Fitbit Charge 2, Flex 2 go official with refreshed software and design elements

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A couple of months after Fitbit launched the Alta and Blaze fitness trackers, the company has updated a couple of its aged wearables with new ones, the successors to the Fitbit Charge HR and Flex respectively. Fitbit continues the legacy of their top selling fitness tracker with the Fitbit Charge 2, bringing in a couple of new features, and the Flex 2 with more customizability and swim proof features.

For starters, the Fitbit Charge 2 features a new and bigger design from its predecessor, especially its OLED display, which is 4 times larger than the Charge HR. The Charge 2 definitely has the essentials of what fitness junkies expect in a fitness tracker – All day activity, sleep tracking, automatic exercise recognition with SmartTrack, move reminders and a battery life of up to five days. Notable ones include PurePulse, which continuously tracks your heart rate to monitor your cardio fitness levels and provide guided breathing sessions. It also has the Connect GPS feature, which uses your phone’s GPS for more accurate and real time tracking when you put your feet to use.

On the other hand, the Fitbit Flex 2 features a build which is 30% smaller than its predecessor. The Flex 2 is now swim proof, with water resistance of up to 50 metres, and apart from SmartTrack, it can automatically track your swimming as well via the Fitbit app. Featuring a removable fitness tracker, the Flex 2 is customizable with a variety of bracelets and pendants, from Fitbit’s own designs to designer collections by PUBLIC SCHOOL, Simple Vera Wang for Kohl’s and Tory Burch, not forgetting the premium gold, rose gold or stainless steel options to choose from.

Currently only available in the United States, the Fitbit Charge 2 and Fitbit Flex 2 come at prices of $149.95 (RM605.54) and $99.95 (RM403.62) respectively, sold on Fitbit’s website, Amazon and major retailers. The fitness trackers will be available globally starting September and October. What do you think about Fitbit’s newly designed wearables?

UPDATE: According to Fitbit Malaysia, the Fitbit Charge 2 and Flex 2 is officially priced at RM730 and RM450 respectively, prices are inclusive of 6% GST.

Source:
Fitbit

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Fitbit Charge 3 is now available in Malaysia starting from RM728

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Fitbit has officially launched their latest product, the Fitbit Charge 3 in Malaysia which Fitbit have proudly claimed that Malaysia is the first country to launch the Fitbit Charge 3 in Southeast Asia due to its good reception in Malaysia for their previous Charge family products.

The new Fitbit Charge 3 is lightweight, comfortable and fashionable and comes with five different type of straps that accommodate users sense of style such as Classic, Special Edition, Sport, Woven, and Horween. With a large touchscreen and backlit display that automatically adjusts to lighting conditions, the Fitbit Charge 3 makes it easier to see stats, notifications or time in broad daylight or night when the lightings are different.

The Fitbit Charge 3 is packed with new features such as “Swimproof” which makes the Charge 3 water resistant up to 50 meter under water and would automatically track users swimming activity that could detect users’ swimming duration time and the amount of laps done.

The Fitbit Charge 3 also comes with 15 goal based exercise modes such as swim, run, weights, yoga and many more, which users could customize and set an exercise goal for calories burn, distance, duration, and see their real time status and progress. The Fitbit Charge 3 also comes with a connected GPS that allows users to see their real time pace and distance on screen during their outdoor runs, rides, or hikes using the connected GPS from their phone.

The battery life of the Fitbit Charge 3 could last up to 7 days without charging which allows user to wear the Fitbit Charge 3 to bed and it will automatically track the amount of time user spend in light, deep or REM sleep cycles, as well as time awake each night. With an enhanced 24/7 PurePulse heart rate technology, the Fitbit Charge 3 delivers greater accuracy than Charge 2 during activities such as jogging, spinning, and interval training, plus a better measure of calories burn and resting heart rate to help you optimize your workouts and uncover health trends.

Unlike their previous products, Fitbit Charge 3 now allow users to stay connected with their phone while they’re on the move by getting call alerts, text notifications, and quick replies. But unfortunately, quick replies are only applicable for Android phones but Fitbit is planning to expand the feature to iOS phones.

The Fitbit Charge 3 is now available with the price of RM728 for “Black with graphite aluminium case” and “Blue gray with rose gold aluminium case”, while the Fitbit Charge 3 Special Edition will be available for RM838 whereas all the Fitbit Charge 3 accessories would cost users with a price range from RM120 to RM230. You can purchase the Fitbit Charge 3 on Fitbit’s official website.

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Fitbit Charge 4 is the first Fitbit tracker to come with built-in GPS

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The latest addition to Fitbit’s devices is here — the Fitbit Charge 4. Despite sporting a similar design with its predecessor, the Charge 4 now comes with built-in GPS.

The Fitbit Charge 4 is the first Fitbit tracker with built-in GPS, meaning you no longer have to depend on your phone when it comes to tracking distance as you run, walk or cycle. Fitbit also added GPS-enabled exercise modes so you can track your exercise when you go hiking and etc.

Image credit: Fitbit

Alongside the new fitness tracker, Fitbit also launched a new feature called Active Zone Minutes. This allows user to get their own personalised heart rate zones so that they can adjust accordingly to get the perfect workout. There are also daily and weekly goals for you to achieve, making this feature a motivating factor in your workouts. Users will also get access to a summary of their heart rate zones after they’ve completed their workouts.

Since us Malaysians are supposedly stuck at home during this MCO period, Fitbit also added a free 90-day trial for those who’d like to try out their Premium subscription plan that comes with a wider set of tools and software that can help them learn more about their health. There’s no better time than now to try out the Premium plan since we’re constantly at home anyways.

Image credit: Fitbit

The Fitbit Charge 4 can be purchased at the price of RM698 and is available in three colours: black, rosewood and storm blue/black. You can get it at IT Hypermart, City Chain, Flash Gadget, Harvey Norman, Timekeeper and Thundermatch at the end of this month. There’s also a special edition that will set you back RM798, but it has an exclusive granite reflective/black woven band.

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Fitbit Charge 5 launched at RM878; ECG and EDA sensors now included

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Fitbit has recently released the Fitbit Charge 5; the fitness tracker takes on a different design compared to its predecessors and now comes with some interesting upgrades and premium features.

As revealed by previous
leaks
, the Charge 5 now has a display with rounded curves paired with a dual-clasp strap. It’s also the first in the lineup to come with an AMOLED colour screen and the Always-On display feature. It’s 10% thinner than the Fitbit Charge 4 and has a 1.04-inch panel.

Fitbit Charge 5 will sport some features previously seen on the Fitbit Sense

However, this fitness tracker doesn’t come with any physical buttons – you’ll have to rely entirely on the touch screen for navigation. The sides that look like buttons are actually the ECG and EDA
sensors. These sensors allow it to detect skin temperature variation, measure stress through changes in sweat glands and track your heart’s electrical activity.

Apart from that, you’ll get the usual sensors like an optical heart rate monitor, a 3-axis accelerometer, red and infrared sensors to track your SpO2 and an altimeter. There’s also an NFC sensor for contactless payment (Fitbit Pay).

Moving on to fitness features, the Charge 5 is capable of tracking 20 different exercises and even automatically recognises several exercises like running and cycling. As it water resistant up to 50m, this tracker can be worn when swimming or in the shower. For those who are exercising outdoors, the tracker’s built-in GPS can track your distance and real-time pace, in addition to a workout intensity map that shows you your heart rate zones. These information can be seen on the Fitbit app.

However, Fitbit did not change much when it comes to the battery life – the Charge 5 offers up to 7 days like the Charge 4, but that is of course dependent on user’s usage. If you’re using GPS continuously, the fitness tracker can only last 5 hours at most.

Fitbit Premium to offer new feature

In addition to that, Charge 5 users will also enjoy six months of
Fitbit Premium
 for free. One of the new features that will be available in the premium subscription is Daily Readiness; it provides users with data that let them know their body condition so they can decide to take a break that day or to continue working out. This data will show user’s fitness fatigue score, heart rate variability and sleep score.

The Fitbit Charge 5 can be
 pre-ordered
 now at RM878 and will be shipped by late September. You can get the bands in two sizes  depending on the circumference of your wrist, and the tracker itself is available three colours – Steel Blue, Lunar White and Black.

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Fitbit Charge 5: Leaked renders reveal a design refresh

1.1K

Renders of the upcoming Fitbit Charge 5 has been leaked — the fitness tracker will be sporting a different design unlike its predecessors.

Fitbit Charge 5 will be the first of its series to sport the new design

The
Fitbit Charge fitness trackers
 have always featured sharp edges with a typical watch-like strap but the Fitbit Charge 5 takes on a new design with a rounded display and a dual-clasp strap.

The renders also hints that the fitness tracker will still come with a capacitive touch control system — this is indicated by the shiny surfaces on the sides of the wearable. There’s also a chance that the Charge 5 will finally ditch the monochrome display and start including colourful graphics.

According to leaker
Evan Blass
, the Charge 5 will be available in three colours — charcoal black, blue-grey and cream. However, that is all the information that is revealed thus far.

Source

Fitbit Charge 5


Fitbit adds new COVID-19 Resource Hub in app to assist Fitbit users

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Fitbit knows that the current COVID-19 situation has led to many of us being stuck at home. To promote a healthy lifestyle even when we can’t go out, Fitbit has made the Premium subscription free for 90 days for all its Fitbit users. But since it’s important for everyone to be updated with the COVID-19 situation, Fitbit has also added a new tab in its app.

The new tab is called the COVID-19 tab and what it does is it offers all the latest information regarding the pandemic, lets you connect to a doctor virtually (only in the US) and give you ideas to stay healthy at home. You can even opt to share your data with the health research team so they progress more efficiently in detecting symptoms of flu and COVID-19.

Apart from the COVID-19 tab, if you subscribe to the 90-day free trial of Fitbit Premium, you’ll gain access to 40+ Premium at-home workout, advanced sleep tools and guided programs. You’ll also get new clock faces, motivational reminders and can connect with other Fitbit users via the Community tab.

The Fitbit COVID-19 tab will be rolling out to several countries from April 10 onwards. However, the tab content might be different depending on the country — like how the US users will the virtual doctor feature.

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Fitbit Flow: Fitbit introduces emergency ventilator to hospitals to help COVID-19 patients

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In an effort to help relieve the COVID-19 situation, Fitbit made its own low-cost emergency ventilator, the Fitbit Flow, to be used during COVID-19 emergencies.

Design

The
Fitbit Flow
 is an automatic resuscitator that has been approved by the U.S Food & Drug Administration (FDA). It is built with laser cut aluminum and uses similar resuscitator bags used by paramedics in an emergency and is paired with various sensors, instruments and alarms to support automated compressions. It is a portable device that can be placed on a stand with moving wheels for mobility or detached from the stand to be used on a tabletop.

Fitbit Flow doesn’t replace commercial ventilators

With a clear viewing window, doctors can monitor the ventilator and the patient from a distance. However, the Fitbit Flow isn’t made to replace ventilators; instead, it’s more of a supplementary device until the commercial ventilator is available.

Fitbit believes that this will lessen the burden of specialized staff and help better the current situation where U.S hospitals are already short of ventilators to treat their patients.

Fitbit also claimed that the Fitbit Flow is one of the more affordable ventilators, even though there are other emergency ventilators out there with different features. Fitbit also plans to continue working with the U.S government and global aid organizations to help mitigate the impact of COVID-19.

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Fitbit finalizes acquisition of Pebble

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It is done. Fitbit has finalized its acquisition of Pebble which would see the fitness band company walk away with Pebble’s intellectual property and a part of its employees. With this, Pebble as a brand will slowly be faded off, beginning with the company ceasing the manufacturing, promotion and selling of all its devices.

Pebble has since
published a blogpost
 that outlines what its customers can expect from the company. For now, existing Pebble devices owners will see no immediate changes as Fitbit will continue to “maintain service”. That being said, the company has mentioned that functionality could be impacted in the future, essentially saying that support for all existing Pebble devices will come to an end at some point in time.

As reported yesterday
, Pebble will be refunding everyone who had pledged to their May Kickstarter for the Pebble Time 2, Pebble Core, and Pebble Time Round devices. Those who’ve already received their Pebble 2 watches will not be entitled to a refund for obvious reasons. For those who’re entitled for the refund, Pebble has warned that the company aims to refund all pledges by March 2017, so if you’re one of the pledgers, you may have to wait.

On the Fitbit side of things, Fitbit has mentioned that the acquisition of Pebble will enable it to bring new products to the market quicker and improve those it already sells. The acquisition of Pebble will also allow Fitbit to develop customized products and third-party apps for corporate customers and research.

This acquisition marks the end of the Pebble, a company that is widely considered to be the darling of the crowdfunding movement. Here’s to hoping that Fitbit would be able to put their newly acquired assets to good use.

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Fitbit is now a part of Google

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Google announced back in 2018 that it wanted to acquire Fitbit, but today the acquisition is finally closed — Fitbit belongs to
Google
 now.

Google will not misuse Fitbit users’ data for ads

In Google’s announcement, Senior VP of Devices and Services Rick Osterloh said that the acquisition is all about the
Fitbit devices
 and not user’s data. “We worked with global regulators on an approach which safeguards consumers’ privacy expectations, including a series of
binding commitments
 that confirm Fitbit users’ health and wellness data won’t be used for Google ads and this data will be separated from other Google ads data.”

“The possibilities are truly limitless,” says Fitbit’s CEO

Osterloh promises that Fitbit users can continue to connect third-party services to their Fitbit accounts, while CEO of Fitbit James Park
states
 that Fitbit “will maintain strong data privacy and security protections.” Park believes that the acquisition will benefit Fitbit’s development progress due to Google’s massive amount of resources.

Fitbit acquisition is still under investigation

That being said, the United States Justice Department is actually still investing the acquisition to ensure that the acquisition will not lead to an anti-competitive situation. However Google said that the DOJ has already passed the time limit on making the decision hence Google is supposedly permitted to proceed with its acquisition.

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Fitbit introduces Fitbit Alta HR, adding heart rate monitor and sleep tracking

328

Today Fitbit, the leader in health wearable, has just released their new addition to the fitness wearable line called the Fitbit Alta HR. A change from the Fitbit Alta, the Fitbit Alta HR, HR basically stands for Heart Rate, has an advance heart rate tracker which Fitbit is calling Fitbit’s PurePulse, that can help in making more informed decisions on your health and boast an average percent error of 6%. The new device can also give you a better understanding on your sleep patterns explaining to you if you are rested or not through their Sleep Insight section of the app.

Similar to other Fitbit devices, the Fitbit Alta HR can track your calories intake by inputting the types of food that you have taken in through the app, which has also added in Malaysia food for ease on Malaysians to keep track of all the good and sinful food we enjoy everyday. The Alta HR will also continuously monitor your heart rate, allowing you to see how regular activities can affect your heart rate straight from your wrist. By customizing the display on the Alta HR, you can add your resting heart rate, which then can be compared to everyday activities which can lower the resting heart rate to give you a better cardiovascular health.

The biggest emphasize on the Alta HR is that it can measure your sleeping patterns. On the app, there is a section called Sleep Stages, that will show you a graph on how your sleep is through out the whole night. It can measure the time spent in light sleep, REM sleep and deep sleep. It can also measure time awake, which is basically the time spent moving in your sleep or twitching which is considered as restless sleep at high quantities. Through this data, it can advice you on ways you can improve your sleep.

The Fitbit Alta HR is currently available worldwide including the different changeable straps. Straps that were meant for the Alta will also fit on the Alta HR. Sleep Stages will work with the Alta HR, Blaze and Charge 2 devices, and Sleep Insights will be available with all Fitbit devices that can track sleep through the Fitbit app.

Classic Trackers (black, blue gray, fuchsia and coral)

RM730

Special Edition Trackers( soft pink with 22k rose gold plated tracker, black classic band with gunmetal tracker)

RM849

Lux Leather collection (brown, indigo or lavender)

RM300

Stainless Steel Metal Bracelet

Sliver – RM450

Gold – RM550

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Fitbit introduces the Ionic Smart Fitness tracker which features the FitbitOS

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Fitbit has just announced a new smartwatch called the Ionic which is built on Fitbit’s health and fitness expertise with a new SpO2 sensor to offer a more in-depth health insights like sleep apnea, advanced GPS tracking, on-device dynamic workouts, improved heart rate tracking and water resistance up to 50 meters. Other than that, it also comes with modern features like contactless payment, onboard music, smart notification, apps and watch faces for customizability.

Fitbit has claimed that the Ionic comes with 5 days of battery life and 10 hours battery life when using the GPS or playing music. It also has a personal trainer mode which will give you step-by-step instructions for a 7-minute workout, 10 minutes abs and treasure chest and dynamic workout that is cated to your feedback provided to the watch. There is also a Running Companion that will automatically detect when you start a run and activate the GPS to give you the tracking you need. It can pause and resume your run when it detects that you have stopped for water or to catch your breath and resume when you continue your run. With the 50-meter water resistance, the Ionic can count swimming laps, exercise duration and calories burned when swimming.

The SpO2 sensor can estimate your blood oxygen level which can give you an in-depth information about your health and detect if you have sleep apnea. Fitbit has integrated wireless payment with into the Ionic, which enabled you to leave your phone and wallet at home and make payment directly with the watch where ever cashless payment is accepted and it will show you received calls, text, calendar alerts and notification from popular apps like Facebook, Gmail, Instagram, Slack, Snapchat and more.

The Fitbit Ionic is running on the company’s new operating system for smartwatch called FitbitOS which will be updated regularly to improve the user experience. With Fitbit App Gallery, users can download popular health and fitness apps from Fitbit like Exercise, Fitbit Coach, Relax, Timer and more. It also supports Strava, which is a social network for athletes, and Weather, powered by AccuWeather.

They have also touched lightly on two new products, the Fitbit Flyer and Fitbit Aria 2. The first wireless earphones which come with a durable, sweatproof design and advanced sound performance. The Fitbit Aria 2 is a WiFi Smart Scale, which offers best in class accuracy and easy setup via Bluetooth. It can track your weight body fat percentage, lean mass and BMI by synching the data from the Smart Scale to the Fitbit app.

The Fitbit Ionic, Flyer and Aria 2 will be available starting 21 January 2018 from major retailers like Harvey Norman, ALL IT Hypermarket, AONE Plus, Best Denki, Timekeeper and Thunder Match. It will be available in three colours, Silver Gray Tracker and clasp with a blue-grey band, smoke grey tracker and clasp with a charcoal band, or burnt orange tracker and clasp with a slate blue band. Fitbit Ionic will cost RM1,399, Fitbit Flyer and Fitbit Aria 2 will come with a price tag of RM590 and RM620 respectively.

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Fitbit launches three new wearables: Fitbit Versa Lite, Fitbit Inspire and Fitbit Inspire HR

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To accommodate different individuals with different needs, Fitbit is launching three new wearables today.

One of the new Fitbits that is introduced today is a lite version of the Fitbit Versa that was launched in April 2018, the Fitbit Versa Lite. According to Fitbit’s Regional Director Louis Lye, the Fitbit Versa Lite was created for young adults who are more price conscious.

However, the Fitbit Versa Lite still comes with many features that can be found on the original Fitbit Versa; it has an on-device dashboard, motivation and reminders, guided breathing sessions and also sleep stages tracking. Users can also set different goal-based exercise modes and the Fitbit Versa Lite also supports 24/7 HR tracking. In terms of what it lacks compared to the Versa, Versa Lite doesn’t come with on-screen workouts, storage for music files, swim lap counts and floors climbed. That being said, the Fitbit Versa Lite has around 4 days of battery life.

Apart from that, Fitbit also introduced two new fitness trackers for those who aren’t interested in a fitness smartwatch. The Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR are fitness trackers that comes with touchscreens, and like the Versa Lite, it also has on-device dashboard and is swim proof. Both wearables have activity and sleep tracking, up to 5 days of battery and are also swim-proof.

Additionally, the Inspire HR has the additional heart rate tracking that supports features like the Cardio Fitness Level, sleep stages tracking and also guided breathing.

The Fitbit Versa Lite is priced at RM768 and comes in five different colours – Charcoal Silver, Lilac Silver, White Silver, Marina Blue and Mulberry. For those who are more interested in fitness trackers, the Fitbit Inspire will cost RM348 while the Fitbit Inspire HR will cost RM468.

On a side note, Fitbit also announced that a fitness tracker catered to children will be coming soon. Called the Fitbit Ace 2, it comes with up to 5 days of battery life, a touch screen and can be connected to the family account for parents to monitor their children’s progress.

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Fitbit OS 5.1 improves SpO2 tracking

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In Fitbit OS 5.1,
Fitbit Sense
 and Versa 3 users are finally able to track their SpO2 levels without depending on the SpO2 clock face.

SpO2 tracking runs during sleep after Fitbit OS 5.1

Previously, SpO2 tracking is only available on one clock face which has to be downloaded from Fitbit’s app gallery. Now, Fitbit improved the feature by allowing automatic tracking while users are asleep — the data can be accessed in the Fitbit app.

Fitbit
 also plans to add more SpO2 clock faces by the end of the year. Apart from the current clock face that shows SpO2 readings and some other health data, users will be getting seven more additional clock faces.

Alexa gets enhanced

For those regions where Alexa is supported, Fitbit also added Bluetooth calling and audible replies. Users can answer calls using the Sense or Versa 3’s microphones and speakers or reply to your text messages using voice-to-text commands. However, the voice replies only work on Android phones.

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Fitbit might be able to predict real-time influenza before outbreaks

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Your Fitbit may be able to detect influenza-like diseases before you do, as discovered by a recent research published in The Lancet Digital Health journal.

By analysing one’s heart rate and sleep duration, wearables like Fitbit can identify abnormality in a user data through their weekly average heart rate and weekly average sleep. If the heart rate is above overall average and the amount of sleep is not below overall average, then the data is considered abnormal.

The researchers have found improvement in real-time surveillance with the help of Fitbit wearables as traditional surveillance usually take up to three weeks to report. This research was done with data from 200,000 users in a few states in the U.S., in which 60% of them were female and had the subjects average age was 43 years old.

If we could really rely on wearables to detect diseases like influenza, then perhaps it could help the health practitioners prevent outbreaks at an earlier stage.

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Fitbit announces the Fitbit Premium subscription service at RM39/month and the Aria Air at RM238

523

Apart from the Versa 2, Fitbit also introduced the Fitbit Premium that is a paid subscription service that offers a more personalised experience, in addition to guidance and coaching for users to achieve their fitness goals. The Fitbit app can be downloaded for free, but for those who require deeper insights regarding their health, they can subscribe to Fitbit Premium.

The service will also include challenges and games in the future, but for now, there are features like advanced sleep analysis, personal insights and health reports. Health coaching feature will be available in the near future, where users get a live human coach to teach them how to better manage their health — this will require additional payment on top of the subscription service fees.

For now, there are already nine guided health and fitness programs. Fitbit Premium is priced at RM39/month and RM335/year.

Fitbit also brought the Fitbit Aria Air to Malaysia — Fitbit’s Bluetooth scale that can sync with its app and calculate user’s BMI. The Aria Air also provides insights by showing you charts that shows your trends over time and supports tracking up to eight individual users. This means that multiple users can connect the smart scale with their Fitbit app, and Fitbit will automatically recognise the different users while keeping their stats private.

The Aria Air comes in Black and White and is priced at RM238 and will be available in Malaysia soon.

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Fitbit enhances its Premium service and releases Fitbit OS 4.1 with new sleep features

393

As the end of the year approaches, Fitbit announced its latest Fitbit OS 4.1 and enhancements to its Fitbit Premium service to provide better user experience and improved features.

Fitbit OS 4.1 will come with new sleep features, including the long-awaited ‘smart wake”. This feature is has been mentioned by Fitbit when it first launched the Versa 2 smartwatch, in which the feature enables the device to wake their users with subtle vibrations at the optimal time of their sleep — preventing users from waking up feeling groggy and unrested.

In addition, Fitbit’s newest Sleep Score will also appear on the user’s Fitbit device, instead of just in the app.

With the new update, you can also store up to five clock face options for easy switching without having to download a new one through the app every time you want to change your device’s clock face. There are almost 4,000 clock faces within the Fitbit App Gallery, whereby the company has also updated the rating system so you can rate and recommend your favourite apps and clock faces with other Fitbit users.

Fitbit’s new software update will also offer a better always-on display with faster transitions between its always-on mode and its active views. Though non-applicable to us Malaysians, the Alex built-in functionality has been improved for Versa 2 users. Always had to check your device’s battery life? The new update will let your device notify you when your battery is running low and help you conserve some battery by disabling certain features.

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Fitbit is planning to launch a premium subscription service for RM39/month

333

While Fitbit has an app that can be used for free, the company is offering a new subscription service that will cost RM39/month or RM335/year.

The current Fitbit app already provided lots of data such as your sleep data, steps count, calories intake, water intake and even your menstrual cycle. According to the Verge, Fitbit Premium will offer more detailed health reports that include charts and graphs which can be printed out to be used when you go for an appointment with your doctor.

Apart from that, Fitbit will also offer contextual advice that has features like Sleep Score and other ways of showing you your fitness progress. You’ll also get to play games and participate in challenges with others in the app and get premium wellness content such as audio services from apps that can help you meditate.

Fitbit Premium will be launched later this year and will be available to all Fitbit fitness trackers and smartwatches. Those subscribed to Fitbit Coach will automatically be upgraded to Fitbit Premium with no extra charges.

fitbit
Fitbit Premium


Fitbit rumoured to be buying Pebble

276

Pebble, the shining example of the crowdfunding world, has seen better days as the company hasn’t been performing as well as many have hoped for. That being said, a new rumour has surfaced today that Fitbit is making a bid for Pebble that would see the Pebble brand end for good.

According to a report by The Information, Fitbit has since approached Pebble, offering to buy them out for an undisclosed sum. Anonymous sources has since told Engadget that Fitbit has offered around USD34 to USD40 million to buy out Pebble, an amount that just manages to pay off Pebble’s USD25 million debt.

Pebble’s financial woes isn’t exactly a recent development as the company was forced to layoff 25 percent of its workforce back in March. Not helping matters is the fact that the Pebble Time Round did not perform as well as the company expected it to be.

Should the deal between Fitbit and Pebble go through, The Information has reported that Pebble will be phased out of the market. The report states that Fitbit is buying the company to get access to its technologies and intellectual properties, including its operating system. If that is indeed the case, this could mean that the upcoming Pebble 2 and Pebble Time 2 would be the last of the Pebble smartwatches.

Source:
The Information
,
Engadget

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Fitbit Sense, Versa 3 and Inspire 2 launched in Malaysia: Brings world’s first EDA sensor on a smartwatch

467

Fitbit has introduced three new wearables to their lineup which includes the premium Fitbit Sense, midrange Versa 3, and affordable Inspire 2.

Fitbit Sense

This is the brand’s flagship offering; and although it sports a familiar look, it sets itself apart with new health tracking features such as an EDA (electrodermal activity) sensor which detects stress levels with a simple scan. A user simply needs to hold their palm over the watch face and breath normally – the watch then detects small electrical changes in the sweat level of your skin to give you a result. From there, simply refer to the Stress Management Score (which factors in sleep, heat rate and activity data) to see how well you’re doing mentally.

Besides stress tracking, the Fitbit Sense also comes with an ECG feature that accesses your heart rhythm for signs of an irregular heart rate. Coupled with Fitbit’s new PurePulse 2.0 multi-path heart rate sensor, the Sense offers personalized high and low heart rate notifications with 24/7 tracking.

On the activity and fitness front, Fitbit Sense is no slouch either – it comes with on-board GPS, over 20 exercise modes, SmartTrack for automatic activity tracking, cardio fitness level and score, sleep tolls, and much more. The watch is water-
resistant
 up to 50M and has a battery life of at least six days, and a new
snap-on
 magnetic charging feature.

Fitbit Versa 3

The Versa 3 improves on its
predecessor
 with Google Assistant support alongside an on-device GPS, in-app workout intensity map, better PurePulse 2.0 heart rate tracking technology, and more.

There’s a built-in speaker and microphone so you can answer or make calls on your watch. Speaking of speakers, you can also play music with partner app Spotify.

The Versa 3 also offers at least 6 days of battery life and also charges via the same
snap-on
 magnetic charger as the Fitbit Sense.

Fitbit Inspire 2

This is the most affordable entry in the lineup and it now comes with Active Zone Minutes, a new slim design, brighter screen, and up to 10 days of battery life.

There’s 24/7 heart rate tracking, over 20 exercise modes, sleep and menstrual cycle tracking, and much more.

The Fitbit Sense is priced at RM1,498, the Versa 3 at RM1,148, and the Inspire 2 for RM498. Fitbit expects the worldwide release of the watches to come this October – for more information on the new products, visit Fitbit’s website
here
.

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Fitbit Sense: First smartwatch with an EDA sensor

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The Fitbit Sense and Fitbit Inspire 2 that was announced alongside the Versa 3 is now available in Malaysia — the former is in fact the first smartwatch to sport an EDA sensor.

Fitbit Sense

The
Fitbit Sense
 is actually the first of its series and also the most advanced smartwatch Fitbit has to offer so far. As mentioned, it has an EDA (electrodermal activity) sensor which helps detect stress level. Fitbit will use an EDA Scan app which reveals your stress levels in the form of a graph for better understanding. In addition to that, the Fitbit Sense also offers an on-wrist skin temperature sensor that allows you to detect abnormalities on a daily basis.

Fitbit Inspire 2

Fitbit also released the successor to the
Fitbit Inspire series
 after two years — the new fitness tracker is upgraded with a better screen, a longer battery life of up to 10 days and advanced features like Active Zone Minutes. Those who get the
Inspire 2
 will also enjoy a one-year trial of Fitbit Premium for free.

Fitbit Versa 3

Last but not least, the
Versa 3
 will be coming soon in November with built-in GPS, an in-app workout intensity map, better heart rate monitor and Google Assistant support.

Price and availability

The Fitbit Sense and Inspire 2 are now available at RM1,498 and RM498 respectively, while the Fitbit Versa 3 is priced at RM1,148. You can get the first two devices now at major retail stores including Harvey Norman, All IT, Best Denki and online platforms such as Lazada and Shopee.

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Fitbit Inspire 2
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Fitbit Surge Unboxing and First Look

413

Fitbit products may have been selling in stores nationwide with fans and geeks like us knowing about it, however the company itself has only recently started showing its presence here and have started bringing its full range of fitness tracking devices to local consumers, and one of them was passed to us – the Fitbit Surge, for review.

The Surge is the flagship model of the company’s fitness trackers, in which the company has touted it as the Fitness Super Watch, and we don’t doubt it since the device comes with a plethora of features that makes it more than a mere fitness tracking device. First of all, I have to commend Fitbit’s marketing team for making such an interesting packaging, opening the box flap reveals a motivating message that tells you what the watch is able to do, and there’s simply no reason not to get consumers interested. Trust me, most people I’ve approached have no idea of what fitness trackers can do.

Out of the box, we’ve got four things – the Fitbit Surge, a proprietary charging cable, a wireless syncing dongle and manuals. In terms of design, the Surge does look like a sport device rather than a watch, its squarish watch face packs a touch enabled monochrome LCD, it has a slope side design from that doesn’t make the device look too thick, a pair of optical heart rate sensors are located under the device and the most satisfying thing would be the elastomer strap that feels very comfortable to wear it on hand during work outs or tracking your sleep.

Fitbit’s app is supported across all mobile and computing platforms, and I do really commend on that effort since most manufacturers have only emphasized support for Android and iOS devices. Pairing the Surge is straightforward and although the first firmware update took almost 10 minutes to complete, all was well after that and the Surge pairs easily to any other devices we have in our labs. The included wireless sync dongle lets you sync fitness data from your watch back to Fitbit’s online dashboard from your Mac or PC so you don’t need to have your smartphone connected to the Surge if you are particular about battery life, it is certainly a good feature to have but not too useful in my
case
, since Bluetooth these days don’t really suck a lot of battery juice.

Coming from many
smart watch
es, Fitbit has designed the Surge to perform like a
smart watch
, swiping left and right will show your fitness progress such as steps, heart rate, elevation and calories burnt. To access other features, you simply need to press the A button on the left and navigate around features the same actions. Fitbit has made its features clear and easy to understand, and it even gives you a variety of exercises to choose from, which saves you the need to manually log the type of workouts you are performing.

Fitness tracking isn’t what Fitbit wants to focus on, but rather, the company wants to offer a complete user experience with its beautiful app that shows your fitness progress, set fitness goals and challenge your friends and even logs down the food that you eat for the day, which makes it very obvious that the company wants the device to be your personal trainer and you have got to be disciplined enough to keep those data synced and updated all the time.

At this time of writing, I’m already wearing the Fitbit Surge for the third day and it has so far worked pretty well for me, this is one of the most accurate fitness trackers that I’ve ever worn, it rarely records my steps wrongly which I can verify this since I have been a little inactive all this while, most fitness trackers I’ve tried always tell me that I’ve reached my goal of 10000 steps when I’m not moving a lot. Battery life is still good at around 80% with 24 hour heart rate tracking, and its time for me to head on to the gym and do some serious workouts with the Surge.

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Fitbit unveils fashionable Alta

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After releasing the Fitbit Blaze, Fitbit has unveiled a new fashion-forward fitness wearable today – the Fitbit Alta. Since it’s fashion-forward, the Alta will mostly be catered to, but not limited to, the womenfolk. Men can wear them too.

The new fitness wearable by Fitbit features a satin finish and a sleek silver stainless steel design, with a shiny gold variant coming soon to the fashionista’s out there. Coupled with that are stylish interchangeable accessory bands in different materials and designs such as leather bracelet, silver bangle or the classic fitness wristband.

The Fitbit Alta sports an OLED tap display, which shows your activity stats, notifications and obviously, the time. Users also have the option to customize their watch faces. Like many fitness trackers, the Alta monitors your steps, workout routines and sleeping pattern. Apart from that, the wearable includes reminders for you to stay active instead of lazing around in a stationary position. The Alta will “annoy” you with reminders if you’re in an inactive state for too long, but the feature can be turned off via the “Do Not Disturb” option if you happen to be in a meeting.

Also featured in the Fitbit Alta is SmartTrack, which is an automatic exercise recognition technology designed to detect whether you’re running, cycling or doing sports and other physical activities alike. From that, it sets weekly goals for you, alongside the occasional encouragement towards your personal achievements. Your weekly goals are tracked on your smartphone via the Fitbit app and can be personalized according to your fitness pace.

Equipped with all-day activity and automatic sleep tracking, the Alta provides your health and fitness stats such as step-count, calories burned, active minutes in real time. Apart from that, it learns your sleeping hours to set silent vibrating alarms to give you that subtle nudge to rise and shine. Fitbit promises up to 5 days of battery life on a single charge.

The Fitbit Alta will be available for purchase in March 2016, at major retailer stores nationwide at an affordable price of RM 600. Any ladies interested? Men? Leave your comments below!

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The new Fitbit Versa 2 has an AMOLED display and Alexa built-in but no GPS and ECG

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Aside from Fitbit Premium, Fitbit also announced the new Fitbit Versa 2 smartwatch and a smart scale called the Fitbit Aria Air that can measure weight and BMI, but let’s focus on the smartwatch.

The Versa 2 has significant upgrades over its predecessor, but at the same time still lack some features many had hoped for. Its display is now a bigger AMOLED screen with thinner bezels, remind us of the Apple Watch. The side button is located on its left while the microphone is located on its right.

Why is there a microphone, you ask? Because the Fitbit Versa 2 has Amazon Alexa built-in, so now you can hold the side button and get Alexa to set reminders and alarms for you. The Versa 2 also supports Always-On mode and Sleep mode which disables quick-view display and notification.

Spotify Premium will also be coming to the Fitbit Versa 2 — and other Versa smartwatches — but it will only be a remote Spotify Connect app, so you’ll still need your phone. Unfortunately, there is no GPS and ECG feature yet, so Apple is still conquering in that area.

Nonetheless, the Versa 2 has 24/7 heart rate tracking, battery life up to 5 days and supports app notifications and voice reply. The Fitbit Versa 2 is priced at RM998 while its special edition is priced at RM1,068. These devices will be available in Malaysia from September 15 onwards.

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Fitbit Versa 2 Review: Reliable fitness tracker with a sprinkle of smartwatch

676

I’ve been wearing the Fitbit Inspire HR since I first got it and that has been more than half a year. It came at the right time — I had just joined the gym back then — and I swear I almost never not wear it when I go to gym. But all good things must come to an end. Okay technically it’s not an end, but Fitbit just launched the Fitbit Versa 2 in Malaysia and I got my hands on it so I’m putting away the Inspire HR for a while.

Moving from a fitness tracker to a smartwatch definitely has some changes, but I did get used to it pretty quickly. First thing to note is obviously the change in design; the Versa 2 has a square display with a bigger screen. It now comes with an Always-On AMOLED display which can be turned off (ironic, I know) and compared to its predecessor, it has ditched the Fitbit branding on its bottom bezel and reduced the number of buttons from three to one. Still, it has significantly obvious bezels that some might find…
ugh
. Not me though; this is an upgrade for me since the Inspire HR has even bigger bezels. The Versa 2 also has the ability to adjust brightness depending on your surroundings and I am impressed that its maximum brightness is not just all talk.

Truth be told, the Versa 2 still leans towards a fitness tracker — it has smartwatch features but cannot compete against full-fledged smartwatches like the Apple Watch. It’s still pretty lightweight and it remains simple with its UI and uses both swipe and tap gestures. The only button now either helps me wake the screen or go back to the previous screen. Of course, being somewhat of a smartwatch has allowed me to read my notifications properly — the Inspire HR could not display long messages in their entirety. Sadly, Alexa isn’t supported in Malaysia so I don’t get to talk to her and because I’m an iPhone user, I also don’t get voice replies. Also, even though the Versa 2 supports Fitbit Pay, the payment system is not available in Malaysia. If I had to pick to either get Alexa or Fitbit Pay, I’ll probably go with the latter.

One thing that made me pick the Versa 2 over the Inspire HR is the Spotify app that is finally available on the smartwatch. Despite not being able to download and stream songs from Versa 2 itself, I still appreciate the ability to control music playback with the smartwatch. There are also many other apps that can be download such as Deezer, TRX Training and games like Flappy and 2048, but I like things simple, so I only kept Spotify and the essential apps.

As expected, the Versa 2 can track everything the Inspire HR can — daily steps, calories burned, water intake, sleep and heart rate. I can track various kinds of exercise and if I forgot to do so, it can automatically track several of them (running, cycling, walking).

One thing I am constantly focused on is sleep tracking. Fitbit has been very accurate with its sleep tracking feature and I constantly check my sleep data to ensure that I get enough/more sleep. What’s better is that Fitbit now offers Sleep Score, where the app rates your sleep based on your sleep data. So far, I’ve yet to achieve an average Sleep Score of 80, so I’m still putting efforts in getting better sleep at night to get that ‘good’ rating. Thanks to how lightweight the Versa 2 is, wearing it to sleep is also comfortable.

The Versa 2 is also waterproof, so you can wear it when you’re swimming but I can’t swim, so at best the smartwatch just gets wet from shower or dish-washing sessions. Despite using it for several weeks now, I find the Versa 2 with less scratches, so I’m grateful that Fitbit used the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for its display.

Although Fitbit announced the Versa 2 to come with up to six days of battery usage, I found myself charging the device every four to five days. Nevertheless, I’d say that’s quite impressive for a smartwatch/fitness tracker. But if you are someone who likes the Always-On display feature, then be prepared to sacrifice some battery life. The Versa 2 also doesn’t come with a build-in GPS module, but I think that’s fine since it’ll definitely drain the battery faster.

Verdict

The Fitbit Versa 2 is both a smartwatch and a fitness tracker, but there’s obviously more fitness tracking features compared to smartwatch features. It’s a great device but could be improved since it’s priced at RM998. I’d be less reluctant to pay almost RM1,000 if the device could at least support speech replies for iPhone users and offer downloading and streaming of Spotify music within the watch itself. But anyways, I’ve made my decision.
I’m not switching back to the Inspire HR.

The Good

Bright Always-On AMOLED display

Long battery life

Waterproof

Comfortable and lightweight

Supports Spotify

The Not So Good

Can’t download and stream Spotify songs on its own

fitbit
fitness tracker
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Versa 2


Fitbit Versa 2 and Versa 2 Special Edition are now in Malaysia, starting from RM998

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The Fitbit Versa 2 smartwatch is the latest addition to the Versa family and features several major improvements. It now comes with the heavily-requested Spotify app so you can control your music and podcast straight from your wrist. Apart from that, it has an AMOLED display with thinner bezels paired with the on-device microphone on its right. Unfortunately, Alexa is not supported in Malaysia so you can’t enjoy the Alexa assistant with your Fitbit Versa 2 here — this also applies to Fitbit Pay.

In addition, the Fitbit Versa 2 features Always-On mode so you always have access to the time and date — like a regular watch. Along with the Fitbit app, the new smartwatch can track your daily steps, sleep stages, calories burned and heart rate with its 24/7 heart rate tracking features.

Fitbit also updated its app with a new feature called Sleep Score, where the app analyses your sleep stages and show you a nightly score so you’re motivated to get a higher score, resulting in better sleep. Fitbit will also integrate a Smart Wake feature in the near future, where Fitbit smartwatches take advantage of machine learning to find the optimal time to wake their users — during light or REM sleep.

The Fitbit Versa 2 is water resistant up to 50 meters and comes with a 6+ days battery life. It has an anodised aluminium finish and as usual, many different bands such as the classic bands, woven bands and leather and suede bands.

The Versa 2 is priced at RM998 while the Versa 2 Special Edition is priced at RM1,068. It features premium jacquard woven band in navy and pink and comes with a copper rose aluminium case or a mist grey case. Both smartwatches are available in Malaysia and can be purchased at several retail outlets such as All IT Hypermarket, Best Denki, City Chain, Flash Gadget, Harvey Norman, Lazada, Thunder Match & Timekeeper.

fitbit
Versa 2
Versa 2 Special Edition


Fitbit Versa launches in Malaysia, price starts from RM990

413

It didn’t take long for Fitbit to bring in it’s second smartwatch to the country, as Malaysia is one of the important markets for the company. The Fitbit Versa, touted as the smartwatch for everyone, has officially debuted this afternoon, this second smartwatch from Fitbit now comes with a much lower price tag than the Ionic and has some great features, including a 4+ day battery life, support for Fitbit Pay (not available in Malaysia yet), 50M water resistance and advanced female health tracking.

What’s missing from the Versa as compared to it’s higher end brother is a built-in GPS, which you probably only need if you want to track outdoor running workouts, it uses your phone’s GPS instead if you still require to track where you have been running. The Fitbit Versa is more of a smartwatch this round than a standard fitness tracker, it has a more fashionable rounded design unlike the Ionic’s squarish shape, it will do all the usual Fitbit fitness tracking features, including automatically detecting the type of workout you are doing. The Versa can also receive notifications and perform quick replies to messages on Android phones, you can also load up to 300 songs via Deezer on it’s built-in memory and play them via a Bluetooth headset, Spotify support is sadly not available.

Fitbit is targeting this smartwatch at Female users, as long as the user’s Fitbit profile has been set to Female, you will be able log periods and track menstrual cycles through Fitbit’s app, it lets you analyze your cycles and compare to other health stats like sleep, activity and weight, allowing female users to take action accordingly to manage their menstrual health. The Female Health Tracking feature will be available on both the Versa and Ionic via a software update on May.

At the launch today, Fitbit has also introduced the Fitbit Ace, a fitness tracker designed for kids that tracks steps and sleep, the tracker looks like a minimized version of the Fitbit Alta and comes with a smaller wrist band to fit a child’s wrist, the fitness tracker can be tied to a family account, which parents can have access to the child’s fitness tracking data and exchange messages within the app.

The Fitbit Versa will be available soon with a starting price of RM990 in black, gray and peach colors with their respective aluminum cases, a special edition of the Versa will come with a woven strap will retail at RM1120 along with accessories ranging from RM130 to RM420. As for the Fitbit Ace, it is expected to reach here in June with an expected price of RM490.

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Fitbit's acquisition of Pebble would cause the Time 2 and Core to be discontinued

358

Fitbit’s alleged acquisition of Pebble is very much a real thing as
Bloomberg has reported
 that Fitbit is close to buying software assets from Pebble earlier today. Unfortunately, this acquisition will cause Pebble to discontinue its upcoming Time 2 and Pebble Core products.

Some of you may remember that
Pebble launched a Kickstarter back in May
 in order to crowdfund the Pebble 2, the Pebble Time 2 and the Pebble Core. While Pebble has begun shipping out Pebble 2 watches to its backers, Pebble’s acquisition by Fitbit means that the company is unable to continue producition of the Time 2 and the Core. As such, Pebble will be issuing refunds to anyone who has backed the Time 2 or Core via Kickstarter. Those who have backed the project back in May should check their Kickstarter accounts for any updates on the project as soon as possible.

In the meantime, Fitbit has sent out job offers to roughly 40 percent of the smartwatch company’s software enginners. Those who did not manage to get a job offer will be receiving a severence package instead. As for the Pebble brand itself, Bloomberg says that the decision to use the Pebble brand is in Fitbit’s hands. However,
if earlier reports are to be believed
, Fitbit would begin phasing out the Pebble brand once the acquisition is complete, thereby marking the end of Pebble.

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Fitbit’s first tracker with Fitbit Pay, the Fitbit Charge 3

399

Fitbit is back with Fitbit Charge 3, their most advanced fitness tracker with more functions.

The Fitbit Charge 3 is a fitness tracker that can track your health and heart rate with the 24/7 heart rate function that tracks your calorie burn, optimises your workouts and uncovers your health trends. It also has real-time heart rate zones and all-day calorie burn function that tracks how many calories you burn throughout your day to help you achieve your fitness goals.

Furthermore, the Fitbit Charge 3 has tracking functions such as sleep tracking and female health tracking. Basically, it analyses your sleep pattern and also works as a period calendar. There is also the Fitbit app dashboard that allows you to set goals, find inspiration and access all your health and fitness information.

Image credit : iMore

For those who workout often, the Fitbit Charge 3 has SmartTrack that automatically recognise the type of exercise with real-time pace and distance. You also get reminders to move and guided breathing sessions to better manage your mental health, and this device is water resistant up to 50m, so it is wearable even when you’re swimming or showering.

Apart from that, the Fitbit Charge 3 has calendar and weather apps in addition to the notification and quick replies feature, though the quick replies feature will only be available to Android users. In terms of notifications, you can get calls, texts and also smartphone app alerts. The tracker also supports Fitbit Pay that allow cashless payments, but do note that the Fitbit Pay is only available on the special editions of the Fitbit Charge 3.

The tracker has up to 7 days battery, and is durable and lightweight due to the Corning Gorilla Glass 3. There are 2 colours for the normal edition and 2 colours for the special edition. The Fitbit Charge 3 is now available at the price of €149.95, and the special edition is available for pre-order at €169.95, which ships later in November.

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Fitness apps used Touch IDs to scam iOS users’ money

366

Apple’s Touch ID had been taken advantage of recently by several iOS applications to scam iOS users. The apps trick users to use their Touch IDs in fitness-tracking apps while the apps are actually using the Touch IDs to authorise payments.

According to WeLiveSecurity, the apps known as “Fitness Balance” and “Calories Tracker” claims to be able to calculate BMI, track daily calorie intake or remind users to drink more water. When the app was first launched, users will be asked to scan their fingerprints to view their personal calories tracker and diet recommendation but when they actually scan their fingerprints, there will be a sudden pop-up of payment that will then be authorised since the Touch IDs were being used. If users refuse the fingerprint scanning, another pop-up appears to prompt users to continue and the pop-up payment procedure with Touch ID repeats again.

Image credit: Reddit

Some users were charged $99.99, some $119.99, and many have complaint to App Store and emailed the developer himself. However, users received the same response from the developer that said he will “fix” the issue, and it’s clear now that it’s just part of the scam. In addition, the developer is smart enough to create fake reviews and ratings that led to the success in manipulating some iOS users to download the apps.

However, Apple has since removed both apps from App Store so that the apps will steal more money from other users. It is unsure how many users have been conned by the developer, but they can try to ask for a refund from Apple and hopefully Apple will be able to get the developer to refund all the victims.

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FITURE launches in Malaysia as first smart fitness mirror

5K

Can’t hit the gym because of your busy schedules or your workout just got interrupted by bad weather? The answer to all of your workout woes can possibly be resolved by FITURE, a company that makes smart mirrors and have officially made presence in Malaysia today.

Available in two models – namely the FITURE Core Fitness Mirror and FITURE Mini Fitness Mirror, these smart fitness mirrors come with 43-inch and 32-inch displays respectively that pushes Full HD resolution, they will essentially serve as a standing mirror when not powered on, and users will basically interact with the device by using hand gestures, there’s also two built-in speakers for hearing fitness instructions and can be used as a Bluetooth speaker as well.

Sporting thousands of fitness exercises including HIIT, strength training, cardio exercises, boxing and more from professional coaches, the FITURE smart fitness mirrors will be able to guide users on the right posture and movements all thanks to its Motion Engine technology, users will also be able to store their workout progress through the FITURE app on their phones.

The FITURE smart fitness mirror will require you to have a subscription that will cost RM129/month, which can be shared among six users within the household, the 43-inch Core Fitness Mirror will retail at RM6,999 and the smaller 32-inch Mini Fitness Mirror will retail at RM3,999.

FITURE Malaysia says that more workouts will be added over time, while they are also looking to partner with local trainers to have localized fitness content offered on their service.

For a limited time till 19 October, customers can own the FITURE Core at RM5,999 and the FITURE Mini at RM2,999, there will also be a complimentary 3 months subscription, there are also 0% installment plans available for up to 18 months when customers purchase them at the
FITURE Malaysia Shopee Official Store
.

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Five costumes in Dragon Blaze you would love, and might think about cosplaying

1.5K

Not all of us are comfortable with wearing costumes out in public, but we can do it easily when it comes to a virtual setting. Since during this whole month everyone is still in Valentine’s Day mood, it is inevitable that we tend to find the slightest excuse to look for something nice to wear, especially with a large number of available costumes in Dragon Blaze. It is amazing how the developers and artists can come up with such whimsical costumes, which also makes pretty good cosplay pieces.

By the way, if you check out Dragon Blaze Facebook fan page, you will notice that there is a Valentine’s Campaign going on where you can win lots of Rubies to spend in-game. It is a super easy competition where you just need to submit which is your favorite Ally in Dragon Blaze. Check this
link
 for more information.

Anyway, here are some of my personal favorite costumes for Allies you might also find absolutely adorable.

#1: Farrah Cute Knit Bikini

This particular costume is for Farrah the Healer, who is a Priest. Somehow, this Cute Knit Bikini costume feels pretty modern with the Vespa bike and all, but with an under-the-sea theme. She is, after all, a master of of Eden and a friend of all animals, but guess it never really occured to me that sea animals were part of that scope. This costume is basically a frilly bikini, with hair ornaments looking like corals and seaweed. The staff looks like a shell of sorts, and that red-faced octopus just cracks me up. Maybe he is feeling a little shy looking at Farrah’s sexy getup. Anyway, this is not just a costume to look good in; there are additional stats attached to it. That HP jump is quite a good addition especially being a healer.

#2: Gaela Fervent Hall Monitor

Ahh. The school girl costume. Gaela the Fallen usually looks pretty badass, but in this costume, she reminds me of a school girl in an anime who practices kendo. Who is also in a school disciplinary commitee. Who is a “tsundere”, meaning a person who is initially cold and even hostile towards another person before gradually showing their warm side over time. If you familiar with the common female character archtypes, then you will know what I mean. Well, the entire costume is cute, however, I find her shoes a little mismatched. It looks like some sort of Adidias-looking flip flops one would normally find at public washrooms, or at any bachelor pad. However, this costume also comes with pretty good stats, although not the best.

#3: Blackaria of Purgatory

This is one sexy ally. Draco Blackaria is a Priest but she definitely thwarts the usual stereotype priest in terms of looks. Her usual look is already super sexy and smoldering, but this costume makes her look even sexier than usual. A very risque costume I must say. She looks like a dominatrix and somehow makes you want to listen to whatever she has to say. Her pet tiger now looks even more majestic with matching armor since he has to protect his mistress while she casts spells of life and death. Or maybe to protect her from pervs. The stats that goes with the costume is not too bad especially with decent increase in Critical Rate.

#4: Kymael Zealous Bandmaster

I have to admit, any character with wings of some sort just looks awesome. This Angel of Justice of the Paladin class is usually decked out in archaic armor, but this costume makes her look like a typical girl band member with an icy cool demeanor. Paired with tons of lace and a lovely pair of black maryjanes, this costume is something you can probably wear to a J-rock concert. Notice that unicorn decal on the guitar? Maybe she is as rare as a unicorn. The costume stats on this ally adds considerable amount of strength, which makes this paladin a fearsome ally to have.

#5: Brightspark Lovely Cover Up

Speaking of lace, this costume for Brightspark is full of it. It is dainty and girlish, and pairs well with what seems to be a pair of bikini. I think the crown garters is a little out of place though. Maybe it would’ve been better to have that on her head instead. The huge umbrella used as a weapon is amusing since I can imagine Brightspark swinging that around at mobs who would probably laugh at her; until they get hit that is. The best stats of this costume is the HP and a pretty decent Intelligence and Critical Rate increase.

So, which is your favorite? Is sexy or cute your thing? Let us know!

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Five executives will be leaving Twitter and Vine soon

336

It seems that Twitter will be in for a bumpy ride ahead as the four executives from the company as well as one executive from Vine will be leaving soon.

This mass exodus of sorts is suspected to stem from the company’s declining share value. Currently, Twitter shares are trading at just USD 17.84, which is an all-time low and less than half the company’s original share price. Dorsey has since attempted to buoy investor confidence by introducing new features to the micro-blogging service as well as slashing 8% of the company’s workforce. As evident by its share prices, this steps weren’t enough to turn around Twitter’s ailing fortunes.

Was really hoping to talk to Twitter employees about this later this week, but want to set the record straight now:
pic.twitter.com/PcpRyTzOlW

— Jack (@jack)
January 25, 2016

Those that will be departing from Twitter include head of product Kevin Weil, head of media Katie Jacobs Stanton, head of engineering Alex Roetter, and head of HR Skip Schipper. Vine executive Jason Toff will also be leaving the company so that he could return to Google to work on virtual reality related projects.

If
Re/cod
e is to be believed, some of the departures were not made willingly by the executives themselves. The website has also noted that further departures are to be expected from the company. While five executives will be leaving the company, a new CMO and a new head of PR is expected to join the company soon. Whatever the case, it seems that Twitter is in for a bumpy road ahead.

Source :
Ars Technica
,
Re/code

business
departure
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FIVE is a new petrol brand which will be coming to the country soon

788

We’re all for options, and where we get our petrol is no exception – adding to the list of brands in the country soon will be FIVE – a brand owned by Seng Group, the same folks behind BHPetrol.

Image credit: Paul Tan

They don’t own BHPetrol however, they represent the brand as distributors, its owners are Boustead Petroleum. So FIVE will be Seng Group’s first attempt at owning, and running a petrol retail business.

With the market currently dominated by the likes of Petronas and Shell – it will be interesting else FIVE can offer that is different; we’re hoping for monetary-value offerings, but we’ll accept a fancy kiosk too.

According to reports, Seng Group MD and CEO Datuk Seri King Lim Chin Fui declined to talk more about BHPetrol and FIVE’s position in the industry, but we’re sure they won’t be heavily contesting for each other’s market shares – perhaps there could be a collab of sorts to offer promos and deals to customers too.

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Five out of six eSports titles for 2019 SEA GAMES has been revealed

300

Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) and Razer has officially announced the list of eSports titles that will be played during the 2019 SEA Games.

The selected eSports titles will be split evenly between three major gaming platforms which includes PC, console and mobile. It was reported that Dota 2 and Starcraft II will is categorized under PC, whereas games such as Mobile Legends and Arena of Valor will be categorized on mobile, and as for console, only one game has been announced, which is Tekken 7. The sixth and final game will be announced in the next coming weeks.

“We are thrilled to see the momentum that our partnership with Razer has achieved in such a short period of time,” said PHISGOC Executive Director Ramon Suzara.

“The shortlisting of six games in such a short time is evidence that the notion of esports as a legitimate sporting event is no longer a fad. We look forward to having more partners come on board and join us in defining a new generation of sporting heroes for the youth and millennials,” added Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan.

It was reported that the participating eSports athletes from every country will be chosen through qualifying tournaments and there’ll be no direct invites for established eSports athletes. Although eSports was already included in this year’s Asian Games, it was only an exhibition event therefore the 2019 SEA Games will mark the first time that eSports will be a medal event in major sports competition.

The 2019 SEA Games will take place next year from 30 November 2019 until 11 December 2019.

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Five Petroleum is Malaysia’s newest petroleum brand – first outlet in Kalumpang, Selangor

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Five Petroleum Malaysia is now officially launched, making its appearance in
Kalumpang
, Selangor. With them, their
Ultimaxx
 fuel is also introduced with petrol sourced from our very own Petronas.

The petrol station will also have their own integrated Woo! Mart convenience store. Operated by Seng Group, who also represents
BHPetrol
, it will be interesting to see what Five can offer differently than the latter without locking horns with BHPetrol.

Image credit: Paul Tan

According to reports, the company plans to have up to 200 stations across the country with 30 to 40 to come from the first batch of launches which will take place within the Valley.

Five also says that customers can use an intergrated mobile application to perform payments and collect reward points – just like Petronas with
Mesra
 and
Setel
.

As a Petronas customer,
Five
 may not sound too appealing to me because I get to enjoy both Petronas fuel and have amassed a sum of
Mesra
 points already. But it’s worth giving a shot for those who want to try something different if while still getting Petronas fuel.

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Five reasons why you don’t need a DSLR in 2021

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DSLRs used to be the answer to high-quality images, but they’re not the only devices that are capable of offering that anymore. Smartphone cameras are slowly catching up with intelligent algorithms and advanced features like 108MP mode, 100x zoom, micro lens and more.

So, in this day and age, do you still need a DSLR? We don’t think so, and here’s why:

DSLRs are costly

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

Getting a DSLR is expensive, especially for beginners; the camera body itself will already cost you
at least
 a thousand or two, and that’s before you consider the extra lenses, flashes, tripods, and any other accessories you may need.

And when it comes to lenses, you’re unlikely to stick to one; you have your telephoto lens, macro lens, wide lens, fisheye lens — that’s apart from your more common prime lens with a fixed focal length and standard zoom lens.

Each of these lenses are priced differently — some will even cost more than the camera body itself.

Let’s take portrait photography as an example. If you’re into beautiful, blurred backgrounds a.k.a the bokeh effect, you’ll want a lens with wider aperture.

One of the more affordable lenses you can get is the Sigma 50mm f/2.8 — this is priced around RM1,200. Even if you get a used one, you’ll still be spending about RM800 for this lens.

And that’s only one lens — imagine if you want/need more lenses in the future.

There’s a steep learning curve when it comes to DSLRs

Photo by JESHOOTS.com from Pexels

Learning the ropes of photography doesn’t mean you have to own a DSLR. In fact, it may be harder for you to find your own photography style because learning about your DSLR is another tough challenge.

It’s more than a ‘point-and-shoot’ camera; with a DSLR, you want to maximise its potential by learning about ISO, shutter speed, aperture, white balance and more.

This may be confusing to those who just started venturing into photography because the more controls you are given, the more knowledge you’ll need to make the right adjustment for each setting.

Starting off with a less complicated shooting device like a digital camera or even a smartphone will simplify things, so you can focus on discovering the type of photography you’re interested in and master fundamentals like photo composition and lighting.

Maintenance is a must and a fuss

Photo by Amine M’Siouri from Pexels

Yes, DSLRs are professional-grade cameras that offer complex yet useful features that can capture top-notch photos and video, but with great power comes great responsibility.

Maintaining and cleaning your DSLR is necessary because they have many sensitive components that will cost you a fortune if they’re damaged.

Not only do you have to keep your camera dust-free, but you also have to store them in dry areas — some will purchase a dry box to control the humidity level to prevent fungus growth in their cameras.

All these cleaning and maintenance require money and time, so unless you’re a full-time professional in photographer, you may not want to spend so much effort on a camera.

Your social media postings don’t require DSLR-grade photos

Photo by Lisa from Pexels

When it comes to social media, your photos and videos will always be resized if they exceed the photo upload size set by social media platforms.

So, even if you want high-quality photos on your Facebook and Instagram, you don’t need a DSLR to do so — a good smartphone is more than enough.

This is because social media platforms will send your photos through their compression engine no matter what. Although the DSLR photo will still be slightly better after compression, the difference is not noticeable to the untrained eye.

DSLRs are bulky and heavy — not the most convenient gadget to carry around

Photo by Bruno Massao from Pexels

Sometimes, speed is key when it comes to capturing moments that happen in a split second. A DSLR camera will not make it unless you’ve already set up your camera beforehand and adjusted all the manual controls.

In comparison, your phone is always with you and there’s no need to play with the settings to get a good shot. Phones are so advanced these days that they’re able to capture sharp and beautiful images without much effort, and they can do it instantly.

Plus, smartphones are much lighter and fits right in your pocket.
That’s just impossible with a DSLR.

For beginners, a smartphone will suffice

There’s no doubt that DSLRs will always be an essential for camera professionals, but for us newbies? A
good camera smartphone

will do the job.

For those who are starting out and want to dive into photography, you can do so using your smartphone. One of our recommendations will be the new Xiaomi 11T that was recently launched with a 108MP camera.

Again, you won’t need a 108MP photo for your social media, but if you want to crop your photos or print them out as posters, the 108MP camera on the Xiaomi 11T will do wonders.

You’ll even get an 8MP ultrawide lens and a 5MP telemacro lens — that’s right, you don’t need to fork out more cash for additional DSLR lenses.

Plus, the phone is not just made for photography; it also comes with One-Click AI Cinema, a feature that lets you shoot movie-like footages with creative effects — this is all possible with a single tap.

You can even edit your photos and videos on the phone itself, so you don’t have to spend on subscriptions like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.

At only RM1,699, the Xiaomi 11T can last you for years with its impressive camera setup, powerful processor, and massive battery.

You can get it in Meteorite Gray, Moonlight White and Celestial Blue on
Shopee
,
Lazada
or Xiaomi’s
official site
.

This article is sponsored by Xiaomi Malaysia.

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Five reasons I’m buying the new iPod Touch

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all me an Apple fan, iFag or whatever you name it, because the
iPod touch
 is the next thing that I’m going to buy once the 4-5 week shipping wait is over. We reported a few weeks back that Cupertino have been prepping for a silent iPod product update when the new
iTunes
 update shows new colors of the company’s music player, and it has finally happened, the sixth generationiPod touch has gotten a major internal revamp from its predecessor – a spanking new A8 processor, improved 8-megapixel iSight main and HD FaceTime camera, and up to 128GB of storage.

I used to own a third generation iPod touch 32GB back in the iPhone 3GS days and I absolutely love how easy it is to use and not requiring to spend that much of cash to buy an iPhone to enjoy Apple’s fluid mobile operating system. Today, I own an
iPhone6
 and iPad Air, so literally I’m already a fanboy but speaking from a tech enthusiast point of view, I’m telling you why the
iPodtouch
 is still relevant even for non-Apple users.

Its the most affordable and portable iOS device

Starting from the price of RM779 for the 16GB model and up to RM1599 for the 128GB model, the
iPod touch
 is the most affordable iOS device that packs with the most current hardware from Apple, the most expensive model barely gets you an
iPhone 6
 or the 64GB model of the
iPad mini 3
 that comes with a dated Apple A7 processor. All thanks to the A8 processor, you should be able to enjoy the same performance that iPhone 6 users have been experiencing, play the most graphics intensive games and have the same software update roadmap with the
iPhone 6
.

One handed usability matters

The
iPhone 6
 is a great phone and Apple has finally gave it a bigger display, however not everyone is happy with Apple’s move and have chosen to stay put with the
iPhone 5s
 due to one handed usability. The iPod touch’s 4-inch display will make it all up to people who have decided to skip the company’s latest smartphone but still be able to enjoy the most current hardware performance from Apple without spending a bomb, most importantly the size and weight will not strain your hands.

A perfect point and shoot companion

The
iPod touch
 features the very same 8-megapixel iSight camera with an f/2.4 aperture found on the previous generation iPod touch, coupled with the amount of photography and image editing apps on iOS, this means taking great pictures and editing them on the go will become more affordable and portable, and if you have other Apple devices, your photos can be synchronized across Photo Stream after you finish taking them.

Never worry about smartphone battery life

Battery life has always been a problem most smartphones and that battery drain can always be attributed to heavy gaming or multimedia consumption, the iPod touch is made to handle these tasks and your iPhone’s battery will probably last longer by the day once you have two different devices doing different tasks. Even if your iPod’s battery is dead, you don’t need to be worried as much as having your phone’s battery dead, and
 act like how this woman scream in the subway
.

The iPod touch makes storage really cheap

Believe me when I’m getting the iPod touch, I’m going straight for the 128GB model because it is extremely affordable at a mere RM12.33/GB, making cloud services look expensive, some smartphones with 16GB storage stupid, and a bummer for those who needs to pay RM1000 more to enjoy cellular functionality. I could store so a whole lot of Apple Music offline streams, my collection of HD movies and e-Books. Just to remind you one more time, you are not just buying storage, but a device that can run apps, games and does so many other things.

Are you buying the new iPod touch or do you have other choices? Share with us in the comments.


Five ways to boost and enhance the volume of your iPhone speakers

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iPhones may have one of the best speakers and it plays really loudly, but no matter how good it is, we can’t avoid the fact that the audio would sound muffled or unclear when we’re carrying out activities such as cooking, showering, and many more. Sometimes being out in an open space may also result in poor audio. Some may suggest wearing earphones or use a Bluetooth speaker to get a better audio experience but then when you come think of it, earphones are not always convenient and not everyone could afford or wants to bring a Bluetooth speaker everywhere they go. So what can you do to enhance or boost your iPhone speakers audio? Here’s some ideas for you where you can use it when you travel, going out or just for fun.

Turn iPhone upside down

Your iPhone speakers are usually placed on the bottom, and it usually sounds fine, until you placed it on a table, desk or counter top. In most cases, many would place their phones standing upwards and leaned against a wall or an object, with the speakers being blocked by the table since the speakers are on the bottom. What you could do is, place your iPhone upside down where the speakers are on the top and the head at the bottom so the speakers won’t be covered.

iPhone In A Bowl

This might not be something new to you, but it really works. Simply place your iPhone into a bowl, this time with the iPhone pointing downwards and it will automatically allow the sound waves to bounce off the bottom and sides from the bowl and fill up the room with loud and clear audio.

Cup Hand Around Speaker End Of iPhone

This is by far one of the most common action that is carried out by most smartphone users. Again, this might not be something new, but it works. By cupping your hand around the speaker end of your iPhone, the sound waves will bounce off from your hands and towards your ears. This works best when you are watching Youtube or holding your iPhone while attempting to listen to the audio while in crowded or noisy places. This could also work for other smartphones.

Late Night EQ

This trick was discovered by
Cnet
 which could help you to boost the volume of your iPhone speakers just by tapping on a few buttons on your iPhone settings. To use this trick, simply go to your iPhone’s “Setting”, click on “Music”, then tap on “EQ” and select “Late Night”. Most of the options can help boost the volume of your iPhone but according to Cnet, the “Late Night” option works the best. However, if you turn on your volume to the maximum while using the “Late Night” mode, you’ll hear a little distortion.

DIY iPhone Speaker

If you’re on a budget but you’re dying to have a boosted speakers, then try this DIY trick. All you need is two paper cups and a toilet roll. Cut a hole on each cup that fits the toilet roll and cut a small hole that fits the size of your iPhone on the toilet roll, cause that’s where you’ll be inserting your iPhone into. This DIY idea is easy and does not take more than five minutes time to create as it does not require any tape or glue. Once you’re done, enjoy music from your beautifully done DIY iPhone speakers.

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Fix 80240020 error when trying install Windows 10

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Microsoft Windows 10 just been rollout few hours ago and for some unlucky users will receive an error that code – 80240020. Don’t worry, we found out the solution to fix this issue thanks to the users Losemind in Reddit by posting the step by step to solve this issue and allow you to get the new update.

First, you require to access the folder by simply copying and paste this C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download, then delete every single file that is in the folder. This will clean all the corrupt file that causes you are not receiving the update. Next, you require opening the command prompt as admin by simply searching cmd then run as administrator then type in “wuauclt.exe /updatenow” to force Windows Update Auto Update Client to run.

Lastly, you will require to access Windows Update from Control Panel and click check updates if Windows 10 icons aren’t appearing. There will be a prompt will show you the update is in progress that will take at least 5.5 GB of space and wait the update finish and install. Then you will be able to enjoy the latest Windows 10 with no worries on your head and remember to try out Cortana.

This will be one of the largest software updates that ever happen in our human history. Thanks Microsoft by making this happen.

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Fixstars introduces a Solid State Drive with 13TB of storage space

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Fixstars has broken the storage capacity record for the Solid State Drive (SSD) as the flash storage company has created a pair of SSDs that comes with 10TB and 13TB of storage space respectively.

If this has gotten you excited, you might want to tone down your excitement for a bit as these SSDs aren’t meant for consumer use. Fixstars has stated that the SSDs are optimised for sequential read/write workloads which includes tasks such as object storage, streaming content distribution, CG/VFX production and video processing. As such, the SSDs favour steady performance over maximum speed, as illustrated on the benchmark.

While the SSDs are technically a 2.5-inch drive, it has a 15mm height on it, making it unable to fit into your laptops no matter how hard you try to shove it in. If those aren’t reasons enough to deter you, then you might want to know that the 13TB SSD from Fixstars has an asking price of USD 19,000.

Source :
ExtremeTech

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Flappy Birds to be available again, ‘less addictive’ this time

287

There’s a game that gets you SO addicted because you can’t simply just get through those pipes, and this made the developer to take down the game because he ‘simply can’t take it anymore’. Flappy birds fans, look forward to a new version of the game in August as developer Dong Nguyen has just announced the news to CNBC. Nguyen told CNBC that the game will be less addictive thanks to a new multiplayer mode and there will be entire new game modes too, such as a man hopping from building to building (Mario?).

Well, it sounds like the new game is going to be addictive again. Wanna bet, Nguyen?

Source: CNBC (Twitter), @Kelly_Evans, @DonnaBurton

VIA:
 Engadget
,
Business Insider


Flash Plus 2, an all-premium metal frame smartphone for camera photography enthusiasts now in Malaysia

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Flash Plus 2, a new member of the Flash family has just been officially launched in Malaysia, together with an online release at the same time. This new premium-looking phone inherits the same photographing genes of the Flash family, with even better hardware and good looks.

Sporting a metal framework and fingerprint sensors, the Flash Plus 2 is fitted with a Helio P10 processor, with a choice of 2GB or 3GB RAM. With a 5.5-inch display, this devices give you better viewing pleasure, more so when paired with its OGS integrated high-definition screen and Miravision 2.0 smart eye-protecting mode.

Most importantly, the Flash Plus 2 is camera-centric. It adopts integration of PDAF and contrast focusing with 0.1s of focal alignment to allow you to shoot those fleeting moments. It also features rear dual color flash lamp RealTone and front LED flash with Color Rendering Index (CRI) up to 80. On top of that, you can now take photo and video selfies with beautify feature. There is also a kidd app for photography where funny sounds will be played to grab the attention of the child to take the perfect shot.

In terms of audio, the Flash Plus 2 offers HiFi value-retained earphone acoustics, high volume speaker effects, and MIX music editing function where you can try your hand at mixing music just like a DJ.

The Flash Plus 2 is also equipped with a fast-charging chip and fast-charging technology to charge your battery up to 50% within 30 minutes, which can be used to 10 hours of continuous phone call.

The Flash Plus 2 is available in Luna Silver and Venus Gold, and is priced at
RM599
 for the 2GB version, and
RM729
 for the 3GB version. Both are available exclusively on
Lazada
. You can make your pre-orders starting from today.


FlexPai is the first foldable smartphone from Royole Corporation

312

The first foldable smartphone is revealed but it not from Samsung, Huawei or LG. Instead, this foldable smartphone is a tablet-phone hybrid known as the FlexPai is from Royole Corporation.

The FlexPai has a 7.8-inch AMOLED display that is about 7.6mm thick when not folded. It does not fold flat and runs on the Snapdragon 8150 processor with either 6/8GB RAM and 128/256/512GB storage. They also support their own Ro-Charge fast charging tech which can charge from 0% to 80% in an hour’s time.

The FlexPai also has dual camera with 16MP and 20MP sensors on its front and no cameras were seen on the back of the device.

The FlexPai will be priced from RMB 8999 and is already available for pre-order in China with plans to ship in late December. Other specs of the device is yet to be known, and it is still unsure as to whether the phone will ship out of China.

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Get discounts and RM5 cashback by shopping on F&N’s new e-commerce site and mobile app

328

F&N has been with us Malaysians for the longest time and now the company launches its own online store and mobile so that it can reach out to more younger, Internet-savvy consumers.

F&N fans can now shop for their favorite products on the e-commerce site, be it 100Plus, Seasons, Oyoshi or other beverages. Consumers can even check out the nutrition values of each beverage and be inspired by some of the recipes that are included on the website to make their own beverages with F&N products.

In addition to the launch of its online site and mobile app, F&N has also partnered with Touch ’n Go eWallet to offer RM5 cashback from January 9 to February 29 when they spend a minimum amount of RM50. This is only applicable to shopping done on the app or the website, not the offline retail stores. F&N is also having a promotion on some of its products in conjunction with Chinese New Year, such as the CNY Bundle where customers can get 2 cartons of 100Plus Original can for RM55 instead of RM66 or 3 cartons for RM81 instead of RM99.

The F&N Life mobile app is now downloadable on both Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.

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FOBO launches its FOBO Ultra wireless Tire Pressure Monitoring System

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Monitoring your tire pressure may have just become easier as FOBO has brought its tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS), the FOBO Ultra, to Malaysian shores.

The FOBO Ultra is the world’s first wireless TPMS for heavy vehicles, utilising Bluetooth 4.1, its own intelligent in-car monitoring unit, and a qualified Android or iOS smartphone/tablet to get the job done. The FOBO Ultra is able to monitor up to 1296 kPa (188 psi) and is able to alert the driver via the in-car unit or a smart device.

CrossPair technology allows the FOBO Ultra to monitor multiple vehicles on a single device. Furthermore, with FOBOShare, you can authorise multiple users to receive data from both the cloud and the FOBO Ultra sensors directly, all while transmitting live data to the main user.

For the enterprise users, the FOBO Ultra comes with FOBOCluster, a feature that monitors multiple trailer configurations through its patent pending FIT Technology. FOBOCluster allows trailers equipped with FOBO Ultra to seamlessly connect and disconnect from different in-car units to form a new chain of clusters with the FIT Technology. For monitoring, the FOBO Ultra also comes with an optional Fleet Management module which allows enterprise users to remotely monitor their fleet, giving them an easy way to monitor and ensure optimal tire pressure maintenance that would save time and costs in the long run.

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The foldable Samsung Galaxy X might be unveiled end of this year

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Samsung has a foldable phone in the making and it does sound like another prototype that we will never get to see. However, some rumours mentioned that they are planning to launch the phone by the end of 2018.

The phone will be called the Samsung Galaxy X, and the reason why the rumours are saying it will come out at the end of this year is that Samsung has mentioned that in 2018, its display panel business will put more focus in new applications such as foldable displays. Samsung has some pretty intersting things cooking up as we saw them filing patents for many new and improved techonology last year so it would make sense that atlease one of them will be coming to comsumers. However, Samsung’s Mobile Chief Koh Dong-Jin mentioned that there are still some durability issues that they need to address.

There is a chance that due to this issue, Samsung might not release the Galaxy X this year, but the latest we can expect it to come would be in 2019.  Seeing as how the lastest phone that will come out is the S9, the next could be S10, or in the case of following Apple’s naming, Galaxy SX?

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Follow up to DROID series to be launched this year

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Lenovo has acquired Motorola for a while now, but the latter company seems to be just as independent as before, with its devices still carrying the Moto title and branding with them. Seasoned rumor master Evan Blass has fanned the flames further, suggesting that a DROID MAXX 3 and a DROID Turbo 3 will be launched. Based on their names, the handsets are definitely successors to the DROID MAXX 2 and DROID Turbo 2 from last year.

While this may not come as much of a surprise, since the DROID series has already gone through two annual cycles, tech site GeekSnack has spiced up the rumor along with a couple of alleged spec leaks. Before that, both handsets are said to launch in October, which will be a month earlier compared to last year’s unveiling in November.

The DROID Turbo 2, if not rugged enough, has a shatter-proof screen by Motorola’s ShatterShield technology. GeekSnack suggests that the DROID Turbo 3 will feature not only a screen that is shatter-proof, but scratch-proof as well. We’re not sure whether Motorola will be opting for a material stronger than kevlar, but if there is a material stronger than kevlar, it will be graphene, which is currently researched and has proven to be twice as better than kevlar. But that’s highly unlikely, since the research is for bulletproof vests. Moving on, both the MAXX 3 and Turbo 3 is said to feature pressure-sensitive displays that will work in line with Android N’s 3D Touch features.

Underneath the hood, the DROID Turbo 3 is expected to carry a Snapdragon 820 processor, a whopping 6GB of RAM with 128GB of storage. The handset is also rumored to sport a 16MP primary camera with a 8MP selfie shooter. USB Type-C is said to make its way to the device, with a 4,500mAh battery. The Turbo 3 is also tipped to retain its 5.4-inch display, if not a 5.5-inch one with QHD resolution. Sounds like the Turbo 3 won’t be any cheap when it launches. So far, there isn’t much info on the MAXX 3 but till then, stay tuned!

Source:
GeekSnack

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Foodpanda now offers reduced delivery fees for all orders for as low as RM2

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Foodpanda is starting the year of 2019 by lowering its delivery fees starting from 1 January 2019 onwards nationwide.

Delivery fees for areas such as Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, and Putrajaya has reduced from RM5 to RM3, whereas Penang, Johor Bahru, and Kota Kinabalu has been reduced to RM2.

In addition to that, the minimum spend has also been reduced to RM10 nationwide.

According to foodpanda, they’ve decided to reduce their delivery fees and minimum spend as they want to enable customers to enjoy food that they may not have been able to before this.

Ordering on foodpanda is now made more affordable as customers can easily order a meal for one or more for as low as RM12 in selected areas and as low as RM13 in other areas.

“We wanted more Malaysians to be able to order anything from their local mamak right up to a fine dining restaurant and have it delivered right to them. The revised pricing is a fantastic way for us to offer our customers better value for their money when ordering in their favourite food,” said Sayantan Das, Managing Director, foodpanda Malaysia.

Now everyone could order their favourite meal through foodpanda with a much affordable price.

You could download the foodpanda app via Google Play Store or Apple App Store. For more information, visit their website
here
.

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Foodpanda offers contactless delivery in light of Movement Control Order

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Due to our government’s implementation of Movement Control Order, most of us have to stay home as often as possible for the next two weeks. However, this does not mean that we need to panic-buy our groceries — food delivery app foodpanda is going to continue its operation and launch contactless delivery to abide by the safety measures.

There are a few things to take note of if you want to get your food delivered without having to be in contact with the rider. First and foremost, you should opt for online payment, either paying via credit/debit card or online banking.

Secondly, you should use the chat function to let your rider/customer know that you’re opting for contactless delivery. This will give them a heads up so riders can use the chat function to announce when they’ve arrived at the destination. They will also drop off the food at the entrance and remain 1m distance instead of directly handing the food over to the customers.

Foodpanda also took precautionary measures by providing all its riders with masks and hand sanitizers. In addition, all riders are asked to wash their hands after each delivery and every two hours. The contactless delivery will officially begin from March 18 onwards, just like the Movement Control Order.

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