Pokémon has become one of the most valuable intellectual properties (IPs) in the world. What started off as a role playing game on the original Nintendo Gameboy, is now a multibillion dollar household name. Most recently, the Pokémon Company released the latest generation games, Pokémon Sword and Shield, on the Nintendo Switch. It has since announced much anticipated expansions to the Galar region; the first of which, Isle of Armour, due out in June.
In classic style, each new region introduced also signals a new adventure for the long running anime. Pokémon’s anime started off in 1997 in Japan and found its way to Western audiences a year later. With Ash Ketchum’s adventures well underway in Japan, the anime is now slated to make its US debut exclusively on Netflix as a Netflix Original.
The new series will follow protagonist Ash Ketchum as he travels the world with his Pikachu. The new series kicks off when Ash and Pikachu meet Goh, an extremely curious boy who looks to catch every Pokémon including the mythical Mew. The duo are appointed as official research fellows by Professor Oak’s prodigy, Professor Cerise. The series will follow the duo as they work towards becoming the ultimate Pokémon Master and catch ’em all around the Pokémon world.
Pokémon Jouneys: The Series will debut with 12 episodes on June 12, 2020. Netflix and the Pokémon Company International will be adding new episodes every quarter after. The new series joins a growing catalogue of Netflix originals which encompass licensed and Netflix produced shows on the platform.
If you look into the PC market these days, you see nearly the same things from every other manufacturer. It has been that way for a while now actually. Every mainstream brand goes with their usual line-up, then there is the high-end professional line-up, a mainstream and high-end gaming line-up, and now, they have the high-end creative industry line-up. There is one segment that many manufacturers are not taking enough advantage of though. That is the student market.
It is a completely different market compared to what the other markets are serving you see. In this segment, consumers are looking to buy value-for-money portable set-up that they are comfortable to work with. Preferably you have something at 14-inch to 15-inch of display, large enough to easily browse through documents and rifle through research papers. It is also large enough to enjoy YouTube and Netflix when they need to relax. Of course, the main aim is to get work done on it. It has to be able to comfortably run excel files, easily create attractive and purposeful PowerPoints, and write long essays away from the charging port preferably.
Lenovo has a number of things that they are already doing to make their Notebook PCs more appealing to students. One of which is to bundle Microsoft’s whole office offering for students into their value Notebook PC line-ups. Their new strategy is to find a completely new kind of brand ambassador.
Source: Lenovo
Their new IdeaPad Slim 1, IdeaPad S145, and ThinkBook 14 Notebook PCs are included under their “Learn From Home” package. The Notebook PCs prices starts from MYR 999, MYR 2,049, and MYR 3,399 respectively. Selected devices will get the Students package with Microsoft Office 365 Student access.
They are looking for a full-time student to be their new ambassador this time. Of course, there are some criteria other than being a full-time student and being able to verify that status. The candidate has to also be active in their campus activities as a student. Interested participants also have to be active on social media and be a registered Member of Lenovo’s Education Store
If selected, the ambassadors will be exclusively invited to watch Lenovo Tech Talks. The Tech Talks are kind of product launch events or even concept show cases. Selected students will also get to participate in the Q&A sessions that happens within the events.
They also get direct access to Lenovo team members as part of a sort of a mentorship program. Students can speak to Lenovo team members in virtual office hours to gain skills that may be essential to their career path or as entrepreneurs. All this, on top of a 15% discount referral code they can use and share with friends or family members to purchase selected Lenovo devices listed under the “Learn From Home” program.
Eligible students may apply for Lenovo Malaysia’s Student Ambassador program or find out more about the program on Lenovo Malaysia’s website. All participants will be awarded with a certificate of participation to be added to their portfolio. At least you tried, you know. If you are selected though, you might be featured in one of Lenovo’s Quarterly Student Ambassador newsletter. For more information on Lenovo’s “Learn From Home” offers, head over to their website too.
Samsung’s QLED TV line up has been one of the first that have been pushing 8K and large form factor TVs. Last year, we saw the company push boundaries with a flagship series which capped at a whopping 98-inches. That said, Samsung’s line up isn’t just about size, they tend to also push the boundaries when it comes to technology. With the 2019 QLED TV line up, the company introduced a whole slew of features to help make content more immersive and also stand out. This year’s line up is no different.
Spearheaded by the new Q950TS, the new line up of Samsung QLED 8K TVs continue to bring more enhanced technologies. These technologies are focused at providing better picture quality, more immersive sound and a better, more well-rounded experience when it comes to content consumption.
Smarter AI Upscaling Augmented by Deep Learning
Samsung’s introduction of AI upscaling started with its 2019 line up of 8K UHD QLED TVs. The line up was the first to boast a dedicated Quantum processor to help with upscaling to help address the content gap. This year, Samsung ups the ante with an improved AI upscaling. While still backed by a Quantum Processor, the 2020 Samsung QLED 8K TVs will have better upscaling capabilities thanks to machine learning and deep learning algorithms.
The new machine learning and deep learning algorithms are supported by a new neural processing component in the Quantum processors. It is thanks to this neural processing that Samsung’s Quantum Processor is able to upscale content with machine learning and deep learning. The new two pronged approach to upscaling allows better, more natural upscaled content for the large factor QLED TVs.
The first prong of the two prong approach is Samsung’s Machine Learning Super Resolution. This upscaling technology focuses on upscaling content based on identified objects. The company has specified in an online briefing that the upscaling done by this technology preserves the characteristics and details of the objects or subjects of the scene or picture.
To ensure the natural detail of the shot is better preserved during upscaling, Samsung has introduced what they call Deep Learning Super Resolution. It enhances the details and fills in the pixel gaps when the image or video is upscaled. Accessing a neural network, the algorithm intelligently restores details which are lost during the upscaling process. It does this by upscaling the image pixel by pixel. Samsung’s engineers have assured us that the algorithm doesn’t introduce artificial details.
These AI technologies augment the enhancements Samsung has introduced physically in their displays. The new QLED displays come with Array Elite. This new technology allows finer control of the pixels which make up the TV. It allows finer contrast control and better power efficiency as pixels individually powered.
More Immersive Sound with Object Based Surround Sound
Samsung’s new line up of QLED 8K TVs also bring a refreshed approach to sound. In the past, sound seemed to be in the background when it came to TV development. However, Samsung is taking a more holistic approach with their 2020 QLED TVs.
It starts with a redesign of the integrated speakers. Samsung’s new line up comes with six speakers. It has two front firing speakers on the top corners of the screen. It’s placed behind the high resolution QLED panels. More significantly, Samsung has moved the tweeters to the side of the TV. In addition, Samsung is also using wider left and right channels for more complete sound experience.
The redesigned sound system has allowed Samsung to introduce a new, enhanced feature called Object Tracking Sound+ (OTS+). This allows regular consumers, like you and I, to experience sound the way it was designed. OTS+ essentially allows sound to be tied to an object instead of the channels available. This approach allows sound to move as an object moved on and off screen. Dolby refers to this as “audio objects” and is an essential part of its Dolby Atmos certification.
These new technologies enhance old features that came with the 2019 line up as well as enable new ones. The 2020 QLED TVs from Samsung could be one of the most exciting tech that come from the company. This is thanks to the company’s focus on enhancing and augmenting the user experience in its line up with meaningful new features. The new line up is set for its debut soon in Malaysia and has already been introduced in select counties around the world.
Fitbit has always been known for their wearables and health-centric devices. The company is arguably one of the first to pioneer health-centric gadgets such as fitness trackers. Just recently, Fitbit announced the availability of the new Charge 4 which brings much sought after features to one of their most popular fitness trackers.
This week, the company is focusing on their app; the place where all the magic happens. Fitbit devices, while good for tracking need a way to convey the data they collect in an easy to understand way; that’s where the App comes in. However, the app isn’t just about the data either, it has evolved over the years to become a community hub for Fitbit users around the world. Fitbit has also helped this along the way by introducing more ways to interact on the app.
More recently, the app saw the launch of a premium service where users are able to access personal training, nutrition advice and workout plans and videos for a monthly fee. This was further bolstered by the introduction of new app based features for the Charge 4. Now, in light of the current global pandemic, the company is introducing yet another feature – a COVID-19 Resource Hub.
The current pandemic is one of the first pandemics of its scale and the advent of social media has undoubtedly introduced a new dimension to how pandemics work. With a massive amount of information at our fingertips, it’s hard to discern what is real and what isn’t. The new COVID-19 resource hub is Fitbit’s way of helping the Fitbit community get access to verified information about the pandemic. The hub will feature information sourced from the World Health Organisation (WHO) to help the community keep safe, informed and healthy. The resource hub will appear in app as a red cross on the quick access bar starting on April 10, 2020.
In addition to the Resource Hub, users in the United States will be able to get access to doctors virtually via the Fitbit app. The company will be working with PlushCare, an online medical consultation provider, to provide this service. Using PlushCare, users will be able to get access to board-certified doctors virtually. The doctors will be able to provide diagnoses and prescription refills for those who need it during the lockdown. They are also recognised by insurance providers in the U.S. so users will be able to charge their insurance or copay. However, if you’re uninsured, you will have to pay USD$99 on top of the monthly Fitbit Premium membership fee for each visit. We don’t have word on whether Fitbit is looking to bring the feature to other countries just yet.
These efforts come as a complement to Fitbit’s many research efforts. The company has already been collaborating with research organisations such as The Scripps Research Institute and Stanford Medicine to help use wearables to detect early signs of diseases. Their research has, so far, been limited to viral illnesses. The researchers are currently looking at using this research to help identify COVID-19 cases using activity, sleep and heart rate data. The company is inviting users to share their data to help contribute to this research and also help in the battle against the SARS-CoV-2.
Fitbit has also made their premium service free for 90-days during the pandemic. With access to Premium, users are able to access over 40 at home workouts, meditations, sleep tracks and more in the Fitbit app. This offer is only available to new Premium members as a free trial.
The whole Movement Control Order situation in Malaysia means that none of us can step out to get to work. Well, not all of us anyway. The essential services are still up and running. Services like restaurants, groceries, certain workshops, obviously clinics and hospitals; they are all running.
There is another service that is still running though. Something that we take for granted sometimes. That service is the delivery service. Without these guys, we would not have anything getting to us at these trying times.
That also means while you cannot go out to do your usual window shopping or casual shopping, you can still shop at home. In fact, tomorrow is Shopee’s 4.4 Brands Festival. While you cannot go out to shop, you can shop from Shopee in this case.
We all know that shopping online is sometimes better than going to the regular bricks and mortar shops. You get better deals, you do not have to step out of home, and you get your things delivered directly to you. At the same time, you get a plethora of choices when you go online shopping.
For Shopee’s 4.4 Brands Festival that has been going on from 20th March 2020 onward to 4th April 2020, you get even better deals than usual. The finale, that is happening tomorrow (4th April 2020) is the big one. You get even better deals than the deals that you are getting used to since 20th March 2020, especially for gadgets.
For us to list down and elaborate on everything is a little bit of a drag though. So, you can check out below for the full list of things that Shopee has in store for you. We are just going to give you highlights of the products we think is worth checking out.
Smartphones
There are some very interesting offers from Shopee for the Brand Festival here. We think that the best deal you might get here is the Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite that retails for MR 2,699. For tomorrow only, you can get your hands on one for MYR 1,999. While he Oneplus 7T is very tempting with an MYR 400 discount for the 4th April 2020, the Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite packs flagship like specs with just minor disadvantages compared to the likes of the Galaxy S20. From our review, we think that it is a stellar smartphone. The biggest issue we had with it is the price, which is remedied by Shopee at least.
Sometimes, your life is never really complete without good music accompanying you. Music is a big part of all our lives. Every season can be described with a tune. There are a few very interesting, very new products here including the Apple AirPods Pro that is selling for only MYR 999 tommorrow. We think that the winner here is the Audio-Technica ATH-M40X headphones though. Yes, you need to get an adapter for smartphones that does not come with 3.5mm jack. We still think that wired is the best way to enjoy your tunes at home though. From a retail price of MYR 560, it is now MYR 260; less than half the usual price. If that is not a good deal, we do not know what is.
Source: Audio-Technica
Product
RRP (RM)
4.4 Shopee Brands Festival Promo Price (RM)
Product Link
Edifier TWS1 Bluetooth True Wireless Stereo Earphones
In terms wearable items, we have been quite a loyalist to a certain brand. Not because we are fanboys over the brand. We just like the wearable products they produce. I doubt it is a secret that we think that Samsung’s wearable offerings in the market is the best one we have seen on Android devices. They are good value for money, since they are not sold at the price or the Garmins. The Tizen Wear OS is smooth, intuitive, simple to operate. Their battery life is always longer than what we can find on conventional Android wearable devices.
Source: Samsung
That is why we think that the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 is a winner here. Which one in particular? That is really your preference. Aluminium tends to be lighter. Stainless steel has a nicer finish and quality feel to it. Durability wise, I think both are quite similar. It now depends on your budget and preference.
Product
RRP (RM)
4.4 Shopee Brands Festival Promo Price (RM)
Product Link
Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 R830 40mm Bluetooth Smart Watch (Stainless Steel)
You might think that you do not need anything more than your own smartphone as a camera. In most cases, that can be true. Your smartphone cameras can do much these days that you start wondering; “why would you buy another separate camera”? We will tell you why tough.
Source: Insta 360
Purpose built cameras are built to a certain purpose. Like the action camera that we picked out of this box right here; the Insta360 G0 action camera. This is really great, you get a wide angle lens camera that you can stick to your shirt, strap on your head, or wherever you fancy really and it will not be a distraction because it is so small. Our good friend over in Philippines has one and she loves it.
When it comes to completing your devices, you always think of some accessories that would fit your lifestyle. It is hard to pick and choose here because everyone has different priorities and preferences in choosing what is right for them. For us, we might really go for the Xiaomi Mi Smart Robot Vacuum Cleaner just because it just helps with our work process. We just need to let it occasionally run around the office, clean it, and voila, you have a clean home or office.
There are plenty more deals from Shopee for the 4.4 Brands Festival. Acer, for example is giving out more than 25% in discounts and vouchers on Shopee. From their Shopee store, you get to own monitors from as low as MYR 233. Need 4K resolution? There is a 43-inch 4K display that is available for MYR 1,269 only on Shopee’s 4.4 Brands Festival. If you fancy a new work-from-anywhere notebook, the new Acer Swift 5 is offered with MYR 420 off its retail price.
All these are going to be on sale tomorrow on the 4th April 2020. From 12.00 a.m. to 2.00 a.m., you get to enjoy free shipping if you purchase more than MYR 8 worth of items. For the rest of the day, a minimum spend of MYR 16 will get you free shipping. For more information and other things, maybe even essentials, you can head over to Shopee’s website, or app. The Shopee app is available for free on both Android and iOS via the Google Play Store and Apple App Store respectively.
Fitbit has become a brand synonymous with health and fitness. While the company has recently been acquired by Google, it doesn’t seem to have slowed them down. In fact, Fitbit has just announced a new entry to their Charge line up, the Charge 4.
The new Fitbit Charge 4 comes with all the features that made everyone fall in love with the previous Charge devices. However, it has a few upgrades. The Charge 4 is the first tracker in the line up to have GPS. This allows you to track where and how far you’ve gone on your runs. This comes as an enhancement to the now essential features of any fitness tracker including customisable watch faces, notifications and even sleep tracking.
The Fitbit Charge 4 introduces Active Zone Minutes. This is developed based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Heart Association. Both organisations recommend that everyone should have 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigourous activity weekly. Based on this recommendation, the Charge 4 will track your heart rate with Fitbit’s PurePulse 24/7 heart tracking. Using personalised data, it will determine how much effort you are exerting for an activity. This will allow for better tracking. In fact, the Charge 4 will be able to notify you each time you enter or exit zones. This will allow you to better optimise your workouts. If you want to get more detailed data, it’s accessible via the Fitbit App.
The Charge 4 comes with a promised 7 days battery life or 5 hours if you’re continuously using GPS. It is water resistant up to 50 metres and is swimproof. According to Fitbit the Charge 4 is able to operate between -20° to 60° C and up to an altitude of 8,535m.
Pricing & Availability
The Charge 4 will be available in stores starting late April. The regular version will retail for MYR 698. It will be available in black, rosewood and storm blue/black. The Special Edition will be available at MYR 798 in granite reflective/black wooven band. It will also come with a classic band for when you workout.
We like Garmin smartwatches, we do. While some of them are not specifically smartwatches in the modern sense (touch screen), they do still work like one. They connect via Bluetooth to your smartphone. They can be connected to your earphones for exercises and runs. They detect your heartrate and display all the information it can gather on your smartphone. They also take on notifications from your smartphones. So, the Garmin fitness trackers are smartwatches, unique smartwatches.
We like Garmin smartwatches because they are very well made. They are very rugged too, and their smartwatch batteries last you weeks instead of hours or days. Plus, their expertise in GPS tracking does not hurt as well. They are remarkable premium smartwatches to own.
In that sense also, Garmin has been making smartwatches that is targeted towards certain types of individuals. Most of them are quite active, to be fair. You get runners, swimmers, sailors, flyers, and even race drivers.
They also make smartwatches for golfers that is the Approach S40 and the S60. There is a new one though, an even better one. Welcome to the Approach S62.
Source: Garmin
The Garmin Approach 62 is an evolution of the Approach S60. That also means that it has all the great features of the Approach S60. It is a touch screen smartwatch, so you do not have to fiddle around with the buttons. At the same time, it has all the tracking functions you need on the golf course. It keeps all the distance information and scores for you so you can look at the data at home.
The new Garmin Approach S62 though can do one better. It has a slew of new sensors for swing detection. Now you can look at your past swings and let the watch determine which clubs are the best for each shot from wherever you are. Yes, the Approach series has golf course map data built into the smartwatch. They call the feature ‘Virtual Caddie’.
Source: Garmin
The Garmin Approach S62 smartwatch also features slightly bigger display at 1.3-inch. While it does not sound like much, a larger screen also means you do not have to squint so much to find your data or look at what is on the display. Of course, like a smartwatch too it has all the bells and whistles you might already expect from a smartwatch like heart rate monitors, oxygen saturation levels and what not.
You can expect the Approach S62 to last you up to 14 days on a single charge. With GPS mode on, you cut that down to 20 hours. Look at it this way though, you are not going to be walking around the golf course for 20 hours at a time. 20 hours is more than enough then.
Source: Garmin
Source: Garmin
The Approach S62 is available for pre-order via Garmin’s brand stores and MST golf stores across Malaysia. It will set you back MYR 2,399; more expensive than the Approach S60. You cannot technically go out to buy the Approach S62 now though because of the whole Movement Control Order (MCO) situation. Pre-orders are until the 30th of April 2020 though so you have about two weeks to pre-order one for yourself. If you do pre-order, you get MYR 259 worth of Garmin’s golf merchandises (while stocks last).
So last Friday we started on a series to document how we will start living with a HUAWEI smartphone free from the clutches of the evil Google ecosystem. No, they are not really evil; I am just trying to be a bit dramatic here. You get the idea though. Modern HUAWEI smartphones today only come with HUAWEI’s very own Mobile Services and AppGallery; no Google Mobile Services and Play Store. Kind of sad, really.
Last week we managed to download Facebook and WhatsApp. We did not have Instagram, or Netflix, or Telegram. In short, there were plenty of apps we did not have. Did we miss them? Yes, very much, I had Instagram and Netflix, and Prime Video installed in other devices just to scroll through them.
I Still Miss Social Media
In truth though, I am not that big of a social media person.
While I do scroll through social media from time to time, I seldom spend more
than 15 minutes scrolling through Facebook, or Instagram, or Twitter, and even
Snapchat. I have never logged onto Tik Tok.
That does not mean that I can completely ignore all this social
media though. Of course, if I am being honest, I do miss the apps. The idea of
just seeing what other people are up to in their own life; that can still be
quite fun, and quite traumatising depending on the contents.
Facebook can be quite enough though, especially with
Facebook Watch and the countless videos on the platform. That is technically
all the entertainment I got from the HUAWEI Nova 7i. To keep in touch with my
friends, I have WhatsApp. Then again, I turn on my WhatsApp on desktop barely
looked at my smartphone when it comes to messages.
Exploring the AppGallery A Little Deeper
Still, things are not so bad after scrolling through the AppGallery
once more. There are apps in the smartphone after all. Social media apps
include Snapchat, Tik Tok (of course), and WeChat (of course). Nope, nothing
else that I use as far as I can tell. There is even TrueCaller on the AppGallery.
Things are looking a bit up now that I scroll through a little
bit more through the AppGallery. You can find Viu, iflix, and some cinema booking
apps within the AppGallery to start with. No, no Netflix or even Amazon Video
Prime. For now, iflix and Viu would do. I personally don’t have a viu account,
so I stick to iflix. We are currently under the Movement Control Order (MCO),
so I cannot go for movies.
If not though, I can do some window shopping via Zalora, Lazada,
and even Shopee. There are even some games that you might be familiar with. One
of them is Cut the Rope 2 within the AppGallery. You can even find Lords Mobile
and Fortnite on the device. So to be fair, you are not really getting
shorthanded in terms of entertainment here.
For productivity, they have WPS Office on the AppGallery. While
some say that WPS Office app is better than the original Microsoft apps, I
would respectfully disagree. The modern Microsoft apps are now so much better,
and so much more optimised. At the same time, it is easier to sync your Microsoft
apps to OneDrive than anything else. This is a problem on the device though;
there are almost no Microsoft apps here.
I say almost because there is a particularly useful Microsoft
app that we love. That app is Microsoft’s Translation app. In our opinion, this
is the best translation app that mankind has ever produced. It is accurate and
works with plenty of accents. Still, we are not here for the Microsoft Translate
app.
It is Still Android, Just Without Google
The apps that are downloaded are also very similar to the
Android apps you find on Google Play Store. The EMUI 10 is based on Android 10
after all. Still, we found these apps. Which are great. If you are worried
about bringing them out as your electronic wallet, you would be relieved to
find Touch n’ Go app in there and Boost app. Grab is making its way on
AppGallery. Still, the two largest e-wallets in Malaysia has a foothold in
HUAWEI’s AppGallery. That means the HUAWEI Mobile Services (HMS), and
AppGallery cannot be that bad, right? Too early to tell in my opinion.
Still, we are going to dive a little deeper than that. For
now, that is all we can walk away with. Stay tuned for the next part.
Malaysia is still under Restricted Movement Order (RMO), or Movement Control Order (MCO), or in other words, partial lockdown. We are just one step away from a national curfew or martial law. If you have been living under a rock and have not known what is happening outside your windows, we are under RMO/MCO/lockdown because of the COVID-19 situation which is worsening as the days go by. To be specific, we are under this condition to combat the worsening COVID-19 situation.
Why this is the best way to go? There are plenty of graphs
and what not to be shown, but we are not going to do that here. All you need to
know is it is very important that we practice social distancing and stay at home
as much as possible to limit infection rate and risks.
Staying at home can be a drag for plenty though. We can understand
that, especially for those social butterflies out there. We feel your pain, but
at the same time I personally like staying indoors anyway. Still, it does get
boring; you run out of games to play, run out of books to read, generally
running out of things to do eventually.
It is quite a simple fix though. You can order books online now and buy games digitally. You do not need to step out of the house for all these for a while now. You can even get a movie on your couch with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, what not. Still, these things cost you money. There is something else you can do, for free – exercise.
The Right Tools Are Essential
We are saying that exercising can be fun, yes. Beyond that
though, in the days where you can barely step out of your home, it is always
important for you to keep yourselves active and healthy. By sitting around and working
all the time while watching YouTube recipe videos, you tend to get lazy, and
unhealthy.
We are pretty sure you have been eyeing those smartwatches and
fitness trackers for some time now. It is the in thing these days anyway. At
this time, you must be thinking; “maybe not now, maybe wait until this whole ‘stay
at home’ thing blow over”. We are telling you that is the wrong mindset, because
at this point the government is talking about extending the RMO/MOC/lockdown
for another two weeks. Even the Olympics committee is looking to postpone the
Tokyo Summer Olympics 2020 just to combat the pandemic that is the COVID-19.
Source: Garmin
Now is a good time as any to get a smartwatch or a fitness
tracker. If you are planning to get one already, Garmin makes some great stuff
(we can testify), and they are having some great promotions for their smart trackers
now. For example, the Garmin Forerunner 245 and 245 music (one of my personal favourites,
review coming soon) is on sale for MYR 1,299 and MYR 1,499 (originally MYR 1,450,
and MYR 1,699) respectively. It will last you up to 7 days in normal smartwatch
mode. It has GPS and built in music capabilities too. Be warned though, battery
will drain within 6 hours if you turn both on.
Source: Garmin
The Garmin Forerunner not your cup of tea? Need something more
basic? The Garmin Instinct would fit great with its ruggedness too. It is built
to the U.S. military standards 810G to ensure that it still works in the most
hostile environments. This would be perfect for you Spartan Challenge and Viper
Challenge junkies. It has a battery life of up to 14 hours. It has GPS too of
course, and that would last you u to 14 hours, 35 hours in UltraTac mode. You
can get it in its plain body form, or tactical form (ATACS camo) for MYR 1,299
and MYR 1,450 (originally MYR 1,450 and MYR 1,599) respectively.
Source: Garmin
Nope? Need something more smartwatch like? Need touch screen?
Something more elegant you can wear every day. There is the Garmin Venu, a
pretty looking thing that has all the great Garmin features with a pretty
AMOLED touch sensitive display. This smartwatch can last up to 5 days too, much
better than almost anything with proper smartwatch functionalities in the
market. Of course, the Garmin Venu also has GPS built into its svelte body and
music storing capabilities. With both on, you get 6 hours of battery life. But you
do not need more than that in your exercises. It is available now in plenty of
colour combination options for MYR 1,599 (originally MYR 1,799). My personal
favourite is the Blue Granite/Silver combination.
The Garmin smart trackers are on this discount until the 31st of March 2020, that is when the lockdown order ends too. All the promotions are also coupled by Free Shipping by Garmin with FREESHIPPING code from their local distributor. Well, because, you know, you cannot go out; and retails are not open. Visit their online store now.
Source: Samsung
Source: Samsung
You have the Samsung Galaxy Watch or the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 that is now MYR 1,299 each. The Samsung Galaxy Watch, in my opinion, remains the best smartwatch that you can pair to your Android at this point. Of course they do not offer crazy one-week battery life. You get at most 3 days or so before needing a charge. Still, you get GPS, music storage, heart rate tracking, and activity monitor with them too. Plus, Samsung is participating in Lazada’s birthday promo on the 27th March 2020
Source: Apple
Or if you are an Apple user, you can always go back to the Apple Watch Series 5 currently. While we are not huge Apple fans, we have to admit that the Apple Watch has come a long way as a smartwatch option. The Apple Series 5 is a great smartwatch on its own with plenty of unique features like ECG monitoring, fall detection, and what not. Hey, it looks great too, in my opinion.
There are of course, plenty of options out there for you. There are more stuff in Garmin’s product range that might fit your preference better, or there are even great options from other people. There are also cheaper, more basic stuff out there. You just have to go into the interwebs and look.
Back to Basics
Back to keeping yourselves at home. There are plenty of
exercise videos you can actually watch from YouTube to keep yourself active. A search
of home exercises come up with a plethora of videos that might fit your needs
at home, so we are not going to feature any video here.
If you are not into the exercising videos or instructional
though, that is okay too. There are other ways to keep yourself active. Yes, we
try to do them too.
For one, you can just make sure you walk around the house.
While you might have set up your workstation at home to be as convenient as possible
for you work wise, you should separate all the living stuff and work stuff.
This ensures that you do not stay in one place for too long. Somehow this
forces you to get up and walk around the house to get water, or tea, or even food.
Maybe you should even put your smartphone further away from you so that you
will walk up to it to answer if there are any calls. I know I am doing that. Only
issue is, if you accidentally put it on silent or leave your headphones on. Of
course, check in from time to time.
Who says you need weights to keep yourself active at home? Keeping
yourself active at home can be just as simple as keeping yourself active in the
office. You have water bottles you can use as weight to do your weight-lifts
and what not. While it may not be as intensive or taxing on your body than those
crazy home workouts you see on YouTube videos, it is still something you can do
to keep your body moving.
Of course, since you actually have plenty of time at home
now, since you do not have to travel to work on a daily basis (you free up at
least an hour of your day, you have not considered the time you take to go out
with your friends, for meals). You have at least that one hour to get proper
exercises done. You can do your basic push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, and whatever
not. Of course, there are some more effective exercises you can find from
YouTube and what not.
Still do not want to do it in front of the TV? Garmin has
something called a Squad
Virtual Challenge. It is a community-based fitness and exercise program
that is now online. Obviously you have to be a Garmin owner to take advantage, hence the promotions. But you get new
regimes every two weeks from the Squad Virtual Challenge (for now), so you can
do something different every two weeks or so to keep your workout sessions more
varied.
There are also plenty of other workout regime subscriptions or community workout plans out there. Some are free, some are not. Some of them may work for you, some of them may not. It really depends on what you want out of your workout sessions too. So you should really look into it.
Going to the gym, or even going for an outdoor jog is not
really an option at this time. You really have to find the time on your own to
keep yourselves active. We also understand that it can get quite difficult
since you are just staying at home most of the time. It is important to keep
yourselves active though. An active lifestyle is a more productive lifestyle, trust
me.
Last year, Samsung introduced a new way of cooling your home with its first ever “wind-free” air-conditioning system. The new approach to air-conditioning was a literal breath of fresh air in a space that has become pretty drab over the years. When anyone thinks of air-conditioning, the picture that comes to mind is always a wall mounted machine which actively blows cool air out to cool the room. However, Samsung took inspiration from stones in caves which were able to cool its surroundings.
With this inspiration, the company looked to revolutionize their offerings by offering something similar. Last year, the company introduced it’s R32 rated AR9500M, its first “Wind-Free” air conditioner. The AR9500M brought a new, optimized design of Samsung’s signature triangle air-conditioners. The new design came with over 10,000 micro air holes in the casing. This design allowed Samsung to optimize airflow to allow gentler cooling of the room. It also introduced a new mode of cooling to Samsung air-conditioners.
This year, Samsung’s new AR9500T takes the design of its predecessor and throws it out the window. The new, revamped air-conditioner adopts a familiar, compact design we’ve seen in many other air-conditioners. According to Samsung, the new design was adopted after consulting their partners and service team. They’ve created a modular air-conditioner which is able to be installed and serviced a lot easier than its previous models. The new AR9500T also comes with an increased 23,000 micro holes to create more still air and more efficient cooling.
Aside from that, the AR9500T comes with a new three step cooling process. The air-conditioner kicks into high gear with Fast Cooling mode. It does this by actively blowing cooled air. Samsung claims that the new air-conditioner can blow air further than any model before it; allowing it to cool faster and more efficiently. This is helped by the improved Digital Inverter Boost. After this, the air is dehumidified to optimal humidity. Once the air is at the desired temperature, it uses the wind-free mode to maintain the comfort.
The AR9500T is the first air-conditioner from Samsung to have A.I. Auto cooling. The new feature is uses data from thermostats which collects temperature data from the outside and inside. The A.I. uses this data in tandem with the user’s usage patterns to optimise cooling and maintenance. This is paired with the ability to control the air-conditioner through Samsung’s Smart Things Platform.
The new Samsung AR9500T Wind-free air-conditioner is currently on the market. Purchases of the new Wind-Free air conditioner is eligible for a new Samsung Air Purifier at 50% off! The promotion starts from 1st March till 31st May 2020.
