Let It Snow This Jolly Season

Wishing for a white christmas your entire life like us in Malaysia? An article on The Star wrote that Malaysians are fascinated by snow. Head on to Youtube and give the snowflake button a click this holiday season. Not all videos are having this button though. Head past the break for a Nokia Purity Unboxing Video with snow. Merry Christmas everyone!

Ice Cream Sandwich ROM comes to HTC Sensation. Rooting unavoidable.

Want a taste of Android latest dessert Ice-Cream Sandwich on your HTC Sensation, here it is in the form of a custom ROM. The ROM comes skinned with the ever-so-popular Sense UI at its latest release Sense 3.5 which somewhat covers up all the visual candies ICS has for us. Face Unlock is among the many new features working in this ROM. Since this is still in its beta stage, don't expect things to be sunshine and roses while using this ROM. You may download the ROM and other required files at the XDA thread. Head on past the break for some screen shots.

HTC Sensation SLCD manufactured by 2 companies

The SLCD displays on the HTC Sensation are manufactured by 2 companies namely Sharp and Acer. The latter was commonly found in many HTC Sensation, which is also suspected to have manufacturing defects leading to the infamous dust under the screen problem. However, the Acer display gives a whiter white than the Sharp display. It also maintain the colour when viewed at an angle. Many HTC Sensation which have been sent in to HTC for a screen replacement had their screens replaced with Sharp displays. The move to Sharp displays may probably did not solve the dust issue. There is also noticeable improvement in contrast and flickering when compared to Acer's. Severe flickering as seen on Acer displays are not present in Sharp displays. However, do note that the Sharp display has a serious colour shift when viewed at an angle. The display suffers a great yellow tint when viewed at an angle and the white is more yellowish compared to Acer's. Head on past the break for more info and the workaround to adjust the colour on Sharp's SLCD.

Samsung Galaxy Note Lands on Malaysia

Celcom is offering the Samsung Galaxy Note now with a price as low as RM1368 with an 18-month contract. Grab yours now from any Samsung Elite Partner Stores, Celcom or Digi outlet. The first 100 to buy from Pavilion (near Esprit), Kuala Lumpur will get a free Galaxy Note Cover with Swarovski crystals. To people living in the far north or south, head on to Queensbay Mall (South Side), Penang or Aeon Tebrau (near Harris Bookstore), Johor Bahru respectively to get the Cover with Swarovski crystals if you are the first 50 buyer. Do note that the first 9999 Galaxy Note buyer through Samsung Elite Partner Stores, Celcom and Digi outlets will be given a complimentary Galaxy note Leather Flip Cover.

HTC Sensation XL has arrived on Malaysian shores

With the announcement of HTC teaming up with Beats Audio earlier this year, HTC Sensation XE have been launched with strong emphasis on audio capabilities and a faster processor coupled with a Beats earphone. HTC Sensation XL was announced during October this year. While it does pack a larger 4.7-inch screen over the Sensation, the hardware specs are lower witha single-core processor, no memory card slot and lower WVGA resolution. The Sensation XL comes out-of-the box with Sense UI 3.5. UPDATE: And it's confirmed to be available in HTC Retail Stores at a recommended retail price of RM2099. For those of you who're planning to sign a contract, Digi is offering the device from as low as RM1399 if you sign for a 2-year contract at RM48 per month.

HTC Edge: First Quad-Core Phone

4.7 inches. 720p resolution. 8 megapixel camera with f/2.2 aperture. Beats audio. Sounds good? But the best feature has to be the Tegra 3 supposedly powering this beast. Four 1.5 GHz cores which is double the core count of current generation smartphones. Whether it offers double the performance remains to be seen.

Android version is currently unconfirmed but it might come with Gingerbread considering that Ice Cream Sandwich has no need for the capacitive keys at the bottom. But HTC has promised to bring Ice Cream Sandwich as an upgrade to users soon.

We can expect to see this beast arriving in the 1st half of 2012.

7 Apps to Metro"lise" Your Android Device

Let's face it. The Metro UI of the Windows Phone is one of the simplest and slickest interface. However, it's mostly a love it or hate it situation for everyone. Android lover will criticise the lack of home screens and widgets. The lack of apps is another reason users does not opt for a Windows Phone. But what if we get the best of both world. Let's say, we have the vast amount of over 250000 apps offered in the Android market and the simple and slick Metro UI. Read on to find out just how you can do that in some short simple steps.

Sony Ericsson : Android 2.3.4 Update "Gesture Input"

As most of us know, Sony Ericsson released the Gingerbread 2.3.4 update way later than other manufacturers. The update will be available for all unlocked phones and most operator variants but there will be local deviations.  There are also some deviations on feature upgrade depending on phone model. Google Talk video chat will only be available for phones with front facing camera. Xperia™ PLAY will not get 3D panorama sweep but it will get HD video recording and the other goodies below. Most phones released this year comes with Android 2.3.4 out of the box.

Among the highlights of the update are:

• Google Talk with Video Chat for smartphones with front-facing cameras
• Updated Facebook inside Xperia™ functionality for enhanced like, share and discover abilities.
• Xperia™ smartphones introducing world’s first 3D Sweep Panorama functionality powered by Sony.
• 16x video zoom
• The software upgrade will enable consumers to turn their Xperia™  smartphone into a mini-mobile PC by connecting USB peripherals (mouse, keyboard or game controller) to Sony Ericsson LiveDock™ multimedia station. Connect the smartphone to a TV via HDMI to get a big screen experience.
• Gesture input – text input by swiping the finger from one letter to the next
• WiFi DLNA
• Screen capture – allows the user to share a screen grab from anywhere in the phone.

Does the highlighted feature ring a bell? Sounds like Swype right? You can judge for yourself after the break.

Nokia 600: Axed before Birth

Remember that there was a third Symbian Belle smartphone that was announced along with the Nokia 700 and 701?  Nokia obviously cancelled the Nokia 600 and is determined to pretending that it never happened.

Nokia 600 was announced in August and was expected to hit the shelves before Q3 ended, but that obviously never happened. We got no official comment from Nokia about the delay and now it appears that the phone has been cancelled.

All pages dedicated to the Belle-running Nokia 600 are now gone from the Nokia servers and even the Nokia developer website has no mention of it. Videos, featuring the Nokia 600 have been removed from the Nokia YouTube channels and if we hadn't actually seen the announcement we'd really be inclined to believe that the phone never existed.

It could be that there were some issues with its mass production or that the Finns want to focus more of your attention to their WP-running Lumia smartphones. Could also be so that it will not compete with the Nokia 500. Either way, if you had your sight set on the Nokia 600 you'll need to move along and find another device that suits your needs.

More pictures of this not-to-be phone after the break.

Nokia Purity, Listen to the purest music

 

HTC partnered with Beats Audio aiming to provide a better audio experience to users. Nokia have chosen to partner with Monster to produce a new line of headphones and earbuds named Nokia Purity. They come in many colours as what you would expect from the Finnish company. The design is pure with minimal nonsense as what the name Purity suggest. Nokia Purity line supports Windows Phone with Media Playback and Volume controls and supports hands-free calls. No local pricing details known at the moment.

Nokia Lumia 710 lighting up the future of Nokia alongside the Lumia 800 UPDATE : No microSD slot

The Nokia Lumia 710 is announced alongside the Nokia Lumia 800. It packs the same 1.4Ghz spotted in the Lumia 800 but with a smaller 3.7-inch screen and a 5mpx sensor instead of 8mpx. Lumia 710 offers 5 interchangeable back covers, black, white, cyan, fuchsia and yellow delighting the lively people. The phone comes in either black or white. The Lumia 710 is priced at €210 (RM910), definitely a deal since it's packing the same punch as the Lumia 800. Head past the break for specs video and pictures.

The First Real Windows Phone : Nokia Lumia 800

Nokia announced the first Windows Phone device through the partnership of Nokia and Microsoft during Nokia World at London, the Nokia Lumia 800. It looks identical to the Maemo Harmattan-based Nokia N9, spotting a similarly sized 3.9 inch Clear Black Display. The Lumia 800 packs a 1.4Ghz single core processor with graphics hardware-accceleration to give that smooth user experience. The Nokia Lumia 800 is priced at €420 (RM1820)

Maxis Malaysia to offer Samsung Galaxy S II at RM799 for the first 300 customers

An advertisement was on today's copy of The Star paper. Maxis is offering the first 300 customers the all new Dual-Core Samsung Galaxy S II at a promotion price of only RM799. The offer will be held on 22nd June at Midvalley Megamall Centre Court Concourse area. While this seems like a pretty good deal, there're terms behind it. However, nothing is shown in Maxis website. Apparently, customers wishing to get at this price will have to sign up to a minimum voice plan of RM80 coupled with 3GB monthly internet at RM88 for a contract period of 24 months. The above promotion price is offered during the press launch at 3pm. Make sure you head down to Midvalley Megamall to be among the first to grab this mighty beast at such a low price considering you actually want the plan.

Anonymous to hack Malaysia government website

Anonymous to aim at Malaysia Government Website for executing act of censorship on filesharing sites. Video after the break.

Asus shipping 300,000 Eee Pad Transformers following closely behind the iPad

While many of you may be enjoying iPad 2, the Asus Eee Pad Transformer has made quite an impression for the Android fans in the tablet segment. Besides having the unique keyboard dock, it contains nothing less than what you would expect from current tablet. Packing a dual-core Tegra 2 processor, it's undeniably at top notch in terms of hardware specifications. One thing Asustek didn't quite succeeded is to sustain the market demand with enough supply. Shortage of the Asus Eee Pad Transformer is happening al around the globe. This may well be thought to be an unexpectedly high demand but according to Softpedia, Asustek managed to ship only 10,000 units of these lovely gadget instead of the supposedly 300,000 units in the month of May due to component shortage. Jerry Shen, CEO of Asustek says that he expects to sell 300,000 of these devices this month, totalling with 400,000 units ship in April and May to be the second most shipped tablet tailing the iPad 2. Let's just hope they solve the component shortage for such demands.

SOURCE  Softpedia, Taiwan Economic News

T Mobile : Angry Birds Live

Live-sized Angry Birds at Barcelona. Complete with real shooting birds and exploding pigs!


SOURCE  YouTube

Review : 1Malaysia Netbook

The government has started a scheme offering netbooks to families with incomes of below RM3000. It is purposed to help recipients study smarter. Wonder how these netbooks are of help since it comes with no educational software whatsoever. The only productivity softwares found pre-installed on these netbooks are Microsoft Word and Excel. Other than the two mentioned, you're practically looking at an empty copy of Windows.

Recipient must also subscribe to broadband or have a pre-existing broadband connection. The minimum required is a Streamyx Zone ID, which will cost RM25/month. The broadband package offered is RM60 per month, with free WiFi modem as well. Hey, thought this scheme was for families with low income and they are expecting us to fork out extra money? Considering that it has nothing inside that is of help to studies except Word and Excel, at least with an internet connection, the students can stay on WikiPedia and read up or of course reroute to Facebook at times.

Okay let's get on to the review after the break.

Apple testing A5-packing MacBook Air?

We've seen it put its processing power behind the iPad 2 and heard rumors of its presence in the upcoming fifth-gen iPhone, but could Apple really be considering putting its mobile-minded A5 processor in a MacBook Air? According to Japanese website, Macotakara, a trial of the ARM chip is already underway. Apple's reportedly been experimenting with a Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook Air with the A5 on board, and "according to someone who has seen a model running with [Apple's] A5 processor, the performance is better than had been thought." Two weeks ago, we reported on rumors that the upcoming MacBook Air refresh could be on its way as early as next month, featuring Intel's Sandy Bridge 17W mobile processors -- a claim we'd say could hold water. Of course, this information has trickled a ways down the grapevine, and the presence of an A5-packing test vehicle doesn't mean much anyway, but you can consider our interest piqued, regardless.

VIA  CNET

SOURCE  Macotakara

Nokia using ads to go straight against Apple iOS devices

Nokia might be having a downward slope in sales, market share and even its own share value but that does not stop Nokia India from being a little more than loyal to fight back with a strong ad suggesting a direct attack on iOS devices. Nokia suggest that iDoalotmore on Nokia smartphones even if Symbian is moving away from the limelight since the announcement for Nokia to make transitions from Nokia to Windows Phone 7.

SOURCE  Nokia India

World's First 64GB MicroSD card unveiled by Kingmax

The record-setter microSD manufacturer, Kingmax which manufactured the world's first 4GB SD2.0 compliant MicroSD card 4 years back returns with an all new record set to make your multimedia experience unforgettable. Kingmax unveiled the first 64GB micro SDXC having a class 6 rating. While there's still a relatively low number of devices out there supporting this card, you might want to start saving now to get this piece of memory enhance your future devices. No words on when this will be on sale. Now, we can save the 50gb Avatar to our PMP to watch.

SOURCE  Kingmax