Posts Tagged ‘reviews’

tech4xmas Review: Rakuten Kobo Sage & Kobo Libra 2 E-Readers

Thursday, December 2nd, 2021

An e-reader makes a fantastic Christmas present for an avid reader. I’ve gotten my wife the latest Rakuten Kobo Sage for this year’s X’mas. For those who prefer a slightly smaller form-factor (and lower price-tag), the Kobo Libra 2 is also an excellent e-reader.

The Rakuten Kobo Sage (left) and Kobo Libra 2 are both waterproof to IPX8 rating so you can safely read by the pool and in the bath. In this photo, the new Dark Mode is enabled on the Kobo Sage. Notice that the text is clearly legible even under bright sunlight.

The Rakuten Kobo Sage (left) and Kobo Libra 2 are both waterproof to IPX8 rating so you can safely read by the pool and in the bath. In this photo, the new Dark Mode is enabled on the Kobo Sage. Notice that the text is clearly legible even under bright sunlight.

The Kobo Sage (S$399.90) and Kobo Libra 2 (S$289.90) are the two latest e-readers that Rakuten Kobo launched in October.

The Kobo Sage is slightly cheaper than Amazon’s flagship Kindle Oasis, while the Kobo Libra 2 is similarly priced to the latest Kindle Paperwhite.

 

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Christmas prezzies for the wife and son who are avid readers. The 8″ Kobo Sage (left, in Dark Mode) and 7″ Kobo Libra 2 (with an audiobook) in their sleepcovers which protects them and doubles up as a stand.

The 8-inch Kobo Sage is the new flagship of Kobo’s e-reader line-up, taking over the baton from the Kobo Forma (S$349.90) which is still available.

The 7-inch Kobo Libra 2 is the new version that succeeds the Libra H2O that my wife has been using, with great satisfaction, for the past year – it was her Christmas present for last X’mas.

So what are the key improvements of the two new e-readers?

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tech4xmas Gift Idea: Watercolour Design Accessories

Sunday, November 28th, 2021

Looking for some beautiful accessories (phone cases, mouse pads etc) with watercolour paintings on them? Check out Erinsgarden – an e-shop on Redbubble selling print-on-demand stuff based on the watercolour paintings of @kkmakesandbakes.

* Full disclosure: @kkmakesandbakes is my wife.

Phone covers, mouse pads, desk mats and other accessories based on original watercolour paintings specially designed for Christmas. Christmas Collections at Erinsgarden by @kkmakesandbakes.

Phone covers, mouse pads, desk mats and other accessories based on original watercolour paintings specially designed for Christmas. Christmas Collections at Erinsgarden by @kkmakesandbakes.

Fancy an iPad Case and Skin with a watercolour Christmas Puppy on it?

Or a X’mas Kitty Cat gracing your laptop skin?

Or a Vacation Kitty art mug to keep up inspired since most of us aren’t likely to travel this Christmas.

@kkmakesandbakes loves watercolour painting.

She paints as a hobby and friends suggested that she put some of these on Redbubble so people can buy stuff printed with her watercolour paintings on them.

So if you’re looking for a nice accessory as a X’mas gift for a colleague or a loved one, check out her designs!

tech4xmas Gift Ideas for Christmas 2021

Sunday, November 21st, 2021

Here are some gift ideas that I’ve curated for X’mas 2021. I’ll be adding to this list over the next few weeks, so check back daily for new gift ideas as I collate them.

The tech4xmas gift guide is meant to provide ideas to start you off, so do check out some of them online and in the shops if they are what you think would bring a smile to your loved ones this Christmas. Start by shopping (on Redbubble) for accessories (phone cases, mouse pads, T-shirts, mugs etc) based on this lovely watercolour painting painted by my wife.

The tech4xmas gift guide is meant to provide ideas to start you off, so do check out some of them online and in the shops if they are what you think would bring a smile to your loved ones this Christmas. Start by shopping (on Redbubble) for accessories (phone cases, mouse pads, T-shirts, mugs etc) based on this lovely watercolour painting painted by my wife.

It’s now time to shop for presents for Christmas 2021, and bring some cheer to two years living under the shadow of COVID-19.

Around this time of year, I’m usually inundated with requests from readers and friends on Christmas gift ideas for their loved ones or themselves.

So here are some tech that I would use myself or get for MY loved ones, based mostly on those gadgets that I’ve tried or reviewed.

Not all are the latest and newest, but they are what I think are some of the best-in-class in their category of products.

Happy Christmas Shopping!

tech4xmas 2021 Gift Guide below.

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Review: Huawei FreeBuds 4 Open-Fit Wireless Earbuds with ANC

Saturday, July 17th, 2021

Huawei launched the FreeBuds 4 TWS (True Wireless Stereo) earbuds for APAC less than two weeks ago and I’ve been trying it out since then. Pre-orders for the earbuds are now open from today till 23 July, 2021 before it hits Singapore shelves on the 24 July.

 

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Here’s my Silver Frost version of the new Huawei FreeBuds 4. Also available is Ceramic White.

I like the physical design for the FreeBuds 4, especially the chrome shiny metallic Silver Frost colourway.

The other colour available is the Ceramic White version, which looks similar to Apple AirPods.

In the box are the earbuds, the charging case, a USB-C cable and the regular documentation that includes a quick-start guide, safety information, warranty card and warranty certificate.

Currently only the wired charging version of the FreeBuds 4 has been launched.

There is a slightly more expensive wireless charging version that is not available yet.

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#tech4WorkFromHome: Turbocharge Home Wi-Fi with Linksys E9450 WiFi6 EasyMesh Router

Tuesday, June 1st, 2021

Want to improve the quality, speed and coverage of your home Wi-Fi for #WorkFromHome and #HomeBasedLearning? I’ve been using the E9450 WiFi6 EasyMesh Router from Linksys since its launch half a year ago and I’m very happy that it has delivered.

The Linksys E9450 Dual Band WiFi 6 Mesh router to expand Wi-Fi coverage and performance for #WorkFromHome and #HomeBasedLearning, as well as for gaming.

The Linksys E9450 Dual Band WiFi 6 Mesh router to expand Wi-Fi coverage and performance for #WorkFromHome and #HomeBasedLearning, as well as for gaming.

I’ve been using a telco-provided router for years – it has served me well although it could not reach the study, the bedrooms and the garden outside – so Internet access has always been confined to the kitchen, living and dining rooms.

Beyond the reaches of the old router, we had to switch on the mobile data connections on our handphones and hotspot the data to devices (speakers and computers etc) without a mobile data connection.

You can imagine how frustrating and limiting (and expensive) that can be.

And as the number of Internet-lusting devices being used in the household began growing rapidly, connection quality began to deteriorate, with slow speeds and dropped connections occurring more frequently.

Which was why I decided to upgrade the old router with the Linksys E9450 WiFi6 EasyMesh Router.

To expand the coverage of my home Wi-Fi network, I deployed a 2-node (1 parent + 1 child node) mesh network.

This was because a single-node network provided roughly a similar spatial network as my old router, probably because it was a matter of physical topology due to the layout.

The optical network terminal (ONT) for Singtel’s fibre optic network is located at one end of my apartment near the main entrance – instead of the center of the entire apartment – hence the distance between the router (which is connected by wire to the ONT) and the bedrooms tend to render the Wi-Fi signals too weak for connection.

 

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I have a Network Attached Storage (NAS) connected (by wire) to the E9450 so that devices can upload/download files/photos and stream music/videos wirelessly via the Wi-Fi network. Another reason why I need a good Wi-Fi network with reach and performance.

So with a second E9450 router placed at the far end of the living room, the coverage of the Wi-Fi network was successfully extended to every bedroom – because the second router was located at the center of the entire apartment.

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Review: Seagate IronWolf Pro 14TB HDD with Synology DS918+ NAS

Wednesday, March 31st, 2021

With the growing demand for storage space at home, I’ve set up an NAS (Network Attached Storage) with three Seagate IronWolf Pro 14TB NAS HDD (Hard Disk Drive) in a Synology DS918+ DiskStation. Just in time for World Backup Day 2021 today.

 

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The three Seagate IronWolf Pro 14TB HDD freshly unwrapped (lower photo) and just prior to installation into the Synology DS918+ DiskStation NAS.

With the exponentially increasing demand for storage space, businesses and home users constantly find themselves exhausting whatever storage they have – be it to store text documents, databases, photos or huge video files.

 

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The NAS sitting pretty alongside the Linksys E9450 router, all set up with RAID5 in a Synology DS918+ DiskStation with three Seagate IronWolf Pro 14TB HDDs within.

And with the COVID-19 pandemic, employees are working from home and students are doing home-based learning – resulting in large increases in demand for storage needs at home eg. if you’re a creative pro who now have to do your video-editing at home instead of at the office.

 

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The three Seagate IronWolf Pro 14TB HDDs and Synology DS918+ DiskStation NAS just prior to unboxing.

Having gotten by with a desktop expansion HDD connected to my work laptop, I’ve decided to set up an NAS at home – to not only increase storage capacity but also to share that storage with all members of the family.

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Review: Oppo Reno5 Pro Android Smartphone

Monday, March 29th, 2021

Oppo’s Reno5 series boasts good video capabilities and performance, including Dual-view mode, AI Highlight video, 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 Flash Charge and 90Hz refresh rate.

The Oppo Reno5 Pro is available with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage in Galactic Silver and Starry Black at a retail price of S$899.

The Oppo Reno5 Pro is available with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage in Galactic Silver and Starry Black at a retail price of S$899.

The Reno5 series is Oppo’s first 5G-ready Reno series to be released in Singapore.

Reno5 Pro features MediaTek’s latest flagship 5G-integrated SoC, the Dimensity 1000+, for top-of-class 5G capabilities.

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tech4xmas Review: Rakuten Kobo Libra H2O E-Reader

Saturday, December 5th, 2020

The Rakuten Kobo Libra H2O is the Christmas present for my wife who is an avid reader. I chose it because it offers all the features that she needs and uses at a reasonable price. Looks good, works well and value-for-money.

The Rakuten Kobo Libra H2O e-reader (S$279.90) and the optional sleep cover (S$59) is available online (https://sg.kobobooks.com/products/kobo-libra-h2o) as well as at key retailers such as Challenger, Courts, and Sprint-cass.

The Rakuten Kobo Libra H2O e-reader (S$279.90) and the optional sleep cover (S$59) is available online as well as at key retailers such as Challenger, Courts, and Sprint-cass.

So the two flagship e-readers that I started out looking at were the Kindle Oasis 3 and the Kobo Forma.

Eventually, I decided on the Libra H2O because it offers almost the same set of features but at a much lower price.

 

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Borrowing books from the public library and discovery of books from the Kobo eBookstore is easy and intuitive. I like the recommendations of similar books based on the books that I have read.

The Libra H2O has a seven-inch Carta E Ink HD touchscreen with 1690 x 1264 pixels at 300ppi.

The display is sharp and the content is clearly readable in dim light or in bright sunlight.

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tech4xmas Review: Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro Smartwatch

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2020

The S$398 smartwatch from Huawei offers itself as a fitness and health companion, packaged in a design that combines sports and style. Great Christmas gift for the sporty male.

 

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Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro smartwatch (Night Black).

The Watch GT 2 Pro is the most advanced smartwatch from Huawei, offering a comprehensive range of features, with a number of upgrades from its predecessors.

With 100+ workout modes available – including the recently added golf driving range, skiing, snowboarding and cross country skiing – you’re highly likely to find your favourite workout whatever your sports of choice is.

 

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Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro smartwatch in the box.

In addition, the GT 2 Pro offers attentive health features such as its proprietary TruSeen™ 4.0+ heart rate monitoring technology, TruSleep.

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tech4xmas Gift Ideas for Christmas 2020

Tuesday, December 1st, 2020

We’re now into December and the final stretch of 2020. Here are some gift ideas that I’ve curated for Christmas 2020.

* I’ll be adding to this list over the next few days, so check back daily for new gift ideas as I collate them.

The tech4xmas gift guide is meant to provide ideas to start you off, so do check out some of them online and in the shops if they are what you think would bring a smile to your loved ones this Christmas.

The tech4xmas gift guide is meant to provide ideas to start you off, so do check out some of them online and in the shops if they are what you think would bring a smile to your loved ones this Christmas.

Around this time of year, I’m usually inundated with requests from readers and friends on Christmas gift ideas for their loved ones or themselves.

So here are some tech that I would use myself or get for MY loved ones, based mostly on those gadgets that I’ve tried or reviewed.

Not all are the latest and newest, but they are what I think some of the best-in-class in their category of products.

Happy Christmas Shopping!

tech4xmas Gift Guide below.

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