Archive for the ‘Operating Systems’ Category
Thursday, January 17th, 2013
The new laptops that Dell unveiled today are thinner and have been optimised for better performance and improved battery life.
The Inspiron 14 (starting from S$599), Inspiron 15 (S$649), Inspiron 14R (S$899), and Inspiron 15R (S$999) are available from today.
The new Dell Inspiron laptops are thinner, more powerful and have longer battery life.
The new Inspiron family features increased battery capacities for the 6-cell versions of the laptops, utilising the ultra-low voltage versions of Intel’s Core i processors.
“Our customers told us they want better battery life without sacrificing on overall performance, and they want thin and portable laptops,” shared Deepak Wagh, general manager, Consumer Business, Dell Singapore.
Requiring only 17 watts to run, the new energy-efficient processors use less than half the power requirements of those installed in last year’s Inspiron laptops, resulting in longer battery life.
The redesigned Inspirons are 15% lighter than the previous generation, and 17% slimmer with the 4-cell batteries, making them under 1-inch thin.
The laptops are available with Intel’s Core i3, i5 and i7 processor options, and support higher-end features like 3×3 dual-band wireless support based on the latest Wi-Fi N standards, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI 1.4a.
Side view of the Dell Inspiron 14R.
They are built with stereo speakers with Waves MaxxAudio 4 processing that was introduced in the high-end XPS laptops.
“The new Inspiron portfolio delivers both power and performance, packed in lighter and smaller full-featured laptops that are perfect for everyday computing needs of families and students,” said Wagh.
They also come preloaded with Skype and H.264 enablement for HD video chats or calls.
With the Intel wireless card, all these systems support Intel’s wireless display standard.
Beyond these hardware and software enhancements, these laptops all have touchpads that are optimised to take advantage of multi-touch gestures in Windows 8.
Below are the details.
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Tags:DELL, Inspiron, laptops, notebooks, Singapore
Posted in Availability, Dell, Gadgets, Notebooks, Prices, Specifications, Windows 8 | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 15th, 2013
Unveiled only last week at CES 2013 in Las Vegas, the new flagship for Sony Mobile’s Xperia smartphones was showcased in Singapore to the regional media.
The Xperia Z and its smaller variant (Xperia ZL) will be available globally in Q1 2013. Prices are yet to be announced.
Update (7 February, 2013):
The Xperia Z will debut in Singapore on 1 March 2013. RRP: S$988 without contract.
Pre-orders can also be made at the following Telco websites:
You can pre-order at the Xperia Store, Sony Stores and Sony Centres from 15-24 February and get a gift.
Xperia Z will be available in the above stores on 1 March and from all telco operators from March 2nd onwards, in black or white. The purple Xperia Z will be available one week after on 8 March.
Sony Mobile’s new flagship smartphone – Xperia Z. Available Q1 2013.
The Xperia Z embodies leading edge technology that Sony had developed over the years for its wide range of electronic devices.
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Tags:Android, Android 4.1, Android 4.2, Jelly Bean, Qualcomm, Red Dot, Singapore, smartphones, Snapdragon, Sony, Sony Mobile, Walkman, Xperia, Xperia Z
Posted in Android, Audio, earphones, Events, Exhibition, Gadgets, headphones, Phones, Sony, Sony Mobile, speakers, Specifications, Walkman, Xperia | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, January 8th, 2013
Here is a round-up of Sony’s new electronic gadgets for 2013, as released today during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2013 in Nevada, Las Vegas, USA.
Imagine a Sony Bravia KD-65 LED TV in your living room.
This year’s line-up includes new models to Sony’s Cyber-Shot, Handycam, Walkman, Xperia and BRAVIA range of products, as well as wireless speakers.
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Tags:4K, Android, audio, Bravia, cameras, CES, CES 2013, compact, Cyber-shot, handycam, LED, music, smartphone, Sony, Sony Mobile, speakers, TV, Walkman, Xperia, Xperia Z
Posted in Android, Audio, Cameras, Compact camera, Cyber-shot, Exhibition, Gadgets, Operating Systems, Phones, Sony, Sony Mobile, speakers, Specifications, Tech news, Walkman, Xperia | 1 Comment »
Sunday, January 6th, 2013
I brought the ThinkPad X1 Carbon along when I went on vacation in Japan in December. Why? Because it was light and slim and promised a long battery life. It did not disappoint. RRP: starts from S$2,349.
Update (7 March, 2013):
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is on offer during IT Show 2013. For S$3,149, you get a 3rd Gen Intel Core i7-3667U 3G processor with Windows 7 Professional 64 with Windows 8 Pro Recovery DVD.
This configuration comes with 8GB DDR3 SDRAM + 256GB SSD, with Wi-Fi + 3G connectivity.
What’s more, bundled items include a Lenovo Mini-Display Port to VGA monitor cable and a USB 2.0 Ethernet Adapter!
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is the ideal fit for the mobile warrior.
Launched back in August as part of the ThinkPad’s 20th anniversary celebrations, the X1 Carbon was the world’s lightest Ultrabook at the time, and still is one of the thinnest and lightest around today (331x226x18.85 mm).
Slim & svelte is the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook.
The X1 Carbon weighs less than three pounds, or 1.36kg – that’s less than a 1.5l soft drink bottle – thanks to its carbon fibre construction.
The Ultrabook withstood the physical rigours that we put it through lugging it from place to place.
The X1 Carbon boasted up to 8.2 hours of battery life and one of the best charge times in the industry, with rapid recharge up to 80% battery life in 35 minutes.
During vacation, I usually bring along a notebook for the family to surf the Web, check emails and social network updates, and for me to blog and do photo selection and editing for the holiday photos.
What I need is a powerful notebook that is light and powerful with long battery life. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon fitted the bill perfectly.
Indeed, the battery never once run out on me before I could hit a hotel to recharge, and the recharge was indeed rapid – wall power outlets can be much sought after when you have loads of other electrical devices to recharge at the end of a day.
The unit that I had did not come with 3G, so I had to connect using Wi-Fi most of the time. I didn’t need 3G anyway since I wasn’t data-roaming overseas.
I like the backlit keyboard so I can type in dim light without straining my eyes to locate the infrequently-used keys.
A special hinging mechanism allows the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook to be laid completely flat on the table.
The multi-gesture glass surface touchpad also made it easy to get by without having to connect a mouse.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook
Video conferencing with family and friends at home was a breeze, with the HD face-tracking camera, dual array microphones and Dolby-tuned audio.
In its effort to stay slim and light, I/O ports are limited.
There’re no VGA or HDMI ports, so I can’t plug into my external monitor at home without buying an optional cable for the mini display port.
There’s also no Ethernet ports. You might think nobody needs that since most hotels come with Wi-Fi. Well some of the hotels we stayed in only had wired Internet connections in the room and no Wi-Fi.
My say:
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is a slim and powerful Ultrabook with long battery life and fast recharge – suitable for the mobile warrior – be it for business or on vacation. And it looks svelte and sexy to boot!
So I had to pop down to Best Denki in Kumamoto to buy a Logitec Elecom mobile wireless access point to broadcast the broadband access to the X1 Carbon, smartphones and tablet.
Tags:Carbon, Lenovo, notebooks, reviews, ThinkPad, ultrabooks, Windows 7, X1
Posted in Gadgets, Lenovo, Notebooks, Prices, Review, Specifications, Ultrabooks, Windows 7 | 1 Comment »
Friday, January 4th, 2013
The Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1 LTE will hit the shelves in Singapore tomorrow. The tablet will be available at S$998 (without contract), in deep grey.
The Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1 LTE Android tablet will be available in Singapore from tomorrow at S$998 (without contract).
Introduced back in late August last year (in the WiFi and 3G+WiFi configurations), the LTE+WiFi version of the GALAXY Note 10.1 will be available in Singapore from tomorrow.
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Tags:10.1, Adobe, Android, Android 4, Galaxy, Ice Cream Sandwich, ICS, Note, photo editor, Photoshop, Photoshop Touch, S Note, S Pen, Samsung, tablets
Posted in Adobe, Android, App, Availability, Gadgets, Galaxy, Operating Systems, Photography, Photoshop, Prices, Samsung, Software, Specifications, Tablets | No Comments »
Thursday, January 3rd, 2013
The new ASUS convertible Ultrabook – featuring a display on either side of its cover – is available in Singapore from today for S$2,698.
The ASUS TAICHI tablet-cum-Ultrabook convertible has two screens – one on either side of the cover. Available from today in Singapore for S$2,698.
The 11.6-inch Ultrabook runs on Windows 8 and features a 3rd generation Intel Core i7 processor and two back-to-back Full High Definition (FHD) IPS screens.
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Tags:Asus, convertibles, notebooks, tablets, TAICHI, ultrabooks, Windows, Windows 8
Posted in Asus, Availability, Gadgets, Microsoft, Notebooks, Prices, Specifications, Tablets, Ultrabooks, Windows 8 | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 18th, 2012
The new Republic of Gamers gaming desktop PCs from ASUS ship with the latest Windows 8 loaded and the quad-core Intel Core i7-3770K processor with Turbo Gear offers one-click overclock without rebooting.
The DEFCON light of the ASUS TYTAN ROG CG8480 changes from blue to red when overclocked.
Launched in October, the ROG CG8480 (S$2,250 without monitor) is a fully loaded gaming machine packed with superb performance.
The rear of the ROG CG8480.
The overclocked performance was stable throughout the time that I tried out the gaming desktop.
In particular, I like the subtle lighting which changes from the usual blue to red when the machine is overclocked.
The full 4-core CPU can be instantly overclocked – without rebooting – to hit a top speed of 4.2 GHz in Turbo Gear extreme mode. The other 2 speed modes are the startup Startup mode at 3.8GHz and Turbo Gear mode at 4.0GHz.
Gameplay was smooth with the 16GB RAM and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB GDDR5 graphics card, which is capable of supporting up to four monitors (I set up mine with two), with the option to game in NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround for selected models.
The 128GB SATA3 SSD makes data access so much faster than generic hard disk drives. It can support up to 6TB SATA 6Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM).
What I like is there’re plenty of sockets/ports in front and at the rear of the ROG CG8480.
Cooling was efficient with its well-ventilated chassis and airflow. Check out the detailed tech specs of the ASUS TYTAN ROG CG8480 gaming desktop PC here.
ASUS claims that the Xonar Phoebus audio card powered by ROG Command technology can deliver up to 50% ambient noise reduction. I found the audio sounded terrific with the Dolby surround enhancements.
Superb performance at an affordable price-tag, just right for the avid gamer who doesn’t have the time, or finds it too tiresome to build his gaming desktop from scratch.
Other new models in the ROG line of gaming desktop PCs include the CG8890 and CG8580.
Tags:Asus, computers, desktop, gaming, ROG, TYTAN, Windows, Windows 8
Posted in Asus, Desktops, Gadgets, Gaming, Opinion, Prices, Review, Specifications, Windows 8 | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, November 27th, 2012
Almost three months after they were unveiled by Nokia and Microsoft CEOs in New York, Nokia’s first Windows Phone 8 smartphones will debut in Singapore.
The Lumia 920 (S$899) and Lumia 820 (S$699) hits Singapore shelves next Saturday on 8 December 2012.
Nokia Lumia 920 (S$899) and Lumia 820 (S$699) arrives in Singapore next Saturday, 8 December 2012.
The two new handsets will be available at Nokia retail stores, while mobile operators in Singapore are slated to announce their respective data plans for the two models.
Accessories
Accessories for the two smartphones include the Nokia Lumia Purity Pro headset, JBL PlayUp Portable Wireless Speaker and JBL PowerUp Wireless Charging Speakers, as well as the Nokia Wireless Charging Pillow by Fatboy, Nokia Wireless Charging Stand and Nokia Wireless Charging Plate.
Nokia Singapore launched the two smartphones at Harry’s Bar at Millenia Walk and handed out the devices for guests to try out the new features, as they made their way around the city on an open-top bus.
The Lumia 920 boasts Pureview imaging technology that produces sharp pictures even in low light. The optical image stabiliser (OIS) further reduced the blur.
I was rather impressed with the Lumia 920’s imaging performance. Photos were indeed bright and sharp, while videos of moving/vibrating objects appeared less jerky when compared to videos taken on the Lumia 820 and other smartphones.
JBL PowerUp Wireless Charging Speakers
The Lumia 820 is the more affordable sibling of the two, with a smaller and lower-resolution screen, smaller battery, and the run-of-the-mill camera.
It is however, more compact and lighter than its bigger brother. (Check the quick comparison here).
You can also change the back cover of the Lumia 820 to vary the colour of the phone.
Both smartphones come with the same imaging apps that were quite interesting.
Nokia Smart Shoot is for group photos – shooting multiple exposures with a single click to choose the best from each exposure.
Nokia Wireless Charging Stand
Cinemagraph takes short videos where certain parts are frozen as a still shot while portions defined by you moves like regular video.
Panorama helps you do a sweep panorama shot of the landscape.
City Lens adds an augmented reality overlay over the screen when the camera is pointed at buildings and places of interest.
The idea is novel but not new, and in the short span of time that I tried it out, I found the augmented info sketchy at times while the resolution was not good enough to “lead” you to a particular place. At best, it tells you a place of interest is in a particular direction.
For really pragmatic and effective turn-by-turn navigation and search for places of interest, head back to the Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive apps, both of which have been updated with features such as indoor maps.
Tags:Lumia, Lumia 820, Lumia 920, Microsoft, Nokia, Singapore, smartphones, Windows Phone, Windows Phone 8
Posted in Accessories, App, Cameras, Events, Gadgets, headphones, Launch, Lumia, Nokia, Phones, Prices, Software, speakers, Specifications, Windows Phone 8 | 1 Comment »
Saturday, November 24th, 2012
HP will be at SITEX 2012 at Hall 6 Booths 6B01 and 6E10 in the Singapore EXPO.
Click to view or download SITEX 2012 promotions for HP desktops, All-in-One computers, notebooks, tablets, and notebook-tablet transformers. (Caution: Large 2MB PDF file)
The much anticipated HP ENVY X2 is now available at a special pre-order price of $1,099 (U.P $1,199)
Other HP computers to check out include the HP ENVY 4 TouchSmart Ultrabook, HP Pavilion Sleekbook, as well as the HP ENVY 23” and 20” AiO PCs.
Click to view or download SITEX 2012 promotions for HP printers. (Caution: Large 2MB PDF file)
Also check out HP’s printers, such as the HP LaserJet Pro 200 M276nw Color MFP and the HP Officejet 6700 Premium e-All-in-One printer.
Click to view or download SITEX 2012 promotions for HP printer supplies, including ink, toner and paper.
My favourite is the HP Photosmart 7520 e-All-in-One printer, which is equipped with HP’s wireless direct printing featureand allows users to print from any Wi-Fi-enabled mobile device, such as smartphones, tablets and laptop computers without the need for network or internet connections.
Click to view or download SITEX 2012 promotions for HP accessories including mouse, keyboards, headsets, speakers, bags and webcams; as well as software.
Tags:AIOs, computers, desktops, EXPO, HP, ink, inkjet, IT exhibition, laserjet, notebooks, paper, printers, promotions, Singapore, SITEX, SITEX 2012, SITEX 2012 accessories, SITEX 2012 computers, SITEX 2012 printers, SITEX 2012 smartphones and tablets, tablets, toner, transformers, ultrabooks
Posted in Accessories, All-in-One, Brochures, Desktops, Exhibition, Gadgets, headphones, HP, Hybrid, Inkjet, Laserjet, Mouse, Multi-function printer, Notebooks, Prices, Printers, Promotions, Specifications, Tablets, Ultrabooks, Windows 8 | 1 Comment »
Saturday, November 24th, 2012
Lenovo will be at SITEX 2012 at Hall 5 Booth 5C40 (Courts), and Hall 6 Booths 6C30 (Harvey Norman) and 6D30 & 6F18 (Newstead) in the Singapore EXPO.
Click to view or download Lenovo promotions for SITEX 2012. (Caution: Large 7MB PDF file with 6 pages)
Check out Lenovo’s promotional offers for tablets, notebooks, ultrabooks, convertibles, AIOs, desktops, and accessories.
Windows 8 Lenovo Ideapad Yoga Ultrabook-tablet convertible
These include the IdeaPad G480 laptop and the recently launched Windows 8 Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 Ultrabook-tablet convertible, and ThinkPad Twist S230u convertible.
My favourite is the Yoga.
Accessories include wireless mouse, speakers, headphones/headsets, USB hubs, and accessories for ThinkPads and IdeaPads.
Tags:AIOs, computers, convertibles, desktops, EXPO, IT exhibition, Lenovo, notebooks, promotions, Singapore, SITEX, SITEX 2012, SITEX 2012 computers, SITEX 2012 smartphones and tablets, tablets, ultrabooks
Posted in Accessories, All-in-One, Brochures, Desktops, Exhibition, Gadgets, headphones, Hybrid, Lenovo, Mouse, Notebooks, Prices, Promotions, Specifications, Tablets, Ultrabooks, Windows 8 | No Comments »
