Archive for the ‘Microsoft’ Category
Sunday, December 14th, 2014
A dual-SIM phone allows you to stay contactable to your regular contacts yet enables you to take advantage of more affordable local data/voice rates to avoid expensive overseas roaming charges – without having to carry two separate mobile phones.
The Motorola Moto G (2nd Generation) is one of the increasing number of smartphones that support a dual-SIM capability.
Nowadays, it is increasingly easy to get a local SIM card when one travels overseas for work or leisure.
The local SIM allows you to make/receive calls at affordable local rates and more significantly, to stay connected via mobile broadband – without chalking out a huge bill.
You can read
over here all about the benefits of getting a pre-paid local SIM card whenever you travel overseas.
But most mobile phones allow only one SIM card to be installed – so if you put in the local SIM card, you’ll have to remove your regular SIM card and become uncontactable to those who call you on your regular number, unless you forward those calls to your local number.
Otherwise, you’d carry a second single-SIM card phone, which is a hassle.
Not too long ago …
I remember in the early days of smartphones, people were selling dual-SIM card adaptors the size of regular sized SIM cards that you could place two micro SIM cards in.
You’d have to cut your regular sized SIM card yourself into micro SIM card size and it was a daunting proposition for most people to risk damaging your SIM card in the process.
These adaptors only worked for certain models of mobile phones, and you need to switch off and on the phone to switch between the SIM cards.
Fortunately, smartphones have evolved and nowadays, you have dual-SIM card phones that enable you use both SIM cards at the same time.
I brought along a Motorola Moto G (2nd Generation) dual-SIM card phone during my short break to Thailand and it was such a blessing.
There are two micro-SIM card slots so I could keep my regular SIM card in one slot and plug in the prepaid local SIM card that I bought at Suvarnabhumi Airport in the other.
The guy at the True Move counter did all the set up for me.
So after five minutes of queueing and five minutes of installation and payment, I was as connected in Thailand as I was at home back in Singapore.
I could receive roaming calls on my regular number from my friends back in Singapore and other parts of the world, while at the same stay connected on email and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram via the mobile broadband on the local SIM card.
(more…)
Tags:airport, broadband, Lumia, Mi-Fi, Microsoft Devices, mobile, Moto G, Motorola, prepaid, SIM, Suvarnabhumi, Thailand, Thailand 2014, tips, travel, True Move
Posted in Android, Events, Gadgets, gadgets, Holiday, Lumia, Microsoft, Microsoft Devices, Moto, Motorola, Nokia, Phones, smartphones, Thailand 2014, Tips, travel, Windows Phone 8 | No Comments »
Friday, December 12th, 2014
It’s the year-end school holidays and the family decided to take an impromptu short break to Thailand for a week.
Welcome to the Land of Smiles. Here the welcoming facade of our hotel in Hua Hin, Thailand.
We’d initially thought about going to Krabi but it looked so crowded in photos on the Web that we decided to choose somewhere that’s more “off the beaten track”.
So we settled on Hua Hin, a popular weekend getaway for the local Thais in Bangkok.
Time for relaxation. Laidback sculpture in the gardens of our hotel in Hua Hin.
It’s a two-and-a-half hour drive from Bangkok and four-plus-hour journey by train or bus.
(more…)
Tags:Bangkok, Hua Hin, Microsoft, Moto G, Motorola, Olympus, Skype, Suvarnabhumi, Thailand, Thailand 2014, travel
Posted in Cameras, Events, Gadgets, gadgets, Holiday, Lens, Microsoft, MIL, Moto, Motorola, Olympus, OM-D, Photography, Photos, POTD, Skype, Thailand 2014, Tips, Travel, travel, Zuiko | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, November 25th, 2014
Microsoft Devices offers the 5-inch Windows Phone 8.1 phablet at an affordable S$199. The budget phablet comes with a 5-megapixel front camera and dual SIM.
The Lumia 535 Dual SIM will be available in a range of colours including orange, white, cyan and black. Bright green and dark grey are not available for Singapore.
First announced on 10 November in the US, the Lumia 535 will debut in Singapore on 5 December, at an affordable price of S$199.
The Lumia 535 offers five free integrated Microsoft experiences:
- Make memorable Skype video calls and seamlessly switch between voice and video with built-in Skype integration. Fit more memorable backgrounds or add more friends into Skype video calls and selfies with the 5 MP wide angle front facing camera.
- With Microsoft Office Mobile, you can now access, edit and share Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents and OneNote notebooks wherever you are, with the pre-installed Microsoft Office suite.
- Save and sync photos, videos and Office documents securely with 15GB of free OneDrive cloud storage.
- Connect with work and personal e-mail while on the go, with built-in Microsoft Outlook.
- Add a whole new dimension to your console entertainment with Xbox One SmartGlass, the perfect companion app if you want the best of your Xbox One from both in your living room and on the go. Connect and control your Xbox One and stay connected with the games and gamers you like.
Lumia 535 sports a 5-inch qHD (960 x 540 pixels, 16:9) IPS made of Gorilla Glass 3 with capacitative touchscreen at resolution of 220ppi.
(more…)
Tags:availability, Lumia, Lumia 535, Microsoft, Nokia, phablets, prices, Singapore, smartphones, Windows, Windows Phone
Posted in Announce, Availability, Gadgets, Lumia, Microsoft, Microsoft Devices, newArrivals, Nokia, Phones, Prices, smartphones, Specifications, Windows Phone, Windows Phone 8 | 1 Comment »
Thursday, September 25th, 2014
Microsoft today announced the availability of the Lumia 830 in Singapore for S$529 from 27 September, 2014 (M1, SingTel, StarHub).
The Lumia 830 will be available in a range of colours including bright orange, bright green, white and black.
The Lumia 830 comes with PureView imaging, integrated Microsoft services, wireless charging, optimised image stabilisation and SensorCore.
It has a 10-megapixel PureView camera with ZEISS optics, Rich Recording, and the thinnest optical image stabilisation system to date for Lumia phones.
(more…)
Tags:Lumia, Lumia 830, Microsoft, Microsoft Devices, Nokia, Singapore, smartphones, Windows Phone, Windows Phone 8.1
Posted in Announce, Availability, Gadgets, gadgets, Lumia, Microsoft, Microsoft Devices, newArrivals, Nokia, Phones, Prices, smartphones, Specifications, Windows Phone | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2014
Singapore officially welcomed the Xbox One today at 1300hrs.
Update (9pm, 23 September):
Xbox One fans got to pit themselves against each other on board the Singapore Flyer, against the Skyline.
Singapore F1 GP may be over but #Xbox One fans are still racing the McLaren on #Forza5 in the Singapore Flyer. #XboxOneSG. Photo taken using Samsung Galaxy S5 and posted on Instagram.
Microsoft Xbox One Launch at Funan DigitaLife Mall. Photo: Microsoft Singapore.
The event kicked off with pre-order collection amongst the mass of over 500 fans as they turned Funan DigitaLife Mall into a sea of green.
“The feedback from our fans in Singapore has been overwhelming. We are on track to making this the biggest ever Xbox launch in history in Singapore. Today marks a historic day for us and our fans,” said Hanson Yap, Marketing Manager, Interactive Entertainment Business, and Microsoft, Singapore.
The console launch continues into the evening as invited fans battle it out in the sky onboard the Singapore Flyer.
The iconic landmark will light up Singapore’s skyline with the Xbox’s signature green – telling Singaporeans that the new entertainment console has landed.
This holiday, gamers will be able to create Car Clubs of up to 1,000 members and race through a wide-open world featuring the stunning landscapes of Southern Europe in “Forza Horizon 2”.
(more…)
Tags:Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty, Dead Rising, FIFA 15, Forza, Funan, Halo, Kinect, launch, Microsoft, Singapore, StarHub, Xbox, Xbox One
Posted in Accessories, App, Entertainment, Events, Gadgets, gadgets, Games, Gaming, Gaming, Launch, Microsoft, newArrivals, Software, Tickers, Xbox | No Comments »
Monday, September 1st, 2014
Xbox held a showcase event at the School of the Arts with an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the line-up of blockbuster games coming to Singapore.
Rennie Addabo, Xbox Director, Microsoft Greater Asia Region and Hanson Yap, Marketing Manager, Xbox Singapore at the Xbox One showcase event. Photo from Xbox Singapore.
The event featured international developers and publishers representing the breadth and depth of the Xbox One portfolio.
Titanfall is one of the games available on the Singapore debut of the Xbox One on 23 September 2014.
Come this holiday, gamers will be able to create on Xbox One Car Clubs of up to 1,000 members and race through a wide-open world featuring the stunning landscapes of Southern Europe in “Forza Horizon 2”.
Xbox One gamers will also be able to relive the complete story of a legendary hero in “Halo: The Master Chief Collection”; explore, scavenge and fight to survive in a world overrun by zombies in “Dead Rising 3”; join Ori, the last spirit guardian, as he discovers the mysteries of a dying forest in a beautiful coming-of-age story in “Ori and the Blind Forest”; and dive into the mayhem of Sunset City in “Sunset Overdrive”.
Also available on Xbox One this holiday season are highly anticipated blockbusters like “Assassin’s Creed: Unity”, “Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare”, and “EA SPORTS FIFA 15”.
(more…)
Tags:EA, FIFA, FIFA 15, gaming, Microsoft, Singapore, Xbox, Xbox One
Posted in Entertainment, Events, Exhibition, Gadgets, Games, Gaming, Gaming, Microsoft, Prices, Software, Specifications, StarHub, Xbox | 4 Comments »
Saturday, August 23rd, 2014
The Lumia 530 is now available in Singapore at an RRP of S$159 at Nokia Stores and Nokia Solution Partners. M1 will also be retailing the device bundled with data plans.
Windows Lumia 530 – available at S$159 in Singapore from 23 August 2014.
This is the most affordable Lumia to date, with a price below S$200.
The Lumia 530 is powered by a 1.2GHx quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor and has a 4-inch FWVGA LCD display.
(more…)
Tags:Lumia, Lumia 530, Microsoft, Nokia, Singapore, smartphones, Windows Phone
Posted in Announce, Availability, Gadgets, gadgets, Lumia, Microsoft, newArrivals, Nokia, Phones, Prices, smartphones, Specifications, Windows Phone 8 | No Comments »
Thursday, August 14th, 2014
You can now pre-order Xbox One together with EA SPORTS FIFA 15.
The Xbox One will debut in Singapore on 23 September 2014.
During E3, it was announced that the Xbox One will be coming to Singapore on 23 September 2014.
Collect your Xbox One pre-order bundles and get your Exclusive Xbox Fan Gear (worth S$189) from 1:00pm, 23 September 2014 at Funan DigitaLife Mall Atrium.
The latest is that consumers will now have the option to pre-order one of two official Xbox One bundles, offering value with EA SPORTS™ FIFA 15 included for a limited time at no extra cost.
EA SPORTS™ FIFA 15 on Xbox One promises to bring football to life in stunning detail so fans can experience the emotion of the sport like never before.
Xbox One Launch Console Bundle (S$639)
Every Xbox One system will include the Xbox One console, which features a 500GB hard drive, Blu-ray player and built-in Wi-Fi, one Xbox One Wireless Controller, a chat headset, a HDMI cable, a free 14-day trial of Xbox Live Gold for new members and a digital copy of EA SPORTS™ FIFA 15 – for S$639 while stocks last.
Xbox One Launch Kinect Bundle (S$739)
(more…)
Tags:EA, FIFA, FIFA 15, gaming, Microsoft, Singapore, Xbox, Xbox One
Posted in Accessories, Announce, Entertainment, Gadgets, gadgets, Gaming, Gaming, Microsoft, newArrivals, Prices, Xbox | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, July 16th, 2014
Parallels launches SmartStart program for any size service provider to deliver the full range of Microsoft cloud solutions.
“SmartStart is an exciting new program that lowers the barrier to entry for service providers to take advantage of cloud services offered by Microsoft. Service providers will now future proof their Microsoft investments by having access to the latest innovations as soon as they become available,” said Birger Steen, chief executive officer, Parallels.
Parallels, a platform provider for cloud service delivery, today announced it is the first company to support the new Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Program with Parallels SmartStart for Office 365.
“The Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Program will enable a broad set of partners to offer Microsoft cloud services. We are excited Parallels, a leading enabler of Microsoft’s Office 365 syndication program, is committing to support the Microsoft cloud distribution ecosystem,” said Mark Rice, senior director, Operator Channel, Microsoft.
The Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Program, announced at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference, expands the opportunity for Microsoft’s channel to resell Microsoft Office 365.
The SmartStart program gets Microsoft-approved partners up and running in less than 80 days.
SmartStart is a low-cost, fixed-price implementation of Parallels Automation that includes user training and certification, reference service plans and a customized storefront.
Parallels Automation is the only proven platform for service providers to sell and deliver differentiated portfolios of hosted and syndicated services with every Office 365 subscription.
(more…)
Posted in Announce, Business IT, Cloud, Enterprise IT, Microsoft, Parallels, Software | No Comments »
Thursday, July 10th, 2014
The new Lumia 930 smartphone with Windows Phone 8.1 will be available in Singapore stores and all three telcos at S$789 from this Saturday on 12 July.
Update (12 July, 2014):
The Lumia 930 from Microsoft Devices is now available in Singapore at Nokia Stores and Nokia Solution Partners, at an RRP of S$789.
All three local operators will also be retailing the device with bundled data plans.
The Lumia 930 will be available in a range of colors including bright orange, bright green, black and white.
The Lumia 930 integrates the best of Microsoft into the Lumia family of smartphones to deliver better video and imaging experience on a smartphone.
“In today’s social world, capturing and sharing video is more important than ever. The Lumia 930 provides the perfect blend of Microsoft and Lumia to deliver cutting-edge imaging technology for an unrivalled video and imaging experience on a smartphone,” said Vlasta Berka, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Microsoft Devices.
It is the new flagship smartphone from Microsoft Devices after Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s mobile business.
The device packs a rich suite of applications and services into a beautifully crafted design with metallic details and vibrant new colours, while keeping content like photos, videos and documents in sync across Windows Phone, PC, tablet and Xbox devices.
In terms of key specs, the Lumia 930 has a 5-inch Full HD OLED display with the signature convex screen that enables a 180-degrees viewing angle.
(more…)
Tags:launch, Lumia, Lumia 930, Microsoft, Nokia, prices, Singapore, smartphones, Windows, Windows Phone, Windows Phone 8.1
Posted in Events, Gadgets, gadgets, Launch, Lumia, Microsoft, newArrivals, Nokia, Phones, Prices, smartphones, Specifications, Windows Phone 8 | No Comments »
