announced that the new Kona compact SUV will be making its way to Malaysia in Q4 this year – the B-segment car is apparently designed for customers with “active” lifestyles, so expect to be tailgated on the fast lane by one of these very soon.

The five-seater sports a cascading grille that looks like something Perodua would put on the next
Axia
 facelift; but the rest of the vehicle does look rather sleek; almost like a Renault
Captur
 – you get a two-tone paint-job with a black top which accents the car’s “urban smart armor” (that’s really what Hyundai calls it) body.

Lighting up the license plates of poor
ol
’
Kancils

on the road are a combination of LED and DRLs – they look familiar to last year’s iteration, so there’s not much to drive home about here.

Inside, the car fitted with a projected heads-up display with an active pop-up screen, as well as a 7-inch infotainment screen that supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There will also be a wireless charger fitted in the car too, so you can do away with unnecessary cables.

There’s no word on its exact specifications yet, but according to Paul Tan, the new Kona will ship with a few engine options – 2.0L MPI, 1.0L T-GDI three-cylinder, and a 1.6L Gamma T-GDI; you pair it with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Hyundai hasn’t announced the local pricing of the Kona yet, or when exactly in Q4 it’ll arrive, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated on the latest news when more information is disclosed. Alternatively, you can register your interest in the Kona by visiting Hyundai’s website
here
.

b-segment
compact suv
hyundai
hyundai kona
kona 2020
suv


Hyundai launches Kona and Sonata in Malaysia

735

Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hyundai Sime Darby Motors (HSDM) has finally taken the wraps of the long anticipated Hyundai Kona B-segment SUV and Hyundai Sonata D-segment sedan, these are exciting automobiles that comes with some tech that some of its rivals aren’t able to offer and here are the deets.

Hyundai Kona

The Kona has been a successful model outside of Malaysia and as a B-segment SUV, it offers an active sporty look that derives from the larger Hyundai Santa Fe with the signature cascading grille.

While it is unfortunate that we don’t see a hybrid or electric variant of the Kona, HSDM has brought in two petrol engine variants for the Kona – 2.0 Nu MPI and 1.6 Turbo, which both are proven engines that has been sold in other Hyundai models in Malaysia. The 2.0 Nu MPI engine has a maximum ouput of 149hp and 180Nm, while the 1.6 Turbo offers a significant boost to 177hp and 265Nm and is mated to a 7-speed Dual Clutch Transmission, both engines are relatively powerful for its class and one shouldn’t feel either bogging down your acceleration.

What makes the Kona one of the most techy B-Segment SUV in its class is the HUD system that projects information such as speed, navigation instructions and audio system information to an 8-inch glass that’s mounted behind the instrument panel, it is also discretly hidden in the dashboard when not in use.

The Kona also features some other techy features such as Qi wireless charging, a 7-inch infotainment system that supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a Hyundai SmartSense safety assistance suite that supports Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, Lane Keeping Assit, High Beam Assist, Driver Attention Warning, Blind Spot Collision Warning and Cross-Traffic Collision Warning.

Available in three variants – 2.0 Standard, 2.0 Active and 1.6 Turbo, the Hyundai Kona is being offered at an introductory OTR price at RM115,888, RM130,888 and RM143,888 respectively excluding insurance. After that, prices will go up to RM123,888 for 2.0 Standard, RM138,888 for 2.0 Active and RM151,888 for 1.6 Turbo.

The Hyundai Kona is entitled to a 5-year or 300,000km warranty.

8th Gen Hyundai Sonata

The Sonata has made a come back after being discontinued for several years and Hyundai is once again upping the game like it did with the new stunning design of its D-segment sedan.

The 8th Generation Hyundai Sonata is the first model to utilize the company’s third-gen vehicle platform that offers improvement in the chassis safety and performance, the use of a multiload path structure, Hot Stamping and super-high-tensile steelplate increases the energy of absorbing collisions.

Powering the wheels is a new Smartstream G2.5 engine that offers up to 180hp and 232Nm mated to a six-speed transmission, while an electronic shift button selector lets drivers change gears more conveniently.

Rather than just making it a mere luxury sedan, the Sonata has also been given a more sporty and aggressive look that is shaped like a performance coupe, with a newly designed Digital Pulse Cascading Grille that spans from the front and finishing at the innermost  points of new headlamps that feature new Hidden Lighting Lamps, which appears like chrome when switched off.

Step inside the Sonata, you will be greeted with an amazing techy interior that rivals with German marques, as the 12.3-inch cluster supervision display shows you immersive visuals of drive info and exciting animations as you change the car’s drive mode. Like the Kona, it also has a HUD that shows you drive information that you can stay focus on the road.

Hyundai SmartSense comes as standard on the new Sonata but there’s one safety feature that no cars in Malaysia has ever offered – a Blind-Spot View Monitor, which is activated when the turn signals are activated, actual wide-angle cameras on each side of the side mirrors will show an actual live view of the road conditions on the 12.3-inch cluster display. The Sonata also offers other convenient tech features such as a Qi wireless charger with cooling fana and 8-inch AVN infotainment system with support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

The 8th Generation Hyundai Sonata Smartstream G2.5 will have a special introductory price of RM189,888 for the first 50 units. After that, it will be reverted to RM206,888.

2020
hyundai
kona
sonata


I am a confused Huawei customer

415

I have been a Huawei fan over the past two years since my first encounter with the Mate 7, I went on to buy the Mate 8 last year and called it one of the best smartphones that gets the business essentials right. Just a few weeks back, I reviewed the Huawei Mate 9 and called it the best flagship phablet ever, and I was ready to buy it to replace my Mate 8 again. Yesterday, Huawei unveiled the P10 and P10 Plus, which is undoubtedly the best smartphone yet from the fast growing Chinese tech company, and I am now a confused Huawei customer.

Why confused?

The Huawei P10 and P10 Plus are great smartphones, not only it has a great and improved premium design from its predecessor, it also features the very same set of specs as the Huawei Mate 9 and Mate 9 Pro, such as a Kirin 960 processor, up to 6GB RAM and 128GB of flash memory, I also love that Huawei has finally upgraded the P10’s camera to a new Leica Dual Camera lens system, which now brings a larger f/1.8 aperture as opposed to the Mate 9’s f/2.2 aperture, while remaining the same optical stabilized 20MP Monochrome + 12MP RGB sensor.

Huawei has certainly made an exciting smartphone that will probably sell as well as the P9 due to its imaging capabilities, however the P10 and P10 Plus’ retail price at €649 (MYR3,046)  and €699 (MYR3,281) respectively got me really confused if I should still go for a Mate series or not. The Huawei Mate 9 and Mate 9 Pro retails at RM2,699 and RM3,199 respectively, and we can safely assume phone prices to be cheaper when it arrives in Malaysia, and Huawei is probably going to price the new P10 very closely to the Mate 9.

The confusion here is what Huawei is trying to achieve this round with both the Mate 9 and P10 around, the marketing direction was very clear last time, the Mate smartphones are phablets targeted at the business users, while the P series smartphones emphasizes on photography. Now, there’s almost no differentiation between the two apart from design, they both have great performance and Leica Dual Camera system, though the P10 may have slight advantage due to its better camera sensors, but if I were a consumer with that amount of cash and asked to choose between these two, I am seriously confused on which device I should go for. In addition, the P10’s new software features will most likely be ported over to the Mate 9 in the near future, since they feature the same performance specs sheet and some of these software features aren’t hardware dependent.

Be it a business professional or photographer, I am torned on my decision to choose between a P10/P10 Plus or Mate 9/Mate 9 Pro, given that their retail price should only have RM100-200 of difference when it launches here, unless Huawei decides to reduce the price of the Mate 9, otherwise it depends on how Huawei is about to influence my decision with its marketing gimmicks. What about you? Would you go for a Huawei P10/P10 Plus or Mate 9/Mate 9 Pro?

DISCLAIMER: The Mate 9 I held on hand is a review unit and it has to be returned to Huawei

huawei
mate9
mwc2017
p10
p10plus


I am OM/ONE. I float AND play music

279

There is no need to panic, your eyes do not deceive you – It is real and yes, it floats!

Introducing the OM/ONE, the world’s first Bluetooth 4.0 levitating speaker equipped with a 75mm audio driver, built-in microphone and power-packed with a built-in rechargeable Li-ion battery with an estimated 15 hours of continuous music playback. This orb demands your undivided attention!

Weighing in at approximately 340g, the Speaker Orb floats and rotates ever so peacefully atop the magnetic base which comes equipped with a USB port for charging the orb and other USB devices. As mentioned earlier, the device connects wirelessly via Bluetooth v4.0 technology which also enables TWO cute little orbs to pair up to one source e.g. a laptop to enable the user to experience true stereo sound up to 33 feet away.

The OM/ONE speaker comes in 2 color variants, namely, Jet Black and Glacier White and retails at $199 each. According to the OM/ONE website, holiday delivery only applies for domestic orders i.e. USA placed by
November 7 (TODAY)
 while International orders will arrive starting in January 2015.

Hence, what are you waiting for? If you have a little extra cash to spare on (tech) toys for the coming holiday season, do check out the OM/ONE website below for immediate purchase if you’d like this to be a gift.

Source:
OM/ONE


I miss flip phones and I just feel like buying one

507

I switch smartphones every week, testing different user experiences, ecosystem and hardware power, but there’s just one thing that gets me really sick of today’s smartphones, they no longer have a unique form factor since the inception of iPhone, they all have the same block form factor that definitely allows a better touch experience and most annoyingly, some of them tend to have sensors and really sensitive digitizers built in, causing accidental presses while the phone is in my pocket and I sometimes get called back by some random friends, and I suddenly noticed that my phone have started some action of its own without me noticing.

I am really annoyed, and I wanted to use a different form factor so badly

I do admire that touch screen smartphones have grown so much from the resistive displays that we use to know, but in recent times some phones have gotten way too much by trying to include gimmicks into their displays without thinking of the consequences and by using them, I get really annoyed, and I wanted to use a different form factor so badly that made me want to go back to those old keypad style Symbian smartphones, until I stumbled upon a perfect phone form factor that is still alive – Flip phones!

Flip phones or clamshell phones have reminded me of the easy days of using a mobile phone, you get to see notifications from the external display without unlocking your phone, you answer your calls by just flipping the phone open, snap it close when the call is done, all of these makes life so much simpler and in my very humble opinion, clamshell phones are so much stylish to hold than the long block form factor that we have been so used to these days.

Flip phones aren’t dead just yet even though they aren’t available locally, a quick check on
Amazon
.
com
 reveals a couple of models made by Lenovo, LG and
Samsung
, despite not packing any flagship hardware onboard they do look really appealing as most of them come with at least Android 4.4 KitKat preloaded, a physical dialpad hardware and most importantly, a touch display if I want to navigate things faster.

Do you want a flip phone? Because I really do, and I beg phone makers to make a flip phone with some modern hardware and price it right, that will be my next smartphone for sure.

editorial
factor
features
flip
form
lenovo
lg
opinions
phones
samsung
smartphones


i-Neighbour aims to change visitor management in Malaysian residentials

543

Visiting a friend is no longer fun when you have to queue up to register your details at guard houses, and most residentials these days lack proper security as registering visitor information is done using a log book, which is why i-Neighbour, a multi-functional residential and visitor management system developed by Malaysian startup TimeTec Cloud, is here to solve such problems faced by Malaysian residentials, it is a cloud service that can be used on smartphones, tablets and computers, and the company intends this to be a much cost effective solution than intercom systems.

The service is hosted using Amazon Web Services which users can be assured of reliability, housing developers can take advantage of this service and integrate it with IoT products such as smart locks, security systems, boom gates and etc., while residents can use the app to register their visitor’s information, which allows the security guard to easily retrieve visitor information by just scanning a QR code on the visitor’s smartphone, which is a lot faster than having them to write down details in a log book. In addition, i-Neighbour also allows the user to blacklist visitors on the app, and set a regular QR code pass for frequent visitors in your premises, there’s also a panic button inside the app to alert security if you are in danger.

TimeTec Cloud has worked with several housing developers in Malaysia to implement this solution, residents interested in the service will get a three month free trial and thereafter, pay an affordable fee of RM2/month, which is very attractive considering that you don’t need to pay for costly maintenance fees for your residential security system. TimeTec Cloud intends to expand this service to as many gated residentials and condominiums in the near future, with one app to check into various residentials, this is a pretty commendable effort to create a less hassle visiting experience, the company is also offering a 24/7 technical support assistance for the service as well. For more information, head on over to
www.i-neighbour.com

ineighbour
malaysia
security


I travelled to Penang with the Xiaomi 12T Pro to try out the 200MP camera

5.8K

It’s the end of the year and time for a holiday, chances are you might also be thinking of upgrading your smartphone to take better photos than your current smartphone and probably a little Christmas present to reward yourself, there’s no better time to consider the Xiaomi 12T Pro, the first smartphone with a 200MP imaging system in Malaysia that can make year-end moments mega.

In fact, I recently took the Xiaomi 12T Pro for a spin in beautiful Penang Island, where I spent three days there taking photos of stunning heritages and the beautiful Teluk Bahang beach, the Xiaomi 12T Pro’s camera delivered excellent shots that I pretty much left my iPhone 14 Pro and mirrorless camera in the bag, not to mention it has the benefit of having a larger 5000mAh battery that lasted me one whole day without needing to juice it up half way.

So why do you need such a high-resolution camera on a smartphone? Well, let’s start off by looking at some of these sample photos I took, do note that these photos have been rescaled for web viewing purposes.

With most smartphones under the RM3000 not having a telephoto camera, it is a challenge to get close to a subject not unless you want to deal with grainy digital zoom shots, as you can see on the above shot, I really wanted to get a close up of the two dragons on top of the roof and what I did in post is to crop into the frame in post after I shot it with the 200MP Ultra HD mode.

And boom, there’s no sweat in getting close to the two dragons with just a few clicks in Adobe Lightroom, this is usually only possible on a smartphone with a 3x optical zoom.

Now, look at this impressive building of Khoo Kongsi, there’s just so much detail in the sculptures that leaves you in awe, which gives no reason not to take this shot with the Xiaomi 12T Pro’s 200MP mode to see what is up there.

See this excellent crop of the rooftop? This is hardly possible on other smartphones if you want to do a detailed crop like this, it is impressive considering that I am capturing this from a far distance.

Alright, so the gates of the Cheah Kongsi is closed on this one, which is why I took this from afar and decided to a crop after that.

Isn’t this a much better-looking shot?

Alright, enough of buildings and heritages, this beautiful sunset shot was taken from my hotel’s balcony, and won’t it look even better if I had the shot of that faraway mountain with the sunset without showing the trees and beach?

Here you go, look at how impressive the skyline is without looking like an oil painting.

Ultimately, one might argue that you can capture close up shots with an optical zoom lens on a smartphone, but you can’t deny that cropping into photos is necessary at times to achieve a great looking photo, and the Xiaomi 12T Pro’s 200MP imaging system allows you to do it without compromising details.

The Xiaomi 12T Pro comes in storage variants of 8GB RAM+256GB storage and 12GB RAM+256GB storage, it retails at RM2,699 and RM2,999 respectively, which can be purchased at
Lazada
 and
Shopee
.

Disclaimer: This writeup is not sponsored by Xiaomi Malaysia, the provided Xiaomi 12T Pro is a loan unit from Xiaomi Malaysia with no editorial feedback on how this article should be produced.

Check out the comparison with the OPPO Reno8 Pro

xiaomi 12t malaysia
xiaomi 12t pro
xiaomi 12t pro malaysia
xiaomi 12t pro review


The i9 processor is Intel’s reply to the AMD Threadripper

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Previously we mentioned about a leak on
Intel’s new processor
 to rival the monstrous AMD Threadripper processor and today at Computex, Intel has just revealed their i9 processor and rival it did, in the form of their Core X-series processor which is the company’s first 18-core processor, the i9-7980XE.

The processor is not going to be seen in any regular setup, it is catered to more power users that might want to do things like game in 4K and broadcast footage to Twitch in HD and if the number of cores is not enough to convince you of its power, it will also come with over a teraflop of computing power. The processor will also come in different core variants such as 10, 12 and 16-cores and, features base clock speeds of 3.3GHz, 4.3GHz on Turbo Boost 2.0 and 4.5GHz with Turbo Boost 3.0.

With this amount of power required to run the processor, it is expected that temperatures will rise, therefore, Intel has developed its own liquid cooling solution which will work across these processors and some previous generations.

The 18-core i9-7980XE will retail for $1,999 and the 10-core i9-7900X retails for $999 which is much cheaper from the last year’s 10-core i7 processor.

cores
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Ian Murdock, founder of the Debian Project, passes away at 42

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If you’re a Linux user, chances are good that you’ve heard of Debian before. Well, according to the

Docker Blog
, it seems that its founder, Ian Murdock, has passed away at age 42.

Circumstances surrounding Murdock’s death is highly suspicious as the developer underwent a breakdown of sorts within the past few days. On his now deleted Twitter account, Murdock has stated that
he intends to commit suicide
. Earlier this week, Murdock apparently
had a confrontation with the police
 with records indicating that the man was arrested on December 27th. Whatever the case, no cause of death has been given yet.

The Debian Project
, Murdock’s claim to fame, was created while he was still a student at Purdue University. It was one of the first Linux distros to be created and is widely considered to be on of the most successful open-source projects ever launched.

Some of the Murdock’s other achievements besides Debian include holding the CTO post of the Linux Foundation, being a senior leader at Sun Microsystems, and being Vice President of Platforms at ExactTarget, which has since become a part of Salesforce in 2012.

Source :
Docker Blog
,
Ars Technica

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iBlazr 2 goes live at Kickstarter, the very first and best mobile flashlight we have once used

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We used to review the very first external LED flashlight called the iBlazr, made by Ukraine startup Concepter and now headquartered in the US, the company’s brilliant product have inspired a few similar products – Lenovo’s Selfie Flash and ASUS Lolliflash. Now, the company is starting to crowdfund the iBlazr 2, an all new external LED flashlight that now comes with Bluetooth connectivity and it is available over at Kickstarter.

The current iBlazr have served us pretty well on many occasions especially in low lit event scenes or some places that doesn’t allow flash photography. The iBlazr 2 has upped the external LED flash light game by including Bluetooth connectivity, which will let you use it as a remote shutter by tapping on its capacitive surface and you can even adjust the flash’s color temperature on the fly by sliding down the capacitive area. In addition, iBlazr 2 will now work with Android and iPhone native camera apps, though the company still provides its own downloadable app that will allow you to control stuffs like ISO, aperture and shutter speeds.

If you hadn’t seen how well iBlazr could work for you, watch our YouTube video review and head on over to Kickstarter in the source link to back this awesome gadget.


IBM upgrades Watson AI with an improved Tone Analyzer

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IBM’s Watson AI has just gotten itself an upgrade as the company has given it an improved Tone Analyzer.

The latest beta API of Watson’s Tone Analyzer will allow the AI to identify five different emotional sub-tones: joy, sadness, anger, fear, and disgust; and upgrade over the previous versions negative, cheerful and anger categories.

Aside from emotion tones, the new Tone Analyzer will also allow Watson to pick up on social tones, or in other words, people’s personalities. Like the emotion tones, the social tones will pick up on openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional range.

Last but not least is the language tone. Previously known as writing tone, language tone provides feedback on how analytical, confident and tentative one’s writing is. Unlike both social tone and emotion tone, the model for language tone remains largely unchanged.

Besides identifying emotion tones, IBM has also upgraded Watson to be better at expressing emotion as well. For example, Watson will no longe reply in an upbeat tone should it detect that your writing leans heavily on anger.

Watson’s latest beta API is available for English text input. More documentation can be accessed
here
.

Source:
Engadget
,
IBM

ibm
watson


IBM’s fingernail sensor can track health and disease progression

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With the advancement of technology, the computer manufacturing company IBM has started a project that can track disease progression and health status.

The company created a fingernail sensor, a wearable device that is attached to one’s fingernail, and the device will collect the data as the individual performs his/her daily tasks. As humans use their hands to do almost everything, the fingernails are actually bending and moving as they move their fingers, whether it’s holding something, stretching our fingers, and squeezing an object. With the strain gauge sensors, the wearable is able to detect signals from the nail and differentiate the activities done by the individual.

Besides that, the company also trained a neural network for great accuracy in detecting subtle activities like finger writing. Keep in mind that this project was started to focus on the Parkinson’s disease, hence being able to detect digits written by a finger using the sensor is something rather necessary and significant. The data collected by the device is then sent to a smartwatch for the AI to analyse the data and produce results. The AI is able to detect signs of Parkinson’s by detecting tremors, bradykinesia and dyskinesia, so that users can actually be informed earlier should they start showing symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

IBM also claimed that the sensors will be able to derive health state insights and might be able to assist in quadriplegics’ communication in the future. This will be a breakthrough if the device is able to do so, as the paralysed victims might be able to express their thoughts more conveniently to their families and friends.

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ID-Cooling Releases All-In-One Liquid Cooler with CPU and GPU Block

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Many hardware enthusiasts must be wondering when someone will make an all-in-one liquid cooling set that cools both your GPU and CPU. ID-Cooling will be your solution because they are the first manufacturer that make it happen with the Hunter Duet Integrated AIO water cooling, the all-in-one liquid cooler that has two water blocks and two pumps to cool your GPU and CPU.

This product has a 240 mm radiator with two 120 mm fans, a CPU block and GPU block that has an integrated pump on each of it. The GPU block comes with a bracket that holds a 90 mm fan that will cool down the VRM circuitry and memory on the graphics card. The tube is made of EPDM, the length of the from the radiator of the CPU is 250 mm long, the one from the CPU to GPU is also 250 mm, and the one from the GPU back to the radiator is 380 mm.

The fan on the radiator are SF-12025 fans that spin at speeds between 800 and 2000 RPM, and can push up to 84.5 CFM but ID-Cooling did not disclose the details of the 90 mm fan on the graphics card bracket. With the 240 mm radiator, it’s more than enough to cool both a CPU and a GPU for low-power chips but not really suitable for high-end hardware.

The CPU block is compatible with all CPU sockets that available nowadays, including LGA2011, LGA1150, and AMD’s FM2+ and AM3+ sockets. The GPU block has mounting holes starting from 58.4 x 58.4 mm, 53.3 x 53.3 mm and 51.0 x 61 mm; make sure you check the mounting holes before you purchase this AIO.

The Hunter Duet Integrated AIO water cooler is price at USD 139.99 (approx. RM 533).

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IDC report shows that the smartphone market is slowing down

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The smartphone market isn’t what it used to be as according to a recent IDC report, worldwide smartphone growth has slowed down rather considerably during the first quarter of 2016.

Based on the statistics, a total of 334.9 million smartphones were shipped by vendors worldwide in the first quarter of 2016, which is a slight increase when compared to 2015’s first quarter number of 334.3 million units. While there is an increase in units shipped, IDC notes that the smartphone market is currently experiencing its smallest year-over-year growth on record.

IDC’s report further shows that both sales of Apple and Samsung smartphones have declined, with Apple suffering a 16.3% reduction in its shipment volumes. Also interesting to note is that Lenovo and Xiaomi has been booted out of the top five smartphone vendors list, with OPPO and vivo coming in at fourth and fifth place respectively. Huawei remains the best performing China-based smartphone vendor at third place as the company managed a 58.4% growth in the first quarter of 2016.

As for why the smartphone market has slowed down considerably, IDC attributes this lack of growth to the strong smartphone saturation in developed markets. Furthermore, IDC believes that the maturing China market means that the demand for smartphones has slowed down dramatically. Only time will tell if the slowdown in growth means that the smartphone market will soon be undergoing stagnation.

Source:
IDC

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If you don’t like the plastic Pebble Time, here comes the Steel version of it

334

The Pebble Time is probably the most active and backed project in Kickstarter, as we had mentioned back then the Pebble Time costs as much as a Pebble Steel and yet there isn’t a premium option of the new time piece from the company, your worry is now over as Pebble has just announced the more premium of its new smart watch – the Pebble Time Steel.

In our opinion, the Pebble Time Steel has a reminiscence of Apple’s smartwatch or the ASUS ZenWatch in pictures, we hope we are wrong though. The Pebble Time Steel’s chassis is a CNC-finished 316L stainless steel casing and similar to its predecessor, it comes with a premium leather and stainless steel strap. Surprisingly, the premium version of the Pebble Time features 10-days battery life, 3 additional days from the standard version.

If you’ve backed the original Time on kickstarter, fret not as Pebble has offered current backers to upgrade their pledge by simply clicking on the manage button on the kickstarter page. The Pebble Time Steel will finally retail at USD$299 and you’ll be able to pledge it as low as $250 for it at the time of writing, better act fast before they run out again.


If you have these accessories, the Apple Watch might be worth its price tag

362

The Apple Watch has been widely criticized everywhere and even our dear Khai has written a piece and bashed about it, I myself have also personally written why I’d back a Pebble Time instead of it, until I start seeing these variety of third party accessories and straps for the Apple Watch, I realized how different it is from other smart watches out there. Remember the first iPhone? There were no mobile cases out there until people realized that the phone was so fragile that manufacturers need to design aftermarket accessories for it, this is now happening on smart watches, at least on the Apple Watch.

Custom bands from Casetify

One of the concerns that we have a
smart watch
 is all about the watch band, you can’t simply pick those up at watch shops as most of them really aren’t made to look good on a smart watch despite being compatible, this solution from Casetify will tend to solve that issue, you’ll be able to customize your design by simply uploading your own images if you like, this will cost you USD$50 and you can
click here to get a $10 off
 any purchase.

The Bumper

Now this one would be a very practical accessory, the Apple Watch comes with a steel body and you’d like to protect it right? The Bumper is technically a high quality shock-resistant
case
 that slides into your Apple Watch to prevent from bumps and scratches, if you are the OCD type of person that can’t even accept a single dent on your expensive Apple Watch, you can
buy this now at $20 over at Indiegogo
.

Reserve Strap with Built-in Battery

Since every one knows that the Apple Watch is going to die in the middle of the day or if you feel so compelled to use it (just like what Jony Ive has said for the iPhone), you’re going to need to consider the expensive Reserve Strap, at $249, you get a rubber watch band with a
built-in battery
 that charges while you’re wearing it, it is still better than having a cable attached to a powerbank right?

Twelve South HiRise Dock for Apple Watch

Now, you don’t want to leave your beautiful watch just on the table when you want to charge it. Twelve South, famous for its
book case iPhone
 casings and HiRise stands for the iPhone and
iPad
, have came out with a
HiRise
 stand for the Apple Watch and charges at the same time, it will cost you $49 and its one of the more affordable and premium Apple Watch stand you’ll find among others.

There you go, these are the few accessories of the Apple Watch that I’ve personally handpicked and it does made me want to own the watch itself, given that most of the smart watches I have right now don’t have aftermarket accessories. Will these accessories change your mind about buying the Apple Watch? Tell us in the comments.


IFA 2016: Acer announces several laptops, including a curved screen gaming laptop

323

IFA has truly kicked off and the first company to have their own press conference is Acer. While Acer did introduce a couple of interesting devices in the Pawbo+ animal monitor and the Xplova X5 cycling computer, the main attraction at Acer press conference is the Swift series of laptops, the Acer Spin 7 laptop, a new gaming monitor in Acer’s Predator line, as well as the world’s first curved screen gaming laptop.

Let’s begin with the Acer latest entry into the ultrabook market, the Swift series. The Swift line of ultrabooks come in four different configurations: the Swift 1, the Swift 3, the Swift 5, and the flagship of the entire series, the Swift 7. Measuring at less than a centimeter thick, the Swift 7 is an ultrabook that comes equipped with Intel’s seventh-generation (Kaby Lake) Core i5 processor. The ultrabook comes with an aluminium unibody chassis, and sports a 13.3″ Full HD IPS display. Other specifications for the Swift 7 includes 8GB of RAM a 256GB SSD, as well as 9 hours of battery life on a single chart.

As for the Swift 1, Swift 3 and Swift 5, Acer has not gone into the specifics of the device, but all three laptops with come with a 14″ screen, as well as a bulkier build than the Swift 7.

For the 2-in-1 segment, Acer has the new Spin series. Like the Swift ultrabooks, the Spin 2-in-1s will come with four different variants, with the flagship device being the Spin 7. The namesake of the Spin series comes from the 360-degree hinge, allowing the device’s screen to rotate 360 degrees much like many other 2-in-1s. For components, the Spin 7 will come with a 7th-gen Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and up to 8 hours of battery life. The Spin 7 will also sport a 14″ display in its 13″aluminium chassis.

Both the Swift and the Spin series of laptops will have a starting retail price of USD249 (RM1,013).

Moving on, Acer introduced us to the its latest entry into the Predator line of gaming monitors, the Predator Z271T. As the image above reveals, the Predator Z271T is the world’s first monitor with eye tracking, thanks to the built-in Tobii eye-tracking technology that the monitor has.

On games that have Tobii eye-tracking capabilities built into it, the Predator Z271T will allow you to do some pretty cool things with it, such as using your eyes to target enemy characters, or scrolling the screen according to the direction your eye is looking at. The game would also adjust the lighting in-game based on your eyes, brightening up the location your eye is focused at, while dimmed those that you’re not focused. Of course, this feature requires the game to have eye-tracking technology in the first place, so its usefulness can only be judged over time.

As for the actual specifications of the Predator Z271T, the monitor itself will be a 27″ Full HD monitor that has a refresh rate of 144Hz. The monitor will also support Nvidia’s G-Sync technology. The Predator Z271T is expected to be available in October.

As for Acer’s Predator line of gaming laptops, Acer has unveiled the behemoth known as the Predator 21 X. This machine is unique as it is the world’s first curved gaming monitor. Sporting a 21″ curved screen, the Predator 21 X will be powered by a 7th-Gen Intel Core i7 processor, two GTX 1080s in SLI mode, a 4.2-channel audio system, and full mechanical keyboard with Cherry switches. Special note must be given to the numpad of the Predator 21 X as it also doubles as the trackpad for the laptop. The Predator 21 X will be available early 2017. The pricetag for this laptop will be announced at a later date.

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IFA 2016: Alcatel introduces VR headset and 360° camera

317

Alcatel looks to make some headlines again at IFA 2016, launching its own VR headset and 360° camera. The company, known for its affordable devices claims to be the first smartphone brand to offer the all-in-one VR experience.

Let’s begin with Alcatel’s VR headset. The company has named it the Alcatel VISION, which it claims to be the first all-in-one VR device that also comes with an affordable price, though Alcatel hasn’t yet revealed the VISION’s pricing. According to them, the VISION can be worn comfortably for 2-3 hours, which we think will be the battery life of the headset. The VISION doesn’t require you to slot in your phone or even connect your phone to it, for that matter. The headset sports dual 3.8-inch AMOLED displays, an octa core processor with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. It also has LTE, Bluetooth and WiFi capabilities, plus it’s fitted with a 3,000mAh battery for the aforementioned assumed video playback time. The VISION boasts a 120 degree field of vision, which happens to be the widest seen so far. The Oculus Rift has a 110 degree field of vision, for reference. Apart from that, the VR headset also has an ultra low latency of 17 milliseconds and can be viewed without contact lenses or glasses since it can be adjusted for myopia. Alcatel has included a couple of extras with the VISION by teaming up with Jaunt VR, Magic Interactive Entertainment and Fraunhofer to provide some immersive preloaded content.

The Alcatel 360 Camera on the other hand, comes in two different models – a rectangular one which is half the size of your credit card, and a ball-shaped one, said to be the size of a coin. Since both are pretty compact in size, they should be pocket friendly, if not easy to carry around. The 360° camera is equipped with two 210° fisheye lenses and can be attached to the micro USB port of Alcatel’s own IDOL 4, IDOL 4S or POP 4S handsets. The manufacturer has also partnered with 360fly, ALLie Camera, Arashi Vision (Insta 360 4K) and Primesom (Nico360) to add a couple of features to the 360 Camera. Knowing that the Alcatel 360 Camera will be affordable as well, we might be looking at more 360° photos and videos, plus wider selfie shots once this camera’s released.

Alcatel didn’t mention about the price and availability of both the VISION and 360 Camera, but rumor has it that both devices will see a Q4 release in China, followed by other regions starting next year. Let us know your thoughts at the comments section below!

Source:
Alcatel

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IFA 2016: Alcatel promises stylish selfies with the affordable Shine Lite

304

If you haven’t yet known, Alcatel has always been pushing out handsets which are affordable, and those phones do perform pretty well for their respective prices. We have more IFA 2016 news for you, and this time, Alcatel has announced a budget glass and metal phone for “selfies with style”. Meet the Alcatel Shine Lite, the selfie centric phone for an affordable price tag.

Though Alcatel did not reveal much of the Shine Lite’s specs, we’ve gotten most of its key specs for now. First off, the phone features a pretty premium design for its class, with a glass and metal combination for its material. The rear of the device is seen covered with glass, with a metal frame. The Shine Lite sports a 720p display at 5 inches, which is alright for what seems to be an entry level smartphone. Unfortunately, we do not have info on what’s underneath the hood of the handset, but we’re expecting an entry level to mid range Snapdragon or MediaTek chipset alongside a possible 1 or 2GB of RAM.

The key part of the Alcatel Shine Lite is its camera, with a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front facing selfie shooter said to capture “selfies with style”. Alcatel has also included a rear fingerprint sensor to complete the premium design of the affordable handset. The Alcatel Shine Lite will cost 199 Euros (RM911.86) and is slated to launch in the US, Europe and Asia later this month. The company should be revealing the full list of specs in the near future, so stay tuned with us as we bring you more news like this from IFA 2016!

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IFA 2016: ASUS continues the Zenvolution with the ZenPad, ZenWatch, and the all new ZenScreen

338

ASUS’s IFA presentation at Berlin this year continues where the company left of at Computex by announce the latest entry into the ZenPad and ZenWatch line, as well as revealing a brand new device in the Zen family.

This new device in the Zen family is a portable monitor that ASUS call the ZenScreen. Measuring at just 8mm thick and weighing in at 800g, the ZenScreen is a portable monitor that relies on a hybrid USB port that supports both Type-C and Type-A connectors.

The ZenScreen will also come with its own Smart Case that will allow you to prop up the device on a surface. Curiously, ASUS has not revealed the actual size of the monitor, although going by the MB16AC model number, we are guessing that the monitor itself will be 16″. While no availability date was announced by ASUS, the ZenScreen will retail for EUR269 (RM1,222).

Onwards to more familiar territory, ASUS has also revealed its latest tablet, the ZenPad 3S 10. First introduced back at an event in Taiwan at the beginning of August, the ZenPad 3S 10 sports a sandblasted aluminum unibody that measures only 5.8mm thick.

The screen on the ZenPad 3S 10 is a 9.7″ 2K display that comes with ASUS’s own Tru2Life technology, allowing images to be both crisp and vivid. Audio is no joke on the ZenPad 3S 10 either as the tablet comes with two five-magnet stereo speakers and a Smart AMP. The tablet will be able to support Hi-Res audio files, as well as 7.1 Virtual Surround Sound.

The ZenPad 3S 10 will be powered by a MediaTek Hexa-core processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage space. The tablet will last for up to 10 hours in a single charge thanks to its 5,900mAh battery, and it will also come with Qualcomm’s own Quick Charge 3.0, allowing you to fully recharge the ZenPad 3S 10 in just three hours.

The ZenPad 3S 10 has an asking price of EUR379 (RM1,722).

Finally, we have the ZenWatch 3. As the image shows, the ZenWatch 3 no longer comes with a rectangular screen as ASUS has decided to opt for a traditional circular one.

Apart from that obvious difference, the ZenWatch 3 is now fashioned out of jewelry-grade 316L stainless steel. For the band, the ZenWatch 3 will come with an Italian leather band. Powering the ZenWatch 3 is the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor with 512MB of RAM. The ZenWatch 3 will also feature ASUS’s HyperCharge technology, where 15 minutes of charge time will fill up the 60% of the watch’s battery.

Located at the side of the ZenWatch 3 are three crown buttons that can be configured to access your favourite apps. With the introduction of the ZenWatch 3, ASUS will also be introducing a fitness app to the watch called ZenFit. Coupled with the improved activity tracker found on the watch, ASUS believes that the ZenWatch 3 will be the perfect fitness companion.

The ZenWatch 3 will come in gunmetal, silver and rose gold colours, and will retail for EUR229 (RM1,040).

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IFA 2016: HP unveils a modular PC and a speaker-like PC

338

If you think PCs are boring, you should see HP’s catalogue at IFA 2016 as the company has showcased two rather unorthodox computers in Berlin today.

The first of the two PCs is the HP Elite Slice. From a glance, the Elite Slice may look like HP’s take of the mini PCs such as Apple’s Mac Mini. Measuring at 6.5″ per side and 1.4″ tall, the Elite Slice looks to be a super compact PC.The Elite Slice can house up to a 6th-gen Intel Core i7 processor, and will run on Windows 10 Pro. However, that’s just half the story of the Elite Slice, as the main selling point for this particular PC comes from the fact that it is a modular PC.

Yes, the HP Elite Slice comes with a variety of modules, such as an audio module that sports a 360 degree speaker system and a microphone, a disc drive module, and even a VESA plate module for those who wish to mount the Elite Slice onto something else. As the Elite Slice is a PC aimed for offices, HP Elite Slice will also come with a moduled called the Collaboration Cover. This module turns the top of the PC into a Skype for Business phone, allowing you to initiate a preset Skype call by touching a capacitive button on the shell. Furthermore, the Elite Slice with Collaboration Cover module will come with its own Skype number. The HP Elite Slice will be available sometime this month, and will have a starting price of USD429 (RM1,751).

Aside from the modular Elite Slice, the second PC that HP unveiled today looks more like a speaker than an actual PC. Called the HP Pavilion Wave, this PC is a tall triangular prism that is covered almost completely in a woven black and white fabric. The gaps in the fabric exposes the machine’s USB and headphone jacks in the front, as well as the variety of ports located at the back. The computer itself will also come with a large central speaker that blasts sound out in all directions from the Pavilion Wave’s sloped top cover.

Specifications-wise, the Pavilion Wave can be equipped with an i3 or an i5 processor, a 1TB hard drive or a 128GB SSD, between 8 and 16GB of RAM, and either integrated graphics or AMD’s R9 M470 GPU. The Pavilion Wave will be available in October with a starting price of USD530 (RM2,164).

Source:
The

Verge

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IFA 2016: Huawei announces the Nova line of mid-range smartphones and the MediaPad M3

341

After teasing us for a week, Huawei has finally took to the stage at IFA and revealed its newest line of smartphones and the latest entry in the company’s MediaPad line of tablets. For the smartphones, it’s the all new mid-range Nova line; for the MediaPad, it’s the MediaPad M3.

First off, the Nova line. Huawei has unveiled both the Nova and the Nova Plus smartphones, both of which are mid-range smartphones. As the name may clue you in, the Nova is the “basic” phone in this new line of smartphones, measuring in at 5″. The Nova Plus is presumably the flagship of the Nova Line, being a 5.5″ smartphone. The design choices of both the Nova and Nova Plus would be familiar to those who have been closely following the Huawei phones, with the Nova having a Nexus 6P-ish design, while the Nova Plus ressembles the Mate series.

Performance on both the Nova and Nova Plus are identical, with both smartphones sporting a Snapdragon 625 processor, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage space. Both phones will also come with a USB-Type C port. The difference between both phones, aside from the size, is the battery capacity, with the Nova sporting a 3020mAh battery and the Nova Plus housing a 3340mAh battery. The rear camera is also another part of the smartphone that differs from the Nova and the Nova Plus, with the Nova coming with a 12MP sensor with phase-detection autofocus and 1.25 micron pixels, while the Nova Plus gets a 16MP sensor and optical image stabilization on top of the autofocus and 1.25 micron pixels. Both phones will sport an identical 8MP front camera.

As is the norm for Huawei smartphones, the Nova and Nova Plus will run on Android Marshmallow with the company’s own EMUI 4.1 skin. The fingerprint sensor, as well as the Knuckle Sense feature will be present on both the Nova and Nova Plus. Both phones are expected to be available within the next month with the Nova having a retail price of EUR 399 (RM1,814) and the Nova Plus priced at EUR429 (RM1,950).

Moving on, we have the Huawei MediaPad M3. Powered by Huawei’s Kirin 950 processor, 4GB of RAM, and either 32GB or 64GB of storage, the MediaPad M3 is an 8.4″ tablet that comes with a WQHD+ display, fingerprint reader and a dual 1-watt speaker system co-engineered with Harmon Kardon. For imaging, the MediaPad M3 will come with 8MP shooters for both the rear and front cameras. Battery life for the MediaPad M3 is pretty standard as well, sporting an 5100mAh battery that gives the tablet two days worth of on time.

Huawei’s MediaPad M3 will run on Android Marshmallow with EMUI 4.1 and will have a starting price of EUR349 (RM1,587). Availability of the MediaPad M3 will be announced at a later date.

Lastly, Huawei will be introducing two new colours to the Huawei P9: the Huawei P9 Blue and Huawei P9 Red. If you’ve ever want to get the P9 but felt that the colours are too dull, these new additions would probably please you.

Source:
Android

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