The Singapore Gadget Talk Show

[GADGET DEALS] I am a big fan of ThinkPads (IBM and some of the Lenovo’s models). And when Lenovo ThinkPad X100e hits the shelves sometime ago, I was really excited. Till now it is something I really like to own if I have enough cash in my bank account.

ThinkPad X100e is a netbook that tries to look like a real ThinkPad except that it is really made of very cheap plastic. But the overall design is really what I want in a netbook.

ThinkPad Edge is probably more of the same thing but with a 2 processors. But comparing X100e and Edge, it probably make more sense to grab the former with a cheaper price since its screen and processor are less competitive. Well for me, a portable computer with a 11.6” screen and a single core processor is sufficient. You don’t play C&C on a 11.6” screen right?

Source: Link – Lenovo SG Tweet

[GADGET UPDATE] This could the assurance you need to buy the Desire which comes with the Éclair 2.1. If you are wondering if there is large difference between Eclair and Froyo, there are lots of difference, both in terms of technical speed and interface.

This is what HTC said, quoted from Gizmodo.

“if your phone was launched this year, we will most likely offer an upgrade for it to the Froyo version. This includes popular models like the Desire and Droid Incredible as well as hotly anticipated phones like the Evo 4G, MyTouch slide and upcoming models. We will announce a full list of phones and dates once we are closer to launching the upgrades. We are working closely with Google and our other partners to ensure we have the earliest access to everything we need to provide a complete and solid Sense experience on Froyo. We expect to release all updates in the second half of this year but can't be more specific yet.”

Well if you are going to get a HTC Desire, then the interface part does not really apply since you won’t be seeing it as it is overlay by HTC’s own HTC Sense User Interface.

But inside the phone is where the magic begins. Gizmodo reported a 2x – 5x improvement in the performance of the phone meaning that the phone will become more responsive to everything else and in particular the apps and web browsing.

In reality to the consumers, this is going make web browsing on HTC Desire and other Android phone so fast that iPhoners may have a problem trying to compete. But as average consumers, they will even notice all the hoo-ha going here and they are more likely to judge the phone as it is now.

Still thinking on spending your income on this HTC beast? You might want to know there is probably going to be a new iPhone next month.

HTC Announcement - Gizmodo
Android 2.2 Review - Gizmodo

[NEW GADGET] While the world of Smartphone got their two heavy weight competitors lately, HTC Desire and Samsung S I9000, LG has launched a feature phone! Not just a normal feature phone that try to look stylish but a very slim one at just about 1cm thick.

Besides the beauty, LG Mini also has the brains. LG Mini is the first phone to use LG’s HTML 5-compatible Phantom Browser. HTML 5 is going to be a standard on the web that could potentially play videos like Adobe Flash. But I would say its still far from that point and that means LG Mini will be like the rest, iPhone OS or Android, to continue to be unable to play Flash on the web browser. In fact, you cannot surf the SingTelShop.com on a phone because it is totally build on flash. Bewildering, but true.

LG GD880 is on sale at the M1 Shop for just S$198 with a basic 2 year contract. A refreshing change of numbers after covering a series of phone that will potentially cost me my arm or leg. (The thought of buying it I mean, I am happy with my Motorola Dext.)

Video review by PhoneArena and shows quite abit.

GSM Arena remains the number 1 mobile site that I go to, so check the full review there from the link at the bottom of the post.

Specifications:

102 x 47.6 x 10.6 mm / 99g
3.2” TFT capacitive touchscreen, 256K colors
Internal Memory at 330MB
HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
5 MP, 2560 x 1920 pixels, autofocus and Video recording at VGA@30fps
A-GPS
Document viewer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF)
Stereo FM radio with RDS

Link – GSM Arena Review
Image Source: http://www.cellphonefocus.net/?p=1150

[SIGHTING] Google has released the top 1000 most visited sites on the Internet and this list will be updated monthly! The details of the listing is clear and detailed. For example, Facebook, the number 1 on the list has unique 570,000,000,000 to their sites monthly. And that is a whopping 35% of the total pie.

Well the list is pretty much dominated by the US sites, can you find any Singapore sites?

via - Gizmodo

[NEW GADGET] More contenders for the crown of the best Android phone in Singapore! Samsung, not a big fan of Android, with just the Samsung Galaxy Spica to show for. The new Galaxy promises to take compete with HTC Desire in terms of hardware specifications.

4” Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors

122.4 x 64.2 x 9.9 mm / 118g

8 GB/16GB storage, 512 MB RAM

HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

ARM Cortex A8 1GHz processor

Android OS, v2.1 (Eclair)

Samsung always produce the some of the best screens for mobile phones and this Super AMOLED is again without question going to beat many competitors hands-down. To sweeten things, Galaxy S I9000 is capable of 720p video playback on a 4” screen. The thought of that is amazing already, I think it could be potentially much better in reality. I will just stop short of saying you should buy the phone solely for the screen alone.

On other front, Samsung has again overlay the stock Android interface with their TouchWiz. If you are new to Android, it will definitely be interesting to compare TouchWiz and HTC Sense, the other interface that overlays the stock version. You may find HTC Sense a more compelling version.

And once again, GSMArena is out with a review of the Samsung phone and they pointed out several areas such as the lack of flash and dedicated button for camera. Pretty minor points.

Samsung Galaxy S I9000 is now going at S$668 for a basic mobile plan without data package. Very big price tag and could the reason to dwarf many potential buyers. But HTC Desire is not way off at S$548.

And I found a official demo of the phone from Samsung USA. Pretty good summary of the features.

Link – GSM Arena Review

[EVENT] One of the rare local gaming event, License 2 Play begins today! What you can expect this year are game launches and a few booths selling electronics. Games on show case includes:

Granado Espada
Dragonica Online
EA SPORTS™ FIFA Online 2

Venue: Singapore Expo Hall 6B
Date: 28th to 30th May
Time: 11am – 9pm

Link – Official Website

[PROMOTION] July last year, Apple made the exact same offer. And it’s back. What a time to buy a Mac if you belong to the same category as mention by Apple. Besides getting a brand new iPod Touch, you will also get the usual education discount which will differ base on the product you want to get. For instance, you get S$100 off buying the iMac (lowest end).

“If you are a University, Polytechnic, Junior College or Institute of Technical Education student, or a teacher, administrator, staff member of any grade level, you qualify for special pricing on Apple computers, software, and selected third party products.”

I wonder if Apple will give out the newer version of the iPod Touch that they might be releasing next month WWDC. I mean if could potential come with a 2MP camera and better specifications. If you are not seriously in need of a iPod Touch, maybe you would like to wait and see what happens.

Promotion begins today, May 26 through to September 7, 2010.

Link – Apple Singapore Education Store

[GADGET UPDATE] There are many reasons why people want to jailbreak their iPhone or iPod Touch. Most people wants the paid version of apps for free and other wants the obvious apps that Apple just refuse to allow on to the Apps store. Either way, jailbreaking will still be in demand as long as Mr. Steve Jobs and gang continues to hold a tight regime like our very own Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. See the similarity? You become successful by ~~dictating~~ dipping your hands on all details.

Jailbreaking have come a long way. It used to be a tedious method. Then I pray first before I begin the process of freeing my iPod Touch. The operation is successful and I reap great benefits from those who developed the jailbreak method. Until recently, firmware 3.1.3 is out and one day iTunes just ask me nicely if I want to upgrade my firmware. I was sleepy at that moment and clicked “Yes”. And my iPod Touch is no longer a freed man.

For a while it seems that anyone with 3.1.3 will never get the jailbreak tool. But just last month, our saviour decides to turn up and save the world. Introducing Spirit the Jailbreak tool that promises to jailbreak anything and everything (don’t take my word, read the instructions.)

This tool is so simple that makes the previous methods of jailbreaking looks geeky. And its so simple that I decide I can narrate a bit of story before going through the steps of jailbreaking.

I think the only complication here is that if your iPhone is one with carrier unlock. Well, seems that our local sets aren’t in that range. So you are pretty safe if you are using a local set. Else, good luck.

1. Download the tool and read the instructions. Link – Spirit JB
2. Connect your device to iTunes. BACKUP.
3. Open the tool. If you are using Windows 7 to do it, congratulations on using a good OS, but please run it in compatibility mode. Link – How to do it
4. The tool will recognize your device and firmware. If it does not, I have no idea. Good luck.
5. All set, click run.
6. In a while, you will see the screen above (top of the post). It will load for a while. And then it’s done!

To know if everything is fine, you should see a new app call “Cydia”. It is the app that offers you the benefits of freedom.

Still think it is unsafe and difficult? There are people who is offering the jailbreak services at a price of $15.

[PROMOTION] Obviously SingTel is trying to put as many customers on the data plan as possible. They got the network in place and is of course not their top priority to ensure that the network is not congested. So there you go, SingTel is put on a promotion to attract more customers.

Just a quick note, I checked the price a few days ago when I saw the post on Techgoondu. It appears that the price for Premium Plan has dropped from roughly S$14 to S$11.96 now. Small drop but drop is a drop.

Looking at the various plan, you can’t help but wonder if SingTel should just offer the Premium and Platinum plans instead of all four. Because the gap in the prices is bewildering like Minister Ng’s stand on our MTL curriculum.

Anyhow, it is still much cheaper to just subscribe to the 3G FLEXI Lite plan since you get 12GB data cap and unlimited incoming calls as well as a brunch of other stuff.

And oh… You should know there is no 3G connection on the underground North-South MRT line (from Bishan onwards). But it is pretty strong over at the Circle Line.

[NEW GADGET] The wait for HTC Desire is probably as long as the queues at Singapore Pools now. But the wait is over. SingTel finally send out the email blast to inform all its customers that it is time to embrace the most powerful Android phone available on SingTel.

Well the specifications say a lot about the phone; screen as big as iPhone, and over 500MB of RAM and ROM. On top of that, you get the 1 GHz snapdragon.

Google Nexus One is very similiar to the HTC Desire, but there is no operator in Singapore offering that phone on contract. Meaning to own a Nexus One, you have to pay the full amount of about S$800 I think. SingTel is offering the Desire at a very competitive price in my opinion.

S$448 for a basic plan w/o data and S$348 for a basic plan with data. Neat. (Of course, its only S$148 for a FLEXI Plus Plan.) Compare that against the recently released HTC Legend and its a pretty good deal, considering that Desire is much more powerful.

Finally check out the GSM Arena review of HTC Desire and you might just find the phone that can persuade you to drop your iPhone.

Specifications:

3.7” AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Multi-Touch, HTC Sense UI
3.5mm audio jack
HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (A2DP)
MicroSD card slot
576MB RAM, 512 ROM
5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Android OS, v2.1 (Eclair)
Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1 GHz processor
A-GPS
Stereo FM radio with RDS

Link – GSM Arena Review

Leaked iPhone 4G Prototype? Checked.
Leaked iPod Touch with Camera? Checked.
Developer’s iPhone OS 4? Checked.

[COMMENTARY] Latest update as on yesterday. It seems that Apple got everything out even before WWDC. If you are buying iPhone or iPod Touch anytime soon, hold your horses. At least until June 10th.

Link – Engadget, WWDC 2010
Link – Engadget, iPhone OS 4 Beta
Link – Gizmodo, iPod Touch with Camera

[iPhone OS App] Ever playback a video on your telly and realise that you have to consistently walk to and fro to control the computer? I do. A 42” Plasma has just replaced a 29” CRT in my living room and my family is watching quite abit of Taiwanese Variety Show I got off the Net.

Logitech Touch Mouse can be the solution.

From Andy Hengel, Logitech Product Marketing Manager on 29th Jan:

“ Logitech Touch Mouse is an iPhone OS App that turns your iPhone or iPod touch into a wireless trackpad and keyboard for your computer, so you can point, click, scroll and type from afar, in any application, on a Mac or PC. It works over Wi-Fi, so you can use it anywhere in your house and is a great way to control your computer when it’s connected to your TV and you’re lounging on the couch. “

To use this application, a small software has to be installed on the PC that you wish to connect to. Installation is fast and easy. Next download the app on your iPhone/iPod Touch and you are ready to control your PC from a distance. (and of course your PC and iPhone/iPod Touch have to be on the same network for it to work.)

Booting up the app you will find PCs with the software installed appearing on the list. You just have to click it for it to work. There are also various settings to optimize the experience.

Overall, Logitech Touch Mouse is very usable. For instance, if all you want to do on the PC is to control the media playback, such as play, stop or scroll thorough your folder to the next video, then the app is more than what you need. But if you would like to surf the Internet with it then it becomes a little uncomfortable.

You see, while moving the cursor around on the app is very smooth, sometimes you will run out of space to move your finger. Then like using the mouse, you have to move your finger back to the center of the screen on your iPhone or iPod Touch. But the action of moving it back gives the app the signal that you are tapping the screen again which result in registering a left click. And you will probably accidentally click on the wrong link when all you want to do is to move the cursor.

You can also do a left click just like a mouse. But I find myself looking down at the screen every time to do that. The keyboard is pretty ok to use, just like typing on the device with a little lag.

Having said these, Logitech Touch Mouse is still very usable like I say. I mean if it is free of charge the operational troubles are really bearable. Furthermore, the guys at Logitech have included other features to improve the experience. For example, you can scroll down a webpage with 2 fingers swipe.

Also for the app to work well, it is important that the Wi-Fi connection is strong on the iPhone/iPod Touch. I do experience difficulties in operating the app when the connection is weak.

If you are in the market for a wireless remote/keyboard, try Logitech Touch Mouse and you probably got it already in your iPhone/iPod Touch.

[NEW GADGET] Not exactly a new gadget in Singapore but it is so NOT well-known that I have to give it a mention (not that this little blog have a lot of readers). Introducing Sony Ericsson XPERIA Pureness. Its so pure that you can see your thumb of the other side of the screen. The concept is also pure genius. XPERIA pureness looks totally like a luxury and yet does not cost your arm or leg.

But as many other things are, Pureness is not a perfect phone. First off, it is not a smartphone. That means you cannot play game (not that you will want to) and you cannot surf net on it. Second, there is no camera on this babe. Third, poor build quality check out the GSMArena review for more information.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA Pureness retails exclusively to M1 Shop at S$298 with Sunsaver Plan and above.

Link – More photos and source of the big photo in this post from Pocket-lint.com
Link – GSM ARENA Review
Link – m1 Shop

[NEW GADGET] This is a real case of Sony relentless desire for innovation. Somehow, the Engineers at Sony are as creative as those at Motorola whom came up with the Motorola BackFlip. Well, if you are a fan of Sony’s innovation, check out the specifications below.

The new features such as GPS and 3G slot have made the VAIO P a truly portable device. But for me, the inclusion of the optical touch pad which allows the usage of the computer in your hands, truly gave the machine a much-needed improvement (check out the three small boxes in the image above). I have used the previous generation and there is no way you can use it in your hands.

VAIO P looks cool and is much improved. But at S$1,599 will you be one of the buyers?

In-built GPS
In-built 3G
Accelerometer
Optical touch pad
Intel Atom Z540
Windows 7
64GB SSD
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500
8” 1600 x 768, LED Backlight
Bundled Battery, 4 hours, Optional Battery, 8.5 hours
618g

Link – VAIO P Website

[NEW GADGET] HTC Smart is running on the Brew Operating System which is designed with Flash Lite 3.1 in mind. It seems that developers will find it easier to develop flash application on the Brew OS. However, there really isn’t much to it right now, I am not sure whether it will really run Flash smoothly.

Hardware wise, HTC Smart is again pretty budget in all areas. A 300 Mhz processor hardly got anyone excited and a 3.2MP camera is really stuff that belongs to year 2009.

What else can be said about this HTC phone? Check out the video at the bottom of the post, the performance does seems to justify forking out your moolah for the phone along with HTC Sense, HTC User Interface which is neat and speedy. Also HTC Smart is not a smartphone so don’t expect to install anything on it.

Still keen to get the phone? SingtelShop.com is selling it at no cost with a 2 year contract.

Specifications：

2.8” TFT Touch Screen with 256k Colours
104 x 55 x 12.8mm / 108g
3.5mm audio jack
256MB RAM, 256 ROM
HSDPA, Bluetooth
3.15MP LED Flash
300 Mhz Processor
FM Radio
Li-ion 1100 mAH

Link – Engadget Review

[SIGHTING] Have you seen the Micro SIM card? The type of SIM card used by the Apple iPad. Apparently, you can actually cut the regular SIM card into the size of the Micro SIM. It does really look legitimate, not that it is legal but it seems that it will be possible to cut really cut it and use in whatever device that use Micro SIM, which at the moment remains quite exclusive to iPad.

Via Gizmodo (from John Benson, via The Register)

[REVIEW] The Motorola DEXT is more famously known as the Motorola CLIQ in the US and it’s model name is actually MB220. DEXT is exclusively retailed by SingTel when it is launched in Q1 2010. It is the first MOTOROLA Android phone to be on sale in Singapore.

the SPECIFICATIONS

163g, 114 x 58 x 15.6 mm
Accelerometer sensor
Full QWERTY keyboard with 5-way navigation key
MOTOBLUR: Motorola’s Widget to integrate Social networks
3.5mm audio jack

the HARDWARE

The first thing that one will notice when holding the Motorola DEXT, is the weight of the phone. At 163g, it feels heavy but the curves of the phone makes it much better and comfortable in your hand. The exterior of the phone made of glossy and shiny painted-plastic. As a result, scratches are easily made though it is not very visible.

The design of DEXT, as I have found out from several friends, is not very appealing to most. It’s thickness and the three hardware buttons on the top certainly make the DEXT less slick. The three buttons served as the following functions: Options, Home Page and Back. They are quite useful in many situations but those buttons are actually flushed with the surface of the phone; when you push it, you are actually pushing an underlying button that feels like a poke. My general sentiments is that it is not all that comfortable to push them.

The QWERTY keyboard of DEXT is very sturdy. Sliding it in and out is a very comfortable experience. The buttons are pretty well spaced out and they are not flushed so you can actually type really fast after sometime. The 5 ways directional pad is useful as well. While many reviews said that it is unnecessary, I find it very useful in situations where by you need to click small links on a webpage. You can of course enlarge the screen to click them but I like scrolling of all the possible links on the page with the 5 way pad, though I know many whom would prefer using the touch screen instead.

the TOUCH SCREEN

DEXT is built with a capacitive touch screen. The touch screen experience on DEXY is generally sensitive enough but still not competitive with the iPhone. Specifically, you will feel that you must exert a little more strength in some applications though it is not that much of an issue after using the phone for sometime.

DEXT spots a 256k colour resolution so you will notice that the colours on the screen are probably not as good as others with a 16million colour resolution such as the Sony Ericsson Satio. But its still pretty good and certainly good enough for many.

the BATTERY LIFE

It is important to note the smartphones these days has much lesser battery life compared to feature phones. I would say that if you are a heavy user of the phone, meaning that you will use the phone to listen to music, watch movies with several calls and 3G connection connected the whole time, you may have to charge everything day or even before the day ends. As mentioned, it is the same with other smartphones such as iPhone or HTC Legend. But its noteworthy to mention that Blackberry performed much better in this aspect.

the ANDROID OS and MOTOROLA’s MOTOBLUR

I have got to say that if you have been using iPhone OS or Blackberry OS, you might find that the stock Android OS is pretty raw and perhaps, ugly. It is crucial to understand that HTC actually has their own interface over that of the stock Android OS. Therefore, despite all being Android devices, they are quite different in appearance.

In a flash, most of the time, you will be either on one of the 5 applications page or in the settings menu.

The Dext is not called the Social Phone for nothing. First, MOTOBLUR is Motorola’s software to integrate the different social networks such as Facebook, MySpace and so on, so that you will get live update right on the phone.

And second, Dext will actually download all your social contacts from the various accounts onto the phone. It may seems daunting, but it is really daunting! While it is possible to adjust the settings to show just the contacts on the phone instead of all the contacts (including the social networks'), it could potentially quite messy for some people. Well but there is a better way to organise contacts on Android in my opinion. What I did is to mark those contacts that I use often as Favourites and put them in a folder on the application screen.

to be continue…

[NEW GADGET] Motorola had enjoyed tremendous success with the RAZR design and is never a stranger to producing mobile phones with “outstanding” designs. The new Motorola BackFlip certainly reinforced this perception.

Clearly, the first reaction many have is “How do we use this phone? Wait is it really a phone?”. Being out of the norm is sometimes cool but Singapore is a place where people try their best to act to the norm. For example, my professors in the University always say Singaporeans do not speak up often in class. But our mentality is “I try not to speak up, because it is very paiseh if I say the wrong things.”.

On the gadget side of things, BackFlip is very similar to the Dext in terms of specifications. With just a 3.1” LCD as compared to the Milestone with 3.7”. The three hardware buttons are also very similar to Dext launched a few months back. With a 528 Mhz processor, don’t expect it to be a speed demon as well. I guess BackFlip will suit people whom likes to be different and appreciate the strengths of BackFlip, such as a large qwerty keyboard.

The Motorola BackFlip is currently exclusive to SingTel at $348 with a basic contract ($25/mth) without data plan. It is at $248 with a basic contract ($39/mth) with data plan. You can of course refer to SingTelShop.com for more information. And if you are keen to wait for price drop, the Motorola Dext went from $398 to the current $98 in the space of maybe say 3 months. So that could be a reasonable timeline for you to consider.

Also check out the video review I snatched off the Youtube and specifications comparison with the Droid.

Link – SingTelShop
Link – GSMArena Review

	Motorola Droid	Motorola BackFlip
OS	Android 2.1	Android 1.5 (Upgradable)
CPU	600 Mhz	528 Mhz
Size	165g / 115.8 x 60 x 13.7 mm	133g / 108 x 53 x 15.3 mm
Display	3.7" TFT Capacitive Touch Screen, 16m Colours	3.1" TFT Capacitive Touch Screen
Memory	133MB Internal / MicroSD Slot / 256MB RAM	256MB RAM / 512 ROM / Micro SD Slot
Connectivity	WLAN / HSDPA / Bluetooth 2.1	WLAN / HSDPA / Bluetooth 2.1
Camera	5MP Autofocus, LED Flash	5MP Autofocus, LED Flash
Battery	Li-Ion 1400 mAh	Li-Ion 1400 mAh
Other features	- A-GPS - 3.5mm audio jack	- Noise cancellation with dedicated microphone - A-GPS - 3.5mm audio jack

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