It’s studio shoot day today for a slew of new gadgets.
From Left: Huawei MatePad 11 (2023) with Smart Keyboard and M-Pencil, Huawei Watch Buds, and Huawei Mate X3.
First off the block is the Huawei Mate X3, Huawei Watch Buds and Huawei MatePad 11 (2023), seen in this photo.
Also shot today is the Acer Swift Go 14; the Sony Xperia 5 IV; the PRISM+ Q75 Ultra; the Dell Pro Webcam; and the Belkin power bank cum wireless charger for Apple Watch.
Stay tuned for reviews.
Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), CES 2023 will see more than 3,100 exhibitors from 173 countries, territories and regions.
CES 2023 will take place in Las Vegas in the US from 5-8 January 2023. (Image from CES 2023 website).
These exhibitors include familiar brands such as Asus, Abbott, Amazon, Belkin, Canon, Dell, Google, Hyundai, Keysight Technologies, Lenovo, LG, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, Nikon, Panasonic, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony, and TCL etc.
They will be showcasing the latest in digital health, food tech, automotive tech, NFTs, gaming, smart homes and more.
Below are a selection of the more interesting news from CES 2023 as they are released.
The Singapore leg of the Toyota GAZOO Racing Gran Turismo Cup (TGR GT Cup) Global series resumes this year on Gran Turismo 7 on both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. This is the fourth installment of the global SIM racing competition and the third iteration of the Singapore edition.
This year the competition features a selection of Toyota GR lineups, in which players will get to push their limits through renowned circuits and experience the thrill of racing. This includes the nostalgic Toyota Supra GT500 ’97 (Castrol TOM’S) model.
The Semi-Finals and Finals will be held on 4 September 2022, with winners advancing to the TGR GT Cup ASIA 2022 online on 9 October 2022.
The TGR GT Cup Singapore 2022 commenced with Qualifiers on 13 August 2022, with more than 36 participants to date.
Eventually, only 24 of the fastest competitors will advance to the Semi-Finals.
During the Semis, two groups of 12 racers will compete in two races per group, with the top six racers from each group going into the Finals.
In the Finals, racers will compete in three races, with the overall top three competitors getting onto the podium.
Through this competition, Toyota hopes to make e-motorsports accessible by providing opportunities for racing enthusiasts to experience the thrill of racing Toyota GR cars
on iconic circuits.
Sony launched its 2022 Bravia XR TVs with Mini LED in Singapore at the ArtScience Museum. Here are highlights of the 2022 Bravia XR Lineup.
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The new Bravia XR television series from Sony Electronics includes the MASTER Series A90K and A80K 4K OLED models, the X95K 4K Mini LED model and X90K 4K LED model.
The models and price & availability of the 2022 Bravia XR TVs in Singapore can be found here.
Key highlights of the 2022 Sony Bravia XR Lineup include the following.
More details below from the press release.
The 2022 lineup that Sony Electronics is introducing for its Bravia XR televisions features XR Backlight Master Drive Technology for the new Mini LED models. Price & Availability below.
The new Bravia XR television series from Sony Electronics includes the MASTER Series A90K and A80K 4K OLED models, the X95K 4K Mini LED model and X90K 4K LED model.
Powered by Cognitive Processor XR, the XR Backlight Master Drive precisely controls the latest generation Mini LED backlight in the X95K series for “incredible” brightness.
“Sony is committed to offering the best viewing experience possible, no matter the at-home environment or content selection. With best-in-class picture and sound quality, our new TVs enhance any on-screen streaming and gaming content to create a powerfully immersive big-screen experience,” said Melvin Pang, Head, Field Marketing Division, Sony South East Asia.
Sony boasts that the new technology allows viewers to “enjoy an unprecedented dynamic range with incredibly dazzling lights and deep blacks, as well as beautifully natural mid tones with almost no flare or halos around highlights”.
When watching movies, viewers can experience our enhanced Acoustic Surface Audio+ for OLED models and Acoustic Multi-Audio for LED models, precisely matching the position of the sound with the images on the screen for a truly immersive audio/visual experience.
The lineup also includes new features that customise and enhance at-home entertainment.
Together with Netflix, Sony has released Netflix Adaptive Calibrated Mode, which automatically adjusts image processing based on ambient light, so users’ favourite shows and films look like the creator intended, under any lighting conditions.
More details below from the press release.
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-C500 earbuds 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.
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Freshly unboxed Sony WF-C500 True Wireless Earbuds.
Battery life is reasonable at 10 hours with full charge, plus an additional 10 hours from the pill-shaped charging case.
This is plenty long for me although it’s common for charging cases to provide twice the full charge of their earbuds.
I like that a quick charge of 10 minutes gave me a full hour of mileage.
Sony has announced the new Alpha 7IV (available in Dec 2021) with 33-megapixel full-frame sensor, as well as two new flashes (late Nov 2021): HVL-F60RM2 and HVL-f46RM. Prices TBA.
Sony positions the Alpha 7 IV as the “perfect all-around camera for today’s imaging enthusiasts and professionals who shoot all scenarios”.
The new Alpha 7 IV (model ILCE-7M4) features many of Sony’s imaging technologies including the latest BIONZ XR processing engine and AF (autofocus) capabilities based on the flagship Alpha 1 model, combined with streamlined operability and enhanced reliability for photos and movies.
The newly developed 33MP full-frame back-illuminated Exmor CMOS image sensor offers good image quality and Wide ISO sensitivity range expandable to ISO 50-204800.
Key specifications of the Sony Alpha 7 IV. Click to enlarge. Full specs here.
The latest processing engine BIONZ XR used in the flagship Alpha 1 delivers high-speed AF, uninterrupted continuous shooting at 10fps with AF/AE tracking and a large buffer for a smooth shooting experience.
This year’s contest will see a new videography category being introduced to celebrate more diverse perspectives across the country. This year’s theme is “Our World In Colour”.
Sony’s annual Alpha Creators contest is back for its fourth edition this year.
Boasting both a photo and video contest for the first time, content creators are being invited to capture and celebrate the beauty and vibrancy of Singapore, especially after a year of extraordinary change in 2020.
Sony’s latest wireless speakers feature spatial sound technologies for ambient room-filling sound with Immersive Audio Enhancement and 360 Reality Audio. Price and Availability below.
Sony SRS-RA5000 (left) and SRS-RA3000 wireless speakers.
Both premium speakers sports sound calibration to provide adjustment for optimum audio performance based on the environment.
I attended a preview-cum-demo at Sony’s store at Wisma Atria in Singapore and enjoyed the room-filling audio from both the new speakers.
Both the SRS-RA5000 (S$849) and the SRS-RA3000 (S$449) are now available in Singapore at Sony Stores and Sony Store Online.
More details below from the press release.
We’re now into December and the final stretch of 2020. Here are some gift ideas that I’ve curated for Christmas 2020.
* I’ll be adding to this list over the next few days, so check back daily for new gift ideas as I collate them.
The tech4xmas gift guide is meant to provide ideas to start you off, so do check out some of them online and in the shops if they are what you think would bring a smile to your loved ones this Christmas.
Around this time of year, I’m usually inundated with requests from readers and friends on Christmas gift ideas for their loved ones or themselves.
So here are some tech that I would use myself or get for MY loved ones, based mostly on those gadgets that I’ve tried or reviewed.
Not all are the latest and newest, but they are what I think some of the best-in-class in their category of products.
tech4xmas Gift Guide below.
