RingMD: Using Data to Provide Affordable Healthcare to More People in Asia

Press Release

In Microsoft’s Data Culture Champions Series in Asia, we speak to Justin Fulcher of RingMD on how he is driving patient care transformation in Asia with a simple idea to match doctors and patients around the world — regardless of location.

When Justin Fulcher was traveling across Southeast Asia three years ago, an unforgettable scene struck him. He saw a man drinking water from the ground in Jakarta, seemingly oblivious to the dangers that the possibly contaminated water may pose.

What was surprising was that the man had an Android smartphone on him. He also spoke relatively good English when he talked to Fulcher, who was fascinated by what he had seen.

It gave Fulcher an idea. What if he could start a company that connected doctors with patients who own smartphones, so they could receive proper medical advice on their mobile devices?

Today, that idea has been realized in
RingMD
, a health tech start-up that connects patients and doctors around the world, 24/7. Users sign up to the platform in order to facilitate consultations via video link. Conditions which do not require a physical examination can then be remotely diagnosed and treated.

Patients can also wear a device on their wrist which transmits their pulse, blood pressure and other vital signs to their doctor in real time. Doctors can use this data to help patients make more informed decisions about their health.

The site earns a fee from doctors who wish to charge for their services. Data collected — held confidentially — provides insights on attitudes towards healthcare and the illnesses that may be ailing large populations.

Fulcher, who is CEO of the company, has convinced partners in the healthcare industry — governments, hospitals and other players such as insurance and pharmaceutical companies — to adopt more data-driven thinking in the delivery of healthcare.

He notes: “Being in the health space is especially challenging because a lot of these organizations have never used data to make decisions before. It has always been ‘what feels right’, which has a lot of merit to it, but at the same time if you can back up with what feels right with what is actually right, according to the data, you can make some incredibly huge transformations.”

Transforming healthcare, one provider at a time

RingMD works with 10,000 healthcare providers globally — including medical practitioners in Indonesia, where he was first inspired to develop the service

RingMD today manages patient records of 1.5 million people in more than 50 countries globally, while working with 10,000 healthcare providers. It is looking at a ten-fold growth this year. By the end of 2016, it expects to work with 100,000 healthcare providers, providing care for 15 million patients. In India, it is partnering with the government under the Digital India program to provide access to more than 883 million Indian citizens through the RingMD platform.

To Fulcher, the future of healthcare will be completely data-centric. He views steps taken to add structure to, and make sense of, raw data generated today, as a key element in lowering the cost of affordable healthcare tomorrow. This will be achieved through the use of technology, taking advantage of widespread accessibility of mobile devices and empowering doctors and other healthcare professionals.

Data Culture in their DNA

Doctors are improving patient outcomes by offering teleconsultations — all through mobile devices which are prevalent today across Asia

For this, RingMD worked with Microsoft to deploy its services on Azure. Every interaction is digitized and stored securely on servers online. The raw data allows the company to build algorithms that help doctors and hospital administrators make decisions based on real insight. More importantly, the scalability and flexibility of the platform enabled Fulcher and his team to manage their needs more effectively to be aligned to their business goals.

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If RingMD wanted to convince healthcare partners to rely on data to run their businesses, the company itself has had to prove — using data — that it was bringing tangible benefits through its platforms.

Fulcher said: “We define a successful partnership (with a hospital) by looking at the hospital’s KPIs. Are we saving them money? Are we helping their patients achieve a better quality of care? Are we helping drive business to these hospitals?

“Because we’re tracking everything on the platform, we’re able to chart it and show week over week what changes result in a positive outcome for a customer. And that’s a great feeling. So, we make all this data, of course with patient privacy, top of mind, internally available to the company.”

To help build a data culture among its customers, RingMD ensures that it is part of the company’s DNA. It works with four principles, according to Fulcher:

Driving a data culture from top down:
 Transformation has to come from the core management and be so ingrained in the culture that it’s something that organically filters down to everyone in the organization;

Break down the data silos:
 A transparent culture at RingMD means staff get access to the necessary data they are cleared to access whether they are Web developers or business developers;

Trust as the core of data:
 While RingMD harnesses millions of patient records on a daily basis, the company understands that data privacy is critical to building trusted relationships with healthcare providers and ultimately, patients. In its infrastructure and software, it has worked with the best partners in the field to ensure confidential patient data is protected; and

Training leads to data-savvy staff:
 RingMD invests heavily in training new staff to embrace a data culture as well as having the necessary data skills to succeed in their work.

The Data Journey and the Future of Healthcare

RingMD’s strong data culture has enabled the company to grow extremely quickly. Today, it is looking to further enhance data analysis by hiring more data scientists to ask the right questions and get new answers.

Fulcher expects wearables to be able to provide more real-time data to doctors. At the same time, artificial intelligence and new algorithms can help scale the healthcare process.

To him, the most important thing is to have a sense of urgency in embarking on a data journey.

Justin Fulcher (left) speaking at the FT Asia Healthcare & Life Sciences Summit earlier this year

“Start today — because the longer you wait, the more difficult it is to change. It’s also something that takes time to ingrain,” he noted. “Focus on data and focus on doing things differently, with the use of technology in an organization’s culture. So the biggest advice is to start today, make this a central part of your culture as quickly as possible.”

In our Data Culture Champions in Asia series, we profile senior executives across the region who have driven a new data culture within their organization by adopting new processes, technologies as well as enabling their people with skill sets. These individuals cut across key industries and organization sizes, but what makes them stand out above the rest is how they are embracing change. Read more stories of our Data Culture Champions in Asia
here
.


Vivo Adopts New Tagline “Camera & Music”, Bringing New Focus on Photography and Audio Experience

Leading smartphone brand
Vivo
 has officially announced the new tagline Camera & Music, changing the direction of the brand to perfecting photography and audio functions and designs in its future products.

Being the world’s first smartphone brand to introduce professional level Hi-Fi technologies to smartphones, Vivo has become top 5 among all smartphone vendors globally with 102.5 percent year-over-year increase in terms of shipment volume, according to International Data Corporation (IDC) Quarterly 3 2016 Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker.

“Vivo is dedicated to explore the real needs of our users as a consumer-oriented company, we hear our consumers’ demand for high quality mobile cameras, so we now have a new focus on making our cameras better and better,” said Alex Feng , vice president of Vivo. “The most important goal we seek to achieve when developing new smartphones is to provide our users with ways to experience life and express oneself freely like never before.”

The new brand strategy is to bring special focus to smartphone photography experience, a way many people choose to share the fun moments of life and express themselves. Vivo has dedicated years of research to ceaselessly achieve breakthroughs in collaboration with camera giants and other strategic partners in the design of lens, components, fill-in light as well as intelligent algorithms to make image perfect every time.

Equipped with state-of-the-art hardware and revolutionary software, Vivo’s smartphone products not only promise the most artistic photos, but also unparalleled photography experience that is sure to make every moment of life very special.

With a solid foundation of the company’s leading Hi-Fi technologies, Vivo will be directing its focus to exploring the deeper connection between music and real life while reaching for innovations and new collaborations in interaction and content.

“The transformation from centering on the specific function of Hi-Fi to the broader concept of enjoying music also shows the brand’s change from pursuing function upgrade to thinking about the overall user experience of smartphones,” Feng said.

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Vivo’s strategic goal of bringing the smartphone experience to an all new level has proved to be effective and fruitful in the global market. Its new flagship product with evolutionary softlight camera is to be released later this November worldwide.

About Vivo

A young and energetic global smartphone brand focusing on introducing perfect sound quality and amazing design with cutting-edge technology, Vivo develops dynamic and stylish products for passionate people.


ZTE Axon 7 Review – Top Notch Performance

ZTE Axon 7

9.1

Performance

9.5/10

Price

8.0/10

Camera Quality

9.5/10

Video Quality

9.0/10

Design

9.5/10

				Pros

Sleek all metal design

Ample memory space

Awesome camera

Superb sound system

Fast and responsive

				Cons

Capacitive buttons doesn't lit up

The first time I laid my eyes on the ZTE Axon 7, I was in awe. The Axon 7 is a beautiful all metal curved edge flagship and it feels really solid. It feels really good in my hands, so holding it feels like holding your significant other. Okay, that’s a little bit too much but you get my point.

I had the Axon 7 for a whole month to test and review. So I had an ample time to push the Axon 7 to its limit. I had heavy graphic games installed (not Pokemon Go) so that I can really know how good the processing power working with the GPU is like. But after all that, the one feature that literally blow me away was the built-in Dolby Atmos sound system paired with dual Hi-Fi front speakers. More about this later.

First, let me introduce to you my current favourite flagship Android phone, the
ZTE Axon 7
.

And here are the specifications.

SoC:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Quad-core (2 x 2.15GHz Kryo & 2 x 1.6GHz Kryo)

GPU:

Adreno 530

Memory:

64GB internal space, 4GB RAM; up to 256GB MicroSD (uses SIM2 slot)

Display:

5.5″ AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 1440 x 2560 pixels (538ppi density), Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection

OS:

Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 with MiFavor UI 4.0

Main Camera:

20 MP, f/1.8, phase detection autofocus, OIS, dual-LED (dual tone) flash with 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps, 720p@240fps video recording.

Secondary Camera:

8 MP, f/2.2, 1080p

Sound:

Dual Hi-Fi front speakers with Dolby Atmos surround sound.

Battery:

3,250mAh Li-Ion

To some of you, the Axon 7 may look just like any other Android smartphones. It has a rounded edge design and 2.5D curve sided Gorilla Glass 4 screen. The two hi-fi speakers at the front are very prominent and loud. Really loud. Those who enjoy watching movies on their phone would definitely LOVE this phone.

Since we’re in the subject of speakers, I shall comment about the sound on the Axon 7. One word, superb!

The sample HD video that comes with the Axon 7 really pushed the sound quality as how it should sound, in full cinematic Dolby Atmos experience. It like having a mini cinema in the palm of your hands. The sound it produced is simply superb. I never again want to watch any movie or music videos on any other handheld devices anymore.  The vocal is clear, the bass is punchy and the surround is, well…all around. I don’t know how it managed to “throw” the sound behind and all around you, it just did. The Axon 7 is currently the best in video and sound quality combined. Nuff said.

Design

Now let’s check out the exterior design of the ZTE Axon 7. Like I said earlier, the most prominent part of the Axon 7 is the dual front speakers. It is large and takes up the whole top and bottom space at the front. And just a tiny space to accommodate the front camera at the top. The 5.5″ screen sits right in the center in between the two speakers. ZTE managed to make a really beautiful clean finish at the front.

While the front focuses on the speakers, the back is equally well designed. The main camera sits right in the top half center of the back panel, with the dual tone LED flash below it and the fingerprint sensor right under the flash. Everything is well aligned in the center. No matter if you’re a right handed or left handed phone user, you can easily reach the fingerprint sensor. More on the main camera and some sample photos later.

The sides of the phone is simple and minimal. Volume control and power buttons are on the right side of the phone while the SIM/MicroSD slot is on the left side. At the top, you’ll the headphone jack (at least it came with one) and the USB type-C is at the bottom. The two tiny holes you see at the top and bottom are the microphones for calls and video capture.

The overall look and design of the ZTE Axon 7 is clean and simple. The rounded edges makes it nice to hold and it doesn’t slip off your hands easily. It feels solid and premium like it should. Perhaps that is why I fell in love with it at first look. Well, that’s my opinion.

Performance

Moving on to the internal section of the Axon 7. Performance wise, the ZTE Axon 7 does not disappoint. With the Snapdragon 820 as the heart of this device and together with 4GB of RAM, it becomes a multimedia beast. I had to bring in “multimedia” in this because the true identity of the Axon 7 is basically a cinema in your hands. And a powerful at that. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the Antutu 3D Benchmark result below.

You’ll be thinking like, how come a ZTE phone can outperform some of the other flagship smartphones out there, especially the Galaxy S7 Edge. The only ones that it loses out to is are the OnePlus 3 and iPhone 7 (not in the result). Believe me, I was shocked too. I was expecting it to be somewhere at the bottom of top 10 (or same as the average Axon 7 score at number 10). But hitting the second spot? Wow! I’m amazed.

Of course when I did the benchmark, I don’t have any other apps installed in the Axon 7 other than the Antutu itself. That helps with the scoring too I guess. And the 3D graphic rendering from Antutu was extremely smooth to me. I would confess that I’ve never seen Antutu 3D graphic being rendered that smooth. So I would give it a 5-star for graphics performance.

Playing games on this device is flawless. Coupled with the awesome 3D rendering is the lifelike high definition surround sound by Dolby Atmos made the Axon 7 a device of choice for realistic gaming experience.

Bottom line is, I really love the overall performance.

Interface

The Axon 7 comes with Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 right out of the box. However as soon as I boot up the device, a notification came out telling me that there was an update. So without hesitation, I installed the latest update. Probably some bug fixes because when I was using it after updating, I can’t find any obvious bug(s).

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The UX, or rather launcher for the Axon 7 is known as MiFavor UI version 4.0. The look and feel of the OS is pretty straight forward. There is no app drawer, similar to those by Huawei, Meizu and Xiaomi. I understand that Google is also moving into that direction, abandoning the use of an app drawer. Some people like to have the app drawer feature (me included), others don’t. So this is probably something that most people won’t be bothered with at the moment.

To me, the interface is clean and simple. Scrolling through the homescreen is a breeze. I didn’t notice any lags or sluggishness. Executing an app is quite immediate. And all the useful features are placed neatly at the top drawer. The AMOLED display makes everything looks vibrant. So that’s a plus point. And the high density resolution made the text extremely clear and easy to read.

Overall user experience and interface looks good. Everything is kept on the minimal so that new users can easily find what they’re looking for. Works well with old folks too because the MiFavor enhancements made everything seemed so simple.

Camera and Photography

This is the subject that many of you are looking forward to. Am I right? Photography enthusiast would love to know how the ZTE Axon 7 shoots. So here’s what I think of it.

Terbaik bro!

Let’s check out the basics first. The main rear camera is a 20-megapixel, f/1.8 aperture with phase detection and autofocus. It comes with Optical Image Stabilizer (OIS) and has dual-LED (dual tone) flash. It also capable of shooting 2160p @ 30fps, 1080p @ 30/60fps and 720p @ 240fps video recording. While the front camera is an 8-megapixel fixed focus shooter that is capable of shooting a 1080p HD video.

The camera app is simple. It comes with an Auto Mode and Manual Mode. In the Auto Mode, everything is being done automatically (duh!) while in the Manual Mode, it makes you feel more intelligent. Like I said before, those who love to fiddle with the settings, will use the Manual Mode most of the time. But if you’re lazy, Auto Mode works well too.

Within the native camera app, there are few other options to play with. With these options, you don’t need to install any third-party apps to enhance your photos. There is also an option to shoot a timelapse video or in slow-mo. Shooting at night or light trails? You can play with the long exposure function too.

For those who is into photography (like me), may have a love and hate relationship with the Axon 7. You will love the camera and you will hate to leave your DSLR at home. Having said that, I’m sure the fanboys of the two distinct famous brands would disagree with me. But I’ll let the photos be the judge instead.

And here we go. Below are some of the photos taken with the Axon 7 in different lighting conditions and settings.

(Click on the photos to enlarge)

Outdoor shot on a cloudy day. A slight tinge of yellow in the result.

My usual close-up shot of the same yellow flower. Remarkable detail.

Another close-up shot.

Sky shot on a clear sunny day. This is one of my favourite photos with the Axon 7.

Indoor shot at The School, Jaya One. Pretty clear all the way.

Trying out the Black & White setting at a park.

Another indoor shot. Sharp and full of details.

Shooting in the dark. Not bad. Almost can’t see the “noise”.

This is my favourite among the bunch. Extremely low-light, handheld slow shutter at 1.5 seconds.

Like the photos taken with the ZTE Axon 7? I love it all, especially the last one. I think, no, I feel that the camera on the Axon 7 is great. I know that those who has used the better (and more expensive) phones would not agree with me but hey, everyone has their own preferences right?

I have tons of other photos that I would love to share. I think I would write another post specifically on the Axon 7 camera functions only. More photos shall be shown in that post. I also have a few HD videos taken with the Axon 7, that too will be in the “Axon 7 Camera Review” post.

Before I forget, how about looking at a sample photo shot with the front camera? Selfie lovers behold…

High level of detail captured by the fixed focus front camera. I’m impressed. Coincidentally I was wearing that t-shirt when this photo was taken. So appropriate.

Believe it or not if I tell you that I prefer the front facing camera video quality rather than the main rear camera. Videos taken with the front camera is very impressive. The 8-megapixel fixed focus front camera is capable of shooting a 1080p HD video that is stunning, to me at least. Sample of that video will be posted in the next Axon 7 Camera Review post.

Other Goodies

What you get in the box won’t disappoint you as well.

As you can see, it comes with a USB type-C cable along with the power plug (pretty standard stuff here). You will also get a boxed up Dolby Atmos enhanced earphone which doubles up as a handsfree kit.

You will also get the tiny pin to poke through the tiny hole to open up the SIM slot and can be attached to your keychain. The white thingie next to it is the USB Type-C adapter which you can jab in your current Micro USB cable into it. Not forgetting, a clear silicone case is in the box too.

Conclusion

Actually, I have so much to say about the ZTE Axon 7. At first I wanted to do my first ever video review instead of typing long lines of sentences. But I guess that will have to wait.

So my conclusion of the stunning ZTE Axon 7 is this. It is a superb multimedia smartphone that will replace your TV and home theater system immediately. The surround sound produced by the dual front speakers are out of this world, thanks to the Dolby Atmos sound system.

Performance wise, it is outstanding. Hitting high scores on the Antutu 3D Benchmark is something good for ZTE. A stepping stone into becoming a real competitor in mobile devices.

Camera functions? Well, I even have to write a separate review for that. What I’ve shown here with the photo samples are just the tip of the iceberg. I have more stunning photos to show you along with videos. Selfie videos for Snapchat or Instagram Moments will be awesome too.

The one and only qualm that I have with the Axon 7 is that the Home, along with Back and Menu capacitive touch buttons are not lit up. So hitting the back button in the dark can be a little challenging. That’s all. Other than that, everything is ohsem (say it while singing the tune).

The ZTE Axon 7 can be purchased at the ZTE kiosk in Low Yat Plaza. RRP is RM1,999.


Lenovo Brings State of the Art Technology with the Yoga Book and Phab 2 Series

Press Release: Lenovo continues raising the bar for innovation yet again with a vanishing keyboard and the world’s first Tango-enabled phablet.

Global technology leader, Lenovo, continues their innovative streak with the launch of the Yoga Book, the thinnest and lightest 2-in-1 multimode and their latest series of Phab 2 devices which include the world’s first phablet that supports Google’s Tango technology.

Mr Khoo Hung Chuan, Lenovo General Manager of Malaysia and Singapore, Central Asia Pacific with the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro and the Lenovo Yoga Book

The Yoga Book features the first-in-its-class Halo keyboard, which appears when a user needs to type, and disappears with the touch of a button, allowing the user to use the Real Pen, a dual-use stylus to sketch or take notes. The Phab 2 Pro is an incredible phablet which detects and maps its surroundings, making it possible for cutting-edge AR experiences, whether you’re measuring indoor spaces or raising a digital pet right in your bedroom.

“Lenovo has always been at the forefront of innovation, having incorporated projectors into tablets and taking inspiration from a watchband hinge for the Yoga series. Now, Lenovo is redefining technology industry with the introduction of a multimode with a vanishing keyboard, an augmented reality-enabled phablet, and dual-camera phablets to the market,” said Khoo Hung Chuan, General Manager of Lenovo Malaysia and Singapore, Central Asia Pacific.

“The desire to be creative is innate in many of us, and we at Lenovo are unleashing the artistic streak in everyone with our new Yoga Book. It is also a versatile productivity tool, as users can input notes easily, andbring it to work just about anywhere, thanks to its ‘barely there’ thin and light form factor. Meanwhile, the Phab 2 Pro is the world’s first Google Tango-enabled phablet, which offers everyone truly cutting-edge augmented reality (AR) experiences.”

Yoga Book

The Yoga Book re-examines how a tablet should look and act, with never-before-seen features such as an instant Halo Keyboard and a dual-use stylus that can write on both paper and the tablet.

Model with the Lenovo Yoga Book

Its thin and light design, 15-hour battery life, and 360-degree watchband hinge gives on-the-go tablet users the freedom to write and draw anywhere, matching the mobility of a smartphone without having to carry a laptop or a detachable. The availability of Wi-Fi (for Windows) or LTE (for Android versions) will ensure connectivity at all times, whether for work or play.

The Halo Keyboard weaves software and hardware into one interface.With the touch of a button, the keyboard appears and disappears allowing the user to switch from typing to sketching with ease. Users can also experience haptic feedback as they are typing and select the option of predictive typing for an improved typing experience that surpasses conventional tablets and matches that of physical keyboards.

Drawing inspiration from the elegance and simplicity of notebooks, the Yoga Book’s Real Pen accessory, which comes bundled with the product, allows users to write and draw with pen and paper while instantly digitising their notes and sketches.

Phab 2 Series

The Lenovo Phab 2 Plus

Phab 2 Pro

The Phab 2 Pro is the world’s first phablet powered by Google’s Tango technology – a set of sensors and software that detects and maps its surroundings to enable cutting-edge augmented reality (AR) experiences.

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Model with the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro

With Tango, the Phab 2 Pro is able to detect physical motion and space. The combined technology of Tango in the device allows for motion tracking, depth perception, and area learning. As a result, it has the power to change how users can interact with their surroundings. The Phab 2 Pro allow users to download various Tango apps to measure their furniture, envision an added sofa in their living room, or watch dinosaurs roam the streets again.

Besides its unique Tango feature, the Phab 2 Pro is powered by Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 652 processor, 4G LTE connectivity, and cutting-edge time-stamping and camera and sensor processing capabilities.

The Phab2 Pro features Dolby AudioTM Capture 5.1 with Dolby Atmos® playback capabilities to help capture life’s moments on video with great quality audio. With Dolby Audio Capture 5.1, you can use crystal-clear 5.1-channel surround sound to record and share the full panorama of your life, adding amazing richness, clarity and depth to your special moments. Making this possible are three microphones, spatial capture with noise reduction, along with a 16MP camera that supports crisp video recording.

Phab 2 Plus

The Phab 2 Plus comes with dual13MP rear cameras that have instant focus, fast F2.0 lenses and the same professional-grade Fujitsu Milbeaut® image signal processor that powers the Leica camera. Casual photographers can capture amazing pictures with crisp low-light shots, high contrast while retaining lifelike colours, high detail in the shadow areas and a captivating background blur. Meanwhile, the camera software incorporates a manual mode as well as other special effects

Phab 2

The Phab2 is an affordable AR smartphone with many of the attractive features found in higher-end models. The Phab2’s AR mode, for instance, allows you to create more unique photos and videos by superimposing effects such as virtual backgrounds or cartoons onto your pictures – perfect for sharing on social media.

Other highlights include a huge 6.4-inch HD display, complete with a fast-focusing 13MP camera and 32GB on-board storage expandable via a microSD slot.

Pricing and Availability

The Yoga Book in Windows or Android, which is bundled with the Yoga Book sleeve, Real Penand Book Pad,will be available from end December onwards at all Lenovo Exclusive Stores. The Yoga Book will be priced from RM2, 599, inclusive of GST for either the Windows or Android version.

The Phab 2 series, bundled with a protective clear case, will be available at selected Lenovo Exclusive Stores and Lenovo Multi Brand Stores from mid-December onwards.

The Phab2 Pro will be priced from RM1, 899, inclusive of GST.

The Phab2 Plus will be priced from RM1, 299, inclusive of GST.

The Phab 2 will be priced from RM899, inclusive of GST.

You can learn more about the products at
www.lenovo.com


Macau – Asia’s Las Vegas

Welcome to “Vegas”

Macau. An island full of hotels, 24-hour casinos and high end brands at every corner of the island. If you love to shop for high end brands & gambling, this would be your choice of venue to go to. However, if that is not your choice you should still put Macau on your “places to go list” as it has other things for you to go for. Myself? I fall into the latter and I have been fortunate enough to have gone to Macau twice and both were for work purposes.

The unique bit about Macau is that other than being Asia’s Las Vegas, it also has distinctive Portuguese influences in its architectural designs and food. You should never miss trying the egg tarts, pork chop buns and milk pudding. Try at least once to see what it is all about. I don’t mind much about the egg tarts but I do love the milk pudding. It is almost like tau foo faa but instead of being made with tofu, it is made with milk.

Things you should do in Macau among others is go visit St Paul’s Ruins. It is flocked with tourists at any time of the day but brave the crowd. Take a photo/photos/selfies or wefies on the stairs. Once you are done with that, walk downhill and just wander around. You will find small gems, like a small Indonesian Muslim restaurant. Small stalls selling all sorts of trinkets you can bring home or herbs. I also found some herbs and cooking paste for Indonesian food. There is also local Chinese food for you to try but and you will also see Kok Kei at almost every corner of the streets. Take the free tasting and buy a couple to bring back as gifts for your loved ones.

Don’t miss going to at least one of the casinos there. You would have thought that the city is all quiet onwards midnight when you walk outside the hotels and casinos. However, once you enter the casinos it is flocked with a lot of people in serious thought. You can watch or choose to play, your choice. There’s also interesting designs inside the malls and hotels. Don’t miss the Tree of Prosperity show at the Wynn Macau as it is a splendour of lights and music show where a tree with golden leaves would pop out of the floor and a mini light show with music will entertain you for at least 20 minutes.

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A dear friend of mine kept asking me to watch The House of Dancing Water Show, a water-based stage production written and directed by Franco Dragone. As much as this year was my second trip to Macau, I still could not get myself to watch it. It is not because I have no interest, but if you’re on a company trip and you have a tour to follow, so your time is limited. By the time you are free, the show is either ending or you are too tired to do anything else except sleep. I will put this as my next of things to do in Macau. Yes, you got it right. I don’t quite favour Macau as the place for a holiday but it does offer quite a number of things for you to do while you are there.

Generally, if you do go to Macau on your own, I would suggest to engage tours for scenic spots like the Ruins of St Paul, Macau Tower and the temples. Other than that taxis are quite easy to get. Ensure you have the actual address of where you want to go in case of some language difficulty (if you are not a Chinese speaking person like me) to avoid giving wrong directions. Please do walk into the small streets to see what else can Macau offer you. Never say no to Portuguese cooking/dishes while you are here. All in all, I’d say Macau is great for a short trip, there is a little something for everyone. If you love to gamble, trust me, try your luck at least once in any of the casinos in Macau.


5 Apps to Help You Save Money on Food

You won’t have to skimp on your meals or tighten your belt to save money. Check out these 5 free apps that will help you save money when you dine out or shop for groceries.

SmartShopper Malaysia

Use this app to help you save money when buying groceries and household items. It works by helping you find the lowest price for a food item and which shop to buy it from. It’s simple to use too, just find the item you want to buy from the categories section or the search bar. You will then be able to compare the price per unit and this will help you to get even more value and savings.

You can even create a shopping list within this app. Another helpful feature is the widget, which lets you create a product watch list so you can monitor price changes easily and be in the know when your favourite item is currently on sale.

This app will also give you access to e-vouchers so you can enjoy even more savings. As of now, SmartShopper tracks and compares prices for items from Giant, Tesco, Aeon, Cold Storage, Mydin, Econsave, The Store, Watsons, Guardian, Caring and more.

Visit the site:
SmartShopper

Offpeak

You can save money even if you enjoy eating out, thanks to this app. The way it works is that Offpeak has a list of participating restaurants and cafes that are offering discounts of up to 50% off, but you will have to book with Offpeak to enjoy the discounts.

Browse from the selection of eateries, then choose your preferred restaurant and select the dining time to make a booking. You will then receive an e-mail confirmation for your booking. Remember to show your e-mail confirmation at the restaurant when you are dining and you will get discount on your total bill.

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Thinking of Making Some Extra Income? Get Seekers App Today.
Visit the site:
Offpeak

MilkaDeal

If you’re looking for vouchers and deals for groceries and when eating out, this is your go-to app. You will get to enjoy savings in the form of cashbacks. For food related savings MilkaDeal currently collaborates with Happy Fresh, Amazin’ Grace and MakanDeal.

You can cash out the cashback savings from your MilkaDeal account when you have collected RM10 or more confirmed cashback. The cash will be credited into your bank account within 7 working days.

Visit the site:
MilkaDeal

MakanDeal

Here’s another dining deal app you can use on days you want to eat out for a nice meal without having to break your budget. Just search for the type of food your in the mood for, whether its steak, sushi, pasta or more. Then select a deal to purchase it and show the deal you’ve purchased at the eatery to enjoy the savings!

Visit the site:
MakanDeal

TableApp

Last but not least, all you foodies can rejoice with this app that will get you excess to exclusive dining promotions. Aside from savings, you will also be the first to know of latest restaurant updates, special menus and events. This app will help you locate, provide reviews and reserve a table. All you need to do to enjoy the deals and use the features in the app is to create a free account.

Visit the site:
TableApp

Be a smarter consumer by using the best credit card to suit your spending style and enjoy savings when you make purchases. Compare for FREE at
CompareHero.my
 today.


Carousell Acquires Duriana And Consolidates Position as Largest Mobile Marketplace in APAC

Carousell acquires Duriana, a Malaysian-based mobile classifieds startup, to become the top mobile classifieds player in Malaysia. The deal also gives a significant boost to Carousell in Philippines , where Duriana has built a credible presence, and cements Carousell’s position as the largest and fastest growing mobile classifieds marketplace

in APAC.

Duriana is Carousell’s third acquisition in less than six months, and demonstrates its determination to become the world’s number one mobile classifieds marketplace. Since its launch in August 2012 , Carousell has expanded to 19 major cities in 7 countries, including recent launches in Hong Kong , Philippines and Australia . This deal will add over 600,000 Duriana users to the Carousell platform, boosting its global classifieds marketplace which currently has over 57 million listings and over 23 million items sold as of Q4 2016.

Since Carousell’s launch in Malaysia in December 2014 and in Philippines in October 2016 , the classifieds marketplace has been growing rapidly with almost 2 million items sold in Malaysia as of Q4 2016, almost doubling within a quarter. In the Philippines , Carousell has also enjoyed strong growth with over 80% QoQ growth in transactions from Q3 2016.

“A classifieds marketplace offers its users the most value when there’s a large and vibrant community of buyers and sellers on the platform. We saw that Duriana users had similar demographics and interests in buying and selling fashion items, gadgets & electronics as well as home furnishing. By bringing Duriana users onto the Carousell platform, we’re helping more people buy and sell their preloved items quickly and easily. Our goal is to inspire our global community to fill their lives with more meaningful things instead,” shared Quek Siu Rui , Co-founder and CEO of Carousell.

“This acquisition accelerates our international growth, and strengthens our position as the largest mobile classifieds marketplace in Malaysia with over 5 million listings. It also builds on our strong growth in Philippines , our fastest market to reach over ½ million listings, and positions Carousell as the leader in the Philippines mobile classifieds industry just four months after our official launch in the market.”

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Carousell Founders

Duriana users will join the Carousell marketplace, where they can continue buying and selling online as part of a larger global community.

“It’s been an exciting three years with Duriana, and we’re proud to have brought the company to this stage. After this exit, we’re looking forward to pursuing a new adventure.” said Saeed Gouda, Co-founder and CEO of Duriana. “Carousell is shaking up the mobile classifieds space, and we’re confident that Duriana users will enjoy buying, selling and connecting as part of the vibrant Carousell community.”


The Coolest Gadgets at CES 2017

As we start a new year, the tech world once again congregated in Las Vegas for The Consumer Electronic Show (CES). The event is one of the most anticipated and biggest tech events in the world which took place between January 5-8. From robots to smart cars, the conference presents the world the latest high-tech devices that are set to revolutionize the tech industry.

In this article, we will highlight the top technologies that took center stage at the recently concluded CES 2017 and why we think they are game changers.

Kuri: The Robot Nanny

(blog.heykuri.com)

One of the show stoppers at the CES 2017 were the amazing robots. Kuri, a cute personal robot was launched by a company based in Mayfield and can monitor your home while you are out at work. The robot comes with a mobile security camera that allows homeowners to view everything that is happening in their homes as Kuri has wheels and is able to go around the house to take images and videos. It can also control smart-home products, so you can dim the lights through wireless tech while you’re out of the house.

It will be available around December 2017 for approximately $699.00.

Fove O’s eye-tracking headset

(getfove.com)

Although it’s still not a real product yet, we find Fove O’s concept a must-have for every gamer. If ever they push through with the idea, the company will be the first to have a usable virtual reality headset with a built-in eye-tracking sensor. Since current VR interfaces are still imprecise and data from eye tracking technology comes with plenty of data to render scenes, this VR headset concept has a lot of area for development.

The company hasn’t disclosed when this advanced VR headset will be available, but they said it will cost around $599.00 when it is eventually released on the market.

Incipio’s smart wall switch

(blog.incipio.com)

The company known for producing iPhone 7 cases and Apple Watch accessories joined the CES 2017 to launch the expanded version of their CommandKit home automation products. Incipio has introduced the Wireless Smart Wall Switch that is compatible with the HomeKit. The Wireless Smart Wall Switch is designed to allow homeowners to wirelessly control their HomeKit-connected items, such as their light bulbs, using their iOS device. It comes with motion sensor functionality so it can detect a person immediately when they enter a room.

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For those using iOS 10-powered devices (iPhone, iPad, Macs), Siri can also be used to control and automate HomeKit devices. It was reported by O2 that one of the best features of the iPhone 7 is the iOS 10 as it comes with improved functionalities such as smarter Siri that connects all Apple devices using similar Apple ID seamlessly. Thus, homeowners will be able to wirelessly control their smarthome products even on their Mac PCs through Siri.

It will be available in the second quarter of 2017 with a starting price of $59.99.

Willow hands-free breast pump

(willowpump.com)

A revolutionary electronic breast pump was introduced at the CES that every mom would love to have. Introducing Willow breast pump, a cordless and hands-free technology that can aid mothers in producing breast milk for their offspring. For many mothers, providing their babies with enough breast milk or sticking to a strict schedule can be a challenge. This wearable is simple to use, lets you stay in sync with its paired app, it’s cordless, and quiet to use – a perfect companion for every mother that is currently breast feeding their baby.

Willow breast pump costs $429.99 and will be available in spring.

Tanvas Touch

(tanvas.co)

Tanvas, a company from Chicago, introduced the Tanvas Touch that gives tablet users a way to feel the items on their screens. The touch feedback gives users a sense of what different materials feel like even through their mobile devices.

Tanvas hasn’t disclosed when the product will be available to purchase or how much it will cost the consumer.

After the success of the CES 2017, the organization has started promoting next year’s tech event on their official website. With the tag line: ‘Innovators Always Think Ahead’ they are now calling for the next set of exhibitors who want to showcase their innovations at the CES 2018 to be held on January 9-12, 2018.

Exclusively written for ohsem.me

by JenTechBlogs


Dispose Your Old Computer and Make Some Cash with UsedComputer Malaysia

Do you have any old computers lying around your house or your office? Don’t know where to sell them to or how to dispose all your computer and electronics? Guess what? You can now start selling your unwanted computer, peripherals and other electronic items at
UsedComputer Malaysia
.

Okay. I shall give you a simple run down on how to go about and start selling your old computers. Let’s say you have a bunch of old laptops lying around in the office. Those laptops are too old to be used but still fully functioning and at the same time, your finance department has approved on purchasing new laptops for your office. So what can you do with the old laptops? Easy! Just head over to
UsedComputer Malaysia
 and book a collection service from their website. It’s that simple.

Once you’ve made your booking, a representative from the company will come to your office to pick up the items and you’ll get your cash immediately. If you don’t have an internet connection to make the booking, you can also give them a call at their hotline at 03-3101 4955 anytime of the day during working hours.

Do you have to pay for the pick-up and for their services? No! Everything is free, including the collection and packing of your used computers or peripherals. Instead, you will get paid for selling your items. Cool? Yes.

Now what if your old computer or peripherals are spoilt and broken? Can those be sold too? The answer to that is, YES. Even a cracked monitor or LCD screens are accepted as well. So you don’t have to simply dispose it off at a dumpster but instead sell it off to UsedComputer Malaysia. This way, nothing is ever wasted.

On the side note, if your company or NGOs or universities or schools or perhaps a simple neighbourhood gathering wants to organise a recycling day or e-Waste day for the good of the environment, you can call up UsedComputer Malaysia to be at your event to buy off your unwanted electronic items. I feel that this is a good idea to provide awareness to the masses about keeping our environment free of electronic waste. Improper disposal of any electronic waste can be hazardous to our environment and sometimes it can be poisonous too.

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I do have a few old computers around in my house and I will definitely check out their services and earn some quick bucks. There is no easier way to earn some quick cash just by selling off your old stuffs. One thing for sure, I’m happy that I found the UsedComputer Malaysia website recently.

Here’s a little detail about UsedComputer Malaysia

Established in 2001, Usedcomputer Malaysia is proud to possess an impressive array of clientele ranging from the various sectors of the Governmental Departments, Government – Linked Companies, Multi-National Corporations, Institutions and other entities.

Usedcomputer Malaysia is an appointed contractor of the Malaysian Department of Environment (DOE) or Jabatan Alam Sekitar Malaysia bearing the Code SW110 for the proper recycling of Electronic Waste or E-Waste.

To know more on how you can sell your unwanted electronic items, click on the links below…

Website:

http://usedcomputer.com.my

Facebook:

UsedComputer Malaysia


LEAGOO Launches New Brand Strategy for 2017

Leagoo, an emerging Chinese smartphone brand that focuses on providing high-quality stylish smartphones to users around the world, held their Annual Party to celebrate the company’s 2016 achievements and witness the launch of LEAGOO 2.0 new brand strategy at Vanke Enterprise Dream Park.

About 700 attendees joined the annual party including:

Ms. Xie GuoLei, Deputy Director of Administration Committee of Guizhou Province Zunyi City Xinpu District (home of LEAGOO’s new industrial park) ; Mr. Sun WenPing, chairman of Shenzhen Mobile Communication Association (home of LEAGOO’s HQ) ; Mr. Dato Calvin , CEO of LEAGOO Malaysia; Anthony Doan , CEO of LEAGOO Vietnam, as well as business partners and media .

LEAGOO 2.0’s core lies on the ambition of being an Influential Global Communication Brand. LEAGOO has broken re cords in global sales volume and contracted-agents in 2016, with over 2,000,000 units shipped; and more than 60 newly contracted-agents. LEAGOO smartphones are now available for users in more than 96 countries in all types of shops.

” LEAGOO will not stop at this point,” LEAGOO’s CEO Mr. Johnson said, “We will achieve greater success in 2017, which is the start of LEAGOO 2.0.” At the annual party, Mr. Johnson indicated LEAGOO’s goals for 2017 and the new brand strategy. In 2017, smartphone sales volume is expected to reach up to 5,000,000 units. The target is to become a top-10 brand in the Afro-Asian District by 2020, with a brand strategy including: branding operation s , intelligent hardware and mobile internet. LEAGOO 2.0 contains three aspects : create an international brand, create ecology based on mobile internet ecosphere and create an open incubation platform.

Here, we are warmly welcome all people interested in LEAGOO to join us to achieve greater success. See you at next LEAGOO Annual Party!

Related Article:
Affordable LEAGOO Shark 1 Smartphone Announced

About LEAGOO

LEAGOO brand was started in 2014 aimed to win global customers’ hearts. LEAGOO has designed, produced, and distributed over 8 million smartphones to users over 96 countries in the past 3 years. LEAGOO was voted Most Potential Overseas Brand, Best-selling Overseas Brand and China’s High and New-Technology Enterprise in 2016.

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www.leagoo.com


Sanoook – A Fusion of Thai and Japanese Food Like No Other

It has been a while since I was last invited to a food review event. But knowing that I love food, a blogger friend (part family) of mine,
Miera
, will hook me up whenever there is a food review event. Well, I can’t say no to that. So this time around, I was at Sanoook, a brand new outlet in Pavilion Elite KL. This is their second (or third?) branch in the Klang Valley. And owned by the same company that owns
Chakri Palace
 in KLCC where I was also invited to review their
Ramadhan buffet promotion last year
.

We all might know that Chakri Palace serves Thai food and their food is to me, not bad. On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give them a solid 8. Sanoook is however similar to Chakri Palace but with a little twist. They still serve Thai food, but with Japanese style of preparing the food and cooking. Fancy fusion food? Then you gotta try out Sanoook.

And here’s my review (along with pictures to make you drool).

Miang Kham

Miang Kham

First thing that I had was a starter called Miang Kham. At first I thought it to be “
sireh pinang
” or something like that. Then I did some reading and found out that Miang kham is a snack food that originated in the northern part of Thailand, originally using pickled tea leaves. This “snack” mostly consists of raw fresh tea leaves that are filled with roasted coconut shavings and the main ingredients such as shallots, chili, ginger, garlic, lime, peanuts, dried shrimps and sour mango, chopped or cut into small pieces.

Miang Kham Pickled Tea Leaves

The name “miang kham” translates to “one bite wrap”, from miang (food wrapped in leaves) and kham (a bite). Before wrapping the filled leaves are topped with palm syrup or sugar cane syrup which often has been cooked with lemongrass, galangal, ginger and fish sauce.

This is one bite for me

This Miang Kham was so good that I finished the whole basket full of it all by myself. Okay, almost all of it. I was skeptical at first, thinking it might taste like sireh (which I don’t like). But after that first bite, I immediately make myself another one. It was that good. I love it.

Grilled Chicken with Green Curry Sauce

Grilled Chicken

At first, this one looks like a burger. After you look closer, you can see that the “buns” are actually rice, shaped like buns. Be prepared to get messy while eating this because everything will fall apart. You may end up having rice spilled all over the table. But it’s well worth it.

Phad Thai Noodles with Prawn

Phad Thai Noodles

There’s nothing Japanese about this one, just good old plain Phad Thai noodle that taste so good. This is one of the better ones that I had. It’s very flavourful and it doesn’t bore me. Sometimes when we eat something, we can’t finish it because after a while it tends to be too overwhelming. This Phad Thai doesn’t do that to me. Excellent taste and it made me happy.

Beef and Chicken Skewers

Beef Skewers

Chicken Skewers

Both beef and chicken skewers are a mixed bag for me. I don’t know whether to place it in the Thai food category or the Japanese food category. Presentation wise, it’s probably leaning more towards the Japanese style. Taste? I don’t know. Probably on the Japanese style as well. It doesn’t have any of that That spices put into it. So yeah. Japanese it is.

Seafood Tom Yam Fried Rice

Served in a huge spoon

Most of us must have ordered a typical Thai Tom Yam Fried Rice at least once in our lives right? I don’t have much to say about this dish because it taste exactly like many other Tom Yam Fried Rice out there. I was a little bit disappointed with this one because it’s too common and nothing special being added into it. Except for that gigantic spoon it came in.

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Thai Coconut Soup with Chicken Wonton

Chicken wonton in santan

When I tasted this, it was very familiar. Taste like something that I’ve cooked before. Then I remember. My Tom Ka Kai (Thai Chicken in Coconut Broth) taste exactly like this. But Sanoook made it with Chicken Wonton which is not bad. I actually thought it was a dessert dish until I took a bite on it. It’s warm and milky. The chicken wonton was a little bit bland. Perhaps it needed a pinch of salt in it, then it’ll be fine. Just my two cents.

Grilled Tuna Sushi Roll with Spicy Tom Yam Sauce

Sushi!

When they mentioned that they are a Japanese and Thai fusion restaurant, they better deliver. And they did! This Grilled Tuna Sushi Roll with Spicy Tom Yam Sauce dish was exactly what I expected from a fusion restaurant. The tuna was fresh, spicy tom yam sauce was not spicy enough for me but good nonetheless. It was weird at first, but pleasantly satisfying right after. This is something different for your taste buds.

Mango Sticky Rice with Ice Cream

Ice Cream?

I didn’t get to taste this one but from the guy who did, he said it taste exactly like the normal mango sticky rice. Okay. I’m not trying to put down Sanoook or anything but this is rather more of an encouragement for them to improve for future products.

Others

Now these are some of the other dishes that I didn’t get to try (because there were many of us and limited dishes). I will still share the photos here for you guys to see and maybe drool too.

Shampoo Vegetarian Sushi Roll with Sesame Mayonnaise (wait what? Shampoo?)

Fuji Volcano

I don’t know what this is but I think it was Smoked Salmon Salad and it was so damn delicious

Those are mostly what we had and what I get to taste at Sanoook the other day. Surprisingly the best of the lot for me was the Miang Kham snack. I don’t know what the others think but I enjoyed the Miang Kham a lot. Second would be the Smoked Salmon Salad although the salmon was a little bit too salty. The grilled tuna sushi roll was not bad either.

I can say a few things about Sanoook. They tried to be a fusion restaurant, combining Thai and Japanese ingredients in their dishes. Some made a good hit, some missed. But don’t let my remarks discourage you from trying a meal at Sanoook. You’d be surprised how their simple dishes would have an impact on your taste buds. It may look simple, but it also may put a smile on your face.

So would I recommend Sanoook for you to give it a go? Yes! Definitely. Like I said, they have a few hits and misses on their menu spread. But what was normal for me might be extraordinary for you. If you fancy a new mixture of fusion food, then go and give it a try. My ratings on Sanoook on a scale of 1 to 10? I’d give it a 7.

Meanwhile, here’s the menu. Perhaps you can have a look at it before you head over to Sanoook.

Le Menu

Sanoook, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur

Lot 1.104, Level 1, Pavilion Elite Shopping Mall, 165, Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur

Contact: 03-2110 5756

Hours: Daily 10AM – 10PM

Facebook Page:
www.facebook.com/sanoookmy


What 2016 Taught Me

There are a few things I would like to share, based on what I went through and the people I know went through and have shared with me. These are not gold life lessons and you may have heard it time and time again. I just believe it is magnified even more for me on my own personal life:-

1. Take the leap

Leap and make changes in your life. Be it career wise or in other areas. You may regret some of the outcome but the experience itself will nudge you to think. It will propel you to greater heights if you allow it to do so. Trust me, this is hard. Making the change or changes was not easy. Adapting to it is hardly easy. Somehow, you just have to make do with the situation whether you like it or not. The funny bit about us humans is that we crave change yet we lean towards comfortability in our daily lives. We are so used to routine that a slight change can get us feeling anxious. I am guilty of that. I wanted change. I changed/made decisions/did a few things different. What happened? I did not like it. Some of it, I liked and loved it. But mostly I still went what if I did not decide that. What if I just stayed on with the situation accepting the comfort zone. Well, face it Dee. You made the decisions, face it and enjoy the ride. No time for pity party and regrets. It would be just a waste of time. Take the lessons that you learn in the leap/leaps that you have made

2. Make time

Make time for yourself and your loved ones. It is good to celebrate achievements and festive season surrounded by people who would root for you no matter what. Go for a 15 minute walk at your local neighbourhood park or run 1 mile a day (or every weekend). That is making time for yourself. To honour the body that God have given you and to allow your body to be reminded that it is capable. I have been taking yoga classes for the last couple of years and I still could not do any inversion poses. That frustrates me but yoga is not about reaching a certain pose and doing it well. What yoga has taught me is that how interesting and flexible my body is if I train it to be. Mostly I learned to appreciate my yoga time as my time to rest and relax my mind. You won’t believe how emotional savasana can be for me that at times I do have tears in my eyes.

Go marketing with your mum/dad/parent on weekends or just enjoy brisk walks together or breakfast. I love my Sundays because it means church then breakfast then just marketing with my mum. I treasure it even more after Dad passed on and the recent mild heart attack my Mum had last two months. Lazy to go out? Make a pot of tea/mug of coffee each and talk to your loved ones. Stash the gadgets aside to get a proper quality time with them. Make time for your close friends over drinks/dinners. I don’t know about you but I myself am blessed with a wonderful circle of friends from different areas of my life. We try our best to meet up and it feels good to know that such friendship has lasted over the years.

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3. Create

Remember that pottery class for beginners and you think you have no creativity? Well, who cares. Just go for the class. At least you will figure out if you enjoy your time with clay. Such changes, my friends, even minor ones like trying a new hobby can be terrifying but it will expand your mind and life experiences. The worse thing that could happen is that you will meet new people. You will realize that creativity is in all of us, it is just if you want to magnify or harness it in you. You don’t need to be Picasso but hey, get that coloring book and just colour.

If paint/art is not your thing, try cooking or baking. That is also creating and what’s great about such activity is you can always share the outcome (cakes/cookies).

4. Read

I am not talking about Facebook updates or social media. I am talking papers that you can flip. An actual book. There’s a lot of cheap books out there on sale, especially second hand ones. If you can’t think of a good reason to buy a book, go to your local library. Challenge yourself to read something you are not used to. It is easy to read what you like but hard to decipher books that does not appeal to you. I am guilty of not reading much for the past years and I felt that has made me a little bit boring. I am slowly getting back into the swing of things. Slowly but surely. I try my best not to read newspapers as it contains too much bad news and if I do, usually I do so at the end of the day.

5. Journal

This is great therapy if you allow it to. You don’t need to write every single bit that happened to you that day. Just one word or perhaps a few sentences. I know this activity helped me to focus in the morning and align me back to what I needed to do. When I read back what I wrote a few days back or weeks back I realized it was not so bad after all. Plus, in this digital age I want to make sure I remember how to write so this helps. You would be surprised how comforting it is to write out your thoughts. How beautiful it is to read it again in the next few weeks or years and remembering the situation be it good or bad.

Well, my friends. These were my top 5 that has influenced my 2016 very much so. I know it is nothing new to most people but to me, I just wanted to share how it was for me. After all, sharing is caring right? I pray and hope 2017 will bring all of you greater adventures that you will be proud of living. As my Uncle Peter said the other day, if you have done such a great time living your life, dying will not be hard.


Win ZTE Axon7 For Only RM7 With CNY Bargain King Online Contest

A ZTE AXON 7 Worth RM1999 Can Be Yours For Only RM7 This Chinese New Year?

Win a ZTE BLADE V7 MAX Worth RM999 For Only RM1?

ZTE Bargain King Will Make Your Dream Come True!

Chinese New Year is just around the corner and as the world’s leading mobile device manufacturer ZTE brings you unlimited New Year surprises with only RM 1, you would be able to win a RM999 Blade V7 Max or RM 7 for a ZTE Axon 7 smartphone worth RM1999!

How to get this incredible deal? It’s easy! Just join the online competition “
Bargain King
” hosted by ZTE, invite all of your friends and relatives to help you “bargain” and you would stand a chance to win any of those 2 models with the unbelievable low price!

With the perfect combination between Axon 7 and sound quality professional team Dolby Atmos, you know you are in for an immersive audio experience. The Axon 7 introduces unmatched hi-fidelity audio performance with dual front-facing speakers that create a home theatre experience in the palm of your hand. Enter a new world of sound with Dolby Atmos which delivers breathtaking, moving audio that flows above and around you. The Axon 7 also won the “Breakthrough in Smartphone Audio Innovation” award at the IFA 2016 Berlin.

Axon 7 Features:

Atmos+ Dolby Digital Plus (7+1 Surround Sound)

Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 820 2.15 GHz Processor

5.5″ 2K WQHD AMOLED Glass Display

2.15 GHz Quad-Core Processor, Adreno 530 GPU

Corning Gorilla 4th generation arc-surface glass

Blade V7 Max has a fingerprint sensor multifunction with just a 7.2 cm slim metallic body, DTS sound effect and dual sim card slot. With these multifunction and high quality smartphone, it could certainly satisfy all white-collars looking for a phone that is worth the price!

7.2mm Slim Metal Integrated Body, Fingerprint Sensor Multifunction

5.5 inch Full HD Screen

2.5D Display Curved Edge Glass

16MP PDAF Rear Camera with Flash & 8MP Front Camera, Front Camera Supports Speedy Focus

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For more information about ZTE Bargain King, visit:
http://zte.news365.my/


Seventy Percent of Malaysians Ready to Adopt Mobile Payments

Fifty per cent of Malaysians believe mobile payments will replace cash and cards one day.

Malaysians are ready to adopt mobile payments with seven in ten expressing a willingness to use mobile wallets such as Samsung Pay, according to a study from Visa.

Malaysians are also optimistic that mobile payments will replace cash and card usage one day, with half of those surveyed in Visa’s Mobile Attitudes Study sharing this view.

Malaysia has a relatively high smartphone penetration rate, with 71 per cent of the adult population owning at least one smartphone. The top categories that Malaysians would like to use mobile payments to make purchases include movie tickets, groceries and food & beverage.

The Visa study also shows that 83 per cent of Malaysians are aware of contactless payments and 34 per cent of them have used them. Sixty eight per cent of Malaysians also highlighted that they would choose to use contactless payments over cash, up 34 per cent as compared to 2015.

“Malaysians are clearly embracing mobile and contactless payments as they recognize the benefits these payment methods provide. We have seen tremendous uptake of Visa payWave transactions in the past year, surpassing the milestone of 1.5 million monthly Visa payWave transactions in December 2016. We are seeing double-digit month-on-month growth in contactless payments and remain positive that the introduction of mobile payments such as Samsung Pay and MaybankPay will continue to fuel this growth,” said KB Ng, Visa Country Manager for Malaysia.

Security remains a priority for Malaysians when it comes to mobile payments. Eighty nine per cent of Malaysians value security over convenience when making payments using mobile wallets. Forty three per cent of them also believe that card payment and mobile wallets are equally safe methods of payment.

“Mobile wallets such as Samsung Pay are enabled and secured using Visa’s proprietary technology, Visa Token Service, also known as tokenisation. Tokenisation replaces cardholder information, such as account numbers and expiration dates, with a unique digital identifier (a “token”) that can be used for payment without exposing a cardholder’s more sensitive account information, thus making it a safe and secure method of payment anytime, anywhere,” said KB Ng.

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“We are eager to accelerate growth in this segment as we move in tandem with the nation’s aim of becoming a cashless society,” he said. “As more merchants introduce Visa payWave acceptance and more Visa payWave cards are issued to consumers, we are confident that this new method of payment will catch on with technology savvy Malaysians,” he added.


Want to Post a Series of Photos on Instagram? Now You Can

New upcoming Instagram update will enable you to attach up to 10 photos and videos in a single post.

Sometime earlier this month, Instagram has been testing out the ability to post multiple photos and videos in a single post. But there were tons of bugs and was very unstable. But after long hours and sleepless nights, those guys in Instagram managed to put everything in order to bring us their brand new feature.

Now you can post a combination of up to 10 photos and videos in a single post on your Instagram feed. You don’t need to post one photo or video at a time anymore, that if you have lots of photos to share.

You can easily tell whether the post contains multiple photos just by looking out for a blue dot indicating that it is a gallery post. And if you do have multiple photos to post, the new update will give you an option to select up to 10 photos and videos after which you can rearrange the content in a sequence that you wish. You can also edit each photos individually once you’ve selected the photos.

Now in my opinion, I usually would prefer to have my photos posted one at a time…like how it is now. I see Instagram as a place for me to share selected or somewhat important photos with the masses. I would leave sharing multiple photos or gallery type of photos in Facebook instead. Each photos that I posted in Instagram have a special meaning to it. So, to be able to post multiple photos is something I might not use as much.

Nevertheless I am sure that some people would appreciate the new feature because I do see some people who would post one photo after another continuously and up to 10 photos within a short time frame. This feature will suit those people, I guess.

And I know some of you would love to edit some of your photos before posting them on Instagram. There many useful photo editors out there and some of them are totally free to use. If you like to edit your photos, you can check out some
free image editors
 to enhance your photos and to stand out from the crowd.

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So what do you think of the new Instagram feature? Leave a comment to share your opinion. Meanwhile, be sure to keep a lookout for the update in Android and iOS within the next few days.

Photo credit: AndroidPolice.com


ZTE Bargain King is Back This Valentine’s Day

Overwhelming respond with millions of people participated!

ZTE Bargain King is back on Valentine’s Day!

Own a ZTE AXON 7 worth RM1999 for only RM7

Get ZTE BLADE V7 MAX worth RM999 for only RM1

Tremendous respond to first season of ZTE online competition “Bargain King”! ZTE “Bargain King” was carried out for only three weeks; nearly ten thousand people have participated in the competition. This sets off the Internet with a “Bargain” wave! In February, a season full of love, ZTE called for the day of the Valentine’s Day in the second season of the “Bargain King” contest!

ZTE Axon 7 and ZTE Blade V7 Max up for grabs!

ZTE, the world’s leading mobile device manufacturer, wants to immerse you in the feeling of love on this Valentine’s Day! Second season of the “Bargain King” online competition will begin from February 14 until March 5. Regardless you were attached or single, you may stand a chance to own a smartphone with super value when you participate in ZTE during the Valentine’s Day online competition “Bargain King”.

The more friends and relatives you invite around you in Facebook to help you “bargain”, the bigger the opportunity you have to get the value of RM999 BLADE series V7 MAX for RM1 or RM7 to own the value of RM1999 ZTE’s flagship model, AXON 7.

With the perfect combination between AXON 7 and sound quality professional team DOLBY ATMOS, you know you are in for an immersive audio experience. The AXON 7 introduces unmatched hi-fidelity audio performance with dual front-facing speakers that create a home theatre experience in the palm of your hand.

Enter a new world of sound with DOLBY ATMOS which delivers breathtaking, moving audio that flows above and around you. These outstanding performances lead AXON 7 won the “Breakthrough in Smartphone Audio Innovation” award at the IFA 2016 Berlin show.

Axon 7 Features:

DOLBY ATMOS+ DOLBY Digital Surround

Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 820 Processor

5.5″ 2K WQHD AMOLED Glass Display

2.15 GHz Quad-Core Processor, Adreno530 GPU

Corning Gorilla 4th generation arc-surface glass

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Blade V7 Max has a fingerprint sensor multifunction with just a 7.2 cm slim metallic body, DTS sound effect and dual sim card slot. With these multifunction and high quality smartphone, it could certainly satisfy all white-collars looking for a phone that is worth the price!

7.2mm Slim Metal Integrated Body, Fingerprint Sensor Multifunction

5.5 inch Full HD Display

2.5D Curved Edge Glass

16MP PDAF Rear Camera with Flash & 8MP Front Camera with Screen Flash

For more information about ZTE Bargain King, visit:
http://zte.news365.my/


Have You Ever Been to Concerts of Your Favourite Bands?

Concert Goers Basics

Have you ever been to concerts of your favourite bands/singers? If you answer yes to that, I bet it must have been a great experience. Come on! Singing along with them playing live instead of singing along to their CD playing in your car? That is PRICELESS.

I’ve attended a couple of concerts be it by local artists/non locals and have also attended music festivals but all was here in Malaysia. Well, I did attend one in the UK but that’s a story for another day. Just recently, (like a few days back) I watched Coldplay performed live in Bangkok, Thailand. So I grab my passport, my backpack, my
puffy blanket
 and my closest friends along for this trip!

This trip would mark my second trip to Bangkok and I was looking forward mainly for Coldplay (but of course!). Then of course, it was the company – an all-girls trip, my girlfriends from college/high school years are all meeting up in Bangkok to have endless time of fun over food and whatever Bangkok can offer (and what we are willing to do).

Anyway, fast forward to the concert day itself – here’s a few tips you should consider when you attend a concert outside your home ground (I think this applies even to attending one at your own home ground)

1. Be courteous

You are not just representing yourself but also your country. Language may be a barrier but not your character. Say excuse me if you need to pass some of them along the way and refrain from pushing. You will get dagger like stares when you say excuse me, just because you want to go in-front or pass other concert goers .

However, a simple excuse me and a sweet smile soften those daggers. Trust me. But if you choose to push and act like you do not care, you’re just expecting lots of trouble and comment about how rude of a Malaysian you are/or whichever country you come from. Just don’t push.

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2. Drink water

Bangkok was hot so make sure you have enough water so you do not get dehydrated. And while you are at it, know where the toilet is to ensure you do not get lost. Do not want to go to the toilet? Well, just move a lot during concert, sway your body, jump and dance so you sweat it out. I did that. It works.

So check out the weather of the country you are going to for the concert. If it is hot at that time of the year, be prepared. If it is cooler, be prepared.

3. Keep clean

Bear in mind you will sweat when you attend open concerts and so will others. I don’t expect you to spray a bottle of perfume onto yourself but if you have BO problem, just try to minimize it. I don’t mind the smell of sweat like you just came out of the gym but not BO. If the weather is super-hot, ensure you are in proper clothing to beat the heat – but be respectful. Other than keeping yourself clean, please, please keep the ground of the concert clean.

Yes, there are workers to clean the place after the concert but it is not so hard to ensure you throw your bottles/rubbish into the bin. If there is no bin in sight, put it in your bag. We hate litter bugs. Again, you are representing your country here. If you have no time to keep other people’s country clean, you are showing we come from a country that believes rubbish is the way of life.

Finally, Have LOADS of fun. Memorise the songs, sing along. Cry or laugh along.


Get RM200 off when you purchase the Galaxy J Prime

Simply hand over your used or old smartphone and walk home with the Galaxy J5 Prime or J7 Prime at RM200 lesser.

Have an old phone lying around at home? Or, looking for the perfect smartphone deals in town? Well, look no further because Samsung Malaysia Electronics gives you even more reasons to get rid of your old devices – a generous rebate entitlement for the purchase of the Galaxy J5 Prime and Galaxy J7 Prime!

For a month from now until 21st May 2017, Samsung is offering a substantial RM200 instant rebate for every used or old smartphone brought in to any participating outlets and Samsung Experience Stores. While the devices of any brand or model need not be in perfect form, it does however need to be in working condition before the rebate is granted. The RM200 rebate must be used to purchase either the Galaxy J5 Prime or the Galaxy J7 Prime. Priced at recommended retail price of RM899 and RM1199 respectively, the Galaxy J5 Prime and the Galaxy J7 Prime can be purchased at an attractive offer of RM699 and RM999 respectively after the rebate.

“At Samsung, we inspire users to seek for the latest mobile technology that can complement and enhance their lifestyles; and for this reason, we initiated this campaign. We want consumers to discover experiences that mobile phones bring to the table today, and as such we aim to reward our existing customers and create a golden opportunity for them to expand their mobile experience further. The Galaxy J5 Prime and J7 Prime are great devices coming from the diverse Galaxy J family. Simultaneously, we are encouraging consumers today to responsibly discard their used mobile phones in the most environmentally safe way possible,” said Mr Lee Jui Siang, Vice President, IT & Mobile Business Unit, Samsung Malaysia Electronics.

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Boasting a refined design with a curved back and real metal finish for a luxurious dual-tone premium look, the Galaxy J5 Prime and J7 Prime are the best smartphones to take fashionable wefies that social-savvy users desire most. Featuring a 13MP rear camera with an f1.9 aperture lens that allows for bright images even in low light settings, both devices come equipped with a Wide Selfie function on its front camera to capture the best “wefies” when it comes to group shots. The J5 Prime and J7 Prime are also armed with built-in 16GB and 32GB internal memory respectively to store more precious wefies to your heart’s content!

For those looking for a new smartphone and have little idea on what to do with their current or used ones, drop by Samsung’s participating outlets and take advantage of this promotion while it is still valid. The stylish Galaxy J5 Prime and J7 Prime complement trendy lifestyles and promises to bring wefie-taking to the next level! Both devices are offered in unique dual-tone colour options, White/Gold and Black, and also Pink Gold exclusively for the J7 Prime.

For more information, please visit
http://www.samsung.com/my/
offer. *Terms and conditions apply.


Buying a Car Becomes Easier With Carlist.my App

I remember the first time I was brought to a car dealer by my late father. I was about 19-years-old back then and I had just started working. Back then, having your own car was a big thing. Going around to find the right car was a tedious but fun task – tedious because I had to look through the newspaper classifieds every single day or drive around with my dad to a car dealership; fun because, hey, I was getting my own car.

Fast forward to 2017 and we now live in a very connected era. Purchasing a new or used car has become easier too. We don’t need to travel and waste our precious petrol anymore – all thanks to an excellent app:
Carlist.my
.

The Carlist.my app is very simple and straightforward. Searching for the car of your dream is fast and easy. No more wasting time and energy as everything is done through the convenient Carlist.my app on your mobile device – right at your fingertips. Carlist.my features thousands of free car listings that you can check out from the mobile app. That means you can view thousands of new and used cars directly on your phone. It is well-known as Malaysia’s largest online car marketplace.

If you’re a little worried about being conned by a fake dealer, fret not. All the registered dealers listed in the Carlist.my app are verified and reliable. The app also has a built-in chat feature with the dealer if you want to inquire more about the vehicle that you’re keen on. You can also view other users’ comments regarding the dealer’s reliability. This lessens the chances of a buyer getting ripped off by a fake car dealer.

To test out the app, I tried searching for a certain car and specified some criteria that I’m looking for. The app then quickly listed all the related cars with the criteria that I wanted. Simple! I can then look through the list one at a time and also do a quick comparison between 2-3 cars of the same model. And when I’m interested to purchase a car, I can directly call the dealer right from the app itself or send a chat request. The Carlist.my app also comes with a loan calculator for a quick calculation on loan repayment amount.

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Basically, the Carlist.my app comes with everything you need to start looking for your dream car. I have seen other apps similar to Carlist.my but none of the others are as extensive and detailed as this one. Because of this, I have full confidence on Carlist.my listings. You can head over to the main website
www.carlist.my
 to start browsing for your new car but having the Carlist.my app on your phone is way better.

Download now!

iOS:
http://carl.st/iOScarlistmy

Android:
http://carl.st/Androidcarlistmy

Check out these links:

https://www.carlist.my/

https://www.facebook.com/Carlist.my

https://www.instagram.com/carlistmy


Cheap Ramadhan Buffet at Restoran Nelayan Gombak

Malaysians like a few things in life. One is free stuffs, second is cheap stuffs. That we all can’t deny because Malaysians are cheap. But when it comes to buffet especially during Ramadhan month, not many restaurants offers cheap dining. How about having some cheap buffet and steamboat (and grill too) at Restoran Nelayan Gombak? Sounds good? Ok then.

Restoran Nelayan Gombak offers affordable buffet dining for their customers this Ramadhan month where you can have some local delicacies as well as steamboat and grill. Yes, grill.

I was invited to attend their Ramadhan buffet launch a day before fasting begins. We were introduced to some famous local food, some international food and also their steamboat and grill concept. But I was quite disappointed that we didn’t get to sample their steamboat and grill buffet because they are Malaysians too. Yes…you guessed it…cheap.

I think I’m speaking on behalf of others bloggers there who kept their blog post as kind as possible, something like “
cakap berlapik
“. But not me. This is my honest review of the food served in Restoran Nelayan Gombak.

They have these stalls all over the place. I would say that the setting and location is very welcoming. Everything is pretty. I have no complaints here except for the lack of parking space. We were introduced to a yummy looking roti jala magik, which looks good…and stays as that.

Let me give another honest opinion. Most of the meat dishes such as the daging salai masak lemak cili api is a little bit hard to my taste, the lemon chicken is made to feel like Goodyear rubber, some chicken dishes taste a little bland and the roti jala magik taste like nothing. The “magik” is that it crumbles easily. Sorry guys, that’s my non-
berlapik
 honest food review.

On the up-side, the kuih-muih is good. I also like the su’un goreng which is really good. During my time dining there, I said to my friend that the only nice food at Restoran Nelayan Gombak is the
keropok ikan
 but after sampling some other dishes (not the ones I mentioned earlier), they turned out to be okay. Oh, I have another thumbs-down. Their ice-cream is…powdery. Like they didn’t mix it well.

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I really have to give my honest food review here. I don’t want to give an excellent 5-star review and then when any of you go there to have your iftar, you got disappointed and started blaming me for lying. I will tell which one is good and which one is not. Also, my honest review will eventually let the management of Restoran Nelayan Gombak to check the quality of their food before serving out to customers. QC is important especially when it comes to food. Don’t make it look good but taste horrible.

Or maybe I am still feeling cross for not able to sample their yummy looking steamboat and grill buffet. They only put them out to show but not to eat except for one particular table. Yes, I’m still upset about that.

So there you go. My truly honest review of Restoran Nelayan Gombak’s Ramadhan buffet package. Those who wish to have some cheap buffet, go ahead and give them a try. Their prices are as below:

Restoran Nelayan Titiwangsa @ Gombak

Batu 8 3/4 Jalan Gombak Utara,

Kuala Lumpur (Near UIA)

Phone number :
 03-61858400 / 013-2237228 / 03-2967228 / 019-2931397


Reduce Your Mobile Data Usage With These 15 Tricks

Looking for quick and easy ways to reduce your data usage? Look no further! We have assembled 15 not so obvious tricks that you can implement to save on your data consumption. Have a look!

1. Don’t enable data usage for all of your apps

If you’re like me, you are probably not using 60-70% of the apps that are actually on your phone. For some apps, I am not even sure what they are supposed to be doing. If you have not turned it off, all these apps are allowed to stream and download data to your phone whenever they please. Go over to your options settings and block the data usage of apps that you don’t use.

2. Use a data efficient browser

Most people use a standard browser such as Chrome, Edge or Safari. However, not all these browsers might be optimized for how you are using them. Browsers such as Chrome are at heart designed for desktops and will always work that way.

Instead you can choose to download a browser that is specifically designed for mobile users. One example is Opera Mini. Opera Mini has an algorithm that compresses all data coming in and out of your browser. This can reduce your data consumption quite a bit.

3. Limit the data usage of each application

If you have already disabled data usage for apps that you don’t use, the next step is limiting the data usage of apps that you do use. Unknowingly, a lot of apps are still running when you close them. Either through background processes or view tabs, a lot of apps are still streaming data after you have stopped using them.

By setting data limits for each app, you can make sure that an app will never surpass a certain threshold in terms of data usage.

4. Disable Auto Synchronization

A lot of cloud based applications, such as Dropbox, Google Drive and Todoist have a function called auto-synchronization that constantly checks the data that is on your phone against the data that is on the cloud. If you don’t actively use an app like Dropbox, but you have it installed, you can disable auto synchronization which will stop the background data usage of apps like these

5. Use airplane mode as a hard stop

Best used as a last resort, turning on airplane mode can be a good way to put a hard stop to your data usage. Especially useful if you want to save those last MB’s for an emergency. Airplane Mode will block all data transfer from your phone and will set your data usage to 0%.

6. Turn off network data while you sleep

You are obviously not using your phone while you sleep, so why leave the data on? All throughout the night, your phone will transfer data, especially if you still have apps running. Next to saving a lot of data, it also has health benefits because looking at your screen is scientifically proven to be bad for your sleep rythms.

7. Remove data consuming apps you don’t use

A lot of apps you have installed might actually be completely useless, depending on how you use your phone. Take some time to clean up your phone and remove all the apps that you don’t use. Next to making your phone a lot faster, it will also significantly reduce your data usage.

8. Limit your background data usage / enable background app refresh

If you are an iPhone user, you can enable an option called background app refresh. iOS, the iPhone operating system, already has smart learning algorithms that allow it to learn from your interaction with apps and adjust updating schedules.

By adjusting your background app refresh you can set up your device to only refresh data when connected to WiFi, at certain times or in a specific locations. This can aid you in reducing your data usage because background data can be a large drag on your quota.

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9. Only download updates while connected to WiFi

This ties into the previous point, but is important enough to warrant more emphasis. Updates are one of the biggest things that you are going to spend your data on. If you set up your device to only download updates when connected to WiFi, you will see significant improvements in your data usage.

In both android and iOS there are options you can enable that will instruct the phone to only download updates when the phone is connected to WiFi.

10. Use data compression apps

If you are sending and receiving large data files you might want to consider using a data compression app. Music and video can soak up a lot of your data if you transfer them without compressing. If you compress your files before you send or receive them you can save a lot on your data usage.

This applies especially to music and video because they are so data intensive, but it can also be important for your web browsing and email. If you compress every bit of data you send, you could theoretically reduce your data consumption by close to 50%.

11. Use a centralized mailbox application

Most people have various email addresses. You might have a personal address, a work address, one for school, etc. If you use separate applications for each platform you have an email address at, you are using more data than you need, because each app works separately.

Instead you could install a mail application that allows you to integrate all your email into one mailbox. You can still separate them in various boxes but you use the same application. This way you will only need one application to manage all your email. Your email application will synchronize all your email in once session, instead of 3-4 different apps synching at the same time.

12. Use Wi-Fi as much as possible

This may sound like a no-brainer, but using Wi-Fi instead of data can really help you in the long run. People often know this to be true, but you might not pay as much attention to this as you should. As soon as you go on Wi-Fi, make sure you disable your mobile data, because otherwise your phone might continue to use mobile data.

13. Utilize offline mode features

A lot of apps have offline mode features that allow you to use the application even when you are not connected to the internet. For example, YouTube allows you to pre-download videos you intend to watch. That way, you won’t have to use your data when you don’t have access to Wi-Fi anymore.

14. Avoid the use of data tethering / Hot-spotting

Although the increasing internet speeds have made the use of Mobile Hotspots a lot more convenient, they are incredibly taxing on your data quota. One day of web surfing via your Mobile Hotspot can easily rack up 3-4 GB of data of your quota if you’re not careful. Try to only use Hotspot as an emergency if you really need to access the internet.

15. Disable display ads for your browser

Last but not least, a good way to conserve data is to disable display ads in your browser. These kind of ads use up a lot of data because they are basically auto-play videos that stream to your phone. If you have a browser that allows you to disable these you can save a lot of data.

By following this list and paying a little more attention to your data usage you should be able to use a lot less data, and you might even want to
switch to a plan with a lower GB quota
.

This article first appeared on CompareHero.my’s ‘
15 Tricks to Reduce your Mobile Data Usage
‘