Archive for the ‘App’ Category

New arrivals: Lumia 640 and 640 XL available in Singapore

Thursday, April 16th, 2015

The affordable Lumia 640 (S$299) and Lumia 640 XL (S$429) will hit the shelves in Singapore this Saturday, 18 April.

The Lumia 640 will be available in glossy cyan, orange, white and matte black, and the Lumia 640 XL will be available in matte cyan, orange, black, and white.

The Lumia 640 will be available in glossy cyan, orange, white and matte black, and the Lumia 640 XL will be available in matte cyan, orange, black, and white.

First unveiled during Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona in March, the 5-inch Lumia 640 and 5.7-inch Lumia 640 XL ships with Windows Phone 8.1 and will eventually be upgradeable to Windows 10 when the new OS from Microsoft is ready later this year.

“People are looking for a device which brings them more flexibility to switch easily between work and play, without breaking the bank. With the long lasting battery and full range of Microsoft experiences – including Office and OneDrive – the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL are the perfect enablers of productivity for consumers,” said Bruce Howe, General Manager, Microsoft Mobile Devices Sales for Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei.

Both models offer integrated Microsoft Office experiences, OneDrive storage and fast 4G connectivity.

From now to 30 June, the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL will also come with a one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal, which includes the latest Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote) on the Lumia as well as on one PC or Mac and one tablet.

With the Office 365 Personal installed, users will receive an additional 1TB of OneDrive storage, and 60 Skype world minutes.

To redeem the offer, users will need to download the Office 365 gift app from the Windows Phone Store by 30 June and activate it by 14 August 2015.

The main tech specs for the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL are summarised below.

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Competition: PayPal CodeCallenge for Student Developers – 17 April 2015

Monday, April 13th, 2015

PayPal will be launching CodeChallenge – the online payments provider’s first coding competition for students in Singapore.

Calling Student Developers in Singapore - join PayPal’s CodeChallenge online this Friday on 17 April, 2015.

Calling Student Developers in Singapore – join PayPal’s CodeChallenge online this Friday on 17 April, 2015.

CodeChallenge is a nationwide coding contest aimed at nurturing budding young coders in Singapore.

Open to students currently enrolled in a school or educational institution based in Singapore, participants will need to demonstrate their coding prowess by solving a set of coding challenges within a time limit.

The online competition will commence at 7pm sharp and coders will have to submit their solutions within two hours.

Attractive prizes to be won.

Attractive prizes to be won.

The next morning, they will join fellow coders at PayPal’s office where the solutions and winners will be announced.

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GrabTaxi invests US$100m in its first R&D Centre in Singapore

Wednesday, April 8th, 2015

With senior hires from Facebook, Amazon and Palantir Technologies, Singapore is slated to become GrabTaxi’s technology hub.

The GrabTaxi R&D Centre is located at 138 Cecil Street, Cecil Court, Singapore 069538.

The GrabTaxi R&D Centre is located at 138 Cecil Street, Cecil Court, Singapore 069538.

GrabTaxi, one of Southeast Asia’s largest mobile phone transport app, has opened its first Research and Development (R&D) Centre in Singapore.

“Though we remain focused on Southeast Asia, we know that talent is global. This new R&D Centre has put on us a level playing field with the largest technology companies in the world. In fact, we’ve recently hired great senior talent from companies like Facebook, Amazon and Palantir Technologies, as their experience and expertise with these global powerhouses will help GrabTaxi reach our true potential,” said Anthony Tan, GrabTaxi Founder and Group CEO.

This will become GrabTaxi’s technology hub and it will house the majority of its technical staff and engineers from around the world.

The 4500 sq. ft. centre is located in the heart of Singapore’s bustling Central Business District and will eventually house 200 engineers and data scientists, which is a specialised role focused on analysing data and spotting trends from multiple data sources.

This US$100 million investment over a few years is a milestone for Southeast Asian startups as very few brands – local or regional – has made such a significant investment in technology infrastructure and talent based out of Singapore.

Eventually, 200 engineers and data scientists will occupy the 4,500 sq. ft. GrabTaxi R&D Centre.

Eventually, 200 engineers and data scientists will occupy the 4,500 sq. ft. GrabTaxi R&D Centre.

The R&D Centre reinforces GrabTaxi’s commitment to the region and an acknowledgment that Southeast Asia has the infrastructure and capacity to become a global technology hub.

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New arrivals: Nikon D7200, COOLPIX P900 cameras & ViewNX-i software

Sunday, March 1st, 2015

The Nikon D7200 DSLR and COOLPIX P900 compact zoom camera will be available in Singapore by end March, 2015. Prices TBA. The ViewNX-i will be available for free download beginning 17 March.

The Nikon D7200 will be available by end March 2015 with the AF-S DX 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens, or AF-S DX 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens, or with the body-only configuration.

The Nikon D7200 will be available by end March 2015 with the AF-S DX 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens, or AF-S DX 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens, or with the body-only configuration.

Nikon has announced two new cameras and new image-browsing software.

D7200 DSLR

The DX-format D7200 DSLR offers enthusiasts features for low-light photography, social connectivity and Full HD videos.

Nikon D7200

Nikon D7200

The 24.2-megapixel DSLR comes with EXPEED 4 image-processing engine and CMOS sensor.

The 51-point autofocus (AF) sensor module is also utilised by the Nikon D750, and has an AF detection range down to -3EV for low-light photography.

Standard ISO ranges from 100 to 25600, extendable to ISO 102400.

There is built-in Wi-Fi connectivity and it is the first Nikon DSLR to feature Near Field Communication (NFC)-support (for NFC-compatible Android smartphones and tablets with Android 4.0 or later).

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Infographic: Singapore findings from CA Technologies security study

Thursday, February 26th, 2015

Yesterday CA Technologies released the results of its study on security in the application economy in Asia Pacific & Japan. Here are the results from the respondents in Singapore.

Excerpt of a graphical representation of the survey results for Singapore. To download/view the full enlarged infographic, click on the image above.

Excerpt of a graphical representation of the survey results for Singapore. To download/view the full enlarged infographic, click on the image above.

The study, sponsored by CA Technologies shows how mobility, APIs and an eye toward growing the business have brought a balanced view of control and enablement to security.

“It is paramount for Singapore organizations to stay ahead of the fast-changing IT threat landscape, especially in a geographic location that serves as a strategic regional and global hub for commerce,” said Chua I-Pin, vice president, Asia South, CA Technologies.

Singapore respondents were nearly equally split when asked if security was mostly about control or enabling the business.

49 percent of respondents said security was mostly about control, while 51 percent indicated that it was about both control and enablement.

Key Singapore findings from the study show:

1. Protection as top priorities

Protecting identities (48 percent) and protecting against data breaches (46 percent) were the top security priorities among Singapore respondents.

This was followed closely by improving/supporting compliance and audit (45 percent) and improving the mobile customer experience (39 percent).

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Eduardo Saverin & Sequoia funds launch of 99.co expansion

Friday, January 30th, 2015

The growing online property portal 99.co has officially launched its web and mobile search products, announcing a major round of funding and expansion into the residential sales segment.

Panel at the official launch of 99.co at the AVALON at Marina Bay Sands. From Left: Tan Kok Keong (CEO, REMS); Evan Chung (VP, DTZ); Darius Cheung (CEO, 99.co); Eduardo Saverin (Co-founder of Facebook and investor of 99.co); Eugene Lim (KEO, ERA); Mohd Ismail (CEO, Propnex). Photo credit: 99.co.

Panel at the official launch of 99.co at the AVALON at Marina Bay Sands. From Left: Tan Kok Keong (CEO, REMS); Evan Chung (VP, DTZ); Darius Cheung (CEO, 99.co); Eduardo Saverin (Co-founder of Facebook and investor of 99.co); Eugene Lim (KEO, ERA); Mohd Ismail (CEO, Propnex). Photo credit: 99.co.

Online property search portal 99.co has officially launched an expansion of its services into the residential sales segment and new investments totaling S$2.7 million to date.

“When I was trying to find a home for myself here in Singapore a few years ago, 99.co didn’t exist and I naturally explored all web and mobile tools available, and I was nothing short of disappointed. Were the listings real and available? Was the pricing data and other details accurate? Why so many duplicates?  It was a high-friction and time consumer experience that had to change,” says investor and user Eduardo Saverin.

The portal aims to “create the most trusted and authentic way for users to find a home they’ll love”.

99.co prioritises the end consumer experience first, promising unbiased search results, personalised to the query of the end user and sorted by the quality of the listing data versus by the promotional spend of the agents.

Since its soft-launch in November last year, 99co has introduced two mobile apps and ListRank, an algorithm that provides users the best and most relevant search results, and in the process doubled its web traffic.

In the same period, the company says its competitors such as PropertyGuru and iProperty have seen a decrease of web traffic between 10 and 20 percent.

Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook, sharing why he invested in 99.co.

Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook, sharing why he invested in 99.co. Photo credit: John Tan, taken on Samsung Galaxy Note 4.

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New arrivals: Parallels Access 2.5 extends to computer-to-computer access

Thursday, January 15th, 2015

Parallels Access 2.5 now features Universal File Manager, Computer-to-Computer Remote Access and Samsung S Pen Integration on the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge. Pricing below.

Parallels advances the remote desktop experience beyond iPhone, iPad and Android to include computer-to-computer access.

Parallels advances the remote desktop experience beyond iPhone, iPad and Android to include computer-to-computer access.

Parallels, a global provider of cross-platform solutions, today introduced Parallels Access 2.5, available immediately on Google Play and the App Store worldwide.

“In our new era of even more devices, interfaces and form factors, it is extremely important for people to have a consistent application experience from any device, anywhere. Today’s workers need tools that connect the applications they depend on with devices and services from multiple platforms for a seamless user experience,” said Parallels president Jack Zubarev.

New features of the app include a universal file manager, computer-to-computer remote access and Samsung S Pen integration to give customers a useful and productive remote access experience.

Now all Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge customers get a free six month subscription to Parallels Access in their Galaxy Gifts.

The new release also supports the recently released OS X Yosemite and Windows 10 Technical Preview.

Parallels Access enables users to access their working computer anytime and anywhere, even with a mobile device or a borrowed computer.

New features include:

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Travel Tip #3: Use Skype for overseas calls while travelling

Sunday, December 28th, 2014

In addition of making overseas calls from your home country, you can also use Skype to call family, friends and colleagues who back in your home country on their landline or mobile – when you are travelling overseas. All you need is Wi-Fi access or mobile broadband on your smartphone, and some Skype credits.

Check out Skype as an additional affordable means of voice/SMS communication when you travel overseas.

Check out Skype as an additional affordable means of voice/SMS communication when you travel overseas.

When I first arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, while waiting at the customs, I logged on to the free Wi-Fi network in the airport and used Skype to call a local sight to make enquiries and make reservations for a day trip to a wildlife rescue centre in Petchaburi.

The Suvarnabhumi Airport serving Bangkok provides a pretty decent free Wi-Fi to travellers in its terminals – good enough to make VoIP calls using Skype.

First you need to register in the login page for the AOT network in the airport and you get to use the network for free for up to 2 hours a day.

Don’t bother to memorise the complicated userid and password they issue you, the next time you use the network – which is probably when you leave Thailand – you can register as a new user again and use a new set of userid and password.

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Events: Salesforce Essentials in Singapore Marina Bay Sands

Tuesday, November 18th, 2014

Simon Davies – Vice President for ASEAN, Greater China and Korea, Salesforce – brought the latest updates and insights from one of the leading companies in cloud computing and CRM.

Salesforce Essentials was held at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Photo: Andrew Ng.

Salesforce Essentials was held at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Photo: Andrew Ng.

Newly launched solutions were also showcased during a Cloud Expo tour, while local Asian customers shared how Salesforce had transformed their business and helped them connect with their customers in new ways.

“It was great to hear some of the latest updates on CRM and their customised “Wealth Management” module. What I found interesting was when Simon Davies briefly chatted about some innovations where Siam Bank used their cloud to bring financial apps direct to the end customers,” recalls Andrew Ng – tech4tea.com – who attended the media briefing.

Talking points included updates, innovations and initiatives from Dreamforce 2014, as well as how Salesforce had grown exponentially to become one of the top 10 fastest growing software companies in the world.

Also discussed were tech trends that Salesforce saw affecting businesses in the future, including the internet of customers, wearables and increased mobility.

The company also shared how Singapore and Asia as a whole was important to Salesforce’s global business, and what Singapore/Asia customers look for in their cloud, social and mobile solutions.

For reference, at the end of this post is the press release for Dreamforce 2014 last month in San Francisco, US.

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Video Boost debuts in new Opera Mini 9 for iOS

Thursday, November 6th, 2014

Opera claims that its Video Boost is a first for mobile web browsers, offering faster loading time and money savings from data reduction (compression). Available now FREE from Apple App Store.

The new Opera Mini 9 for iOS comes with video boost feature that compresses video before delivering to your mobile phone, saving you from staring at the video-buffering wheel, as well as data savings.

The new Opera Mini 9 for iOS comes with video boost feature that compresses video before delivering to your mobile phone, saving you from staring at the video-buffering wheel, as well as data savings.

iPhone and iPad users will see less of the dreaded video-buffering wheel, using the new video boost feature in the Opera Mini 9 web browser.

“This is the first time video optimization has been integrated into a web browser, so your browser can now take pride of place as your favorite video app. Video snags are a small problem, but an annoying one — a pothole on the internet highway. And Opera fixed it,” says Lars Boilesen, CEO of Opera Software.

People love watching video on their mobiles and tablets.

Unfortunately, this can eat up a data plan quickly, and stalled videos waste time and create frustration.

Opera Mini boasts that it can address this problem with video boost.

Video boost brings down buffering time for eager video viewers, by reducing the size of video data.

Using the Rocket Optimizer engine from Opera’s Skyfire division, video boost can also save users on their data bills.

Optimising videos is becoming increasingly important, as video viewing explodes on mobile phones.

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