ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser review

Back in April, we attended the launch of the ASUS Zenfone 2 in Jakarta. We were very impressed by its performance and specifications, and on May 9th we also attended the Zenfone 2’s launch event in Malaysia, and we were even more impressed when we got to know the official pricing of the Zenfone 2 series in Malaysia. We finally published the review of the ASUS Zenfone 2 on May 17th, awarding it a Gold Pokdeward for its great performance, largely thanks to the Intel SoC and 4GB of RAM, an unheard of amount of RAM for a relatively affordable smartphone. Heck, even flagships like the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy S6 are limited to 3GB of RAM. It was then followed in September with the ASUS Zenfone Selfie, which sports a 13MP camera in front for those who want to ensure their friends on Instagram and Facebook get high quality shots of their awesome good looks. Moving forward, we were invited to a media-only gathering to meet the latest member of the ASUS Zenfone family, the ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser. Does it match or exceed the high bar set by its older siblings? We got it back to our labs to test it.

Unboxing
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The Laser is shipped in a packaging similar to previous models, an inner tray which contains all the goodies in a hard paper sleeve. As soon as you slide the tray out you will get to lay your eyes on the Laser. Take out the phone, and under it is another compartment, where you will find the power adapter, USB cable and some documentation. ASUS left out the earphones with this model though.

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Appearance
All the good things we had to say about the Zenfone 2 still stands for the Laser. It has the equally ergonomic curved back, as well as the unconventional rear-mounted volume buttons. The brushed metal pattern on the rear cover is replaced with a unique UV soft-touch coat for both the black and red variants. I am not sure about the black variant, but the red color on mine reflects light quite exquisitely. It shimmers when you move it under light. The photos below aren’t doing the back any justice at all. The main visible difference with the older Zenfone 2 models are the addition of the laser autofocus sensor beside the camera, with the LED flash moved from above the camera to opposite the laser sensor. This change has been observed since the launch of ASUS Zenfone Selfie. I thank ASUS for not triggering my OCD for symmetry.
ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser review @ Pokde.netASUS Zenfone 2 Laser review @ Pokde.netASUS Zenfone 2 Laser review @ Pokde.netASUS Zenfone 2 Laser review @ Pokde.netASUS Zenfone 2 Laser review @ Pokde.netASUS Zenfone 2 Laser review @ Pokde.net
The front is exactly the same as the original Zenfone 2. Our model is the 5.5″ variant, which will be followed by a 5″ and 6″ variant later. ASUS has still kept the capacitive buttons around, and sadly they are not backlit. The trademark Zen concentric circles chin is still here, which allows it to stand out a little from the sea of flat glass slabs.

Specifications

CPU:
Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 64-bit (4 x A53 @ 1.2 GHz)

RAM
2GB

Display:
5.5″, HD (720p) IPS LCD with ASUS TruVivid technology

Storage:
16GB internal (expandable with microSD up to 128GB)

Camera:
13MP f/2.0 Toshiba sensor, 5 element lens (rear)
5MP f/2.0 (85° wide-angle)

OS:
Android 5.0.2 with ZenUI enhancements

SIM:
microSIM (dual SIM support, both with LTE support)

Battery:
3000 mAh Li-Po (removable)

Performance
The Snapdragon 410 inside is meant to bring LTE support and 64-bit capabilities to mainstream affordable devices, thus this isn’t going to be the king of the hill when it comes to synthetic benchmarks. But when paired with 2GB of RAM, it does offer a good user experience even with the limited raw processing horsepower, which we will talk about later.
Antutu benchmark 64 bit modeAntutu benchmark 32 bit mode`Geekbench 3 benchmarkPCMark benchmark

Battery life is a strong point with four low-power A53 cores running at 1.2 GHz and the Adreno 306 GPU. The ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser is capable of staying away from a power source for 1 day and 6 hours with its 3000 mAh battery. Charging times are quite slow in an age of fast chargers, and it will fully charge up from empty in less than 3 hours.
Overall battery lifeOn screen time
In fact it lasted so long I was kinda annoyed, as I usually charge my phone at night, but with around 45% charge remaining I was not sure to charge or not to charge. Yup, I am most probably the first person to be annoyed by too much battery life.
Internet speeds on LTE are dependent on your coverage, and for me, I managed to hit my usual speeds with this phone. WiFi is also fast with strong signal acquired throughout my house, but then that is also dependent on your router. All in all, the network performance is faultless.

User Experience
The first thing you will realize when you use this phone is its 170 g weight. The weight lends an air of sturdiness, and some might appreciate the solid feel of it in their hands, but I personally prefer my phones lighter. The entire phone is put together very well, with no wobble or wiggle detected from the back cover as well as the buttons. The curved back also sits perfectly in the curvature of my palm, offering a very good grip. All that and with the matte soft-touch coating the rear of the Laser, you must have some pretty well lubricated hands for it to slip out of your hands.
The buttons on this phone are tactile and produce a nice audible click, so much that I have actually started clicking the buttons on the Laser as an alternative to clicking my pens during class. Speaking about buttons, I really like the location of the power button on the top, as it is a lot harder to accidentally press it. The volume buttons on the rear needs some getting used to, but once you get used to it, you will start to question why other phones don’t have volume buttons on the back. It is just so comfortable as you just have to shift your index finger to press it, instead of re-positioning your entire hand so that your thumb can read the volume buttons on the side.

The front is dominated by the Gorilla Glass 4 glass panel, with the Zen concentric circles chin on the bottom portion. The oleophobic coating on the Laser is pretty effective as it helped me keep the screen clean easily even with my usually grubby hands touching it all the time.
The speaker on the rear is a five magnet speaker system, and is plenty loud enough to wake me up in the morning. The audio quality produced is acceptable as long as you don’t push it to the maximum volume, but definitely lacks bass, a common issue with loudspeakers. The loudness is also sufficient for me to hear my notification tones in almost any environment. Another thing to note is that the actual speaker under the grille is off-centered as you can see in the image below, thus placing it on the table will not muffle the audio, but actually allow the sound to reflect off the surface it is laid upon towards you. I plugged my Piston v2 as ASUS has apparently forgotten to include a headset in the package, and music sounded as good as it ever could with these earphones.

With the back cover off, you will also notice that the battery is removable. While the battery life is actually long enough to not require a battery swap in the middle of the day, but those who intend to use this phone for many years will be pleased to know they can swap out the battery if its worn out. Something not many smartphones can claim to offer. Also worth noting is that the ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser is actually the first member of the Zenfone family to feature a removable battery.
While the Snapdragon 410 isn’t the fastest processor out there, it is already sufficient for general everyday usage. When I say everyday usage, I mean Whatsapp, social networking, music listening and some Web surfing thrown in. The Laser doesn’t bat an eye at these workloads, and while opening apps may take a heartbeat longer than on my Padfone S, but after the apps are open, the experience is almost equally smooth. I must also mention that I have used certain phones with the beefier Snapdragon 615 processors that weren’t nearly as smooth as the Laser, so it must definitely be due to some of ASUS’ magic in optimization.
Now that we are talking about ASUS’ magic, ASUS’ touch throughout the UI is really nice to use as well. Improvements like AudioWizard for audio output adjustments, Splendid for screen calibration, and also various other preloaded apps are quite useful too. While there is some bloatware here and there, most of them can be uninstalled. Besides, with 16GB of internal memory in addition to the ability to move your apps over to the SD card, you shouldn’t worry about running out of space for your apps.
ASUS AudioWizard presetsASUS AudioWizard advanced settingsASUS AudioWizard EQASUS SplendidASUS ZenMotion
The double tap to wake should solve most users’ beef with the power button located at the top of the Laser, as one only needs to tap the screen twice to turn on the screen. The other gestures can be customized to open apps other than the preset ones when triggered, but you cannot create new gestures.
Now, let’s move on to the highlight feature of the ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser. The camera. The camera is identical with the one on the original Zenfone 2, a Toshiba 13MP sensor behind a 5-element lens, but has been improved by the addition of a laser autofocusing system.

Laser autofocus does make a difference, and after using it, I really think every phone should have either laser autofocusing system or hybrid phase detection AF. Focus lock is achieved much faster than any phone with basic contrast detection AF systems are capable of. Shutter lag is also non-existent to me.
The camera UI is quite neat, with lots of scene modes, including a manual mode where you gain control over the ISO, shutter speed and focus. A horizon line and exposure graph is available in manual mode to help you frame the best shot possible. A nice touch is instant exposure preview in the viewfinder before you take the shot, so inexperienced photographers like yours truly can judge the exposure from the viewfinder without having to try and get the right exposure via trial and error. For those more interested in the front camera, there is a Beautification mode, which allows to both hide your flaws and make yourself look a little thinner. That should be quite appealing to members of the fairer sex.
Scene modesManual modeManual modeBeautification mode
You can judge the camera for yourself, I personally think that it is pretty good.
Zenfone 2 Laser AutoZenfone 2 Laser Super ResolutionZenfone 2 Laser HDRZenfone 2 Laser AutoZenfone 2 Laser low-light modeZenfone 2 Laser manual modeZenfone 2 Laser night modeZenfone 2 Laser close-upZenfone 2 Laser close-up 2
Better image quality can be found in the Xiaomi Mi4i, but the Mi4i lacks the nifty low light mode as well as quick laser focus. If you want to scrutinize the photos further, full resolution camera samples can be found here.
Moving on, the 5.5″, HD (720p) IPS LCD with ASUS TruVivid technology along a ridiculously named GFF (which stands for G Film Film) touch sensor offers bright and vivid visuals and 60ms touch response times, I really have nothing much to complain about the screen.

The only thing I could complain about the Zenfone 2 Laser is the 720p screen, but even with only 921,600 pixels distributed over 5.5″ for a ppi of 267, I didn’t actually find it an issue when using the Zenfone 2 Laser. Sure, when I put it beside my Padfone S which has a 5″ 1080p display I can see a rather apparent difference in sharpness especially when looking at text on webpages, but the Laser’s screen is fine if you aren’t comparing directly against a higher resolution display.
ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser screenASUS Zenfone 2 Laser screenASUS Zenfone 2 Laser screenASUS Zenfone 2 Laser screenASUS Zenfone 2 Laser screen
ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser screen
The screen is bright with wide viewing angles. Little to no color shift is observable even when looking at the phone from extreme angles that no normal person will ever see their phone from, which is a good thing. Colors are bright but not to the point of oversaturation, and whites are without a color cast.

Conclusion
The Zenfone 2 Laser is quite an appealing mid-range smartphone at RM799. With improved camera hardware over its older brethen, a good IPS screen, a unique and ergonomic design with good build quality as well as seriously long battery life, I think you will fall in love with this smartphone quite easily, especially if you aren’t the type who needs top-of-the-line performance, but will appreciate the camera’s quality and fast autofocus speed. So whether does it match or exceed the high bar set by its older brethen? I would say in terms of the camera, it has already surpassed the original Zenfone 2, but the processor is a step down in terms of raw performance.

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PNY Malaysia Launches RTX 4060 Ti In Dual-Fan And Triple-Fan Variants

Fusion Tech Supply Sdn. Bhd. (PNY Malaysian distributor) has announced two new models powered by NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4060 Ti silicon. Both models use the reference NVIDIA designs with no factory overclocks – meaning the base clock sits at 2310MHz with boost clock up to 2535MHz.

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The triple-fan PNY GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB XLR8 Gaming VERTO EPIC-X RGB features a slightly different design over its namesake on higher-end NVIDIA GPUs (RTX 4070 Ti and up), though it’s the same one used on the RTX 4070 VERTO EPIC-X RGB measuring approximately at 305 x 119 x 40mm (PNY only published measurements in imperial units which is 12.01″ x 4.67″ x 1.57″ to be exact). The pricing for this model is RM2,289.

The RGB-less model, PNY GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB VERTO Dual Fan also derived its design from the RTX 4070 namesake with smaller footprint measuring at 245 x 113 x 40mm (9.65″ x 4.43″ x 1.57″). The price announced for this GPU is RM2,049.
PNY GPUs comes with native support for VelocityX VERTO software and are all covered under 3-year warranty by local distributor, Fusion Tech Supply Sdn. Bhd.
Pokdepinion: Good call on the dual-slot design. GPU sure have obesity problem of their own these days isn’t it?
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Intel Lunar Lake Will Be An All-New Architecture for Laptop CPUs

The American chipmaker will be using various packaging technologies to focus on performance-per-watt, one of the key metrics for mobile systems.
Credit: Intel / Wccftech
Lunar Lake, which is among the future-gen architectures from Intel will feature their Foveros 3D packaging technology for better signal latency and power consumption. Likely based on Intel 18A node (after Intel 4 and 20A), the architecture didn’t get any specific release year so far from the chipmaker aside from 2024 and beyond.
Intel’s EVG & GM of CCG (Client Computing Group), Michelle Johnston Holthaus has confirmed the Lunar Lake’s details to Dr. Ian Cutress (TechTechPotato), which says the architecture will be an all-new design with mobile devices in mind. Previous disclosure confirms Lunar Lake will be targeting 15W-class systems.

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From @Intel @MJHolthaus : Lunar Lake is a fresh ground-up design and CPU uArch, built with perf/watt in mind for mobile devices. More info at the financial disclosure on 26th
— 𝐷𝑟. 𝐼𝑎𝑛 𝐶𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 (@IanCutress) January 12, 2023

Michelle further confirms that Lunar Lake will provide all-day battery life without compromising performance; to recap, the architecture will be using Intel 18A node and a new Xe2-LPG graphics architecture, with scalable capabilities to add and remove compute blocks depending on use cases. The same principle will apply to prior architectures, including Meteor Lake and Arrow Lake. More information will be revealed on Intel’s 22Q4 financial disclosure day on January 26th.
Source: Videocardz | Wccftech
Pokdepinion: We still have a few years to go before this launches so best wait and see.
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Twitch To Introduce Squad Stream in 2019 – 4 Streamers In One Window

Twitch To Introduce Squad Stream in 2019

Go live on Twitch with up to three other streamers, all in a single view.
Squad Stream rolls out in 2019. pic.twitter.com/UIkbSmNIBI
— Twitch (@Twitch) October 26, 2018

At TwitchCon 2018, Twitch has revealed what they have in store for streamers and viewers to enjoy when the new year is upon us. One major addition coming to the livestreaming platform is Squad Stream.
In Squad Stream, up to four creators will be able to stream together in a single view that viewers discover when they visit any one of their channels. Viewers can watch on desktop and mobile as well as easily follow and subscribe to all channels.

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Chat will be linked to whichever channel a viewer selects as their main view, so they can hang out with their friends or jump over to another community with just a click or a tap.
A selected number of streamers will have access to this feature earlier, sometime later this year, in order to test it out. This will allow them to see how viable it is as well as gain feedback on what they can do to further improve Squad Stream.
Aside from that, there were also new features being introduced. This includes additional moderator tools, VIP badges, changes to Highlight Editor, and more. If you want to know more about the other changes, click right here.
Pokdepinion: Been having fun livestreaming over the past year and always wanted to do this with some of my friends. Guess this is something to look forward to in 2019.
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Samsung Galaxy S22 Series Will Have Glass Backs According To Tipster

A fan of Samsung’s S series? Well you’ll be glad to know that the upcoming S22 series devices will have glass backs, according to a tipster over at Twitter.
Samsung Galaxy S22 series to have glass backs

There is a definite answer about the rear cover material of Galaxy S22 series:S22, S22 +, S22 ultra are all made of glass!
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) December 20, 2021

It was revealed by Ice Universe who has had their fair share of correct leaks. As you may have known, the S series is the brand’s flagship series where previously on the S21 series, they came with a plastic back build.
This has of course made some question what they are getting, especially with their relatively not so cheap price tag. We could expect the Galaxy S22 series to make its debut in January 2022, which isn’t far away from now.

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Previously we’ve reported on the series’ dummy units. Check out more on that by heading to the link right here. For more on the latest tech and gaming news plus reviews, stay tuned to Pokde.net.
Source
Pokdepinion: Of course glass just feels nicer on the hands, but personally I feel that if the plastic is done well, I have no quarrels in using it instead. Which do you prefer?
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U Mobile Introduces New Giler Unlimited Plans – Very Affordable Prepaid and Postpaid Plans

U Mobile has unveiled a couple of Giler Unlimited plans for both postpaid and prepaid, boasting unlimited data at a very affordable price for consumers.
U Mobile Introduces New Giler Unlimited GX30 and GX50 Plans
Picture taken with the ASUS ZenFone 5 ZE620KL
At an event held in Kuala Lumpur today, U Mobile has introduces two brand new Unlimited plans under the Giler Unlimited moniker, one each for prepaid and postpaid. Those plans are the GX50 postpaid plan and the GX30 prepaid plan.
The Giler Unlimited plans are designed to be very affordable and provide customers with unlimited access to data, which is especially important given how increasingly reliant virtually everyone has become on the internet. This includes streaming music, videos, social messaging, social networking, playing mobile games, and more.

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Picture taken with the ASUS ZenFone 5 ZE620KL
Picture taken with the ASUS ZenFone 5 ZE620KL
The postpaid GX50 Giler Unlimited plan has unlimited data for all apps and comes with unlimited calls and 5GBs of free hotspot quota at only RM50 per month. The GX30 Giler Unlimited prepaid plan on the other hand get to enjoy unlimited data and 3GBs of free hotspot quota at only RM30 per month. It should be noted that existing charges for the prepaid plan such as for calls and texts will apply as usual.
It’s also worth noting the internet speed for both plans as they both have different speeds. The GX50 plan will yield users with a 5Mbps internet speed whereas the GX30 will yield 3Mbps instead.
Both Giler Unlimited U Mobile plans are available from today onwards. You can head on to any U Mobile stores nationwide to apply for it. For more information on both the GX50 and GX30 plans, click right here.
Pokdepinion: That’s more affordable than what we had before from U Mobile. This will surely entice more people to come over to the orange side, especially for heavy mobile data users under a budget.

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It appears that a PS Plus January 2022 leak has surfaced online. Under normal circumstances, we would hear about it closer to the lineup’s refresh but this could just be an early glimpse into it. Here’s what you need to know.
PS Plus January 2022 Leak Reveals Two Free PS5 Games

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The source of the alleged PS Plus January 2022 leak stems from Dealabs, which shows the 3 games that will be coming you way being Deep Rock Galactic (PS5 / PS4), Dirt 5 (PS5 / PS4), and Persona 5 Strikers (PS4).
This is particularly interesting as it marks the first time Sony will be including two PS5 games in a single month. Typically, you would see two PS4 games and only one PS5 game in a PS Plus lineup.
We’ve also heard complaints by many gamers as to why Sony puts more emphasis on the PS4 versions of certain games in PS Plus lineups when there are proper next gen PS5 versions. For example, Mortal Shell is part of the PS Plus December 2021 free games lineup but it’s only the PS4 version rather than the PS5 version.
Hopefully, this will be a good sign of things to come and it will be a standard that they will be moving forward with. I’m sure many gamers will be happy with the upcoming lineup if it is true, especially given the mess that was Godfall: Challenger Edition that we got for this month.
For now, do take this information with a grain of salt. We will reporting more on this, especially when the official announcement is up, as soon as information becomes available so stay tuned.
Source
Pokdepinion: Hopefully this ends up being real. Persona 5 Strikers is a pretty good game, especially if you have played the original game.
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Resident Evil VII: Biohazard Gold Edition Confirmed; Chris Redfield is Returning?

Resident Evil VII: Biohazard Gold Edition’s release has been officially confirmed. It will be coming with available and upcoming DLCs!

Resident Evil VII: Biohazard Gold Edition Confirmed

Released in the beginning of the year, Resident Evil VII: Biohazard became one of the surprise success of the year with great critical and commercial success, with the game to see an expanded edition later this year with all of the post-release content in store.

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Capcom has announced the release of Resident Evil VII: Biohazard Gold Edition, which will pack in the original game and both of its “Banned Footage” DLC add-ons, along with a new DLC expansion called “End of Zoe.” The Gold Edition will release for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on December 12th, 2017.
Specifically, the “End of Zoe” expansion will show players a “shocking installment” of the Resident Evil VII story in which players will “discover what Zoe’s fate will be.” End of Zoe will be included as part of the Gold Edition of Resident Evil VII, while those that already have the game can grab the add-on as part of the game’s Season Pass, or purchase it on its own for $14.99.
Capcom also announced that the “Not a Hero” DLC, which will feature longtime Resident Evil veteran Chris Redfield, will also be released alongside Resident Evil VII: Biohazard Gold Edition as a free update for all players of Resident Evil VII on December 12th, 2017. An official description for the DLC can be found below:
The free Not a Hero DLC sees the return of Resident Evil fan favorite and veteran BSAA soldier Chris Redfield. Taking place after the horrific events that befell Ethan Winters in Resident Evil 7 biohazard, Not a Hero brings a brand new experience playing as Chris to face new threats not met in the main game.
As a member of New Umbrella, Chris and team quickly set up a strategy to counter this latest threat. Will Chris once again solve the mystery of this latest outbreak and make it out of the plantation’s dungeons alive?
Resident Evil VII: Biohazard Gold Edition will be coming to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC on December 12th, 2017. Both of its upcoming DLC expansions, “End of Zoe” and “Not A Hero” will also release the same day.

Pokdepinion: Wasn’t really a big fan of the game honestly speaking. The horror factor went down quite fast so it ended up being just any normal action game to me eventually. On the plus side, being able to play as a familiar character might convince me to pick up Resident Evil VII: Biohazard Gold Edition, so we’ll see.
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AMD launches 7th gen AMD A-Series desktop processors with DDR4 support

AMD’s latest processors, the 7th generation of the AMD A-Series processors are now available and will start shipping in OEM desktops in the second half of 2016. Previously code-named “Bristol Ridge”, these new processors tout greatly improved efficiency and performance.

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The 7th generation AMD A-Series desktop processors promise performance that are leaps and bounds ahead of its past generation, being capable of matching and even outperforming Intel CPUs with the same TDP ratings in both CPU and GPU performance.

All this is done while maintaining the high efficiency, thanks to optimizations of the manufacturing process. Nope, we aren’t on 14nm yet with these 7th generation AMD A-Series desktop processors, which shows how much AMD has worked on the 28nm manufacturing process to yield such great gains in efficiency.

These new AMD processors are also targeted at supporting hardware accelerated video playback for better efficiency. This is a no-brainer since video consumption is ever increasing and power savings when streaming videos are definitely welcome.

The 7th generation AMD A-Series desktop processors will be the first product to work on the AMD AM4 platform, which will be the unified platform AMD will use even for its upcoming Zen CPUs. The AMD AM4 platform also brings a much awaited update to AMD processors: DDR4 support. DDR4 support will greatly enhance the performance of the integrated GPUs thanks to the huge increase in memory bandwidth.

Worth noting that these aren’t the first iterations of AMD Zen CPUs, but are instead packing up to four “Excavator” cores and 8 GCN 3.0 GPU CUs in the top of the line AMD A12-9800 APU. The 7th generation AMD A-Series desktop processors will be available in 65-watt and 35-watt versions, allowing a choice of superior power efficiency or higher performance.

Pokdepinion: Comeback is real for AMD? Let’s hope they get the support they need from OEMs and regain the market share they desperately need from Intel which has practically monopolized the consumer CPU market.
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LG Smart TVs are as secure as they are smart; snags Common Criteria International Security Certification

LG’s webOS 3.5 smart TV platform has just earned a Common Criteria certification for its enhanced Application Security Solution Version 1.0 software. With yet another security certification under their belt, the Korean company continues to boast among the strongest smart TV security in the market. With consumers increasingly concerned about their privacy, it is a great move from LG.
Security Manager, the webOS 3.5 security software module, was tested in accordance with Common Criteria’s rigid benchmarks. CC’s internationally- recognized ISO/IEC 15408 standards are used by governments, banks, and other organizations to assess the security capabilities of individual products including 27 member countries from around the world including Australia, France, Japan, Korea and the United States. The test examined three phases of smart TV security: application installation protection, application execution protection and application content protection with digital rights management (DRM) encryption.

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LG webOS 3.5 provides excellent application installation protection and also blocks unauthorized apps from being installed via a rigorous digital signature verification process. Native apps are sandboxed to block access to sensitive system files and data, while web applications have specific APIs to prevent these web apps from unauthorized access into system files. Last but not least, the DRM license verification process is designed to decrypt the encrypted content in the RAM and to create a clean back up of the encrypted content in flash memory.
The certification by Common Criteria shows that LG is dedicated on enhancing data protection and ensuring customer privacy.
Pokdepinion: I don’t have a smart TV, but strong security is a must-have in this age where everything, and anyone, can be hacked.
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Get the ASUS Lyra AC2200 for just RM999 — RM400 off ASUS’ WiFi mesh network in conjunction with Lazada’s sales

If you have a huge home, you might find that one router is not sufficient to cover your house in a strong WiFi signal. This is where the ASUS Lyra AC2200 WiFi system mesh network system comes in. The ASUS Lyra is designed to cover your house in one single seamless WiFi network, eliminating the hassle of dealing with repeaters and separate access points. And what makes the deal even sweeter is that the mesh network system can now be gotten for RM400 less on Lazada.
The ASUS Lyra AC2200
The ASUS Lyra which can usually be gotten for RM1399 usually, is now priced at just RM999. At this price point, you may be tempted to compare it against TP-Link’s Deco M9 Plus. Well the ASUS Lyra easily wins this match, because ASUS is offering the Lyra in a three-pack, while TP-Link is currently offering just two of the Deco M9 Plus hubs for the same price. Three pieces of the ASUS Lyra can blanket up to 6000 sq. feet with fast, seamless WiFi network.
ASUS has equipped the ASUS Lyra with AiProtection, to protect all connected devices. The ASUS Lyra can also be easily set up via the ASUS Lyra app, which also offers parental control to ensure that your family is not accessing websites they shouldn’t. If you have a big residence, you should really consider getting the ASUS Lyra right now with the promotional pricing.

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Pokdepinion: If only I had a home huge enough to need the ASUS Lyra…
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CES 2020: Latest Edition TUF Gaming Laptops And ROG Strix Desktops Revealed

Down at Las Vegas, ASUS has announced their new addition to the TUF Gaming laptop family with the introduction of the 15-inch TUF Gaming A15 as well as the 17-inch A17 and F17 laptops at this year’s CES 2020.

For those of you who are wondering, the A-series is powered by up to the latest AMD Ryzen 4000 Series Mobile Processors with 8 cores and 16 threads. As for the F-series will be packing with the upcoming 10 Gen Intel Core processors, albeit at a later date in the year.
The two laptops can be configured with up to a GeForce RTX 2060 and display refresh rates up to 144Hz on the 15-inch models and 120Hz on their bigger siblings.

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ASUS has decided to add a bigger 90Wh battery option to users to offer that extra battery life for usage.
Giving users an easier access, the bottom is secured with standard Phillips screws, along with one pop-open screw that helps separate the panel without a prying tool. There you can find two SO-DIMM slots, which can accommodate up to 32GB RAM. In addition to that, there’s the option of up to 1TB NVMe SSD, where’s there’s also a second slot ready for even more space.
In terms of connectivity, there’s two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A ports, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, where the latter supports G-SYNC monitors through its DisplayPort 1.4. Should you need to plug it to a projector, there’s a dedicated HDMI 2.0b port to help with that.
As for the keyboard, the new laptops uses a full-sized desktop design where ASUS has said they use Overstroke technology to improve responsiveness and overall feel.
ASUS ROG Strix GA15/GT15
That’s not the only thing that they’ve introduced at CES 2020. ASUS has also unveil their new ROG Strix gaming desktops.
Starting off with the ROG Strix GA15/GT15, they come with a convenient and portable package (10kg) with esports in mind.
They are powered by up to an RTX 2070 SUPER graphics and uses the latest AMD Ryzen 7 3800X (GA15) as well as the upcoming 10 Gen Intel Core (GT15).
There the option of up to 32GB DDR4-3200 MHz RAM, ensuring that you will be packing a punch under the hood. Adding to that, there’s storage options including an M.2 NVMe SSD of up to 1TB. If that’s not enough, 2TB of HDD storage can also be added.
For ports, both models comes with fast charging and data transfer through one reversible USB Type-C port, five Type-A USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, as well as a HDMI 2.0b port and DisplayPort 1.4.

Last but not least, there’s the Strix GA35 and GT35, the beefier siblings of the GA15 and GT15.
Being the more powerful variants, they offer up to RTX 2080 Ti graphics card as well as up to a 16-core Ryzen 9 3950X processor.
Similar to the GA15 and GT15’s case, the GA model is powered by AMD’s processor and the GT will come with a 10th Gen Intel Core processor.
Other than that, you can expect a bigger option of up to 64GB of DDR4 memory.
Pokdepinion: Man, I wouldn’t mind having a go at that ROG Strix GA35..
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New Razer Naga Pro With Swappable Side Plates Introduced At RM709

Razer has today announced their new Razer Naga Pro wireless gaming mouse where it allows you to adapt to any game with it coming with three swappable side plates.
Razer Naga Pro Malaysia release

From MMO to MOBA, battle royale, first-person shooters and more, the three swappable side plates for the Razer Naga Pro allows you to simply adapt to each genre.
The three magnetic side plates comes with two, six, or 12 programmable button layouts. Each of them is designed to compliment specific game genres, as mentioned earlier.

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You can customize them through Razer’s very own Synapse software and the Razer Naga Pro can store up to five on-board memory profiles – even without the software.
We are all gamers, but we play in many different ways. Customization has always been a key component of inclusivity by enabling more gamers to play together. The Naga Pro embodies this ideal and gives everyone the control to play their own way, unrestrained by a cord.Alvin Cheung, Senior Vice President of Razer’s Peripherals Business Unit
Aside from the swappable side plates, the Razer Naga Pro features Razer HyperSpeed Wireless technology, where they claim offers “a connection faster than most wired mice”.

It is said to be able to run up to 100 hours of continuous gaming on 2.4Ghz and up to 150 hours on Bluetooth mode. If the battery runs low, you can still game and get it charged up with the included Razer SpeedFlex cable. Should you own a Razer Mouse Dock Chroma, you can even charge it with the it as they are compatible.
The Razer Naga Pro comes with Razer Focus+ 20K DPI Optical Sensor as well as their Razer Optical Mouse Switches, which is said to last up to 70 million clicks.
Interested in getting one? Well the Razer Naga Pro is priced at RM709 and it’s available starting from today onwards on their website. While if you’re looking to get it at a physical store, they have said that it will hit the shelves at authorized resellers at the end of September 2020.
Pokdepinion: This seems like the ideal gaming mouse for those who play more than just 1 or 2 genres.. I wonder how it really feels like on the hands however. I’d be interested in having a go at it.
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Own an iPhone 12 from as low as RM141.63/month with iTworld & GLOO

The latest iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro series have actually gotten more affordable than their predecessors, while offering some nifty upgrades in the camera department at the same time. But to make them even more accessible, you can pre-order the iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro now and pay as little as RM141.63/month.

The pre-order starts on 6th November and will continue until 13th November, when the iPhone 12 series will be available for sale officially here in Malaysia. To make it easier for you to own the latest iPhone, you can choose from the 0% Easy Payment Plans available with AEON, Citibank, CIMB, Hong Leong Bank, HSBC, Maybank and Public Bank. Or if you prefer, you can also pay for your iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro in full, or pay a minimum amount of RM200 to pre-order, and pay the remainder when you pick up your device at your nearest iTworld or GLOO retail store.

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You can choose to have your new iPhone delivered straight to your home, with same-day delivery in Ipoh, Klang Valley and Kota Bahru, or you can also self-collect your iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro series at iTworld and GLOO retail stores. You can choose to schedule an appointment too, to ensure a faster transaction at your selected physical store.
Get freebies worth over RM269 when you pre-order!

All new iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro series purchased within the period of 6th November to 15th November will be covered by a complimentary 1-year ShieldCare Extended Warranty. On top of that, Citibank Credit Card users will also receive a RM100 cash voucher for third-party accessories when getting the iPhone 12 series from iTworld. There will also be PWP and bundle packages on Apple original accessories, so make sure not to miss out on that. And there’s one more thing… You will also get a freebie worth RM269 when you pre-order the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Save up to RM3450 by trading in your older iPhone

If you own an older iPhone, you can trade in your device for a rebate on the latest iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro too. You can get up to 50% trade in value on your iPhone 11 series, but iTworld does accept a bevy of other devices as well, so head on over to your nearest iTworld for a valuation of your older device. Also, don’t forget to join GLOO Rewards membership to enjoy all sorts of additional privileges on top of the existing promotions!
You can head on over to the following links to pre-order your iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro:
Pre-order iPhone 12 on iTworld!
Pre-order iPhone 12 on [email protected]!
Pre-order iPhone 12 on GLOO!
You can contact iTworld for more information at 1700-817-616 and check out iTworld’s Facebook page or GLOO’s Facebook page for other enquiries.
Pokdepinion: RM141.63/month does sound a lot more palatable than RM3399 up front!
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ASUS ZenBook UX433 Laptop Review – Working At Your Convenience

Unboxing the ASUS ZenBook UX433 Laptop

We’ve posted an unboxing post earlier, where we shed some light on the ASUS ZenBook UX433 laptop. If you missed out on that, click right here to get up to speed.
Appearance

Just like with other laptops in the ZenBook series, the ASUS ZenBook UX433 laptop retains the classy look. Built with premium materials, this dark blue laptop still has the Zen-inspired concentric circle design surrounding the ASUS logo in gold. It is simple, yet sleek design which can make for a good fashion statement.

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Open up the laptop and you’ll be greeted by, aside from the mostly Royal Blue colour scheme, the four-sided “Frameless” NanoEdge display. It’s not exactly zero bezels but it is very minimal which will make you feel like its not even there from time to time. The top part of the display has slightly thicker bezels but the reason for that is most likely to accommodate the webcam being placed here. It is said to be the ideal position for a webcam.

Normally, you’d see some of the company branding right below the screen but instead, this is positioned right above the keyboard. It says “ASUS ZenBook” in golden / rose golden trims, which certainly makes it more noticeable. The keyboard itself is a full-sized backlit keyboard sans the physical numpad, but this is not surprising for a 14-inch laptop in a 13-inch chassis.

One important detail worth highlighting is that upon opening the lid, the ASUS ZenBook UX433 laptop creates a bit of space between the surface and the laptop itself. This is thanks to the ErgoLift hinge, which will provide users with improved airflow as well as a better typing experience. You will probably notice at first, but this will soon fade to obscurity the more you use it. It is great to have nonetheless.

As you move below the keyboard, that’s when you reach the biggest highlight of the ASUS ZenBook UX433 laptop; the 2-in-1 touchpad / numpad. Labeled as the Exclusive NumberPad, what you have here is the convenience of a numberpad built into the trackpad itself. By pressing the top-right corner of the touchpad, the numbers and what not will shine, giving you access to the NumberPad. It is rather shiny given the glass cover on the touchpad here.

On the left side, you have the proprietary charging port, a HDMI port, a USB-A port, and a USB-C port. On the right side, you have a MicroSD card reader, another USB-A port, and a combo audio jack.
Overall, the ASUS ZenBook UX433 laptop is a machine that looks great. It is simple, yet classy which should be fitting with the working-class adult everywhere, especially those who have to be on-the-move often.
Specifications

CPU
Intel Core i5-8265U @ 1.6 GHz (up to 3.9 GHz Turbo Boost)

RAM
8GB LPDDR3

GPU
NVIDIA GeForce MX150 2GB GDDR5

Storage
512GB PCIe 3.0 x2 NVMe SSD

HID
Full-sized backlit keyboard, 1.4mm travel
Glass-covered with integrated NumberPad; intelligent palm-rejection

Connectivity
Dual Band WiFi 802.11ac
Bluetooth 5.0
1 x USB 2.0 Type-A
1 x USB 3.1 Gen1 (Type-A)
1 x USB 3.1 Gen2 (Type-C)
MicroSD card reader

Display
14″ FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS Wide View Frameless NanoEdge, 100% sRGB
1 x HDMI

Audio
ASUS SonicMaster stereo audio system with Surround Sound
Array microphone with Alexa and Cortana support
1 x Combo Audio Jack

Power
65W power adapter
50 WHr 3-cell Li-Po battery

Dimensions
319 x 199 x 15.9 mm

Weight
1.19 kg

Performance

As usual in the first part of our benchmark suite is CrystalDiskMark. The ASUS ZenBook UX433 utilizes a PCIe G3 x2 NVMe SSD and as you can see, the speeds are noticeably faster than that of regular SATA3 SSDs. While it would be nice if it was a G3x4 NVMe SSD, I wouldn’t really say it’s a necessity and just a bonus to have. This one already has pretty solid performance after all.

Moving on to Cinebench R15, the OpenGL test reached a surprisingly high score. Keep in mind that it has an MX150 dGPU on this thing. As for the CPU test, the Intel Core i5-8265U is about the same as what we expected as this is essentially the same as i5-8250U, just with high turbo speeds.

On to Unigine Heaven Benchmark, it doesn’t seem so good but keep in mind that this is the Extreme preset after, which is taxing even for some of the strongest hardware around. This wasn’t built for high performance, just reliable performance that you can bring with you on-the-go. It is still a good indication that you can game on it with lower settings for the best experience.
Under normal circumstances, we don’t usually do game benchmarks for this kind of laptop as it’s not meant for gaming. With the extra boost clock and the MX150 dGPU, we thought it’s worth testing some games at least so with that, we decided to see how it runs DotA 2 and CS:GO on the highest settings possible.

In DotA 2, it only managed an average of 30.62 FPS. There are times when the game is relatively smooth, though under 60 FPS still, but it does start to suffer when there are a lot of heroes duking it out simultaneously in a small area. Temperature is definitely within the safe range. The game is actually playable but you do need to dial down the settings for a much better gameplay experience.

In CS:GO, it managed an average of 33.74 FPS and is running easily within safe temperatures for both CPU and GPU. If you’re a pro gamer or just someone who plays competitively, you definitely need all the FPS you can get but chances are that you wouldn’t even look at a laptop like this for that purpose. If you’re a casual gamer looking to pass the time, simply dial down the settings and you should have a decent gaming experience.
The battery life on the ASUS ZenBook UX433 is admirable, both in use and on standby. Per full charge and 50% brightness, I can get roughly 7 to 8 hours of battery life on the Better Performance mode, and it will be more if you opt for the Better Battery Life mode. This is me just browsing on Edge Browser, simple word processing, and watching YouTube videos as I usually do. As for standby time, even after a week of little to touching, there is still more than 30% battery life left, which is great.
User Experience

The ASUS ZenBook UX433 laptop is designed for productivity, so you can’t have expectations that it will run something like Battlefield V on 4K and 120 FPS or anything close to that. This particular variant still does pack a good amount of firepower however. With the Intel Core i5-8265U, which is essentially the i5 8250U but with higher turbo clock speeds, and a GeForce MX150 dGPU.

When it comes to storage, it utilizes a single storage device and it’s a 512GB PCIe G3x2 NVMe SSD. While G3x4 SSD would provide better speeds, you’re not really losing out much in terms of real world usage so you can still expect some fast boot up / loading times here. As that SSD is the only storage device on this ASUS ZenBook UX433 laptop, be sure to keep it well-maintained. Thank god it comes with 8GBs of RAM, which makes it just nice to work comfortable on the machine.

The ASUS ZenBook UX433 utilizes a 14-inch display, which is quite rare coming from ASUS since 13-inch and 15-inch displays were more common from them. This one in particular is a Full HD IPS “Frameless” NanoEdge display with wide view and 100% sRGB. Viewing angles are great even if you’re looking from the far side but just keep in mind that due to its small size, it’s not particularly recommended to view it on the extreme side anyway. Colours are punchy and lively, which makes it a joy to look at.
As for this “Frameless” NanoEdge display, it’s not exactly frameless but it can make you think that. NanoEdge has always been the ASUS term for ultrathin bezels on their laptops. This particular one is actually very thin on all four sides, making it seem frameless by perspective. The biggest bezel is on the top where the webcam is situated. This is said to be the ideal webcam position. Not gonna lie, I’m a big fan of these bezel-less / small bezel displays as it makes me enjoy looking at it more but that’s just a personal taste.

Throughout our use, the ASUS ZenBook UX433 laptop is a rather quiet machine. Even when you’re running games, you can barely hear the fan noise. Not that I’m saying it’s not there, just that it is rather quiet. In regular use such as internet browsing or watching videos, I wouldn’t fault you for think that the fans aren’t working given how quiet it is. This can definitely be attributed to the ErgoLift hinge, which gives it a bit of a lift from the surface it’s placed on, and this actually improves airflow under the laptop.

But that’s not the only beneficial thing about the ErgoLift hinge as it also helps improve typing experience. What we have here is a regular ol’ backlit chiclet keyboard, which does feel rather tactile upon pressing, with a 1.4mm travel distance. With the ErgoLift hinge, it gives it a bit of an angle which makes typing more comfortable. It’s hard to believe something so simple can help so much until you’ve tried it yourself. It is a full-sized keyboard sans the numpad and it’s spaced out pretty well. I get about 90% of my usual typing speed with this.

Speaking of numpad, the touchpad here is special, kind of like the ZenBook Pro 15. It has this feature known as the signature NumberPad where pressing the top right corner of the touchpad will active the numpad on the touchpad itself. The numbers will light up on the touchpad itself, allowing you to use it just like any other numpad. It is very convenient and a clever design choice to save space. It activates / deactivates easily with the press of the button on the top right, and you can still use the touchpad as usual either way.

The ports on the ASUS ZenBook UX433 laptop can feel a bit lacking. After all, it only has two USB Type-A ports, one USB-C port, a HDMI port, and a MicroSD card reader. For a lot of people, it may be just enough but in case you may need extras, you will need to get a USB hub. It’s worth noting that the USB-C port is not a Thunderbolt port and isn’t capable of charging. ASUS lost out on a convenience factor had they just made it capable of USB-C charging. I also wished that they opted for a full-sized SD card reader instead.

On the sound department, the ASUS ZenBook UX433 laptop is not too bad. I can’t particularly tell if the ErgoLift hinge helps with the sound reproduction here but either way, it just feels like a regular laptop speaker so don’t expect much out of it. It’s not bad, just that the best would still be to use a good headset / headphone with it.
ASUS ZenBook UX433 Verdict

The ASUS ZenBook UX433 laptop is a solid, innovative machine for productivity that will surely please many consumers out there. It’s not a perfect laptop but then again, perfection is subjective. It provides some rather solid performance in an ultraportable package, the battery life is great, the “Frameless” NanoEdge display is eye-catching, and the touchpad / numberpad dual functionality is a godsend.
But it also has its fair share of quirks, including the inability to charge via USB-C, lacking in ports, and the speakers being decent at best. However, I wouldn’t call these a dealbreaker and this would solely depend on what you want for a productivity-based laptop. I would have easily given it a gold if it had one of these two features included; a touchscreen display or USB-C charging. It is still a great machine nonetheless.
With that being said, I award the ASUS ZenBook UX433 laptop with our Silver Pokdeward.

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Tourism Malaysia Partners With GoPro To Launch ‘Dream Malaysia Challenge’

Tourism Malaysia has just announced that they will be partnering with GoPro to launch the ‘Dream Malaysia Challenge’. This challenge is a new social media challenge targeted towards all residing in Malaysia who captured their amazing travelling moments.

The ‘Dream Malaysia Challenge’ challenges participants to create and post a video highlighting the various breathtaking attractions within Malaysia that they have previously visited. There are many prizes to be won from the challenge which includes a GoPro HERO9 Black, GoPro MAX, GoPro HERO8 and amazing full-board stays at Taman Negara, Gopeng Glamping Park and Tadom Hill to experience Malaysia’s beauty and wonders.

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Tourism Malaysia said that the ‘Dream Malaysia Challenge’ is a way to remind Malaysians that they never have to travel too far to find exciting destinations and they are happy to partner with the world’s leading action camera brand to do it.
How to participate in Tourism Malaysia and GoPro’s ‘Dream Malaysia Challenge’

Take a 30 to 45-second video of participants’ travels and edit it through the GoPro App available for iOS and Android devices. If participants wish to add background sound for their videos, it is important to note that the music used can only be taken from the GoPro app.
Once edited, participants can send in their videos via the GoPro Awards Portal under the challenge Malaysia|Living Local to confirm their submission.
Participants are also required to post their videos on their personal Facebook and Instagram profiles detailing their travel experience in the caption using both the #DreamMalaysia and #GoProxTourismMalaysia hashtags as well as tagging GoPro on Instagram and Facebook and Tourism Malaysia’s Instagram and Facebook.

The ‘Dream Malaysia Challenge’ will take place from 13 March 2021 to 28 March 2021 at 11PM. Video submission can be sent during this timeframe. To know more about this challenge, you can check it out here.
Pokdepinion: This looks to be a pretty fun challenge. The prizes offered are pretty enticing too especially if you’re a travel junkie.
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Playstation 4 Pro Red Dead Redemption 2 Bundle Coming Soon To Malaysia

The folks from Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced today that the upcoming Playstation 4 Pro Red Dead Redemption 2 Bundle Pack will be made available in Malaysia.
Playstation 4 Pro Red Dead Redemption 2 Bundle
The bundle will be available at a suggested retail price of RM2,049 and with it, you will be getting a Playstation 4 Pro Jet Black 1TB, a Dualshock wireless controller, and a Blu-ray Disc version of the Red Dead Redemption 2 Special Edition. It also comes packed with bonus digital contents “The War Horse” and “The Outlaw Survival Kit”.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is brought to you by the creators of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption, where it is an epic tale of life in America at the dawn of the modern age.

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Set in America back in 1899, the end of the wild west era has begun as lawmen hunt down the last remaining outlaw gangs. Those who will not surrender or succumb are killed.
After a robbery goes horribly wrong in the western town of Blackwater, Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are forced to flee. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must do whatever it takes to fight their way across the rugged heartland of America to survive.
As deepening internal divisions threatens to tear the gang apart, Arthur must make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is set to be released on October 26th 2018.
Pokdepinion: Man, I can’t wait for the game to come out, especially to play the online mode. GTA Online was so much fun, I’m just waiting to test out what you can do in RDR2!

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Pokde Picks: Steam Summer Sale 2017 Recommendations; Not Sure What to Buy? Let Us Help You

The Steam Summer Sale 2017 is here and there’s a bunch of games that are available now with a discounted price. Some with big discounts and others…not so much. If you’re not sure what games you should buy, don’t worry.
We at Pokde have some recommendations for you that will suit a variety of gamers. Here’s our picks games you need to buy in conjunction with the Steam Summer Sale 2017.

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Steam Summer Sale 2017
SuperDaddy’s Recommendation

My vote for the Steam Summer Sale 2017 goes to Shadow of Mordor which is at 80% off currently, priced at RM7.60 instead of RM38.00. It’s an open-world third person, LOTR-themed with an Assassin’s Creed stage pimping. The graphics are beautiful even years later today. Shadow of Mordor has a very interesting story line spanning across about 20 missions.

Missions are of decent length so if you are a quick gamer, you could actually complete the missions within a single day The collectibles and the repetitive challenges keep the game continuous and engaging. Combat style is much like what you should see in Batman Arkham games.
Fight through Mordor and uncover the truth of the spirit that compels you, discover the origins of the Rings of Power, build your legend and ultimately confront the evil of Sauron in this new chronicle of Middle-earth. My pick for the Steam Summer Sale 2017 is definitely Shadow of Mordor.

Aiman Maulana’s Recommendation

Are you into multiplayer games? Looking for something you can play over and again with your friends with something new to look forward to every single time? Try Ultimate Chicken Horse. No, I’m not joking, that’s actually what the game is called and it’s available at a discounted price thanks to the Steam Summer Sale 2017.
In the game, you can play as a number of animals and go through stages in a platform-style of gameplay. All you have to do is reach the finish line and each time, you will earn a score which will bring you closer to victory. Here’s where things get interesting; each player is allowed to set a trap anywhere in the stage every time the round is over. In other words, it gets harder every round.
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The ultimate goal here is to be the first one to pass the winning score in order to be crowned the “Ultimate Chicken Horse”. To do that, you’re gonna have to do your best to set traps that will cause problems for your opponents without causing problems for yourself. Yes, you too can die from your own trap.
Ultimate Chicken Horse is available for this Steam Summer Sale 2017 with a small price tag of RM18, which is very cheap. We are not held responsible for lost/damaged friendships or relationships.

Syed Hassan’s Recommendation

My pick is definitely BioShock The Collection. This bundle includes BioShock, its sequels BioShock 2 and BioShock Infinite including all of the games’ DLCs and features commentary from the games’ directors. Originally released back in 2007 with subsequent sequels in 2010 and 2013, BioShock The Collection is remastered in 1080p and it looks absolutely stunning with the underwater city of Rapture and the flying city of Columbia looking more alive than they’ve ever looked before. This bundle is a great introduction for people who have never played the BioShock series before or for those looking for a good reintroduction to a beloved game franchise.
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This critically acclaimed action-packed FPS series is atmospheric and story driven with some elements of horror mixed in. The games have you running around trying to escape fantastical cities like Rapture, a city under the sea and Columbia, a city amongst the clouds after stumbling upon them through some sort of incident. Along the way you’ll encounter enemies that’ll force you to gun your way out or you could genetically augment your DNA to give yourself powers to fight said enemies.
The journey is chock-full of twists and turns in it’s story that’ll make you go WTF and mess you up for days. I daresay the BioShock series isn’t just a series of games, it’s an experience.
BioShock The Collection is on sale right now at RM29.75, 75% off its original price of RM119! Three games (and its DLCs) for less than 30 bucks? Buy. Buy. BUY.

Vyncent Chan’s Recommendation

Well, what’s better than a game that won Game of the Year? Borderlands 2 has an unique art style that never grow old. Combined with a witty yet organized storyline and funny dialogues from NPCs, Borderlands 2 Game of the Year Edition gets my pick.
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The open world, action role-playing FPS follows four vault hunters facing off against everything that stands in your way on your quest to end the evil reign of Handsome Jack.  Borderlands 2 was praised by various gaming publications with really high scores. It also sold 13 million copies as of August 2015. Well, the press may be rigged, but you can’t rig real gamers finding this game worth their money and actually paying for it, right?
Priced at just RM16.50 now, you get RM79.04 worth of the base game and all of the 8 DLCs that were released. The definition of a value buy right there.

Raja Idris’s Recommendation

If you’re looking for long gameplay, then look no further than The Witcher Wild Hunt GOTY Edition. The base game in itself will have you spend hours exploring new areas, slaying monsters, and completing quests. It will also include both Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions.
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Definitely one for open-world, action RPG lovers out there. Players will take on the roll of Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter known as a witcher. With loads of customization ranging from types of spells, armor and weapons, saddle equipment, and more, you’ll sink right in into his world. Players will have the ultimate choice of choosing whether to help and do certain quests or totally ignore them. Each decision will affect the flow of the story.
The game is currently at RM64.50, half of its original RM129 price. That, for me is a straight-up bargain. Considering how you will get all the expansions, and trust me, they are big and worth it. Get. It. Now.
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You Can Preorder The New iPhones Through U Mobile Today

U Mobile has announced that they are accepting preorders for Apple’s newest lineup of iPhones from today at 3PM at their website.
U Mobile iPhone Preorder

By preordering, you will get the latest Apple products starting on 26 October 2018, which includes iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR.

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When you purchase the new iPhones with the Unlimited HERO P99 Postpaid Plan, you will get to enjoy;

Unlimited high speed data, with no speed cap
Unlimited calls to all network
Free 3GB data to roam in 12 countries
Free 30GB mobile hotspot

In addition to that, those who purchase the iPhone XS Max (512GB) with Unlimited HERO P99 will enjoy savings of RM1,350 as U Mobile’s retail price is RM5,699 while recommended retail price is RM7,049.
If that’s not the plan that you’ve wanted, there’s also the i40 prepaid plan. You will get 1.5GB of high speed data, 40 free minutes worth of calls to all networks and 20 free SMSes to all networks when you purchase the iPhone XS, XS Max, or XR with the i40 prepaid plan.
Well that’s not all. They will also hold a U Special Promo where beginning from 3PM today until the 31st of October 2018, the first 100 U Special customers who purchase the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR with the Unlimited HERO P99 plan will each receive a pair of Apple AirPods worth RM649 for free.
There’s also the U Mobile Experience Centre (Berjaya Times Square) Sales Launch Promo which happens on the 26th of October 2018  from 10AM onwards. The first 20 customers who walk in and purchase the latest iPhones with the Unlimited HERO P99 plan will receive one unit of iPhone 6S+ (32GB) for free. As for the next 80 customers, they will qualify for a lucky draw to win prizes such as phone accessories, vouchers, and if lucky enough, a brand new iPhone XS Max (64GB).
You can visit U Mobile’s website for more details on the promotions.
Pokdepinion: Wow, that’s a lot of deals going on there. Any U Mobile users here?
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realme 8 Pro arrives as the third Snapdragon 720G device in a row from the brand

Less than a year ago, realme unveiled the realme 6 Pro featuring the Snapdragon 720G. Then five months later, they announced the realme 7 Pro, with the same chipset. Yesterday, the realme 8 Pro was announced in India with the same chipset once again. They did change up the design quite significantly for the realme 8 series though.
realme 8 Pro

It isn’t to say that realme didn’t upgrade the realme 8 Pro coming from the realme 7 Pro, but the changes under the hood are quite minimal. Aside from the chipset, realme is carrying over the 6.4″ FHD+ 60Hz Super AMOLED display, 8MP ultra-wide camera, 2MP depth sensor and the same 2MP macro lens that lacks autofocus from the realme 7 Pro to the realme 8 Pro.

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The storage and memory configurations are also the same, with 6GB RAM and 8GB RAM options paired up with 128GB UFS 2.1 storage. The changes include an upgrade to a newer 108MP Samsung HM2 sensor for the realme 8 Pro.

While the main camera received an upgrade, the selfie camera in the front was switched to a 16MP one, down from the 32MP front-facing camera in the realme 7 Pro. realme also peculiarly decided to lower the charging rate to just 50W, down from the 65W in the realme 7 Pro. The battery capacity is kept the same, and realme is still bundling a 65W charger in the box, so I have no idea what’s going on.
realme 8 Pro Specs and Pricing

Snapdragon 720G, octa-core up to 2.3GHz, 8nm FinFET
Up to 8GB LPDDR4x RAM
128GB UFS 2.1 storage (expandable via microSD)
6.4″ FHD+ Super AMOLED display
108MP Samsung HM2 f/1.88 + 8MP f/2.25 ultra-wide + 2MP f/2.4 macro + 2MP f/2.4 B&W sensor
16MP f/2.45 selfie camera
4500mAh battery, 50W SuperDart Charge
6GB + 128GB: Rs 17 999 (~RM1026)
8GB + 128GB: Rs 19 999 (~RM1140)

The silver lining is that the realme 8 Pro’s pricing starting from Rs 17 999 is slightly more affordable than the realme 7 Pro, which debuted from Rs 19 999. The variant that arrived in Malaysia for RM1499 debuted in India at Rs 21 999 (~RM1254), so we can possibly expect our local prices to be around 20% higher than the Indian launch pricing.
realme 8

The realme 8 is an even less interesting device if you are coming from the realme 7, with virtually no changes except that they decided to do away with the 90Hz IPS display that debuted with the realme 6 series. Now you get a 6.4″ Super AMOLED panel that runs at 60Hz, just like the realme 7 Pro and realme 8 Pro. They still kept the obscenely huge chin under the display though, for some reason.

realme quite visibly put minimal effort into the realme 8, with the same Helio G95 chipset used here, same 30W charging for the same 5000 mAh battery, same memory and storage capacities and the same 64MP quad-camera setup. realme didn’t mention though whether it is still the Sony IMX682 sensor at play here, or did they go with a 64MP sensor from Samsung this time around.
realme 8 Specs

Helio G95, octa-core up to 2.05GHz, 12nm FinFET
Up to 8GB LPDDR4x RAM
128GB UFS 2.1 storage (expandable via microSD)
6.5″ FHD+ Super AMOLED display
64MP f/1.79 + 8MP f/2.25 ultra-wide + 2MP f/2.4 macro + 2MP f/2.4 B&W sensor
16MP f/2.45 selfie camera
5000mAh battery, 30W Dart Charge
4GB + 128GB: Rs 14 999 (~RM855)
6GB + 128GB: Rs 15 999 (~RM912)
8GB + 128GB: Rs 16 999 (~RM969)

realme’s attempt to break new ground by going with AMOLED displays in the sub-RM1000 segment might have been a bit too late, as Redmi has already done that with the Redmi Note 10. The Redmi Note 10 series also boasts of features like stereo speakers, while the Redmi Note 10 Pro even packs a 120Hz AMOLED display, while being more affordable here in Malaysia than the realme 8 Pro in India.
It remains to be seen if realme Malaysia can match the pricing of the Redmi Note 10 series here in Malaysia, but the Indian pricing is usually more affordable than our local pricing here, so I do have my doubts.
Pokdepinion: realme should really look into slowing down their release cycle so they can bring bigger upgrades with each generation.
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Get The New OPPO F7 For FREE When You Sign Up With Celcom Postpaid Plan

Get your very own Selfie Expert

Are you a Celcom user? If you are then I’ve got some good news for you. You can now get your hands on the brand new OPPO F7 that was just released last week when you sign up for any Celcom Phone Bundles or EasyPhone Plans. You can even get OPPO’s brand new device for FREE if you sign up for the Celcom First Platinum 148 or First Platinum Plus 188 plan. Alternatively, you can opt for the EasyPhone plan and pay as low as RM 35 per month to get the OPPO F7 on top of the Celcom First Platinum Plus 188.

The OPPO F7 features a 6.2 inch FHD+ (1080 x 2280) display with a 19:9 aspect ratio together with the popular notch design at the top which houses the huge 25MP front camera. Under the hood, the device also has an octa-core MediaTek Helio P60 chipset together with 4GB of RAM as well as 64GB of internal storage that is expandable via a microSD card.

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The smartphone is also powered by a decently sized 3,400 mAh battery and is running OPPO’s own ColorOS 5.0 operating system, which is based on Android Oreo 8.1.

As mentioned above, the OPPO F7 features a jaw dropping 25MP selfie camera and uses a Sony IMX576 sensor with an f/2.0 aperture. Featuring the upgraded A.I. Beauty 2.0, OPPO F7 enables users to capture more real, natural and personalized selfies by scanning your face for 298 facial recognition points. The A.I. can even detect a person’s age, gender, skin colour as well skin type and can detect up to four different subjects. The A.I. Beauty 2.0 will also be in effect during video calls so you can look good anywhere and anytime. As for the back, the F7 will feature a single 16MP rear shooter with an f/1.8 aperture.
Consumers can head to any Celcom service centre to get the whole new OPPO F7. Note that the price for both plans are subjected to a 24-month agreement. Available to both existing and new Celcom customers.
For more information do head over to Celcom’s page here.
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Take Part In Sony’s Summer Playground Challenges And Win Exclusive Prizes

From today through August 26, 2021, Sony Interactive Entertainment Singapore (SIES) will host a “Summer Playground” with a unique video to honour the epitome of sportsmanship, talents, teamwork, and dedication among PlayStation gamers. There will be numerous tasks at the “Summer Playground” for entrants to earn exclusive goodies.
Sony’s Summer Playground Challenges

Summer Playground will take place from August 5 through August 26, 2021. Entrants only need to log in to their PlayStation Network (PSN) accounts and register at the “Summer Playground” Official Website to participate in “Summer Playground.” Following successful registration, each entrant will be assigned to a Play Marathon team made up of participants from all participating regions (the “Squad”).

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To achieve the “Squad Goal,” the Squad will work together. By competing in the Individual and Trophy Challenge, each contestant will have a chance to earn a set of additional prizes.

Below is the kind of challenges you’ll find during this period. The challenges include:

Play Marathon – Squad Challenge
Join the group and play for hours on end. If the goal is met, everyone in the squad will receive a special set of Summer sports-themed TORO avatars.
Most Valuable Player (MVP) – Individual Challenge
A 12-month PlayStation Plus (PS Plus) subscription will be given to the Top 30 MVPs in each participating region who play the most hours in the selected sports titles.
Greatest of All Time (G.O.A.T) – Trophy Challenge
Entrants in the Trophy Challenge can play any game title they like. Accordingly, the victors are selected by a Point Value system and the number of Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze trophies they acquired during the promotion period. The top three entrants in each participating region with the highest number of points will get a unique G.O.A.T medal that money can’t buy. Each region’s Top 3 winners and the next 30 winners will receive a PS Store voucher.

Summer Playground will also be releasing a number of mini-challenges on our social media channels during the campaign period, in addition to the above challenges. Keep an eye out on our social media channels for these minor challenges where you may win goodies for yourself and your squad.
Check out the Summer Playground video below to join the first mini-challenge.

For more information on Sony’s Summer Playground challenges, head over to their official website here.
Pokdepinion: This actually looks pretty fun especially with a group of buddies. Too bad a lot of my friends have moved on to PC gaming though I’ll definitely try the individual challenges.
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The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is expected to be the Korean giant’s first big move in 2022. We already knew that it was going to launch in January and now, we may have the exact date of the event.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE Launch Date Leaked

January 11th. pic.twitter.com/8uzkdzDoQd
— Ev (@evleaks) December 20, 2021

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According to popular insider and leaker Evan Blass (@evleaks), the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is expected to launch on 11th January 2022. Apart from that, he uploaded 4 frontal renders of the new smartphone with different wallpapers, with all of them reflecting the aforementioned date.
Previously, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE was expected to launch earlier but due to issues behind the scenes, likely the global chip supply shortage, it was postponed indefinitely. Then, rumors started surfacing of it launching sometime in January 2022, with many industry insiders echoing this sentiment.
From what we know thus far, it will be powered by the Snapdragon 888 SoC and features a 6.41-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with 120Hz and HDR10+ support. It will also have a triple camera setup in the rear, consisting of a 12MP wide-angle shooter, 8MP telephoto shooter, and a 12MP ultra wide-angle shooter.
For now, we will report more on this as soon as information becomes available so stay tuned.
Source
Pokdepinion: This would be a very good start for Samsung, assuming they keep prices relatively affordable like last year’s FE model. You basically get a flagship device at a noticeably lower price, it’s hard to say no.
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Google Maps With New Feature – Ready For A Space Adventure?!

Ahhh Google Maps, it has come to our aid at most times but sometimes a little bit worrying. Starting from the gates of your house, to the opposite side of the world, Google Maps has footage of it. Not satisfied with just our planet, Google Maps now lets you explore 12 other worlds.
Navigate Through Our Solar System
Twenty years ago, the spacecraft Cassini launched from Cape Canaveral on a journey to uncover the secrets of Saturn along with its many moons. During the mission, Cassini recorded and sent nearly half a million pictures back to Earth, allowing our scientists to reconstruct these distant worlds in detail. Now, you can visit these places along with other planets and moons from the comfort of your computer.
Maps was made to be a platform of navigation for us. You don’t usually travel to other planets, well not yet atleast, but with this new added feature to Google Maps, that limited purpose has been subdued and this allows it to be used for exploration, learning, or just some good old adventure over the internet.

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Although Google Maps has already allowed us to explore the Moon, Mars, and Universe for a few years, this new update has entirely added an extended range of other planets and moons in our solar system.
New planets to explore include Mercury and Venus, dwarf planets Ceres and Pluto, Jupiter’s moon Io, Europa and Ganymede, and many more. You can simply pick one from the list or, just for fun, zoom out from Earth until it takes you to outer space.
The new worlds are explorable now on Google Maps, go on and try it out!
Pokdepinion: It’s these types of advancement that makes think, dang, we’ve gone quite far as humanity. As soon as I’m done writing here, I’ll be playing around with Google Maps giggles

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Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro Available For Preorder At RM799

With the launch of the new Samsung Galaxy S21 series last night, Samsung has also introduced their new Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro as well, where they are now available for pre-orders here in Malaysia.
Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro Malaysia pre-order

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro comes as the latest TWS earbuds from the company’s lineup, following their previous Galaxy Buds Live and Galaxy Buds Plus.

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With the new Galaxy Buds Pro, it comes with a 11mm woofer and a 6.5mm tweeter, where Samsung claims to deliver their best audio experience yet. They are IPX7 water resistant, so you can use them for your workouts.
Designed for more than just listening to music, the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro separates your voice from unwanted sound with three microphones and a Voice Pickup Unit (VPU) that allows you to be heard clearly. One of the microphones also has a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), further eliminating background noises.
With its ANC capabilities, you can reduce the background noise by up to 99%, according to Samsung. Ambient Sound allows you to amplify nearby sounds by more than 20 decibels, should you need it.
You can take advantage of the earbuds with other Galaxy devices where you can use the 360 Audio featuring Dolby Head Tracking technology that allows you to synchronize the mics for your Galaxy Buds Pro and other Galaxy device.
In terms of battery life, they claim that it can last up to 8 hours of playback, with an additional 20 hours in the wireless charging case. Of course, that depends on your usage as well and whether ANC is turned on or not.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro is priced at RM799 and comes in three colors; Phantom Violet, Phantom Black, and Phantom Silver. Pre-orders for the earbuds is now up and running till the 28th of January 2021 where you can get a complimentary Wireless Charger Pad worth RM239.
Do checkout our Samsung Galaxy S21 unboxing and first impressions right here.
Pokdepinion: They do look more usable by users when compared to the previous Buds Live. I wonder how good it actually sounds like.
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ASUS’s Limited-Edition ROG Matrix RTX 4090 Is The World’s First Liquid Metal-Cooled GPU

ASUS’s ROG Matrix series has always been a rare breed that only shows itself as the uber-performance limited-edition affair. The name is back once again and lands itself on NVIDIA’s flagship RTX 4090 GPU, this time around with a complete redesign and the use of liquid metal on-die, as the world’s first GPU to do so.
The ROG Matrix GeForce RTX 4090 is touted to feature the world’s highest clocks for RTX 4090 out-of-the-box. The GPU gets a 360mm radiator, and a custom cold plate that covers the AD102 die, VRM and VRAMs, which does away with a blower-style fan seen on ROG STRIX LC series models and allows the brand to bin “absolute best dies” for this model. However, ASUS has yet to announce the clockspeed figures so far, though they claim the temperature on load will be just 60°C even at full 450W, with fans spinning at just 1000RPM.

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Putting the liquid metal on the GPU was no easy challenge for ASUS, however. Heat can make liquid metal flow (albeit at very slow speeds, though it’d still flow when placed in a non-flat orientation), so extra precautions was needed to prevent spillover and create a short circuit. The company credited its laptop division for the unique production process that applies UV resin on SMD capacitors near the die area, plus two additional protective barriers between the die and PCB to make sure liquid metal stays in place even in vertical orientation.
The GPU also gets exclusive software features such as additional temperature sensors on VRM, chokes and power inputs, which in turn feeds the data to the new Thermal Map feature that provides an overview on the thermal performance of the GPU. 12VHPWR connector can get temperamental at times – so the card comes with Power Detector+ that alerts users if any of the six power pins within the connector is not behaving as expected to avoid destroying this limited-edition card.
ASUS expects this card to go on sale in Q3 this year, in limited capacity. No pricing has been announced as of this writing.
Pokdepinion: This suspended design looks nice. Definitely a showpiece aside from potentially record breakers?
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ROG Mothership is making its way to Malaysia!

While we have previous reported the ROG Mothership won’t be making its way to Malaysia, it seems that we were misinformed. In a recent interview with the top brass from ASUS, apparently we will be getting the ROG Mothership here in Malaysia. Yes, that insane high-end gaming desktop replacement of a tablet.

While details are quite sparse, the tablet is definitely going to put to shame even high end desktops. It packs an Intel Core i9 8950HK and a GeForce RTX 2080, up to 64GB DDR4 RAM as well as three PCIe NVMe SSD in RAID 0 configuration. As if that isn’t ridiculous enough, both the CPU and GPU can be overclocked for even higher performance.

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Topping that off is the support for the latest WiFi 6 standard, promising Gigabit WiFi speeds. And just in case you find the GeForce RTX 2080 to be insufficient, you can always connect the ROG Mothership to an external graphics card via Thunderbolt 3. The array of I/O options is just enough to comfortably make your desktop look obsolete.

The ROG Mothership is expected to launch in Q2 2019, but when exactly will it arrive in Malaysia is still unknown. it will most likely make it to Malaysia in the second half of 2019. Malaysian pricing has yet to be confirmed as well, but be prepared to part with a kidney. Or two.
Pokdepinion: Judging by their previous products, we can probably expect this to cost about as much as a compact car…
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You Can Play Rainbow Six Siege for FREE This Weekend – Here’s What You Need to Know

If you are thinking of getting the game for yourself, you can go on and try it first this weekend as Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege will be free to play.
You Can Play Rainbow Six Siege for FREE This Weekend

The folks over at Ubisoft has officially announced yet another free weekend for their popular game, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege. The free weekend will be taking place from 17th August 2018 to 19th August 2018 and will be available for platforms that the game has been released on.
Players who try the game during the free weekend can carry over their progress and continue to play uninterrupted if they purchase the game. To sweeten the deal, Rainbow Six Siege will have special discounts of up to 60% off on the Standard, Advanced, Gold, and Complete Editions.

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In other related news, Ubisoft unveiled the game’s next expansion, Operation Grim Sky,two new operators, one American Attacker and one Defender hailing from Great Britain, and the first ever fully reworked map, Hereford Base. The full reveal of the Year 3 Season 3 content for the game will be made on 19th August 2018 during the Six Major Paris.
For the full details of the game’s free weekend on the timings, as well as the special discounts, click right here to find out.
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege is current available for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via UPlay.
Pokdepinion: If you’ve been looking for a new game to play and haven’t tried this yet, give it a shot. You might just like the game.
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Cooler Master’s M800 Gaming Series debut at CES 2018; a whole set of peripherals to complete your gaming set up!

Keyboards, headset, mouse and mousepad!

Cooler Master’s peripheral lineup includes the MasterKeys, MasterMouse and MasterPulse series. This year at CES 2018, Cooler Master is adding new members to every family, including a new RGB illuminated mousepad.
MasterKeys MK850 and MK851 with Aimpad technology

The MasterKeys MK850 and MK851 with Aimpad technology are pretty keyboards with an aggressive floating key design. Both keyboards come with cobalt aluminium top plate, dedicated multi-media and macro keys and wrist rest, as well as a two multifunctional precision scroll wheels. The MasterKeys MK850 comes with a choice of Cherry MX Blue or Brown switches, while the MasterKeys MK851 with Aimpad technology is only available with Cherry MX Red switches.

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Aimpad technology adds full analog movement control, which necessitates the linear travel of Cherry MX Red switches. The technology is applied to a cluster of eight keys, including the WASD keys, allowing you to use it for smooth linear control without having to tap them repeatedly like you will have to on conventional keyboards.
MasterMouse MM830

The top mouse in Cooler Master’s gaming mouse series, the MasterMouse MM830 features hidden D-pad technology. Four D-pad style buttons are easily pressed by your thumb, and these keys are programmable with the included software. RGB is a given, while customizability is pushed to the limit with a programmable 96*64 OLED display on the side of the mouse. The sensor is a Pixart 3360 optical sensor, with an insanely high maximum DPI of 24 000.
MasterPulse MH850

This headphone is designed for gamers with the virtual 7.1 audio for better surround sound to pinpoint audio cues. For an even bigger advantage, the MasterPulse MH850 also features Focus FX, which amplifies the mid and high tones to highlight subtle sounds like footsteps during competitive play. With Focus FX off, bass is elevated for a more immersive gaming experience. The MasterPulse MH850 comes with cloth and leather earpads for comfort, on-cup controls, detachable USB Type-C and 3.5mm cables and a removable flexible boom microphone. Of course, RGB customization is also available here.
MasterAccessory MP860 RGB Dual Mousepad

The MasterAccessory MP860 features two distinct surfaces for a different gaming experience. Use the hard side for precise and quick movements, or the soft side for daily tasks. Or just use it as you like. It is yours to play around with, anyway.
The new peripherals will be launched in Q2 and Q3 2018.
Pokdepinion: While the idea of analog buttons on a keyboard aren’t new, this is the first time I see a brand attempt it with Cherry MX switches. Let’s see how the keyboard turns out.
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Apex Legends Monsters Within Event Launch Confirmed

With Halloween coming up soon, plenty of games will be having a limited-time event to celebrate the occasion. In the case of Apex Legends, we will be having a Monsters Within event. Here’s what you need to know.
Apex Legends Monsters Within Event

It’s everyone’s favorite time of year: nights grow long and dark with shadows, and the Legends dress up for the occasion.
Become what goes bump in the night when Monsters Within begins Oct 12.
🎃: https://t.co/6mMkt78UnQ pic.twitter.com/ihH3Gmt8dI
— Apex Legends (@PlayApex) October 7, 2021

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The Apex Legends Halloween event, Monsters Within, will be launching on 12th October 2021 and it will end on 2nd November 2021, which means it will be running for 3 weeks. While there is no specific timing being mentioned, it is expected to be officially running from 10AM PT / 1AM Malaysia time (GMT+8) the next day.
There will be event-themed cosmetics for the Legends, most notably Revenant, Bloodhound, Caustic, and Seer. Once again, Shadow Royale is coming back as a limited-time mode.
Apart from that, there will be a new Encore map for Arenas, which is set on Seer’s home planet, Boreas. There will also be a new set of challenges every week until the end of the event that will let you get more Apex Packs and unlock more new items themed after the event.
Once again, the Apex Legends Monsters Within event will be launching on 12th October 2021 on all platforms that the game is available on.
Source
Pokdepinion: Honestly, being able to play Shadow Royale alone is enough to get me excited. All the other rewards are just extras to me. LET’S GOOOOOOOO!
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Get Your Android Nokia Device With Discounts During The Grand Sale

Fancy in getting yourself a Nokia device? Well you are in luck as HMD Global is hosting their Nokia grand sale right now. The promo which is up and running already, will last until the end of April 2019.

There’s a total of 7 smartphones up for grabs in the sale. First up is the Nokia 7 Plus, where you can get it at a cheaper price of RM1,399 compared to the original RM1,600 price tag. Underneath it is a Snapdragon 660 chipset and it packs a 3800mAh battery under the hood.

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There’s the Nokia 6.1, which is RM340 cheaper during the sale at RM849. It’s newer sibling, the Nokia 6.1 Plus is also on offer where you can get it a just RM899. Running on a Snapdragon 636 SoC, it comes with a Full HD+ display with 19:9 body-to-display ratio and comes with Nokia’s very own Bothie mode.
Finishing up the list is the Nokia 5.1 Plus, Nokia 3.1, Nokia 2.1 and finally the Nokia 1. To learn more, you can check out Nokia Malaysia’s official Facebook page. If you are looking for the nearest store where you can get your hands on any of the listed devices, you can click on the link right here.
Pokdepinion: It seems that they’ve made special deals for all their ranges. The highlight of the promo is definitely the Nokia 7 Plus, which is really a decent phone. Now let’s just hope they (HMD/Nokia) finally hear out plea and bring in the Nokia 9 Pureview to Malaysia..
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The Witcher 3 for Nintendo Switch Won’t Run in Full HD 1080p

540p handheld, 720p, with dynamic resolution enabled, on screen.
— The Witcher (@witchergame) June 11, 2019

With The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt port confirmed for Nintendo Switch, many are curious to see how the game runs on the system. While it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a noticeably downgrade in graphical quality, people want to know to what extent would it be downgraded. Now, we have more details on that.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition for the Nintendo Switch will run at 540p in handheld mode, and HD 720p with dynamic resolution when docked. Given the power of the system, it’s surprising that it manages to at least run within these resolutions as I’m sure many have expected worse.

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Many gamers are aware as to how taxing The Witcher 3 is on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but the trailer footage showed that the game ran decently well. Being able to take Geralt’s adventure wherever you go is certainly an enticing offer. Moreover, the game includes all of the DLCs as well, which makes it even more tempting.
In other news, the physical copy of the game will require no download whatsoever. Click right here to read all about it.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition will be coming to the Nintendo Switch sometime in 2019.
Pokdepinion: Asking for Full HD 1080p on this system is too much in my opinion but 720p on docked is still pretty good. 540p on handheld is also pretty great given the screen size.
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