tech4xmas: If you’re looking for an affordable pair of earbuds with good sound quality that’s synonymous with Sony, the no-frills WF-C500 true wireless earbuds will make a good Christmas gift.
The Sony WF-C500earbuds offers good audio quality at an affordable price.
The WF-C500 offers good value-for-money in terms of sound quality but at the expense of features that are found in other earbuds of similar price range or higher.
At an affordable S$139, the WF-C500 has had to forego frills like noise cancellation, transparency mode, wireless charging and automatic pausing when you remove one or both earbuds.
The earbuds are IPX4 rated so they’re splash resistant.
Homegrown company Oaxis has launched their latest smartwatch for kids – the myFirst Fone R1s, as well as their latest wireless bone conduction headphones. Price and availability below.
The new myFirstFone R1s helps parents remain connected to their kids and provides sheltered connectivity for the kids, as well as health features.
myFirst, a Singapore-based tech brand for kids has launched the myFirst Fone R1s smartwatch and myFirst Headphones BC Wireless Lite.
Price and Availability
The myFirst Fone R1s will retail at S$269 with six months of free data access SIM card and is available for purchase online and all authorised retailers or for S$28 per month with a one-year contract.
Pre-order for the myFirst Fone R1s is available on the myFirst online store from 15 December 2021, with deliveries commencing on 5 January 2022.
The R1s will also be available at authorised retailers at a later date.
Designed for young children in today’s world of smart devices, the R1s features 4G LTE connectivity to chat, video, and voice-call their families and peers under supervision of their parents.
The R1s ships with 8GB storage for music files, a heart rate monitor, a find-my-watch feature, GPS tracking, lift to wake sensitivity and more.
Built to provide ease-of-use, the myFirst Fone R1s auto-detects myFirst’s Bluetooth headset for seamless pairing, while also utilising a simple-to-use watch and app interface for both young children and parents.
Users of the R1s will be able to mix-and-match the watch in various trendy colour combination for its watch face and straps.
Tech-U-Can-Use (TUCU): Need a wireless charging stand to charge your iPhone 13 or iPhone 12 so you can continue using the phone while it’s still charging? Guest reviewer Jennifer Lee checks out the 7.5W BoostCharge magnetic wireless charger stand from Belkin for her iPhone 13 Pro Max.
#tech4xmas: This BoostCharge wireless charger stand from Belkinmakes a suitable Christmas present for iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 owners. Photo credit: Jennifer Lee.
The magnetic wireless charger stand is MagSafe compatible for iPhone 13 and iPhone 12.
The wireless charger stand is available in black or white.
With MagSafe, it was easy to place my iPhone 13 Pro Max onto the stand – it snaps into place and there is no worries that the placement is misaligned.
There is an LED safety indicator that comes on when the charging commences.
The magnetic attachment is strong enough to hold the iPhone securely.
The stand is great for zoom calls or FaceTime – it holds the phone upright either in portrait or landscape mode.
A 20W USB-C Power Delivery 3.0 power adapter is included in the box.
In addition, the charge pad is protected by a Belkin Connected Equipment Warranty.
The new Huawei Watch GT 3 is the company’s latest smartwatch and offers a staggering 14 days battery life as well as more accurate measurements of vital statistics to monitor health and fitness, and to instrument sports performance for in-depth analysis and more effective training.
Unboxing the Huawei Watch GT 3 health/fitness/sports smartwatch.
It offers improvements which includes features that had debuted with the flagship Huawei Watch 3 and Watch 3 Pro which was released for APAC in July this year.
The new Huawei Watch GT 3
First unveiled last month in October and launched for Singapore less than two weeks ago, the Huawei Watch GT 3 series will hit the shelves on 18 December, with pre-orders beginning today(until 17 December).
#tech4xmas: This will make an ideal Christmas gift for those keen on fitness and good health.
Major improvements over its predecessor in the sporty GT (Gran Turismo or Grand Tourer) line include an upgrade of the operating system from the Lite OS to HarmonyOS 2.1.0, an Apps grid replacing a scrolling menu, additional sensors, more accuracy in measurements and a rotatable crown.
Compared to the muscular flagship Watch 3 Pro, the new Huawei Watch GT 3 feels lighter and is slightly smaller though both watch faces measure 46mm.
The Watch GT 3 does not have the eSIM & Wi-Fi capabilities of the Watch 3 Pro, but has a much longer 14 days battery life.
Tech-U-Can-Use (TUCU): Need to continue using the iPhone while it’s still charging – without interrupting the charging? Guest reviewer Jennifer Lee checks out the 7.5W BoostCharge magnetic wireless charger pad from Belkin for her iPhone 13 Pro Max.
#tech4xmas: This BoostCharge wireless charger pad from Belkinmakes a suitable Christmas present for iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 owners. Photo credit: Jennifer Lee.
The portable wireless charger pad is MagSafecompatible for iPhone 13 and iPhone 12.
It comprises the magnetic disc pad that attaches to the iPhone, and a 2m cable that plugs into the power supply.
Retailing atS$79, the Belkin BoostCharge Magnetic Portable Wireless Charger Pad 7.5W (# WIA005) is available in Best Denki stores, Challenger stores, Challenger.sg, Harvey Norman stores, Harveynorman.com.sg, Lazada, Shopee. Photo credit: Jennifer Lee.
Slim and portable, the wireless charger pad is small enough to tuck in the handbag and perfect on the go.
The pad is 60mm in diameter and 11.5mm thick.
The 2m long cable provides added ease to move around while charging and especially if there are only limited wall sockets in the room.
The magnetic attachment is strong and clips onto the phone right away, no worries about misalignment or loose contacts etc.
I was able to continue using the phone (eg. scrolling, pinching the screen and talking on the phone) without worrying about the charger pad coming loose or misaligned if I accidentally jostle it or the phone vibrates on an incoming call.
Tech-U-Can-Use (TUCU): Guest reviewer Jennifer Lee just received her new iPhone 13 Pro Max so in order to protect it, she got herself the Belkin SCREENFORCE UltraGlass screen protector and applied it herself to the phone. Here’s her experience.
#tech4xmas: This SCREENFORCE UltraGlass screen protectorfrom Belkinmakes an ideal Christmas present for the iPhone 13 Pro Max owner.
I am amazed at how easy the application was.
No fuss, just follow the very simple step by step visual guide (included) using the Easy Align Tray.
Belkin makes it easy and fuss-free to self-apply the SCREENFORCE UltraGlass screen protector DIY, as the reviewer tried out.
Unlike most screen protectors, the Belkin Ultraglass application was flawless, precise and bubble-free even at the first attempt.
The Ultraglass feels seamless on the screen, without any curves or bends and you won’t realise there is another layer of screen protector on top.
Tech-U-Can-Use (TUCU): My mom’s in-box power supply for her phone died on her, so I got her a replacement wall charger – as a replacement and upgrade.
The Belkin BoostCharge USB-C PD 3.0 PPS Wall Charger 25W is an intelligent charger for those new phones that doesn’t include chargers in the box, as a second charger at the office, or simply as a spare/backup charger.
The main features of Belkin’s BoostCharge 25W wall charger can be gleaned from its lengthy name.
It’s a wall charger, it can charge at up to 25W max power, it uses USB-C, it is PD 3.0 certified, and it is equipped with PPS technology.
It used to be that the new phones come with chargers in the box, but phone makers are now beginning to exclude the charger in the box. So we’ll begin to shop more for 3rd-party chargers.
Do you remember these different plugs for different chargers, not to mention different power ratings for each device?
I remember years ago when I was writing for the Straits Times Digital Life about what tech to pack when travelling, I’d lamented that the charger for different phones used proprietary chargers that were not interchangeable – in terms of the plugs and the power ratings.
An e-reader makes a fantastic Christmas present for an avid reader. I’ve gotten my wife the latest Rakuten Kobo Sage for this year’s X’mas. For those who prefer a slightly smaller form-factor (and lower price-tag), the Kobo Libra 2 is also an excellent e-reader.
The Rakuten Kobo Sage (left) and Kobo Libra 2 are both waterproof to IPX8 rating so you can safely read by the pool and in the bath. In this photo, the new Dark Mode is enabled on the Kobo Sage. Notice that the text is clearly legible even under bright sunlight.
The Kobo Sage (S$399.90) and Kobo Libra 2 (S$289.90) are the two latest e-readers that Rakuten Kobo launched in October.
The Kobo Sage is slightly cheaper than Amazon’s flagship Kindle Oasis, while the Kobo Libra 2 is similarly priced to the latest Kindle Paperwhite.
Christmas prezzies for the wife and son who are avid readers. The 8″ Kobo Sage (left, in Dark Mode) and 7″ Kobo Libra 2 (with an audiobook) in their sleepcovers which protects them and doubles up as a stand.
The 8-inch Kobo Sage is the new flagship of Kobo’s e-reader line-up, taking over the baton from the Kobo Forma (S$349.90) which is still available.
Check out other tech4xmas gift ideas that I’ve curated for this year’s Christmas here.
The 7-inch Kobo Libra 2 is the new version that succeeds the Libra H2O that my wife has been using, with great satisfaction, for the past year – it was her Christmas present for last X’mas.
So what are the key improvements of the two new e-readers?
Powered by HarmonyOS, The Huawei Watch GT 3 and Huawei Watch GT Runner will hit the shelves in Singapore on 18 December 2021, with pre-orders from 11-17 Dec. Prices start from S$298. Promotions & pricing details below.
Customers making the pre-order will also receive a free audio neckband, Huawei FreeLace worth S$98 to complement their exercise routines with the Huawei Watch GT 3.
First unveiled last month in October, the Huawei Watch GT 3Series comes in two sizes – 46mm and 42mm – offering more accurate health and fitness monitoring as well as a new dynamic interface design.
The Huawei Watch GT 3 feels light and looks classy on the wrist.
The Huawei Watch GT Runner has been specially designed for runners and is equipped with a dedicated professional running ability evaluation system for comprehensive tracking.
More details below about the Huawei Watch GT 3 smartwatches from the press release.
