Posts Tagged ‘Apple’
Sunday, October 28th, 2012
Here’s a selection of interesting tech events happening this week (28 October – 3 November 2012). It is not an exhaustive list and represents only a sampling of events that gives a taste of the tech pulse in Singapore.
What are some of the more interesting tech events happening in Singapore this week?
Lenovo is showing off its exciting lineup of convertible notebook/tablet hybrids for Windows 8 this week. I played with some of the models during the Windows 8 launch in Singapore last week, and they are amazing. Watch this space for the hands-on.
Event listing on tech4tea.com
You can see this selection of events in the right sidebar on every page.
Event organisers can submit your events for listing to johntan@tech4tea.com – but there are no promises that your event will be featured.
This week sees Microsoft move its focus from the launch of Windows 8 to the formal launch of Windows Phone 8, which shares a common core with its bigger sibling.
Will the Metro-based new smartphone operating system increase its market share from a meagre 3.5% (for the second quarter according to IDC).
Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android dominate with 17% and 68% respectively. Windows Phone 8 smartphones announced thus far include Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820, HTC 8S and 8X, and Samsung ATIV S. We might actually see the HTC models showcased in Singapore this Friday!
Midweek, Brother is launching a new printer while A*STAR Data Storage Institute will show off the world’s thinnest 2.5-inch 5mm hybrid drive for consumer and business devices.
For those interested in the latest trends in Cloud, Mobile, Social and Big Data, be sure to register for Oracle Day 2012 at Marina Bay Sands. Get the hottest updates on critical business drivers, meet Oracle experts and experience their latest technologies at the Demo booths.
And for photography buffs, the Singapore leg of Canon’s annual PhotoMarathon Asia 2012 takes place at the Marina Bay Sands this Saturday. To be guaranteed a participation slot do register online prior to the event.
Below is the events listing for the week.
(more…)
Tags:Apple, Brother, Canon, convertibles, HTC, laptops, Lenovo, Lumia, Marina Bay Sands, Microsoft, Microsoft Windows 8, Nokia, notebooks, printers, Samsung, Singapore, SingTel, tablets, Windows, Windows 8, Windows Phone, Windows Phone 8
Posted in Apple, Brother, Canon, Event forecast, Events, Gadgets, Google, HTC, Inkjet, Lumia, Microsoft, Nokia, Notebooks, Operating Systems, Phones, Photography, Printers, Samsung, SingTel, Software, Tablets, Tech news, Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 | No Comments »
Thursday, October 25th, 2012
Nubox, an arm of Newstead Technologies, will be re-launching Nubox@Funan DigitaLife Mall at Funan DigitaLife Mall, 109 North Bridge Road, #03-21/22 on October 26, 2012, 11 am.
In conjunction with the store opening, there will be a series of promotions from 26 – 28 October. Click on image to see enlarged view of the discount flyer.
The Nubox store at Funan DigitaLife Mall first started as an Apple Authorised Reseller in 2008.
“We are very pleased to be the largest chain of Apple Premium Reseller (APR) with 11 stores islandwide. All Nubox stores have attained the APR status,” said Ms Evelyn Chua, Chief Marketing Officer, Newstead Technologies.
To achieve the Apple Premium Reseller (APR) status, the store met stringent criteria from Apple – from store location and size to quality service and certified staff.
Similar to other Nubox stores, customers will be able to get the full range of Apple products as well as an extensive range of third-party accessories and software.
The friendly Nubox staff will also provide professional advice on products, complete with training and service support.
Nubox Super Size Challenge
Nubox Super Size Challenge
To celebrate the opening of Nubox@Funan DigitaLife Mall, Nubox will be holding the grand finals of Nubox Super Size Challenge at 10am at the store on 27 October.
The competition was first held last year. The preliminary rounds for this year’s challenge was held online from 10 – 17 October.
The top 10 participants with the most number of correct answers completed within the shortest time will face-off “live” at the finals.
The champion will walk away with S$1,200 worth of Nubox vouchers. The other nine finalists will receive a-JAYS One+ earphones worth $88.
Tags:Apple, DigitaLife, Funan, Newstead, Nubox, promotions, Singapore
Posted in Apple, Contest, Event forecast, Gadgets, Launch, Prices, Promotions | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 24th, 2012
Apple introduces iPad mini (S$448 – S$878), Fourth Generation iPad (S$658 – S$1,088), iMac and Mac mini (S$1,088 – S$2,788), as well as 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display (S$2,388 – S$2,788) at San Jose, California. All prices include GST.
Philip Schiller introduces the iPad mini in San Jose, California. Schiller is Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing.
As rumoured, Apple has introduced the iPad mini, with a 7.9-inch (1024 x 768 pixels) non-Retina display and 7.2mm thick.
The new iPad mini with its bigger brother, the Fourth Generation iPad.
It is a quarter thinner than the Fourth Generation iPad and thinner than a pencil, according to Apple CEO, Tim Cook.
The Fourth Generation iPad is an update that includes a new A6X CPU, a 720p FaceTime HD camera, additional LTE carrier support and faster Wi-Fi.
Externally, the only difference is the 9-pin Lightning connector which replaces the old 30-pin jack.
The Wi-Fi only version of the two tablets will be available in 34 countries from 2 November and can be pre-ordered in 26 countries from 26 October. Singapore is in both lists.
The Wi-Fi + Cellular versions will only start shipping “a couple of weeks after the Wi-Fi models”, according to Apple.
Many expected the iPad mini to be priced to compete with 7-inch tablets such as Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD and Google’s Nexus 7, both of which start at US$199.
Apple’s new iMac is super thin at the edges – only 5mm on all edges.
However, the iPad mini will start at US$329 instead.
Apple has also updated its Mac mini and iMacs (21.5 and 27-inch).
The later is particularly stunning with its razor-thin all-in-one form factor that has excited the tech community.
It comes with a new storage option called Fusion Drive – which combines 128GB of flash with a standard 1TB or 3TB hard drive.
The Mac mini is available today, while the 21.5-inch iMac and 27-inch iMac will be available in November and December respectively through the Apple Online Store.
Philip Schiller – Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing – also unveiled a new 13-inch MacBook Pro that is 20 percent thinner than its predecessor and weighs nearly half a kilogram lighter.
New 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display.
Starting at S$2,388, the new notebook has a 2.5GHz Intel processor, a high-resolution Retina display with more than 4 million pixels, and a solid-state flash drive instead of a spinning hard disk.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro is available from today through the Apple Online Store.
In the other big tech event for this week, Microsoft is releasing its Windows 8 cross-platform operating system for General Availability this Friday on 26 October.
Tags:Apple, iMac, iMac mini, iPad, iPad Mini, MacBook Pro, Philip Schiller, prices, Retina, Singapore, Tim Cook
Posted in All-in-One, Apple, Desktops, Gadgets, iOS, iPad, Launch, Mac, Notebooks, Prices, Specifications, Tablets, Tech news, Tickers | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012
Here’s a selection of interesting tech events happening this week (21-27 October 2012). It is not an exhaustive list and represents only a sampling of events that gives a taste of the tech pulse in Singapore.
What are some of the more interesting tech events happening in Singapore?
This week sees the culmination of weeks of anticipation building up to the General Availability of Windows 8. CNET reports that Microsoft is holding a special event in New York City on the eve to as a pre-launch celebration. This is also being held in other major cities as well.
Event listing on tech4tea.com
You can see this selection of events in the right sidebar on every page.
Event organisers can submit your events for listing to johntan@tech4tea.com – but there are no promises that your event will be featured.
Asus is showcasing its Windows 8 lineup while Samsung is setting up a “Samsung Experience Corner” in the Challenger store in Funan DigitaLife Mall.
In parallel is similar levels of excitement with Apple holding a special event with the usual cryptic message. This time the invite reads “We’ve got a little more to show you”, which everyone sees as pointing to the launch of the 7.85-inch iPad Mini.
For Rounding off an exciting week is a public holiday for countries in the region for Muslims – Hari Raya Haji. Take the chance to check out the new range of Loewe televisions launched by Atlas Sound & Vision in Singapore.
23 October (Tuesday)
The invite says “We’ve got a little more to show you” – everybody’s expecting the 7.85-inch version of the iPad.
We’ll find out at 1am Singapore time on 24 October (Wednesday).
Venue: San Jose
24 October (Wednesday)
Asus Windows 8 showcase
Another major PC maker showcases its lineup of Windows 8 desktops, laptops and tablets.
Venue: Calrke Quay
24 October (Wednesday)
Loewe TV launch
Atlas Sound & Vision is launching a new range of Loewe Televisions in Singapore.
Venue: Palais Renaissance
25 October (Thursday)
Samsung Experience Corner
Touch, feel and play with Samsung products, especially its latest Windows 8 devices.
Venue: Challenger @ Funan
25 October (Thursday)
Microsoft is holding launch events in 15 cities around the world prior to the General Availability of Windows 8 on the next day.
Venue: Singapore, New York etc.
26 October (Friday)
General Availability of Windows 8, marking the official release of much anticipated new operating system from Microsoft
26 October (Friday)
“Selamat Hari Raya Haji” to Muslims celebrating this religious festival.
26 October (Friday)
Nubox to re-launch Nubox@Funan DigitaLife Mall, with store opening promotions. It will also hold the finals of the Nubox Super Size Challenge at the store.
Tags:Apple, Asus, desktops, DigitaLife, Funan, iPad, iPad Mini, laptops, Loewe, Microsoft, Microsoft Windows 8, notebooks, Nubox, Samsung, Singapore, tablets, televisions, Windows, Windows 8
Posted in Asus, Atlas, Desktops, Event forecast, Events, Gadgets, Microsoft, Notebooks, Samsung, Tablets, TV | No Comments »
Friday, September 21st, 2012
Nubox and EpiCentre, both Apple Premium Reseller chains in Singapore, sold out their non-contracted iPhone 5 units nationwide when sales of the new smartphone commenced at 8am this morning.
This is the first time either are selling non-contracted iPhones on launch day. (All photos in this post taken by Nubox and EpiCentre)
Happy customers with their new iPhone 5 at Nubox Tampines Mall.
Nubox sold out its iPhone 5 units within 30 minutes while EpiCentre sold out its units within 2 hours.
Overnight queues at EpiCentre Somerset.
Both were unable to divulge the number of units sold as there was a gag order from Apple on sales figures.
Longest queue at for Nubox was at Tampines Mall with more than 200 people.
Nubox set up queue poles outside its outlets at 8pm last night, with people starting to queue at that time at Tampines Mall, which also had the longest queue of some 200 people.
1st 2 customers at Nubox@Raffles City – Felix Haryanto William (L) & Angus Tan. 18-yr-old polytechnic student Felix started the queue at 1 am this morning with his father. “My friends and I have been eagerly waiting for iPhone 5 since last December. I am an Apple fan and I just want the latest phone. We queued at Nubox for the launch of the new iPad in March and decided to come here again to queue for the new iPhone,” said Felix.
19-year-old Deepti Vasan queued with her father since 8 pm last night at Nubox@Tampines Mall. “We are looking forward to the larger screen which would be great for videos. We were very excited when we know that Nubox is selling iPhone 5. We still have an existing contract and it would be very expensive to break the contact,” said Deepti. Both father and daughter were delighted with their new 64GB iPhone 5.
For EpiCentre, the majority of the queues started forming from 8pm last night.
“I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by a welcome crew as I entered the store,” said Ms Tang Yinghua, the first customer at the EpiCentre ION Orchard outlet. “I felt like a VIP as the crew clapped and cheered continuously as they activated my iPhone 5. It was an overwhelming experience and I can’t wait to use my iPhone 5 immediately.”
EpiCentre is offering promotional bundles for the iPhone 5, which includes trade-up promotions for customers upgrading their smartphones to the new Apple iPhone 5.
The non-contracted Apple iPhone 5 retails at:
- 16GB – S$948
- 32GB – S$1,088
- 64GB – S$1,238
Trade-up prices vary depending on the smartphone model and conditions.
Accessories bundles include either the purchase of a Gosh iPhone 5 screen protector and a Gosh Cross Case at S$39.90 (usual price: S$70.90); or the purchase of any screen protector or phone case at 15% discount.
Tags:Apple, EpiCentre, iPhone, iPhone 5, launch, Nubox, Singapore
Posted in Apple, Availability, Gadgets, iOS, iPhone, Launch, Phones, Prices, Tech news | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 19th, 2012
The free app works on iOS, Android and web platforms and helps users discover new blogs, follow bloggers’ updates and conduct two-way conversations with them while on the go.
NuffnangX is a free app for iOS, Android and Web platforms for perusing blogs on the road.
Netccentric Pte Ltd, the parent company of Asia Pacific’s blog advertising community Nuffnang.com, has globally launched NuffnangX.
“It continues to be more and more challenging for bloggers to engage their readers and for readers to keep up with their favourite blogs,” said Cheo Ming Shen, co-founder of NuffnangX and Netccentric.
With thousands of blogs out there, NuffnangX hand-picks blogs to suit your reading preferences and interests.
The app serves as your personal blog shopper which selects the best blogs from around the world for you.
NuffnangX’s Patent Pending Technology summarises hundreds and thousands of words of each blog entry on your feed to a single line that is known as the “elevator pitch” so you can decide quickly whether a blog is interesting enough for you to read.
NuffnangX also simplifies the commenting process, making it seamless and easy to use.
Both partners had met whilst studying in London, and fresh from graduation, started Netccentric Pte Ltd as the holding company for their web ventures.
Coupled with a mixed bag of working experience in the Finance and Government sectors, their first project was Nuffnang.com, Asia Pacific’s First Blog Advertising Community.
Tags:Android, Apple, Apps, Nuffnang, NuffnangX, Singapore
Posted in Android, App, iOS, Launch, Software | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 12th, 2012
No surprises as to the features of the iPhone 5 except that there’s no NFC. Most of the enhancements are evolutionary rather than revolutionary. As with its predecessors, iPhone 5 will come in 16 GB (S$948), 32 GB (S$1,088) and 64 GB (S$1,238) configurations.
It will arrive in 9 countries, including Singapore, on 21 September.
The iPhone 5 comes in Black & Slate or White & Silver.
The iPhone 5 will run on iOS 6, which will be released as a free software update two days before the smartphone itself hits the shelves.
| Apple iPhone 5 |
| OS |
iOS 6 |
| Screen |
4″ Retina display |
| Resolution |
1136 x 640 |
| Battery |
mAh rating not revealed |
| Processor |
A6 |
| Features |
LTE |
| Camera |
Rear: 8 MP |
| Front: 1.2 MP |
| Video |
Rear: 1080p30 |
| Front: 720p30 |
| Video |
Info not available |
| Memory |
Int: 16, 32, 64 GB |
| Ext: Nil |
| Size /mm |
123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 |
| Weight |
112 g |
| Price (w GST) |
- 16 GB: S$948
- 32 GB: S$1,088
- 64 GB: S$1,238
|
The new operating system features 200 new features but will notably be foregoing Google’s Maps and YouTube apps.
The 4-inch Retina display is now taller, with 1136 x 640 pixels at a high 326 ppi resolution.
All these will run off the new Apple-designed A6 chip and 4G LTE network.
Design-wise, the iPhone 5 is a stunner, with a selection of Black & Slate and White & Silver.
The former has most of my friends salivating although the white is beginning to become somewhat commonplace by now.
And the body is only 7.6mm thin.
The rear camera now has 8 megapixels while the front 1.2-megapixel camera shoots 720p video at up to 30 fps for FaceTime HD video calls.
A new panorama feature stitches photos of up to 28 megapixels simply by moving the camera across a scene in one smooth motion – like the sweep panorama in Sony cameras.
Available in 9 countries on 21 Sep.
As expected, Apple has replaced the 30-pin connector with a new 9-pin Lightning connector.
A Lightning-to-30-pin Adapter (sold separately) is available to connect the iPhone 5 to legacy 30-pin accessories.
Due to the variation in LTE networks in different countries, the iPhone 5 will come in 3 variants in terms of LTE frequencies.
The first model (A1428 GSM) works only in the US and Canada, while the second (A1429 CDMA) works for US carriers Sprint and Verizon, as well as KDDI in Japan.
9-pin Lightning connector replaces 30-pin connector.
The third model (A1429 GSM) runs on 850MHz, 1800MHz and 2100Mz.
This is the most international version – compatible with the most number of countries.
Note that although the iPhone 5 runs on 1800MHz for LTE, Singapore operates its LTE network on 1800MHz and 2600MHz.
So in areas where 1800MHz is not available, the iPhone 5 will fall back onto 3G.
Likewise, in countries where the 4G is not compatible with your version of iPhone 5, you will still be able to use in on 3G.
The iPhone 4S will also be available for a suggested retail price of SGD$788 (incl GST) and iPhone 4 for a suggested retail price SGD$588 (incl GST).
The first nine countries getting the iPhone 5 on 21 September are Singapore, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the US and the UK.
The iPhone 5 will be available in 9 countries on 21 Sep and another 22 countries on 28 Sep.
Customers from these countries can pre-order the iPhone 5 beginning 14 September.
All three major Telcos in Singapore, SingTel, StarHub and M1, will be selling the iPhone 5 on 21 September.
The iPhone 5 will next hit the shelves worldwide at 22 more countries a week later on 22 September.
These countries are Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Tags:Apple, iOS, iPhone, iPhone 5, launch, M1, Singapore, SingTel, smartphones, StarHub
Posted in App, Apple, Gadgets, iOS, iPhone, Launch, LTE, M1, Phones, Prices, SingTel, Software, Specifications, StarHub, Tech news | 3 Comments »
Friday, August 24th, 2012
With the opening of its 10th Apple Premium Reseller (APR) store in Sim Lim Square today, I have created a new company byte for Nubox.
Nubox is an arm of Newstead Technologies with Apple Premium Reseller (APR) and Apple Authorised Reseller (AAR) stores in Singapore.
Read a byte-sized profile and background information of Nubox for quick reference here.
You can also read articles related to Nubox on tech4tea.com here.
Tags:accessories, Apple, iPad, iPhone, iPod, iTouch Mac, Newstead, Nubox, Singapore
Posted in Accessories, Apple, Company byte, Desktops, Gadgets, iOS, iPad, iPhone, Lifestyle, Mac, Mac OS, Notebooks, Phones, Shopping, Tablets | 1 Comment »
Friday, August 24th, 2012
Nubox today opened its 10th Apple Premium Reseller (APR) store in Sim Lim Square. Prior to this, it had an Apple Authorised Reseller store at the geek’s paradise.
The new Nubox APR store replaces the previous AAR store in Sim Lim Square.
To be awarded APR status, the store met stringent criteria from Apple: ability to offer impeccable service to customers, store location and size and availability of staff with Apple Certified Support Professional certification.
Where is the new store?
The 1,100 square feet store is located at #01-53/54 at Sim Lim Square, 1 Rochor Canal Road.
In addition to the complete range of Apple products, Nubox@Sim Lim Square will offer a quality range of third-party accessories and software as well professional services that include training and service support.
Newstead Technologies now has 11 Nubox stores across Singapore, comprising 10 APRs and one AAR in Funan Digital Life Mall. The Funan AAR will also be replaced with an APR next month.
Evelyn Chua, the Chief marketing Officer of Newstead, tells me that she plans to open a twelfth Nubox APR in Bedok Mall next year.
Store opening promotions for Nubox @ Sim Lim Square from 24-26 August, 2012. Click on thumbnail to zoom in.
For the time being, the plan is to stop at twelve. You can read more about Nubox and its stores here.
As part of the store opening, there will be promotional offers from today till Sunday.
Tags:accessories, Apple, iPad, iPhone, iPod, iTouch, launch, Mac, Newstead, Nubox, Sim Lim Square, Singapore
Posted in Accessories, Apple, Desktops, Events, Gadgets, iOS, iPad, iPhone, Launch, Lifestyle, Mac, Mac OS, Notebooks, Phones, Promotions, Shopping, Tablets | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 25th, 2012
The ninth major release of Apple’s desktop operating system is now available as a download from the Mac App Store. Mountain Lion is available as an upgrade from Lion or Snow Leopard for S$25.98.
Mountain Lion OS X, Apple’s new desktop operating system is available for download today.
Mountain Lion features more than 200 new features, including iCloud integration, the all new Messages app, Notification Center, system-wide Sharing, Facebook integration, Dictation, AirPlay Mirroring and Game Center.
Facebook integration will be available in an upcoming software update to Mountain Lion, while Dictation supports English (US, UK and Australia), French, German and Japanese.
New features for China include significantly improved text input, a new Chinese Dictionary, easy setup with popular email providers, Baidu search in Safari, and built-in sharing to Sina Weibo and popular video websites Youku and Tudou.
Pricing & Availability
OS X Mountain Lion is available from the Mac App Store for S$25.98.
Mountain Lion requires Lion or Snow Leopard (OS X v10.6.8 or later), 2GB of memory and 8GB of available space.
A complete list of system requirements and compatible systems can be found here.
OS X Server requires Mountain Lion and is available from the Mac App Store for S$25.98.
The OS X Mountain Lion Up-to-Date upgrade is available at no additional charge from the Mac App Store to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorised Reseller on or after 11 June, 2012.
Below are some of these key new features.
- iCloud integration, for easy set up of your Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Messages, Reminders and Notes, and keeping everything, including iWork documents, up to date across all your devices.
- The new Messages app, which replaces iChat and brings iMessage to the Mac, so you can send messages to anyone with an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or another Mac.
- Notification Center, which streamlines the presentation of notifications and provides easy access to alerts from Mail, Calendar, Messages, Reminders, system updates and third party apps.
- System-wide Sharing, to make it easy to share links, photos, videos and other files quickly without having to switch to another app, and you just need to sign in once to use third-party services like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Vimeo.
- Facebook integration, so you can post photos, links and comments with locations right from your apps, automatically add your Facebook friends to your Contacts, and even update your Facebook status from within Notification Center.
- Dictation, which allows you to dictate text anywhere you can type, whether you’re using an app from Apple or a third party developer.
- AirPlay Mirroring, an easy way to wirelessly send an up-to-1080p secure stream of what’s on your Mac to an HDTV using Apple TV, or send audio to a receiver or speakers that use AirPlay.
- Game Center, which brings the popular social gaming network from iOS to the Mac so you can enjoy live, multiplayer games with friends whether they’re on a Mac, iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
- The new Gatekeeper, which makes downloading software from the Internet safer.
- Power Nap, which automatically updates your apps and system while your Mac is asleep.
- A faster Safari browser.
Tags:AirPlay Mirroring, Apple, available, Baidu, Calendar, Contacts, Dictation, Facebook, Game Center, iCloud, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Mac App Store, Mail, Messages, Mountain Lion, Notes, Notification Center, OS X, Reminders, Safari, Sina Weibo, Singapore, Snow Leopard, Tudou, Twitter, upgrade, Vimeo, Youku
Posted in App, Apple, Availability, Browser, Cloud, Mac, Mac OS, Mobile, Notebooks, Operating Systems, Prices, Safari, Software, Specifications | No Comments »
