Archive for the ‘Announce’ Category
Wednesday, June 20th, 2012
Sony Mobile has unveiled another two new Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) smartphones. The Xperia ion takes over the flagship role from the Xperia S, while the Xperia neo L is a follow-up to the Xperia neo V.
Both smartphones will be available in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in calendar Q3 2012.
New flagship from Sony Mobile: Xperia ion; and the Xperia neo L.
The Xperia ion and Xperia neo L were launched today as part of Sony Mobile’s South East Asia debut of a slew of six new Xperia smartphones.
The Xperia ion and Xperia neo L are part of a slew of six that debuted in SE Asia today. From left: Sony Xperia ion, go, acro S, neo L, miro, and tipo.
The other four phones were the Xperia go, Xperia acro S, Xperia miro and Xperia tipo.
They had been unveiled progressively over the past two weeks.
New flagship Xperia
The 4.6-inch screen of the Xperia ion is bigger than the 4.3-inch display of the Xperia S.
The Xperia ion also has a microSD card expansion slot for up to 32GB – which the former flagship model lacked.
The Xperia ion has a massive 4.6-inch display (1280 x 720 pixels on a 16-million colour TFT), and a high-capacity embedded 1,900mAH battery.
Both the rear (1080p) and front (720p) cameras are HD capable.
The 12-megapixel rear camera boasts a quick sleep-to-snap speed of just over a second via a single key press.
The Xperia ion will be available in black in Singapore; and in black and red in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Sony Xperia neo L
The Xperia neo L has a 4-inch display (480 x 854 pixels on a 16-million colour TFT), a 5.1-megapixel (720p) rear-camera, VGA front camera, and a 1,500mAH battery.
It has a sleek curved back design and glossy finish; and incorporates Sony’s xLoud technology for crisp and loud sound.
The Xperia neo L is available in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia in both black and white.
The tech specs for the Xperia ion and Xperia neo L can be viewed/downloaded below.
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Tags:acro S, Android 4.0, Art Palates Café, debut, GO, Ice Cream Sandwich, Indonesia, Malaysia, miro, Singapore, smartphones, Sony Mobile, South East Asia, tipo, Xperia ion, Xperia neo L
Posted in Android, Announce, App, Events, Gadgets, Operating Systems, Phones, Software, Sony, Specifications, Xperia | 6 Comments »
Wednesday, June 20th, 2012
The six new models are: Xperia go, acro S, miro, tipo, ion, and neo L. The first four models were announced over the last two weeks, while the Xperia ion and neo L were unveiled today.
All six phone models will be available in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in calendar Q3 2012.
Mathew Lang, Corporate Vice President and Head of SEA & Oceania Customer Unit, Sony Mobile at the event at Art Palates Café, Istana Park, Singapore.
The Xperia ion is the new flagship smartphone for Sony Mobile.
Its 4.6-inch display is bigger than that of the 4.3-inch in the previous flagship Xperia S.
Water resistant Sony Xperia acro S. Don’t try this at home. Photo taken with Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GF5.
The Xperia ion also includes a microSD card expansion slot for up to 32GB – which was absent in the Xperia S.
The Xperia go and Xperia acro S are stylish, durable and water-resistant.
They are supposedly water-proof up to a depth of 1m.
The Xperia miro offers deep Facebook integration and features Sony’s xLOUD audio technology together with the Xperia neo L.
The Xperia tipo comes in both single and dual SIM versions.
The latter allows one-touch switching between two numbers through a dedicated network switch button on the phone.
All six models either ship with Android 4.0 installed or can be upgraded over-the-air to Android 4.0.
The six new Android smartphones debuting in SE Asia in Q3 2012: Sony Xperia ion, go, acro S, neo L, miro, and tipo. Photo taken with Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GF5.
With such a range of smartphones catered to different tastes and needs, Xperia fans willl be spoilt for choice when shopping for their next smartphone.
Below are the technical specifications for the six Xperia smartphones from Sony Mobile.
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Tags:acro S, Android 4.0, Art Palates Café, debut, GO, Ice Cream Sandwich, Indonesia, Malaysia, miro, Singapore, smartphones, Sony Mobile, South East Asia, tipo, Xperia ion, Xperia neo L
Posted in Android, Announce, App, Events, Gadgets, Launch, Operating Systems, Phones, Software, Sony, Specifications, Xperia | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, June 19th, 2012
Microsoft has unveiled two 10.6-inch Windows tablets and accessories.
One model will run on Windows RT and will be released with the general availability of Windows 8. The other tablet will be available about 90 days after and feature Windows 8 Pro.
Update 2 (1 March, 2013):
Microsoft has announced that beginning late March the rollout of Surface will continue over the next few months.
Surface RT with Windows RT will reach Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan.
Surface Pro with Windows 8 Pro will hit Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Update 1 (18 July, 2012):
Microsoft’s Steven Sinofsky has just announced at its annual sales meeting that customers will be able to get Windows 8 on 26 October, 2012. This will be available both as an upgrade or on a new PC.
Microsoft finally joins the fray by unveiling its 10.6-inch Surface tablets.
The Windows RT Surface tablet will run on an ARM processor, while the Windows 8 Pro version will have a third-generation Intel Core processor.
The Touch Cover and Type Cover double up as keyboards.
Each Surface tablet will have a full-sized USB port, a microSD slot, and a 16:9 aspect ratio; with edges angled at 22 degrees.
The casing of Surface is created using VaporMg (pronounced Vapor-Mag), where metal and deposit particles are molded to create a finish akin to luxury watches.
Starting with magnesium, parts can be molded as thin as .65 mm, thinner than the typical credit card, to create a product that is thin, light and rigid/strong.
The VaporMg materials and processes has enabled the thin and sleek design of the Surface tablets.
This also enables an extremely thin built-in kickstand to prop the tablet up when watching movies or video conferencing with the HD front- or rear-facing video cameras.
The integrated, built-in kickstand removes the need for a separate accessory.
I like the idea and design of this integrated kickstand.
To transform the tablet into a “notebook”, a 3 mm Touch Cover uses pressure-sensitive technology to sense keystrokes as gestures, allowing users to touch type significantly faster than on an on-screen keyboard.
The Touch Cover will be available in a selection of vibrant colors. It clicks into the Surface tablet via a built-in magnetic connector, forming a natural spine like you find on a book, and doubles up as a protective cover.
The Touch Cover and Type Cover comes in many vibrant colours.
Alternatively, users can click in a 5 mm-thin Type Cover that adds moving keys for a more traditional typing feel.
Retail pricing will be announced closer to availability but is expected to be competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class PC.
OEMs will have cost and feature parity on Windows 8 and Windows RT.
Oh and if you’re interested in a 40-inch tablet, check out the Samsung SUR40 for Microsoft Surface. (I haven’t heard anyone else calling THAT a tablet yet).
The main technical specifications of the two Surface tablets are tabulated below.
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Tags:announce, ARM, hybrid, Microsoft, notebooks, Surface, tablets, Touch Cover, Type Cover, ultrabooks, unveil, Windows 8 Pro, Windows RT
Posted in Accessories, Announce, Gadgets, Keyboards, Microsoft, Software, Specifications, Surface, Tablets, Tech news, Windows 8 | No Comments »
Thursday, June 14th, 2012
Samsung is bringing in to Singapore the GALAXY Tab 2 (10.1) 3G tablet (S$798) on 16 June, and the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) tablet (S$598) on 23 June. Prices include GST but excludes line contract.
Update (22 June, 2012):
Samsung has just announced that the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) will only be available in Singapore on 30 June 2012. Price remains unchanged at S$598 (inclusive of GST) without contract.
Pricing and availability of the Wi-Fi versions for the GALAXY Tab 2 series will be announced closer to the launch date.
Samsung GALAXY Tab 2 in 7-inch and 10.1 inches
The GALAXY Tab 2 series of tablets are Samsung’s first Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich tablets. There are now some 400,000 apps for Android phones and tablets.
The GALAXY Tab 2 tablets are available in 3G and WiFi versions.
Samsung GALAXY Tab 2 (7) and GALAXY Tab 2 (10.1)
GALAXY Tab 2 Series offer users easy multimedia access, playback and sharing experiences with Samsung Hub services.
Samsung’s Music Hub provides a full music store solution with access to over 17 million tracks.
GALAXY Tab 2
The Readers Hub provides access to over 2.3 million e-books, 3,500 magazines and over 2,000 newspapers in 51 languages, while Game Hub instantly connects users to the latest game titles.
Samsung’s upgraded Touchwiz user interface features Hub widgets for one-step access to users’ content in Hubs.
The device also presents S Suggest, a new service offering recommendations of apps suited to users’ tastes directly on a home screen.
Samsung’s AllShare is a content-sharing service that allows users to search for and play video, photo, and music files freely across their GALAXY Tab 2 Series from PCs and other Samsung smart devices – such as PC, TV, mobile phone, and digital camera – by using the local network for streaming playback.
With the voice call capability, the GALAXY Tab 2 Series can be used as a phone, serving as a second device in case they misplace their primary phone.
It also lets users spontaneously arrange multi-party video calls via Google+ hangouts, as well as engage in group chats or micro-communities to collectively chat or share content.
In addition, ChatON, Samsung’s cross-platform communication service, connects all phone users of any platform into a single community.
Rear of the Samsung GALAXY Tab 2 tablets
ChatON uses phone numbers instead of ID and passwords, and provides easy instant messaging and group chatting in various formats — images, video, voice, contacts — to make messaging simple and intuitive.
Below are the main technical specifications of the two Samsung GALAXY Tab 2 tablets.
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Tags:10.7 inch, 7 inch, Android 4.0, available, Galaxy, Ice Cream Sandwich, launch, Samsung, Singapore, Tab 2, tablet
Posted in Android, Announce, App, Availability, Gadgets, Galaxy, Operating Systems, Prices, Samsung, Software, Specifications, Tablets | No Comments »
Thursday, June 14th, 2012
Nikon has announced, worldwide, two new NIKKOR lenses: AF-S NIKKOR 24-85mm F/3.5-4.5G ED and AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR. Pricing & availability TBA.
Nikon has more than 70 lenses in its NIKKOR range.
The AF-S NIKKOR 24-85mm F/3.5-4.5G ED is a compact, lightweight Nikon FX-format standard zoom lens suitable for a variety of shooting situations.
Nikon has produced more than 70 million NIKKOR lenses to date.
The AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR has the world’s highest 16.7x zoom ratio for an interchangeable zoom lens for DSLR cameras.
The total production of NIKKOR lenses for Nikon interchangeable lens cameras has reached 70 million at the end of May 2012.
The current NIKKOR brand offers a broad lineup of more than 70 lenses, including fisheye lenses, super wide-angle to super telephoto lenses, zoom lenses, Micro lenses, and PC-E lenses.
Read more about the two new lenses below.
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Tags:AF-S, DX, ED, FX, lens, lenses, new, NIKKOR, Nikon
Posted in Announce, Gadgets, Lens, Nikon, Specifications | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 13th, 2012
Sony Mobile has unveiled two new Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) smartphones that are designed to be stylish, fun and easy to use. One of them has a dual-SIM version available (Xperia tipodual).
Both smartphones will be launched globally in calendar Q3 2012.
Sony Mobile Xperia miro and Xperia tipo
The Xperia miro has a 3.5-inch display, 5-megapixel camera and 1,500mAH battery.
Sony Xperia tipo & miro
It provides deep Facebook integration and Sony’s xLOUD audio technology in a slim and stylish design.
The Xperia tipo has a 3.2-inch display, 3.2-megapixel camera and 1,500mAH battery.
It comes in both single and dual-SIM versions – no more hunting for dual-SIM adaptors that might not be compatible with your single-SIM phone.
You can have two separate lines, one personal and one work-related, on the same phone.
In some countries, different networks charge different rates for voice and data, local and overseas.
With the Xperia tipodual, users can switch – at one touch – to the cheaper network for whichever mode they are using.
The press release and specs can be viewed/downloaded below.
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Tags:Android, dual SIM, Ice Cream Sandwich, miro, smartphones, Sony, tipo, tipo dual, Xperia
Posted in Android, Announce, Brochures, Gadgets, Phones, Sony, Specifications, Xperia | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, June 12th, 2012
The HTC Desire V (S$498) and Desire C (S$338) are the successors to the HTC Desire. Both Android 4.0 smartphones will feature Beats Audio technology and hit the shelves in Singapore from this Saturday, 16 June.
The HTC Desire V (S$498) and Desire C (S$338) will be available on 16 June 2012.
HTC Desire V
The new HTC Desire V and Desire C are also among the first entry-level smartphones to offer Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
Both phones come with two years of free 25GB Dropbox space.
Beats Audio technology is integrated into the software and hardware of the phones to provide a powerful, yet rich studio-quality sound experience – whether the user is listening to music or playing a game.
The HTC Desire V has a 4-inch display, a 5-megapixel camera with WVGA video recording, and a 1650mAh battery.
It runs on a 1GHz CPU; and is available in Polar White and Stealth Black.
HTC Desire C
The HTC Desire V supports dual SIM cards so you can keep two active numbers in the same phone – there is no longer any need to carry two phones.
The HTC Desire C has a 3.5-inch (320 x 480) display, a 5-megapixel camera with VGA video recording, and a 1,230mAh battery.
It runs on a 600MHz CPU; and is available in Flamenco Red, Polar White and Stealth Black.
I am particularly partial to the Flamenco Red skin for the HTC Desire C. Doesn’t it just evoke impressions of Darth Maul?
Below are the key specifications of the HTC Desire V and HTC Desire C.
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Tags:Android 4.0, Beats Audio, HTC Desire C, HTC Desire V, Ice Cream Sandwich, launch, Singapore, smartphones
Posted in Android, Announce, Availability, Gadgets, HTC, Operating Systems, Phones, Prices, Software, Specifications | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 12th, 2012
The HTC One S is the fourth and last smartphone in the HTC One series to be introduced in Singapore.
It will be available in Gradient Metal from this Saturday, 16 June, for S$948 (without line but including a Beats Solo Headset).
Update (19 July, 2012):
The HTC One S Regular Edition will be available at S$748 from this Saturday, 21 July. The HTC One S Regular Edition does not include the Beats Solo Headset.
The HTC One S Deluxe Edition, which includes the Beats Solo Headset is still available at S$948.
The HTC One S will be available in Gradient Metal.
The HTC One S is the slimmest of the four phones in the HTC One series of Android phones. The others are the HTC One X, HTC One V, and HTC One XL.
The HTC One S is launched with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich; HTC Sense user interface; and runs on a 1.7 GHz dual-core CPU.
It has a 4.3-inch (540 x 960) screen, an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video recording, and a 1,650 mAh battery.
As with the other phones in the HTC One series, the phone excels in its camera and audio performance.
S$948: HTC One S bundled with a Beats Solo Headset
The camera has an f/2.0 aperture and 28mm wide angle lens, captures a shot in 0.7 seconds and in burst mode can shoot up to 60 continuous snapshots at one go.
Bundled with a Beats Solo Headset, HTC One S users enjoy a superb audio experience with Beats Audio Technology, which is integrated into the hardware and software of the smartphone.
Other notable features include an internal storage of 16GB with 2 years’ worth of free 25GB Dropbox storage; and the ability to playback the smartphone’s content on a large screen, via an optional HTC Media Link HD accessory.
Below are the key specifications of the HTC One S at a glance.
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Tags:Android 4.0, Beats Audio, HTC One S, Ice Cream Sandwich, launch, Singapore, smartphones
Posted in Android, Announce, App, Audio, Gadgets, headphones, HTC, HTC One, Launch, Operating Systems, Phones, Prices, Software, Specifications | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, June 12th, 2012
As usual, Apple has revealed a slew of statistics to illustrate how it is leading the field. Here are some of the more interesting numbers from WWDC 2012.
Apple and WWDC 2012 in numbers
There are now 650,000 apps in the App Store, out of which 225,000 are specific to the iPad.
In its four years of existence, 30 billion apps have been downloaded from Apple’s App Store, with US$5 billion for all app sales.
There are 400 million iTunes accounts with credit card. 140 million iMessage users send > 1 billion messages a day.
There are 365 million iOS devices out there, with 80% of these on the current latest iOS 5.
Apple contrast this with the Android’s profile, where slightly less than three-quarters of Android devices are still on Android 2.3.
To date, 26 million copies of Lion OS have been sold. Overall, there are 66 million Mac users.
Tags:Apple, conference, Eyes Free, Google, iOS, iOS 6, MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, maps, Mountain Lion, Siri, TomTom, WWDC 2012
Posted in Android, Announce, App, Apple, Desktops, Figures, Gadgets, Google, iOS, Mac OS, Notebooks, Operating Systems, Safari, Software | No Comments »
Monday, June 11th, 2012
A year ago, Steve Jobs made his last appearance at an Apple WWDC. This year, Tim Cook helms his first WWDC as Apple’s CEO.
Apple's WWDC 2012 is from 11-15 June in San Francisco.
The annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this year is being held from June 11 – 15 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. Tickets were sold out in a mere two hours when it went on sale in April.
Here’s a quick roundup of some of the revelations from the opening keynote presentation on first of the 5-day conference.
MacBooks / OS X Mountain Lion
- Refreshed MacBook Air & Next-generation MacBook Pro ships today.
- In comes Ivy Bridge processor and USB 3.0, out goes Ethernet and FireWire 800 ports, MacBook Air becomes thinner and lighter, MacBook Pro gets 60% faster graphics performance.
- Retina display in MacBooks: 220ppi with 2880 x 1800 resolution.
- Highest-resolution notebook display in the world.
- Retina Display support: Final Cut Pro, Aperture and Diablo3 now supports 220ppi display.
- AutoCad and Photoshop support in the works.
- iPad-style Dictation is introduced to Mountain Lion for Macs.
- Speak directly into native Apple software, Microsoft Word and Facebook.
- AirPort Express available now.
- Pocket WiFi router supports simultaneous dual-band.
- New OS X feature: Power Nap.
- Mac updates emails, notifications and photos, and backs itself up while charging.
- OS X Mountain Lion available on Macs in July.
- Free upgrade for new Mac purchases between now and arrival of the new OS.
iOS 6
- iOS 6 unveiled Beta today, full release in the fall.
- More than 200 improvements: launch apps with enhanced Siri, and it comes to iPads, FaceTime over cellular data.
Supported: iPhone 3GS and up, 2nd gen iPads and up, 4th gen iPod touch.
- Enhanced Siri launches apps and comes to new iPads and eventually into cars.
- Siri to get into the car with Eyes Free: demo: Toggle Siri on by tapping a button the steering wheel.
- iOS 6 to get Do Not Disturb feature from Mountain Lion.
- Select which push notifications to mute and which to stay on.
- iOS 6 integrates more tightly with Facebook, Twitter and App Store.
- Share directly from core apps like Maps, Photos and Safari.
- Safari offers unified search across the web, browser history and bookmarks.
- Following in Chrome’s footsteps.
- iCloud Tabs syncs Safari web-browsing across all devices.
- Simultaneously see all the tabs open on any device.“IOS 6 will include Apple’s own mobile mapping software to compete with software from Google. TomTom will supply Apple with map data and related content.” – statement from TomTom.
- Enhanced Safari features.
- Multitouch to help navigate tabs, upload images directly, Offline Reading List.
- Passbook provides one-stop purchase of tickets and boarding passes.
- No more paper QR-codes and tickets.
- Apple replaces Google Maps with own Maps app.
- Maps comes with Yelp integration and turn-by-turn navigation, and 3D.
Tags:Apple, conference, Eyes Free, Google, iOS, iOS 6, MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, maps, Mountain Lion, Siri, TomTom, WWDC 2012
Posted in Announce, App, Apple, Browser, Chrome, Events, Gadgets, Google, iOS, iPad, iPhone, Mac OS, Notebooks, Operating Systems, Phones, Photoshop, Safari, Seminars, Software, Tablets, Tech news, Ultrabooks | 1 Comment »
