Archive for July, 2013
Sunday, July 14th, 2013
An island fortress, a rock church, and plenty of fun for the kids, Helsinki is a suitable family destination with long daylight hours in the summer.

Located in the central Senate Square, the Lutheran Cathedral was completed in 1852 and is a symbol of Helsinki. Taken with a Nikon D600 with 24-120mm lens.
Our first glimpse of Helsinki was gloomy and grim.
It was raining and we’d arrived at the central railway station, an imposing mostly brown building clad in granite, dragging our luggage.

The Uspenski Cathedral is a classical onion-domed Russian church that sits majestically on a hill overlooking the Market Square by the harbour. Taken with a Nikon D600 with 24-120mm lens.
Our mood improved as the weather cleared up.
Sunshine really makes a difference, although it was to rain intermittently over the next few days.
Hitting the sights
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Tags:Arabia, Europe, Finland, Finland 2013, Helsinki, holiday, Iittala, Marimekko, Suomenlinna, travel, vacation
Posted in DSLR, Events, Finland 2013, Gadgets, Holiday, Lens, Lifestyle, NIKKOR, Nikon, Photography, Photos, Travel | 31 Comments »
Saturday, July 13th, 2013
As a prelude to the Singapore Science Festival 2013, the Kids Science Fest is being held at the Science Centre Singapore from 13-19 July (10am – 6pm).
Just take a look at the keen face to see how engaged the young (and older) participants were!

Science Buskers explaining how a coke can can be tilted and balanced on its edge.
Jointly organised by A*STAR and the Science Centre, the carnival is targeted mainly towards families and kids/students between ages 6-13.

Testing out the wind vane that a young girl had made for herself.
The activities are located within the Marquee in the Science Centre Singapore.

One girl is creating a simulated Jovian Landscape while her friend is filled with curiosity about what it’s like on Planet Jupiter.
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Tags:events, science, Science Centre, Science Festival
Posted in Events, Exhibition, Photos, Technology | No Comments »
Friday, July 12th, 2013
Sony has launched its new “Alpha Lens Library” programme, which allows new and existing My Sony members, who are owners of its interchangeable lens cameras, to rent and test any lens before purchase.

Users can now rent and test any Sony Alpha lens for up to 5 days before making a purchase.
By paying a rental fee, registered Sony camera users can review up to 20 of Sony’s lens models and adapters for up to five calendar days (including both pick-up and return dates).
Tags:A-Mount, adapters, Alpha, DSLR, E-Mount, lens, rental, Singapore, Sony
Posted in Accessories, Alpha, Announce, DSLR, Gadgets, Lens, Photography, Prices, Sony | No Comments »
Friday, July 12th, 2013
After extensive leaks, Nokia has launched the Lumia 1020 smartphone in New York. Adding the Nokia PureView 808’s 41MP sensor to the Lumia 920, the new Lumia 1020 promises greater image quality, especially in low light.
Expected to reach Singapore in Q4 2013.

Nokia Lumia 1020 will be available in white, black and yellow. The Windows Phone 8 smartphone will have a 41-megapixel camera.
The Lumia 1020 will be available in the US exclusively through AT&T (USD$299.99 with 2-year contract), which will accept preorders from July 16.

The Nokia Camera Grip also comes in 3 colours.
The Windows Phone 8 device will be available online and hit the shelves in the US on July 26.
The Nokia Lumia 1020 will be available in yellow, white and black.
The Lumia 1020 will be sold globally, with the launch in Singapore expected in Q4 2013.
The price of the Lumia 1020 without contract in the US is US$659.99, compared to the off-contract price of US$450 for the Lumia 920.
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Tags:AT&T, cameras, Espoo, Lumia, Lumia 1020, Lumia 920, Microsoft, New York, Nokia, PureView, Singapore, smartphones, Windows Phone, Windows Phone 8
Posted in Accessories, Announce, App, Gadgets, Launch, Lumia, Nokia, Operating Systems, Phones, Photography, Prices, Software, Specifications, Tech news, Tickers, Windows Phone 8 | 1 Comment »
Thursday, July 11th, 2013
The new 5-inch Via 225 ships with eight Asian maps and offers map updates for the lifetime of the personal navigation device (PND). Now available in Singapore for SGD$199.

TomTom Via 225 has a 5-inch screen and ships with 8 Asian maps with lifetime updates. SGD$199.
TomTom Via 225 offers free daily map changes, based on reports from TomTom’s global Map Share community of 21 million.
“The Via 225 is intended to make driving easier, and less stressful for Singapore drivers,” said Winnie Kwan, Senior Marketing Manager Asia Pacific, TomTom.
Map Share technology enables drivers to keep the TomTom map on their device up to date with frequent road changes, such as new speed limits and blocked roads.
The key features of the Via 225 are listed below.
Tags:GPS, navigation, PND, Singapore, TomTom
Posted in Accessories, Announce, Availability, Gadgets, GPS, Prices, Specifications, TomTom | 1 Comment »
Thursday, July 11th, 2013
Nubox turns five this year and there will be a series of activities and promotional discounts to celebrate.

Check out the promotional discounts as part of Nubox’s 5th anniversary celebrations. View/download flyers here.
The Nubox Happy 5 campaign will be held from July 15 to August 18, 2013.
“In five years, Nubox has grown to capture 35% of the total Apple Premium Reseller market in Singapore. To thank our customers for their relentless support, we have packed the Nubox Happy 5 campaign with amazing activities and offers,” said Evelyn Chua, Chief Marketing Officer, Newstead Technologies.
From game challenges at its Raffles City Shopping Centre and Tampines Mall road shows to online contests and weekly lucky draw, Nubox has lined up giveaways worth more than $15,000 to spread the cheers.
The celebratory activities and events are tabulated below while the promotional flyers can be downloaded for viewing here.
Started in Singapore in 2008, Nubox specialises in selling Apple products and has ventured into the heartlands, with seven of its 11 stores located in the heartland malls.
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Tags:accessories, anniversary, Apple, discounts, Newstead, Nubox, promotions, Singapore
Posted in Accessories, Anniversary, Apple, Gadgets, Prices, Promotions | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 10th, 2013
The GALAXY S4 ACTIVE With LTE will be available in Urban Gray from 13 July 2013 at S$898 (incl. GST but without contract). The Orange Flare edition will be available from end July.

Samsung GALAXY S4 ACTIVE with LTE (SGD$898) is available in Orange Flare and Urban Gray.
The GALAXY S4 ACTIVE With LTE is designed to enhance life experiences for the active user who wants to stay connected while venturing out for exciting outdoor experiences.
It was first announced a month ago in June.
An IP67 rating means that device is protected against entry of solid foreign objects and harmful ingress of water under test conditions of immersion in 21.7°C water without chemical content for up to one meter for up to 30 minutes, based on fully sealed device (except for 3.5mm headphone jack).
Note: IP67 rating does not mean that device is waterproof.
The Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) smartphone has a 5-inch’ Full HD (1920 x 1080) TFT LCD screen (443 PPI) touch screen, with a 2,600mAh battery.
The GALAXY S4 ACTIVE With LTE is powered by a 1.9 GHZ Quad-Core processor and boasts protection from dust and water (IP67).
Measuring 139.7 x 71.3 x 9.1 mm and weighing 153g, the smartphone has a 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash light and 2-megapixel front camera.
The technical specifications for the Samsung GALAXY ACTIVE With LTE is available here, while the press release is appended below.
Tags:Android, Android 4, Galaxy, Jelly Bean, LTE, S4, Samsung, Singapore, smartphones, water resistant
Posted in Android, Announce, Gadgets, GALAXY, Phones, Prices, S4, Samsung, Software, Specifications, Sports | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, July 9th, 2013
For a limited time, Apple is giving everyone five landmark games and five groundbreaking apps (listed below).

Apple celebrates 5 years of the App Store with 5 free apps and 5 free games.
From the 500 apps available at launch in 2008 to the more than 90,000 at your fingertips today, it’s been a remarkably prolific five years for the App Store.
Listed below are the 10 free apps and games.
Tags:anniversary, App Store, Apple, Apps, games, giveaway
Posted in Announce, App, Apple, Availability, iOS, Operating Systems, Promotions, Software | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 9th, 2013
Jay-Z fans will now be able to listen to his new album – Magna Carta Holy Grail, is now available on Spotify a week before its commercial release.

TODAY! Jay-Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail is now live on Spotify.
The highly anticipated album, which has given him the best first week sales of his career, is available for streaming as of today.
Spotify is a digital music service that gives users on-demand access to over 20 million tracks.
Its dream is “to make all the world’s music available instantly to everyone, wherever and whenever they want it”.
Spotify makes it easier to discover, manage and share music with friends, while making sure that artists get a fair deal.
Magna Carta Holy Grail draws inspiration from his recent fatherhood, celebrity lifestyle and personal beliefs.
The album features a stellar list of producers, including Swizz Beatz, Timbaland and Pharrel Williams.
Additionally, Jay-Z fans will get to listen to guest vocals by Justin Timberlake, Frank Ocean and Beyoncé.
Keeping true to the Spotify promise of bringing the world’s music to everyone instantly, Magna Carta Holy Grail will join Spotify’s ever-growing portfolio of over 20 million tracks.
Tags:Holy Grail, Jay-Z, Magna Carta, music, Spotify
Posted in Audio, Availability, Music | No Comments »
Monday, July 8th, 2013
The new mirrorless interchangeable lens camera offers both image quality and ease of sharing snapshots with the newest addition to its NX family of compact system cameras.
Available in black, white and pink from mid-July at S$849 (incl 20-50mm kit lens). Bundled with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 (worth S$178).

Samsung NX2000 will be available in black, white or pink from mid-July for S$849.
The large 20.3MP ASP-C CMOS Sensor in the NX2000 is produced entirely by Samsung in-house and promises vivid colours even in low light conditions.
“Consumer demand for quality photography and the increasing desire for instantaneous sharing has become a focus for our NX range,” said Irene Ng, Vice President, Marketing, Samsung Asia.
The NX2000’s has a DRIMe IV engine which works to reduce noise, improve speed and enable superior color reproduction.
With 8fps fast continuous shooting, the NX2000 can freeze moving subject or enable a photographer to snap photos while on the run.
Its 1/4000th second top shutter speed makes capturing clear, blur free images possible, while the wide ISO range (100 to 25600) helps to deliver images promises beautifully balanced photos regardless of the light conditions.
The NX2000 has a large 3.7-inch WVGA TFT-LCD Full Touch Screen with 1,152k dots.

The Samsung NX2000 boasts a host of connectivity options that includes Wi-Fi, and NFC. Pink version here with the included 20-50mm kit lens.
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Tags:availability, cameras, MIL, NFC, NX2000, Samsung, Wi-Fi
Posted in 3D, Announce, Cameras, Gadgets, MIL, Photography, Prices, Samsung, Specifications | No Comments »