Google I/O 2013 – day 1

Wow the first day of Google I/O’s conference just ended! Being the first day, it focused a lot on the new APIs, new web-related magic such as search, an entirely new Google+ with a lot of Google magic, Chrome and much, much simpler developer tools. So let’s get down to our long list of information in the three hours today!

Developer
When it comes to developers, there’s always the open possibilities of APIs and how open the entire ecosystem is – to see how malleable the entire ecosystem is to tailor it to your own liking. As Google made itself open, they also provide new APIs to provide great features to all users. Let’s get down to it in a very simplified form!

New APIs

Maps

Fused location-based data mining – combined the location-related sensors together

Activity recognizer – tells if you’re walking, driving or on a bike.
Auto sign-in – all apps installed will be logged in for you, if you’re logged in on that website on your computer
Google Cloud Messaging – allows you to send data between servers and Android devices

Supports persistant connection
Two-way communication
Synced notification – notifications read on one device will disappear on the other

Gaming

Cross-platform
Cloud Save – synced gaming progress across all devices
Achievements
Leaderboard
Real-time multiplayer

Android Studio

Has IntelliJ

Simplifying codes to make it easily readable
Live rendering of thumbnails and icons

Dev console

Gives optimization tips
Has built-in app translation service

Payments are done on Google Wallet

Track referrals of users

Has usage metrics

Reverse tracking
Beta testing and staged rollout – offers sequential app testing to make sure it’s well received

Play Store and Play Music
Well then, it’s even about music. Who doesn’t love music, right? Google went out there and made Music and the Store even better, though the Play Store just got a new interface not long ago. Here’s the list of new things.

Store

New tablet-specific interface

Music

Introducing New Access

Has music discovery service
Has personalized recommendations
Adds Google’s song in the store to your own library

$9.99 per month, has 30 days trial

Sign up before June 30th 2013 at $7.99

Chrome
Basically Chrome started off as a browser, evolved to beyond browser today. Nonetheless, it also evolved like all the other Google services and products. Amazingly though, Google featured Malaysia in specific about the country’s move on getting Chromebooks for each and every student on 4G connectivity, and talked about how it will help the education system. Hold your horses – we’ll have to settle for English as our language in mathematics and science if we’re ever going to “globalize” education.
Shall we jump in to the list?

Performance

With WebGL, everything on Chrome is the same between devices

WebP – picture compression

Supports all commonly used image file types
Compresses considerably to a smaller size

WebM – video compression

We talked about this earlier
YouTube will be the first to use

Mobile data users will benefit most

New Google Play for education on the web

Recommends educational apps by other educators
Shares app to all students by a click

Shares books, links, YouTube videos and other things too

Payment is charged under the school’s fund

Has Google Wallet integration for online shopping

Google+
Google+ made it to the prime time, yet rumours said Babel would be replacing a large part of Google+. I beg to differ, as there are now more reasons to convince people to use Google+!

New interface for computer, phone and tablet

A Pinterest-like interface, where there are columns of posts

Dynamically sized

Photos and videos shared are bigger
Has nice animations such as flipping and popups for posting things

Has recommended hashtags – recommends hashtag depending on your posts and photos

New Hangouts – standalone app, replaces Google Talk (explicitly stated on Play Store)

Essentially Google Talk, the online instant messaging service
Cross platform
Shows animations of who’s in and out of the conversation
Able to start a video conversation by one click

Photos

Upgraded from 5GB to 15GB free for full resolution photos on WiFi Sync
Uploads only the best pictures
Has auto enhance – enhances the photo automatically
Has Auto Awesome – mix and collage similar photos automatically for you

Google Search
Who knew Google would reinvent Search and Now too? The new Search and Now has three parts, must like how Google+ did. Let’s break it down!

Answer – gives statistical answers on graphs
Conversational search – search with voice a la Google Now by saying “Okay Google”
Anticipate – new cards

Has reminders now

Google Maps
Something that we’ve all been waiting for since most of us have been frustrated by how impractical Google Maps became after the roads got a little more complex. Now, Google made everything simpler.

Grand Truth – map creator, make your own maps for that area
Personalized maps

Makes places important to your as landmarks

Street View – views up the entire inside of a restaurant

Picture can be submitted by users

3D-satellite view
Real time earth pictures

Shows clouds and day/night too

New Google Maps for mobile

New design and interface
Integrated Zagat for recommendations
Shows offers of restaurants and places

Can save for later or use them now

Real time incident updates – shows real time feed of traffic and whatnot

Has reroute option on the go

Has a new “surprise me” function

Wow, long list for a short 3 hours eh? A productive morning for them, an exciting night for me. Oh wait – I forgot to mention one particular thing.

The new Samsung Galaxy S IV has been crowned as a Nexus device and get all things Google – even software updates directly from Google. No information of the specs yet, so no one actually knows if it’s the quad-core Snapdragon or the octa-core Exynos version yet. As far as we know, it has LTE support, 16GB of storage (13GB usable, in contrast of Samsung’s 8GB) and is available for T-Mobile and AT&T only. No information on availability in other countries too, but in whichever way, the phone is fully unlocked and goes for a price of $649 (RM 1,949.27). Seems like a Google Nexus 4 is still a better choice.
Anyway, that’s all for today and check out the entire presentation slides at the gallery below!

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Lenovo brings in the new Tab P11 Plus and Pro tablets into Malaysia from RM1,399

Lenovo Malaysia has announced the immediate availability of the new Tab P11 Plus and Tab P11 Pro tablets for the market that starts at an affordable price.

First up we have the family-friendly Tab P11 Plus housed in a slick aluminum-alloy casing with a dual-tone finish that is suitable for enjoying multimedia content thanks to the 11-inch TDDI IPS display churning out great visuals and the Dolby Atmos compatible speakers for immersive sounds. Powered by the MediaTek G90T chipset, the device can last up to 15 hours per full charge and there are lots of optional accessories such as the 2-in-1 keyboard combo that comes with a built-in 4-point pogo-pin keyboard, trackpad, and magnetic stand cover to further push its production capabilities. Kids also get to learn through the latest version of Google Kids Space to keep their studies and learning progress in check.

For power users, the Tab P11 Pro fits great for the role as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 G can perform more intensive tasks while getting the same average battery life compared to the Tab P11 Plus. The display and speakers are even better in this machine as they are the 11.5-inch 2K OLED Display with HDR10 and Dolby Vision support paired together with 4 units of JBL speakers with 2.5cc chambers optimized by Dolby Atmos to create a superior video consumption experience. The device also comes preinstalled with Microsoft Office to enable an instant start towards productivity tasks while the conference and video call features are complimented with stuff like auto background blur and more.
Availability and Price
Great news for the holiday spenders as both the Lenovo Tab P11 Plus and Tab P11 Pro is currently available for purchase on Lenovo Malaysia’s official website, Lazada, and Shopee stores at the starting price of RM1,399 and RM2,499 respectively.
Additionally, from December 15 to 31, those who preordered the Tab P11 Plus will receive a 1-Year Accidental Damage Protection plan and one Lenovo TWS for free.

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Huawei is the biggest contributor to 5G development

Technology waits for no one – as 4G is still in its early stages in many areas, Huawei is making dents to the universe with its 5G research and development. 5G has a certain standard, in this case is to have a 10Gbps throughput with 1 milisecond latency and 100 billion connections.
Huawei is able to win the first 5G award ever in the industry.

Chaobin Yang, CMO of Wireless Product Line, accepted the award on behalf of Huawei
Huawei is a big player in the world of wireless telecommunication was they innovated and proposed many new methods to tackle the 5G standards, as they laid to the foundational waveform of F-OFDM, SCMA, and Polar Code – which are very advanced in the engineering field.
I guess we can experience 5G LTE soon enough?

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Review – OPPO Reno8 Pro

OPPO is releasing another new Reno series once again – and here we have the new OPPO Reno8 Pro. This time, it is not as bland as the previous releases because it comes with the MediaTek Dimensity 8100 Max chipset and also OPPO’s proprietary MariSilicon X imaging chip that was previously only found on their flagship OPPO Find X5 Pro.
It seems like the technology trickled down really quick this time – so let’s take a look at what the OPPO Reno8 Pro can do in our tests.

Design
Okay, so starting with the design. The OPPO Reno8 Pro is rather interesting. OPPO decided to make this phone with a squared-off frame and also has chamfered edges to ensure comfort while holding the phone. It is also one of the rare phones that can stand on its own, too.

The back is also made out of a super high gloss finish that I personally do not like since any little sign of fingerprint or oil will show prominently. And it is so slippery that the slight inclination caused by the camera bump will cause the phone to slide off the phone box when I leave it on top.

The camera cutout, though, is highly “inspired” by a certain smartphone that was released last year. Though, the camera design on the OPPO Reno8 Pro is humongous and looks tacky in comparison.

Cameras
Within this camera bump, we have a total of 3 different cameras but I’ll only consider two of them to be usable since the 2MP fixed-focus macro camera is pretty pointless.

What’s interesting is that this phone comes with the MariSilicon X imaging chip that is found on the OPPO Find X5 Pro earlier this year too. I can’t tell if there are any differences in terms of quality between the two phones since they both have the same image signal processor (or ISP for short), but from what I can see – the pictures look good both indoors and outdoors.
To have a look at all the pictures taken with the OPPO Reno8 Pro, watch our video at the top of this review.

However, this phone is missing an OIS system and that is a huge problem for me and many people – especially if you’re thinking of shooting videos with this phone. By the way, this phone can only take up to 1080p at 60fps or 4K at 30fps.

Performance
This phone is also powered by the relatively new MediaTek Dimensity 8100 Max chipset and it does offer a very good level of performance. I got about 45-ish fps consistently while playing Genshin Impact at the highest graphical settings – but from what I’ve tested, the performance level isn’t exactly that much different compared to the OnePlus Nord 2T 5G with the Dimensity 1300 chipset. Sure, the Reno8 Pro is better but only by like 2-3fps.

Display
As for the screen, this is fairly simple. It’s a large 6.7-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2412×1080 pixels and goes up to 120Hz refresh rate.

It looks good and our colorimeter agrees. This phone covers more than 99% of sRGB and more than 98% of DCI-P3 color gamuts – but the maximum Delta E number is 3 – which is actually quite high but I doubt our eyes can actually tell the difference.

Then for the maximum brightness – it’s only at about 530 nits which is definitely not enough if you want to use this phone outdoors on a sunny day.
Battery life
As for the battery life, we used our usual PC Mark battery life test at 100 nits of brightness and this phone lasts for about 12 hours. Pretty decent overall, and can last you throughout a day’s use without much of an issue.

Charging time
As for the charging time, this phone also comes with an 80W SuperVOOC charger and it can charge from 15% to 80% in about 18 minutes – but why?

Well, for those who charge their phones overnight like I do, there is an option in the settings menu called “optimized night charging” which “learns” when you plug it in at night and when you unplug it in the morning, so it’ll only charge to 100% right before you unplug.

This feature is not new and I also doubt its effectiveness since you’re essentially also trickle-charging at 80% of battery anyway. Once we disabled this feature, it charges from 15% to 100% in about 30 minutes.

Software
And as for the software – the OPPO Reno8 Pro comes with ColorOS 12.1 with Android 12 and it’s no different from the Reno 7 Pro or the Find X5 Pro in terms of software. All of the bloatware is also here – like Hot Games and hot Apps. We’ll definitely need to take some time to clean up these apps before we actually start using the phone.

We’ll definitely have to do some cleanup before we actually start using the phone – and I urge you to do that before installing anything else.

Should you buy the OPPO Reno8 Pro?
The question is – should you buy the OPPO Reno8 Pro? For the price of RM3,299, I think this phone is way too expensive and the time gap between the Reno 7 series and this Reno8 Pro is way too close. Remember – the Reno 7 series was released in early March of this year and after only 4 short months, we now have the Reno8 series.

For phones of this price range, I don’t think such a short refresh cycle is fair for the customers. Also, OPPO, you need to have proper software support commitment if you’re going to charge so much for what is essentially a mid-range smartphone.
Where to buy? (Affiliate links)

Amazon US
Lazada
Shopee

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Review – ROG Phone 5: A proper upgrade

To fully soak in the experience of the ROG Phone 5, we spent a month with it. Within this month, we used the accessories to really gauge the potential offered by the ROG Phone 5.
We did a few videos regarding the ROG Phone 5 already – firstly the entire unboxing experience alongside all 3 different accessories that are announced alongside the ROG Phone 5 but sold separately, a gaming video with only the ROG Phone 5 alone, and also a review of the new ROG Phone 5’s AeroActive Cooler 5. I should also highlight again that the new AeroActive Cooler 5 is only compatible with the ROG Phone 5 and not the older ROG Phones.

So, after using the ROG Phone 5 for so long, what do I think?
Let’s start off with the design. It’s sleek – and also slippery. I mean, it’s no different from any other previous generations of the ROG Phone. It’s glass on both the front and back of the phone, it’s heavy, and also slippery.

Our unit of the ROG Phone 5 is using the standard ROG Phone so we don’t get the fancy strip of display at the back of the phone – but we get the ROG logo displayed in this dot matrix fashion, and we can also customize the logo to whatever color we want.
And I should also mention that the ROG Phone 5 is a proper upgrade over the ROG Phone 2 – and much better than the ROG Phone 3 – because it retained the headphone jack. And for a gaming phone, that is an important port.

But, there are a few more things that ROG could have improved for the ROG Phone 5, but didn’t. For example – IP-rating. I mean, the proprietary port for the AeroActive Cooler is now replaced by pogo pins – which means it should be easier to be IP-rated but it’s not.
The reason why I’m talking about IP-rating on the ROG Phone 5 is because of the Snapdragon 888 chipset. Yes, like what we showed in the gaming video of the ROG Phone 5 – the ROG Phone 5 gets extremely hot. So, in my mind, if the ROG Phone 5 is IP-rated, we can just dunk it in water and use the Kunai Gamepad to play.
There’s a reason why this fan exists.
But how hot does the ROG Phone 5 get? Well, really hot – but only on certain games. I played Genshin Impact at the highest possible graphical settings at 60fps and the built-in tool reported CPU temperature of up to 60°C. Yes, that’s right – 60°C.

But let’s not forget about the one feature that the ROG Phone 5 has – bypass charging. By plugging it into the charger, we can enable “bypass charging” which literally bypasses the battery and gets power directly from the charger like a desktop.

In theory, this will help lower the temperature of the ROG Phone 5 since it doesn’t stress the battery while gaming. And in practice, it does lower the temperature… but only by a little. 2°C, to be exact.

While it is an improvement, the phone is still way too hot to be touched while playing Genshin Impact at the highest graphical settings – which is why I just leave the Kunai Gamepad bumper case on all the time, even though when I’m not using the Kunai Gamepad.

But, Genshin Impact is not the only game I’ve been playing. I played COD Mobile a lot – and the ROG Phone 5 didn’t have any issues in performance or heat while running the game at the highest graphical settings. And this circles back to what we’ve been saying earlier – it gets really hot but only for certain games.
But how does the ROG Phone 5 feel while gaming? Well, there are a few additional “triggers” available. We now have more motion controls, but the AirTriggers are the same as the ROG Phone 3.

The biggest improvement in the gaming experience lies in the accessories built for the ROG Phone 5. The new AeroActive Cooler 5 – like what we said in the review – has two more buttons to be used at the back of the phone – which is amazing.
These two new buttons on the fan is extraordinarily useful!
And with that said – the ROG Phone 5’s gaming experience is not that much more special compared to its competitors in the market. To truly utilize ROG Phone 5’s power, we need its accessories.
If you want to stream mobile games via OBS, then the ROG Phone 5 will be perfect for you since it can output video via HDMI with a dongle.

Oof, okay, we just talked a lot of things about gaming on the ROG Phone 5. What about other parts of the phone? Let’s go through them really quickly.
It’s using a 6.78-inch AMOLED screen – beautiful, bright, vivid – all the good stuff. And it can go up to 144Hz – which is a tiny upgrade over the 120Hz on the ROG Phone 3.

The cameras on the ROG Phone 5 – it’s actually very good! I’m impressed that ASUS didn’t forget about its cameras while making a gaming-focused smartphone.
And also – real quick mention of the battery and charger. It comes with the same 6,000mAh like the ROG Phone 3, and it lasts for about 13 hours at 144Hz with the RGB light turned on.

It also comes with a 65W charger in the box – and charges the ROG Phone 5 from 15% to 100% battery in less than an hour.

Oh – we should also mention that the ROG Phone 5 uses USB PD 3.0 standards, and we can use the bypass charging feature with our Ugreen 65W GaN charger too. Nice.
So, for the starting price of RM2,999 – the ROG Phone 5 has the exact same price as the ROG Phone 3 Strix Edition. Lots of technological improvements overall, but the gaming experience via the phone only is still, nothing out of the ordinary.

That is why I absolutely recommend you to buy the AeroActive Cooler 5 for those two buttons at the back. But, it’s a separate purchase and not included in the box – at the price of RM149.
That bumps the price to RM3,148 – and that’s still a fairly good price for the gaming experience it offers.
Family photo with all the accessories.
As for the other accessories, it depends on you. Do you need a dedicated gamepad for your phone? To be honest, I’d say just get the ROG Clip or equivalent and mount your phone on an Xbox controller. That’s much better.

Where to buy? (Affiliate links)

Amazon US
Lazada
Shopee

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Samsung’s Neo QLED TV will arrive in Malaysia soon that starts from RM8,499; Exclusive freebies bundled with selected items

Samsung Malaysia has officially announced that the new Neo QLED TVs announced during the Unbox and Discover keynote is arriving in Malaysia pretty soon and to celebrate this, they are launching a pre-hype sales promotion for all customers to enjoy.

The event runs from March 15 to 28 and those who placed an order for the following items are going to enjoy a free Samsung product for absolutely free of charge. For items not related to Neo QLED, they are older products and are readily available for purchase, by the way.

Product

RRP (RM)

Exclusive Gift

65” QN900A Neo QLED 8K

24,999

Q700A Q-Soundbar (RM3,399)

75” QN800A Neo QLED 8K

24,999

Q800A Q-Soundbar (RM3,999)

75” QN90A Neo QLED

19,999

Q700A Q-Soundbar (RM3,399)

65” QN90A Neo QLED

13,999

A650 Soundbar (RM1,499)

85” QN85A Neo QLED

22,999

Q700A Q-Soundbar (RM3,399)

75” QN85A Neo QLED

16,999

Q600A Q-Soundbar (RM2,599)

55” QN85A Neo QLED

8,499

A450 Soundbar (RM799)

65” The Frame

9,499

S60A Lifestyle Soundbar (RM1,399)

55” The Frame

6,999

A450 Soundbar (RM799)

The Premiere 4K Triple Laser Projector

39,999

50” The Frame (RM5,799)

The Premiere 4K Laser Projector

24,999

32” The Frame (RM2,999)

You can learn about the new NEO QLED technology applied to these new TVs alongside the promotion campaign right here.

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How I use the ASUS Dial to edit videos

What does it mean by “a laptop made for content creators”? Is it the performance? Accurate colors? Well, those aren’t difficult to achieve. What about some special features? Yes, like the ASUS Dial. This is a brand new feature integrated with the ASUS ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED H5600 and it aims to elevate your workflow.
As a video editor myself – is the ASUS Dial actually feasible for video editing or is it just another gimmick? Let’s find out because I edited a few videos using this laptop with the ASUS Dial.

In this video, I won’t talk about the performance, specs, color accuracy, ports, upgradability, and all those jazz. You have to watch our full review of this laptop to get the full idea – which you can watch it here.

Okay, so a little introduction for the ASUS Dial. It’s available in two versions – either the virtual ASUS Dial that’s found in some of the ASUS Vivobook Pro laptops now, and the physical one is currently only exclusively available on the ProArt Studiobook 16.

So the ASUS Dial. At first glance, like what we mentioned in the review, I opened up a webpage and gave the ASUS Dial a spin, expecting it to automatically scroll the page for me. Instead, it asked me to select what feature I want the wheel to use. So I have to spin it until what I want is selected, press on the wheel to select. That’s a little counterintuitive since we can’t make the wheel go default on a mode.
Anyway, once I got to know how the wheel behaves in terms of software, we can see that the wheel has a few basic features at first glance. We can make it go vertical scrolling, adjust the volume, change brightness, all of that stuff.

Now, we can head into the ProArt utility app and add more features to the ASUS Dial. There are a few here to choose from but what I’m interested in the ASUS Dial’s integration with Adobe’s 4 most commonly-used apps – Premier Pro, Photoshop, After Effects, and Lightroom Classic. Surprisingly, there’s no integration with Audition.

So what this integration means is the availability of certain special features like using the ASUS Dial to change the brush size in Photoshop, zoom in and out of the timeline in Premiere Pro, changing the contrast value in Lightroom Classic, all of that jazz.
Let’s just focus only on editing videos using the ASUS Dial on Premier Pro since I did use this laptop to edit videos.

I have already been accustomed to Premiere Pro and I know what key combinations do what, and it also has a lot of my own personalized keyboard shortcuts. I mostly have all of the commonly-used shortcuts placed on the left side of the keyboard so my right hand can focus on moving the mouse only.
Then I thought to myself – if I already have an external mouse, why should I use the ASUS Dial, right? Hmmm…. I immediately ditched the mouse and force myself to edit videos using only the laptop itself. Yes, I forced myself to edit videos using the trackpad.

Now, with a combination of my custom keyboard shortcuts, the ASUS dial on my left thumb, and my right hand on the trackpad, can I edit a video?
Surprisingly, yes I can. How I edit my videos is by doing multiple passes – the first pass is to cut away the fluff and problematic parts, add markers, rearrange parts of the video if necessary – and the second pass is to add effects and B-roll.

Because of my workflow, I only use the ASUS Dial in two modes. The first one is vertical scrolling mode. Seriously, whatever features like zooming in and out the timeline and whatnot – nah, I can hold the ALT key and spin the ASUS Dial to zoom in and out. It’s much faster than using the ASUS Dial to select what mode it should be in and then start spinning.
I realize that this also applies to the video and audio timeline scrolling as well. By the looks of it, when we start to layer a lot of stuff in the video, this feature should be useful, right? Well, again, I already know how Premiere Pro works so I end up using CTRL + vertical scrolling to scroll up and down the video and audio timelines independently.

The second mode that I use the ASUS Dial is in the “player head scrolling” mode as I can use the ASUS Dial to fine-tune the playhead’s position to make my edits. That’s mostly only applicable for the first pass of my video editing process, though. I personally don’t prefer using a small screen to do my second pass to add effects and texts and whatnot – so I left that task for my desktop instead.

With that said though, I personally will only use the ASUS Dial to edit simple videos like the Edifier D12 video for example. It’s a simple video and I don’t mind doing that on this laptop. Then another question arises – can I do these simple edits while on battery?
And that’s exactly what I did. I ripped out the power and continued editing a video using the battery only. Again, because it is a simple video, the ASUS ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED handled it just fine. Though, the battery life suffered since it only lasts for like 2 hours.
Yanked the power!
Again, should you buy the ASUS ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED (H5600)?
To answer back to the original question – is the ASUS Dial actually feasible for video editing or is it just another gimmick? It depends on your workflow, really. For my workflow, as what we showed here, I think the ASUS Dial does help if I am on the go and I need to cut a video or edit a simple video – it’s actually feasible.
However, I manage to adapt to the ASUS Dial easily because I treat the ASUS Dial as a scroll wheel. I’m going to use it as a scroll wheel if there’s not enough space on the table.

Where to buy? (Affiliate links)

Amazon
Lazada
Shopee

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New Acer TravelMate P4 revealed starting from RM4,099 – Thin, light yet long-lasting for business

Acer has announced the latest addition to the business-focused laptop lineup, the Acer TravelMate P4 with updated specs to meet the latest digital workload demands.

Transitioning to a full digital workspace is not easy but it is necessary because of the pandemic hassle of all things. Designed with even higher standards between performance and durability, the 17.9mm semi-metal chassis holds the entire device in just 1.41kg for easy on-the-go tasks. The MIL-STD-810G also means that it can resist liquid, humidity, and extreme temperature changes alongside shocks from drops of up to 122cm high. The TPM 2.0 security feature will guard your data that stays safe and secure inside your laptop. The hardware specification is down below.

CPU

Intel Core i5 – 1135G7
OR
Intel Core i7 – 1165G7

GPU

Intel Iris Xe
OR
NVIDIA GeForce MX350

RAM

Up to 16GB, Max Support of 32GB

Storage

Up to 1TB PCIe 3.0 SSD

Display

14-inch FHD IPS

Battery

Up to 56Wr for 15.5 hour

Webcam

720p HD with a camera shutter
OR
1080p FHD with a camera shutter + Windows Hello

Connectivity

Intel WiFi 6
Bluetooth 5.1
Ethernet

Ports

USB 3.2 Gen 2
Thunderbolt 4
MicroSD reader
Universal Audio Jack
Optional NFC, Smart Card, SIM Card slots

Pricing and Availability
Coming in 2 variants, the Core-i5 is priced at RM4,099 while the Core-i7 model will run you for RM4,999. As a reminder, those who bought this laptop or other selected Acer products can redeem an RM80 TnG or Boost e-Wallet credit through this link right here.

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Review – Elysium Iron Mini: Feisty Little One

We’ve tried and tested many Bluetooth speakers over the years – but there’s one that particular brand that stood out. We only reviewed one of their products before, and they’ve gone missing – and that is Elysium’s Zeon III. After a hiatus for more than 2 years – Elysium returns with their brand new Bluetooth speaker – the Elysium Iron Mini. It has a retro look to it – but does it sound good, though?

Before we begin, I think we have to address one thing. The full name of this Bluetooth speaker is Elysium Iron Mini by lofree. Who actually is Lofree – I asked myself. Upon further inspection, I found out that Elysium actually licensed Lofree’s Bluetooth speaker design – named the Poison Speaker – and sold it as the Elysium Iron Mini. Elysium did the same for their – Lofree’s Four Seasons keyboard too – licensing it and selling it as Elysium Dot by Lofree.
Enough for introduction. Let’s find out what the Elysium Iron Mini can do.

Design
The Elysium Iron Mini has a classic look to it. It has the dials and meters that reminisces analog FM radios from the 1960’s era. Great aesthetics, I’d say.

However, the build quality, as shown in the video, is quite questionable. The build quality is durable, but the irony is in its name. Donning the name Elysium Iron Mini, it doesn’t have any bit of metal on it. Not even the grill in front. It’s made entirely out of plastic.
The body itself is made out of glossy plastic too – so that’ll definitely have lots of finger smudges and scratches easily.

That aside, I really like how the LED shines through this little translucent tube that protrudes at the top. That’s a nice touch, as that LED will indicate what status the speaker is at. It’s not that bright, but you can make out the color in dimmer lighting conditions.

Features
In terms of features, it’s pretty okay. As shown in the video, it can do pretty much do all the basics without any major hiccups. It supports aux, Bluetooth, and also FM radio. FM radio is pretty much the what the Elysium Iron Mini is all about, so they can’t neglect FM radio for sure.
I really like the entire design, though with an exposed diaphragm means that the Elysium Iron Mini must be unobstructed.

The 4 buttons above the Elysium Iron Mini is to turn it on, play/pause or enter pairing mode for Bluetooth, then there are two more buttons for both volumes up and down.

Then, there’s another dial for FM radio. You can long-press the dial to auto-seek for the next FM radio station, though it will start from the beginning of the spectrum instead.
I absolutely love this part of the speaker.
That little chromed protrusion is an LED, and it will light up in green if you got any of the FM radio channel’s frequency right.
Speaking of the LED, it will light up in orange when aux mode is selected, green for FM radio, and blue for Bluetooth.

Using the Elysium Iron Mini
For all I can say, the Elysium Iron Mini is actually a very capable Bluetooth speaker. In terms of sound quality, it can really do a lot. Like what we’ve shown in the video, music with heavy beats like Aika x Trifect’s Candy Carousel is far more enjoyable on the Elysium Iron Mini than the Edifier MP255 that we’ve recently reviewed here.

Other types of music like American Patrol by The BBC Big Band sounds magnificent as all of the bass notes are just precise. Way too good for a Bluetooth speaker. With such heavy bass, it’s bound to lose some clarity in the highs. Vocal-heavy tracks like the anything that is sung by Ashley Barrett in Transistor’s OST is muffled. The highs just aren’t there.
It has two 10W amps inside and with such ample space that it has, the Elysium Iron Mini can produce strong bass without a hitch. But then again, higher wattage means you gotta need more juice to run it, no?
Battery life?
That’s what I thought too – and this is where Elysium and Lofree decides to stuff in a 2,000mAh battery into the Iron Mini.
With such a huge battery, the Elysium Iron Mini can last for somewhat around 4~5 hours of playing time straight. Though, somewhere around the center at the top, it will get a little warm during Bluetooth mode. I presume that’s where the Bluetooth chip is placed.
Charging will take quite a long time, by the way. The Elysium Iron Mini can take in a full 5V 2A, but with a 2,000mAh it means that it’ll take about 1.5 hours for a full charge. Not too bad, as you can still play music while charging – obviously.
Wrapping up the Elysium Iron Mini review
Here’s what I can say about the Elysium Iron Mini. It’s by Lofree, yes – we all know that. The bass it produces is magnificent – but that comes with a price as it lacks in the higher frequency response.

It’s a true party-on-the-go Bluetooth speaker, I’d say. For the price of RM299 and available in black, white, red, and teal, the Elysium Iron Mini is definitely one of the Bluetooth speakers that I can personally recommend for those who want to enjoy some beats. Seriously there are only a few Bluetooth speakers that I played that can produce good heavy beats.

Pros

Very powerful bass for a Bluetooth speaker
Has FM radio
Retro look

Cons

Underwhelming high-frequency response
Cannot skip tracks from the speaker itself

Where to buy?
Lazada, where else?

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ASUS brings in OLED versions of ZenBook 13 and ZenBook Pro Duo 15 into Malaysia

ASUS Malaysia has announced they are bringing 2 high-class OLED notebooks into the market of designer lightweight laptops filled with innovation and prestige.

To be honest, the ZenBook Pro Duo 15 OLED is actually just the original ZenBook Duo 14 updated with an OLED panel, a 1-inch size increase plus the latest computing hardware as the design language is completely identical. To save you some time, we recommend you check out our video on the original ZenBook Duo to find out the actual user experience.

On the other hand, the ZenBook 13 OLED can be said as the upgraded version of the 2019 ZenBook 13 while applying, fine-tuning and adding elements that make a modern laptop a modern laptop. By using an OLED panel, they managed to snag the title of the world’s current lightest OLED ultraportable notebook.
The hardware is nothing cheapo too but as always, you pay what you get.

ZenBook Pro Duo 15 OLED

ZenBook 13 OLED

CPU

Intel Core i9-10980HK
Intel Core i7-10870H

Intel Core i7-1165G7
Intel Core i5-1135G7

GPU

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070

Intel Iris Xe Graphics

Display

15.6-inch 4K OLED, PANTONE Validated, 100% DCI-P3, 4096-Pressure Level Stylus Support (Main)
14.09-inch UHD Touch Display (ScreenPad Plus)

13.3-inch FHD OLED NanoEdge Display, 100% DCI-P3

RAM

32GB DDR4 2933MHz

8GB LPDDR4X 4266MHz

Storage

1TB PCIe 3.0 NVMe

512GB PCIe 3.0 NVMe

I/O

2x Thunderbolt 3
1x USB-A 3.1 Gen 2
1x HDMI 2.1
1x Universal Audio Jack

2x Thunderbolt 4
1x USB-A 3.1 Gen 2
1x HDMI 2.1
1x Universal Audio Jack

Connectivity

Intel Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth 5.0

Webcam

IR with Windows Hello Support

Battery

92Whr

67Whr

Price

RM15,999 (Core i9)
RM12,999 (Core i7)

RM4,999 (Core i7)
RM4,299 (Core i5)

Availability

June 7 Onwards

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Be First to Experience ZenFone 2

The ASUS ZenFone is something special since its first inception last year. Great performance and quality, yet beautiful and comfortable to use – all for a very affordable price. It’s no doubt that the ZenFone got such amazing reception.

We were all expecting the ZenFone 2 to be another great release by ASUS, and yes – it really is a great phone!
That’s not all – you can register yourself and be the first in Malaysia to experience the brand new and amazing ZenFone 2! Have an #IncredibleZenDay
Just hit this link or the image to register now!
HURRY! Limited to the first 1,000 registrations only!

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Review – ASUS RoG GK2000 Horus Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

[alert type=warning]This is a pre-release product sent over by ASUS. The final product will be different![/alert]
GK2000 Horus keyboard confirms that ASUS is moving all of their products to cope with their owl themed designs and aesthetics across all products. They can even incorporate an owl design into a keyboard – and that became the RoG GK2000 Horus mechanical keyboard. Named after the Egyptian’s falcon-headed god, I expect that the GK2000 is nothing less than a godly-leveled keyboard from ASUS.

Does it disappoint? Find out in this review!
We’ve unboxed the whole keyboard, and here’s a video just for you!

Yes, the box is humongous and it rarely fit my desk at all. Then comes the keyboard size – it’s also very big.
They did include many things too. As shown in the video, there’s a little box in there where substitute keycaps are found. Those keycaps are meant to substitute the usual F1 to F6 keys to the M1 and M6 keys. Talk about modularity! Of course, ASUS also included a keycap remover tool with the GK2000.
[nextpage title=”Design”]
The GK2000 takes on a cue where it looks just like the STRIX owl’s face, together with the eye brows and the furry cheeks. The brows and furry cheeks are manifested to the keyboard as black-anodized brush aluminium bars that run along the entire keyboard.
These aluminium bars are not for aesthetics only, as there are made there with some other reasons in mind.

Firstly, there’s a mobile stand included in the package. This mobile stand dock is made to snap on to either the left or right wing of the GK2000, and then you can put your phone or (small) tablet like the ASUS ZenPad 7.0 on there.It sits there very well, and I really like ASUS made it black entirely to prevent any distractions. Case and point in comparison is the ARX Dock by Logitech on the Logitech G G310 Atlas Dawn with the blue coloured dock that can only be placed on the desk.
As mentioned, you can dock the mobile holder at the left or right side, and that’s up to you. For me, I’m a leftie so I put the dock at the left side, and I realize one thing.

Although the mobile dock does go in the left wing and snaps in just like it did on the right side, I did have to remove the Esc keycap so that the mobile dock can go in. Then, put the Esc key back in and it worked!

On the right side however where are no such problems, just put it in, and snaps right on.
[nextpage title=”Build and features”]The GK2000 is not to be mistaken as a slab of metal, although it is made out of one, and then jam a lot of features and electronics inside of it. I’d have to say that the fact that the ASUS included two USB ports together, one microphone and headphone pass-through jack is a godsend.
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However, the cloth braided cable is excruciatingly thick, and very difficult to bend. To those with OCD when it comes to cable management, you might wanna take this into consideration.
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The keyboard itself is made out of a metal plate, and all mountings can be seen without any effort too, just like the Corsair Vengeance series of mechanical keyboards. Also, it’s plate mounted!

GK2000 comes with the standard Cherry MX red switch. The GK2000 Horus comes with all ABS plastic keycaps, but since it uses a standard Cherry MX switch, that means you can swap all of those keycaps with whatever you like.

As I’ve said earlier, the GK2000 does look and feel the same like the Corsair Vengeance series of keyboards, including the height of the keyboard, the angle, and height difference between the rows of keys. However that’s where the similarity ends as the ASUS RoG GK2000 Horus mechanical keyboard brings out the big guns!

I would say that ASUS made the GK2000 Horus is designed with function first, then define the form later. My first point being that since the GK2000 has these aluminium bars are amazingly practical for the mobile dock! The height is suitable for proper ergonomics and has rubberized feet to lift it higher, and yet it sits on the edge of my peripheral vision and not distracting me at all, unless I get a call and the screen turns on that is.

Secondly about the aluminium bars again – they’re made to hold cables inside of them. Remember those USB ports and audio jacks on the keyboard? Yeah, I wired my mouse through the gap between the aluminium bar and the base plate located on the far right corner, then connected the mouse onto the keyboard.
“Why the devil did you do that?“ – you might ask.

The answer is that this gap right here can hold the mouse cable pretty snugly – just like a mouse bungee, which you’ll have to spend more money and sacrifice more space on your precious desk just for that thing to sit on. Also, don’t forget that mouse bungees will need to be adhered on the desk – and that doesn’t work with all materials. With the GK2000’s gaps between the aluminium bar, it’s an added bonus!

Heck wrap a strip of velcro on the aluminium bar if you want to – that’ll hold the cable nice and tight!
The multimedia keys located at the top right side of this keyboard covers pretty much everything – ranging from launching the default media player, then the usual play/pause, stop, previous, and next keys to a volume control wheel.

Although the volume wheel is a little difficult to rotate, ASUS implemented another extra special little mute button, which is trigger when the volume wheel is pressed to the left side.

Then comes some other gaming-centric features on the keyboard – there are 5 dedicated buttons for all your macros on the far left, along with a “ML” button to switch between the 3 available profiles on the fly. Then there are other functions like toggling through the lighting modes on Fn+F7, NKRO toggle on Fn+Pause Break, and an additional RoG logo button to disable Windows key.
When the NKRO or the RoG logo button is pressed, it will indicate that it has been pressed by flickering. Ironically the RoG logo button will cause the Windows key to flicker when pressed, but it will light up when Caps Lock is turned on.
When it comes to the lighting mode, there are a total of 5 brightness levels excluding turning it all off, and it is pretty bright in my opinion, but not too bright that it’ll blind the user like what Tesoro did with the Excalibur Spectrum. The GK2000 glows red, and has another wheel to control the brightness, located just beside where the volume wheel is situated.
[nextpage title=”Ergonomics”]Again, the RoG GK2000 Horus comes with Cherry MX red switches, and it’s nothing different from other red switches at all, other than how ASUS accommodates them in this beautifully built keyboard. To be honest, because of the ergonomic and height of the included wrist rest that I attached and used since the beginning, made the red switch actually very nice to type on.

Yup, typing on red switches. I’m not joking – because the Cherry MX red is such a light switch, I find that touch typing can be done a lot easier compared to the Tesoro Excalibur Spectrum which is also using red switches.

On 10 Fast Fingers, I can still score the usual rate that I can type on, albeit a lot less strenuous to my hands and fingers in terms of posture while typing. I have to say though the spacebar is a little noisier due to friction noises from the stabilizers.

While gaming however, this keyboard is amazingly comfortable. First off – again with the wrist rest – is huge enough to accommodate my entire palm and more so that my thumb can rest on the space bar at a very comfortable angle, and my fingers can be rested on the usual FPS control keys without accidentally triggering any of the keys. Again, they are red switches, so it takes little amount of force to trigger.
[nextpage title=”GK2000 Software”]As said earlier this isn’t the finalized version of the GK2000, although it’s darn near to completion. Unfortunately the software to control the GK2000 wasn’t provided to us, which I presume is due to polishing issues but I’m sure ASUS has to prepare the software properly for its prime time.
From the screenshots in the user manual and the review guide however, the software seems to be offering a heck load of customizability. Oh yes, I’m talking about all aspects of the keyboard.
Programmable keys

Ranging from a total of 10 profiles, 3 sets of four dedicated programmable keys, another 12 more programmable keys with Fn+FX keys (X here being numbers 1 to 12; eg. F1, F2, F3, etc.). Which means you can program the lighting mode toggling key away, you can program all of the multimedia keys to do something else or nothing at all.

That said, the GK2000 is included with a set of keys for you to swap out the included-yet-messy F7 to F12 instead, just for aesthetic purposes. Or maybe just because you can!

Lighting

Then comes the blingz, which I’m quite surprised that in the age of RGB lighting with all the 16.8 million colours (not really 16.8 million, just take 2^24 and round up), ASUS only included one colour on this keyboard – red. Only red. Not even 50 shades of them – and only 4 brightness levels excluding turning them off entirely. However in my use case for two full weeks, I find that the brightness on the GK2000 to be in the perfect balance as it’s not too bright even on its maximum brightness, and glows just nice enough to give the chillaxing brightness. I can still look at the keyboard in dim lighting conditions and know what keys I’m hitting, yet not too distracting while I’m not looking.
There seems to be 5 preset lighting modes, and custom lighting modes can be programmed with modularity. What I mean by modularity is that you can program the lightning mode down to its brightness, display time, breathing effect status, and the frequency of breathing effect.
Then, you can make only certain parts of the keyboard to have the programmed lightning effect, so you can do it all by using the GK2000 software.
Macros

Macros! the secret to a gamer’s victory? Seems like it, since we have mice that has an entire dialpad on the side – and the GK2000 has the option to record macros directly from the mouse and keyboard too. That’s definitely not common, and I really love that ASUS included this feature in the GK2000!
Others

This is where the profile sync management can be done, where created profiles can be tied in to specific profiles. So if you have Profile 6 made for Dota 2, it’ll automagically switch to Profile 6 when you go into Dota 2.
After that, you can even change the USB polling rate here.
[nextpage title=”Accessories”]I did not forget about the accessories that came with the GK2000 of course. They’re a main part of the keyboard experience after all.

First up, the included key replacements. The ML, M1 to M4 keys are included just for the sake of replacing, but the F7 to F12 keys are included for aesthetic purposes since its function keys tasks aren’t printed on the keys themselves.

Then comes the included keyboard sleeve. I find it a bit too thin to be carrying a piece of sharp and heavy piece of metal keyboard around by just the handles.

However, that said, they do have two compartments in it and made transportation of the keyboard and the wristrest relatively easy.
[nextpage title=”Wrap up”]The GK2000 is a magnificent keyboard. I finally got used to typing on a keyboard with Cherry MX red switches, and that is certainly an achievement on ASUS’s side since the ergonomics is excellent. Not even going to lie – the keyboard’s aesthetics might be a little too dull due to the darkness of colours, but this isn’t a fireworks show either. The GK2000 is ergonomically excellent for typing and gaming, functionally complete for everyday use, and still includes a soft carrying pouch to bring the keyboard around too.
The mobile holder is excellent as they technically did think about both left and right handed people.
Did I mention that this isn’t the finalized version of the GK2000? This only means that the GK2000 will only get better after this.
Rock on, ASUS RoG. You managed to make red switches a breeze to type on.
UPDATE: You can actually buy the ASUS RoG GK2000 Horus in the USA!!!

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Update your mood as statuses on Facebook

Facebook just rolled out their new feature to enable users to post a status of various categories!

As you can see from the screenshot above, they covered quite a large field of activities that people do everyday, from mood to hobbies, even recreational activities.
If you’re feeling happy, just click on that and type out your mood! There’s even a slew of pre-set moods with their own emoticons to be chosen, or you can just simply type your own, and then select your own emoticon!

Maybe you are enjoying a new jam (not the traffic, of course) from a hipster artist and you want to share it with your friends – just do it right here with the new status updates on Facebook!

I wonder why don’t we just slap in the YouTube link there though. That’ll be a lot easier to share music, don’t you think?
The emoticons update feature is clearly a direct competition with Google+’s mood updates, but then Facebook expanded it even larger to cover the a lot of other human activities. Soon, we’ll see a lot of weird statuses posted through this feature, though it is still yet to be seen on the mobile apps.

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Meizu M6 & M6 Note Launched; Price Cuts For Pro 7 & Pro 7 Plus

Yesterday, Meizu launched their brand new smartphone in the Malaysia market – the Meizu M6 and M6 Note. They’re special, since it costs less than a thousand and yet has some really interesting specs – especially the M6 Note.
Here is the specs list for the Meizu M6 Note:

5.5-inch 1080p display
Snapdragon 625 chipset with 8x 2.0GHz Cortex-A53 processor
Rear camera: 12MP + 5MP f/1.9 aperture with PDAF
Selfie camera: 16MP f/2.0
4,000mAh battery with mCharge fast-charging tecnhology
Available in 3GB RAM + 32GB storage or 4GB RAM + 64GB storage

The price? It’s stunning – only RM899 for the 3GB RAM + 32GB storage version. I’m impressed by the price – as other Snapdragon 625 smartphones out there in the market costs a lot more than RM899. Though, it’s weird to see smartphones these days that don’t have the 18:9 FullView display.

The 4GB RAM + 64GB storage variant will arrive some time in the future – hopefully for less than a thousand too.
As for the Meizu M6 – the one without the Note – has a different list of specs.

5.2-inch 720p display
MediaTek MTK6750 chipset with 8x 1.52GHz processors
Rear camera: 13MP f/2.2
Selfie camera: 8MP f/2.0
3,070mAh battery
3GB RAM + 32GB storage

The Meizu M6 is definitely aimed towards a more entry-level market, as its price is only RM599. And it’s small.

Discounts for both the Meizu Pro 7 and Pro 7 Plus
For those who are aiming for the Meizu Pro 7 and Pro 7 Plus – you may now rejoice! Meizu also announced a price cut for both of these smartphones.
The new prices are stunning – the Meizu Pro 7 is ow priced at RM1,499, whereas the Pro 7 Plus is priced at RM2,399.
That’s RM400 cut from the original price!

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Review – ASUS ProArt StudioBook Pro 17: Yes, two pros in the name

I have to say – we reviewed a lot of laptops, particularly in this year alone. But, this is the most enjoyable big laptop I’ve reviewed so far. Introducing, the ASUS ProArt StudioBook Pro 17. Yes, there are two “pro”s in the name, but bear with us here because even I get confused by the lengthy name.
Codenamed the W700G2T, this is a 17-inch laptop made specifically for creators – and I personally really like this laptop too. I highly recommend you find out more why.

Design
Let’s start off with the design. This design is unlike any other ASUS laptops that we’ve seen. It has a very boxy design with chamfered edges on all edges – which just looks absolutely amazing.

Screen
Alright, this screen is magnificent. The colors and quality are not as good as the RM50k StudioBook One, but this laptop’s display is still really amazing nonetheless. And this is the first reason why I suggest getting a ProArt laptop for content creation – especially photo/video work.

Speaking of photo and video work, this laptop uses a 16:10 aspect ratio screen instead of the usual 16:9. That extra vertical space is very, very useful, honestly.
As the name suggests, this ASUS ProArt StudioBook Pro 17 is a 17-inch laptop. Now, if you’re like me – you might think that a 17-inch laptop is too big. I agree. The thing is, within the ProArt series of laptops – and even for this particular laptop, there are 15.6-inch laptops on ASUS’s global website, but it’s not on ASUS Malaysia’s website.
Keyboard and trackpad

Looking at the keyboard, it’s using a standard numkeyless layout which I think is great ergonomically so that I don’t have to offset my body to type. Each key feels amazing to type on – and the thing I find funky here is the distinct angled texture on the arrow keys. Not a big deal, but it makes them not as prone to accidental presses as other laptops.

This distinct angled texture also runs throughout the entire palm rest area, where we can also find the fingerprint scanner. Nice.

The trackpad is relatively small, but it tracks really well. It also has the ASUS NumberPad feature. Now we know why this physical keyboard layout doesn’t have a number pad.

Ports
While on the subject of ports, the ASUS ProArt StudioBook Pro 17 comes with a healthy dose of “great selection of ports”. What we have here are:

On the right side

2x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A (10Gb/s)

On the left side

Power barrel jack
Thunderbolt 3
HDMI
USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A (10Gb/s)
Combo audio jack
Full-sized SD card reader

And the last port is truly important because for a laptop, I don’t really care how fast the card reader is – just having a physical card reader is already good enough when compared to other “creator” laptop.
My complaint here is the position of the power jack. It’s situated at the middle part, which is a bit cumbersome to position and the power jack also runs through and blocks the exhaust vents on the left side. Could’ve just moved the power jack beside the Kensington lock.
Specs
Lastly, specs. The ASUS ProArt StudioBook Pro 17 that we have here comes with:

Intel i7-9750H
NVIDIA Quadro T2000 with 4GB VRAM
16GB RAM
512GB NVMe SSD

Okay, let me explain to you first – the ProArt series of laptops need to be reliable as they are the user’s money-making machine. Hardware that isn’t the latest is not an issue, but stability is a requirement.

That NVIDIA Quadro T2000 is made for workflows that require complex math like fluid dynamics simulation and precise calculations. In our workflow of video editing and whatnot, that Quadro T2000 handles it very well too, obviously.
Upgradability
If you do want to upgrade this laptop with more RAM and more storage, then you can. Opening up the backplate is easy and popping it out reveals a very clean motherboard layout. Everything is nicely positioned and there are one empty M.2 SSD slot and another empty RAM slot for us to upgrade. Nice.

Do I recommend the ASUS ProArt StudioBook Pro 17?
And all in all, I think the ProArt StudioBook Pro 17 that we have here is a great laptop
I love all of the engineering and clean design that goes into this machine, and I can’t highlight enough about that beautiful big 16:10 screen – especially for photo and video editing.
And this laptop isn’t as exorbitantly priced. At only RM8,899, this is a rather affordable laptop for creators.

While I know the Quadro GPU isn’t for everyone, there is another non-Quadro version of this laptop but I’m not sure if it’s going to be available here in Malaysia. There’s also another 15-inch version which – again, I don’t know if it’ll be available in Malaysia too.
There are actually a lot more ProArt laptops in the whole series – which Tech Critter has talked about it in this video.

The closest competitor is…
The Dell XPS 17. The closest competitor to this laptop that I can think of is the Dell XPS 17 because of it uses a 16:10 aspect ratio screen too, a powerful CPU with a non-Quadro NVIDIA GPU, and also a full-sized SD card reader.
However, the ProArt StudioBook Pro 17 here isn’t going to have the best battery life since it only has a 57Wh battery and lasts for about 5-6 hours, while the XPS 17 comes with a 97Wh battery. Yet both of these laptops are also upgradable with two RAM slots and two M.2 SSD slots.
But the price of the XPS 17 with similar specs is like RM10,499. And that is why I think this ProArt StudioBook Pro 17 is a fantastic laptop – especially if you’re looking for a 17-inch creator-centric laptop.

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Five Things to Take Note of the BenQ MOBIUZ EX3210U

High-end gaming monitors have been shifting in the direction of the high resolution and high refresh rate. We’re basically bidding goodbye to 1080p Full HD and moving into 1440p and 4K resolution. Today what we have in our studio is BenQ’s latest model for its MOBIUZ lineup – the EX3210U. After spending more than two weeks with the monitor for both gaming and work, here are the 5 things we think you should take note of this monitor.
4K 120Hz/144Hz with FreeSync Premium Pro
That goes without saying, the first key highlight is the display panel itself. This is a 32-inch IPS panel with a 4K resolution that supports up to 120Hz or 144Hz. 4K is the upcoming mainstream resolution as our graphical processing power becomes more powerful than ever. Consumers are getting used to 4K displays and most importantly, 4K is readily supported by most of the content streaming services as well as the currently available PlayStation 5 and XBOX Series X.

If you’re gaming on the aforementioned consoles, just plug into the HDMI 2.1 port and enjoy a smooth 4K 120Hz gaming experience. For PC Master Race, utilising the DisplayPort 1.4 will maximise the panel’s 144Hz refresh rate. In case you don’t understand how a high refresh rate monitor works, just imagine 144Hz being the display refreshing the content 144 times every second, meanwhile, the typical monitor will only have a 60Hz refresh rate. The end result? Silky smooth animation and gameplay movements.

Pairing the high refresh rate display with FreeSync Premium Pro basically eliminates the screen tearing effect for distracting free gaming experience.
Designed with Multi-device In Mind

In this current digital age, it is quite common for us to own multiple devices for different purposes. Some might even own a few different gaming consoles to play exclusive titles. For instance, a PS5 for Grand Turismo 7 and a Nintendo Switch for Pokemon. If you’re that person, then the BenQ MOBIUZ EX3210U could be for you.

It is not just because the monitor has multiple input sources, but the fact that BenQ has built-in features to go along with it. The monitor comes with two HDMI 2.1 ports and one DisplayPort 1.4 port. What makes the monitor stand out from the rest is its ability to assign a unique colour profile and behaviour to each individual input port. For example, if you connect the first HDMI 2.1 to a PS5, then you can actually assign it as HDR Gaming Mode, meanwhile, assigning HDR Standard for your Gaming PC that is connected to the DisplayPort. As such, the monitor will recognise the input and automatically switch profiles.
Display HDR600 and High Colour Accuracy

Speaking of HDR, the MOBIUZ EX3210U also has Display HDR600 certification. It should play well with the consoles and Windows 11 if the game developer includes a proper HDR setting configuration for it. HDR or High Dynamic Range basically improves the overall viewing contrast by enabling the monitor to display both very bright and very dark objects on the screen at the same time without compromising on the image quality.

The monitor also has BenQ’s proprietary HDRi technology that includes a couple of different colours presets for the HDR.
Apart from gaming, this monitor is also suitable for creative works thanks to its high colour accuracy panel. It has close to 100% sRGB colour coverage and 98% DCI-P3 coverage making it a great choice for gamers who are also content creators.
BenQ Eye-Care

Interestingly, despite the EX3210U falling under the gaming MOBIUZ lineup instead of the Eye-Care series, BenQ didn’t hesitate to include the Eye-Care feature into this monitor. The bottom bezel houses the sensors required for the BenQ Eye-Care feature to work. It is capable of detecting the surrounding lighting and adjusting the panel lighting accordingly to maintain the user’s viewing comfort.

Brightness Intelligence plus combines both ambient light sensors as well as content analysis to determine the best display brightness and colour temperature to reduce eye fatigue. It is an important feature given that we spend most of our time staring at the screen daily, be it for work or entertainment purposes.
Excellent built-in Speakers

Apart from the stunning visuals, audio also plays an important part when it comes to gaming. You wouldn’t want to miss out on the enemy that is lurking around the bushes, don’t you? While there are plenty of gaming monitors equipped with speakers, none of them really stood out other than offering an audio solution that somehow works. The BenQ EX3210U has equipped with a 2.1 sound system. That’s right, it has a dedicated 5W subwoofer mounted to the back of the monitor to compensate for the missing bass. The end result is a speaker configuration that works really well on its own. You can also choose from the preset audio equalisers to match your audio preference. Frankly speaking, this is a viable setup for those who want to keep their desktop free of cable mess.
Conclusion
Throughout the two weeks of testing, we thoroughly enjoyed every single moment spent with the monitor. While there are times when Microsoft Windows 11 decided not to play well with the HDR, most of the time it is caused by the buggy DX12 package. For console gamers, the software is much more stable, reliable and straightforward. Even though the BenQ EX3210U is the flagship model which comes at a premium price tag of RM4868, BenQ does have a couple of other MOBIUZ series gaming monitors in multiple flavours including different screen sizes, resolution, refresh rate as well as a choice between flat or curved display. Check out the link to learn more about other models and specifications.
BenQ MOBIUZ EX3210U: https://bit.ly/3lXl0YO
Shopee: https://bit.ly/3auOril
Lazada: https://bit.ly/3wWQowE

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[UPDATED] OPPO F5 Dashing Blue Edition Coming This Valentine’s Day

It’s the end of January and February is coming up – that means Valentine’s Day is coming up! OPPO has something unique to offer – and that’s the OPPO F5 Dashing Blue edition. Contrary to last year’s red color OPPO R9s, OPPO is venturing into a a purplish blue color instead.
It’s still the same ever OPPO F5 that we’ve reviewed here, but having a new blue color instead. Also, the bezels are black, for those who are wondering.

There are absolutely no details other than the announcement that the OPPO F5 Dashing Blue is coming to the market some time in the future, and we have no price or availability date.
No price, and no idea which variant of the OPPO F5 is getting the Dashing Blue treatment. Perhaps the 6GB RAM variant? Perhaps in limited quantities? We have no idea – and we’ll have to wait for OPPO’s confirmation on this. What a bummer.
We’ll update this space when we have more information regarding the OPPO F5 Dashing Blue edition. Also, do tell us – are you interested in getting an OPPO F5 Dashing Blue for yourself?

30/01/2018 UPDATE: Pre-order Starts 5 Feb 2018

During the media appreciation event, OPPO Malaysia has unveiled the OPPO F5 Dashing Blue Edition itself as well as the official availability date.
Pre-order starts from 5th February 2018, 12pm onwards till 10 February 2018. Customers can head to either OPPO concept store or online at OPPO official website to place their orders.
OPPO Malaysia also showcases the F5 Dashing Blue microfilm – “Listen to Your Heart”, starring Eric Chou and Min Chen.

01/02/2018 UPDATE: Limited Edition box set for first 500 e-shoppers

OPPO has announced that the first 500 consumers who online pre-order the romantic dashing blue F5 from OPPO Official Website or OPPO’s e-commerce partners platforms such as Lazada, 11street and Shopee will be receiving a lovely blue gift box that comes with an exclusive Swarovski crystal clear phone case.
OPPO also offers free laser engraving (max 10 English characters) behind the phone case when the place the order online.

05/02/2018 UPDATE: Price Unveiled – RM 1298

After all the teasing and delaying the news, we finally received the official confirmation of the pricing for the OPPO F5 Dashing Blue variant. Pre-order is now online over at OPPO Concept Store and OPPO Official Website or e-commerce partner sites such as Lazada, 11street and Shopee.

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EXCLUSIVE – Unboxing the ASUS GK2000 Horus keyboard

First up – it’s a mechanical gaming keyboard. And the only reason why I’m doing this unboxing video is because this keyboard is sent over to us exclusively by ASUS, and we’re glad they did – because I personally love this keyboard a lot!
I realized that it was first codenamed as GK2000, but ASUS has now given an official name for it – called the ASUS GK2000 Horus, the Egyptian god of the sky and kingship, which is a falcon face. The ASUS GK2000 Horus keyboard – I’m enjoying this right now.

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Mac OS X Gatekeeper bypassed by malware

Mac OS X is known for their longest history of being the most user-friendly for the least – if not zero – amount of viruses which was even one of their own selling points back in the days of Mac vs. PC advertisement series.

As time and tide has passed, Apple’s user community has recently gone to the dark side and got a widespread virus last year which made all Macs vulnerable through a loophole in the Java software and downloads the malware without the user’s consent. After that attack was laid to rest, another attack is now on the verge of revive as the malware that infected Facebook actually bypasses OS X’s Gatekeeper protection.

Gatekeeper, the software made for Mac users to control which source to have the permission to install apps – something like a repository, can be bypassed and the most tragic part is that the reason how is unknown.
Source : Ars Technica

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Review – Epson EpiqVision Mini EF-12 Laser Projection TV: The high-end projector for both work and movie

My TV is dead. Well, not really. I was using a 43-inch 1080p TN panel TV for a long time. I was about to get another TV but this projector came. This Epson EpiqVision Mini EF-12 Laser Projection TV aims to be an all-in-one projector for work, entertainment, and even as a Bluetooth speaker.
With that said, this projector is definitely going to be premium in terms of price – at RM4,999. And I’ve been using this projector for about 6 months now. The reason why this review took so long is because of stock availability due to chip shortage.

So this Epson EpiqVision Mini EF-12 is – as the name suggests – a mini projector. It’s tiny and weighs in at only about 2kg which is surprisingly dense. There is one tiny foot at the front to adjust the angle of the projector but that’s about it.

It uses laser projection with individual RGB liquid crystal projection system so that it can be really bright and has vivid colors. That laser diode is also rated for 20,000 hours.

But while this projector is officially rated as a 1080p 60Hz projector, when we plug in an HDMI cable to our laptop, it says 4K 60Hz. And it also accepts 4K 60Hz signal. Hmmm… 🤔

I should also highlight that the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF-12 is not a short-throw projector. You still need about 3 meters from the screen to get 100 inches diagonally.

Epson has a fantastic little applet to calculate everything for you – so I highly recommend you download it and play around with the settings to make sure it suits your living space. You can click here to download that applet and play around with it too. It’s free.

For my case, I retrofitted the EF-12 projector into my existing home TV setup, that’s why it looks weird. I got a little dual-layer trolley here to put stuff on it and all the cables – including speaker – are connected across the room with all the cables hidden under the carpet. Looks like a homemade speedbump, but it works.
While we’re at that, let’s talk about the ports. We have:

1x USB-A
1x USB-B (for firmware updates only)
2x HDMI (supports HDCP 2.3)
3.5mm audio jack

I am quite disappointed that it doesn’t have an HDMI eARC port – although I don’t know how we’re supposed to connect it since soundbars are going to be positioned far away from the projector anyway.

The USB port is also severely limited by Android TV as it just doesn’t support any external drives with exFAT format. So, if you want to play your own videos on this projector but the file size is larger than 4GB, then you gotta find some other alternatives.
User experience
Okay, so how’s it like to use the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF-12 Laser Projection TV? It’s actually surprisingly good.
When I unboxed it, the projector shot out a grid to the wall and it calibrated itself since it also has a camera inside. I didn’t have to do anything as it can already auto-level itself and autofocus to provide the sharpest image possible. It’s not perfect though, as I had to go and do some fine-tuning to the cornerstone, and then it’s good.
This autocalibration feature is just so good.
Since it’s also using Android TV operating system, I logged in to my Google account and everything ran properly.
The projection is fantastic and I was watching a lot of shows on this projector – mainly animated shows with vivid colors – and it looks absolutely mesmerizing. Did you watch those videos where some dude just walk around town with a camera on their head? Those videos look so realistic, as though I am walking in that town.

However, gaming on this projector should be out of the question. The amount of delay that this projector has is just insanely high to the point that I just put down the controller within 2 minutes.

There are zero options like “game mode” on this projector. There are multiple different color profiles, but I don’t think that is necessary.
Those built-in speakers in this projector are fantastic. Did I mention that the projector’s speakers are Yamaha speakers? We do have a sample of the speaker quality – but you’ll have to watch our video at the top of this review.

The projector can also be used as a Bluetooth speaker or just a speaker in general as there is a button to turn the laser diode off while music is still playing.

However, there are a lot of growing pains with the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF-12 Laser Projection TV. We live in an era that Netflix is essentially a household name and yet this projector is not Netflix certified. That is why it is not in the Google Play Store for this projector.

That is why I had to install something like Xplore File Manager, APK Mirror, and Sideload Launcher to get Netflix up and running on this projector. Does it work? Sure does, and Netflix looks great on this projector too. It’s just a shame that Netflix is not available to download in the Play Store officially. That means each time I want to update the Netflix app on this projector, I have to go through a lot of trouble.

Netflix does work but we’ll need a wireless USB mouse to get it working properly as the Netflix app doesn’t respond to the remote control’s buttons.

Then, this is a nitpicky reason of mine actually – the firmware update procedure. There are a total of 3 firmware to update on this projector – we have the Android TV OS itself, then the projector itself, and lastly – this one which I have no idea what it is.
What’s this for?
I just update everything and so far, it works fine.
One more thing to highlight about the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF-12 Laser Projection TV is the noise level. It’s surprisingly quiet, honestly. I mean, if I sit beside it with no audio playing, then I can definitely hear the fan. However, if I’m watching a movie or listening to music, then I am definitely not noticing the fan noise at all.

There is also an air filter. that slides in the projector. I have not changed it so far. Epson does have air filters but I don’t think they’re available for sale in Malaysia?
Should you buy the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF-12 Laser Projection TV?
For the price of RM4,999. Yes, it’s a hefty price to pay but I can see why people like this kind of thing. It’s tiny, it projects a large, bright image, has a fantastic built-in speaker.

I’ll still say though, this projector’s image is fantastic. I was still planning to get another TV but I left that idea out the door entirely since this projector literally wowed me with what it is capable of.
With that said, it’s not perfect as there are some growing pains like not having exFAT support, the lack of official Netflix support, and its inability to be used for any sort of gaming.

Where to buy? (Affiliate links)

Amazon
Lazada
Shopee

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Logitech acquires Jaybird

This comes as a total surprise to nearly all of us, it went unheard of and today – BOOM. Headlines were made with this announcement.
Jaybird, the creator of the amazing X2 – Bluetooth earphone meant for sports, was acquired by Logitech for approximately USD $50 million straight up in cash! An additional earn-out of USD $45 million over the next two years. It’s not a low-priced acquisition at all, yet it’s a strategic one for sure.

Let’s put it this way, Logitech has Ultimate Ears, or UE, in their hands. With Jaybird coming along in their fleet of audio products, I’m sure that Logitech can whip out some really fantastic product real soon.

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Review – Kingston 2022 Mini Tiger USB Flash Drive – Feline-themed flash storage at its best

Kingston has announced the availability of the 2022 Mini Tiger USB Flash Drive, the latest member in the currently ever-growing Zodiac series USB Drive collection (Unless they do this for another 10 years for a full set). Thanks to Kingston, we got a unit of the Mini Tiger for review so let’s find out what it actually looks like!

The miniature tiger lies down very snuggly even on a laptop at around 2 keycaps big. The little legs are also part of the charm too.

It can also stand by itself in a pretty steady way despite its short feet. Little black stripes are there to tell everyone that it is actually a tiger and not other animals by any means.

Inspecting further down the bum area, there’s the little notch that helps you taking out the drive more easily instead of risking pulling the tail off the entire drive where you definitely don’t want it to happen to a collector’s item.

Pulling the drive out reveals a long hollow cutout within the mini tiger’s body and a quick peek of the drive probably resembles something like a railgun. The tail does add a little extra point when you plug the drive into a port as you probably will need to tug the tail part slowly when removing. Both the base and the drive piece are painted in gold to give out that Chinese New Year vibe.

As for those who don’t know, the Mini Tiger comes in a red and gold beverage-like packaging which is the core color theme of Chinese New Year for virtue and prosperity. The box itself could also be kept as a collector item as well! As for computing specs, it uses the USB 3.2 Gen 1 protocol to deliver up to 200MB/s read speed at 64GB of capacity.
The entire package can be yours at just RM89 and for a collector’s item, spending only RM89 once every year for an annual release is way more affordable than you think. I just hope that these things are not a one-time release and may return in the next 12 years.

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[UPDATED] Come “cloud clubbing” with Razer and Zouk through Bigo Live

I think everyone is familiar with the whole Razer brand. And we all obviously know about Zouk, the famous clubbing venue. With the current restricted movement order (RMO) being extended until 14th April 2020, we still need to stay at home for another 3 weeks.
Of course, we have the technology to keep socializing with our friends and family during this RMO. We have Discord, Facebook, Twitter, etc – but here’s an interesting collaboration. Razer, Zouk, and Bigo Live are coming together to launch the first-ever “cloud clubbing” live stream.

This whole thing is a rather interesting set of collaborations coming together. We have Zouk for their curation of closed-door sets. Bigo Live will be the chosen platform to live stream the DJs. Razer will be the brand name behind this entire “cloud clubbing” event.
During the live stream on Bigo, viewers can interact with the DJs via the live stream chat. You can also tip the DJ by sending them Bigo Diamonds. You can get Bigo Diamonds by purchasing them via in-app purchase, or via Razer Pay (for Malaysians and Singaporeans).
The top tipper (also known as the top contributor) will get the Razer Hammerhead True Wireless (reviewe here). Razer is also giving away a Razer Kraken and Razer Gold every hour.

So, if you want to join the “cloud clubbing” live stream, download the Bigo Live app now and join Razer’s live stream (Bigo ID: Razer) this Friday, 27th March 2020, from 8pm onwards. There will be more “cloud clubbing” sessions announced at a later date.
Join Razer on Bigo Live with this ID!
Now, we know that “clubbing” is considered haram within the Muslim community, but this news came from Singapore instead.
For more information, please visit music.razer.com and rzr.to/razergoldxbigolive.

UPDATE: Cloud clubbing continues on 3rd April 2020!
The first round of “cloud clubbing” garnered over:

Total unique users: 81k
Total views: 200k
Highest concurrent viewers: 5600

With overwhelming amount of people joining in the first-ever cloud clubbing event, the trio is returning for yet another round of “cloud clubbing”.
This 3rd April 2020, from 9pm onwards. The “cloud clubbing” returns.

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HONOR 9S arrives in Malaysia for only RM359

HONOR has announced the latest entry-level smartphone, the HONOR 9S that is fitted with the Magic UI 3.1 update known for its unique UX design as well as a range of user-friendly features.
The phone is very straightforward and does what a smartphone does actually, no gimmicks or whatsoever.

5.45-inch FullView screen

720p resolution

MediaTek Helio P22 chipset
2GB RAM
32GB Storage
8MP f/2.0 rear camera
5MP f/2.2 selfie camera
3020mAh battery
Black, Blue, Red colors
RM359

Not too shabby for a device with this price tag honestly. The device will be available for purchase starting September 28 on Hihonor, Shopee, and Lazada. And yes, there are bonus freebies for an entry-level device as well. Every purchase will net buyers a free HONOR Thermo Flask and 15 GB Huawei Cloud Storage as well as a 10% voucher off any beverage from Tien Tien Yogurt, valid at any store from October 1 – December 31, 2020. HONOR users that use other models can also enjoy the offer as well just by flashing their phone, that’s certainly good promotion right there.
From what we can see, this HONOR 9S does not have Google Mobile Services since it has the App Gallery logo on its product page at HiHonor’s website.

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ASUS ZenPad 3S 10 LTE Now Available

If you’re looking for a table in the market these days, then I can ensure you that there aren’t many options available. ASUS might have just the thing for you – as they’ve just announced their ZenPad 3S 10 LTE – the Z500KL SKU – is now available in Malaysia.

The name is a mouthful – I know, but the specs are actually quite fantastic for a tablet too.

Having a massive 9.7-inch IPS display with 1536×2048 resolution and has ASUS Tru2Life technology for a great movie experience. To ensure there’s an audio quality that’s up to par, the ZenPad 3S 10 LTE comes with a 5-magnet stereo speakers with NXP smart amplifier, together with DTS Headphone:X and Qualcomm aptX support (which you can learn more about it here). To top it all off, there’s a massive 7,800mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 support.

In case you’re wondering of the other specs, it comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 chipset with a 1.8GHz hexa-core, Adreno 510 graphics, 4GB of LPDDR 3 RAM, 32GB of internal of storage and expandable with a microSD card.

Also, it supports ASUS Z Stylus too!

As for the price, it’s retailing for RM 1,799 only. And oh – by the way, you’ll get an ASUS folio cover for the ZenPad 3S 10 LTE for free too!

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[UPDATED] Facebook Fancy Fonts Is Now Live; Detailed Here

Click here to jump to the latest update!

I guess this is a feature no one ever asked for. “Facebook fancy fonts” is what I call it, and it’s their brand new method to spice things up. This is what you need to know about this brand new feature. Here’s what you need to know.
Remember that time when Facebook had super big texts for no apparent reason? Guess it’s that time again – but this time, Facebook adds a selection of coloured fonts and backgrounds for you to choose from. The options available are limited for now, but I suppose Facebook will update this further in time.

This still exists, as the default black text.
Anyway, here are the full details:

Currently available on Android only
Applicable to any number of characters (previously 35 at most for big texts)
Currently has 4 font colours (including black)
Currently has 6 backgrounds (3 plain coloured with some textures, 3 “fancy” ones)

Update details below.
Anyway, here are some samples of what this thing really is.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Clearly this is Facebook’s next step to “improve” visibility and engagement for text-only status updates, but I think they will have some backlash.
So what do you think about this update? Do you like it, or do you wish there’s an option to disable this instead? Let us know, down in the comment section below.
Also, do share this news with your friends! We should all take note of this, and not be taken by surprise.

[UPDATE 18th November 2016]: Facebook has updated the “fancy” backgrounds, with the removal of  big coloured texts with plain white background. Now, all of the “Facebook fancy fonts” are with coloured background on white background.

Upon further inspection, there are a total of 10 different “Facebook fancy fonts” with big texts available for use now on Android. There are a total of 3 different kinds of fancy fonts, and they’re as listed below:

Plain white background with big black texts
Single-coloured background

Blue
Yellow
Red
Purple
Cyan
Grey

Gradient background

Orange-red
Cyan-blue
Purple-indigo

Do you like this brand new coloured text-only status updates on Facebook? Let us know down in the comments below. Also, do share it with your friends – so that they can check out this brand new feature!

UPDATE: There’s a method to “disable” this Facebook big and fancy text feature. Click here to check it out!

[UPDATE 12th December 2016]: Facebook just updated its Fancy Fonts again.
This time around, Facebook changed its entire interface for all the custom colours. Now, all the colours collapse into a single rainbow-coloured text icon.

They even removed many of the different coloured backgrounds too, and the ones that are left are:

Plain white background with big black texts
Single-coloured background

Blue
Yellow
Peach
Grey

Gradient background

Orange-red
Cyan-blue
Purple-indigo

This slideshow requires JavaScript.
This is the current status on Facebook’s brand new fancy fonts feature as we know it. If there are any further updates, we’ll surely update this page (again)!
Big black text on white background however, still exists. There is no way to disable it other than using any of the workarounds that we discovered here.
While what we have documented here are clearly in its testing phase (no idea why so many people are in their “testing group”), we are unsure if this feature will return in the future. Let’s hope that if it does return, there is an option to disable it entirely.

[UPDATE 14th January 2017]: Facebook Fancy Fonts are here to stay!
After so many iterations of the Facebook Fancy Fonts, it seems like Facebook has finally decided to retain it forever.
In the latest update, it seems like Facebook went ahead and locked in the version of Fancy Fonts right before they removed it (at least for me). Attached below is its final form.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Have you gotten your Facebook Fancy Fonts yet? Do leave us a comment below – we love to know what you think!
Also if you wish to bypass the Facebook Big Text (more details here) and Fancy Fonts outright, click here to check out our tips and tricks!

[UPDATE]: Facebook is introducing images as backgrounds for status updates!
For many people, this might sound like it’s something ridiculous. Yes, I get it – it’s definitely something that many of us don’t want, but it Facebook is definitely shoving these features down our throats whether we like it or not.
Click here to learn more about these Facebook background posts!

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Lenovo & MTV launches CO:LAB campaign

Lenovo and MTV just collaborated to launch the CO:LAB campaign to search for creative people doing creative projects with technology. They have split the entire contest/campaign into a few categories – film maker, graphic designer, vocalist and musician and DJ.

Take a look at the video to see what’s up!

The CO:LAB campaign is only available for seven countries in Asia though – Japan, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, and Malaysia. Each of the four category winners will get a Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga, USD $10,000 cash, a profile on MTV, mentoring by industry experts, a 5-day trip to Singapore for a workshop by MTV, create a music video with other winners and have it played on-air and online.
Are you interested? Check out the terms and conditions and all the details here!

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realme Pad will not be receiving Android 12 Update

Through realme’s weekly frequently asked question (FAQ), realme has responded that they will not be updating the realme Pad to Android 12. Instead, the company will only offer security and performance update throughout its software life cycle.
The realme Pad was launched in Malaysia back in November 2021 and it has captured a lot of attention for its RM799 (3GB+32GB) starting price. Right now, one can get it at an even lower price at RM699 after a discount.

Given its affordability and popularity, there’s no question that plenty of customers and realme fans have gotten their hands onto the tablet. However, it is rather disappointing that the company outright denies Android version updates for their first ever tablet.
Where to buy (affiliate links):
Lazada – https://invol.co/cl8e3ee
Shopee – https://invol.co/cl8e3f0

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