Acer’s annual Asia Pacific Predator League has been a staple event when it comes to eSports in the region. The annual competition sees teams from across the Asia Pacific region compete for a piece of a USD$400,000 prize pool. Last year, fans and athletes were left on edge as the grand finals, which were to happen in the Philippines, were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The wait is over! The 2020/21 Asia Pacific Predator League is going online! The tourney will take place from April 6 to April 11 2021 in a fully online battle. Teams who made it into the Grand Finals in last year’s league will be able to claim their seats in this year’s competition. The remaining roster will consist of teams selected and invited by Acer.
The tournament will be divided into four sub-tournaments this year. Teams will be assigned based on their geographical location to either:
APAC Predator League 2020/21 Grand Final DOTA 2 Asia
APAC Predator League 2020/21 Grand Final DOTA 2 APAC
APAC Predator League 2020/21 Grand Final PUBG Asia
APAC Predator League 2020/21 Grand Final PUBG APAC
The prize pool for this year’s competition is a whopping USD$400,000 pooled across the four sub-tournaments. The matches will be broadcasted live on Acer Predator’s Twitch and Facebook channels. Acer will be communicating their updated schedules and program via the League’s official website and social media accounts.
Update (10 March 2021): More rumors are continuing to surface about the ROG Phone 5 in the days leading up to its release. The first is that the new gaming phone will have a variant with 16GB of RAM. Something we highlighted in our original article. In addition to this, we’ve got our first look at the phone thanks to leaker @IshanAgarwal on Twitter. It seems like the phone will be coming in a new, sleek white color similar to the Zephyrus G14/15. The official renders also show a new AeroActive Cooler with a slight redesign.
And here is the ASUS ROG Phone 5 White Color Variant!
ASUS’s ROG Phone is arguably one of the most popular gaming phones on the market. ASUS launched the first ROG Phone to much fanfare in 2019 creating a new niche for loud, gamer-proud devices. They also pack specifications and software features that allow users to get the most out of their phones when it comes to performance and comes with software optimizations for gaming. Don’t forget the plethora of gaming-centric accessories that is now a signature of the ROG Phone lineup.
In the past, ASUS has announced their gaming smartphone closer to mid year. However, this year, the company has already announced that they will be revealing their new entry into the ROG Phone line up on March 10 at 7pm. With that in mind, we thought it’s be an opportune time to round up the rumours and everything else we know so far about the ROG Phone 5.
Bringing New Design Cues from Successful Laptops
Yep. You read that right. No you didn’t miss a ROG Phone somewhere in between. Instead, ASUS has decided to skip straight to 5 as the number 4 in Mandarin and other Chinese dialects sounds similar to the word for death.
With that out of the way, let’s get down to business. You’d have realised that ASUS has been teasing the ROG Phone 5 for about a week now. If you’ve been paying attention, it looks like the AniMe matrix from the ROG Zephyrus G14 is coming along for the ride. It seems to be the hallmark design feature of the phone and will be replacing the RGB logo which was one back of the phone.
From the leaks, it looks like this may be complemented by a small display. The small strip could be used as a notification ticker or possibly in a similar way that the HTC One Ultra used it for interactive features. However, there’s no confirmations so far on the functionality of the display.
This would be an excellent complement to the triggers that we already know will be coming to the ROG Phone 5. It also seems like there is an extra red button on the phone’s lower left edge. Keep in mind, that the ROG Phone series has historically come with a side mounted USB-C port.
Specc’d to Kill
As is the usual, it seems like the ROG Phone 5 is specced to kill – in a matter of speaking. We know the phone will be coming with a Snapdragon 888 processor. However, what we don’t know is whether the processor will come with a special build like previous years. Typically, ASUS and Qualcomm have launched the ROG Phone 5 with a “plus” or + variant of the year’s top processor. However, this year, the ROG Phone seems to be coming with the run of the mill Snapdragon 888.
We know from TENAA documentation that there will be an 8GB version of the smartphone, possibly the Tencent or STRIX version which we’ve seen in the past. However, we also have an inkling through rumours that ASUS is likely to have a 16GB and 12GB versions as well. Of course, they will be using the UFS 3.1 standard of memory for that snappy runtime. We will definitely see versions with 256GB and 512GB of internal storage however we wouldn’t put it past ASUS to offer a whopping 1TB version too perhaps paired with 16GB of RAM.
When it comes to the battery, we know for a fact that ASUS hasn’t shied away from large battery capacities. This year’s ROG Phone seems to be coming with a 6,000mAh battery if rumours are to be believed. ASUS is apparently achieving this by doubling up on 3,000mAh battery modules. Of course, the phone will be able to support up to 65W Fast Charging and come with Quick Charge 4, USB-C Power Delivery 3.0 and maybe even reverse charging. However, we don’t expect to see wireless charging in the ROG Phone 5 if ASUS keeps to its trends.
Source: ASUS
On the display front, it looks like ASUS might be equipping the ROG Phone 5 with a 6.78-inch AMOLED screen. However, rumours point to the gaming smartphone only coming with a Full HD+ resolution. That said, the display may be getting a boost from the HDR10+ feature it’s rumoured to be touting. It also looks like the smartphone will be coming with Android 11 out of the box.
Thanks to DxO Mark’s audio review, we know that the ROG Phone comes with stereo speakers and a 3.5mm audio jack – hooray~! In addition, it looks like the phone will be equipped with an ESS DAC for better quality sound and it will also have at least four microphones. On the optics side of things, not too much detail is known. However, we do have leads showing that the phone will be coming with a triple sensor setup. It will be fronted by a 64-megapixel main sensor. The remaining sensors are unknown but if we are to go with what came in the ROG Phone 3 and similar phones this year, we’re betting on an ultrawide sensor and a macro sensor.
Pricing & Availability
While nothing much has been said about the price, we’re expecting ASUS to maintain the general price point of the ROG Phone 5. The ROG Phone came with a price tag of $999 in the U.S. and €999 in Europe at launch. In Malaysia, pricing was about MYR4,499 at launch.
However, given Samsung’s move to make the barrier to ownership a little lower this year, we can probably expect that ASUS may do the same; either with a lower specc’d entry or a very slight price decrease. We’ll have to wait and see.
Valve’s popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game, DOTA 2, is making its way to a silver screen near you. The popular game will be making its silver screen debut on Netflix in a new anime series called DOTA: Dragon’s Blood. It will be making it debut on March 25, 2021.
The 8-episode anime series will be following the story of Davion, one of the characters from the MOBA. In the anime, Davion is a devoted Dragon Knight. He fights to rid the world of the scourge. During his journeys, he encounters a powerful, ancient eldwurm and Princess Mirana. Unbeknownst to Davion, the princess is on a mission of her own. Slowly, but surely, Davion is pulled into events that prove to be larger than he could ever imagine.
The series is produced in partnership with Valve. Showrunner, Ashley Edward Miller, is confident that the show will be received well by fans. Miller previously worked on shows such as X-Men: First Class, Thor and Black Sails and will be also acting as the executive producer for DOTA: Dragon’s Blood. Miller is joined by Ru Ki Hyun as the co-executive producer. The series is animated by Studio MIR, the studio behind The Legend of Korra, Voltron: Legendary Defender and the recently announced The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.
“Fans will love how we’ve imagined the DOTA 2 universe and woven together an epic, emotional, and adult-oriented story about some of their favourite characters. The cinematic animation, acting and music are simply next level and I’m grateful to Valve for supporting our creative ambitions.”
Ashley Edward Miller, Showrunner & Executive Producer
While this is big news for the IP (Intellectual Property), Davion is widely considered one of the less interesting characters in the MOBA. It will be exciting to see what team behind the anime have in mind for the character and whether they will stick to the established lore of DOTA.
It’s that time of year again! It’s time for BlizzCon – one of the biggest gaming conventions of the year. Now, if you have been following the gaming scene, you would know that there are gamers and then there are Blizzard fans. Fans of Blizzard Entertainment are notorious for being one of the most vocal and fanatical group of gamers when it comes to the IPs that Blizzard holds; particularly Overwatch, Diablo, StarCraft and Warcraft.
This year, Blizzard Entertainment’s annual BlizzCon will be happening from 19 February to 20 February 2021. In light of the pandemic, the conference will be an online one, open to the public for free. You can take part by visiting their official BlizzCon website for updates and all the information you need about the conference.
With all that information out of the way, as Deckard Cain says, “Stay awhile and listen” as we give you a rundown of what we want to see at BlizzCon 2021.
Diablo IV
Diablo is arguably one of Blizzard Entertainment’s largest IPs. The dungeon crawler was first introduced in the late 90s and quickly became one of the company’s most beloved franchises. Since then, there have been 3 major instalments into the series that follow the developments of the world of Sanctuary. The most recent being Diablo III which continued the story of the Soulstones and the Prime Evils.
In the years since the release in 2012, Diablo fans have been waiting for and theorising about Diablo IV. The hype for Diablo was fueled even more by numerous teases from Blizzard about a possible 4th instalment. At BlizzCon 2019, we finally got a glimpse of Diablo IV with the first cinematic trailer which introduced us to Lilith – Mother of the Nephalem, Queen of the Succubi and Daughter of Mephisto, Lord of Hatred.
With all that hype and no news since, we want to see more of the upcoming instalment – particularly when it comes to the game’s mechanics and gameplay. So far, we’ve only seen a brief gameplay trailer which revealed three of the player classes available in the game: the barbarian, the sorceress and the druid. The gameplay trailer showed off some of the return mechanics which series veterans should be familiar with. We also know that the series will be more open this round with players travelling between the many regions of Sanctuary
We’ve had enough teasing Blizzard. It’s time to reveal more about the game this year – possibly new classes and even more about some of the new features and mechanics that are coming back to the series. But more importantly – we want a release date! When will we be returning to Sanctuary?
Diablo Immortal
Announced at BlizzCon 2018 to a rather unimpressed audience, Diablo Immortal is Blizzard’s first foray into the mobile MMO (massively multiplayer online) gaming scene. It is developed in partnership with NetEase. However, since the unceremonious reception, we’ve not heard much about it. In 2019, NetEase’s CFO said the game was pretty much ready. August 2020 saw the release of a new trailer while December 2020 saw a closed alpha.
That said, we only know little of the game. To date, we know that game is set 5 years after the events of Diablo II but before Diablo III. Players will be starting in Wortham and be travelling with Deckard Cain by their side. They will be facing the undead and cultists in the beginning. They will be locating and destroying shards of the Worldstone in their travels. Like other instalments of Diablo, players will be able to choose between six player classes: the Crusader, the Necromancer, the Monk, the Barbarian, the Wizard and the Demon Hunter.
With the release of the open alpha, we really want to finally see a release of the game into the wild. If you’re like me, you’ve probably already pre-registered for the game on the Google Play and App Stores. We’ve seen a stream of reviews from publications that got access to the closed alpha.
Overwatch 2
Overwatch is Blizzard Entertainment’s first multiplayer first-person shooter game. It was released in 2016 and remains one of the company’s best IPs in the realm of competitive, professional eSports.
Source: Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard made the announcement of Overwatch 2 back at BlizzCon 2019. The new instalment promised more characters and even backwards compatible gameplay with Overwatch. The company showed off many features including a new PvE (player versus environment) cooperative mode.
However, like Diablo 4, there has been little information since then. We actually want to know if the game is ready for prime time – which seems unlikely. That said, knowing Blizzard, we’ll settle for more shorts that give us more to love about the Overwatch world.
StarCraft
A decade after the release of the first entry into StarCraft II, the series seems to be on ice. Just recently, Blizzard Entertainment announced that support for the game will be reduced to a bare minimum. The series has had a tumultuous decade with Blizzard with most of its veteran developers leaving Blizzard.
Source: Blizzard Entertainment
However, we still harbour some hope that Blizzard will bring back Jim Raynor, Sarah Kerrigan and Zeratul. We actually want to know what the future of the franchise is. It would be a nice to see Blizzard bring back StarCraft for a third instalment.
Hearthstone & World of Warcraft
Two of the company’s biggest, longest running online games. The pandemic has thankfully reinvigorated the games with more players returning to them. We would like to see more development in card packs for Hearthstone and perhaps some big announcements for WoW.
Garena is taking it’s mobile battle royale game to new heights with a new partnership with Japanese publishing company, Kondansha. The new partnership will see iconic designs from hit anime and comic, Attack on Titan, make its way to the game in the coming month. This is the first in a series of partnerships that Garena is undertaking to elevate the gaming experience in Free Fire.
The new update will bring content inspired from Attack on Titan to the game. Players will be able to equip weapons with Survey Corps signature colours and even dress up as the terrifying, man-eating Kyojin (Titans) from the hit series. The two highlights are simply the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the partnership. Players can look forward to other features such as gun skins and other in-game items and collectibles.
The partnership is expected to kick off in March. The partnership is the latest in a series that Garena has been rolling out for Free Fire. Previously, the company partnered with Netflix’ Money Heist television series in addition to a large scale partnership with celebrity footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo.
ASUS kicking off a region wide eSports Tournament called the ROG Masters Asia Pacific eSports Tournament which will see eSports athletes from the region compete for a grand prize of USD$10,000. The tournament kicks off in March 2021 with matches happening throughout until the finals in April 2021. Given the current global situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament will be held entirely online.
This year, the game of choice is Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). The competition will involve 15 countries: Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. It’s open to enthusiasts, amateurs and professionals across the region. All you have to do is register at rogmasters.gg. Registration opens on February 8 2021.
The competition will be held in three stages over the two months. Kicking off the competition is the Country Qualifiers which will see all the registered teams face-off for a shot in the Country Finals starting on the first week of April 2021. The Country Finals will see professional teams from each country seeded into the battlefield allowing enthusiasts and amateurs to climb further up the ladder. Teams in the Country finals will then stand a chance to head to the Regional finals where they will battle it out for the grand prize.
Matches for the Country finals will be streamed on ASUS ROG’s official YouTube and Facebook pages. The Malaysian Finals will be live-streamed on 4 April 2021. The APAC Finals will be live-streamed at the end of April 2021.
Teams that rise above the rest in the Malaysian Finals will stand to win USD$800 for first place and USD$400 for second place. These prizes also include ASUS ROG Swag. Teams in the APAC finals will then be vying for the USD$10,000 grand prize. The top 3 teams will be awarded USD$10,000 for the grand prize, USD3,500 for the runner up and USD$1,500 for third place.
Get to registering fast for your chance as registrations close on 28th February 2021.
The Legion Slim 7i is now in Malaysia. The new laptop has a slimmer and lighter design. Who doesn’t want a portable gaming laptop that doesn’t skimp on performance? The Legion Slim 7i comes with a large, 15.6 inches display compacted in a slim body in Slate Grey. It is made from aircraft-grade aluminum for better durability without having the added heft.
The new lightweight gaming laptop comes with the latest 10th Gen Intel Core i7 mobile processor which is touted to be able to support Triple-A Games with 5.3GHz clock speeds and provide impressive refresh rates on Window 10. This is paired with the in NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 graphics processor with Max-Q Design to facilitate its slim form factor. Equipped with raytracing technology and DLSS, the RTX2060 enables more realistic and immersive graphics. Paired with the integrated Intel UHD Graphics, the laptop can dynamically optimise for better performance or power based on the task at hand.
The Legion Slim 7i is 17.9mm slim and weighs only 1.86kg. It comes equipped with a 71Whr battery which Lenovo claims will last for up to 7.75 hours. It is also capable of Rapid Charge Pro function which allows it to get up to 50% of charge in just 30 minutes. At the same time, Lenovo’s redesigned Legion Coldfront 2.0 air intake system is 31% larger which ensures up to 115% more airflow going to the CPU and GPU. Also, the new machine-drilled holes applied above the keyboard combined with an increased number of exhaust fan blades provide better heat management during heavy gameplay.
Together with cooling and its sleek form factor, the Legion Slim 7i comes with a Full HD display with rich color contrast and saturation. This is paired with built-in dual speakers boosted by smart amplifiers and the Dolby® Atmos Speaker System for more immersive gameplay.
Pricing & Availability
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7i is now available for preorder at Lenovo Malaysia’s Official Website with prices starting at MYR7599 (1896.78USD$). You can even customize your Lenovo Legion Slim 7i starting January 2021.
Yep. We’re doing this – it’s our first review of a gaming chair – but this one has all the bells and whistles you won’t find in any other gaming chair.
A gaming chair is not just any chair for your computer setup. It’s one that will cradle your behind and support your back while you game endlessly into the night. Back in June, Acer made an announcement that took the gaming world off guard – the launch of a collaboration with OSIM to bring a new type of gaming chair; one that will massage the pain of gaming away. Thus, the Predator X OSIM Gaming chair was born.
Cushy Comfort in Elegant Black with Some Design Kinks
The Predator X OSIM gaming chair is one of the more comfortable gaming chairs we have had the chance to try. It’s well cushioned on the bottom and has pretty decent lumbar support. We say pretty decent but the lumbar support comes in the form of a lumbar pillow which doesn’t have any attachment to the chair. That said, it can’t be attached to the chair cause it’s get in the way of the massaging mechanism. The headrest of the Predator X OSIM gaming chair is also attached pretty loosely to the chair it literally slides into a slit in the back of the top of the chair.
The gaming chair comes in black accented by the Predator cyan. It’s made of a pseudo-leather material which is most likely polyurethane (PU). While the finish looks good, the material isn’t very breathable. This was most apparent with the lumbar pillow and the headrest which tend to get a little bit warm after about an hour or two. However, if you’re in an air-conditioned room, you’re likely not to feel it.
The biggest design flaw in the Predator X OSIM Gaming Chair is the length of the adapter cable. The cable is short and tends to get tangled around the wheels of the chair. It wouldn’t surprise us if you would need to replace the adapter over time. Of course, you can easily remedy this by not plugging it in unless you want a massage; but that pretty much defeats the purpose of having a gaming chair that massages you. OSIM will also need to figure out better cable management when it comes to this chair. As rolling up and down will cause problems with the adapter in the long run.
Hitting all the Right Spots with OSIM
Now we move on to the highlight of the chair – the massage. The massage portion of the chair is powered by OSIM’s massage technology. You access the control by pulling back the right arm rest. This will reveal the controls. You can choose from three preset massage programs by pressing the middle button and whether you need a upper or lower back massage with the button beside that. If you want to take full control of the massage yourself, you have the option to do that as well.
The massage from the Predator x OSIM gaming chair can be pretty intense. For most people, it will hit some of the problem points along your spine. The OSIM mechanism starts off really strong poking into the spine and adjusting after that. That said, when you’ve adjusted to the pressure, the mechanism hits all the right spots. It managed to release a few of the large knots I had in my shoulders and even relieved a few aches in my lower back. It massages in two modes: pounding or in circular motions. When you use the automatic setting, it will alternate between the two to get the knots out.
While the massage is good, the risk of having a massage chair you use as your daily work or gaming chair is that over work your back muscles which can make you pretty sore. So, just don’t over do it.
A Novel Idea with A Pricey Proposition
The Predator X OSIM Gaming chair will set you back about MYR4,899 but it’s available at a discounted price of MYR2,799 at the time of writing. It’s not too bad when it comes to massage chairs, but it is a little bit on the pricey when you look at other gaming chairs. That said, you are getting a massage chair foremost.
All in all, the Predator X OSIM Gaming chair is a novelty. While it would be nice to have a chair like this, it seems a little bit of an overkill. That and the cable management issues make us say wait it out. If the partnership continues into a second iteration, it’s likely that OSIM would have worked out some of the kinks in the design. However, if you are in the market for a gaming chair and a massage chair, this may just be the chair for you.
2020 is a year full of surprises and new beginnings. For us, it is the mark of our entry into the world of Podcasts with Tech & tonic. We want to first thank all of you listeners who have stayed with us and listened to our sometimes meaningless rambles about tech.
We want to thank our supporters, new and old, that has been the kindle in our fires and the motivations we needed when we were wondering if podcasting was the right area to pursue. We have learnt plenty too from our first year and season in podcasting. Of course, we have enjoyed it alongside all our guest too. For that, we also want to thank all of our guests that has appeared on our show and has shown continuous support to our show. We are looking forward to 2021 and a bigger year ahead of us with new contents and expansion to new platforms.
Back to today’s very special and final episode of the year 2020 though. We explored some shopping ideas for Christmas to prepare us for 2021 and even beyond. We pick some things that we could easily buy online right now to gift, and even keep for yourselves this Christmas and New Year. Here are our top 5 list of things that you can buy for yourself or to gift your loved ones for the year ending celebrations of 2021!
Of course, we are not just going to leave the podcast here alone. We are going to help you decide on your Christmas 2020 shopping options. In no particular order, here are the top 10 things we think you can buy for yourself or gift your loved ones in 2020.
Nintendo Switch (~MYR 1,339 onward)
Source: Nintendo
No, it is not new. But it is fun. The Nintendo Switch revolutionised the portable gaming industry with a highly compact, yet powerful hardware that you can bring around without while keeping games like Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild running as smooth as butter. It is also the perfect size for you to carry around in your travel pack should you need to bring gaming with you on your year-end holidays. Either that, or something to keep you busy at home.
Source: Lazada
Source: Shopee
The Nintendo Switch go from as low as MYR 1,339 on Shopee. Of course you can get your hands on one from Lazada too. We are looking at local options with proper local support too, so we do not recommend getting one that ships from out of the country. You might be able to get your hands on the Animal Crossing special edition or the Fortnite edition too for a little bit more money. Again, go for reputable dealers.
Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite (MYR 249)
Source: Xiaomi
What better way to keep yourself sane than constant exercises? To be fair, I have more than one answer for that; I do not know what I asked that question in the first place. Keeping yourself busy at home is very important at this time though, exercising is one way to keep yourself busy and healthy.
So there is no better gift than a fitness tracker in that case. No, not a Fitbit. Not even a Samsung Galaxy Watch. It is a Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite that will only set you back MYR 249.
The Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite can last up to 9 days on a single charge, more than most fitness trackers can manage. Its 1.4-inch square display gives you all kinds of fitness information and even allows you to keep track of your smartphone notifications. All of that in a package that is priced less than MYR 250.
Source: Lazada
You can get the Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite at this time for MYR 199 exclusively on Lazada. This is the current pre-order price and would be a perfect gift for not just fitness lovers. We do not know when the promotional price would end.
Logitech C920 HD Pro Webcam (MYR 539)
Source: Logitech
Video conference calls are more important now than ever. The thing is, a video call is still not as natural as meeting someone face-to-face. But better video quality will always help. So you need a better webcam than the one that your notebook PC comes with.
You need a Logitech C920 HD Pro Webcam for all your video calls. That, or start your own streaming channel, because even streamers love this as their main stream camera. it feeds up to 1080p footage up into the streaming platform and even your video calls, why would they not love it.
Of course, any videographer would tell you to get your lighting set up correctly to make stream and video calls look much better. But starting with a good camera does not hurt at all. The Logitech C920 HD Pro is definitely a good option to start with.
Source: Lazada
Source: Shopee
The Logitech C920 HD Pro is available on both Shopee and Lazada from Logitech themselves, which is definitely a good news. It is originally priced at MYR 539, which may sound like a lot of money for a small webcam. It is now only going for MYR 398.99 though, at least for the time being. It is still not exactly cheap, but this is a perfect upgrade for you, and even your loved ones.
Razer Seiren Mini (MYR 249)
Source: Razer
Speaking of video calls and conferences, you need a good mic. Sure, the Logitech C920 HD Pro already has a built-in mic. But you can make your set-up even better with a separate dedicated mic. You can go for the Razer Seiren Mini for something that is relatively inexpensive.
Out-of-the-box, this nifty little mic comes with its own plastic base that you can quickly work with and get things going. It is a USB mic too, so its basically plug and play. There are nearly zero set-up required after that, so you can really get going in 10 seconds when you get your stuff.
Source: Lazada
Source: Shopee
Besides the added benefit of better audio quality in your conference calls, you can use the mic for streaming purposes, or even for podcasts. I know I use it for podcasting. All this, in a package you can just chuck in your bag and worth MYR 249 on Shopee and Lazada. At this price, it is really hard to find a good mic for all those purposes.
DJI Pocket 2 (MYR 1,549 ~ MYR 2,169)
Source: DJI
They say the best camera is the one that is accessible to you at the time. Most of the time, that is your smartphone. But what if we tell you that there is an alternative that could really change your video creation experience?
That is the DJI Pocket 2, DJI’s latest small form factor OSMO product. It is super cute, and uber cool in our books. Like its name suggests, it is small enough to fit in your pockets when you need a compact and quick set up for videos and even photos. If you get the Creator Pack, it comes with a whole slew of stuff as well that enhances your experience with it and even help with vlogging and other content creation process.
Who says you need a large gimbal set up to take impressive videos for social media and even YouTube? Nobody said that you need to spend MYR 10,000 and above too, for all these purposes. A package that is smaller than your smartphone and a budget of MYR 2,200 is more than enough.
Source: Lazada
Source: Shopee
We admit, MYR 1,549 is not exactly cheap. It is not something that you can easily buy and giveaway as well. We think that this is perfect for those expecting too though, so shower them with some love. It is also still cheaper than buying a regular camera, and even most mid-range smartphones. You can get the DJI Pocket 2 from DJI’s Official Store on both Shopee and Lazada.
1MORE Dual Driver ANC Pro Wireless Headphone (MYR 599)
Source: 1More
We recently had a chance to review this piece of kit and was very impressed with the audio quality, build quality, and its overall performance. We do not blame you if you have not heard of the brad before. No, it is not some china product that tries to copy JBL and Jabra products.
The 1MORE brand actually comes from the United States of America (U.S.A.). The 1MORE Dual Drive ANC Pro Wireless Headphones may be built in China, but it exudes the quality expected from an American, or even a European company. Of course those mean nothing if the audio is not great.
To that, we are happy to report that the audio produced from this piece of kit will not disappoint. What might stop you from buying it is probably its price at MYR 599. We promise though though, if you live an active livestyle and do not trust those Truly Wireless type earphones, this is the one for you. You can get yours now exclusively on Lazada.
Source: Lazada
Sony WF-1000XM3 (MYR 999)
Source: Sony
This is our personal favourite when it comes to audio gear. If you ask us to leave every other earphones and headphones at home and only carry one pair of earphones for our travels, we will pick this every single time. No joke, we were so impressed by this device that we actually went out of our way to pre-order these kits.
The Sony WF-1000XM3 is probably the best sounding Truly Wireless Earphones at its price. It is not cheap, to be fair, at MYR 999 retail. It sounds fantastic though. It does a lot of other wireless earphones no justice because the price suddenly looks reasonable when you put on the WF-1000XM3.
Sony also arguable has the best active noise cancelling technology to date. The latest WH-1000XM4 over ear headphones still use the same processing as the WF-1000XM3 as well. That is just a testimony to how good the noise cancelling technology is on the Sony earphones.
We have to say though that this kit is a little on the bulkier side compared to other solutions. Still, we love it, and it is an essential part of our travel kit and gear bag. It can go on and on for 8 hours and the case holds two charges for 24 hours of music playback. Nearly nothing comes close to this pair of earphones.
It is not a new piece of gear though. It is out in the market for over a year already. It is still a highly popular piece of kit for audiophiles even. So if you have any friends claiming to be audiophiles, this is a really good gift for them. At this time too you can get your hands on one from Shopee and Lazada for as low as MYR 749.
Source: Shopee
Source: Lazada
LG XBOOM Go PL5 (MYR 649)
Source: LG
Sticking to the theme of audio, we understand that not everyone likes to have something stuffed into their ear. Thanks to the unique equatorial climate and weather behaviour in this region of the world as well, wearing a pair of over-ear headphones might get uncomfortable thanks to sweat. In that case, you want some good speakers.
In that case, we pick the LG XBOOM Go PL5 Bluetooth speaker with Meridian Audio. “What is Meridian?”, I hear you ask. Meridian is a British firm that dedicates their lives in high-end audio and video solutions. They are more established in the audio world as one of the world’s renown High-Fidelty audio system makers. They do not just let anyone use their name on products. That also means that the LG XBOOM Go PL5 is the real deal.
We have it too, thanks to LG, and we were so impressed by it when we first fire it up, it became our speaker of choice when we go for parties and when we need a wireless speaker to work with in parties and social gatherings. This is truly one small package that packs a lot of punch.
It goes on and on for up to 18 hours as well with the light show. You can either plug audio in via the 3.5mm jack, or even connect it via Bluetooth for convenience. It charges via USB Type-C and is even water resistant. That also means you can safely bring your speaker to the pool to enjoy.
The only issue is that all that goodness does not come cheap. This little pill looking speaker will set you back MYR 649 on retail. Thankfully for the holiday seasons, LG has some promotions going on these punchy little things. You can now get them from LG’s offcial store on Shopee and Lazada for as low as MYR 449.
Source: Lazada
Source: Shopee
Logitech G304 Lightspeed Wireless Mouse (MYR 245)
Source: Logitech
What is tech without gaming? These days also, every other person can appreciate gaming and the way that small part of the tech world affects the tech world as a whole. Yes, the gaming industry is also a billion dollar industry with growth still predicted to continue. You cannot ignore gaming then.
One of the biggest benefits from the gaming industry is that we can now enjoy products made for gaming and e-sports, but not pay an arm and a leg for it. The improvements made for the gaming industry culminates to the really simple things we take for granted every day on our desks, our mouse.
There are plenty of reasons why you should choose a gaming mouse, especially wireless ones, over regular mouse. For one, latency and stability. Gaming mice like the Logitech G304 Lightspeed gaming mouse you see here are built for not just speed, but accuracy. In eSports and gaming, every second counts, so you want your mouse to respond to your every input as soon as you hit the buttons. Hence, Lightspeed technology from Logitech.
The Logitech G304 Lightspeed wireless gaming mouse made it to our list not just because of its Lightspeed moniker though. It is a rather portable nifty mouse you can even carry around in your work bag. You can take it anywhere and it will not stand out as a gaming mouse too, if you want to be a bit more conspicuous. But it still has the performance to slay your opponents when you need it to.
All these are packed into a package that will set you back MYR 245 on retail. No, that does not sound cheap, because it technically is not. But then again, wireless mice do go for around those prices and even more. Still, you can get it for a steal at MYR 168.99 from Logitech’s official store on Shopee and Lazada this Christmas.
Source: Lazada
Source: Shopee
External HDD/SSD (~myr 150 onward)
If you really do not know what to pick still for your loved ones, the best thing, and the most general thing you can buy for them is an external storage drive. Why? This could be the most versatile thing in our arsenal of gears, and it could be the most crucial at times.
When you work outside a lot, you tend to rely on things that are portable and easily accessible from any device. You also want something reliable, something that will not fail when your own device fails. You want a backup external storage unit.
You can choose between the traditional hard disk drive (HDD) format, or the new age solid state drive (SSD) format. Of course, there are speed differences. But there are some reliability benefits to the older, slower HDDs too. Of course, they are also cheaper.
No matter which type you get from them though, they can appreciate the extra storage and backup space you have given them. They can store more movies now, or rather, you can store more movies to enjoy on various mediums now. You can even back up your smartphone data to your external storage if you want.
The benefit of getting an external storage drive for yourself or your loved ones though is the relatively inexpensive options you can find today. You can find a 1TB sized HDD for less than MYR 150 these days. Of course, if you want to go for something like a Western Digital Passport pre-built external HDD, that is going to cost you a little bit.
Gaming is in Acer’s blood. The Predator brand that stems out from the Taiwanese based firm is now one of the most recognisable names in the PC gaming community. Of course, building on a solid branding block and competitively valued gaming PC builds help cement their legacy in the gaming and eSports community.
Predator Orion 3000
Source: Acer
Before there was eSports though, there was something called a LAN Party. A LAN Party is basically a place for gamers to come together to game together in the same space; hence, LAN (Local Area Network). People used to come together to play multiplayer games like Counter Strike and such. In these LAN parties, you are expected to bring your own peripherals and even your own PC.
In such conditions, you need a gaming PC that is compact enough to take with you anywhere in the world. You still need powerful hardware as well though, for all the serious gaming you are going to get yourself into. You might want to go wireless as well, in this case.
That is why Predator built the Orion 3000, the baby Orion. The latest Orion series hardware features a compact mid-tower case that is ready to take on the latest AAA titles without breaking a sweat. You might break a sweat carrying the powerful package.
The Predator Orion 3000’s chassis is a custom-built chassis by Predator to look the part. The chassis even features a built-in headphone hook. But it is not form without function here. The chassis is designed with upgradability in mind. In that case, you can open the case and even upgrade the GPU or any other components yourself with little in your way.
You get to work with a 10th Generation Intel Core i7 (up to) paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (up to) SUPER for good measure. The combination of the CPU and GPU, on top of a healthy 8GB of RAM should be a recipe that works with most AAA titles today. If 8GB is not enough, you can fit up to 64GB of RAM into the baby Orion. All the peripherals get a healthy dose of air thanks to two in-house developed Acer FrostBlade fans with RGB ability. Of course, ther is WiFi 6 so that you can set up from anywhere and still get a decent network connection even without wires.
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Predator XB273U GX Gaming Monitor
Source: Acer
Of course, powerful hardware must be paired to a display worthy of all its power. You want a fast display, you want pretty colours, and you want 27-inch. We feel that 27-inch is the magic number for gaming monitors. It is big enough to fit a table and for you to see everything on your desk with enough details. It is not too big too for your desk so you can just sit at a comfortable distance and take advantage of the large display area.
The Predator XB273U GX gaming monitor fits that bill perfectly. 27-inch, check. Fast, it boasts 270Hz refresh rate and 0.5ms response time, overclocked; so, check. It boasts HDR 400 certification and Delta E<2; pretty colours, check. You can even power it with a USB Type-C 65W power delivery output.
On top of all of that you can swivel the monitor around, tilt it, and adjust its height for maximum comfort and most efficient layout on your desk. Thanks to 99% AdobeRGB colour gamut and Delta E<2 as well, the monitor can be used in creative cases such as photo and video editing when you need to. Did we forget to mention its WQHD (2560 x 1440) resolution?
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Acer CB342CK C Monitor
Source: Acer
At home though, you might want something a little more immersive. You might want an ultra-wide display to view everything on one display. You might want an Acer CB342CK C UltraWide monitor.
The Acer CB342CK C monitor features a 34-inch display that is stretched out wide. It boasts 3,440 by 1,440 (UWQHD) in resolution. It is still an acceptably speedy monitor too with 75Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time. Like the XB2783U GX, you can power the Ultra-Wide monitor with 65W power delivery too.
The ultra-wide IPS display is still a good-looking display with 99% sRGB colour gamut still. You get up to 400nits in brightness too if you need it. With AMD Radeon FreeSync, the monitor should still be reasonably good with games. The extra display real estate should allow for a more immersive gaming experience, especially with racing games.
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Price and Availability
The Predator Orion 3000 comes in either a 10th Generation Intel Core i7 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER pairing (MYR 6,799) or a 10th Generation Intel Core i5 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER pairing (MYR 4,099). Both comes in the same great looking chassis. The baby Predator is now available from Acer’s authorised resellers across the nation and from Acer’s official online stores (including Lazada and Shopee).
Source: Acer
The Predator XB273U GX monitor is now available from Acer authorised stores nationwide and Acer’s official online stores (including Lazada and Shopee). There are no colour options for the 27-incher. The Predator XB273U GX will set you back MYR 3,299.
Source: Acer
The Acer CB432CK C Ultra-Wide monitor will be available at the end of December 2020. It will be available at all Acer’s authorised resellers across the nation and Acer’s official online stores (including Lazada and Shopee). You can get your hands on one when its available for MYR 1,799.
Customers who purchase any of these devices before 31 December 2020 will be entitled to redeem free gifts, including up to RM100 worth of Touch ‘n Go eWallet credit on their redemption website. In addition, every submission before 24 December 2020 will also entitle the customer to one entry to the Christmas rEunion Advent Calendar to stand a chance to bring back prizes from the total prize pool worth up to RM30,000. Starting from 1 December 2020 until 25 December 2020, Acer Malaysia will pick a lucky winner every day for the special prize. Winners will be announced on Acer Malaysia Facebook or their redemption website. For more information on Acer’s products, you can visit their website too.
