Category Archives: News

Accessories, Consumer Electronics, Lifestyle, News

SONOS and IKEA Developing New Hide-in-Plain-Sight Symfonisk Speakers

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If you are looking for a home audio solution today, SONOS will be one name you come across. The American based home audio solution has proven to be one of the most popular home audio brands today with innovative and high-quality products in their stables. They also make some of the best and minimalist looking speakers in the market currently.

IKEA should not be a name that is new to anyone too at this point. They made flat-packed furniture a thing. They are also currently the largest furniture retailer and manufacturer in the world. Every home in Malaysia will haven IKEA product no matter how small. I know my house has a few IKEA stuff. Heck, our office is filled with IKEA furniture.

The partnership between IKEA and SONOS is nothing new too though. IKEA and SONOS produced their first collaboration product, the SONOS Symfonisk Bookshelf WiFi speakers back in 2019. The only issue is that we do not get a lot of IKEA x whatever brand collaboration products in Malaysia.

SONOS and IKEA is back in collaboration to update their Symfonisk WiFi Speaker. This time though, it is not just a WiFi wirelss speaker. This time, the Symfonisk for 2021 is a table lamp too combined with an Apple HomePod lookalike speaker unit. The new Symfonisk speakers are not available in Malaysia at this time. If you have family members or friends in Singapore though, they can order it at SG$ 299 per piece and in either white or black colour options.

Apparently though this is not the only thing they have in their collaboration product pipeline. They are also making an art piece together that is supposed to double as an art piece you can hang on your home walls, or office walls for that matter. This is not the first art piece speaker per say, but of course IKEA will make it more affordable and more flat-pack friendly than anything that came before.  

Those are also the only details anyone cares to share on their current collaboration products. Of course, if you already have SONOS products at home, you can pair them to the Symfonisk speakers for surround sound purposes or as connected speakers throughout the home. There are also no details yet on whether the Symfonisk speakers will ever make it to Malaysia. With SONOS making a big push in the region, here is hoping that IKEA Malaysia starts bringing in the SONOS x IKEA Symfonisk products.

Accessories, Consumer Electronics, News

LG Launches 2021 Soundbars – Apple AirPlay 2, AI Sound Pro, The Lot

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We are still reeling from LG’s big announcement with their mobile business unit. Yesterday they told the world that they are backing out from the smartphone market. They are still active in other areas though. For example, they are still a strong player in the home audio market.

They have just introduced their new line-up of soundbars for 2021. Of course, they come with even more features and before to really complete your audio experience. They also still come with everything that made the older soundbars great too. For one, you still get Meridian technology.

LG’s new 2021 soundbars introduces Meridian’s Horizon technology though. The technology cleverly mixes regular dual channel to virtually create a multichannel experience for true immersion when it comes to music and even movies regardless of their position. Meridian’s technology and tuning also shines in the soundbar’s Music Mode.

The LG soundbars for 2021 now supports Dolby Atmos and DRS:X audio. That also means you get more dynamic audio and immersion from the soundbars. If you have a Dolby Vision certified 4K TV, the soundbars adjust themselves to optimise audio and picture experience. Your Netflix set-up at home just got even better.

What is a modern soundbar without its smart features? The 2021 soundbars is compatible with Google Asisstant, Amazon Alexa, and Siri. With support for Apple AirPlay 2, the soundbars can now control their favourite contents directly from their Apple iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices.

To make your audio experience even more immersive and even better is LG’s clever AI features on the soundbar. The new 2021 soundbars packs their own clever Room Calibration tool that utilises its AI to optimise your audio experience no matter the kind of room you work with. Using a combination of its multiple mics and speaker units, the AI measures it own space and adjusts itself according to the room. In combination with the AI Sound Pro feature, the soundbar cleverly adjusts its frequency range and field extensions depending on contents to optimise your audio experience even more.

The 2021 LG soundbars are Hi-Res Audio certified supporting 24-bit/96kHz audio playback. The soundbars get HDMI eARC compatibility as well for high bitrate, high-resolution content playback and of course, Dolby Atmos audio. There is also USB playback as well as Bluetooth connectivity for a wider flexibility in terms of audio sources.

The new 2021 LG soundbar line-up will be available in Europe and North American market this month onward. There is no official pricing announced just yet even for the key markets. There are also no local (Malaysia) availability information yet for the soundbars. We are looking at a third quarter availability in Malaysia though. The new product line-up includes SP11RA (7.1.4), SP9WA (5.1.2), SP8YA (3.1.2), SP7Y (5.1), and SPD7Y (3.1.2). For more information on LG’s 2021 line-up of soundbars, you can head over to their website.

News

WhatsApp Finally Looks Into Moving Messages between iOS & Android

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You know that age-old question: “How do I get my WhatsApp messages?” especially when your friends move from an Android smartphone to an iPhone or vice versa? Well, it looks like that may become a thing of the past with an upcoming update to the Facebook-owned app. The new feature was first reported by WABetaInfo which also reported the emergence of multi-device support earlier.

The new feature seems to be under development for a future update. However, like a few updates that have been tracked in the past, there’s no guarantee that the feature will come to the app. That said, the update seems to be built on top of the multi-device feature that seems to be making its way to the app soon. It wouldn’t be hard to see the feature being rolled out after the multi-device feature debuts or together with the feature. It looks like the interplatform synchronisation will be implemented as a real-time chat migration which might indicate that users may need to be signed in to both devices for migration to be done.

Source: WABetaInfo

Chat migration between Android and iOS isn’t impossible at the moment. However, it requires the use of third-party apps that may put user data at risk. In addition, migration of the messages itself is a violation of WhatsApp’s Terms of Service. Before, backing up chats and migrating between the platforms wasn’t such a complicated process. In fact, users could back up or restore messages from Google Drive or other cloud storage services. However, the feature was limited to Apple’s iCloud when Apple and WhatsApp tightened data protection policies on their platforms.

Computers, Gaming, News

Acer Refreshed the Nitro 5 & Helios 300 in Malaysia

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Just as the Asia Pacific Predator League kicks off, Acer has taken the opportunity to refresh two of their most popular gaming laptops: the Nitro 5 and the Helios 300. The two gaming laptops come with refreshed graphics and processors for better gaming prowess.

The Predator Helios 300 gains the honour of being the first Predator laptop to come with NVIDIA’s RTX3060 graphics processor. The new setup comes with either the 10th generation Intel Core i5-10500H or the 10th generation Intel Core i7-10870H processors. The processor is paired with 8GB of DDR4 RAM. If you need more power, the laptop supports up to 32GB of RAM. In addition, it comes with 512GB of SSD with an addition NVMe and HDD slot for expansion. The Helios 300 comes with a 15.6-inch IPS display with Full HD resolution and 144Hz refresh rate. It’s complemented with DTS:X Ultra audio and 3D simulated surround sound. Acer has also packed its signature dual AeroBlade 3D fans for more efficient cooling to ensure your gaming sessions aren’t perturbed by overheating.

Acer’s Nitro 5, on the other hand, comes with the 11th Generation Intel Core series processors with 8GB of DDR RAM clocked at 3200MHz. It’s complemented by the NVIDIA GeForce GTX1650 and 512GB of NVMe SSD memory. It also supports up to 32GB of RAM if you need to up the ante and also has an extra M.2 slot for more storage. It also comes with a 15.6-inch IPS display with a 144Hz refresh rate and Full HD resolution.

Pricing & Availability

The Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop is available at Acer authorised resellers nationwide and the Acer Online Stores. The Nitro 5 with the Core i7-11370H processor retails at MYR4,399 (USD$1,064.75) while the Core i5-11300H version will set you back MYR3,799 (USD$919.52).

The Predator Helios 500 is also available at the same channels for MYR5,299 (USD$1282.59) for the Core i5 version and MYR5,999 (USD$1452.02) for the Core i7 version.

If you purchase either one of these laptops during the Asia Pacific Predator League which happens between 6th to 11th April 2020, Acer is offering up to MYR638 (USD$154.42) worth of freebies including 3 Years McAfee Live Safe license worth RM299 and Acer Supercare 2 worth RM339.

Lifestyle, News

Celcom MAX – All-in-One Plan to MAXimise Your Life

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You have seen the memes; you know it is true; internet and interconnectivity IS life. With the world going into lockdown and isolation because of the pandemic, the importance of having a decent internet connection and being constantly connected are even more emphasised. While the trying times also tested our resilience, our technology gets tested too. For our sanity and productivity, our internet connection became our lifeline.

Internet and data connectivity in Malaysia can be a little bit of a headache though. At our time of need, this kind of headache is exactly what we do not need. The solution is a one stop shop for everything data and internet. The solution, according to Celcom, is Celcom’s MAX all-in-one plan.

Source: Celcom

Technically, Celcom MAX is very similar to Maxis’ ONE plan. It is Celcom’s one-stop-shop for a home internet and mobile data plan for the family. For as little as MYR 179, you are subscribing to Celcom’s 100Mbps home fibre plan alongsidef a Celcom MEGA postpaid mobile plan (MYR 80). That is MYR 21 in savings every month technically.

The MAX plan also will include a free AX router for homes. That also means you get WiFi 6 connectivity out of the box if you subscribe to a Celcom MAX plan. You can also opt for a pair (2 units) of Mesh Routers for up to MYR 25/month for 24months though if you need the coverage. You are also eligible for 6 months of iflix or iQiyi or DimSum subscription for free when you subscribe to the Celcom MAX plan.

Source: Celcom

You can save even more when you buy your electronics with the Celcom MAX plan. You can get your hands on a Sharp 60-inch Android TV for only MYR 2,400 (MYR 100 x 24 months), an MYR 2,599 discount over the retail price of MYR 4,999. You can even get your hands on a Microsoft Surface Pro X 256GB LTE for MYR 5,800 (MYR 242 x 24 months), down from MYR 6,438 retail price.

The Celcom MAX plan is available today onward. You can choose between 100Mbps, 300Mbps and 500Mbps home fibre plans for MYR 179, MYR 199, and MYR 259 between the three plans. The first 100 customers to sign up for any of the Celcom MAX plan is eligible for a waiver if their first month’s bill. For more information on the Celcom MAX plan, you can head over to their website.

Android, Business, Consumer Electronics, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

LG Completely Backs Out of Smartphone Market

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South Korea has become one of the biggest electronic giants the world has ever seen. With the likes of Samsung and LG, it is no wonder the South Koreans are highly regarded in the modern era of technology. The two electronic giants have conquered everything from televisions to even washing machines in 2021. They make some of the best-selling televisions, fridges, even down to a water purifier.

They have also been a leader in the smallest things we carry with us every day. Samsung and LG have been at the forefront of smartphone technologies for the past few years now. But there has been some interesting development for the past few weeks or so. One of them is the fact that LG has made an announcement that they are no longer interested in the smartphone business.

The announcement from LG’s very own newsroom describes that LG Electronics Inc. will close its mobile business unit as per approved by their board earlier in the day. What that means is that LG will give up its smartphone business unit and not dabble in the smartphone market in the future.

To be fair, the company has been considering the exit for a while now. LG’s Mobile Business Unit, or its smartphone division has been posting losses for the past five years at least, and they show no sign of recovering. The company has been focusing on selling some mid-range smartphones while developing interesting concepts that produces smartphones like the LG Wing. They also showed some concept of a rollable smartphone, something we do not expect to see LG producing ever with the announcement.

As per the announcement as well LG will continue to make their current inventory available for sale. LG will also continue to provide support and software updates for their current customers and their existing products until an unspecified time. Although there is no indication to when they will end their product life support. They only indicated that it will be varied by regions.

This also means that the company will have to repurpose its workforces from its mobile business units. They mentioned that this will be determined at a local level as well. Still, they have some time to repurpose everyone within the business unit.

LG is expecting the close to complete by the 31st July 2021. While LG will no longer be officially selling their devices by the end of July, they expect some existing stocks to still be available after specified date and those will still be on sale. LG will still be involved in the development of mobile technologies, however. They will continue to work on 6G network related developments even after the Mobile Business Unit concludes its closure.

News

533 Million Facebook Users’ Data Resurfaces Online from 106 Countries

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Facebook seems to be having a row of things recently. The company initially faced humongous backlash on their implementation of data sharing policies between popular messaging app, WhatsApp, and the larger company. Now, it looks like old wounds are reopening for the company as data from a breach that happened in 2019 has surfaced on forums in hacking forums.

The breach involves over half a million users from over 100 countries with data such as their phone number, emails and even birth date. Malaysia is listed in the countries affected with over 11 million users having been compromised. The breach was first reported by Business Insider. Business Insider has also verified the data in the leak by testing password reset requests. A spokesperson for Facebook has confirmed the data breach. The person also confirmed that the data breach occurred due to vulnerability which was identified and patched back in 2019.

https://twitter.com/UnderTheBreach/status/1378314424239460352

While the data is 2 years old, the fact that it is readily available online at this point is a worrying fact. Data like birthdates, phone numbers and emails can be used to socially engineer scams. In fact, due to the phone numbers being leaked and made readily available, the likelihood in getting scams over SMS and phone calls are heightened.

Acronis Vice President of Cyber Protetction research, Candid Wuest, advises that, in light of the leak, “There is now a higher risk of SMS spam, but also password reset attacks and attacks against other services that use SMS for MFA are now more likely. Users should therefore change from SMS-based MFA service where possible for critical accounts.”

The fact that the leaker has readily made the data available for free can be puzzling. However, according Wuest, “As the leaked data does not contain any passwords or payment card details it is of less value to attackers. Furthermore, at least two third of the data was already available from previous leaks. It is not uncommon to see such data sets being made available for free, as they would not yield much profits on underground site. Such large data sets tend to not stay private for very long anyway.”

The new leak brings into the spotlight the amount of personal data we have available online and especially on social media. It also brings into question Facebook’s privacy policies which govern and protect data stored on their service. What’s even more worrying is the fact that Facebook wasn’t the notifying users, instead, the leak was reported by twitter user Alon Gal who has since been looking at and verifying the data leak. Facebook has only confirmed the occurrence of the breach and has not even notified users that were affected.

Gaming, News

[Update] E3 2021 is Online and Completely Free

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UPDATE: Microsoft and Nintendo has confirmed their presence in E3 2021. The Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo participation joins big names like Capcom, Konami, Ubisoft, Take-Two Interactive, Warner Bros. Games, and Koch Media. Sony, EA, Activision Blizzard, Bandai, Sega, and Square Enix has not confirmed their presence. Sony did not turn up in 2019 and was not going to be in E3 as of last year though.

When we say E3 2021 is online, we mean two things really. For one, it is happening. That means at E3 will go on in 2021 despite its 2020 cancellation for obvious reasons. The next thing we mean when we say that it is online is that it is happening completely virtually. For obvious reasons as well, E3 will happen and showcase completely online.

There is more good news here though, it is supposed to be an all-free event. That also means that you can register yourself and attend E3 without paying a single cent. According to their Twitter page as well, there should be no contents hidden behind annoying paywalls. Attendees are supposed to have access to all the major announcements and keynotes happening at E3 this year.

E3 is one of the world’s largest, if not the largest games convention and stage. E3 usually sees developers and platform owners run huge keynotes to announce new AAA titles to be released later in the year or even beyond. One of our favourite games; “Horizon: Zero Dawn” that was launched in 2017 was teased in E3 2015. Games like Cyberpunk 2077 took even longer from its first teaser to its final launch in 2020.

E3 is where we expect huge announcements from the likes of Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox camps. They made the first announcements of their next generation consoles in E3 as well. Of course, this year we have the Sony PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Xbox Series X/S. That also means that we can expect even more AAA titles to be announced from their camps. You can expect even more announcements made for PC games as well. Best part of this year’s E3 announcement is that you do not have to pay to get access to the keynotes.

E3 2021 is expected to happen June 15th, 2021 onward this year. Early on, there were rumours of keynotes and announcement behind paywalls only for E3 to come forward to dispel the idea. Of course, as per mentioned earlier, E3 2021 will be a completely virtual event for obvious reasons. For more information on E3 2021, you can visit E3’s official website.

News, Social Media

Attack of the Clubhouse Clones – Spotify, LinkedIn & Discord Enter the Foray

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Clubhouse is arguably the largest buzz word in social media right now. The audio only social media app has been in the news thanks to technopreneurs like Elon Musk. That said, the platform has gained momentum due to its ability of bringing like-minded people together to speak and interact. The platform has become somewhat of a sanctuary for those looking for fun conversations, support and even escape – the three things that people are sorely lacking during the pandemic.

Thanks to the popularity of Clubhouse, we’ve seen a slew of other platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram come up with their own takes on the concept. The most recent was the launch of Instagram’s Live Rooms and Twitters Spaces. The latter launched earlier this month. Twitter’s Space rolled out to iOS and a limited number of Android users when it was initially discovered; many of whom were unable to host their own Spaces. However, it looks like more of us will be able to host Spaces and soon.

Source: Discord

If Twitter isn’t your groove, it looks like Discord has rolled out a new feature called Stage Channels which bring the same features to the forefront of the platform. The new Stage Channels allow users to have and sit in on live, moderated conversations. Unlike its normal channels, Stage Channels highlight the speakers while others join in the conversation as part of the audience. Audience members will have access to a raise hand button which allows them to indicate to the moderators that they wish to speak. Moderators will also be able to invite audience members to speak. Yep – that’s pretty much Clubhouse on Discord. However, the biggest difference between what Discord is doing is that the Stage Channels feature is available across all versions of their app now.

Spotify, on the other hand, isn’t reinventing the wheel. Instead, the company has acquired Betty Labs, the company behind the live sports audio app, Locker Room. The app is already available on iOS and will be making its way to Android in the near future. It will also serve a wider range of audiences with the topic focus expanding from only sports talk. The company sees the app as a natural complement to the Spotify app allowing creators to interact directly and in real-time with their audiences.

According to a statement from Gustav Söderström to The Verge, Chief R&D Officer at Spotify, the app will remain separate from the main Spotify app. However, it will be rebranded in the near future. The app will also allow all users to host their own session – not just approved users. With users already uploading recordings of their sessions on Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces to Anchor, Spotify’s podcast publishing tool. It looks like the app will streamline the process allowing users a more unified experience and feed the growing podcast ecosystem on Spotify.

Source: LinkedIn

While both Spotify, Twitter and Discord are looking at creating a platform for a wide, diverse range of content, LinkedIn is looking enhancing your professional profile. The company is introducing a “Creator” mode that allows you to get followers on your profile. The new profile will allow users to be followed in a similar way to the pages on Facebook. However, in addition to this, LinkedIn seems to be working on a similar Clubhouse-like approach to live audio content that it believes will be a good complement to a professional profile.

So, with more and more companies releasing their own versions of Clubhouse – where do you, our reader fall with the rise of live audio? Are you going to be taking part in the conversation? Which platform will you be using?

Computers, News

Lenovo Launches 2nd Generation ThinkBook PCs in Malaysia

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We like Lenovo notebooks; we never make that a secret. We think that they really know how to make great notebook PCs. In fact, we own Lenovo notebook PCs ourselves.

We thought that one of their most interesting products was their ThinkBook. It was made with productivity and durability in mind. The excellent keyboard is a bonus too.

Lenovo has launched the new generation ThinkBook in Malaysia. This is technically the second generation of the brilliant notebook series. The last generation was two years ago.

This time as well, they launched three new notebooks in their ThinkBook series. They launched the ThinkBook 13s Gen 2 i, the ThinkBook 14s Yoga i, and ThinkBook 15 Gen 2 i. Yes, they are all in three different sizes.

Lenovo ThinkBook 13s Gen 2 i

The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s Gen 2 i comes packing Intel’s 11th Generation Core processors. It will also come with Intel’s new Iris Xe Graphics, which also means that it should be one powerful notebook PC. Of course, these things also mean that the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s is an Intel EVO certified platform.

True to its name, it has a 13.3-inch display. You can opt for a an WQXGA (2,560 x 1,600) display. The display is also a unique 16:10 ratio, which also means that it is somehow just a little more compact than before.

To make the notebook even more of a productivity beast, Lenovo packs Thunderbolt 4 so you can connect to an external display when you need to. You can also opt for a 4th Generation PCIe storage unit for a quicker workflow. Of course, it has all-day battery to keep you running through your workday.

Lenovo ThinkBook 14s Yoga Gen 2 i

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If you need something even more flexible to work with, there is the Yoga variant of the ThinkBook series. The Lenovo ThinkBook 14s Yoga will be the perfect device for you to work with in any situation.

Of course, this 14-inch convertible packs Intel’s latest generation Core processors. It also packs Intel’s Iris Xe Graphics to boot as well. That mostly means that you can get more than just word processing or powerpoints done with the notebook.

Convertible also means that you get a nice touch display and the benefit of a stylus on the Lenovo ThinkBook 14s Yoga. The Smart Pen, as Lenovo calls it, docks with the device as well so you do not risk losing your stylus in the abyss of your bag or misplacing it in a coffee shop somewhere.  

Lenovo ThinkBook 15 Gen 2 i

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The largest ThinkBook in the series is the ThinkBook 15. The Gen 2 device packs a large 15.6-inch display as per its name. While this looks like a plain notebook, it is more than that though. It comes packing integrated wireless earbuds which can be stored within the notebook.

The notebook acts as a charging case too in this case. The moment you pull the earbuds out, the earbuds connect to the notebook instantly. This could really help when you need to take your video calls on the go.

Of course, it packs Intel’ 11th Generation Intel Core processors and Intel’s Iris Xe Graphics for all the modern power you need in a mobile platform. For more flexibility, you get to opt for a combination of an HDD and SSD, or just go with two SSDs to get the best out of the notebook. Of course, because of the larger footprint, you have a full-sized keyboard with number keys.

Price and Availability

The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s Gen 2 i, ThinkBook 14s Yoga i, and Think Book 15 Gen 2 i will be available in Malaysia April 2021 onward at all Lenovo exclusive stores nationwide. The ThinkBook 14s Yoga i will come with a limited-edition Abyss Blue variant, while stocks last. Lenovo’s ThinkBook 13s Gen 2 i will start at MYR 3,599. The ThinkBook 14s Yoga i starts at MYR 3,819, while the ThinkBook 15 Gen 2 i starts at MYR 2,519. For more information, you can visit Lenovo’s website.