Here’s a guide on which video conferencing apps are the safest

382

With video conferencing apps and programs now becoming the go-to option for WFH communication during the MCO, there have been questions pointed at the how safe these programs are; especially after Zoom’s blunders.

For the uninitiated, many turned to
Zoom as
 their de facto video conferencing app, and because of lapse security measures,
flaws
 were exploited and users’ accounts were
comprised
 as a result – the problem went as far as credentials being sold on the
black market
.

So
 to help people choose their next
app more
 carefully, the company released a guide, which rates every popular video conferencing app’s security levels. The apps are rated based on five minimum security standards that help protect the users privacy – Encryption, Security updates, Strong Password (the app’s requirement for strong passwords), Manages vulnerabilities, and Privacy Policy.

These are the pillars that Mozilla will rate the apps on and will award up to five stars to the
deserving
 apps. Oddly though, Zoom scored the highest possible rating of five stars –
even though
 the guide does acknowledge the app’s absence of end-to-end encryption, Zoom still scored in the Encryption category.

With so much data compromised due to Zoom’s lackluster security features, I was expecting the app to do way worse in the guide. That title goes to Doxy.me with a rating of 2.5 stars – Doxy.me is a telemedicine platform for doctors to consult patients remotely. It’s a browser-based platform and therefore won’t score any marks in the Security Updates category.

And since only doctors are required to login to their accounts, the Strong Password category is irrelevant too. They also don’t have a bug bounty program to manage vulnerabilities, but at least they have a
substantial
 privacy policy and use end-to-end encryption. Despite the low score, we have to remember that this is a lightweight web-based
platform
 that doesn’t not need to be
installed
 in any device – which minimizes risks in a way.

Our
favourite
 apps like WhatsApp, Messenger and Skype score maximum ratings, while Apple’s FaceTime gets a decent 4.5 stars. The only deduction was in the Strong Password category since the app doesn’t require a password to be accessed.

The guide dissects each app further when you scroll past the star ratings and you can read them
here
. Despite the me thinking Zoom received an
inaccurate
 rating, Mozilla’s guide is still useful for anyone still skeptical about the apps they’re using – the elaborations past the star ratings should prove useful.

discord
encryption
facetime
guide
messenger
mozilla
sype
video call
whatsapp
zoom


Here's a mechanical keyboard you will want for your work desk

309

Whenever the term mechanical keyboard is being mentioned, our heads usually turn to gaming keyboards with those flashy RGB lighting, however when it comes to your work desk you may actually want to tone down things a little, and probably keep your desk a less messy without wires, the Lofree Typewriter mechanical keyboard aims to deliver that experience for less than US$100 (RM445), the company is currently selling this typewriter styled mechanical keyboard over at Indiegogo and if you are fast enough, you may be able grab it at US$74 (RM329).

Lofree’s keycaps and layout is very much inspired by traditional typewriters with a round shape, it uses Gateron Blue switches that should sound really clicky as you type, which perfectly simulates that satisfying typewriter sound as you run your fingers at those keys, it also features a row of multimedia keys at the top. The great thing about this keyboard is that you can have the freedom to use it either wired or Bluetooth and connect up to three devices, you will also be able to switch between Mac and Windows key layouts. If you happen to work in low light most of the time, this keyboard comes with three levels white LED backlighting, a built-in 4000mAh battery enables it to last up to 15 months on a single charge without backlighting.

At this time of writing, Lofree has already reached 1088% of its goal in funding and will ship the keyboard as early as May 2017, the price does include free shipping in the U.S however for Malaysia, you’ll need to fork out an additional US$19 (RM84) for it to be shipped here. Head on over to the source link to Lofree’s Indiegogo campaign.

SOURCE:
Indiegogo


Here's a MicroSD card made for shooting 4K videos

339

If you are constantly shooting life’s moments in 4K all the time and need a reliable storage solution for your smartphone and camera, Transcend has the perfect MicroSD card made for that purpose. The Ultimate UHS-I U3M Video Speed Class 30 (V30) MicroSD cards will deliver staggering minimum write speeds of 30MB/s, and storage capacities are available up to 128GB. This super fast MicroSD card uses MLC NAND flash chips that can reach theorectical read speeds up to 90MB/s and write speeds up to 60MB/s, hence meeting V30 standards of the SD association.

The V30 MicroSD cards are made for video recording devices that require high speed data access, which includes car dashcams, action cameras, smartphones, tablets and drones, the fast data transfer speeds will allow the user to take videos in 4K and 1080p effortlessly without worrying about losing data and frames.

To add more value to your purchase, Transcend has even included its RecoveRx software that aims to restore accidentally deleted files, it also provides data protection and data formatting features, which makes managing Transcend memory cards easier. Transcend’s V30 MicroSD cards are available in storage capacities of 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB, they are covered by Transcend’s limited lifetime warranty and will have the protection features such as waterproof, static proof, shock proof, x-ray protection and built-in ECC. Head on over to your nearest IT retailers to find out more, otherwise visit
www.transcend-info.com


Here's a phone with a whopping 10,000mAh battery

300

Looks like the latest trend is to create phones that work as a powerbank as well. Oukitel, a small smartphone manufacturer in China has just launched the K10000, which comes with a 5.5-inch display with a resolution of 720 pixels by 1280 pixels.

Powered by 1GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6735 processor, the Oukitel K10000 features 16GB of internal storage, 2GB RAMwith up to 32GB expandable storage via microSD. Its shooter is also pretty decent, with a 8MP rear camera and 2MP front camera.

It runs on Android 5.1 out of the box, with dual SIM support. Despite the huge 10,000mAh battery, it only weighs 184g and measures 143 x 77 x 9mm. This device not only sports such a big battery, it also allows reverse charging, which means you can use the smartphone as a powerbank to charge other devices.

The Oukitel K10000 is priced at $239.99 (about RM 1023) and is available for pre-order on GearBest. According to the e-commerce retailer, the device will be shipped out starting January 2016.

SOURCE:
NDTV

10000mahbattery
androidphone
k10000
oukitel
reversecharging


Here’s how to disable Facebook’s news feed video autoplay with sound

246

Every now and then, a new Facebook app update will usually introduce new sounds and notifications, which to some people can be extremely annoying, and the most recent update happens to introduce automatic sound playback on videos as you browse through your news feed, this is probably the most annoying and useless feature to date, so if your phone starts to have screaming and wailing sounds as you browse through Facebook, don’t be surprised.

Fortunately, this feature could be turned off by simply going to the App Settings, where you will just need to flip the switch off the “Videos in News Feed Start With Sound” setting, if you have disabled autoplay videos initially, then you probably won’t need to worry about this, video ads on Facebook fortunately isn’t affected. The Facebook app has gone through several major updates over the years, and in my case it hasn’t ceased to annoy me with surprising yet useless features, Facebook seriously need to just stop such nonsense.

facebook
sound autoplay in videos
video autoplay facebook


Here’s how easy to own an iPhone 8 and 8 Plus with UNLIMITED Data

284

The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are coming to Malaysia, and we assume that most of you are all excited about the all new faster A11 Bionic processor, improved cameras and support for wireless charging, however we also guess most of you might not want to shell out that much cash for it despite how much you want it, but fret not, because by signing up
U Mobile’s contract free iPlans
, owning an iPhone 8 has gotten a lot more affordable, you are also getting lots of love on data to maximize your brand new iPhone 8’s potential.

U Mobile is offering both the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus with two ideal iPlans. If you sign up for the
i130
 plan, you can purchase the iPhone 8 Plus for only
RM2,575
, that’s more than RM1500 of savings over the original price, now who says the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus is expensive? Check out the comparison chart that we have made for you.

You see, unlike other telcos, U Mobile offers a lot of value added Onz data on top of your plan’s allocated quota, the company is seriously throwing in lots of data love for your iPhone 8. There’s
App-Onz™
, which gives you unlimited data for your favorite social apps –
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
, so that you can live stream for the entire day using your iPhone 8’s awesome camera, upload selfies all day and watch your favorite online celebrity’s live streaming without using up your precious quota.

With
Music-Onz™
, you no longer need to restrain yourselves listening to low quality streams on your iPhone 8’s dual speakers, because it doesn’t use up any of that precious quota on popular streaming apps such as
Spotify
,
Apple Music
 and
18 more music partners
, hence you can keep hitting that repeat track every time just because you want to practice singing that song, or you can just keep listening to your favorite DJ talking to you on air after you had a long day of work.

Video-Onz™
 will appeal the most to you if you’re a fan of TV shows. The i130 iPlan by U Mobile allows for unlimited streaming of videos on
YouTube,

Facebook, Netflix and iFlix
 without taking up your data. Talk about your favorite on demand comedy series on these apps, or even viral cat videos, UNLIMITED.

Additionally, U Mobile also has
Voice over LTE (VoLTE)
 and
WiFi Calling
, which are high quality voice calling technology supported on both the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, these are important things you need on your brand-new iPhone 8.

At the end of the day, owning the iPhone 8 with U Mobile’s iPlan is a no brainer, because it is the only way that you can get the iPhone 8 without breaking the bank while being able to enjoy an affordable postpaid plan that gives you so much data and benefits. Signing up for the iPhone 8 and U Mobile iPlan is effortless by heading over to
u.com.my/iphone8
 or your nearest U Mobile service center and dealers. What are you waiting for? Get Onz with the perfect postpaid plan for your iPhone 8 now!

Disclosure: this article is sponsored by
U Mobile

apple
iphone 8
iphone 8 malaysia
iphone 8 plus
iphone 8 plus malaysia
u mobile
u mobile iplans


Here’s how the front of the Huawei Mate 10 looks like

269

As we are a week away from witnessing the unveiling of the Huawei’s upcoming flagship, we have an image from an anonymous tipster which claims that is the front of the Huawei Mate 10. Based on recent leaks and this picture, we can finally confirm that the Mate 10 does indeed come with a 5.99-inch 18:9 aspect ratio display, which is be called the EntireView display with a QHD 2880×1440 resolution. In addition, we can see that there are two cameras located at the top of the display, which suggests that it might have a bokeh portrait feature like the Nova 2i.

The Huawei Mate 10 is set to launch on October 16 in Germany, the company has been teasing it as the real AI phone as opposed to Apple’s iPhone X, boasting its Kirin 970 SoC having self learning capabilities and optimizes performance based on user behavior, the Mate 10’s main dual camera system will also see a significant upgrade to a f/1.6 lens by Leica, making it the second device to sport a f/1.6 lens after the LG V30. As we get closer to the launch date, more leaks will come up as usual, so stay tuned to this space for more on the Huawei Mate 10.

huawei
huawei mate 10 malaysia
mate 10


Here’s what gaming laptops can learn from the Lenovo Legion Y920

394

There are a few reasons why most of us would want to own a gaming laptop, apart from wanting to be the coolest person in the meeting room or college, one obvious reason is that we want a desktop computing performance on the go. Granted, gaming laptops have come a long way to match the performance of gaming desktop computers, however many of them still lack essential features that still doesn’t translate a great high performance computing experience. The Lenovo Legion Y920 happens to address some issues that I have experienced on other high-end gaming laptops, and even though this is Lenovo’s very first attempt at a high-end gaming laptop, it has great stuffs that other gaming laptops can learn from.

Great Typing Experience and Trackpad Precision

Though it is unfair to suggest gaming laptops to use mechanical keyboards like the Lenovo Legion Y920, it is essential to offer keycaps and switches that doesn’t require you to attach an external keyboard. The Lenovo Legion Y920’s low profile mechanical keyboard delivers one of the best typing experience with the company’s proprietary switches and there’s great key travel distance, it does take some time getting used to if you have been using a proper mechanical keyboard all this while, but it does make typing on the go a lot more enjoyable than other gaming laptops.

Most gaming laptops I’ve come across have pretty bad trackpads, which can get pretty annoying if you need to get some stuffs done quickly without using a mouse, and since you are already paying a premium for gaming laptops, there’s simply no excuse for the manufacturer to not include a good trackpad hardware. The Lenovo Legion Y920’s trackpad uses Synaptic drivers and it offers great tracking performance that you don’t need to connect a mouse if you aren’t gaming, which also saves you the need to look for extra table space since the laptop has a rather huge footprint. What makes things even better is the wide spacing between the keyboard and trackpad, which effectively helps eliminate accidental touches on the trackpad when you are typing on the keyboard.

Speakers

I have hardly hear any laptop speakers that is as good as Apple’s MacBook, the same goes for some gaming laptops as well, despite having a bulky build their speakers simply sound crappy and I assume this is probably one way to save manufacturing costs. The Lenovo Legion Y920 sports two JBL speakers and a subwoofer, with the help of Dolby Atmos sound enhancement, it delivers a great listening experience whether it is for gaming, music listening and watching movies, there’s no need to attach external speakers because these speakers can easily fill a room without any distortion, while producing a clear thumping bass response.

Well-spaced USB ports

It is extremely annoying to find some gaming laptops to have their USB ports placed so close to each other, especially when you need to connect a slightly thicker USB device (ie. USB modems), it blocks the other port when you need to use both of them. The Lenovo Legion Y920 offers four USB 3.0 ports and they are extremely well-spaced so that you don’t need to remove the other USB device just because you have a thicker one. In addition, the Lenovo Legion Y920 also has a full-size DisplayPort, which eliminates the need for a dongle if you were to extend your display to monitors with high refresh rates.

Hybrid Hard Drive

While most gaming laptops boast extremely fast solid state drives, they usually provide a 5400RPM hard drive as the secondary storage, which can actually affect loading times and most users will install games on that drive rather than the SSD. The Lenovo Legion Y920 comes with a 2TB hybrid hard drive, which technically has small flash storage space inside for caching purposes and helps deliver at least two times better performance than a standard 5400RPM hard drive.

The Lenovo Legion Y920 will retail for the price of RM12,999 in Malaysia, which is quite a good deal considering it has many features that most gaming laptops do not have at that price range. Stay tuned for our detailed review of the Lenovo Legion Y920 coming right up.

legion y920
legion y920 malaysia price
lenovo
lenovo malaysia


Here’s a glimpse of the Galaxy S9 in a leaked video

325

In a few more hours, the Galaxy S9 will be officially unveiled over at MWC 2018, and if you have grown tired of seeing the leaked renders over the past few weeks, here’s a refresher – a properly leaked commercial of the phone itself, and we can finally now confirm a couple of exciting stuffs available on the Galaxy S9.

In terms of design, it is obvious that Samsung hasn’t made a lot of changes to the front face, the forehead and chin is still as thin as its predecessor, and the fingerprint sensor is confirmed to have moved to the bottom of the main camera sensor. Also, it seems that the phone’s front screen seem to be using a 2.5D glass.

The Galaxy S9 will now come with an improved DeX dock, known as the DeX Pad, that you can use the phone’s screen to be trackpad to navigate around its desktop-like interface when paired to a PC monitor.

Though nothing much is mentioned on the phone’s camera performance, the commercial also shows how fast the phone’s camera is in AR, which is aimed at businesses and developers can probably take advantage of its API to develop apps optimized for the phone, this is definitely something to rival the efforts of the Huawei Mate 10 Pro and iPhone X, which both of these phones sport great capabilities on its cameras for being able to recognize objects and perform live translation.

Like all previous flagship Samsung phones, the Galaxy S9 also comes protected with the company’s KNOX security, and this time the company has even introduced an Enterprise Edition of the Galaxy S9, which comes with extended hardware support and allows enterprises to manage the device, deliver software updates, and secure the device in a centralized method, it will also have support for security patches for up to 4 years, which is definitely great news for corporate customers.

Stay tuned for more as we bring you updates over from Samsung’s MWC 2018 event.

galaxy s9
mwc 2018
samsung


Here’s how 11.11 became a global e-commerce event

357

The 11.11 shopping festival has taken the world by storm with products being sold online with the lowest price, making it the most anticipated day by everyone around the world. It first started as an “Anti-Valentine’s day” for single people in China back in the 1990’s when students at Nanjing University started celebrating their singledom. It was said that four male students decided to celebrate the fact that they’re single individuals, and the culture soon spread to other universities, then the Chinese society. It was also known as Bachelors’ Day due to China’s gender imbalance, which is why it was initially only celebrated by males instead of females. While the 11.11 was meant to celebrate individuals who aren’t in relationships, it has become a shopping holiday for the Chinese when Alibaba, a China e-commerce group started using the date to encourage users to celebrate the single status by buying gifts of appreciation for themselves, which became more and more widespread to the point where it became global in these recent years.

While it is now known as the largest e-commerce day in the world, surpassing Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the 11.11 event didn’t become global until a few years back. Alibaba started the first promotional campaign on the Double 11 Shopping Festival in 2009 on their site taobao.com, where they made 50 million yuan Gross Merchandise Value with 27 merchants joining them in promoting the festival. The “双十一” (Shuang shi yi) which means “double eleven” is trademarked by Alibaba Group in December 2012 when their e-commerce site expanded and the Double 11 Shopping Festival became well-known in China. As the sales grew yearly, Alibaba managed to achieve 213.5 billion yuan GMV this year, which is 27% higher than the GMV in 2017.

In 2014, the CEO of Tmall, Wang Yu Lei announced that they wanted to go global for Singles’ Day and in 2016, Jack Ma from Alibaba promoted 11.11 internationally on CNN whereby he expressed his goal to make the e-commerce holiday a global event to also help out global small business and bring more to global consumers. They were then joined by international brands from countries such as Japan, Australia, United States and South Korea, in which those brands started offering promotions and vouchers on their products when it’s around the Double 11 Shopping Festival. In addition to the expansion, Alibaba also partnered with 52 shopping malls to set up 60 pop-up stores all across China last year to serve the Chinese customers. Due to the positive responses worldwide, Alibaba also had to set up automated warehouses in 2017 to accommodate the large volume of orders from global consumers to ensure an efficient delivery systems.

Alibaba’s goal to make 11.11 a global event has been proven successful, with even other e-commerce sites like Shopee, Lazada and 11street celebrating the festival with flash deals, vouchers, and integrate mini games in their sites to get more discounts and so on. It has become such a significant event that it has extended to offline stores out of China, with retail stores in countries like Malaysia offering 11% discounts on products to commemorate the date. The 11.11 event usually happens for a period of time instead of just one day due to the overwhelming response from consumers. E-commerce sites usually start the celebration from the beginning of the month or even earlier by offering promotions and deals, but it is expected that on 11.11 consumers usually get the biggest discounts and promotions. There will also usually be an after sales where the 11.11 sales go on for a few more days even after the big day itself, where Shopee refers it as the “Thank You Sale” while Lazada refers it as the “After Party Sale”.

To put it simply, the 11.11 event has become global thanks to the efforts of the Alibaba Group and their goal in bringing the festival to a global level, and if it wasn’t for the four male students who decided to celebrate this day in honour of their single statuses, it is likely that Singles’ Day will have never existed.

11.11
11.11 e-commerce
alibaba
Alibaba 11.11
double 11
Global e-commerce
History of 11.11


Here’s how many Samsung Galaxy Folds were actually sold in 2019, confirms CEO

332

To date, the Samsung Galaxy Fold has seen an impressive sale number of over 400,000 units, confirms CEO DJ Koh.

Image credit: The Business Journals

It was previously wrongly claimed by Young Sohn, Samsung Executive, that the company had sold 1 million units of the phone – but Samsung were quick to debunk that claim.

The company had previously said that its sales target for the Galaxy Fold in 2019 was half a million units – and DJ Koh claims that around 400,000 to 500,000 were sold that year. Although it’s a vague number given by the CEO, the actual numbers could very well be near the projected target of half a million.

The Galaxy Fold was never going to sell like hotcakes – due to its price, most people couldn’t afford it, or preferred to spend their cash one something more conventional. Still, the Galaxy Fold 2 is set to make its appearance this February at this year’s Unpacked event – and we should be seeing a host of improvements done made, including a change in the direction the device folds.

As more foldable devices make its way into the market like the
Motorola RAZR
 and Huawei Mate X, we could see the Galaxy Fold 2 come with a more affordable price tag too.

dj koh
Galaxy Fold
Galaxy Fold 2
samsung
unpacked


Here’s how much SST will affect the prices of tech gadgets

368

For the past two months, Malaysians have been given a tax holiday and therefore, brands have taken advantage to lower the prices of goods in hopes of increasing sales revenue. In another a week, the Sales and Services Tax (SST) will finally come into force on almost every item you buy, which unfortunately the electronics and gadgets we love will also be subjected to it.

According to a
document
 published by the Malaysian Customs, the following items are subjected to the SST:

Handphone – 5%

Laptops – 5%

Digital Camera – 10%

DSLR Camera – 10%

Headphone – 10%

Wrist-watch – 10%

While SST is only implemented during the import process of the item, it would also mean increased cost for the brand and eventually passed down to the consumer, hence we should expect a certain increment in prices of the items mentioned above.

Now, you might be thinking what to buy before the tax holiday is over, fortunately we have been tipped with some deals happening at Shopee at its Pre-SST sales campaign happening on 23rd August, and here are some of the items that we think its a pretty good deal:-

HP DeskJet 2622 All-in-One Wireless Printer
 – RM145.50 (UP: RM209)

Huawei Nova 2i
 – RM759 (UP: RM1,099)

Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2TB
 – RM265 (UP: RM399)

BenQ 21.5″ GW2280 Eye-Care Monitor
 – RM299 (UP: 368.40)

There you go, do take advantage of the deals right now before its too late, and do drop us a tip too if you have found out any good deals you have discovered on the Internet.

benq
hp
huawei
pre-sst
samsung
seagate
shopee
sst


Here’s how Samsung makes and tests its foldable phones

2.7K

Still hesitating if you should make the switch to the Galaxy Z Flip4? Samsung has released a video showing how they have rigorously tested its foldable phones back in their labs before it gets sold in the market, this video is pretty interesting and gives us an idea on how both the Z Flip4 and Z Fold4 are being assembled as well.

The Galaxy Z Flip4 and Z Fold4 are the only foldable phones in the market now to have IPX8 water resistance rating, featuring a new slimmer hinge design that their predecessors and protected by an armor aluminum construction, they are made to sustain accidental bumps and drops so that you can own them with a peace of mind.

From now until 30th September 2022, customers get to enjoy up to RM1,398 worth of free gifts when purchasing the Galaxy Z Flip4 or Galaxy Z Fold4, they can also be owned for as low as RM1,969 when trading in a phone.

Here are the pricing details:

Product

Model

RRP

Colour Availability

Rewards

Galaxy Z Flip4

Galaxy Z Flip4 (128GB)

RM4,099

·
Bora Purple

·
Blue

·
Pink Gold

·
Graphite

·
Samsung Care+ One year extended warranty
[2]
 (worth RM499) and 3 times Protective Film Replacements

·
1 free Galaxy Watch4 Bluetooth 40mm (worth RM799)

Galaxy Z Flip4 (256GB)

RM4,399

Galaxy Z Flip4 (512GB)

RM4,899

Galaxy Z Flip4
Bespoke
 Edition
[3]
 (256GB)

RM4,599

·
Bespoke
 Edition
[4]

·
Samsung Care+ One year extended warranty
2
 (worth RM499) and 3 times Protective Film Replacements

·
1 free Galaxy Watch4 Bluetooth 40mm (worth 799)

·
2% Samsung Rewards Points

·
1 free Clear Slim Cover (worth RM99)
[5]

Galaxy Z Fold4

Galaxy Z Fold4 (256GB)

RM6,799

·
Graygreen

·
Beige

·
Phantom Black

·
Burgundy
[6]

·
Samsung Care+ One year extended warranty
[7]
 (worth RM599) and 3 times Protective Film Replacements

·
1 free Galaxy Watch4 Bluetooth 40mm (worth RM799)

Watch our Galaxy Z Flip4 Review

galaxy z flip4
samsung


Here’s how the iOS 13.5 COVID-19 features work

315

Apple’s iOS 13.5 Beta is out and sees new additions centered around COVID-19 and usability during the pandemic.

Without face mask
After Swiping
Prompting to swipe after detect face mask

One of the newest updates is in the Face ID unlock feature which now detects when you’re wearing a face mask – when it does, it will prompt you to enter your pin immediately instead of waiting to scan a face. This speeds up the process of unlocking your phone when you’re out doors and if you forget that you have a mask on.

On top of that, you can opt in to the COVID-19 Exposure tracking option that will send you a notification should your Bluetooth detect you are within vicinity of someone with COVID-19. If you opt in, you can choose to share your diagnosis to build the database and help keep people safe.

The data shared is completely
anonymous
 so you can rest assured that your identity is kept safe. You can choose to install the beta software here.

api
apple
Coronavirus
covid 19
face mask
google
ios
ios 13.5


Here’s how to watch the Razer Phone 2 live stream on 11th October

316

Even though it isn’t too long that Razer launched its first gaming phone, the hardware internals of the current outgoing Razer Phone is definitely due for an update, and it will finally happen on October 11th, 9.30AM Malaysian Time.

Razer will be live streaming the official launch of its next gaming phone over at its Twitch channel, which you can also view it over at its dedicated mini site
here
, while we expect Razer to unveil some other gaming products, the Razer Phone 2 will be the ultimate highlight of the event, where we also look forward to what the company has against the ROG Phone, which is about to launch in Malaysia really soon.

As reported previously, the Razer Phone 2 seems to have stuck to its current form factor with slight design changes, which is understandable as the 16:9 form factor is probably still the best for gaming with no screen cropping issues, the Razer logo at the back seems to be able to glow this time and we hope that the location change of the dual camera module would mean that it comes with improved lenses.

Otherwise, we shouldn’t expect too much hardware spec changes from the current Razer Phone, apart from having a Snapdragon 845 processor onboard, the 8GB RAM and 64GB/128GB onboard storage should still come as standard with a 5.5-inch QHD display with a 120Hz refresh rate.

razer
Razer phone
razer phone 2


Here’s how you can experience the Huawei P50 Pro and P50 Pocket yourself

1.3K

Huawei Malaysia is offering an opportunity for fans to experience the Huawei P50 Pro and
P50 Pocket
 at selected HUAWEI Experience Stores ahead of its local release.

You can choose between two preview activities — Exclusive VIP Preview or Walk-in Experience.

Huawei P50 Pro

As a recap, the Huawei P50 Pro is a 6.6-inch phone with an AMOLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate. It’s powered by a Snapdragon 888 4G chip and an Adreno 660 GPU. It’s equipped with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage.

As you can tell from the image, it has a dual-camera bump which houses a quad-camera setup — a 50MP and 40MP True-Chroma Camera, a 13MP ultrawide camera, and a 64MP telephoto camera. For the selfies, you get a 13MP punch-hole camera,

Other than that, it’s packs a 4,360mAh battery which supports up to 66W wired fast charging and up to 50W wireless charging.

Huawei P50 Pocket

The Huawei
 P50 Pocket
 is a foldable that adopts the clamshell design and it unfolds to show a 6.9-inch OLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate. There is also a secondary 1.04-inch display located below the camera.

The ring on the back panel houses a 40MP True Chroma Camera, a 13MP ultrawide camera, and a 32MP Ultra Spectrum Camera. For the selfies, you get a 10.7MP front camera.

Under the hood you have the same Snapdragon 888 4G SoC along with 8GB RAM + 256GB internal storage for the normal edition or 12GB RAM + 512GB internal storage for the Premium Edition.

Moreover, it features a 4,000mAh battery with support for 40W fast charging.

Registration for preview

Due to COVID-19, there will only be 15-20 people for the Exclusive VIP Preview per session and once your appointment has been confirmed, the company will present you with a door gift and a gift box when you arrive.

As for the Walk-in Experience, only the P50 Pro will be available for this session and the first 40 customers to visit Huawei’s stores will receive a Wireless Charging Table Lamp for free.

You may register for the Exclusive VIP Preview or Walk-in Experience
here
.

huawei
Huawei P50
Huawei P50 Pocket
HUAWEI P50 series
p50
P50 Pocket


Here’s how you can get a Galaxy S8 for RM28/month from Maxis

383

In my previous write up, I
questioned Maxis
 on how we could get a Galaxy S8 from RM28/month with Zerolution, as the company’s website didn’t mention such a price anywhere, Maxis has given me a call to explain the mechanics, it turns out to be a rather simple calculation as this is achieved via a device trade up program, so here’s how it works. By the way, this article isn’t sponsored by Maxis. 🙂

Let’s take the Samsung Galaxy S8 and MaxisONE 188 plan in our case here, the phone’s monthly repayment would be RM98/month via Zerolution if you are subscribed to the company’s MaxisONE 188. If you happen to own an iPhone 6s Plus 128GB, it has the highest trade up value of RM1,680, divide the value by 24 months and you get RM70, and subtract it with the Zerolution monthly payment every month, you only pay RM28/month over the next 24 months.

Over the phone call with the customer representative, I was told that the device trade up value will vary depending on the condition of the smartphone, Maxis will not accept any devices that cannot be turned on, charged and have any damages found within the device, you will not be required to provide your old smartphone’s box and accessories to be eligible for this program, and lastly, you will need to visit a Maxis service center to do this.

I must say while this is a rather attractive offer, Maxis should really have made things clear over its social media postings, including its social media replies to customers, which they could have easily redirected a customer to the trade up program rather than asking them to post their question over at the “Ask Maxis” page. Now then, since this is how you can get a Galaxy S8 by paying monthly installments without a credit card, will you consider getting one from Maxis? If you are, here are the links to the required information:

Maxis Device Trade Up Offer –
https://goo.gl/cJx9fd

galaxy s8
maxis
maxis galaxy s8
samsung
zerolution


Here's how you can own an iPhone 7 and 7 Plus of any storage models from RM88/month

394

If you have thought of owning an iPhone 7 and 7 Plus without damaging your wallet, chances are you might resort to paying high upfront costs or use credit card with Easy Payment that will end up locking your credit. But then we found out about U Mobile’s latest offer,

we figured this will quench your desire to own the latest iPhone easily and without having to shell out hefty upfront costs.U Mobile’s UPackage

offers monthly instalments at only RM88/month to own ANY iPhone 7. This means RM88 for iPhone 7 32GB, 128 GB, or 256 GB. If you want the bigger iPhone 7 Plus, you will only need to pay an additional RM20 per month, which makes up to RM108/month. Best of all, the instalment plan has 0% interest charges. How great is that? Basically, everyone can now own the iPhone 7!

Excited? Can’t wait to get hold of it? Here’s 7 things you will need to know about getting the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus through U Mobile’s UPackage:

1) You can purchase any iPhone 7 at RM88 per month for the first 12 months of the instalment period regardless of the storage options. The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus UPackage deal is available for those who subscribes to U Mobile’s i90 and i130 Plan, which comes with up to 10GB of data and unlimited calls.

2) The instalment plan has 0% interest rate. All you need to have is a valid credit card from any Malaysian banks. This is a direct debit monthly instalment so it will not lock up your credit card’s spending limit.

3) There is no hefty upfront costs as you only need to pay the rate plan and 1
st
 month instalment upfront. Hence, if you choose the i90 and iPhone 7, your upfront payment is only RM178 and you walk away with a brand new iPhone 7.

4) For the heavy video streamers, U Mobile offers 7GB of dedicated VideoOnz streaming data on the i90 plan and unlimited data for the i130 plan.

5) For travellers, U Mobile’s Data Backpack is available on both the i90 and i130 so you can data roam for free in 12 destinations, you also enjoy free data to use Waze to navigate around.

6) The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus supports U Mobile’s Wi-Fi Calling, so even with limited network coverage you can still make outgoing calls as long as you have a working Wi-Fi Internet connection.

7) Signing up for UPackage is as simple as walking into any U Mobile branches, which you can head on over to http://www.u.com.my/stores to locate the one nearest to you.
If you are not an existing U Mobile customer, fret not as you will only need to present your most recent 3-month postpaid bill after successfully porting into the telco to apply for UPackage, but do ensure all outstanding telco bills have been paid to qualify for UPackage.

This is probably the easiest way that you can own an iPhone 7 and 7 Plus for now from a telco, you no longer need to worry about paying more for larger iPhone storage capacities, held back by a contract and get to enjoy value added services from U Mobile. It is good to note that the said monthly instalment price is for the first 12-months, you will then be required to pay a specific amount for the subsequent months and it depends on the storage capacity of the iPhone you have chosen, which fortunately still translates to at least RM400 of savings off the phone’s retail price.

For more info, head on over to http://u.com.my/extras/instalment-plans/upackage

iphone7
iphone7plus
umobile
upackage


Here’s how you can report smokers to the Ministry of Health via WhatsApp

363

Since the day Malaysia has implemented the smoking ban, there are still individuals who choose to ignore the ban and continues to smoke in eateries.

Just yesterday, a man was reported for slapping a waiter at an eatery place near Shah Alam when the waiter went over to him and asked him not to smoke in the restaurant when he sees the alleged man lighting up his cigarette.

There shouldn’t be violence involved and stubborn smokers could’ve save the embarrassment should they obeyed the law.

However that’s not the case for some, and even as a good citizen, we tend to be hesitant or shy when it comes to confronting strangers on what they should or should not do.

But there are ways on how you could report a person for ignoring the ban without the worry of being bashed and these reports would be sent to “Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia” (KKM) or in English, known as the Ministry of Health (MOH).

KKM has prepared two ways of how you could reach them and file a report when you see someone smoking in an eatery area.

The first method of reporting through phone call to the KKM office. You could reach them at 03-8892 4530 during working hours.

If you’re not a fan of talking, you could also send in your reports via WhatsApp at 010-860 8949.

In your report, you must include the address of the cafe or restaurant, the picture of the alleged smoker, time and date.

Other than that, you could also report eatery shops that does not display the “No smoking” sign.

Do your part by reporting those who don’t obey the law as our effort to move forward as a country.

kkm
ministry of health malaysia
smoking ban


Here’s how you get the new Honor 8X with cheaper price

401

If you’ve been following our site, you would know that the Honor 8X was just unveiled two days back and it was announced that it will be available to be purchased for RM 949 which is pretty affordable for a midrange smartphone with 6.5-inch display. But through Shopee, you can get it at 9AM onwards tomorrow at a lower price. Not only will you get the smartphone, you will also get exclusive gifts worth RM 416 such as a special gift box, the Honor Band 3, an Honor flip cover and a RM 100 HIHONOR voucher. The special gift box and Honor flip cover are limited to 400 units each whereas the Honor Band 3 and HIHONOR voucher are limited to 800 units each.

Shopee users will also get a RM 50 Cashback in Shopee Coin when you use the code HONOR8X. As for our readers, here’s a token of appreciation from us. Just use the code KLGGX20 when you check out, and you’ll get RM 20 off with a minimum spending of RM 800. To those who plan to get the Honor 8X, do not miss out on this discount as it is only available for the first 50 users and valid for 24 hours from 12AM on 12 October so set your alarms and get ready to purchase your Honor 8X once it’s 9AM tomorrow.

Let us know if you’re going to purchase the smartphone, and all the best to being the first 50 users to use our code!

honor
honor 8x
shopee


Here’s Our Top 3 Mobile Games To Kill Time

362

If you are thinking to kill some time while waiting for that long queue in the bank or waiting for that darn bus or train, here are a couple of smartphone games that we think worth your phone’s storage and it will definitely kill your time before you even notice it, just make sure you don’t miss any important moments or knock into someone else, because these games are highly addictive, at least in our very own humble opinion.

Tap Titans

This game allows you to destroy the Titans to bring peace to the land by simply tapping on your screen. In the game, you will be able to hire heroes and let them learn certain skills to pass some difficult levels. You can use a reincarnation (prestige in the game) to acquire relic for artifacts to gain more attacks to proceed higher stage.

Download Tap Titans here:
Android
 /
iOS

Hearthstone Heroes of Warcraft

This is one of the best and popular card game that has been made available for mobile. Similar to the desktop version, you will play the hero in a fast-paced, whimsical card game of cunning strategy. Within minutes, you’ll be unleashing powerful cards to sling spells, summon minions, and seize control of an ever-shifting battlefield. You can collect different kind of cards, card back, and achieve Golden Hero. You are also able to step into the Arena and duel other players for the chance to win awesome prizes like packs and gold.

Download Hearthstone Heroes of Warcraft here:
Android
 /
iOS

DuckTales: Remastered

Nostalgic about 8-bit titles? Disney has brought back the classic DuckTales game with better graphics for mobile users and enjoy it on the go. You will join Scrooge McDuck in an epic adventure across the world to discover the five Legendary Treasures. The game is based on side-scrolling platformer game and you also able to collect gems to unlock production arts from the original TV series, you’ll be able to play the game using a Bluetooth controller as well.

Download DuckTales: Remastered here:
Android
 /
iOS


Here’s some great tech deals on 11street to get before 2018 ends

814

The year is ending and whether it has been a great or terrible year for you, just know that you can count on year-end deals to brighten up your last few days of 2018. If you’re looking to get some tech items before this year ends, check out these deals from 11street so you can save some cash while still showering yourself with some gifts.

Gamers, lookout! The
PS4 Pro
 is now available at cheaper price, and if you’re still unsure of what to do on New Year’s eve, just invite your friends and spend your last day of 2018 gaming to your heart’s content.

Price:

RM1,349
 (25% off)

Closing date: 31 December 2018

If you’re fond of keeping memories of you with your friends and family, the best way to do so is with an instant camera. The
FujiFilm Instax Mini 9
 will get you the perfect picture whether it’s the dinner group photos or pictures of the countdown fireworks.

Price: RM221
 (52% off)

Closing date: 31 December 2018

Thoughtful gifts are often appreciated, and nobody hates a good mental health. Track your heart rate and sleep management with the
Xiaomi Mi Band 2
, and with this couple bundle, you can give it to your loved ones and better manage your mental health together.

Price:

RM138
 (54% off)

Closing date: 31 December 2018

Do you love playing music out loud at home or do you need a digital alarm clock? Well you don’t have to pick with this
wireless bluetooth speaker/digital alarm clock
. It comes in three colour options, and has a battery size of 1800mAh that can last for 72 hours on stand. Now you don’t have to buy two separate devices, just get this and you can be listening to music, checking the time, room temperature and battery percentage all at once.

Price:

RM67.90
 (60% off)

Closing date: 9 January 2018

Is the wires of your earphones an annoyance? If you’d like to skip that one annoying step of untangling your earphones, get yourself this
wireless in-ear stereo earphone
, and you’ll never have to face tangled earphones anymore. This device also supports voice prompt for calling numbers and power on/off.

Price:

RM39.99
 (50% off)

Closing date: 8 January 2019

While we’re on the topic of travelling, don’t you wish you have a device that you can bring anywhere whether you’re up in the sky or submerged underwater? The
DJI Osmo Pocket
 is the latest DJI product that’s pocket-sized, waterproof (if you get the waterproof case) and supports 4K video with 60fps. It has a 3-axis stabilised 4K camera and supports Active Track, Face Track, Motionlapse for you to produce creative videos. Preorder it at
RM1,550
now and expect its arrival in early January.

If you’re looking for other tech deals, feel free to check it out
here
.

11street
11street Malaysia
tech


Here’s some new features in Google Maps you might’ve missed

387

Google Maps is getting more features in the app to enhance users experience, and within these few months they’ve brought in a few useful and interesting features that you might not have tried or even know of.

Follow button

Image credit : Engadget

One of the newest feature by Google Maps is the ability to follow places in the app, similar to how you can follow someone’s Facebook page or Instagram account. Android users can now follow places so that updates such as news, events, offers and so on will appear in the “For You” tab that was introduced by Google a few months back. Besides that, places that are new and have yet to open can create free business profiles that will appear to public three months before the opening date so that others will be notified earlier.

For You – a personalised tab

Now the For You tab was mentioned above and this tab is currently only available in US, UK, Canada, Australia and Japan, but will be available to other countries soon, according to Google. The tab will be shown at the bottom part of the app, along with the redesigned Explore tab and the Commute tab. The tab keeps you updated with everything that is going on at places that you frequently visit and recommends places based on your search history, in addition to letting you favourite places you like and having a match score. The Maps new match score is Google analysing how much you’ll like place and producing scores in percentage, which is based from either your dining preferences, places you’ve been to and ratings you’ve given to places on Maps.

Commute – get realtime traffic information

The Commute tab is a feature that allows you to access live traffic and transit information so that you can reach your workplace or your home as quickly as possible. The feature will let you know if you need longer time to reach places, and provide you with alternative routes when there is heavy traffic. You can also get information on train or bus schedules, and the amount of time you need to reach office from the stations, if you’re not driving to work. This feature is already available globally on both Android and iOS devices.

Share trip progress – shares your location and ETA

Image credit : AndroidPIT

Now another new feature in Google Maps is the ability to share your whereabouts with your friends and families. Once you’ve started navigating to wherever you want to go, you can share your live location by clicking on the ^ button and then on “Share trip progress” which also shows your ETA. You can also share is across other apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram and others. The “Share trip progress” feature is beneficial in the sense that it lets your friends and families know where you’re at in case of accidents, and also prevents users from lying about their ETA.

commute
eta
follow button
For you
google
google maps
share trip progress


Here's the Huawei P10 in 24K Gold

456

If an ordinary gold colored aluminium body smartphone just won’t cut it, then this might be what you’re looking for. It isn’t Bruno Mars themed in any way, but it certainly has that 24K Magic element to it. This is the Huawei P10 coated in real 24K Gold, and no this isn’t any sort of prank. Legend, a Finnish company responsible for offering various products in luxurious gold has taken the Huawei P10 under its wing, giving it an extra premium gold touch.

Apart from being coated in 24K Gold, the custom Huawei P10 has a dragon emblazoned onto the rear panel onto the device, with two diamonds being placed as the dragon’s eyes. Customers also get to choose between Rose Gold and Platinum apart from the 24K Gold. On top of that, customers will be able to select from various exotic leathers for the carrying pouch that Legend offers when purchasing the phone. Specs-wise, they are exactly the same as the ordinary Huawei P10 handsets – a 5.1-inch Full HD display, a Snapdragon 835 processor with 4GB of RAM, 32/64GB of storage, 20MP + 12MP rear Leica cameras, an 8MP selfie camera and a 3,200mAh battery.

The custom Huawei P10 by Legend will be extremely rare as the company will only be making a total of 8 units. All the 8 will be handcrafted by the company. A highly premium device would mean a premium price tag as well, as the custom Huawei P10 begins with a price tag of $2,900 (RM12,799.15). What do you think?

Source:
Android Headlines

24k
coated
dragon
gold
huawei
legend
p10
platinum
premium
rose


Here’s the official price of the Mi Note 2 in Malaysia

324

After the alleged price leak on Lazada Malaysia yesterday, Xiaomi has finally unveiled the Mi Note 2’s pricing. The Malaysian counterpart of the Chinese manufacturer made the announcement just moments ago on its Facebook page Mi Malaysia. Considering the amount of power the Mi Note 2 packs under its sleeves, its given price tag certainly sounds like quite the steal.

As speculated yesterday, the Mi Note 2 has been priced in Malaysia at RM2,499 instead of the leaked RM2,799 price seen on the Lazada online store. Xiaomi has indicated that the the Mi Note 2 in Malaysia will be the Global Edition and not the Chinese variant which consists of the Standard and Premium Edition. This means that the Mi Note 2 here packs 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The phone features a Snapdragon 821 processor, seen in last year’s later flagships, including the LG G6 that was launched earlier this year.

The display size puts the Mi Note 2 into phablet category, measuring at 5.7-inches in 1080p resolution. The power packed spec sheet also includes 22.56MP high resolution PDAF rear camera equipped with EIS plus a front facing shooter of 8 megapixels. It packs a 4,070mAh battery which supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 via the USB Type-C port.

The Mi Note 2 will be available for sale nationwide on April 21 this Saturday on Xiaomi’s official Lazada store channel and selected stores which will be announced. The phone will also conincide with the first ever Mi Authorized Reseller Store official launch in Penang this coming weekend. What do you think of the Malaysian pricing for the Mi Note 2?

Source:
Xiaomi

mi note 2
mi note 2 price malaysia
xiaomi


Here's what the LG V20 looks like in a proper render

400

Why a proper render? We have to hand it over to popular tipster Evan Blass yet again, from his Twitter account. Thanks to him, we can now roughly picture the LG V20 in the wild, or rather, in a real world setting. The image above is a render of the upcoming LG V20, one of the many accurate renders of smartphones by Blass.

As perfect as the shot may seem, it’s rather hard to tell whether the LG V20 will have modular features like that of the LG G5. Nevertheless, at the top, we see a speaker grill amd the secondary ticker display with the front facing camera on the left. On the handset’s display, which had some parts blurred out for the sake of Blass’ anonymous source, seem pretty typical of LG’s UX topped with a flavor of Android Nougat 7.0. However, the “In Apps” icon is a mystery. It could be the app drawer icon, or a dedicated Google Apps drawer but we can’t be too certain about that.

As mentioned earlier, there seem to be no signs or buttons of a modular design like the G5 as seen from earlier leaks and renders. What we do know right now is the LG V20 will officially be the first smartphone ahead of the upcoming Nexus handsets to run Android Nougat 7.0 out of the box, as announced by Google. That’s not the only first, the V20 will also be featuring the world’s first 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC audio technology, coupled with LG’s collaboration with Bang & Olufsen, in which the phone will come with a pair of B&O Play earphones included. We shall just have to wait for the flagship’s launch on September 6th in San Francisco (September 7th in Seoul). What are your thoughts on the render of the LG V20 above?

Source:
Evan Blass (Twitter)

audio
blass
bo
dac
evan
leaked
lg
quad
render
v10
v20


Here’s what to expect from Samsung this CES 2022

1.1K

Samsung

has released a teaser video ahead of CES 2022, foreshadowing the multiple innovations that will be brought to the table during the annual tech convention. Before that, Samsung will be holding its own online pre-show keynote address one day before CES 2022 officially kicks off.

Held under the theme of
Together for Tomorrow
, Samsung will introduce its efforts in making life more sustainable at work while also showcasing its latest innovative technologies.

What you can expect from Samsung

Monitors

Odyssey Neo G8

Samsung Odyssey Neo G8

The
Odyssey Neo G8
 is the world’s first 4K 1000R curved screen gaming monitor that sports a refresh rate of 240Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time (GtG). Featuring Quantum Mini LEDs and Quantum HDR 2000, the monitor brings out 2,000 nits of brightness and vows to provide you with stunning picture quality.

Smart Monitor M8

For those who value style, the
Smart Monitor M8
 sports an ultra-slim design and a sophisticated flat-back design that comes in a warm white colour. The 32-inch UHD panel provides 99% sRGB colour gamut and supports 1.07 billion colours at 400 nits of brightness.

Smart Monitor M8

Smart TV and productivity apps are pre-installed directly into the monitor so you don’t even need a PC to do work or entertainment. Other than that, it comes with a movable magnetic SlimFit Cam so you can have crystal clear video calls even when working from home.

High Resolution Monitor S8

Compared to the previous two monitors, the
High Resolution Monitor S8
 will be available in two sizes — 27-inch or 32-inch. Catering for creators and designers, the UHD panel delivers up to 98% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut along with an ultrawide range of rich and nuanced colours from the S80PB.

High Resolution Monitor S8

Fun fact: It’s the world’s first Underwriter Laboratories verified Glare Free monitor as a Matte Display is applied on top of the panel. This monitor also offers comfortable ergonomic features as it is compatible with VESA mounts and has a Height Adjustable Stand (HAS) which can tilt, swivel and pivot control points.

TVs

The Frame

Other than that, Samsung will
showcase

its new
MICRO LED
 displays,
Neo QLED 8K
 display aimed to provide pristine images and immersive soundscape, and
Lifestyle TVs
 that come with three choices — The Frame, The Serif, and The Sero. The MICRO LED displays will be shown in three different sizes — 89-inch, 101-inch. and 110-inch.

MICRO LED

Smartphones

Left: Galaxy S21 FE; Right: Galaxy
S22 Ultra

As for smartphones, it is likely that Samsung will reveal the long overdue
Galaxy

S21 FE

and possibly even tease its new
Galaxy
S22 series
.

The pre-show keynote will be held on 4 January 6:30PM PST at Las Vegas a day before CES 2022 officially kicks off. If you’re interested, you can catch the livestream of the keynote event at Samsung Newsroom Malaysia’s
website

on
5 January 10:30AM MYT
.

CES 2022
samsung


Here’s what to expect from Samsung’s foldable smartphone

289

Samsung has been getting a lot of attention recently, especially since they will be releasing the Samsung Galaxy S10 series and maybe the foldable smartphone that people are now calling Samsung Fold.

The hype of foldable smartphones might have died down a bit, but it is still exciting to see what Samsung can bring to their consumers, especially since the FlexPai by Royole was not an impressive foldable smartphone, due to its inability to be fully folded.

The Samsung Fold will be expected to come with a huge screen, that’s a given, and rumours also suggest that the phone will be powered by Exynos 9820 and Snapdragon 855 chipset, coupled with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage.

The device is also expected to hold two batteries, with both batteries adding up to at least 5000mAh in total.

Newest information suggests that the Samsung Fold will have a triple rear camera setup, just like the Galaxy A7. This means that the device might have 24MP+5MP+8MP cameras, though it is still not a guaranteed piece of information.

While we’re still clueless about the price of the Samsung Fold, one can definitely expect it to be very expensive, especially since it comes with the specs of a flagship smartphone and is also one of the first few foldable smartphones.

Foldable phone
samsung
Samsung Fold


Here’s what to expect from the iPhone models in 2019

501

Since two years back, Apple started releasing three iPhone models every year, and this year we’re expecting the same from the company. Rumored to be called the iPhone XI or iPhone 11, this year’s iPhones are expected to have several upgrades.

First and foremost, this year’s iPhones are expected to come with an improved Face ID. The flood illuminator will be improved to become more powerful, and this will allow it differentiate between the background and foreground more effectively while reducing the risk of interference from environmental light hence resulting in an improved Face ID.

Besides that, the company might also be improving the antennas on the iPhones. The new iPhones will move from Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) to Modified Polyimide (MPI) which is expected to result in better reception performance.

Besides that, many speculations are pointing towards a triple camera setup for the iPhone 11 models, but the model that will succeed the iPhone XR is expected to come with a dual camera setup instead. If the previous news on Sony creating a long range 3D sensor is true, then the third camera on this year’s iPhones might just be a TOF camera that functions as a 3D depth sensor.

Many are also expecting the same display size on these newer iPhones. The iPhone 11 models will remain at 6.5-inch and 5.8-inch OLED screens whereas the iPhone XR’s successor will remain with a 6.1-inch LCD screen.

Last but not least, because it is almost guaranteed that iPhone 11 models will not come with 5G connectivity, the company is reported to integrate Wi-Fi 6 in the new models. It serves as a form of compensation for the lack of 5G connectivity, but because Wi-Fi 6 itself has yet to be finalised, it cannot be guaranteed that the new iPhones will come with it. However, if they do, the newer iPhones will be getting much faster Wi-Fi connectivity and data transfer.

apple
iphone
iPhone 11
iPhone XI


Leaks reveal the iPhone XR 2019’s design with dual rear camera

328

Recent leaks have already revealed how the iPhone XI and iPhone XI Max will look like, including their camera module that is rather outstanding — not in a good way. But the newer leaks have unveiled the appearance of the successor to the iPhone XR, and frankly it’s better than the iPhone XI and iPhone XI Max’s renders.

The iPhone XR 2019 design looks very similar to its predecessor, except for one obvious change — its camera design. Like the iPhone XI and iPhone XI Max, there’s a large square bump on the back of the iPhone XR 2019’s glass panel; the only difference is the the presence of two cameras instead of three.

That’s about all the changes we can spot in the new leaks of the iPhone XR 2019, as it still retains its obvious bezels and wide-notch design. The phone is expected to measure at the same 6.1 inches as the current iPhone XR, and will probably come with an LCD panel. It is worth noting that the LCD panel on the iPhone XR is pretty great, so it’s okay even if it doesn’t get an OLED panel seeing as it’s the cheaper alternative after all.

As for the insides, the new iPhone XR is expected to be powered by a A13 bionic chip, in addition to the phone getting an extra rear camera that could be an ultra-wide angle lens or a 2x telephoto lens.

apple
iphone
iphone xr


Here’s where you can buy the Myvi’s built-in SmartTAG toll reader

1.7K

If you are a frequent toll user in the highways of KL, then chances are you may already have own the SmartTAG for a while now, an outdated piece of hardware that occasionally fails you if you happen to drive too fast through the toll plaza, and that failure can sometimes be attributed to heavily tinted glasses, failing sensors or low battery power. Last year, the new Perodua Myvi 1.5 Advance had a built-in toll reader that works pretty well in our tests, and if you want to have that hardware in your car, you can purchase it
here
.

The built-in toll reader is apparently developed by Toyota, and since it is used on the Myvi, it is a genuine hardware that has been endorsed by Touch n’ Go, the benefit of this toll reader is that it connects directly to your car’s power source, requiring no additional batteries, an antenna module that communicates with the RF reader at the toll booth is connected with the reader, which will be installed to the top of your car’s windscreen’s non-tinted surface for the best sensitivity.

If you don’t mind doing a little DIY on your car, then the built-in toll reader can be yours for RM300, which could save you some trouble in hiding away your precious SmartTAG and avoid unwanted theft.

perodua myvi
smarttag
toll reader
touchngo
toyota


Here’s Why Notchless Screens are Better

338

Back when dinosaurs existed, smartphones didn’t have notches; as they became bigger, there was a need for more screen real-estate. Hence the creation of phones with various kinds of notches. We’ve seen the waterdrop notch, the dewdrop notch, the V-shaped notch and even phones with punch-hole displays.

Being the fickle-minded people that we are, we decided eventually that notches were a nuisance, bringing us back full-circle to notchless smartphones again, but with bigger displays than ever this time. So how does one achieve such a feat? The HONOR 9X has the answer.

True Full-screen Experience

Image credit: Andrew Hoyle/CNET

What’s with all the razzmatazz of a notchless screen, you ask? You might think that a notch isn’t really a big deal as it only takes up a little bit of space; but that’s where you’re wrong. The longer you use the phone, the more you’ll wish that the notch wasn’t there. Not only is it aesthetically unpleasing, it also prevents you from achieving the full-screen experience that you crave.

The HONOR 9X fixes that by still remaining compact, even with a 6.59-inch LCD panel, which offers an impressive 91% screen-to-body ratio. With this, you’ll get a proper full-screen experience with something that’ll still fit comfortably in your hands.

Immersive Netflix Bingeing

Speaking of a full-screen experience, notchless displays also make for better Netflix bingeing. You get to watch your movie or series without an obtrusive notch on the side. Yes, some phones have the option to hide the notch by covering it with a black bar, but you sacrifice screen real-estate in return. The HONOR 9X solves this problem with a nifty pop-up camera mechanism, so you maximize your entire display panel without tossing your selfie lens out the window.

Uninterrupted Gaming

In what other way can a notch get in the way? Why of course, when you’re gaming. Hardcore PUBG Mobile players will understand how annoying it is to have a notch blocking part of your screen when you’re in game. We all remember how bad notches were when the game first launched; it was a chore accessing your friend list, and the controls at the sides were hindered by the notch. This is another practical reason to get yourself a notchless phone like the HONOR 9X. Everything is in your sights, including your opponents, giving you an edge especially with a bigger display with its 91% screen-to-body ratio.

There are many phones out there with notchless displays, but one that doesn’t burn a hole in your wallet is the HONOR 9X that is priced at RM999. This midrange device comes with a huge screen, a huge 4,000mAh battery and features a 48MP triple rear camera setup. If you’re a fan of streetwear brands, there’s the limited HONOR 9X Stoned & Co. Edition which is only available at HONOR Experience Store in Sunway Pyramid and online via
Hihonor
. There are only 200 units for sale
—
 100 units in-store and another 100 units online, so grab it before it’s too late. Meanwhile, the original HONOR 9X can be purchased online through
Hihonor
 or
Shopee
, or offline at HONOR Experience Stores.

This article is sponsored by HONOR.

honor
HONOR 9X


Here’s why the Acer Swift Edge is an excellent work and play laptop

5K

I have to admit that I have come across so many wonderful laptops that I’m just easily spoilt when it comes to picking one up for myself, but as much as I love laptops with fancy screens while having blazingly fast performance and excellent battery life, I usually hit a roadblock when I see how much I’d have to pay for one, and I end up not using them much simply because I have to switch between laptops occasionally to review others.

Therefore, my recent ‘come back to reality’ laptop is the Acer Swift Edge, a beautiful 16-inch laptop that not only ticks the checkboxes of my ideal work and play laptop, but it costs half the price of a 16-inch MacBook Pro, albeit it doesn’t have the raw performance of an Apple M2 Pro chip, there’s still so many reasons to love this laptop over other similar classed competitors.

A beautiful 16-inch 4K OLED display

I have been using the Acer Swift Edge for 3 months, and the one thing I enjoyed the most is the beautiful and expansive 16-inch OLED display that pushes 4K resolution in a 16:10 aspect ratio, though some might argue that this resolution isn’t necessary for such a screen size, but I took full advantage of it as I am able to squeeze more windows in one screen which makes it easier for viewing documents, emails and web pages.

No doubt icons and text can look a little too small for some, it really saves me the need to connect to an external monitor that can take up space on a Starbucks coffee table whenever I need the additional screen estate.

Aside from this, the OLED display is an absolute joy to view with its rich colors and contrast, while I never feel tired even after long hours of viewing all thanks to the balanced tuning done by Acer to reduce blue light emissions, the display also has great visibility when I use it at bright outdoors and cranked its brightness to the max.

Even lighter than a MacBook Air

Before this, I was and occasionally still daily driving an M2 MacBook Air, and while I am still very much impressed by its compact form factor, there’s no denying that the screen estate it offers can sometimes limit my workflow.

The Acer Swift Edge might sound like a big laptop, which I won’t deny it has a larger footprint than the MacBook Air due to its larger display, it weighs slightly lighter than the MacBook Air at just 1.1kg, and mind you, the Swift Edge still employs an aluminum build, I am just amazed at how it managed to keep such a sleek profile better than the rest.

Full-sized ports you won’t expect

When it comes to slim and lightweight laptops, you would usually expect lesser ports but that’s not the case with the Acer Swift Edge, it has one full-size HDMI 2.1 port, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports with both supporting 100W USB PD and one supporting DisplayPort, this is more generous than many other laptops and it totally shames more premium priced laptops.

Great performance and reasonable power efficiency

My workflow on the Acer Swift Edge includes a mixed usage of word processing and lightweight 4K video editing, I have been impressed with how the Ryzen 7 6800U APU on my unit managed to keep up with the things I do, although the laptop can get really toasty when I pushed it harder with more B-rolls in my timeline or game on it, it never ceases to amaze me on how fast I can get things done on such a slim machine.

In most cases of general use, I was able to get up to 4.5 hours of battery life out of a full charge, which isn’t great by all means and probably the only gripe I had.

However, given that it has a 4K OLED display that consumes the most power and only powered by a relatively small 52.7Wh battery, it is reasonable battery endurance, and I am not too troubled by it since the laptop can be juiced up with a USB PD powerbank.

Great value starting at RM4,999

With all the benefits it offers, the Acer Swift Edge starts at a surprisingly attractive price of RM4,999, the base model comes equipped with a Ryzen 5 6600U processor, 8GB RAM and 512GB of storage, while it is worth topping up an extra RM1,000 for the Ryzen 7 6800U configuration that comes with 16GB RAM and 1TB of storage.

The Acer Swift Edge is truly a great alternative to other premium 16-inch laptops in the market, head
here
 to check out and get one for yourselves.

acer swift edge
amd
ryzen 7 6800u
swift edge 2022
swift edge 2023


Here’s why Xiaomi has sold more than 6500 units of Redmi Note 11 in 24 hours

682

Selling 6500 units of phones in a day is no joke, and Xiaomi has done it with the Redmi Note 11, the new mid-range kid in the block that packs attractive features from expensive flagships such as a 6.43-inch AMOLED 90Hz display, a 5000mAh battery with 33W fast charging and a 50MP main camera.

The reason why it did so well is pretty simple, that’s because you get these features starting from the price of RM749, which is so affordable that there’s almost no reason to consider other phones of the same price range. On top of that, customers who preordered the Redmi Note 11 received a special discount and a free Redmi Buds 3 Lite worth RM99 with the 6GB+128GB model, making this an exceptional deal that no other smartphone brands have attempted.

If you have missed out on the preorder offer on the Redmi Note 11, fret not, as you can still visit the Redmi Note 11 series roadshow that happens nationwide from February 23-27 in three locations, you will receive exclusive gifts worth RM457 that comprise a RM100 Xiaomi AIoT voucher, a pair of Redmi Buds 3 Lite, a Mi Smart Scale 2, a canvas tote bag and pillow blanket with any Redmi Note 11 series purchase, gifts are given out while stocks last.

The Redmi Note 11 series roadshow are located at:

Sunway Pyramid, Selangor – LG2 Orange Concourse

Queensbay Mall, Penang – Centre Court

AEON Tebrau City, Johor – West Court

Follow Xiaomi Malaysia’s Facebook page
here
 for more updates on the Redmi Note 11 series.

redmi note 11
Redmi note 11 malaysia
redmi note 11 pro 5g
redmi note 11s
xiaomi


Here’s why you should balik kampung with the Galaxy S23 Ultra

6.2K

With Hari Raya celebrations coming up, there’s no better time to consider getting a Galaxy S23 Ultra to make celebrations a little different this year.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra comes with many improvements over its predecessor and is easily one of the best flagship Android smartphones, and here are a few reasons that you should consider to ‘balik kampung’ with the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

It has the most versatile camera system

No flagship phone camera system is as versatile as the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s, as it features four cameras that lets you creatively frame your shots with different focal lengths.

For instance, the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 200-megapixel main camera can capture that beautiful landscape photo of your hometown, while it makes low-light shots brighter and more detailed thanks to better pixel-binning.

Have a large family and want to take that memorable group shot? The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 12-megapixel ultrawide camera does the job!

Want to do a portrait shot of your OOTD? Switch to the Portrait mode and let the 10-megapixel 3x optical zoom camera capture professional looking portraits with depth.

Making fun of your relatives because they made some funny actions that you see from far? Capture that funny moment with the 10-megapixel periscope camera without needing to get close, so that they will have the last laugh when they see the photo.

With the Galaxy S23 Ultra, no Hari Raya moments will ever go uncaptured.

It lets you binge watch movies and game all-day

Performance and efficiency don’t usually get along on flagship smartphones, but that’s totally a different story on the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

All thanks to the custom high performance and power efficient Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 For Galaxy chipset and 5,000mAh battery, the Galaxy S23 Ultra offers better gaming performance and power efficiency than its predecessor and many other competing flagship phones.

Based on our tests, the Galaxy S23 Ultra easily lasts up to 5 hours of screen on time when doing a mixture of social media and gaming activities while connected to 5G networks, while it effortlessly gets charged within the hour with 45W Super Fast Charging.

Also, the Galaxy S23 Ultra passed the 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test with consistent scores in our tests, which you don’t need to worry about performance throttling in long gaming durations.

It lets you send your Raya greetings the creative way

The Galaxy S23 Ultra isn’t just a powerful flagship smartphone with capable cameras, but it also helps you get more creative with the built-in S Pen, so why not use it to create your own Raya e-greeting card, doodle on that wefie with your friends, or go crazy with the AR Doodle feature, then share you creation with your friends and family.

In addition, the S Pen serves as a great camera remote control, simply put the Galaxy S23 Ultra on a tripod, you can then use the S Pen as a remote shutter, switch between the rear and front camera, and with a press of a button, it’s picture perfect, no one needs to get out of the frame to take that shot for you.

It has a deal you can’t resist

Doesn’t it feel good to balik kampung with a brand new Galaxy S23 Ultra with all these benefits? It gets even better when you trade in your old phone to Samsung, because on top of your phone’s trade in value, Samsung offers an additional RM600 instant rebate on the Galaxy S23 Ultra and you also get a free Galaxy Watch5 (40mm) worth RM1,099, how isn’t that a good deal?

The Galaxy S23 Ultra starts at RM5,699, get yours
here
 before you head back to your kampung!

Watch our the Galaxy S23 Ultra Video Review

galaxy s23 ultra
samsung
samsung malaysia


Here’s why you should own the Redmi Note 12 series

6.3K

The Redmi Note 12 series have long been the undisputed champ in the mid-range phone category. This time, Xiaomi is breaking the rules again with the Redmi Note 12 series, where it once again offers flagship-grade features at mid-range prices, and here’s why we’d recommend checking them out over other similar-priced phones.

200-megapixel OIS Camera – First on a Redmi Note smartphone

When was the last time you saw a 200-megapixel camera with optical stabilization on a smartphone? A mid-range phone? Not a chance.

Shot on Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G

The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G is the first phone in its class to be fitted with a 200-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization, which not only allows you to capture stills at a high resolution, but also greatly improves low light photography as the camera combines 9 pixels into one big pixel, resulting in brighter and more detailed shots.

Aside from that, shooting at 200-megapixels allow you to crop into photos and reframe your shot without losing detail, while you will also be assured of a clearer shot when zooming into your shot as it crops into the large sensor to achieve that.

Beautiful 120Hz AMOLED displays

The Redmi Note 12 series are fitted with 6.67-inch Full HD+ AMOLED displays with a 120Hz refresh rate, which can hardly be found on mid-range phones, it also means that you get to experience buttery smooth animations and transitions on any Redmi Note 12 models.

If you are someone who binges movies on your smartphone, you will be glad to know that the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G’s display shows 1 Billion colors and is also Dolby Vision certified, coupled with the Dolby Atmos enhanced dual stereo speakers, it is one impressive media consumption device.

All-round performance and super-fast charging

The Redmi Note 12 series’ performance has been upgraded across the board while ensuring great power efficiency.

The Redmi Note 12 4G and 5G are equipped with the Snapdragon 685 and Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chipset respectively, while the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G is equipped with the Mediatek Dimensity 1080 chipset, these are very capable yet efficient processors that aces at everyday productivity, while the Dimensity 1080 chipset in particular excels in graphics performance.

All Redmi Note 12 series are fitted with a 5000mAh battery that effortlessly offers up to 2 days of moderate usage, while the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G in particular supports 120W HyperCharge, which is made possible with the Xiaomi P1 Surge chipset that adaptively adjusts charging wattage to juice up its large battery, making it the first mid-range phone with such a huge battery capacity to be able to get fully charged from 0-100% in just 30 minutes.

Better features at the same retail price

Inflation doesn’t affect the value of the Redmi Note 12 series unlike others, the Redmi Note 12 retails for RM799 and RM1,099 for the 4G and 5G variant respectively, while the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G retails for RM1,599, these are the exact same launch prices as their predecessors, which is a commendable effort from Xiaomi considering the features that the series offers.

The Redmi Note 12 series will be available for pre-order starting 6
th
 April 2023 onwards, pre-order customers will receive a free Redmi Smart Band 2 while stocks lasts, head on over to your nearest Xiaomi Store, Xiaomi Malaysia official
Lazada
 and
Shopee
 stores to pre-order your Redmi Note 12 series today.

An online exclusive of the Redmi Note 12 with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage can be purchased for RM699 at Xiaomi’s official store
here
.

Xiaomi Fan Festival 2023 Special Promotion

In conjunction with the launch of the Redmi Note 12 series, the Mi Fan Festival is also happening during the period of 6-15 April 2023, customers who purchase the following smartphones will enjoy free gifts as listed below:

Product

Normal Price

Special Promo

Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G (8GB+256GB)

RM 1,599

FREE

Redmi Smart Band 2

Redmi Note 12 5G (8GB+256GB)

RM 1,099

Redmi Note 12 (8GB+128GB)

RM 799

Xiaomi 13 (12GB+256GB)

RM 3,499

FREE
Redmi Buds 4

Redmi 12C (4GB+128GB)

RM 599

FREE

Xiaomi In-ear Headphones Basic

Redmi 12C (6GB+128GB)

RM 699

Redmi Pad (3GB+64GB)

RM 899

RM 20
Xiaomi Store voucher

Redmi Pad (4GB+128GB)

RM 999

Also, customers are welcome to engage in the following activities from 6 to 15 April 2023 and receive a free Xiaomi Bunny Doll sticky note holder:

Action

Eligibility Description

Gift Collection Details

Smartphone repair

Send in your Xiaomi or Redmi smartphones for repairs at any Xiaomi Service Center during the event period

On-site Repair or Mail-in Repair

Social media post

1.  Take a creative photo with your Xiaomi or Redmi smartphone (with watermark enabled)
2.  Post them on Facebook or Twitter during the event period.

3.  Tag Xiaomi Support on Facebook (
@XiaomiSupport
)

At Xiaomi Service Center (upon approval by service center team)

Follow Xiaomi Support on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube (
@Xiaomi.Support
)

Follow during the event period and lucky followers will be eligible.

*Free Gifts are for a limited time only on a first come, first serve basis, while stocks last only.


Hermès watch bands for the Apple Watch unveiled

270

To all Hermès fans, Apple has launched some Apple Watch leather bands perfectly suited for your taste. So if you’re already an Apple Watch owner and you love Hermès, it’s time for you to add more class to your watch. Apple appears to have quietly launched this line of leather Hermès bands for the Apple Watch, with seemingly classy and exquisite names for each of them.

Based on the image above, starting off from the left is “Fauve”, “Feu”, “Blanc”, “Bleu Paon” and “Bleu Saphir”. On top of the additional watch bands, Apple has also unveiled three variants of the Apple Watch featuring different Hermès watch bands. There is the Single Tour, which costs $1,100 (RM4,329.65) for the 38mm model and $1,150 (RM4,526.46) for the 42mm model. The Double Tour variant wraps twice around the wrist, priced at $1,250 (RM4,920.06) and lastly, the Cuff model, available for $1,500 (RM5,904.07).

The Hermès bands lineup on the other hand will be available soon. The bands are rumored to start at a price of $340 (RM1,338.26) for the Single Tour bands to the most expensive Cuff bands at $690 (RM2,715.87). Pricey as they may seem, those are the prices one is willing to pay for luxury. Are you thinking of getting one yourself?

Source:
Apple

apple
bands
cuff
double
hermes
single
tour
watch


Heroes of the Storm: Cho'Gall Hero Giveaway

315

It has been a while since our last giveaway but no worries! Lots of giveaways are in the works right now. Our first giveaway to kickstart our spanking brand new website design is for fans and players of Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm. We will be giving out FIVE Cho’Gall hero key codes, so it doesn’t matter which part of the world you are at, you can still win this! All you need to do is join the contest via Rafflecopter below, and you stand a chance to win it.

Now, who is Cho’Gall? He is Twilight’s Hammer Chieftain, with two personalities embodied into one. You have Gall, the cunning master of dark magics and forbidden incantations, and in the same body you also have Cho, someone who solves every single problem with a hard punch.

Now, here are some information about playing/getting Hero Cho’Gall you might have not known about:

Cho’Gall can be unlocked by playing two games together with a friend who has him already unlocked.

BlizzCon ticket holders and virtual ticket holders as well as a small percentage of players will have Cho’Gall already unlocked for them.

If you have Cho’Gall unlocked, you’ll receive 2,200 gold if you win 4 games with him.

So, what are you waiting for? Just try your luck and join the contest below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

blizzard
chogal
giveaways
heroes
heroesofthestorm


Hideo Kojima is officially no longer with Konami

312

pic.twitter.com/Lm04m6BNB1

— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN)
December 16, 2015

The messiest break-up in the video games industry has finally come to an end as Hideo Kojima contract with Konami has officially been terminated.

According to Kojima himself, his contract with Konami was officially terminated yesterday. As such, he is now able to re-enter the video games industry without Konami’s lawyers hounding him at every step.

Immediately after Kojima’s contract is terminated,
the man has reestablished Kojima Productions
. Besides that, Sony and Kojima have announced that they will be entering a partnership which would see the next Kojima Productions game be a PlayStation Exclusive.

Kojima’s choice of working with Sony and the PlayStation brand can probably be attributed to the fact that the Metal Gear Solid franchise rose to prominence on the original PlayStation.

In other news, the newly-reestablished Kojima Productions is currently looking to fill up a large amount of positions. For those interested, you might want to update your resumes.

hideokojima
kojimaproductions
konami
playstation
sony


Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding gets an official release date of November 8 – and it looks weird

561

Hideo Kojima, creator of the Metal Gear Solid series, may have left his long-time career at Konami in unceremonious fasion – with a brilliant mind as his, you can always count on him to work on something big for his devoted fans.

The much-talked-about title Death Stranding has been given an official release date of November 8 this year via a reveal trailer. Now, in that trailer, we saw many things – everything from gameplay, plot points to casts; but everything seems odd.

Four of the main characters in the game are named Die-Hardman,
Heartman
, Fragile and Mama – leave it up to Kojima to break video game character naming conventions, eh? The game also seems to revolve around a modern post-apocalyptic setting where we think new-born babies are protected sacks – we’re assuming they’re important to the plot.

Image credit: US Gamer

As you may already know, the game is chock-full of big names playing the characters – the big daddy himself Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Guillermo del Toro, Lea Seydoux, alongside legendary voice actor Troy Baker. The game, produced by Kojima Productions, is no doubt a big-budget hitter; but Sony seems to have let Kojima go “break the mold” so to speak, and not stick to a tried-and-tested formula to rake in the cash.

Image credit: Reddit

Based on the trailer, the game seems to take place in an open-world setting with heavy emphasis on stealth, resource gathering and item-management. You can also apparently make your character pee on demand – strange but not something we wouldn’t expect of Kojima. The plot also
play
 heavily on the theme of life and death, while time travel seems to also be a thing – we can see a scene where your taken to World War 1 where what looks to be a M10 Wolverine tank is in play.

How the game will really play and what the plot really is about is beyond us at the moment, so we’ll have to wait for the official release of the game this November on the Sony PlayStation 4.

death stranding
hideo kojima
konami
metal gear solid
norman reedus
playstation 4


Hidizs AP80 Review: Excellent Audio Quality With Elegance To Match

549

MP3 players are slowly being left in the dust, with the easy and satisfying audio that we have coming from smartphones and decent enough headphones to pair with it, there is not really a need for good and decent MP3 players. In addition to that, with Spotify being the biggest music streaming service, there is no need to search and download for music anymore. However, companies like Hidizs are still holding on to the belief of good sounding music and they have shown that with the Hidizs AP80, one of the most simple and easy to use HiFi music player.

The AP80 hits all the right marks, it is super portable with its size and at the same time, the company has given the player elegance in both its design and functionality. It comes with a glass back and front with simple controls on the side such as audio volume and playback control.

The other side has a slot for a microSD card and the bottom spots the 3.5mm headphone jack as well as a USB Type-C port. It nice to know that they are keeping up with the times to include a Type-C port, where some music players require you to use their proprietary port and cable. The front is a 2.45-inch touchscreen and comes with the company’s HiBy OS which is so simple and easy to use.

 I love that you don’t need to search for where you need to go, there is one home screen that houses everything and it even supports swiping from the top and bottom to get to the options menu as well as playback control, if you don’t fancy the physical buttons.

When it comes to sound, the AP80 is using the Sabre ES9218P DAC and the audio quality does not disappoint, I been listening to only FLAC music format and it does a good job enhancing the audio listening experience. It provides crystal clear vocals, excellent clarity on string instruments, mids that have surprisingly good clarity and the base is just so satisfying with deep punches with an overall warm sounding tone. I found it to be perfect for listing to just about anything from electronic music all the way to jazz.

It will definitely help if you can pair this player with decent headphones or earphones. In my case, I am using the TFZ Exclusive 1, which was made to produce strong highs and lows, and it really does bring out the full potential of my earphones which I am extremely pleased with.

 If you do not have good headphones to pair up with this player, the equalizer offers you a lot of room to play it and you will definitely hit a sweet spot playing around with it.

It even supports Bluetooth connectivity alongside AptX, I realize that you will not get the same audio quality that you will get by plugging in a headphone, but you will definitely feel the full potential of the AP80 using a wired audio listening device.

Other than that, the audio player supports DAC out mode, which allows you to connect this device to your computer and use it as a DAC to which you can connect to your speaker system. I definitely recommend to try this out especially if you have decent quality speakers. However, with smaller speakers, you might a not hear much of a difference.

Lastly, we come to battery life and the company has claimed that the AP80 will offer 35 days of standby time, while it is a far-fetched number, I have still not charged the player after 2 weeks of using it. However, my usage is roughly one hour every day which comes from my commute to work and back. The player has an auto shutdown mode which I found to be very useful and probably the main reason that I did not have to charge it until now. However, using every day and disabling the auto shutdown mode will roughly give you around 5 days of usage which is still very decent. If you do run out of battery, it will charge from 0 to 100 percent in just an hour.

Verdict

If you would like to explore a world of great sounding music without breaking your wallet, the Hidizs AP80 is the perfect place to start with its high-quality DAC and low price point of only
$115 as a Kickstarter Early Bird
 deal. It might lack the features and functions of other music players but it offers simplicity and elegance which other music players forgo, reminding us that audio quality trumps over bells and whistles any day.

ap80
hidizs
music
player
review


High iPhone 11 demand and launch of iPhone SE 2 will increase iPhone sales in Q1 2020

389

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is predicting the sales of iPhones to increase in Q1 2020 due to the high demand of iPhone 11 series and also launch of the iPhone SE 2.

The iPhone SE 2 is expected to take on the form factor and design on the iPhone 8, but sports the latest A13 chip and also 3GB RAM. It will definitely be a more affordable option for those who wants to upgrade from their iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus and if Kuo is right, the iPhone SE 2 will skip Face ID and remain loyal to Touch ID.

He also predicted the iPhone 11 series to reach between 70 and 75 million units in 2019 because the iPhone 11 has a more affordable price — lower than the iPhone XR when it was first launch. The iPhone 11 Pro series will have lower shipments when compared to iPhone XS due to the difficulties in producing specific iPhone 11 Pro components.

However, the iPhone 11 will have increased shipments compared to its predecessor as it was also launched earlier compared to the iPhone XR. Moreover, with the high replacement demand, Kuo believes that the shipments will remain higher than the iPhone XR even when it reaches the first quarter of 2020.

apple
iphone
iPhone 11
iPhone 11 pro
iphone se 2


High Sierra public beta is live and here’s how to get it

346

If you are looking to give the rather interesting naming OS from Apple, High Sierra a try, you can download the public beta of the new OS now. Do note, that with any software that is still in beta it will be riddled with bugs and problems, so be very sure you want to do this. Now that you have given it some though, let’s get into what can you expect with this update.

The first and most interesting update is the new file system format, APFS which will replace the previous HFS+ format, there is an option for you to maintain the file format in previous betas but your drive will be changed to the new format. If you are worried about your files and folders, then you can easily plug in a new drive and instal the beta there. Other than that, you will get to try out the Metal 2 graphics API, which will support VR and external GPUs as well as a new HEVC and HEIF video and image format.

To take part in this beta testing head over to the
Apple Beta Software Program
, sign up as a member and enrol your device for the update, then download the “MacOS Public Beta Access Utility”. Once you have the program, run it and it will open the App Store to download the beta, if it does not work, head back to the website and click on “View the MacOS public beta in the Mac App Store”. We will be updating our iMac to High Sierra so join us in testing the new macOS!

apple
beta
high
mac
os
public
sierra
update


Higher end variant of the Mi Note 2 to cost RM3500

309

Just yesterday, we have received news that the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 will be officially launched in China on the 25th of October, precisely a week from today. On the other hand, a new rumor has popped out indicating that the Mi Note 2 won’t go easy on our pockets. With top of the line specs, Xiaomi is said to be slapping a really premium price tag on its upcoming flagship phablet.

The rumor, which originated from Weibo, states that the higher end variant, or rather the most premium top spec-ed model of the Mi Note 2 will carry a whopping price tag of 5,699 CNY (RM3,546.90). The rumored premium variant should be sporting a Snapdragon 821 processor, 6GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. While the price point might seem reasonable for such impressive specs, it certainly does not reflect the Xiaomi that has been defying the odds with high spec-ed flagship handsets at affordable prices.

According to GizmoChina, Xiaomi has also happened to conduct an online poll for the pricing of the Mi Note 2, with 4,999 CNY, 5,999 CNY and 6,999 CNY as voting options. The 4,999 CNY price tag obviously obtained the most votes but the online poll does support this rumor of a premiumly priced Xiaomi phablet. If the rumor happens to be spot on, the lower end 4GB RAM/64GB storage model will likely cost above RM2,000 as well.

Other rumored specs include a 5.7-inch curved edge screen at QHD resolution, a dual rear camera setup of 16MP sensors and a 5MP front facing shooter. The phablet is also said to pack a 4,000mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 support. What do you think?

Source:
GizmoChina

2
4gb
6gb
821
camera
curved
display
dual
edge
mi
note
price
ram
snapdragon
xiaomi


Malaysian highway tolls will be switching over to RFID tags as early as next year

487

Looks like it’s time to kiss our bulky ( and the target of every thief) SmartTags goodbye because it looks like it will be replaced with a RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). Director General of Malaysia Highway Authority, Dato Ismail Bin Md Salleh announced that come 28 January 2018, this feature will be open to the public.

The current SmartTag forces us to slow down at tolls, giving the system time to scan our tags, causing slow downs either way. With RFID, drivers are not required to slow down anymore as the system is able to scan the RFID from a distance and is far more accurate. Currently there is a trial run happening at eight tolls around the Klang Valley but for the time being, it is only available to the police, fire brigade, and ambulance. They mention that this new feature is still very much in the testing phase but they expect to have at least one RFID enabled lane in each toll by next year for the public to utilize.

When 2020 comes around, it is expected that all tolls will implement this new system in hopes to cull the traffic issues that have plagued all of us for years. I do believe this calls for some discussion, let us know what you think about this new system and if you are happy to ditch SmartTags in the comments.

highway
payment
rfid
scanner
smarttag
tolls


Hilton’s first #HiltonCyberSale offers deals and vouchers for dining and services

330

In conjunction with the upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Hilton Kuala Lumpur is introducing its very first “Hilton Cyber Sale” (#HiltonCyberSale).

The cyber sale will be happening this 23rd to 26th November 2018 on Hilton Kuala Lumpur’s E-commerce platform, “TakeHome.Hilton.com”. Throughout this cyber sale, guests, diners, and Hilton members are able to earn double the value at all dining and wellness outlets in Hilton Kuala Lumpur when they shop on the website.

Customers who shops on the website are able to purchase vouchers and enjoy access to dine in modern European Brasserie at GRAZE, all-day dining restaurant at Vasco’s, award winning Chinese and Japanese restaurants, Chynna and Iketeru, Chambers Bar & Grill, Broadwalk, the poolside cafe and the signature Zeta Bar. For those who are more into pampering themselves, the spa and gym at Hilton Kuala Lumpur offers rejuvenating spa services, relaxing facials as well as personal training sessions at the gym.

The double valued cash voucher tiers are as followed:

 Spend RM 50 and earn RM 100 cash voucher

 Spend RM 250 and earn RM 500 cash voucher

 Spend RM 500 and earn RM 1,000 cash voucher

The vouchers purchased are valid from 30th November 2018 until 31st May 2019 at all mentioned outlets and wellness centers within Hilton Kuala Lumpur, excluding festive seasons and it is not valid for other promotions.

Hilton
Hilton Cyber Sales
Hilton Kuala Lumpur


Hiroshi Lockheimer hints at Android Oreo

344

Since the start, Android names of its respective versions have been very dessert-like, not to mention sweet to both the ears and tastebuds as well. Most of us, if not all, expect this pattern to carry on for the foreseeable future. It’s guessing time again as we await the unveiling of Android 8.0 this year. Google’s Senior Vice President of Android Hiroshi Lockheimer has once again brought to Twitter, hinting at what might be the name of Android 8.0.

@dcseifert

android
google
hint
hiroshi
lockheimer
nougat
nutella
oreo
twitter