Singapore is the first South East Asia market to launch the Microsoft Surface RT tablet computer. Both the 32GB (S$668) and 64GB (S$798) versions are now available in Singapore at 20 Challenger stores. Price list within.
Microsoft Surface RT tablet has just been launched in Singapore.
Microsoft describes the Surface RT as “a tablet with some laptop capabilities”.
One big selling point is that the tablet ships with Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013 RT – which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.
Hands-on
Physically, the Surface RT feels light at 680g and is only 9.4mm thin (275 x 172 mm in size).
Integrated kick-stand to prop the tablet up in landscape mode.
There is an integrated kickstand that folds out behind the tablet – allowing it to stand in landscape orientation.
Unfortunately, the stand doesn’t work in portrait orientation so you’ll have to hold it with your hands instead.
The keyboard doubles up as a cover to protect the 16:9 widescreen high-definition display (10.6-inch ClearType HD touchscreen display with 1366 x 768 pixels).
Two types of keyboard covers are available – a 3mm-thick Touch Cover for gesture-based touch typing or a 5mm-thick Type cover with traditional moving keys.
It was easy to attach and separate the keyboard/cover from the tablet.
Simply pull the magnetic connectors apart or put the edges close to each other for the connectors to snap in place.
There is a full-sized USB port and microSDXC card slot for additional storage.
The Surface RT runs on a Quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 CPU with 2GB RAM.
The Touch Cover is really thin at 3mm.
It runs Windows RT and works exclusively with apps available in the Windows Store.
What this means is that don’t expect any software written for the full Windows OS (Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista, XP etc) to run on the tablet.
Challenger is the sole launch retailer for the Surface RT in Singapore.
The newly-launched scanner has a 3.7-inch touchscreen user interface and is capable of wireless scanning for local and cloud storage. Available now in Singapore at S$988 (incl. GST).
Brother ADS-2600DW, available in Singapore now at S$988. Photo from: Brother
The Brother ADS-2600DW sports a one-touch scan button and is capable of creating searchable PDFs, as well as duplex scanning at up to 24 pages per minute in a single pass.
“… innovative and easy-to-use business solution for busy workgroups and small-to-medium businesses that require critical hard-copy documents to be quickly and easily converted, managed and stored to a variety of business destinations,” said Takeo Shimazu, Managing Director, Brother International Singapore Pte Ltd.
It also comes bundled with software to take advantage of a broad range of professional functions.
The ADS-2600W is Brother’s flagship scanner and promises a full suite of features to help collaborate, update and access documents while embracing the convenience of cloud technology.
Scanned documents can be sent directly from the machine to a wide variety of business and professional destinations such as Google Drive, Evernote, Dropbox, Box, SkyDrive, Facebook, Flickr and Picasa Web Albums, as well as Microsoft SharePoint through the included Nuance PaperPort software.
The ADS-2600W also scans to local destinations such as email servers and FTP sites, USB flash memory drive and even Android phones and tablets.
Key features of the Brother ADS-2600DW scanner are listed below.
The newly-launched MFC-J2310 InkBenefit is the most compact inkjet model from Brother.
Available from 28 March 2013, the S$298 multi-function printer is capable of printing A3-sized documents and boast ink savings and increased efficiency for consumers, SOHOs and SMBs.
Brother MFC-J2310 InkBenefit. Available in Singapore from 28 March at S$298.
Brother MFC-J2310 InkBenefit is Brother’s most compact inkjet multi-function printer that prints up to A3 sizes.
The multi-function printer also copies, faxes, and scans, and sports an intuitive 1.8-inch touchscreen colour LCD display.
The MFC-J2310 is capable of printing up to A3 sizes, as well as automated two-side printing for A4 documents
As with the higher-end MFC-J2510 InkBenefit, which was launched in Singapore half a year ago, the new MFC-J2310 is compact and similar in size to the typical A4 multi-function printer, even though it can print up to A3 sizes.
Samsung has launched in New York the fourth generation GALAXY S. The GALAXY S4 runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, 5-inch Full HD Super AMOLED with 441ppi, and uses either a Quad-Core or Octa-Core processor – depending on the market, available in white or black, 3G or LTE.
Samsung GALAXY S4 – the widely-anticipated successor to the S3.
There’s a 2,600 mAh battery, 13-megapixel rear camera, 2GB RAM, 16-64 GB user memory with microSD slot for up to 64GB, and loads of software features.
No eye-scroll though. As expected, there’s Smart Pause – which pauses and play a video on the screen when the user’s eye looks away and back respectively.
HTC launched its new Android smartphone simultaneously in London and New York today. Originally rumoured to be called the M7, the new Android flagship from HTC is simply called HTC One.
Available in late March (pre-orders begin today) in black or silver.
The 32GB Glacier Silver version of the HTC One is available in Singapore from 13 April at S$968 at all three mobile operators.
The 64GB Glacier Silver (S$1,068) and the Stealth Black (32 & 64GB) versions will be available from May onwards.
Update 1 (25 March, 2013):
The new HTC One will roll out in the UK, Germany and Taiwan next week and across Europe, North America and most of Asia-Pacific before the end of April 2013.
RRP for the 32GB version is S$968(without line contract) while price for the 64GB version is yet to be announced.
This is what the new HTC One looks like with Blink on the homescreen (and icons of some of the partner feeds around it).
Here’s a quick round-up based on my live updates during the launch event.
HTC One will eventually be available in 80 countries, supported by 185 carriers globally.
The HTC One features the New Sense interface with new HTC home screen, two capacitive buttons in an aluminum body built from a single-block – containing an integrated antenna.
It has two front-facing stereo speakers, integrated Beats Audio and option for dual-microphone HDR recording.
UltraPixel camera quality compared with two top competitors.
A new BlinkFeed feature streams social updates, information and news onto the homescreen.
1,400 content partners have signed upto stream information in BlinkFeed. ESPN and AOL are two of the these and were on stage in New York and London respectively to talk about their partnership with HTC.
Below are the main tech specs unveiled during the launch. They were consistent with the speculation and rumours circulating prior to the launch.
The launch event will be held simultaneously in London and New York – and is widely believed to be for the launch of the M7 (also possibly to be named HTC One).
Invitations have been sent out for the HTC launch event in London and New York.
Stay tuned to the webcast URL which I’ll be posting here so you can follow it live.
Research In Motion (RIM) President & CEO – Thorsten Heins – launched the new QNX-based BlackBerry 10 operating system and unveils the full-touchscreen Z10 and physical keyboard-equipped Q10 smartphones.
RIM is also renaming itself as BlackBerry from today.
Shareholders’ response to the launch inside. All images in this article were screen-grabbed from webcast of the event.
The first manifestation of the new BlackBerry 10 – the full-touchscreen Z10 (left) and physical keyboard-equipped Q10 (right).
The basic premise of the new “BlackBerry experience” is about extending connectivity to everything around users – connecting the phone to the car, sound system, healthcare system etc.
Availability of Z10
Jan 31: UK
Feb 5: Canada (C$149)
Feb 10: UAE
Feb 21?: Singapore
March: USA (pre-orders without pricing from today)
* Q10 may be 1 month behind.
Three overarching innovations to enable this are the BlackBerry Hub, Peek and Flow.
Hub is akin to the People Hub of Microsoft Windows Phone operating system and consolidates all people related and social network information and updates in one place.
The Transformer AiO PC runs on Windows 8 and has an integral Android tablet that can be detached, while the Qube Google TV media streamer is an entertainment device with voice search and motion control.
Also unveiled were two premium monitors and a pocket router.
ASUS has unveiled a number of new innovative products during CES 2013.
The Transformer AiO has an 18.4-inch display that doubles as a standalone tablet.
Asus is also showcasing for CES 2013 its other recently launched products.
ASUS Transformer Book
ASUS Taichi
ASUS Zenbook Touch
ASUS VivoBook
The two monitors are the PA249Q ProArt and VG248QE Fast Gaming monitors, while the WL-330NUL Pocket Router is the world’s smallest router that gives easy wireless connectivity to travelers.
In fact, the pocket router would have been exactly what I needed during my recent trip to Japan because the super-thin Ultrabook that I’d brought along didn’t have an Ethernet port and some hotel rooms had wired Internet access but no Wi-Fi.
The 27-inch MX279H and 23-inch MX239H displays feature a frameless design with a 178° wide-view angle Advanced-High Performance In-Plane Switching (AH-IPS) panel.
The MX279H (S$519) will be available at SITEX 2012 while the MX239H (RRP TBA) will be available in Q1 2013.
ASUS Designo MX Series AH-IPS frameless displays.
For a home theater experience, the panels come with Bang & Olufsen ICEpower-derived dual 3W stereo speakers and ASUS SonicMaster technology.
AH-IPS is the latest in IPS technology – delivering improved color accuracy along with increased energy efficiency. In addition, a 5ms response time also eliminates ghosting and tracers for more fluid visuals.
The frameless design has a bezel thickness of only 0.8mm and are only 14.5mm (MX239H) and 17.5mm (MX279H) at their thinnest points.
The LED-backlit AH-IPS panel has a 178° wide-view angle that minimizes color shift on both horizontal or vertical planes to ensure quality visuals from almost any viewing position.
The Designo MX Series supports Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolutions and has dual HDMI and D-sub (VGA) input ports to ensure compatibility with a variety of multimedia devices including Blu-ray disc players, game consoles, and digital cameras to enrich users’ entertainment experience.
In addition, a 5ms response time also eliminates ghosting and tracers for more fluid visuals.
Thin & sleek
With the ASUS Smart Contrast Ratio (ASCR) of 80,000,000:1 and 250 cd/m² of brightness, the MX279H delivers life-like visuals by adjusting backlight luminance to achieve the darkest black and the brightest white shades.
ASUS Splendid Video Intelligence Technology ensures vivid color, with six modes (Standard/ sRGB/ Scenery/ Theater/ Game/ Night) easily activated via a designated sensor touch hotkey.
These Designo MX Series displays feature ASUS SonicMaster technology – which was co-developed by the ASUS Golden Ear team and Bang & Olufsen ICEpower.
The Designo MX’s embedded ICEpower MobileSound 3 chip delivers audio fidelity to ensure quality audio. ASUS SonicMaster technology.
The LTE-capable ASUS PadFone 2 is an Android 4 smartphone with a 4.7” display, with a 1.5 GHz Snapdragon quad-core processor, along with a 13MP camera. Slot it behind the docking Station and the combo becomes a 10.1” tablet.
Pre-orders begin tomorrow with deliveries on 22 November, either from StarHub or retailers. Prices range from S$848 (32GB phone) to S$1,239 (64GB phone + Station).
Update (11 January, 2013):
The Pearl White model will be available in Singapore from 12 January at the prices listed below.
ASUS will also be rolling out the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for PadFone 2 on the same day. The update will be made over the air, with users prompted to receive the Jelly Bean update.
The PadFone 2 has also just won the CES Innovations Award 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA during CES 2013.
ASUS PadFone 2 – hybrid smartphone/tablet for the best of both form factors.
In line with its tradition of innovation, the ASUS PadFone 2 offers the portability of a smartphone and the larger screen estate of a tablet when the phone is docked in.
RRP for Open Channels
32GB
64GB
PadFone 2 + PadFone 2 Station
S$1,099
S$1,239
PadFone 2
S$848
S$988
PadFone 2 Station
S$328
The Station only works with the phone docked in and serves to provide a larger screen and additional battery power.
ASUS PadFone 2 Android smartphone will be available in Singapore on 22 November.
The Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich can be upgraded to Jelly Bean.
Registered customers who purchase the device can receive a 2-in-1 Stylus Pen (worth S$28) and PadFone 2 Station Sleeve (worth S$68) for free.
This promotion is only valid from 16 to 20 November, while stocks last.
It runs on a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro Krait (Cortex-A15 class) quad-core processor with Adreno 320 Graphics.
The PadFone 2 comes with either 32GB or 64GB eMMC Flash, 2GB LPDDR2 RAM, and 2years of 50GB ASUS WebStorage.
Available only in black, the phone accepts a Micro SIM and has a 4.7-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) display at 312 ppi resolution, and 500 nits brightness Super IPS+.
ASUS PadFone 2
OS
Android 4.0 (ICS)
Screen (phone)
4.7″ Super IPS+
Resolution (phone)
1280 x 720
Screen (Station)
10.1″ IPS
Resolution (Station)
1280 x 800
Battery (phone & Station)
2,140 & 5000 mAh
Processor
1.5 GHz quad-core
Features
LTE, NFC, Micro SIM
Camera
Rear: 13 MP
Front: 1.2, 1.3MP
Video
1080p HD
Memory
RAM: 2 GB
Int: 32 or 64 GB
Ext: Nil
Size /mm (phone)
137.9 x 68.9 x 9
Weight (phone)
135 g
Size /mm (Station)
263 x 180.8 x 10.4
Weight (Station)
514 g
Price
see other table
The docking Station has a 10.1-inch IPS display (1280 x 800 pixels) at 149 ppi resolution.
Both displays use scratch-resistant Corning Fit Glass with anti-fingerprint coating.
Imaging-wise, both share the massive 13-megapixel rear camera on the phone, while the phone and the Station has 1.2MP and 1MP front cameras respectively.
The f/2.4 aperture rear camera can shoot up to 100 shots at 6 fps in burst mode, while simultaneously recording 1080p HD video.
The phone and the Station has 2140mAh and 5000mAh batteries respectively.
At just 649g, the combined weight of both PadFone 2 and PadFone 2 Station is lighter than most tablets in the market.
StarHub is the only Telco offering the PadFone 2, as was the case with the original PadFone.
Authorised retailers will also begin selling the devices (without line) at the time as StarHub, on 22 November.
This will allow existing subscribers of other Telcos to purchase the PadFone 2 at the same time as StarHub subscribers.
Both StarHub and ASUS are accepting pre-orders from tomorrow.
