POTD: Cavalia the equestrian extravaganza in Singapore

August 17th, 2014

Photo of the Day: Cavalia is an equestrian theatrical performance that leverages innovative multimedia displays and multi-disciplinary performances. It is now running in Singapore from 12 August to 14 September 2014.

* All the photos in this article (except the portrait of Alain Gaulthier) were taken with a Sony A7R full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, with a 55-210mm E-mount zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.

This pretty lady kept looking in my direction, so I took a portrait for her.

This pretty lady kept looking in my direction, so I took a portrait for her.

The production was created by Normand Latourelle, one of the co-founders of the famed Cirque du Soleil.

Hailing from Montreal in Canada, the lavish production involves 50 horses and 46 riders, aerialists, acrobats, dancers and musicians from all over the world.

Since the show’s debut in 2003, some 4 million people from North America, Europe, Australia and the Middle East have watched the show.

Cast and dancers of Cavalia at the end of the show. I love how the lady's face lit up when she turned around and smiled at her fellow dancer.

Cast and dancers of Cavalia at the end of the show. I love how the lady’s face lit up when she turned around and smiled at her fellow dancer.

There has been more than 2,400 performances over the course of ten years. The 50 horses in Cavalia comprises 11 different breeds.

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Review: TomTom Multi-Sport Cardio GPS Sport Watch with Heart Rate Monitor built-in

August 16th, 2014

The TomTom Multi-Sport Cardio GPS Sport Watch comes with built-in Heart Rate Monitor. The watch works for running/treadmill, cycling and swimming activities.

The TomTom Cardio GPS Sport Watch comes in Runner or Multi-Sport versions.

The TomTom Cardio GPS Sport Watch comes in Runner or Multi-Sport versions.

The built-in Heart Rate Monitor is in the base of the watch, and measures your heart rate the moment you put on the watch.

This means you do not need to wear a separate chest strap or place a finger on a separate heart rate monitor (say on a smartphone) every time you want to take a reading.

You can vary the heart rate zones and vary the intensity of training depending on the goals you want to reach.

The embedded GPS receiver provides real-time exercise information at a glance, tracking your distance, time, pace, speed and calories burnt as you run, cycle or swim.

After the activity, users can view their routes and other key stats on TomTom MySports and other popular sites, such as, RunKeeper, MapMyFitness, TrainingPeaks and Strava so that they can monitor their progress over an extended period of time.

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New arrivals: Jabra Step Wireless earbuds in Singapore now

August 15th, 2014

The new Jabra Step Wireless earbuds is priced at an affordable entry-level S$108 and is available now in subtle black at Apple premium resellers, Challenger stores, Harvey Norman, POPULAR bookstores and other authorised Jabra resellers.

The Jabra Step Wireless entry-level earbuds is available in Singapore now at S$108.

The Jabra Step Wireless entry-level earbuds is available in Singapore now at S$108.

Tired of tangled wires and cords from your headphones and earbuds?

The Jabra Step Wireless sets you free from entangled cables.

The Jabra Step Wireless sets you free from entangled cables.

The new Jabra Step Wireless frees you from tripping over wires and allows you to connect to music playing devices up to 10m away.

Weighing in at a mere 16.5g and fitted with 10mm dynamic speakers, the Jabra Step Wireless is IP52-certified rain- and dust-resistant.

The soft, flexible over-the-ear gelhooks are angled to fit naturally into the ears, with the earbuds locking in immersive, stereo sound.

There is a choice of three sizes of eargels.

The Jabra Step Wireless promises a battery life of up to 4 straight hours of music/talk time on a single charge and 6 days standby time.

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New arrivals: Pre-order Xbox One in Singapore from S$639

August 14th, 2014

You can now pre-order Xbox One together with EA SPORTS FIFA 15.

The Xbox One will debut in Singapore on 23 September 2014.

The Xbox One will debut in Singapore on 23 September 2014.

During E3, it was announced that the Xbox One will be coming to Singapore on 23 September 2014.

The latest is that consumers will now have the option to pre-order one of two official Xbox One bundles, offering value with EA SPORTS™ FIFA 15 included for a limited time at no extra cost.

EA SPORTS™ FIFA 15 on Xbox One promises to bring football to life in stunning detail so fans can experience the emotion of the sport like never before.

Xbox One Launch Console Bundle (S$639)

Every Xbox One system will include the Xbox One console, which features a 500GB hard drive, Blu-ray player and built-in Wi-Fi, one Xbox One Wireless Controller, a chat headset, a HDMI cable, a free 14-day trial of Xbox Live Gold for new members and a digital copy of EA SPORTS™ FIFA 15 – for S$639 while stocks last.

Xbox One Launch Kinect Bundle (S$739)

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COMEX 2014 (28 – 31 Aug) at Suntec Singapore & promotions flyers

August 13th, 2014

The third of four large annual IT exhibitions in Singapore will be in town in two weeks. It will return to Suntec Singapore at Levels 4 & 6.

COMEX 2014 in Singapore.

COMEX 2014 in Singapore.

As in past IT shows, I’ll be compiling promotions and flyers from the exhibitors in the COMEX 2014 photo album on the tech4tea Facebook page.

You can browse the album or directly access a specific flyer via the list of links below. So far, only the flyers for TomTom are in.

Promotions/Flyers in alphabetical order

Embargoes for most of the flyers will only be lifted on the first day of COMEX 2014, as exhibitors vie to safeguard the promotions that they plan to offer.

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Fuji Xerox presents Cavalia in Singapore from 12 Aug – 14 Sep

August 12th, 2014

Cavalia is an equestrian theatrical extravaganza that leverages innovative multimedia displays and multi-disciplinary performances.

The production was created by Normand Latourelle, one of the co-founders of the famed Cirque du Soleil.

Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Cavalia Inc. is an entertainment company that specializes in the creation, production and touring of innovative shows for audiences of all ages.

Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Cavalia Inc. is an entertainment company that specializes in the creation, production and touring of innovative shows for audiences of all ages.

A huge White Theatre Tent has been set up at Bayfront Avenue, beside the Sands Expo and Convention Centre (see map below), to stage the performance, and to house the stable for the horses when they are off-duty.

“Fuji Xerox is proud to be the presenting sponsor of Cavalia as the show is built on a passion for perfection and originality that resonate with Fuji Xerox’s core belief in continuous innovations for the benefits of our customers,” said Masashi Honda, president and chief executive officer of Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific.

Fuji-Xerox is the presenting sponsor for Cavalia.

Fuji Xerox has selected to sponsor Cavalia as the show leverages cutting-edge technology to uniquely weave real-life demonstration of horsemanship with virtual imagery built upon state-of-the-art multimedia to give the audience a breathtaking hybrid experience.

It echoes Fuji Xerox’s continuous innovation in its technologies to create values for its customers while maintaining harmony with the environment

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313@somerset road tests beacon-based indoor positioning technology for retail

August 11th, 2014

313@somerset is the first mall in Singapore to road test the mobile technology to help connect customers to relevant content and promotions in real-time at participating retailers in the shopping mall.

Screenshots of the Tring 313 mobile app when the user receives a notification, and the promotion on offer.

Screenshots of the Tring 313 mobile app when the user receives a notification, and the promotion on offer.

313@somerset has its eyes set on Beacon-based Indoor Positioning,the latest in retail innovation that enable shoppers to receive hyper-targeted messages, deals and other content based on their proximity to the offering retailer inside the mall.

As a forerunner in the adoption of new and emerging technologies, 313@somerset is set to pave the way by being the first commercial outlet in Singapore to test out the potential of Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE) Beacons for retailers, including messaging targeted at specific mall and store locations, analytics and potentially payments.

In partnership with technology partner Sprooki, the mall conducted test trials in the form of short experiential tours around the mall and exclusive test groups were invited to take part in the trials.

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Friday night out at the Alive Museum Singapore at Suntec

August 10th, 2014

Last Friday, I brought the two kids to the Alive Museum Singapore at the Suntec City Mall.

* All photos (apart from the first photo) were taken with the Sony A7R full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with Sonnar T* FE 35mm F2.8 ZA Full-frame E-mount Prime Lens.

Fun Friday night out at Alive Museum Singapore.

Fun Friday night out at Alive Museum Singapore. Photo taken with Samsung GALAXY S5.

Although the estimated time needed to cover every exhibit was around one-and-a-half hours, we lingered for two-and-a-half and ended up with 250 photos.

More importantly, we had oodles of fun and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

“Can I join the ballerinas in the painting?”

The Alive Museum was opened in 2009 in South Korea and debuted in Singapore on 12 June this year.

Taken from the right perspective, this exhibit gives the illusion that sea water and penguins were flooding out of the painting.

Taken from the right perspective, this exhibit gives the illusion that sea water and penguins were flooding out of the painting.

The 3D visual illusion museum aims to serve as a fun and unique treat for the whole family, locals and tourists alike.

It offers a sensory experience that tricks one’s visual, physical and environmental perceptions, bringing fantasy to reality.

Not only can you touch and feel the exhibits, you can also hop into the frame and become a part of the art masterpieces that play on optical illusions.

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POTD: Singapore celebrates her 49th National Day

August 9th, 2014

Here’s wishing all Singaporeans a Happy National Day.

Fireworks over the bay. Photo taken with a Sony A7R with Sonnar T* FE 35mm F2.8 ZA Full-frame E-mount Prime Lens. Post edited using Photoshop. Photo credit: John Tan.

Fireworks over the bay. Photo taken with a Sony A7R with Sonnar T* FE 35mm F2.8 ZA Full-frame E-mount Prime Lens. Post edited using Photoshop. Photo credit: John Tan.

One highlight of the annual National Day celebrations is the fireworks, which are usually fired off in the evening towards the end of the National Day Parade (NDP) and mass display.

Here’s a video of the fireworks.

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N.E.mation! 9 call for entry – to win a trip to USA

August 8th, 2014

N.E.mation! 9 has begun. Registration is now open and all it takes are three simple steps to start your journey that may win yourself and your team a trip to USA. Deadline for call for entry: 15 August 2014.

Are you feeling excited? Then take action now and register online at https://nemation.sg/.

Are you feeling excited? Then take action now and register online at https://nemation.sg/.

The central idea for this year’s N.E.mation! is “Because We Believe”. Below is the synopsis.

“Singapore is what it is today because our pioneers believed in Singapore and were united by a determination to build a strong, secure and cohesive nation. As we mark Singapore’s 50th year, it is a good time to reflect on the values, principles and convictions that will continue to shape the nation and the home that we want for Singapore and our future generations.”

To give you some motivation, here’s a video featuring the trip of last season’s champion to the USA visiting some renowned animation studios and famous attractions.

Not sure how to start crafting a winning story? No worries, here are some resources to help you get your creative juice flowing – view the free online Story Workshop.

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