U Mobile started the ball rolling with the HTC One series registration of interest. There are currently 2 series, namely HTC One X and HTC One V.
These are the 2 new series from Taiwan smartphone giant HTC recently announced during the CES2012. Go ahead to the link below for the registration of interest for the device.
Registration is from 26th - 29th March 2012 and U Mobile will be in contact by 30th March. That is showing that most likely the device would officially be announced in Malaysia on 30th March. Both devices are powered up by the Android 4.0 ICS.
Hong Kong movie-goers are going to be thrilled to hear that the local film industries are stepping up the game to provide a much more enhanced experiences in watching movie. Sources have noted that there are now 2 movie theaters prepping up to provide 4D porn experience, featuring vibration seats!
The idea came after a much sensation hit of the Chinese 3D porn movie named Sex and Zen, Extreme Estacy. It is expected that the 4D movie will be coming in the cinemas by end of the year.
Bumped into Maxis website which shows NFC offering recently. Was not aware that Maxis had actually started offering NFC services via Nokia 6212. The picture above actually shows "coming soon" Maxis FastTap NFC capabilities for the iPhone. We all know well that even the latest iPhone 4S does not come with NFC built-in. Observe closely the picture of the iPhone and you will notice an adapter attached to the device. A quick search shows that the NFC adapter is designed by Wireless Dynamics in the US and the adapter name is called iCarte.
Current offer from Maxis FastTap is via Nokia 6212. This is the first mobile phone that has a built-in NFC way back in 2009. That means for the moment, you will only be able to enjoy the FastTap NFC service from Maxis via Nokia 6212.
Maxis FastTap NFC service offers hassle-free payment for transportation via TnG, retail food outlets as well as departmental stores. Full details as shown above.
I guess what we are interested now is when the service will be available for native smartphones with built-in NFC feature, like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus powered by Android.
The much awaited Instagram app for Android is coming really soon. Head to the link below to register for interest to be among the first to receive the app.
Instagram is a popular free photo sharing application which currently has over 15 million users in the iOS platform.
By the way, what took you so long, Android???
Local chinese news are reporting that Foxconn Taiyuan is hiring approximately 20,000 new employees to fulfill the order of the new generation iPhone 5. Apparently, Foxconn Taiyuan had received orders for the production of the next generation iPhone. The plant will be responsible for the 85% manufacturing of the new product according to local sources.
It was reported that the Foxconn workers from Shanxi, China are on strike due to pay rise issues. The protestors are saying that Foxconn had earlier promised a pay rise but such pay rise only happened to the managers and technicians.
DiGi is now offering an extra 1-Year free extended warranty for the devices when purchased online via DiGi Store. Promotion ends on 31st March 2012.
For example, DiGi is offering Sony Xperia S as well for the extra 1-Year extended warranty. As usual for any offers, there is always T&C to it. As for this promo, the extra warranty is not applicable for Blackberry devices and all purchases with DG Smart Plan 48. You would have to register via MobiSure Extended Warranty Registration website in order to redeem the free 1-Year extended warranty and it had to be registered within 7 days open delivery date of the device. Upon successful registration, you would then receive a confirmation text message within 7 business days for successful redemption.
The MobiSure Extended Warranty service is provided by 3rd party company called TPT Agency Sdn. Bhd.
Maxis recently launched a budget conscious iPhone 4S plan targeting those with budget constraints. The plans come in 2 options, namely Value Plus Internet 50 and Value Plus Internet 30. The lowest monthly commitment of RM30/month will give you data of 250MB, 50 SMS and 50 mins worth of talk time. Obviously these plans would come with either 12 months or 24 months contract. Assuming the lowest total commitment plan with VPI 30 with the cheapest iPhone 4S 16GB version, your total package upon 12 months would be RM2100 + (RM30 x 12) = RM2460. Subsequent data charges is RM0.30/MB.
When compared with the iValue 1 plan, the total 12 months package would be RM1750 + (RM100 x 12) = RM2950. That would give you RM490 savings. Of course you would have to take note that the plan perks are a lot different when compared to previous iValue 1 package.
Zynga has agreed to purchase the "Draw Something" developer, OMGPOP for $200 million. The app was release 6 weeks ago and has clock a download of 35 million times.
The app is available in both paid version ($0.99) and free version (ad-based). It is currently available as universal app in iOS and also in Android.
New rumors is haunting the Samsung Galaxy SIII release dates. Reports are now circulating that the Samsung Galaxy SIII will be launch in April after all. Samsung Greater China President Kim Young-Ha was noted to say to reporter that Samsung may launch the next generation Galaxy S one month ahead of schedule to keep up with the pace of getting more market share.
Earlier the rumor were crushed via twitter posting that the launch will not happen in April. Now things seemed to change again..
The next sequel of the Angry Birds is here. It's called Angry Birds Space.
After a giant claw kidnaps their eggs, the Angry Birds chase it into a wormhole and find themselves floating in a strange new galaxy – surrounded by space pigs! Luckily the Angry Birds have super powers of their own...
It is now available in iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac, Windows and Android.
“The new iPad is a blockbuster with three million sold―the strongest iPad launch yet,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.
Apple iPad sold 3 million units since the day it was launched. According to Philip Schiller, its the strongest iPad launch yet. The New iPad is currently available in US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Switzerland and UK. Next in the list on 23rd March are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macau, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
Remember the earlier claim from Vietnamese Tinhte.vnperforming the first unboxing ever for the New iPad? It was apparently reported that the size of apps for the New iPad which supports the Retina Display resolution is up to 5 times bigger. Some of the comparison as below:
Keynote: from 115MB to 327MB
Numbers: from 109MB to 283MB
Pages: from 95MB to 269MB
iMovie: from 70MB to 404MB
It could eventually post problems for the New iPad 16GB version if you have apps which are previously 1GB size.
Tipster from PhoneArena found a picture resembling the upcoming Samsung Galaxy SIII. I believe this is actually the Photoshop rendering picture of what the next generation Galaxy S will look like. Observe closely at the picture. It too mention a date of 22nd March which could probably mean the announcement date. But honestly, I don't think this is the actual date as Samsung Korea had earlier refuted the claim that the Galaxy SIII will be available in April, what more 22nd March.
Received a SMS from Maxis today suggesting that you should update your iPhone to the latest iOS 5.1.
I guess this is the new feature from Maxis as I have never received any of such SMS in past when there was a major iOS update.
Anybody else receiving similar SMS from Maxis?
Coming up in the April rumor news is the Macbook Air 15-inch model. Just so that you guys don't get too excited about it. This piece of news actually started sometime back last year. Nothing materializes after the rumor as well. This year, a Mac accessories maker, Electricpig apparently revealed that Apple would be likely to announce the 15-inch Air sometime in April. It was said to be powered by the new Intel Ivy Bridge processors.
New iPad was launched recently and during the keynote event, Apple releases some dates for some countries which includes Singapore. As usual, Malaysia is not part of the announced date. Sources are now circulating that the New iPad would be in Malaysian shore by middle of April. How true is that? Nobody knows.. Price of the New iPad is expected to be the same as the previous iPad 2 before discount.
So, stay tuned..
The much awaited Android ICS 4.0 update has been announced recently by Samsung in European countries inclusive of Poland, Hungary and Sweden. Latest update is that Denmark and Finland too got the update. As for UK, updates are tied to telco and it is expected to be available on 19th March.
Apple decided to call the next generation iPad, the New iPad. The much rumored name of iPad 3 or iPad HD turned out to be not true. Honestly many people would be disappointed with the naming.
Let's get on with the New iPad features. Starting off would be the Retina Display of 2048 x 1536 resolution. Screen size is still the same at 9.7-inch. No surprises here as everybody was already expecting this from the day the next generation iPad was rumored.
Next upgrade on the list is the A5X quad-core processor (1GHz, 1GB RAM). Just so that it's clear, the quad-core is the graphic part and not the CPU part. Apple claims that the quad-core GPU is needed to power up the high resolution display of 4x the iPad 2.
Rear camera was also upgraded to 5MP, named as iSight. The camera is also capable of 1080p HD video recording. Camera performance comes with backlight illumination sensor, auto-focus, tap to focus and with the aperture size of f/2.4. As for video functionality, it comes with video stabilization like the iPhone 4S. Take note that the front-facing camera is still the old 0.3MP.
4G LTE would be the biggest upgrade for the New iPad in terms of connectivities. With LTE, it could go as high as 72Mbps. The speed doesn't really matter much to us in Malaysia as the only so called 4G providers are P1 and Yes. P1 is limiting its speed to 5Mbps and Yes is marketing their speed at 20Mbps.
Along with the New iPad, Apple releases the iOS 5.1 which includes the Dictation function. I believe this is much disappointment as people are widely expecting Siri in the next generation iPad.
There you have it, the hardware overview of the New iPad. Many have expected to see Retina Display, A6 quad-core, higher resolution camera, 4G LTE and Siri. Out of the 5 items, I think the rumor got 3.5 right. Retina Display was spot on, A5X quad-core GPU was slightly within expectation, 5MP is nice but front-facing camera still remains crappy, 4G LTE was also spot on and Dictation was out of expectation. I
In terms of mechanical dimension, the New iPad is 9.5" x 7.31" x 0.37" and weighs 1.44lbs. iPad 2 size on the other hand is 9.5" x 7.31" x 0.34" and weighs 1.33lbs. No noticeable difference in terms of dimension size and weight. I believe the old iPad 2 casing should fit fine with the New iPad. By the way, Smart Cover works just fine with the New iPad.
During the launch, the New iPad will be shipped beginning of 16th March to US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. The rest of the world would start on the 23rd March. A quick check at the Apple Online Store shows that the devices will only be shipped 2 ~ 3 weeks time. As to when it will arrive at Malaysian shores, we will have to wait and see.
Folks from Vietnam seemed to have gotten their hands on the New iPad. Video below shows unboxing of the device.
Samsung Electronics today announces via twitter that the much rumored news on the next generation Samsung Galaxy series to be launch in April is not true. Direct translation via google is as below:
Hold on to your horses as the Samsung Galaxy SIII will not be launch anytime soon.
"The 25 billionth app downloaded, Where's My Water? Free, was downloaded
by Chunli Fu of Qingdao, China. As the winner of the App Store Countdown
to 25 Billion Apps, Chunli Fu will receive a $10,000 iTunes® Gift Card."
Griffin, one of the major Apple accessories manufacturer is calling the new generation iPad a iPad HD instead of the much rumored name iPad 3.
Excerpt above clearly mentioned the accessories name iPad HD (3) which signifies the next generation iPad. With this naming, what would be the name of apps which will be sold in the AppStore that supports higher resolution iPad display? Currently, most of the apps in AppStore has the naming HD which represent in a way apps for the iPad. Taking in account the higher resolution which is expected from the next generation iPad, naming would probably be a mess in the AppStore.
