Wavecom Digital Indoor TV Antenna ANT-T25: Razor thin antenna!

[EXPERIENCE] Mediacorp doesn't seemed to impress many around me these days, so I question my decision making ability a little (I thought Channel News Asia is not too bad) when I wanted a Digital TV Antenna in my room. Here are 2 things about this amazingly decent product!

GETTING IT IN

I got it off the back of first, good pricing and second, decent reviews on Qoo10. I happened to have spare Qoo10 coupon so I bought Wavecom Digital Indoor TV Antenna, ANT-T25 for around S$22 bucks. It is originally listed at S$35 (excluding shipping).

Back of the box: Notice it says the antenna should sticked on the wall

Having previously shop around for the Akira Digital Setup Box HDVB-T2A1 (Link), I am clear that no matter how decent the antenna is, an amplifier always give the connection a real boost. So this Wavecom fits the bill perfectly with an external amplifier.

Contents: With exception of two 3M velcro pads and antenna base

Out of the box, I find relatively solid quality parts especially surprised with the 3M velcro pads to sticking the antenna to the wall or window. While the antenna is really razor thin, as advertised, its a firm piece.

The antenna cable is a decent 3 metres long. The USB cable for amplifier and its coaxial cable running to the TV is both around 1.2m.

PERFORMANCE

The Wavecom ANT-T25 impresses me greatly, especially compared to my existing Akira. Here is my case. I have the Akira set hooked up to the living room Plasma TV and the Wavecom antenna connected to my Sony Bravia LED TV in my study room.

External Amplifier: Key component

While in different rooms, the antenna are placed in same rows of windows. Now, the Akira antenna has to be sticked on the highest area of the window in order to get maximum signal strength and intensity. The wavecom, on the other hand, works just by place the antenna near the window on the table! Though to get the Channel 8, the antenna has to be really need the window.

Antenna hold up by the base

I can also report that the Wavecom set works so well because of the external amplifier, compared to Akira's internal amplifier. When i turn off the external amplifier, the signal is almost instantly lost.

I highly recommend the Wavecom ANT-T25 if you have a DVB-T2 compatible TV else, this antenna should also work well with generic DVB-T2 tuner.

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Samsung A5 @ Sunget Sungei Kadut Megastore

[NEW GADGET] Samsung is having a rough time now. Not only they are having problems with the phones , the Samsung Group CEO is getting into trouble with the law. Unfortunately, consumer electronics advances rapidly and it would not wait for Samsung to sort out their problems.

Samsung's 2017 latest A Series, Galaxy A5 and A7, gave the impression that Samsung knew that and they do still have plenty of technology in them. Here are a few things about the Samsung Galaxy A5 2017.

Samsung call this pink, Peach Ocean 

Solid and safe

Samsung's best bet is to stick to test and tried methods and create products with incremental updates and keep the features that has been proven to be crowd favorites.

This is what Samsung A5 is all about. Starting with the minimalism outlook with excellent grip made possible by the rear 3D glass. The available colours are rather muted too. In their fancy names, Black Sky, Gold Sand and Peach Cloud. Besides this outlook, the rest of the phone is probably a carbon copy of it's bigger brother, S7 Edge.

Starting with the IP68 rating, offering reliable protection against liquid and dust and as well allowing a bath for the phone when it's dirty. Yep, that's what I do, I wash my S7 Edge occasionally!

Then there is the Always On Display, a feature that is again only limited to the S7 Edge in 2016 albeit in a 1080p five inch display (7 inch for A7). Another of my favourite feature to be able to look at the time discreetly in a meeting!

The biggest feature from S7 Edge is the Samsung Pay over MST terminals, allowing Samsung Pay to be compatible nearly everywhere.

Powered by a 3,000mAh battery (3,600 mAh for A7) and equipped with the latest USB Type-C port and microSD slot for up to 256GB expansion rounds up an excellent mid-range Android phone.

Speaking of mid-range, up till this point, with the exception of the 1080p display, the rest are really flagship stuff. But Samsung A5 will be a mid-range more because it is running on Exynos 7880 chipset equivalent to a Snapdragon 600 series processor typically found in mid-range to low end phones today.

The front and rear cameras are both 16MP and offers excellent image quality as I tested albeit in a nicely lighted gallery.

Ocean Cloud, probably the prettiest pink smartphone around

Worthy Competitor!

The Samsung A5 2016, from last year, costs exactly the same as its successor here and that means the 2017 version is more competitive in the market. If you would like the top features of a Samsung Flagship but not the price, Samsung Galaxy A5 is an excellent choice.

The best $500ish phone at the moment goes to OnePlus 3T and the A5 is not far behind, only it's mid-range processor holding it back. Though there are just so many great phones out at the moment, even moving down the price range, there are excellent sets like ASUS Zenfone 3 or even Samsung J7 Prime is a very decent option.

A decent price at $548

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