Category: Gadgets

Review of the Nexus 7 in Singapore

Kaer 5 Comments

When Google decided to join the tablet party, it did it in style. The Nexus 7, designed by Google and manufactured by Asus is pretty much number 1 currently in terms of hardware specifications and is priced very competitively at the US launch prices of US$199 and US$249 for the 8gb and 16gb model respectively. I already had a 7 inch tablet, the Nook Color which was a single core ebook reader that was hacked with custom ROMs. The Nook Color had worked well for the last 1+ year but the opportunity came up for me to buy the Nexus 7 from the US and it was too good an opportunity to pass up on. I traded up and now am a proud owner of the Nexus 7.

What’s Hot

+ Speed + 

Comes with a quad-core CPU clocked at 1.2GHz, with Tegra 3 graphics processor. Alongside the 1gb of RAM and the Jelly Bean 4.1 “butter” OS, there is no slowdown while operating the device and it is a joy to use with everything being extremely responsive.

+ The overall Build Quality +

The Nexus design is simple and understated. It is one of the lightest 7″ inch tablet at 340g. The front panel is covered with glass and there are no hardware buttons to detract from it. There are only 3 buttons: Power, Vol + and Vol -. The back edge is bare except for the speaker at the bottom and the tastefully engraved ASUS logo just above it, and Nexus logo at the top. The back itself is a dimpled, soft-touch plastic, but feels like leather, allowing it to be both grippy and fingerprint-phobic.
The ports and buttons are made in such a way that you can’t see them when looking at the Nexus 7 from the front and, more importantly, are out of the way, meaning that you won’t be pressing anything at an inopportune time.

+ Screen +

Also, the high-res 1,280 x 800 screen really excels.While the iPad has the retina screen, the nexus 7 screen is still gorgeous. Try browsing one of the free magazines. The sharpness shows in the fine lines in text as well as the images where there are intricate details.

+ Price +

The quality is not something you’d expect from a US$199 tablet. We are expecting the launch price for the Nexus 7 in Singapore to be around S$329, and the launch date to be in late September. If you can’t wait, you can always use a shipping concierge service to get it back from the United States. Asus offers international service support for the Nexus 7.

What’s Not

– No Display Output functionality –

Sadly, the Nexus 7 does not come with any display output functionality like a mini HDMI slot or HDMI over the micro USB. I wanted this function as it would allow me to stream movies or connect the Nexus to a monitor when required if I wanted to operate it as a laptop replacement or to conduct presentation. Well for now, I am getting by with the resolution of the Nexus 7 is high and using it as a monitor while typing away on my bluetooth keyboard is working great for me now.

– No memory card expansion –

This is another bummer. Perhaps Google was trying to push people to the Cloud or to create further differentiation between the 8gb and 16gb Nexus 7 models, but the 8gb model is indeed a tad small. I loaded a couple of games and alongside the free transformer movie, I only had 1.5gb of space left on my tablet! It would really be pushed to the limit if I wanted to bring it overseas where I might be stuck without wifi. Luckily, there’s root and stickmount to expand the storage capacity of your Nexus 7.

– Play Store limitations – 

the Nexus 7 has content restrictions and in Singapore, a large chunk of the features, almost all in fact, are not available to us, the books, the magazines, the musics, and the videos. There are workarounds to activate the market and features in Singapore or anywhere out of the United States, but its not easy and slow. It does subtract away the overall experience that Google wanted to create. Read our article on how to enable the rest of the features and to get a free $25 play store credit even though you are in Singapore or anywhere out of the United States.

– No back facing camera –

I wouldn’t really define the lack of a back camera as a flaw. We really should stop using tablets to take photos, thats what phones are for and it looks funny when someone goes snapping away with an iPad or a 7″ tablet. The Nexus 7 does come equipped with a forward facing camera so video chatting through Google Hangouts or Skype would still work and that is quite useful.

Conclusion

Previous Android tablets were good, but somehow could never dethrone the Apple’s iPad. Could this be the start of something? Google has found a nice niche in the market for the low priced lightweight tablets. The Nexus 7 is a brilliant little device at a wonderful price.

If you already have one and well, accessories are a must. Casing / Screen protector etc and if you are in search of a Nexus 7 casing, I thought this looks great!

New iPhone 5 Launch in Singapore – Singtel/Starhub/M1

Kaer 1 Comment
The all new iPhone 5 has generated so much buzz and attention. Following the announcement of the new iPhone 5 model on 12 Sep 12, actual sales of the iPhone 5 for Singapore is going to be on 21 Sep 2012, with pre-orders starting this Friday (14 Sep 12). As evidenced from the last iPhone 4S launch, Singapore, alongside Tokyo has been one of the lucky few of the first-to-launch countries and we are expecting the same this time around. So, do expect the usual long queues and iPhone frenzy at your Singtel, Starhub, M1 launch events. Based on past experience, pre-order is a must and perhaps even ask for the delivery option to save your hassle of queuing up, unless there are some goodie bags at the physical launch event. Read our related posts highlighted below to get more information on the launch and how to pre-order.

 

Update (13 Sep 12):  The Telcos have started to move. Read here for the latest updates.

 

Update (11 Sep 12):  The news is going to be released Singapore time 1 am on 13 Sep. We would be updating live via Facebook on the status. Like us on Facebook to get the latest updates when you wake up on Thursday Morning.

Update (05 Sep 12): Click here for more on the upcoming new iPhone 5 launch Annoucement – including leaked photos!

News

Two-Tone, Unibody Design. The new iPhone design is expected to be housed in a two-tone, unibody design that I think is quite attractive. The new housing design should allow it to be slimmer as compared to the iPhone 4S and overall, thinner and lighter as well. I like the new iPhone 5 design. The two-tone gives it a contemporary sleek look that scores high in the class department. The matte anodized aluminium finish help prevent those pesky fingerprint smudges on a glossy backplate.

Speed Improvements. Like the released iPad 3, the new iPhone 5 will get a speed bump. It might have the new A6 processor, which would promise better graphics capability as well as better multi-tasking. The iPhone 4S and/or the iPad are no slouches in the speed category and would compare quite well with the quad-core Android phones.

New Dock. The new iPhone 5 is expected to have a new, smaller dock connector. It will come with a smaller connector (almost micro-usb size) instead of the usual 30-pin connector which is currently how the iPhone and iPad are designed. What does this mean? New car chargers, new iHome docking stations, new portable speakers that your current iPhone can plug right in to, and a whole bunch of apple related accessories. This will be a bummer for those current apple users with a significant number of associated accessories. While understandably frustrating, it will make the new iPhone 5 thinner and is a design for the future.

Bigger screen. A 4 inch screen finally. While still smaller than the Android flagship devices like the Google Nexus, Samsung Galaxy S3 and many more, the iPhone 5 is likely to get a bump up from the previous 3.5″ screen that had lasted across the 4 to 5 previous generations since 2007. While a technology leader at that time, it now has to play catch up to multiple devices that have exceeded it in this category. Clearly, size matters, as evidenced from the popularity of the Samsung Galaxy Note. The 5.3″ behemoth was one of the top sellers in Singapore and Samsung is reportedly going to launch an even bigger version soon. However, Apple would not compete head on and will be only  bumping the size up to 4″. In times when the Samsung Galaxy S3, HTC One X, LG Optimus 4X are all sporting 4.7″ and above screens, how would the iPhone 5 screen compare? I think 4″ is a decent screen size for reading and surfing on the mobile phone but I would prefer a bigger screen device. The good thing was that Apple is keeping the width of the same so the general feel of the phone would stay the same.

Considering the Samsung Galaxy S3 or thinking of switching to Android? You may find this interesting.
S3vsIphone
Migrating from iPhone to Android (Galaxy SGS3)

The iNo-One Non-Camera Phone

Kaer 6 Comments

Rumours were floating about on the possibility of another camera-removed phone model to rival the Huawei Honor. It was the iNo-Sun A908 and we did a short review on it. Did the distributors read GadgetReactor? Apparently, the advice on the naming of the phone was taken and the iNo-Sun A908 has been renamed or rebranded as iNo One Non-Camera.


Details of the iNo-Sun A908 cannot be found on their website anymore and instead they are marketing the iNo-One Non Camera with similar specs.

What’s New?

  • Original non-camera model without holes and mountings for cameras. 
    This is huge! The declaration as an official non-camera model and the flushed casing is a one-up over the Huawei Honor. The Huawei Honor due to it being a camera-removed model, still requires a certification sticker for MINDEF locations. If this is marketed clearly as a non-camera model without any ports for camera, it should be able to be brought into camps just like the blackberry non-camera models. We have heard some areas to be particularly sticky in terms of releasing the certification sticker and this might be a good workaround.

  • Increase in price! (228 -> 268)
    Boo! Any price increase is always a bad thing. I guess some of the charges for manufacturing the new back casing and removal of the lens require an additional surcharge but the $40 here translates to approximately 17% price increase from the original.

  • ICS Compatibility
    The distributor has promised future updates to ICS. It is good that they are committed to supporting the phone and to improve it with new features. However, this skeptical author recommends readers to take this with a pinch of salt. The fragmentation problem of Android is huge and there have been many manufacturers, namely LG and HTC that have defaulted on their claims to update their phone OS to ICS.

 

Technically, the iNo-One is really no different from the iNo-Sun A908 and the 1 Ghz single core processor with 512 mb ram will chug along in comparison to the quad core monsters such as the Samsung Galaxy S3 or HTC One X. The unique feature is still the dual-SIM and it’s probably the only non-camera phone with this feature. It will likely appeal to those who travel frequently and often have multiple SIM cards to switch around. The iNo-One is a basic phone at heart that would be able to cope with the usual phone, sms, whatsapp, angry bird or cut the rope-esque type of games, but heavy web-browsing and 3D games will take its toll (Update: Read out latest article on the iNo-One to see why web-browsing is no longer a concern).

Its available for pre-order and the expected availability would be in late Sep / Early October. Stay tuned for more information once its available.

Top Apps for Android Gingerbread 2.3 (Huawei Honor)

Kaer 1 Comment

Just like the Huawei Honor, my LG Optimus 2X have no official ICS release. In comparison, the Huawei Honor is in a better position as the ICS ROM while being a beta, is generally bug free. The fragmentation problem of Android OS is huge with only approximately 16% of Android Devices running on ICS today. In fact, if you are a Gingerbread OS user, be proud! You belong to 60.8% of the Android population. This is a sad problem of the Android community with many users stuck on older generation software due in part to manufacturer support.

As with all Android phones, the apps play a big part in the user experience. Hence, even without the newest and greatest operating system, it is often mitigated by the software applications that we install. Hence, I would like to recommend the following list of software for your Gingerbread phone. They were handy in keeping me satisfied on my Optimus 2X Gingerbread ROM.

  1. Holo Launcher (link)

    Holo Launcher looks like ICS, but supports Android 2.2 and higher. You get the same look and feel as the default ICS launcher, complete with long-press to edit folder and shortcuts (and their icons), a scrollable dock with up to seven icons on it, multi-touch gestures to launch apps right on the home screen or preview running apps, and ICS icons, logos, and design for your apps and menus. Thumbs up for its simplicity.
  2. Go Launcher Ex (link)

    Go Launcher is one of the most popular launcher / homescreen replacement for Android. It is feature rich, with many default widgets designed for it, support for themes and icon packs, and unique transitions. The Go Calendar widget is amazing, as it is one, if not the only, free widget that provide a monthly calendar as well as agenda view. The Go Calendar widget is the deal breaker for me and the other weidgets such as Notes aren’t too shabby either. In fact, the other Go applications such as GoContacts or the SMS are pretty good replacement for the default apps on the Huawei and LG default ROMs which are rather dated.The trade off is the bloat and while I generally find it responsive enough, it might be considered slower than others such as Holo Launcher.

  3. Dolphin Browser (link)

    Have you tried Dolphin Browser? It’s a great, feature rich and yet fast browser that puts the original Gingerbread browser to shame. On ICS or Jelly Bean, there are more options such as Chrome but on Gingerbread, I am a staunch supporter of the Dolphin Browser. The additional plugins make it easy to bookmark sync, translate, export to PDF, and browse in full screen mode which are important features to me. It has recently been updated and the new web render engine should speed things up quite a bit as well, especially if you come from the default browser.

  4. ICS Keyboard (link)

    The default ICS keyboard is easy to type on, with better touch and spell prediction features. I am not a big fan of the default Huawei or LG keyboard and an alternative keyboard is always one of my first installs. It doesn’t support Chinese input though. The Huawei keyboard TouchPal appears to be designed for use on a much larger screen, with the buttons appearing too close together. This means that taking advantage of the features is fiddly and requires a fair amount of finger dexterity, and therefore more often than not it’s quicker typing on the basic Android keyboard. If you still need Chinese input, how about the Google Pinyin IME? I feel that its a good alternative for those who still need chinese input.
  5. D7 Reader (link)

    RSS feeds are still an easy way to aggregate information for me without needing to constantly visiting to all my websites of interest. Our GadgetReactor feed is here. D7 Reader is a simple, fast and powerful Google Reader client for Android, which is always in sync with Google Reader. It has a nice reading interface, both day and night modes, and generally very fast.

  6. Google Maps & Navigation (link)

    Never carry a paper map again. The ability to use my phone as a GPS turn by turn navigation tool is a great feature. My trusty phone has brought me on road trips all across France and England without too much of a problem. In the future, this will only get better especially when how it all integrates together such as in Google Now, and that will be discussed at a later date. Read our related GadgetReactor post to see how to install it in Singapore.

  7. Google Play Music (link)

    Listen to all your music instantly. Anywhere.

    See our related Gadgetreactor post to find out how to get Google Music. All your music is stored online, so no need to worry about syncing or storage space. Music purchases from Google Play automatically appear in the app. Access your entire music library instantly with the Google Play Music app, and save your favorites for offline playback.

Huawei Honor Non Camera for $398 (Brand New)

tedfox 3 Comments

Update: Apologies. We were not able to accomplish the deal as the Telco has withheld the distribution of stocks to their resellers. We will continue to be on the look out for better deals in the meantime.

For those interested in getting the Huawei Honor Non Camera, do drop me an email. If there is sufficient interest (high chance as of now), I would be able to get it at $398 each for all of us. Included with the purchase would be an OEM certificate certifying that the camera has been removed (similar to what you get when you purchase the phone from starhub or m1), as well as a invoice from an official Singapore telco retailer.

Check out this review if you need to know more. Hopefully we’ll be able to install Android Jelly bean onto the phone. Otherwise, there is still ICS.

 

The iNo-Sun A908 (iNo-One) Non-Camera Phone

Kaer 6 Comments

This is the next non-camera phone that is expected to be launched in Singapore. It is a factory removed camera phone model and certification would be provided as well. It is expected to be priced at a relatively low cost of S$228 and would appeal to those whose contract is not up for renewal yet.  It is currently on pre-order and is expected to launch in August. Besides the price, the next interesting feature is that it has Dual-SIM support and could appeal to those with multiple phone lines to manage.At its price point, it could be the next mass phone for reservists to have access to a smart phone, browser, and more importantly, GAMES to pass time during their in-camp-training.

http://www.inomobile.com.sg/

Specifications

  •  Android Gingerbread 2.3.6
  • 1.0 GHz Single Core
  • 512 MB Ram
  • Dual-SIM card slots
  • 4.0″ capacitive 480 x 800 screen
  • GPS and Bluetooth
  • 124 mm x 64 mm x 10.95 mm
  • 4GB internal storage, expandable with microSD

The phone specifications are nothing to shout about and in fact, I would expect some minor slowdown due to the processor and lack of RAM as compared to the superior Huawei Honor. I would only recommend this phone if you are looking to use this phone for short periods of time and/or if the Dual-SIM feature is important, else the Huawei Honor especially at the promotion price of $400 would be a much better deal. Lastly, they really should have came up with a more attractive name for this phone.

Update (11 Aug 12): The iNo-Sun A908 has been replaced by the iNo-One. Read more about it here.

Nexus 7 vs the iPad – Survival!

Kaer

The Nexus 7 has launched and it has rave reviews for its great specifications and low price. So did Google cut any corners in terms of the build quality?

The above review pitted the Nexus 7 vs the iPad and the Nexus 7 impressively survived and trounced the iPad in the 3 categories that SquareTrade, the Gadget insurance company, had put them through. The Nexus 7 looks like it is going to be worth every penny. I’m not sure if the results were due to luck as to the angle that the iPad fell but perhaps Google had invested in such amazing engineering that precisely compensated the centre of gravity to determine the orientation if it were to be dropped. Well, at least there’s a pretty good chance that your Nexus 7 would survive a fall.