The Meizu Pro 6 is the world's first deca-core smartphone

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Meizu, usually known for mimicking Apple’s iPhones when it comes to designing their own, has unveiled their flagship handset for the year, the Meizu Pro 6. It seems like the leaked Meizu roadmap of devices got a couple of specs wrong about the Pro 6 last month. The OEM announced their flagship in Beijing, not more than a day after the unveiling of the HTC 10.

For starters, as expected, Meizu isn’t shy in taking design cues from Apple for the Pro 6. The device features a unibody metal build, very similar to the likes of the iPhone 6 and 6s series. It is also housed in a impressively slim form factor of 7.25mm. It sports a 5.2-inch Super AMOLED display in 2.5D glass, keeping it at Full HD resolution, instead of the rumored QHD 5.7-inch display. The handset comes with 3D Press support, which obviously traces back to Apple’s 3D Touch technology. The company claims that the Meizu Pro 6 will be the first smartphone powered by a deca-core processor underneath the hood – a powerful Helio X25 SoC by MediaTek. Meizu is also keeping it less drastic, by providing 4GB of RAM instead of the rumored 6GB alongside an option of 32GB or 64GB of internal storage.

A Sony IMX230 image sensor sits on the rear camera of the Pro 6, packing 21MP. Meizu has incorporated an ISP algorithm, designed to make the camera focus in a snappy 0.07 seconds. The LED flash also comprises of 10 LED’s. In addition to that, the Pro 6 packs a fingerprint sensor embedded in the home button, that unlocks the device in 0.2 seconds. A slightly lacking 2,560mAh battery explains why Meizu opted for a 1080p display. Such capacity is nearly 20 percent shy from the standard roughly 3,000mAh battery capacity seen on this year’s flagships. Going with the flow is the implementation of the USB Type-C port in the Pro 6, which also supports Meizu’s own mCharge 3.0, which the company claims can juice up the device in 60 minutes. An added bonus comes in the sound department, with the Pro 6 coming equipped with a Cirrus Logic chip, which reduces power consumption by 55 percent, further justifying the handset’s battery capacity.

The Meizu Pro 6 will be offered in three colors – gold, dark grey and silver. You’re probably surprised that there is no Rose Gold option, since the Chinese OEM have always been aiming directly at Apple. The 32GB model comes priced at 2,499 CNY (RM1,497.95) and the 64GB model at 2,799 CNY (RM1,677.78). If you don’t plan to break the bank for an iPhone, the Meizu Pro 6 will probably be the next best thing without having the burn a hole in your pocket. Meizu’s impressive flagship joins the Chinese wave of flagship handsets like the Huawei P9 and the Xiaomi Mi 5, ready to take on manufacturing giants Apple and Samsung. What do you think about the Meizu Pro 6?

Source:
Meizu

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The Meizu Pro 6 Plus sports an Exynos 8890 processor

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Chinese manufacturer Meizu continues to make strides on home ground as it launches a new flagship phablet, with a hint of an attempt to fight the competition, taking advantage of the permanent absence of Samsung’s tragic Galaxy Note 7. It features a Samsung made chipset as well so let’s take a look at what the Meizu Pro 6 Plus packs.

First of all, the Meizu Pro 6 Plus sports a Super AMOLED display at 5.7-inches on the front, rocking a QHD resolution. The display supports 3D Touch technology and is protected with Gorilla Glass 4. Underneath the hood, the handset is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 8890 processor, the same one seen in one of the two regional variants of the Galaxy S7. The Meizu Pro 6 Plus packs 4GB of RAM and two storage configurations of 64GB and 128GB respectively.

In the camera department, the Meizu Pro 6 Plus features a rear 12MP Sony IMX386 image sensor, equipped with a dual tone 10-LED ring flash, laser autofocus and OIS. The selfie camera on the front is of 5 megapixels. Both shooters have an aperture of f/2.0. The Meizu Pro 6 Plus has a fingerprint sensor on the front, plus an extra seemingly gimmicky rear heart rate sensor, probably slapped onto the handset as an extra feature.

The phone sports a 3,400mAh battery for all its power consumption and has fast charging support. Other specs include a USB Type-C Port, NFC, Bluetooth 4.1 and 4G VoLTE support. The Meizu Pro 6 Plus begins at 2,999 CNY (RM1,943.90) for the 64GB model and 3,299 (RM2138.35) CNY for the 128GB model. The handset will remain as a China exclusive for the time being. What do you think?

Source:
Meizu

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The Meizu Pro 6s will be powered by a MediaTek SoC

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Meizu hasn’t been making as many waves as it has before, though the Chinese manufacturer still thrives in its homeland. Six months back, the company debuted the world’s first known deca-core smartphone – the Meizu Pro 6, which packed MediaTek’s Helio X25 processor. A follow up Meizu Pro 6s has been rumored for a couple of weeks now, and the its Vice President has ensured that the Meizu Pro 6s will be featuring a MediaTek chipset as well.

According to a post by Meizu Vice President Li Nan on Chinese micro blogging site Weibo, the Helio X25 underneath the hood of the six month old Meizu Pro 6 is sufficient enough for day to day use. Li Nan has also been critical of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 series chips as well, expressing that MediaTek’s processors are snappy and does not overheat. The Snapdragon 810 from last year had its image tarnished after a series of overheating issues and incidents.

Before this, the Meizu Pro 6s has also been rumored to sport Samsung’s own Exynos 8890 SoC, but Li Nan’s new statement has killed that rumor off. Li Nan has also mentioned that the Meizu Pro 6 and Pro 6s will not look very much different. This is no surprise as the Meizu Pro 6s is only expected to be a minor incremental upgrade from the Pro 6. The Pro 6 sports a 5.2-inch Full HD display with 3D Press technology, 4GB of RAM with either 32GB or 64GB of storage, and a 21MP camera. Are you team Qualcomm or team MediaTek? Let us know your thoughts at the comments section below!

Source:
GizmoChina

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The Meizu Zero has virtual buttons, wireless charging, eSIM support and no speaker holes

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I was amazed when I realised the vivo APEX 2019 will be losing its physical buttons and port, but now Meizu is also doing something similar by unveiling their latest smartphone, the Meizu Zero.

The Meizu Zero probably gets its name because it has (almost) zero holes. It does not have speaker holes, volume buttons, power button, charging port, headphone jack and even a SIM card slot. The only hole that can be seen on the phone seems to be its mic hole, but apart from that, the whole phone is hole-less.

The Meizu Zero comes with a 5.99-inch OLED screen with rather thin side bezels and an in-display fingerprint scanner. The phone will also have no SIM card slot, meaning that it will start using eSIM instead.

It has a unibody chassis with ceramic design and sports a shiny finish on its back where there’s a dual camera setup. In addition, the Meizu Zero has an IP68 rating that allows resistance up to 30 minutes under 2m of water.

Meizu has also replaced the physical buttons with haptic feedback so users will instead get virtual buttons on its sides. As for the missing speaker holes, Meizu Zero comes with mSound 2.0 technology that allows the screen to function as a speaker. If the technology is similar to Samsung’s Sound on Display technology, then the technology works through vibration and bone conduction making it possible for sound emission to come from under the screen’s surface.

The Meizu Zero sports a 20MP front camera and 12+20MP dual rear camera. While the RAM and storage information have not been revealed, the phone is said to be powered by a Snapdragon 845 processor.

Aside from that, the Meizu Zero will also come wireless charging that supports charging speeds up to 18W, but its battery size is not revealed.

The Meizu Zero is expected to be revealed at MWC 2019 next month, but we still have no information on its price and availability.

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Meizu Zero


The Mi A1 can now be purchased for RM666

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The best mid-range Xiaomi phone has once again received a really special price cut, and if you have been looking out for a decent Android One smartphone that doesn’t break the bank, renowned smartphone reseller Mobile2Go is currently offering the 4GB RAM/64GB Storage Mi A1 at only RM666, and all you need to do is to visit any of their stores in the Klang Valley, the company hasn’t updated it’s G Store Lazada page to reflect the price and we assume this could be only an in-store deal while stocks last.

The Mi A1 is the first Xiaomi phone to join the Android One program, which comes with a clean version of Android that frequent receives security and software updates directly from Google. Featuring dual 12-megapixel cameras with optical zoom, the Mi A1 is powered by a Snapdragon 625 processor, it has a 5.5-inch Full HD IPS display, a 3000mAh battery that lasts more than a day, a rear mounted fingerprint scanner and USB-C port.

Stocks of the Mi A1 should be plenty sufficient in Mobile2Go’s store, so do check them out if you are interested in getting the phone.

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The Mi A3 will be arriving with a triple rear camera setup and a 4,000mAh battery

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The successor to the mid-range Xiaomi Mi A2 is coming soon — as soon as July 25. The Mi A3 has already been certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance alongside FCC and IMDA and will be launching in Poland.

The Xiaomi Mi A3 has most of its specs revealed — it is said to be almost similar to the Mi CC9e, especially since its model number is almost a replica of the Mi CC9e’s. The device will come with a 6.01-inch AMOLED display with HD+ resolution, not to mention it’ll sport a traditional waterdrop notch and still retain a headphone jack.

Unlike the Mi A2 that had a metal build, the Mi A3 is spotted to have a glass body and an in-display fingerprint sensor. It will also have a triple rear camera setup consisting of a 48MP camera, an 8MP sensor and a 2MP lens. On the front, it’ll house a 32MP selfie camera.

The Mi A3 will be equipped with a Snapdragon 665 chipset in addition to at least 4GB RAM and 64/128GB storage configurations. GSMArena also reported that the phone will now have support storage expansion via microSD card as it was previously missing from the Mi A2. Users should also expect a huge 4,000mAh battery in the Mi A3 that charges via USB-C and since it will be an Android One smartphone, the Xiaomi Mi A3 will be shipped with a stock version of Android Pie, allowing it to get updates much quicker than others.

Mi A3
xiaomi


The Mi Band 1s now comes with a heart rate sensor at the same affordable $15 price tag

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If you think Xiaomi has made things slightly expensive with its recent product announcements, the Mi Band 1s is the new product that will make you stay a fan, as the famous fitness tracker is now upgraded with a built-in heart rate sensor, which is a huge hardware addition only found on more expensive fitness trackers; all while the company offering the same $15 price tag similar to its predecessors. Fitbit and Jawbone, watch out!

The new Mi Band doesn’t look too different from its predecessor, it is however slightly heftier than its predecessor which is possibly due to its new hardware. The Mi Band 1s still features Bluetooth 4.0 LE and a 45mAh battery that offers up to 30 days of battery life, on top of being IP67 water and dust resistant-certified. If you happen to be using a Xiaomi smartphone with MIUI running on it, be reminded that the Mi Band can also be paired to your smartphone as a security token for bypassing your phone’s lock screen.

Xiaomi intends to sell both the new and current Mi Band in its online store, with the original Mi Band getting a price cut to $11, which makes it the most affordable fitness tracking device ever in history. The new Mi Band 1s continues to support devices with at least Android 4.4 and iPhones with iOS 7 and above. It shouldn’t be long before our local Xiaomi folks bring in the Mi Band 1s, and we simply have to pray that the Ringgit doesn’t drop anymore.

SOURCE:
Xiaomi

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The Mi Max 3 goes official with a 6.9-inch display and 5500mAh battery

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Xiaomi has announced the Mi Max 3, and it is once again  the most value for money phablet you will ever find in the market. First, you get a massive 6.9-inch display that uses a 18:9 aspect ratio with 1080p resolution, which you could probably notice some pixels but should still look great to most eyes, a large 5500mAh battery has also been impressively squeezed into a 7mm slim chassis, while other key hardware include a Snapdragon 636 processor supported by up to 6GB RAM and 128GB of storage, making this one superb phablet to own for content consumption.

Other hardware improvements include a dual 12MP+5MP main camera sensor, a 8MP front camera, dual VoLTE, WiFi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 5.0. Unlike recent Xiaomi’s phone releases, the Mi Max 3 still retains the headphone jack and storage expansion. Available in colors of Black, Champagne Gold and Blue, the Mi Max 3 retails from RMB1699 (RM1022) and up to RMB1999 (RM1202) in China. As Xiaomi is set to announce the Mi A2 on July 24th at its Spain event, we might expect Xiaomi to drop some news on this rather than just announcing one single device.

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The Mi Max is Xiaomi's largest phone yet

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After countless leaks, the Xiaomi Mi Max has finally been unveiled at Xiaomi’s Beijing event, and the phablet is definitely as huge as it was rumored to be.

Although Xiaomi claims the Mi Max to still be able to fit nicely into pockets, the 6.44-inch display proves that this phone isn’t built for every consumer out there. But such a large screen is definitely immersive, as mentioned by the company. Also, the device weighs 203g and boasts a 7.5mm slim form factor, which are pretty decent for a phone of that size. Under the hood is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 or 652 processor and 3GB or 4GB of RAM, depending on which model you pick. The Xiaomi Mi Max also comes with three storage options of 32GB, 64GB and 128GB respectively, and can be expanded via the micro SD slot.

On the camera side of things, the Mi Max sports a 16MP PDAF (Phase Detection Auto Focus) primary camera which might be the same one seen on Xiaomi’s flagship Mi 5 handset. The selfie shooter is of 5MP, with an 85 degree wide angle. A fingerprint sensor can be found on the back of the Mi Max, plus the phone comes with a hybrid tray that can house either a micro SD card and a SIM card or two SIM cards. The Mi Max joins the ranks of phones packing mammoth batteries, considering the fact that it needs more juice to power that colossal display alongside its internals. Xiaomi has assigned a 4,850mAh battery, which on paper is sufficient for the Mi Max.

The Mi Max will be the first among Xiaomi’s line of phones to be operating the latest MIUI 8, which was introduced alongside the phone itself. MIUI 8 features an overall redesigned color, which still reminds us of the iOS interface, plus Font Mi Lanting, fonts designed for more comfortable reading. MIUI 8 also includes improvement of certain apps such as Notes, which can be secured via a passcode and fingerprint. Also, the MIUI 8 Scanner which consists of features such as scanning barcodes and snapping pictures to shop for similar items online, although these features are most likely to be limited to China. The Gallery app has also seen a couple of added features such as quick share controls, the ability to crop, add filters, captions and music to videos, including doodling on pictures plus adding stickers. MIUI 8 will also be available on other Mi devices such as the Mi 2/2S/3/4/4C/4S/5 and all Redmi and Mi Note series.

The Xiaomi Mi Max will be offered in three models, with their prices stated below:

3GB RAM + 32GB storage, Snapdragon 650   – RMB 1499 (RM931.10)

3GB RAM + 64GB storage, Snapdragon 652   – RMB 1699 (RM1055.33)

4GB RAM + 128GB storage, Snapdragon 652 – RMB 1999 (RM1241.67)

We’re hoping to see the Xiaomi Mi Max arrive to Malaysian shores in the near future. Meanwhile, what are your thoughts on this monstrous 6.44-inch screen handset? Let us know your thoughts at the comments section below!

Source:
 Xiaomi

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The Mi Max Prime sports a more powerful Snapdragon 652 processor

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Xiaomi is introducing a new phablet in conjunction with its three day Diwali sale in India next week. Well technically it isn’t a whole new handset, but rather, a slight upgrade from a current one – the Xiaomi Mi Max. Xiaomi will be launching the Mi Max Prime, a slightly higher end version compared to its older sibling.

Cosmetically, there seems to be no difference between the Mi Max and the Mi Max Prime. They both feature a colossal 6.4-inch display in 1080p resolution, the same 16MP rear camera and 5MP selfie camera. Other similarities include the massive 4,850mAh battery and Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow onboard software, with MIUI 8 coming soon. The differences occur within the heart of the handset, with the Mi Max Prime sporting a slightly more powerful mid range processor than the Mi Max, an upgrade from the hexa-core Snapdragon 650 to the octa-core Snapdragon 652. RAM has also been increased up to 4GB from 3GB. Not only that, internal storage has seen a huge boost to 128GB, from the 32GB configuration on the Mi Max. Having said that, the memory of both phablets can be further expanded via a micro SD card.

As mentioned earlier, the Mi Max Prime will be available when Xiaomi’s India Diwali sale commences next week starting 17th of October. Xiaomi has a couple of its other products that will be available at discounted prices respectively with a few more surprises to be announced by the company later this week. What do you think of the Xiaomi Mi Max Prime?

Source:
Xiaomi

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The Mi Note 2, in the flesh!

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In conjunction with the launch of the first ever Mi Authorized Premium Reseller Store in Malaysia, Xiaomi has also unveiled one of its phablets – the Mi Note 2. While most of us do know what to expect of the Mi Note 2 and how it looks like, but let’s take a good look on the phablet, in the flesh.

At first glance, the Mi Note 2 looks stunning, sporting an all glass build put together with a metal frame. It certainly reminds me of Samsung’s Galaxy Edge series, but it feels more like a Galaxy S6 Edge than the S7 Edge when being held in the hand, as its edges don’t seem quite smoothened out. Coupled with the 5.7-inch display on the front, the Mi Note 2 isn’t the most comfortable device out there to be held. Regardless, the 1080p resolution display still manages to maintain its own stride, with a good amount of saturation and deep blacks.

This is the global edition of the Mi Note 2, which features 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The Snapdragon 821 processor and the amount of RAM will definitely ease the Mi Note 2 through multi tasking and heavy processes. The phone unfortunately still runs on Android Marshmallow, though its is being included in the list to receive Xiaomi’s Nougat software, so you might have to wait a little longer for that.

We did not have much time with the Mi Note 2’s camera, but it is safe to say that the 22.56MP rear shooter will fare decently well in 2017 although it’s more than a 5 month old handset. The 8MP selfie camera will hardly disappoint selfie lovers either. Battery is one of the Mi Note 2’s strong suits, at 4,070mAh. Users should be able to go through a full day’s use without having to recharge the Mi Note 2.

Bear in mind that those were only the initial impressions of the Mi Note 2. Stay tuned for a more in depth review of Xiaomi’s flagship phablet soon! The Mi Note 2 might not be perfect, but its attractive price of RM2,499 is hard to come by with the high end specs underneath the hood. Let us know your thoughts on the Mi Note 2 so far!

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The Microsoft Surface Laptop is for laptop purists

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Microsoft has unveiled a new laptop at its New York City press event earlier today. This time, it is a proper laptop, and proper means that it’s not like the 2-in-1 Surface Book. In fact, Microsoft has named it the Surface Laptop. It’s beautifully designed and it runs the newly introduced streamlined and light weight Windows 10 S software.

For starters, the Surface Laptop features a premium design, with an aluminium built chassis. It features a 13.5-inch Pixel Sense edge-to-edge display with a 3:2 aspect ratio, said to fit like a 13-inch laptop. The screen comes with Surface Pen support as well. The backlit Alcantara keyboard is pretty similar to that of the Surface Pro 4’s keyboard, with a quiet keyset featuring 1.5mm key travel. Microsoft has managed to fit these in a form factor weighing at 2.76 lbs, measuring 14.47mm at its thickest point.

The Surface Laptop operates with an Intel Core i5 for its base model, coupled with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of SSD storage. You can also opt for a higher end Intel Core i7 processor instead, with up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, but that will definitely cost you. Battery life is claimed to be better than any Macbook Air out there, with the Surface Laptop’s battery said to last up to 14.5 hours. It also features Dolby Premium Audio without any speaker grille, since the audio will be fed out from underneath the keyboard.

As for software, the Surface Laptop runs on Windows 10 S, which is said to be Microsoft’s answer to Google’s Chrome OS. Windows 10 S is catered towards the education market as well, and streamlined for the lighter stuff. The software will support apps which are available on the Windows Store, but will also only support full fledged desktop apps listed on the store as well. If you wish to run all desktop apps, Microsoft will offer the option to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro for a price. Read more on Windows 10 S
here
.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop seems like a good addition to Microsoft’s line of indecisive hybrids. It will come in burgundy, graphite gold, platinum and cobalt blue color options. Pre-orders have already begun in the US, with the base model priced at $999 (RM4,323.67). What are your thoughts on the Microsoft Surface Laptop so far?

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The mid-range Samsung Galaxy C5 closes in on flagship standards

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Despite it being a mid ranger, the Samsung Galaxy C5 has been leaked countless times , from “official” renders to “official” specs, we’re glad that the news is official for real this time.

Starting it off, listing out its specs might bore those of you who have been following earlier leaks and rumors about the mid range handset. Looks wise, as mentioned before, the Galaxy C5 features a metal unibody, picking up design cues from the likes of the HTC One series and Apple’s iPhones. The handset is offered in Gold, Pink Gold, Silver and Gray options. On the front is a 5.2-inch 1080p AMOLED display panel. Internally, the Galaxy C5 is powered by a Snapdragon 617 SoC with 4GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB storage options, expandable via micro SD.

On the camera side of things, we’re looking at a 16MP and 8MP rear and front cameras respectively. The device packs a modest 2,600mAh battery, which will be sufficient considering the Galaxy C5’s overall horsepower. Also, not forgetting, a fingerprint sensor is embedded in the physical home button on the front, a common feature in most mid range smartphones and above.

The Galaxy C5 is only available within China for the time being. The 32GB model carries a price tag of 2,199 CNY (RM1,364.10) and the 64GB variant comes priced at 2,399 CNY (RM1,488.17). Mid range smartphones seem to be catching up on flagship models lately. What do you think?

Source:
Samsung

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The most anticipated wearable, Apple Watch, is here!

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The wait is finally over, it’s not called the iWatch, but simply called the
Apple Watch
. Teased as the One More Thing in Apple’s event, the
Apple Watch
 has a flexible Retina touch display, there’s a dial a.k.a the “digital crown” that lets you navigate around the device and perform zooming actions on photos, maps and etc.

Apple Watch
 is built from custom alloys of stainless steel, aluminum, and 18-karat gold. It also has a sapphire display, four sensors on the back that tracks your heart rate, and a tiny speaker onboard.

The
Apple Watch
 tracks fitness based on three aspects – Move, Exercise and
Stand
, so its pretty comprehensive and precise.

The Apple Watch also comes in a smaller size with smaller straps, so you won’t actually feel it big on hand. Ladies, you have an option now!

Instead of having a MicroUSB or Lightning connector, you get a MagSafe wireless connector for charging on the Apple Watch.

Developers can develop apps for the iWatch using the WatchKit SDK, one of the examples shown above is that you can unlock or locate your BMW car using the Apple Watch. There are many other apps such as checking in your flight, unlocking your hotel room and etc.

Editions available are Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, and Apple Watch Edition, and it supports from
iPhone 5
 up to the iPhone 6.

Apple pay will also be supported on Apple Watch, so you don’t really need to take your phone out of the pocket to make payments.

The Apple Watch will retail at $349 (which is around RM1120), and will be available Early 2015, Tim says its worth to wait. We will definitely want to buy one, what about you?


The most powerful Ubuntu phone ever goes on sale

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Tired of the eternal battle between Android and iOS? It’s probably time to lay low with Ubuntu, a hipster’s OS. If you haven’t known, Canonical has worked with Meizu to announce the Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition. The company has announced that the Ubuntu phone is now available for sale.

Although the device sports specs of 2015, it can very much still compete with most mid-rangers and some flagship devices of 2016. The Meizu Pro 5 comes with a 1080p 5.7-inch display, with an octa-core Samsung Exynos 7420 as the processor alongside 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. It features a 21MP rear camera which definitely gets the job done even by 2016’s standards. Canonical further states that this is by far the most powerful Ubuntu-operated smartphone.

Coming at a price of $369 (RM1,450.85), it might be worth while to experiment the Ubuntu OS on a powerful smartphone if you’re that type of hobbyist. It also packs a fingerprint sensor if you so desire not to stray too far away from Android and iOS. Let us know your thoughts at the comments section below!

Source:
Ubuntu

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The most used Android and IOS apps in Q4 2015

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You might think that it’s an easy one to guess, but no, Facebook isn’t the most used Android app last quarter in 2015. Neither is Whatsapp, Instagram and Twitter.

What is it then? It is a cleaner app, and chances are that you’ve heard of it before. It is the well known Clean Master app by Cheetah Mobile.

According to the report by Drawbridge, the results came from the analysis of in-app requests with Clean Master triumphing over the rest in October, November and December. CM Security, also by Cheetah Mobile took second place.

Do these results mean that Android users are constantly cleaning up junk and keeping their devices secure?

On the iOS front however, video call and chat app Tango stands at the top of the rankings, with the still popular Words with Friends in second place, but no cleaning app in sight. This of course, doesn’t come as a big surprise as iOS is known to be more secure and Android is known to be the more customizable operating system. Thoughts?

Source:
Drawbridge
  Via:
Phandroid

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The Moto C and C Plus is Lenovo's latest attempt at entry-level devices

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Lenovo is on the move again to release Moto smartphones, after announcing the Moto M, we are now seeing a new series from the company, which is known as the Moto C and C Plus, these are entry-level Android Nougat powered handsets which you can expect Mediatek processors to be in it, both devices are reportedly to come with 5-inch displays, where the Moto C will get a 854×480 resolution and the Plus gets a bump to 720p resolution, the Moto C Plus will have LTE connectivity, while the Moto C is reported to come with both a LTE and 3G only model, which we can probably expect a $70-$80 price tag for the latter. Lastly, battery size of both the Moto C and C Plus is reported to be 2,350mAh and 4,000mAh respectively.

As we have reported back then, Lenovo is assumed to use the Moto brand to replace its smartphone offering, the Moto C and C Plus resemble the company’s devices that uses such kind of specs for it and this could be the beginning of it. While there has been no successor for the entry-level Moto E, we can also assume that the C and C Plus could replace that series as the company’s entry-level offering, there has been no pricing and release date reported, but these phones will eventually reach most parts of Asia and India when it makes it debut, and we are going to expect them to be priced below RM600.

SOURCE:
The Verge

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The Moto G 2014 is now in Malaysia at RM688

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While the smartphone heat here is all about the
iPhone 6
 and Samsung GALAXY Note 4,
Motorola
 has brought in the all new
Moto G
 2014 Edition into the Malaysian market to crash the flagship phone market. Alright, the Moto G is no flagship but it is still one of the most impressive mid-range Android smartphones that you can buy.

The
Moto G
 2014 Edition now comes with a larger Gorilla Glass coated 5-inch IPS display with 720p resolution, 8 Megapixel main camera and a 2 Megapixel front facing camera. Processing power is the same as its predecessor with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz quad-core processor with 1GB RAM, 8GB built-in storage with MicroSD expansion. The phone is also Dual SIM capable and will support DC-HSPA+ connection speeds,
Motorola
 also promises an all day battery life with the 2070mAh battery and guaranteed Android OS updates as usual.

The
Moto G
 2014 Edition retails at RM688 and is available now at all
Motorola
 authorized resellers nationwide, the phone also comes shipped with the latest version of Android 4.4 KitKat. Since this is a Motorola phone, expect to get the Android Lollipop update in the coming month.


The Moto G6 and E5 will launch in Southeast Asia first before going international

351

It looks like we will be the first few countries that will be seeing the new Mota G6 line-up, as the phone has been listed in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia’s certification agencies. We have even seen the Moto G6 Play appear on SIRIM’s website which indicates that it is ready to enter the market.

The new G and E series of phones will still launch in the international market but only after its Asia launch. The Moto G6 Plus comes equipped with a Snapdragon 630 processor, 4GB or 6GB of RAM, 5.93-inch FHD+ screen and powering the device is a 3,250mAh battery. The Moto G6 Play, on the other hand, comes with either a 3GB RAM/32GB storage or 4GB RAM/64GB storage variant and a Snapdragon 430 processor.

It is quite impressive that we will be seeing new phones released in Malaysia first before reaching other parts of the country. We are used to seeing phone launches overseas before it comes here, so good on Motorola and Lenovo for giving us a taste of the pie while it’s still hot.

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The Moto Z2 Play gets updated to Android Oreo

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If you own a Moto Z2 Play, head on over to the About Phone page and hit the update button, because an Android Oreo update has just landed with an April 2018 security patch, this is a much anticipated update that is long overdue, considering the fact that the phone comes with stock Android, it should be updated a few months down the road as soon as a major Android version is released, but it is better late than never.

The update log didn’t mention any new features added with the Oreo update, but there is obviously performance improvements and bug fixes in the update which you probably won’t notice, the update size is about 1.1GB so make sure you stay connected to a WiFi network when doing so. The Moto Z2 Play was launched last year as one of the most slimmest mid-range phones with support for Moto Mods, the phone was powered by a Snapdragon 626 processor paired to 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage, it sports a 12MP f/1.7 main camera and a front facing 5MP camera with dual tone LED flash. The phone has fared very well in our review previously, notably the great battery life and reliable performance, it is still a phone that we still recommend getting today if you are willing to invest into Moto Mods.

Time to hit that update button on your Z2 Play, and let’s hope Motorola will let this phone live till Android P.

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The Motorola RAZR 2019 foldable smartphone leaked showing the actual device – and it looks dull

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As you may already know, Motorola is set to bring back the RAZR flip phone but in the form of a foldable smartphone. We’ve mostly seen renders and patents of the phone so far, but this time, it looks like we’re finally able to see the device itself ahead of its reveal at an event sometime today.

Image credit: MySmartPrice

The leak comes courtesy of the Federal Communications Commission and
MySmartPrice
 for catching wind of the leak. The phone looks exactly like in the renders – albeit not as flashy as we’d hoped. The chassis looks to be made of plastic and is all black. The back itself boasts a textured finish along with the Motorola logo. The cover however, boasts a secondary display for notifications.

Image credit: MySmartPrice

When opened, the main display shows no visible hinge bump. Perhaps they learned from Samsung’s mistakes. Below the display panel is a sizeable chin that protrudes outwards – on that chin is a single home button. Previous reports say that it’s a capitative button, not a physical one.

Image credit: MySmartPrice

On the cover is a single camera lens, so it’s obvious the new RAZR isn’t going to be a photography powerhouse. When folded, it resembles it looks a lot like its predecessors – square. At the bottom of the phone is a single USB C port.

The RAZR 2019
smartphone
 will be launched very soon, so stay tuned as we bring you the latest updates.

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The Motorola Razr’s display peels at fold after a week

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The Motorola Razr foldable phone is recently under fire for its display that apparently peeled apart after w week of usage.

In an article published on Input by author Raymond Wong, the device suddenly had an air bubble at the hinge area that not only looked unpleasant but also led to functionality issues. Wong said that the separation of the top lamination part and the display panel is not caused by impact; he suspected it’s caused by a change in temperature.

Image credit: Raymond Wong/Input

In two days, Wong has brought the phone outside and back home — he said the weather outside was cold while his apartment is warm. This led him to the speculation that the adhesive is somehow loosened in the midst of the temperature change, causing it to peel apart and become unresponsive.

Wong has reached out to Motorola for an explanation, but the company has yet to respond. Our advice? Stay away from foldable phones for now.

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The Movada Connect joins the ranks of premium Android smartwatches

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Movado, a luxury timepiece maker has just announced its partnership with Google to venture into the tech world of wearables. Going on the path taken by the likes of Tag Heuer and Michael Kors, Movado has unveiled an Android Wear smartwatch that will be going on sale at the later part of this year.

The smartwatch is named the Movado Connect. It will boast Movado’s beautiful craftsmanship of timepieces which will also feature “cutting edge technology platform” which is Android Wear 2.0. The Movado Connect features the company’s own signature edge-to-edge crystal design. Users can choose from 5 different dial designs inspired Movado’s Iconic Museum dial. Apart from the fact that it will run on Android Wear 2.0, the Movado Connect has support for Google’s digital wallet platform Android Pay, meaning that it has NFC. Apart from that, nothing much has been said of the upcoming wearable, so do expect features that come with Android Wear 2.0 such as the support for Google Assistant.

The Movado Connect will be available in a total of 5 men’s styles. It will go on sale this fall in the US, the Caribbean, Canada and the UK for a price tag starting at $495 (RM2,209.28). Fellow household names in the fashion industry – Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss, which are both under the Movado group, will be partnering up with Google later this year as well.

Source:
Movado

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The MSI Alpha 15 offers a great high FPS gaming experience at RM600 off

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If you have been looking to upgrade that beaten gaming laptop of yours to enjoy smooth 1080p gaming without compromising graphics quality and your wallet, look no further than the MSI Alpha 15 gaming laptop, it has a lot to offer at RM4,199, which is RM600 off its usual price tag and makes it one good deal that you shouldn’t miss.

Powerful AMD hardware, made for high FPS games

The MSI Alpha 15 is powered by a AMD Ryzen 7 3750H processor and AMD Radeon RX5500M graphics, a hardware combo that easily blaze through any productivity tasks you throw at it and plays most modern AAA game titles with 1080p resolution without compromising graphics quality.

With a 15.6-inch 144Hz IPS-level display that supports AMD FreeSync, playing games like CS:GO and DoTA 2 will look super smooth and lag free without graphics tearing, this lets you game longer without feeling all that fatigue and dizziness.

Furthermore, performance will never be compromised even at extreme loads all thanks to the advanced Cooler Boost 5 cooling system, which cools down the laptop efficiently with two big fans and seven heat pipes.

Fully-customizable per-key RGB keyboard

No other gaming laptops of the same price range could have offered the Alpha 15’s per-key RGB keyboard, as you can customize every single key with millions of colors to choose from and a variety of effects to show off your cool gaming laptop, it even plays along with your music, movies and games with the SteelSeries Engine software.

Full-sized ports FTW

The MSI Alpha 15 doesn’t leave out any important I/O unlike many others, you get three full-sized USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, one USB-C, one HDMI 2.0, one MiniDisplay port and a full-sized SD card reader.

Furthermore, those full sized USB ports are backlit so that you don’t need to guess where they are when you want to connect peripherals in a dark room.

Big Sound on Speakers and Headphones

Gaming and watching movies will never be the same on the MSI Alpha 15, as it comes with big stereo speakers that produces an immersive audio experience with clear vocals and heart thumping bass, coupled with Nahimic 3 audio engine, it offers a realistic surround sound effect that makes you feel you are at the scene itself, be it on a game, movie or conference call, it automatically adapts to the content that you are playing on speaker.

Want all that sound happen in your ears, the MSI Alpha 15’s headphone output is Hi-Res audio certified and can power high power headphones, so that you get the highest fidelity in sound and hear music as the artist intended, there’s never a gaming laptop of the same price range that offers such great audio listening experience.

Check out the MSI Alpha 15 over at the
MSI Malaysia online store
 now.

This article is sponsored by MSI Malaysia.

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The MSI Creator 17 is the first laptop in Malaysia to come with Mini LED display

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MSI’s flagship creator laptops continue to get better as they are now refreshed with 10th Gen Intel Comet Lake-H processors, however what will really hype up creators this time is the MSI Creator 17, the company’s first laptop to come equipped with a 17-inch 4K Mini LED panel.

Having a Mini LED panel on a laptop is a great advantage for creators working on the go as it delivers extremely accurate colours. The MSI Creator 17’s Mini LED panel meets the DisplayHDR 1000 standards and sports a 1000-nits brightness, it is the brightest panel fitted on a laptop. In comparison, the 16-inch MacBook Pro maxes out at 500-nits.

In terms of specs, the MSI Creator 17 comes with up to an Intel Core i7-10875H processor, GeForce RTX 2080 Super with Max-Q design graphics and PCIe NVMe SSD storage. Other hardware features include a UHS III SD card reader with up to 624MB/s of transfer speeds, a USB-C port that supports up to 8K resolution output and Thunderbolt 3 connectivity.

MSI Malaysia has confirmed that it will be launching the Creator 17 alongside with the Intel Comet Lake-H refreshed Creator 15M and Creator 17M laptops, however no pricing has been revealed at this point of time, but we reckon that the Creator 17 won’t come cheap.


The MSI Prestige laptop brings power and a premium design to the business consumer

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MSI is well known for its gaming laptops and we’ve recently
reviewed a crazy powerful one
, the company is now ready to introduce an all new Prestige series laptops that is made for business elites and professionals, sporting a silky metallic exterior design and the white light backlit keyboard in the interior.

Despite being business looking, the MSI Prestige series is powered by a blazing fast 4th generation Intel Core i7-4720HQ and graphics is managed by NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX950/960M GPU. Available in 15.6-inches and 17.3 inches, the MSI Prestige’s display panel delivers close to 100% sRGB with MSI’s True Color Technology which will appeal to graphic designers and they will have no worries on color inaccuracy, a 4K resolution display is available for the 15-inch model.

In addition, the MSI Prestige notebooks will come with up to 256GB SSD M.2 SATA configuration with 1TB hard drive as standard, three USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0, 4-speakers + 1 woofer powered by Nahimic Audio, and a 6-cell battery.

Judging from the specs sheet alone, MSI has brought over the benefits of their mid-range Apache GE60 over to the new MSI Prestige notebooks with some extras, they aren’t the lightest machines at 2.3KG (15-inch) and 2.6KG (17-inch) and with that premium looking design and power, don’t expect them to come cheap.


The new AirPods can be fully charged in 15 minutes; iOS 13 might remove volume HUD and introduce Dark Mode

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Apple fans have been waiting for the new AirPods for more than a year and while it has been rumoured to make an appearance within the next few months, more information regarding the new AirPods have been leaked.

So the Apple news. AirPods wireless charging will happen. It will be VERY fast (0-100 in 15 minutes.) That speed is for the AirPods AND the case. It will probably use Qi charging.

There will be a downside though, the case will be bigger in one direction and heavier.

— Max Weinbach (@mweinbachXDA)
March 3, 2019

According to a Twitter leaker named Max Weinbach, the new AirPods will indeed support wireless charging, and can be fully charged in 15 minutes. This is great compared to the current AirPod’s 15-minute charge that only provide 3 hours of battery life. Weinbach also said that the case will be bigger and heavier, though it will support Qi charging.

That being said, it does seem like a fair trade for the AirPods to have a slightly heavier case in return for getting a faster charge. On the other hand, Weinbach also said that the AirPods will be similar to the Apple Pencil 2, meaning that it will be more matte than glossy this time.

To clarify, it will probably be iOS 13.1. There is a small chance it makes it to iOS 13.
https://t.co/wYwxRxwohE

— Max Weinbach (@mweinbachXDA)
February 23, 2019

Previously, Weinbach also revealed some information regarding iOS 13, in which iOS 13 will probably remove the volume HUD and iOS 13.1 will get a Dark Mode. The volume HUD has long been a rather annoying feature thanks to its obstructive appearance whenever iPhone users adjust the volume and the Dark Mode has been one of the newer features that many tech companies are bringing in to their devices.

While we do hope all these leaks and information are true, 9to5Mac did reveal that Weinbach isn’t always accurate and reliable so it’s best to take this information with a pinch of salt.

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The new Apple iMacs will cost you an eye-watering RM5,599, minimum

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Apple is finally introducing new processors and graphics cards to its iMac range, enhancing the performance of its iMacs.

The 21.5-inch iMac now comes with a 3.6GHz quad-core 8th-generation Intel Core i3 or a 3.0GHz 6-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, while the 27-inch iMac features up to 9th-generation eight-core Intel processor. Both iMacs are said to have faster performance, meaning that gaming and video gaming will be more efficient.

Image credit: Apple

With the new update, the 21.5-inch iMac now comes with a Radeon Pro 555X or Radeon Pro 560X graphics card by default. On the other hand, the 27-inch iMac starts with a Radeon Pro 570X, 575X and 580X cards, but you can opt for a Radeon Pro Vega 48 which will set you back an additional RM1,980. Promising to deliver up to 50% faster graphics performance, the Vega 48 is a great option to consider for those who struggles with heavy graphics workload.

Image credit: Apple

Needless to say, Apple products always come with premium pricing. The new 21.5-inch iMac will require you to fork out at least RM5,599 while the new 27-inch iMac start from RM7,699. If you choose to purchase the highest configuration model of the 27-inch iMac, along with its Magic Mouse 2 and Magic Trackpad 2, that’ll be worth RM23,268.


The new Apple Watch has a built-in GPS and is swimproof

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Apple has announced its newly updated smartwatch, the Apple Watch at the company’s keynote event at San Francisco earlier. The new Apple Watch, known as the Apple Watch Series 2, comes with a slew of improvements, with a couple of them being more notable than the rest. The newly named watch means that the previous generation Apple Watch will be known as the Apple Watch Series 1.

Lengthy names aside, aesthetically, the Apple Watch Series 2 looks pretty much alike its older sibling. You probably can’t tell both apart from a distance. It sports the same square faced design with a digital crown on the side for navigating the watch display. What’s new is that the Apple Watch is now water resistant up to 50 metres, making it swimproof. The display is also much brighter now, 50% brighter than its predecessor, according to Apple.

Underneath the hood, Apple has introduced a new S2 chip. The chip is said to be 50% faster when it comes to processing power compared to the original Apple Watch. Apart from that, graphics perfomance has also doubled with a new GPU as well. With the new processing package, along with the new watchOS 3 which Apple previewed a couple of months back, the Apple Watch Series 2 is expected to offer snappier performance and better graphics.

Another useful addition is the built-in GPS in the Apple Watch Series 2. The built-in GPS allows the watch to map itself without the iPhone, meaning that the GPS can guide your navigation when you’re out for your daily run without bringing your iPhone along. The onboard GPS also means that it can accurately track your distance covered.

With the new Apple Watch, comes a new ceramic model which is white in color. Apart from that, are the usual aluminium and stainless steel cases seen on the previous generation Apple Watch. Apple has also teamed up with Nike for a Nike+ version of the Apple Watch Series 2. The other good news is the Apple Watch Series 1 will be powered by the same S2 chip in the Series 2. The Apple Watch Series 2 will start at $369 (RM1,493.66), the same goes for the Nike+ version whereas the upgraded Apple Watch Series 1 receives a price cut, making it $269 (RM1,088.87)

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The new Dell XPS 15 takes powerful mobile computing up a notch

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The Dell XPS 15 has always been deemed as the direct competition to Apple’s MacBook Pro, and Dell has finally updated it with an all-new design and upgraded firepower with 10th Gen Intel processors.

The most notable visual change on the new XPS 15 would be its much slimmer display bezels, where it is more edgy and eliminates the bottom chin just like the
XPS 13
, giving it a 92.9% screen-to-body ratio and now supports an aspect ratio of 16:10, users will get to either a 1920×1200 or 3840×2400 resolution display.

The XPS 15 uses a two-piece machined aluminum that makes it look more robust than the previous model, despite the sleek form factor it still offers a full-size SD card reader along with three USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 3 support, there is also a top firing speaker with new Waves Nx 3D audio that should make it sound much better than the previous model, Dell is also claiming up to 25 hours of battery life with the Full HD screen model.

And yes, there is a super small HD webcam located on the top of the display, which is pretty amazing on how Dell manages to do that in such a dense space.

Dell Malaysia will begin selling the XPS 15 starting May 15th, where the base specs starts with a 10th Gen Core i5-10300H processor with GeForce GTX1650Ti graphics for RM7,999, no specific configuration set has been revealed to us, but customers should be able to configure up to a 10th Gen Core i9 processor and UHD display.

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The new Ford Focus will give you 180PS of power and advanced safety features

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A small car it maybe, but most of us can’t deny that the Ford Focus has been one of most popular C-segment vehicle around, Ford has finally introduced the latest Focus into the Malaysian market, which now sports a new grille design like the Mondeo and Fiesta. The new Ford Focus now sports a 1.5-litre EcoBoost engine under its hood, this is a powerful engine that produces up to 180PS of power and 240NM of torque despite of a smaller displacement, its predcessor has a naturally aspirated 2.0-litre engine with 170PS of maximum power. The Focus also features a new, lightweight and efficient six-speed SelectShift auto transmission, if you are in for some driving fun, there’s also paddle shifters for you to unleash your skills on the road.

With Ford’s commitment to safety on the road, the new Ford Focus comes with advanced safety features that you have come to expect from Ford’s familiar offerings, apart from having up to six airbags, the car features Enhanced Transitional Stability that helps predicts a skid and kicks in to stabilize the car to avoid any loss of control, it is also the only small car in the country that has an Active Park Assist system, Blind Spot Information System and Cross Traffic Alert. To help resolve challenging parking woes, the new Ford Focus’s Perpendicular Park Assist is available to assist the driver in parking the car, when it detects a parking space alongside with other cars it takes over the steering wheel while allowing the driver to control the shifting, braking and acceleration. While most of us tend to be unaware of sudden vehicle approaches when exiting from a parking spot, Ford’s Cross Traffic Alert uses three distinct warnings to alert drivers if it detects cars approaching from left or right, up to a range of 40 meters. All of these safety features are usually only available in more expensive European marques, which makes the Ford Focus ultimately one of the safest small cars to own within its price range.

Ford has installed the SYNC 2 infotainment system in the new Focus, the very same system that is also found in the Ranger and Mondeo, an all new sophisticated interior design intends to make the drivers feel more comfortable with the car’s features, there’s also more cabin space for comfort and an adjustable console will fit a variety of bottles and cups that will fit a 1-litre bottle and a 400ml cup simultaneously. With sound deadening materials such as sound-insulating windshield glass, thicker side-window glass and thicker carpets, while having increased insulation on door trims and the engine, the new Focus will offer both the driver and passengers an impressive level of cabin quietness.

The new Ford Focus is currently open for bookings with three variants available, the Trend (5 door) variant will retail at RM118,888 in Peninsular Malaysia and RM123,388 in East Malaysia, while the Titantium+ (4 door) and Sport (5 door) variants will retail at RM139,888 in Peninsular Malaysia and RM144,588 in East Malaysia, prices are on the road without insurance. For current Ford owners, Ford Malaysia is offering a RM3,000 rebate till 30 April 2016 if you are up for one, so get yourselves to your nearby Ford showrooms to try out this powerful little driving machine.


The new Hotline Postpaid Flex Plus costs RM60/month, comes with 10GB data

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Maxis introduced the Hotlink Postpaid Flex earlier this year, and as the postpaid plan proved to be successful, the company decided to launch a new postpaid plan called the Hotlink Postpaid Flex Plus.

The Hotlink Postpaid Flex Plus is a RM60 plan that offers 10GB Internet data with unlimited calls and SMS to all networks. Besides that, the plan allows its users to get a Vivo Y81i for RM 1 or a Vivo Y85 for RM199, though both devices require advance payment.

Besides the new plan, users can also choose the Hotlink Postpaid Flex for RM30 a month for 1GB Internet data or RM40 a month for 5GB Internet data, and both options also come with unlimited calls and SMS to all networks. Apart from that, users can also select different unlimited apps add-ons which supports month auto-renewal. For RM10/month, you can get either unlimited social apps or unlimited music apps and for RM5/month, you can get unlimited chat apps.

You can register at selected Hotlink stores, and users can also download the Hotlink Flex App which is available for App Store and Google Play Store to track your data, pay bills and also get exclusive deals.

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The new iPad mini functions well even after being bent

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Apple’s new iPad mini turns out to be more durable compared to the iPad Pro 2019 and this came as a shock too many.

About 14 hours ago, JerryRigEverything — the famous YouTuber who, well, rigs everything — has decided to upload an video featuring the iPad mini. On this video, he performed the usual test; scratching, burning and bending the iPad mini to see its end results.

While the iPad mini started showing obvious scratches at a level 6 scratch test, it managed to survive the burn test due to its LCD screen. What was initially a black spot on the screen slowly reverted back to its original form.

What’s more surprising is when the iPad mini undergoes the bend test. Similar to the iPad Pro, the iPad mini succumbed to pressure and bent, with its screen slightly detached from its body. However, both its screen and frame did not actually crack, and the device was still functional — even in its bent form.

If you’re interested to watch the whole process, the video is linked down below.

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The new iPad will still have both Touch ID and a headphone jack

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There are always mixed feelings when it comes to upgrades, and when the new iPad Pro was released last year, it is undeniable that some weren’t too excited about some of its upgraded features. However, reports have been stating that the new iPad will be closer to its existing design than the iPad Pro.

What this means is that the iPad 2019 will be retaining Touch ID instead of Face ID, a feature that is gone in the iPad Pro and less costly. Seeing as the iPad Pro has really thin bezels, it’s only logical that Touch ID is removed. However, if Touch ID is going to be present in the new iPad, it is possible that the new iPad will have a thicker chin, and I’d say it’s a quite fair trade.

Image credit: Slashgear

Another feature that many would love to hear is the return of the headphone jack which the iPad Pro decided to remove last year. The new iPad is rumoured to still come with a 3.5mm headphone jack, so users can choose not to get the AirPods that will cost you RM649.

These features are believed to remain in the new iPad so that it can actually be a more affordable option compared to the iPad Pro. According to Slashgear, the process of creating the new iPad will be less pricey if the company chooses to reuse the iPad 6th generation design, in addition to being able to use their wired headphones instead of spending extra cash to purchase a wireless headphone or one that supports Lightning or Bluetooth. This also mean that the new iPad is less likely to be getting a USB-C port and will stay with the traditional Lightning port.

While the two older features will remain in the new iPad, other rumours have also pointed out that the iPad might get a 10-inch display even though it’ll remain the same in size, indicating narrower bezels. If the company does put in Touch ID and goes for narrower bezels in the new iPad, one thing you can be sure of is that the new iPad will not have equivalent bezels like the iPad Pro.

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The new iPads are coming to Malaysia with a starting price of RM1449

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The new iPads were shown off at Apple’s Education conference which has been updated to come with an A10 processor and support for the Apple Pencil. After the launch, Apple Malaysia website has been updated to include the new iPads and pricing as well.

The new iPads come with a 9.7-inch retina display and support for Touch ID as well as Augmented Reality. The only difference is the storage and cellular connection, one coming with 32GB storage and the second variant comes with a 128GB storage, both will have cellular connection as an option. When it comes to pricing, Apple has placed a fair price on the devices with the 32GB variant priced at RM1449 and RM1999 for the cellular version, while the 128GB has a price tag of RM1849 and RM2399 for the cellular model. Both these variants will come with iOS 11 out of the box.

Apple’s Malaysia website has not indicated when the iPads will be made available and simply listed it as Coming Soon.

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The new iPhone SE can now be preordered and ships March 25th onwards

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Looks like Malaysians don’t need to wait too long for the new iPhone SE, as Apple has started preorders on its official store, and you will be able receive the phone starting March 25th onwards.

The third generation iPhone SE looks identical to its predecessor with a 4.7-inch display, but it is now faster with the A15 Bionic chip and has 5G support, Apple also claims improved battery life with a larger battery and the chip’s efficiency, while the primary 12MP camera now gains Deep Fusion and Smart HDR 4, you still get the same 7MP front facing camera like its predecessor.

Available in storage options of 64GB, 128GB and 256GB, the iPhone SE is available in colors of Midnight, Starlight and (PRODUCT)RED, prices start from RM2,099 and up to RM2,799, which is slightly expensive than its predecessor but it is still the most affordable 5G iPhone you can buy.

Meanwhile, the Alpine Green iPhone 13 and 13 Pro are also available for preorder and will ship March 24th onwards.

You can also purchase the new iPhone SE from Apple’s Lazada Store
here
.

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The new iPhone SE stands for 'Special Edition'

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Just a little over 12 hours ago, Apple brought back a 4-incher, the iPhone SE, the successor to the iPhone 5S, which also sports a 4-inch display. Apple has reported sales of 30 million 4-inch iPhone’s last year, with claims that one-third of the customers are new to the iPhone and iOS ecosystem. At an impressive price point starting from $399 (RM1591.65), the iPhone SE has turned many heads among tech fans. But one may still wonder what the “SE” stands for.

CNET writer Jason Cipriani has posted on Twitter, stating that Apple’s Phil Schiller has told him about the “SE” acronym of the new iPhone:

“Phil Schiller just told me the “SE” stands for “Special Edition” @FortuneTech”

No, it isn’t “Small Edition”, neither is it called the iPhone S “Enhanced”. We’re assuming that the above statement is true, since the source is deemed credible. This “Special Edition” iPhone is in the competition with its bigger brother, the iPhone 6S, sporting the same A9 chip. It features the same 12MP iSight camera, however its front facing shooter is quite a let down. Compared to the 5MP f/2.2 selfie camera of the iPhone 6S, the one on the iPhone SE sits at an extremely under-par 1.2MP with f/2.4 aperture.

With that downsized front facing camera, is the iPhone SE worthy of the “Special Edition” title? Let us know what you think at the comments section below.

Source:
Jason Cipriani (Twitter)

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The new iPhones are available with U Mobile’s postpaid plan

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U Mobile is the first among Malaysia’s telcos to offer Apple’s iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max and iPhone XR with telco plans, and this is what they’re offering.

Image credit : U Mobile

U Mobile has an Unlimited HERO P99 postpaid plan in which users can now purchase the iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max and iPhone XR. The plan offers unlimited high speed data without speed cap and unlimited calls to all networks. The plan also offers 3GB data to roam in 12 countries and 30GB mobile hotspot, both free of charge. The SMS rates however will not be free and costs 10 sen per SMS to all networks. The retail prices at U Mobile will be lower compared to Apple retail stores, and existing customers who meet the eligibility criteria won’t be charged with upfront payment.

For those who aren’t interested in postpaid plans, U Mobile also offer an i40 prepaid plan that includes 1.5GB of high speed data, 40 free minutes worth of calls to all networks and 20 free SMSes to all networks.

U Mobile will also be offering promotions for the new iPhone models. The U Special Promo will begin from 19 October on 3:01pm to 31 October 2018 whereby the first 100 U Special customers who purchase the new iPhones with P99 plan will get free Apple AirPods worth RM 649. There will also be a launch promo on 26 October from 10am onwards at Berjaya Times Square. The first 20 customers who walk in and purchase the new iPhones with

P99 plan will receive a free iPhone 6s+ with 32GB storage, and the next 80 customers will be eligible to join a lucky draw session with prizes like phone accessories, vouchers and also a new iPhone Xs Max with 64GB storage.

Below are the retail prices of the new iPhones in U Mobile stores when purchased with the P99 plan :

iPhone Xs, 64GB : RM 3,799

iPhone Xs, 256GB : RM 4,399

iPhone Xs, 512GB : RM 5,299

iPhone Xs Max, 64GB : RM 4,199

iPhone Xs Max, 256GB : RM 4,799

iPhone Xs Max, 512GB : RM 5,699

iPhone XR, 64GB : RM 2,499

iPhone XR, 128GB : RM 2,699

iPhone XR, 256GB : RM 3,159

The iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max and iPhone XR can be pre-ordered from 19 October 3:01pm at www.u.com.my and will be available in U Mobile stores from 26 October 2018.

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The new Mac mini has up to 64GB RAM from $799

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As Apple launches their event in New York today, the crowd couldn’t be more excited as the company introduces an upgraded Mac mini.

The new Mac mini is a powerhouse that comes with 6-core and quad-core 8th generation Intel Core processor that has Turbo Boost Speeds up to 4.6GHz which increases performance speed by 5 times, and unlike the previous model which has 16GB RAM, the new Mac mini can go up to 64GB RAM and supports all-flash storage with up to 2TB SSD which speeds up large files processing.

The Mac mini also sports the Apple T2 Security Chip which has an SSD controller that allows full encryption for high security in addition to 30x faster HEVC video transcoding, leading to higher performance efficiency.

It now has four Thunderbolt 3 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet that supports 10Gb Ethernet, a HDMI 2.0 port, two USB-A ports and an audio jack. With the new Thunderbolt ports, uses can now access high speed storage in addition to 4K and 5K Thunderbolt displays and also output video in three formats. The macOS Mojave is also available in the new Mac mini which Apple decided to produce with 100% recycled aluminium and post-consumer recycled plastic in other parts to reduce the carbon footprint.

The Mac mini starts at the price of $799 with 8GB RAM, 3.6GHz Intel Core i3 and 128GB SSD storage but can be upgraded to 64GB RAM, 3.2GHz/4.6GHz Intel Core i7 with up to 2TB SSD storage and the option of 10Gb Ethernet. It is available to be pre-ordered today onwards and will be available on 7 November.

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Mac Mini


The new MacBook Air starts at RM5,249 whereas the new Mac mini starts at RM3,499

406

Apple’s launch event that just ended in New York included the new Mac mini and the new MacBook Air, and these devices got several significant upgrades.

Image credit : Apple

The 13-inch Retina display MacBook Air comes with Touch ID and 1.6GHz dual-core processor that has Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz, in addition to having up to 16GB RAM with 1.5TB storage. The MacBook also sports an Intel UHD Graphics 617, has a Force Touch trackpad and backlit keyboard. It will cost you RM 5,249 onwards, with the highest RAM and storage costing you RM 11,229.

Image credit : Apple

On the other hand, the Mac mini that is powered by the 3.6GHz quad-core 8th generation i3 processor with 8GB RAM paired with 128GB storage and has Gigabit Ethernet will cost you RM3,449 onwards, and if you choose the 10 Gigabit Ethernet speed you’ll need to add on another RM 440. Meanwhile, the 3.0GHz 6-core 8th generation i5 processor with Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz and has 8GB RAM with 256GB SSD storage and Gigabit Ethernet is priced at RM4,699 onwards, and there are options to upgrade the RAM to 64GB and the storage to 2TB which each requires additional RM6,160.

Both the MacBook Air and MacBook mini are available for preorder on Apple’s official site, though it will be officially on sales from 7 November.

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The new Macbook Pro has a cool Touch Bar

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Apple’s Macbook Pro has pretty much maintained the same design and look for the past couple of years, with mostly only its internals getting an annual standard refresh. The only known major changes or additions to the Macbook Pro lineup include the Retina Display and the more recent Force Touch trackpad which debuted with the new 12-inch Macbook. This time, live from Apple’s “Hello Again” keynote event, the company has finally redesigned its flagship lineup of laptops.

First off, the new Macbook Pro features a new metal design on all sides, according to Phil Schiller. While the current MBP’s are already aluminium built, the new ones certainly sport a sleeker look. The new Macbook Pro happens to be the thinnest and lightest that Apple has ever made, in typical Apple fashion. The 13-inch Macbook Pro now sports a thickness of 14.9mm from the previous 18mm, plus it weighs in at 3 pounds. It also features a much larger sized Force Touch trackpad this time. On top of that, the new Macbook Pro packs a new display which is 67 percent brighter than the current generation Macbook Pro, and gives out 25% more colors. Apple has claimed the display to consume less power than before despite it being brighter.

The new Macbook Pro features a new Touch Bar, a OLED touch strip on top of the keyboard which has been rumored for several months leading to today’s event. The Touch Bar has the Esc key on the left as a software button. As the name states, the Touch Bar will respond to taps, along with gestures. Apple claims the Touch Bar to have its Retina Display technology. The Touch Bar was demonstrated to be used when swiping through emojis, tapping on auto corrected words like seen on iOS, display bookmarks while browsing the web, and adjust sliders while editing an image, just to name a few. On the right side of the Touch Bar is second generation Touch ID, covered with Sapphire Glass.

Moving on to the internals, the 13-inch Macbook Pro is powered by either a 6th-gen Intel Core i5 or i7 processor with 8GB of RAM and base storage of 256GB PCIe SSD. Graphics are powered by Intel Iris Graphics. The 15-inch Macbook Pro on the other hand will only be running on a 6th-gen Intel Core i7 processor with 16GB of RAM. Storage starts at 256GB as well, configurable up to a whopping 2TB. The 15-inch model features Radeon Pro graphics card with 2GB of memory on top of the integrated Intel HD Graphics.

Both models of the Macbook Pro sport four USB Type-C ports, and can be charged via any one of them. This means that Apple has bid goodbye to the MagSafe port for its new line of Macbook Pro’s, following the footsteps of the 12-inch Macbook. The four USB C ports also saw Apple doing away with the HDMI, Thunderbolt, Mini Display and USB and VGA ports. The SD card slot has also been removed, but the 3.5mm headphone jack managed to stay on. Both models are said to have battery life of up to 10 hours, which an improvement from their predecessors.

The new Macbook Pro’s are currently available for sale now. The 13-inch MBP is priced starting at RM 7,599 up to RM 8,399. Apple is also offering a non-Touch Bar model with 3 USB Type-C ports at RM 6,299. The 15-inch model will set you back a more pinching RM 10,199 up to RM 11,999. What do you think of the all new Macbook Pro? How about its nifty new Touch Bar? Let us know your thoughts at the comments section below!

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The new Mercedes-Benz C-Class Cabriolet and SLC Roadster arrives at the roads of Malaysia

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Thursday to be an auspicious day for luxury car brands, as Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has unveiled its all new C-Class Cabriolet and SLC Roadster in Zouk Kuala Lumpur, the C-Class Cabriolet is what the company calls it a true dream car with a sleek silhouette, an impeccable design and luxurious appeal, while the SLC is a sports luxury roadster that defies all conventions with its youthful appearance, dynamic sportiness and edgy design.

C-Class Cabriolet

The C-Class Cabriolet features a capacity of 360 litres (285 litres with the roof open) and has a rather good boot size for storing luggages, it is available in three petrol variants with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, the C 200 outputs 184hp and 300Nm, C 250 at 211hp and 350Nm, and C 300 at 245hp and 370Nm, all of them are mated to a 9G-TRONIC automatic transmission.

The car has a fully automatic classic cabriolet fabric soft top that comes in black with the basic variant, customers can optionally select a multi-layer acoustic soft top in dark brown, dark blue, dark red or black which reduces the wind and driving noise, it can be opened and closed in 20 seconds at driving speeds of up to 50km/h, the cabriolet is stored in the soft-top compartment in the boot.

In terms of tech, all C-Class Cabriolet variants come with DYNAMIC SELECT which allows the driver to choose the car’s ride characteristic and is available in modes of sporty, comfortable or fuel-efficient. On the other hand, the C 300 comes with the Burmester sound system that offers a listening experience on par with a concert hall, while Mercedes-Benz also offers an intuitive user interface on the car’s infotainment system.

SLC Roadster

As the replacement for the SLK family, the SLC roadster continues to have its signature look but only a lot more modern and sportier than ever, the SLC gets a diamond radiator grille that is also available on the A-Class and CLA models, it also comes along with new light or dark aluminium trim parts with a carbon-fibre finish.

In contrast to the C-Class Cabriolet, the SLC features a vario-roof that combines open-top driving pleasure with uncompromised comfort in poor weather, the SLC 300 in particular, comes with a panoramic vario-roof with Magic Sky Control, which can be lightened and darkened at the touch of a button, this gives the passenger the choice of having a more shady feel or have a little sunlight in the cabin.

The SLC is available in two models with 2-litre 4-cylinder engines, the SLC 200 has an output of 184hp and 300Nm, while the SLC 300 gets a bump to 245hp and 370Nm.

Pricing and Agility Financing

Prices of the C-Class Cabriolet will start from RM358,888 for C 200, RM388,888 for C 250, and RM443,888 for C 300. The SLC model on the other hand starts from RM398,888 for SLC 200 and RM468,888 for SLC 300. All prices are inclusive of GST and OTR without insurance, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has also extended its Agility financing packages to these new cars to offer flexible tenure options and with a certain guaranteed future value of the cars.

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The new Messenger update aims to be more user-friendly

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Messenger 4 is an updated and simplified version of Facebook’s Messenger and will roll out worldwide over the next few weeks.

Image credit : Facebook

Now the highlight of this new update is the fewer amount of tabs in your Messenger. The Messenger 4 will only have three tabs at its bottom; the Chats tab, the People tab and the Discover tab. The Chats tab will be where all the conversations are, replacing the current Message tab. Your group conversations and one-to-one conversations will no longer be separated into different tabs and the position of the camera (which is currently at the centre bottom of the interface) will be relocated to be at the top right of the interface. On the People tab, you’ll now be able to see Stories from others and find out who is active, whereas on the Discover tab, it’ll feature games, business deals and news. Overall, it’ll be less messy and easier for users to comprehend.

Image credit : Facebook

Aside from that, you can also customise your conversations with chat customisations called color gradients. Facebook now allows users to change the colour of their chat bubbles with more than one colour so that the chat bubbles have the colour gradient effect. Facebook also plan to introduce more features later on, and one of it is known as Dark Mode, an interface that is dark-themed which reduces glare from users’ phones. This is a mode that many are adapting to, like Apple’s new Mojave update and also WhatsApp’s rumoured update.

The Messenger 4 will definitely be a simpler version that many will look forward to, though we’ll need to wait for awhile for the update to reach us.

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The new Nokia 3310 might not get a US launch

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The original Nokia 3310 phone was known to be nearly indestructible, along with excellent battery life and of course, Nokia legacy goodies such as the ever popular Snake mobile game. HMD decided that it should revisit the Nokia hall of nostalgia, and hence the reviving of the Nokia 3310. Announced at Mobile World Congress is an all new Nokia 3310 which sports modern features such as a color screen and a camera. However, the highly anticipated phone might not launch in the US, for now.

The brand new Nokia 3310 definitely has potential buyers from all corners of the world, including the US, but interested buyers from the US might have to sit out on this one, or this “initial” model of the Nokia 3310. The phone’s network bands turned out to be incompatible with US carrier networks. HMD Chief Executive Arto Nummela spoke to USA Today, claiming that HMD could “theoretically make a version that would work” in the US.

However, Nummela suggested further that the Nokia 3310 is only a feature phone for those who are alright with only the basics such as calling and texting. Based on Nummela’s statements, it is rather difficult to predict whether or not HMD will make US specific Nokia 3310 handsets, or rather units that support more network bands. China is one of the two markets that are prioritized by HMD, the other regional market is said to be the US.

Would you get a new Nokia 3310 in the name of nostalgia? How well do you think the phone will sell here in Malaysia?

Source:
USA Today

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The new Nokia 6 sold out in a minute

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When the Nokia 6 was announced, many old time fans were definitely driven nuts upon hearing the once well known household name in the mobile phone industry. The Nokia branding has finally been revived again, thanks to Chinese manufacturer HMD Global. The company has also reached new heights through the first ever flash sale for the Nokia 6. According to Chinese news outlet An Zhuo, the Nokia 6 flash sale ended in a jiffy after the units were sold out in just a minute.

We are not sure what were the rest of the figures like for the Nokia 6 flash sale, such as the number of units sold, but HMD Global will definitely be stocking up on the Nokia 6 shipments for the next round of flash sales. Speaking of which, An Zhuo has also reported more than a million people pre-registering for the device on JD.com, a Chinese online retailer website. Looks like the hype for Nokia is definitely not to be overlooked.

The Nokia 6 is surprisingly well received despite it not having flagship specs – a Snapdragon 430 chipset with 4GB of RAM, a 5.5-inch display at Full HD resolution, and a 16MP/8MP pair of rear and front cameras respectively. Given the fact that the handset was sold in under such a short time, we would expect the same kind of record being set by HMD Global and Nokia in the next flash sale. What do you think?

Source:
An Zhuo

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The new Nokia N1 is a $250 Android tablet that will sell well

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Nokia isn’t dead yet, though its mobile division has been fully acquired by Microsoft and will only be able to manufacture its own smartphones until year 2016. Nokia is a huge organization that also does some other things such as speakers, TV boxes, medical devices and etc. Therefore, the Nokia N1 is a little different here, the
tablet
 is manufactured by Foxconn rather than Nokia themselves.

Given Nokia’s current status, it makes sense for the company to have funders behind this great hardware, Foxconn is obviously one of them as the company has opted to take up the Nokia branding, underneath the
tablet
 we find Intel’s Atom Z3580 64-bit processor, which could be another source of funds that helps Nokia or Foxconn develop the tablet. Other hardware are also pretty impressive, such as having a 7.9-inch 2048 x 1536 IPS display, 8 Megapixel main camera and front facing 5 Megapixel main camera. The Nokia N1 is also the first
Android tablet
 to sport a MicroUSB Type-C reversible connector and the 2nd
Android tablet
to ship with Android 5.0 Lollipop and Nokia’s Z launcher running on top, hardware design is no doubt Foxconn made, the Nokia N1 is made out of a one piece aluminum body with surface anodization, which is very much the same industrial design as the Apple
iPad
 and the Google Nexus 9.

While Nokia has only made the
tablet
 available in China at around $250, we believe it will give other manufacturers a good run for their money once its made available to other countries. How will the Nokia N1 shape the company’s future direction? Can Nokia revolutionize the smart devices once again like it used to? We shall find out once it reaches our shores.


The New Nvidia SHIELD: It’s not a tablet

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The
New Nvidia SHIELD
 with the Tegra X1 at the heart of it’s hardware promises to deliver 4K Entertainment to every home. It is the first Android TV console which delivers this as well as video, music, apps and amazing game play to the living room.

“SHIELD will change the way we enjoy digital entertainment at home. It’s an incredibly powerful, efficient and advanced living room entertainment device. It’s the best Android TV experience. And it can transform into a serious gaming machine. It’s made to game.”

— Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO of NVIDIA

I do believe it will change the way we enjoy digital entertainment in the living room. Though we already have consoles such as the
Xbox
 or the Sony Playstation, it is a big segregation in the market between games on Steam and games that I have in a Blu-ray disc. The main thing that has stopped me from actually getting a console myself is the fact that all the games I have enjoyed on Steam, I would have to repurchase in its console form. Now, why would I want to do that. The new SHIELD opens the possibility for me todrop on my couch and enjoy some Borderlands 2 on my TV. Other
AAA Android Titles
 that are being optimized for the SHIELD include Crysis 3, Doom 3 : BFG Edition and Borderlands : TPS. Thanks to the Tegra X1 processor with it’s 256-core Maxwell architecture GPU and 64-bit processor, this is child’s play. Also, I have the freedom

GRID on-demand game-streaming
 will also be available with the subscription price that includes
access to 50 titles
, such as Batman: Arkham Origins, GRID2 and Metro: Last Light. The GRID service can also be used to stream new release AAA titles — including Batman: Arkham Knight and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt which are coming later this year. For those of you who don’t know, GRID on-demand utilizes GRID services but instead of streaming from your PC, you stream from one of Nvidia’s data centers, which is why this service has a subscription fee — GRID promises high-quality low-latency streaming.

“The incredible processing power of Tegra X1 enables us to bring Doom 3: BFG to Android and we’re excited by the possibilities that GRID is bringing to gaming.”

— Tim Willits, studio director, id Software

“Tegra X1’s enormous processing capabilities running on Android TV gives us access to a much broader audience, and we’re delighted to partner with NVIDIA to explore a variety of exciting possibilities for SHIELD, including the remastering of the survival horror classic, Resident Evil 5.”

— Jun Takeuchi, managing corporate officer, CAPCOM

“SHIELD is definitely made to game and thanks to Tegra X1 we have The Witcher: Battle Arena playing natively on SHIELD. With GRID, we’ll be able to bring new hit games to fans immediately.”

— Benjamin Lee, The Witcher: Battle Arena lead producer, CDPROJEKT

For Nvidia’s nomenclature, the new Nvidia console will just be called SHIELD, while the others are the SHIELD
Tablet
 and the SHIELD Portable. The SHIELD comes at a $199 (USD) price tag and comes with a wireless controller.


The new Sony Xperia may come with six cameras and two selfie lenses

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If you remember back at MWC 2019, the trypophobia of many were triggered when the Nokia 9 PureView was introduced along with its five lenses at the back. It is, at the moment, the only phone with that many cameras; but reports suggest that Sony may overthrow Nokia to take the throne.

GSM Arena reports that Sony are working on an upcoming Xperia that will sport six lenses, and renders suggest that they will be arranged in an orderly vertical fashion. With that many lenses, we can expect there to be ToF sensors, a macro lens, wide-angle and telephoto to be included.

The report also suggests that there will be two selfie cameras on the upcoming Xperia, but details are scarce. We can expect the phone to be announced sometime end of this year or by Q1 2020, says GSM Arena.

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The new Volkswagen Golf family is now open for booking

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Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia as open bookings for the new Volkswagen Gold variants at all Volkswagen dealerships nationwide. The Golf family consist of the Golt TSI in Sportline and R-Line, the Golf GTI and Golf R. Retaining its charisma from the past models, it also comes with updated details such as redesigned bumpers, newly conceptualised headlights and LED tail lights.

They are also giving the change to win an all-expense paid trip to the Worthersee GTI Festival in Austria, with the contest currently going on until 27 March 2018. Details can be found on Volkswagen Malaysia website. Customers can take the opportunity to view the new Golf GTI and Golf R at the upcoming Volkswagen Tours, with the GTI being on display at AEON Bandar Dato Onn in Johor Bahru on 27 March 2018 and the Golf R at 1 Utama Shopping Ventre from 28 March till 1 April 2018. Prices are as follows:

Golf Sportline – RM155,990

 Equipped with a 1.4TSI turbocharged engined paired with a 7-speed dry clutch direct shift gearbox. It has an output of 150PS and a torque of 250Nm between 1,500 to 3,500RPM.

Golf R-Line – RM169,990

Similar to the Sportline model but comes with Vienna leather seats, 17-inch Singapore alloy wheels, 12.3-inch Active Info Display, 8-inch composition media with AppConnected and LED headlights with Static and Dynamic Cornering Lights

Golf GTI – RM239,990
 Features a 2.0TSI turbocharged engined paired with a 6-speed wet clutch direct shift gearbox, an output of 230PS with a torque of 350Nm between 1,500 to 4,600RPM. It also comes with Vienna perforated leather seats, 18-inch Milton Keynes alloy wheels, 12.3-inch Active Info Display, 8-inch Discover Media with AppConnect, LED headlights with Dynamic Cornering Lights, LED taillights with Dynamic Indicators and Adaptive Chassis Control with driving mode selection.

Golf R – RM295,990

 Comes with a new 2.0TSI turbocharged engine with 7-speed wet clutch direct shift gearbox, an output of 290PSI and a torque of 280Nm between 2,000 to 5,400RPM transferred via 4MOTION all-wheel drive system. It also comes with the R Vienna perforated leather seats, 19-inch Pretoria alloy wheels, 12.3-inch Active Info Display, 9.2-inch Discover Pro with AppConnect that supports Gesture Control, LED headlights with Dynamic Cornering Lights, LED taillights with Dynamic Indicators and progressive steering.

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The new Volvo S60 offers 407hp and 640Nm for RM295k in Malaysia

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If you want a driver’s car that’s fun to drive and has lots of power to conquer the Malaysian roads, take a look at the Volvo S60 T8 R Design, the car features a new dynamic chassis and a lowered body that offers drivers increased comfort from its predecessor.

Powered by a 2-litre T8 Twin Engine with both a turbocharger and supercharger mated to an 8-speed gearbox, the Volvo S60 has a staggering maximum output of 407hp and 640Nm that enables it to sprint from the starting line to 100km/h in a mere 4.4 seconds, it also has an impressive rated fuel consumption at 2 litres per 100km, ultimately delivering great driving performance without compromising fuel efficiency.

Head into the cabin of the Volvo S60, you will be greeted with a Nappa leather R-design seats with contoured head rests, the dashboard and center console combines both Swedish craftsmanship and a Scandinavian design with a minimalist approach, notably the  Diamond-Cut Engine Start/Stop knob, Drive Mode Selector & Volume Knob, its sport pedals, gear lever and steering wheel also gets the R-design treatment.

Drivers get to stay focused on the road and keep a look out on their drive details with a head-up display, while a 12.3″ TFT digital instrument cluster will impress you with its high resolution and attractive visuals.

Volvo’s Sensus powers the car’s infotainment system with support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, while you get to enjoy tunes through a 600W 14-speaker Harman Kardon sound system.

As usual, safety is a key selling feature of the Volvo S60 as it has a set of intelligent safety features with the help of a built-in camera and radar sensors. To highlight a few, the City Safety with Autobrake technology helps avoid collisions on the road and it is the only system that recognizes pedestrians, cyclists and large animals; while the Pilot Assist System, which supports drivers with steering, acceleration and braking for up to 130km/h, has been upgraded with improved cornering performance.

The Volvo S60 will be available for viewing at all authorised Volvo dealers nationwide starting today, customers will be able to choose color options of Fusion Red Metallic, Crystal White Pearl, Pebble Grey Metallic, Onyx Black Metallic and Birch Light Metallic, the car is a CBU model and priced at RM295,888 on-the-road without insurance with a 5-year warranty.

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The new Zenfone Max M2 has a Snapdragon 632 processor

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Besides the launch of the ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 in Indonesia, the company has also launched the ASUS Zenfone Max M2 and the phone comes with a new Qualcomm chipset.

The Max M2 has a similar screen size of 6.3-inch HD+ display and comes with soft light LED Flash. It also has a fingerprint sensor on the back, and notch looks exactly like the Max Pro M2. It has a metal body with from 2.5D curved glass and it also has triple slots like the Max Pro M2 that allows dual SIM cards and one microSD card.

It is powered by the Snapdragon 632 processor which is one of Qualcomm’s newer processors and it has up to 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. The Max M2 comes with high-capacity battery of 4000mAh, which is said to be able to play YouTube and Netflix videos for around 13 hours and also the phone also runs on Stock Android like the Max Pro M2.

The Max M2 also uses a 13+2MP rear camera that has f/1.8 aperture that can support 4K Ultra HD video recording and it also has EIS for less blurry videos. On the front, the phone has a 8MP front camera that is paired with a soft light LED Flash for better selfies.

The Max M2 is priced from RP2,299,000 which is around RM657 when converted but that is not the official Malaysian price yet so we’ll have to wait for ASUS Malaysia to announce the official price.

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The NEX Dual Display Edition has 10GB RAM with triple cameras

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Vivo recently launched their first smartphone with dual display and the phone is known as the vivo NEX Dual Display Edition, which indicates that it’ll have quite a few similarities with the vivo NEX that has been the most hot-selling smartphone for the brand vivo in 2018.

Image credit: vivo

The NEX Dual Display edition comes with two screens in which the front screen is a 6.39-inch Super AMOLED display with 2340×1080 resolution whereas the back screen is a 5.49-inch Super AMOLED display with 1920×1080 resolution. The phone also comes with face unlock and an in-display fingerprint scanner, in which the former requires the cameras at the back whereas the latter can be done on the front screen.

Besides that, the dual display smartphone is powered by the flagship Snapdragon 845 just like the NEX but it has a 10GB RAM, which is higher than the NEX. It comes with 128GB storage, and it has a 3500mAh battery that supports Dual Engine Fast Charging. Besides that, it also has the vivo Dual Turbo technology which the company claims to have 10x improved RAM allocation capability and also reduced ratio of low RAM scenarios.

Another highlight of the phone is how the front screen is literally a full screen display with no wide notch, waterdrop notch or even an in-display hole. The NEX Dual Display Edition completely removes the need for a front camera by creating dual screens, in which the back screen has a triple camera setup that can be used for normal photography and video, and also selfies. The camera supports 4-Axis OIS and has dual pixel sensors, and the three cameras consists of a 12MP lens, a 2MP lens and a TOF 3D camera. The camera is capable of taking lowlight photography and video, and the TOF 3D camera allows 3D Face Shaping for the Face Pay feature which allows users to make payments through face scanning and also allows more accurate beautification through the AI Beauty mode.

Image credit: vivo

Furthermore, the phone has a mirror mode so that when users take photo of a subject, the subject can also view the back screen to see how they are posing to ensure that the perfect picture can be taken. There’s also a Lunar Ring at the back of the phone that can change its lights according to different occasions such as receiving notifications and taking selfies, in which the Lunar Ring can serve as the infamous ring light that many people use for great lighting in portrait photography.

Image credit: vivo

Apart from that, the dual display allows users to multitask on the smartphone, meaning that users can be using one app on the front screen and another app on the back screen. The back screen can also serve as a rear touch pad whereby users can use it for certain game controls in games like PUBG and so on.

The vivo NEX Dual Display Edition that comes in blue or pinkish-purple is priced at CNY4,998 and can be pre-ordered in China starting today, but it will officially start selling in China on 29 December 2019. It is said to come soon to other countries though it’s not confirmed when, but when converted to Malaysian ringgit, the NEX Dual Display Edition is expected to be around RM3,032.54.

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The next Apple Watch could have a FaceTime camera

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While the Apple Watch hasn’t got its heat down yet, reports are already saying that Apple has intended to bring a FaceTime camera to its next wearable, and if it becomes true, this could become the biggest change in wearable technology and should actually slap
Samsung
 in the face, given that the latter used to include cameras on the
Galaxy
 Gear and Gear 2.

Cameras on a smart watch may not make a lot of sense, however when you are able to make video calls on your watch without the need to take your iPhone out of the pocket, it definitely feels less awkward and would make a lot of sense for folks who are actively using Apple’s video calling service. In addition to this great rumored feature addition, 9to5Mac has also reported that Apple have found that most Watch users have been satisfied with the current product’s battery life and therefore would not put an effort in improving it in its next release.

And before we even end the big news, Apple also has plans to make a premium version of the Watch that will appeal to folks who wants something more premium than the standard Watch and will be priced way below the $10,000 Watch Edition, while it sounds more practical but really, I can’t brain who would spend more than $600 in buying a smart watch, especially for that price tag you could already buy a pretty nice mechanical watch.

The Apple Watch 2 should be due on 2016 and let’s hope that FaceTime camera comes true.

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The next iPhone could be dipped in ‘Blush Gold’ colour

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Ever wondered what the next iPhone X colour is going to be? Well think no further, as rumours travelling in regards to it being a Blush Gold colour would be a high possibility, especially when the Apple March event is around the corner.

This is not something new though, as the design seems to be unchanged and the introduction of the Blush Gold colour wouldn’t be surprising since the Rose Gold colour has been released for past versions of the iPhone and iPad. There may not be a huge difference as to these two similar colours, but it’s definitely still something to be excited about.

The leaked image was provided by known Twitter leaker who goes by @VenyaGeskin1, where he claims that the new colour is in production. While we are unsure whether the leaked photo is genuine or not, we know that this leaker has a good track of leak records so far, so it should be reliable.

And though the Blush Gold colour option may just be a hit among the ladies, there’s no denying that it’s going to be an interesting colour as well. We can’t wait for it to unveil, possibly debuting during the Apple March event.

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The next iPhone’s square camera module may be given aesthetic treatment to seem less conspicuous

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You may be aware of rumours suggesting that the upcoming Apple iPhones will come with a square back camera module which will be fitted with a triple-lens setup. Renders of the phone have spread like wildfire prompting many nay-sayers.

Despite the flack from netizens, it seems like the rumours could very well be true as serial Apple leaker Ming Chi-Kuo have provided some insight as to how Apple will make the three lenses less obvious.

Image credit: On Leaks

According to a report by Forbes, Chi-Kuo has claimed that Apple will utilize “black lens-coating technology” to give the lenses a dark tint, allowing it to blend into the black frame that surrounds them.

Chi-Kuo has also mentioned that the upcoming iPhone, unofficially dubbed
the
iPhone 11 or iPhone X1, will be fitted with 12MP cameras with five elements along with lenses from Sony.

The iPhone 11 is touted to be released this September, so we’ve still got some ways to go before we’ll know if these reports are true; but in any case, Apple pride themselves on being innovative, so for once in a long while Apple could actually be doing something innovative.

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