Category Archives: Lifestyle

Now You can Have Your Own BMW X5 xDrive45e M Sport, Just Use Your Smartphone!

BMW very recently just launched their brand-new car, the X5 xDrive45e M Sport in Malaysia. While this is not BMW’s most expensive car, it is still regarded as one of BMW’s most premium offerings. They call it the ‘Boss’ car.

If you are not yet familiar with BMW’s offerings, the BMW X5 xDrive45e M Sport is BMW’s premium SUV offering. The top-of-the-line BMW X5 SUV packs a powerful inline six-cylinder internal combustion petrol engine. The BMW signature engine features forced induction too in the of BMW’s TwinPower Turbo. The 3.0-litre powerhouse pushes 286 hp to the wheels.

This is still a plug-in hybrid vehicle though with an electric motor to keep emissions low while keeping speeds very high. The electric motors produce a mere 113 hp on top of the petrol engine. The combination of the internal combustion engine and the electric motors pushes a total of 394 hp and 600Nm of torque on all four wheels of the BMW X5 xDrive45e M Sport. That means a 0-100km/h time of 5.6 seconds; rapid, in a bulging SUV weighing just over 2.4 tonnes.

Available in four colour offerings, the BMW X5 xDrive45e M Sport can be yours on your driveway for MYR 448,800. Or, for free if you have a smartphone, just know that you cannot actually drive it and feel what its like behind the wheel. Just head to the webapp on your smartphone here.

The app is simple really, it is based on Augmented Reality technology, nothing new there. If you remember, not too long ago Google Lens has become quite popular with having strange and exotic animals in your living room. That is the exact thing here, in car format.

Of course, within the app you can customise the car a little bit. You can change the colour, for example. There are some interactive pointers for you to click on too to find out more about the BMW X5. The only thing you do not get to do is drive out in the car.

This is technically a small advancement in car buying experience globally though. You could still go to BMW’s website to customise your car on the website itself. This is just taking it to a new level where you can get to see the car itself in roughly the exact dimensions. What do you think though, should more car manufacturers do this sort of stuff? Comment below.

First Look at the Ruark Audio R3 – High-End, Pretty, At Home

Ruark Audio just launched in Malaysia. Malaysia is also the first market to the Ruark Audio R3. The new Bluetooth enabled speakers is so much more than just a table top speaker though.

It packs a very powerful class A-B amplifier for superior sound quality even if you compare it to the likes of Senheiser or even Bose. It is just as pricey too at MYR 3,999. It is also a piece of furniture though.

The wood finish is actual wood, instead of laminated MDF boards. It is a piece of decoration in your living room, or your study, or even your bedroom. It can even fit your antique furniture if you really like.

It is not an antique museum piece though. It is Bluetooth enabled, WiFi enabled, Internet enabled, and you can even put a CD into it. It is as modern as the National Art Gallery of Singapore.

The Ruark Audio R3 will be available in Malaysia at the end of August at retail partners accross Malaysia. There are no available colour options available, just that every piece of Ruark Audio’s loudspeakers come from actual wood, so you get different grains. As mentioned, it will be priced at MYR 3,999. More information can be found on their website.

Ruark Audio Makes its Way into Malaysia With the R3!

Never heard of RuarkAudio? We cannot blame you. It is practically a brand that technically does not exist in Malaysia before today. If you are not an audiophile, you might not have heard of the brand before. If you are, there is also a slight chance you may not be too familiar with the brand.

RuarkAudio is a British company that makes speakers. Unlike Senheiser or Bose though, they have less than half the resources these company boasts. That said, their offerings are not half as bad. In fact, their offerings can be highly competitive in terms of audio performance compared to the likes of Senheiser.

For some context, the company was founded in 1985 by Alan O’Rourke. It started in an industrial estate in Raleigh, Essex as a small workshop to make their own loudspeakers. Over the years they have been making high-end speakers, studio monitor speakers and even DAB radio receivers. They receive high praises in making all these products.

Fast forward to 16th July 2020 and they are launching their brand-new compact speaker system for the discerning millennials. They introduced the Ruark R3. It sits in between their R2 and R4 wireless speakers, effectively making the R3 a mid-range product in Ruark Audio’s highly acclaimed product range. Yes, they have quite an extensive range in their workshop.

Their flagship Ruark Audio R7 is something of a furniture. It looks more like a very thick table you put in your living room rather than play your audio. With that solid wood finish too, you can easily mistaken it to be decorative coffee table. It is a powerful speaker with a class A-B amplifier built into the wooden chassis though. You can plug any audio source like a turntable, your media player, or even your smartphone to it and it will work. You can also tune into the local radio channels, if you really want. Or, if you still carry CDs, you can put that into the R7 and it will play too. This one will set you back a cool MYR 15,999.

The R7 too rich for your taste? The R5 then, a shrunk down tabletop version of the R7. Smaller body does not mean smaller power though. It still packs the same amplifier from the Ruark Audio R7. That makes the Ruark Audio R5 the perfect audio furniture to own in a smaller condominium unit.

The class A-B amplifier combined with a downward firing subwoofer, the Ruark R5 produces excellent low frequencies while maintaining powerful mid and high frequencies. You can even put a CD into it like the R7. This has a specific RIAA turntable input though, this would be the one you want if you have a turntable. This will set you back MYR 6,999.

The Ruark Audio R3 is their latest product to grace the audiophile market. It is even smaller than the R5, which makes it quite perfect for your bedroom technically. Then again, your home is your home, so you decide where this goes. Being the latest product from Ruark Audio, this is also one of Ruark Audio’s most cutting edge product to date. You can easily stream music via Spotify Connect, TIDAL, Amazon Music, and Deezer over WiFi, or Bluetooth with aptX (not aptX HD, sadly). Its Smart Radio can tune into internet based radios, or DAB or DAB+, or local FM Stations, making this the most flexible radio set you have in your room. You can even play CD through it. The R3 is also compatible with your smart TVs, or Amazon Echo Dot, or Google Home Mini to make it even cleverer. This sets you back MYR 3,999.

No need audio for the room? Need a stereo set up for your desk instead? The MR1 is the perfect desktop speakers for that. Be it your work station, or even your media player centre, the Ruark Audio MR1 will sit on the desk like it belongs. It still packs the class A-B that the R3, R5, and R7 has. That also means that this is a powerful little speaker that produce clean, crisp audio. Unlike most desktop set ups, you only need two of these little boxes to get a full aural experience. You do not need a secondary subwoofer for this. This one is MYR 2,099.

If ease of use is your thing, then there is the MRx instead. The single speaker unit has more in likeness to the MR1 than the other products in Ruark Audio’s product range. It does not have a player unit or a large display unit. It plays audio via Bluetooth, or USB stick, or the internet, or even an AUX input. You can only control the speaker via the UNDOK app available for Android and iOS. This will set you back MYR 2,399.

The Ruark Audio R7, R5, MR1, and MRx will be available in Malaysia at the end of August. You can get them either online or Ruark Audio’s retail partners in Malaysia, Atlas Sound and Vision at the Gardens Mall, Mac Studio at BB Plaza KL and Bangsar Shopping centre, and Flash Gadgets at Sunway Pyramid. You do need to experience the products first before justifying the investment though. To do that, you can head to Atlas Sound and Vision at The Gardens Mall for a Ruark experience. For more information, you can head over to their website.

Malaysia had a TIME-out, the World had Twitter Hacked for Crypto Scam

Two days ago, Malaysia faced a meltdown. No, not the nuclear reactor type. It was mostly rage against TIME dotcom Malaysia. If you are a user, you would know that you could not have access to your internet on the 14th of July 2020 because there was some issues with TIME dotcom, one of Malaysia’s major internet service providers (ISP). For plenty of Malaysians working from home, this is a nightmare scenario. Internet was down for up to eight hours from the first reports at about 2.00 p.m. (correct us if we are wrong).

That was not a good day for TIME dotcom and their customers, me included. While that is a big deal, Twitter seems to have a bad day at the office too on the 15th of July 2020, yesterday. They had several accounts hacked, and then those accounts were used for a cryptocurrency scam.

Source: BBC

The hacked accounts are not any random accounts though. The account holders of the hacked accounts are people like former United States Vice President, Joe Biden; former POTUS, Barrack Obama; Billionaire, Elon Musk; Microsoft Founder, Bill Gates; and even Apple’s own twitter account. These are all verified accounts, by the way.

The hackers then proceed to post promises of a double return of Bitcoins as long as anyone sends them a certain number of Bitcoins to them. Twitter has locked all the affected accounts once they found out about the breach. This was several hours after the hack and scam started.

According to Twitter, the hackers managed to use some of the internal tools that only employees have access to. They are suspecting also that the hack is targeted towards Twitter employees in this case. Most of the affected accounts are also accounts with a vast following number, understandable since they want your money.

Still, twitter took responsibility and apologised to the millions on Twitter. There are no official numbers being released on how much has already been scammed, but there are estimates that the numbers have reached more than a few US$ hundred thousand in value. Twitter is currently still rectifying the issue and will issue an update very soon. You can keep up with the latest update on this issue via Twitter following Twitter Support’s account.

IOI Hackathon offers MYR35,000 for Teams Who Crack the Code

IOI Properties is having a hackathon under their new LIVE.LIFE brand campaign. The hackathon challenges software developers to develop a brand new product according to their criteria for a chance to win MYR35,000. The hackathon comes as part of a push for IOI Properties to drive the digital transformation to disrupt the way the property industry works.

The IOI Hackathon challenges participants to tackle one of the largest pain points for those interested in purchasing or renting property – the search and managing rented property.

Source: IOI Properties

The hackathon has a total of four challenges that participants can choose to develop a solution for. The first is to solve a data aggregation problem, aggregating online searches done by time, budget and location. The second is to identify the types of houses which people are searching for according to size, budget, price, location and current trends. The third is to develop a solution for management of rented properties. The fourth is simply to disrupt the way people choose and buy properties.

Those interested are invited to submit their applications in teams of 3 by July 17. There will be a briefing held on 18 July, 2020. The hackathon will come to a close on 25 July, 2020 when participants must submit their entries with shortlisted contestants announced on 27 July, 2020. The finals will be held on 1 August, 2020 in Putrajaya where shortlisted participants will be invited to present and demonstrate their submissions.

Those interested to participate are able to register on the IOI Hackathon webpage.

Self-Driving Vehicle Comes to South East Asia Courtesy of HUAWEI

With all the attention that HUAWEI is getting these past few weeks for all the wrong reasons, they are still positive. They are still Malaysia’s biggest hope to our progression toward 5G, they have collaborated with Singapore to bring more contents to their own platform, and they are still innovating on their smartphones. Also, they are still the largest network infrastructure provider in this part of the world.

Driverless cars, on the other hand, is not something that is quite prevalent here. In South East Asia at least, the most we can get is assisted braking. Even radar guided cruise control over here is not something that is readily available. To hear about a driverless car in this neck of the woods is news.

Sadly, we are not getting that technology in Malaysia. The system is placed in Thailand first. It is not a Tesla either. It is completely autonomous with no human input controls within the vehicle at least.

It is not made for commercial purposes either, so you cannot even buy it even if you have millions in the bank. Maybe you can, but that is not the point. The new autonomous vehicle is Thailand’s next step in transforming the nation into a digital one.

Technically the vehicle in question looks nothing more than a metal box on four wheels. That is because, that is all it is – a delivery vehicle to revolutionise the Thailand healthcare industry. No, it is not made to transport human beings as ambulances.

Source: HUAWEI

They are mostly made to transport medical equipment, or medical supplies either within a hospital compound or from one hospital in town to the other. Which also means that this will also be on the road. There is a problem to all these autonomous vehicles however – how are they driven?

Usually an autonomous vehicle gathers data through various cameras and sensors placed around its body panels. These data are stitched through its ‘brains’ or CPU and uploaded to the cloud for further analysis to create detailed information of the road it sees, and the objects around it. The computer within the vehicle will determine how fast it should be going, where it should be heading, and where to place itself to avoid collisions, and find the fastest route to its destination. This also means a more reliable delivery service. Important when it comes to life and death.

There is a crucial component in autonomous vehicle networks though – data. You cannot just collect endless amounts of data and not offload it and back it up somewhere else. You need to share the data, back it up, and retrieve older data for the machine to understand situations better and make decisions based on every other data. For that, you need a stable and fast internet connection. For that you can look at 5G.

In this case, HUAWEI is that big partner that brings on the 5G capabilities required for Thailand’s revolutionary delivery vehicle service for the medical field. Technically that is it, HUAWEI empowering the healthcare segment of Thailand through their 5G. There is a little more than that though.

By effectively transforming the healthcare environment with 5G infrastructures also propels Thailand at the forefront of 5G readiness. While Malaysia is aiming to get 5G to hit the streets as soon as the end of 2020, it seems that Thailand has leaped forward and start taking advantage of 5G in improving their healthcare capacity and capabilities. This is a start to a much bigger 5G future.

What do you think of Malaysia’s progress toward 5G? Which industry do you think should get 5G capabilities first? Let us know in the comments!

Another E-Commerce Challenger Has Entered the Ring – Vettons Launches

The digital marketplace in South East Asia is quite a crowded space. In Malaysia itself at least, we have Lazada, Shopee, Lelong, Mudah, and LamboPlace. Now, we have Vettons.

Launched on 7th July 2020, the platform looks to change the whole e-commerce environment in Malaysia. Yes, this is the new e-commerce platform that has been teased on social media. This is the e-commerce platform that is going to “revolutionise” online shopping in Malaysia.

Source: Vettons

Vettons is purely app based, so good luck scrolling through their web store like traditional e-marketplaces. The website will direct you to a download link on Google Play and App Store. Still, it is available for free on both platforms.

A new online marketplace is always a welcome addition in Malaysia though. Still, this is not like any other e-commerce sites like any other though. It is supposed to be cleverer.

Vettons is different because they ensure that their products are off the highest quality. Okay, maybe we are overselling that a little bit. They are just making sure that the products that are sold on their platform are genuine things from their third-party merchants.

That also means you will not see questions of whether items are genuine in the comment sections. Everything is ensured to come from partner brands. In turn, each brand ensures that their products are up to a certain standard, that is quite normal.

Source: Vettons

Of course, like other platforms too, you get the promo items or items with the lowest prices presented to you in the first page. Thing is you need to be shopping or browsing around a little bit for the algorithm to understand your purchase patterns and preferences. We can get into that a little more later.

What is even more interesting is that Vettons promises delivery within 24 hours for each item you buy. This is something that is not offered on most of the platforms in Malaysia. That means if you might need something urgently, Vettons can deliver if they have the item you want that is.

Now we get to the algorithm. They are touting a very clever interface that learns what you do and what you purchase and personalise the shopping experience to you. They are also looking to make the platform more interactive than just you shopping for things. After all, “customer satisfaction” is the main goal.

Source: Vettons

In some sense, what Vettons promises us as potential customers are not technically radical new things. They are looking to make things just a little smarter for us, shoppers. We do appreciate new things though.

Vettons is available for free on Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store now. For more information on Vettons, you can visit their website.

Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 Platform Unveiled

Wearables are the rage these days. Well, they have been for the past few years. Of course they would be; they offer unparalleled flexibility and function to something as simple as a wrist watch. Your wrist watch is now your smartphone companion, your fitness tracker, your notification bell, your personal assistant, and your alarm.

The introduction of the new Apple WatchOS just about a week ago also marks a sort of new age for wearables. The same cannot be said, however to the aging platform that is Wear OS. Not that there is nothing new with Wear OS.

The latest Wear OS is technically still in its second generation (2.18 as launched in May 2020). You are already seeing the fourth generation of Wear OS devices in the market currently. The ones that has been pushing for Wear OS plenty is Fossil these days. They do have some pretty good-looking Wear OS devices on offer right now too, for not very much money.

There is another problem, however. The platform that they have been sitting on, the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear System on a Chip (SoC) that Wear OS rides on is also aging. To be fair, nothing much is really wrong with them. At the same time, they do leave a little bit to be desired.

Source: XDA Developers

2020 sees the new Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform. In this new line-up there are two processors unveiled. The top performing being the Qualcomm Snapdragon War 4100+ platform, and then there is the regular 4100 platform.

The headlines are pretty much expected. It is more powerful than the two year-old Qualcomm Snapdragon 3100. It is a lot more energy efficient too, making energy-efficient mode more colourful and functional. There is a whole slew of improvements in managing other features too, including a promised better GPS support. Oh, apparently there is better camera support too for whatever reason.

Of course, all these things are quite expected. To put them into perspective though, you have to look at numbers. Keep in mind that Wearable tech is still in its infancy and is still growing at an exponential rate.

The new 4100 platform is clocked 85% faster than the 3100 platform. Its memory clock is also that much faster while GPU performance is claimed to be more than twice faster than before. No, you might not want to use it for gaming still in a display no bigger than your webcam.

But that allows developers and Google more room for fancy animations, better looking interfaces, and generally plenty more functions to be loaded on top of Wear OS. Heck, it could even mean that you get different variants of Wear OS that fits form and function distinctly.

Source: XDA Developers

Apparently also the new 12nm Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform offers 25% more battery life compared to the outgoing 3100 platform. While that is still nothing to shout about, it is an improvement. Now you can have a Wear OS device that lasts to bedtime, rather than one that has to be charged when you get home after work. Or not, depending on what the watchmaker feels like fitting into their hardware.

There is a new 4G modem too in case you want the device to be an eSIM device. That also means you might be able to leave your smartphone behind during a jog in favour of a more secure, lighter package you wear on your wrist. Of course, new improved antenna also means better GPS coverage and tracking.

Currently nothing in Fossil’s line-up will feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4100 platform. The first Wear OS device with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4100 platform will be the Mobvoi TicWatch line up. We can expect to see Fossil to follow suit later in the year. The Wear OS platform now might be worth a look.

Samsung Makes the Kitchen Hi-tech with Family Hub

Samsung has been hard at work revolutionising traditional living spaces with a touch of technology. They’ve done the living room and the outdoors with some impressive TV offering. Now, they’ve got their sights set on the kitchen with their new refrigerators. The new two door side by side refrigerators are imbued with technology to make life and meal planning easier.

The new Samsung side by side (SBS) Family Hub brings features that make grocery shopping and meal planning a breeze. The new fridge comes with a ViewInside camera which allows users to peek into the fridge without letting any of the cold air out. Not only is this convenient, it helps when it comes to maintaining the temperature of the fridge. It also helps with power efficiency.

The SBS Family Hub also gives you a screen that seamlessly integrates with any Samsung smartphone; allowing you to share precious memories on the screen. The screen can also act as a virtual bulletin board; bringing a traditional use of the refrigerator surface into the future. The Family Board feature also allows you to share music and images on an interactive screen.

The Family Hub brings connectivity to your kitchen like never before. As part of Samsung’s Smart Things ecosystem, it brings seamless connectivity to your kitchen. Interact with your other Smart Things enabled devices such as your Samsung TVs or even smartphones. Mirror your screens on the Family Board, bring your daytime soap opera to the kitchen as you get started cooking for the family or even put your favourite tunes on while you’re getting ready for your day with breakfast. The functionality isn’t device dependent, the Family Hub is able to support apps and independently run music streaming or video streaming apps.

Pricing & Availability

The Samsung SBS Family Hub is now available in Malaysia for MYR8,999.

ASUS ROG Malaysia Partners with Stoned & Co. for AniMe Inspired Streetwear Line

ASUS’s Republic of Gamers (ROG) has always been about being a gamer and with gaming and gamer culture going mainstream, the brand has been branching out over the years to include ROG branded apparel in their line up. This year, ASUS Malaysia is partnering with Stoned & Co. to hit the streets with it’s apparel.

The new collaboration is drawing its inspiration from the AniMe Matrix dot matrix that emblazons the top of the recently released ROG Zephyrus G14. The dot matrix on the laptop allows users to customise their laptop with retro, cyberpunk style dot matrix designs that light up when enabled. The monochromatic accent to the Zephyrus G line up is a touch of personalisation which made waves at CES 2020.

Hence, it comes as no surprise that ROG would want to bank on the head turning feature to inspire it’s streetwear line with Stoned & Co. The line up will be consisting of four pieces: two t-shirts, a bomber jacket and a hoodie. The designed emblazoned on the apparel will share the monochromatic AniMe Matrix feel.

The new apparel line up will be available first to ROG fans who purchase the new Zephyrus G14 laptop. Purchases of the new Ryzen 9 touting G14 will be entitled to a free Stoned X ROG bomber jacket while those purchasing the Ryzen 7 or Ryzen 5 models can stand a chance to win the same. The promotion comes as part of ROG’s ROG My Style campaign. However, if you’re not eager to get a brand new laptop, you’ll be able to get the apparel in Stoned & Co. outlets starting in August.