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Android, Mobile, News

Xiaomi Unleashes the New Redmi Note 9 Series in Malaysia with the Mi Note 10 Lite

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Xiaomi has just announced the availability of the Redmi Note 9 series and the Mi Note 10 Lite in Malaysia. The new additions join the Redmi Note 9s and the Mi Note 10 and 10 Pro respectively.

The Redmi Note 9 and the Redmi Note 9 Pro join the Redmi Note 9s to complete the Redmi Note 9 family of devices which offer large displays, impressive camera arrays and affordability. Coming in at MYR 649 the Note 9 series is now one of the most complete and compelling midrange power houses in market. For a full run down of the details you head on over to our coverage on the international launch of the Redmi Note 9 series.

Together with the new Note 9 devices, Xiaomi Malaysia also announced the availability of the Mi Note 10 Lite. The Mi Note 10 Lite brings the entry point to Xiaomi’s flagship offering below the MYR 2,000 mark. The new addition comes with a 6.47-inch curved AMOLED display and a large 5,260mAh battery to power it. This is capable of 30W fast charging. It runs on a Snapdragon 730G promising good performance even with heavy tasks. It’s complemented with with up to 8GB of RAM and up to 128GB of internal storage.

On the camera front, the Mi Note 10 Lite comes with a quad camera on the back. It has a 64-megapixel wide angle sensor as it’s main camera. This has a 1/1.73-inch sensor size with a 0.8μm pixel size, an f/1.89 aperture and is capable of autofocus. It’s joined by an 8-megapixel ultra wide angle sensor with a 1/4-inch sensor size and 1.12μm pixel size with an f/2.2 aperture and 120° field of view; a 5-megapixel depth sensor and a 2-megapixel macro sensor. On the front is a 16-megapixel selfie camera with a 1/3.06-inch sensor with 1.0μm pixel size and f/2.48 aperture.

The Mi Note 10 Lite supports 4G LTE connectivity, Bluetooth 5.0, Near Field Communication (NFC) and GPS. It also has an IR blaster and 3.5mm headphone jack. For security, it has AI face unlock and an in screen fingerprint sensor.

Pricing & Availability

Redmi Note 9 Pro

The Redmi 9 Pro will be available starting May 18, 2020. It will have only 1 variant in Malaysia: 6GB + 128GB. This will retail for MYR1,099 and will be available in Interstellar Grey, Tropical Green and Glacier White. It will be available on the Official Mi Store on Lazada and Authorised Mi Stores.

Pre-orders made between 11 May and 17 May 2020 will be entitled to a complimentary 10,000mAh Redmi Power Bank worth MYR59.

Redmi Note 9

The Redmi Note 9 will be available starting May 18, 2020. There will be 2 variants in Malaysia: the 4GB + 128GB version and 3GB + 64GB version. The latter will be available exclusively in the Official Mi Store on Shopee while the 4GB + 128GB version will be available at all Authorised Mi Stores. Both will be available in Midnight Grey, Forest Green And Polar White.

Pre-orders made between 11 and 17 May 2020 at Mi Authorised Stores for the 4GB+128GB version will be entitled to a 10,000mAh Redmi Power Bank worth MYR59. On May 18, 2020 the Remi Note 9 (3GB+64GB) will be available for a special flash sale on Shopee for only MYR599.

Mi Note 10 Lite

The Mi Note 10 Lite will be available for MYR1,599 at all authorise Mi Stores including the Lazada Online Store. It will be available in Glacier White, Midnight Black and Nebula Purple. Only the 8GB+128GB version of the Mi Note Lite will be available in Malaysia.

Xiaomi is having a special launch offer for the Mi Note 10 Lite on the May 12, 2020. Any purchase of the smartphone from the LazMall Official Mi Store will be entitled to a Mi Business Backpack worth MYR99 while purchases made from Mi Authorised Stores will be entitled to a 20,000mAh Redmi Power Bank. These offers are available while stocks last.

Official Specifications

Redmi Note 9 Series

 Redmi Note 9Redmi Note 9SRedmi Note 9 Pro
Display6.53” DotDisplay
19.5:9 2340×1080 FHD+ 1500:1 contrast ratio NTSC 84% Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5 TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light Certification		6.67” DotDisplay 20:9 2400×1080 1500:1 contrast ratio NTSC 84% Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5 TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light Certification
Body Midnight Grey, Forest Green, Polar White,  Splash-proof nano coating  Interstellar Grey, Glacier White, Aurora Blue, Splash-proof nano coatingInterstellar Grey, Glacier White, Tropical Green, Splash-proof nano coating
Dimensions162.3 x 77.2 x 8.9mm, 199g165.75 x 76.68 x 8.8mm, 209g
PerformanceMediaTek Helio G85 12nm process technology CPU: 2x A75 2.0GHz, 6x A55 1.8GHz, Octa-core CPU GPU: ARM G52 MC2, up to 1000MHz LPDDR4X + eMMC 5.1Qualcomm®️ Snapdragon™️ 720G 8nm process technology Kryo™ 465 CPU, Octa-core CPU, up to 2.3 GHz Adreno™ 618 GPU, 750 MHz The 5th gen Qualcomm®️ AI Engine LPDDR4X + UFS 2.1
Rear camera48MP wide-angle camera 8MP ultra-wide camera，118° FOV 2MP macro camera, AF 2-10cm 2MP depth sensor48MP wide-angle camera 8MP ultra-wide camera, 118° FOV 5MP macro camera, AF 2-10cm 2MP depth sensor64MP wide-angle camera 8MP ultra-wide camera, 118° FOV 5MP macro camera, AF 2-10cm 2MP depth sensor
Front camera13MP in-display front camera16MP in-display front camera
ConnectivityMulti-functional NFC
IR blaster		IR blasterMulti-functional NFC IR blaster
UnlockRear fingerprint sensorSide-mounted fingerprint sensor
Charging5020mAh (typ) battery 18W fast charge 22.5W in-box charger5020mAh (typ) battery 30W fast charge 33W in-box charger
Audio1216 Linear speaker 3.5mm headphone jack
MotorVibration motorZ-axis linear motor
SystemMIUI 11 based on Android 10
Storage variants    3GB+64GB     4GB+128GB4GB + 64GB 6GB + 128GB6GB + 128GB

Mi Note 10 Lite

Display6.47’’ 3D curved AMOLED Dot Drop display
19.5:9 1080 x 2340 FHD+
Color gamut: NTSC DCI-P3 (typ)
Contrast ratio: 400,000: 1 (typ)
HDR10
TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light Certification
BodyCorning® Gorilla® Glass 5 Glacier White, Midnight Black and Nebula Purple
Dimensions157.8 x 74.2 x 9.67mm  204g
PerformanceQualcomm® Snapdragon™ 730G LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.1 storage
Rear camera64MP wide-angle camera 8MP ultra wide-angle camera, 120° FOV 5MP depth sensor 2MP macro camera
Front Camera16MP AI selfie camera
ConnectivityMulti-functional NFC IR blaster
Charging5,260mAh battery 64 minutes to charge from 0 to 100%2 in-box 30W fast charger
SystemMIUI 11 based on Android 10
Storage variants38GB+128GB
Computers, News

Acronis Launches Cyber Protect to Empower Remote Work

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Working remotely or working from home has become a constant reality for businesses amid the current COVID-19 pandemic. However, with work from home, service providers and businesses are facing greater cybersecurity risk than ever before. To that end, Acronis has introduced a new product, Acronis Cyber Protect, to help service providers and businesses fortify their defenses and empower their workforce to continue being productive remotely.

Acronis Cyber Protect is a solution made for managed service providers to ensure that they have all their bases covered when it comes to keeping data and work infrastructure intact and secure. The new offering from Acronis allows managed service providers to cover all their bases and provide a complete service when it comes to securing their clients and enabling them to allowing the mobile workforce effectively.

RDP Remote Connection to Corporate Network | Acronis Cyber Protect | Acronis Cyber Cloud Demo Series

The new offering can be boiled down to three main components: Anti-malware, Backup and Recovery, and Security and Management. Using the anti-malware services offered by Acronis, service providers are able to dynamically detect and prevent malware infections of devices. This includes data within up to date backups created with the Backup and Recovery services provided by the new offering. These backups are done automatically with next generation continuous data protection technology from Acronis. Providers are also able to provide remote support via the remote desktop service as well. Service providers are also provided a simple, unified console to manage all the relevant services.

The new Acronis Cyber Protect has been tested by German security institute, AV-Test. During the test, the new offering was subject to a set of rigourous tests to ensure that the offering was able to handle what it claimed to. Cyber Protect scored an impressive 100% detection rate with a 0% false positive.

Acronis Cyber Protect is available now via their official website. Interested parties are able to request a fully functional trial. The new product will be available at the same cost of Acronis Cyber Backup Cloud until July 31, 2020.

Acronis Cyber Protect Demo for Zoom Protection
Android, Mobile, News

Samsung’s Galaxy A51 gets More RAM in Malaysia & Finds its Way to the US

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Samsung’s Galaxy A51 was launched in Malaysia back in January, 2020. The midrange offering is now making its way States side for the first time. The Galaxy A series has been available in emerging markets since it’s first iteration, the Galaxy Alpha back in 2014. The series was revitalised and refocused the years following and, last year, the company’s entry level J series was folded into the A series.

The original Samsung Galaxy A51 that was launched in Malaysia came with the Samsung Exynos 9611 paired with 128GB of internal memory and 6GB of RAM. Samsung has announced that a new version with 8GB of RAM will be available starting 8 May, 2020 in Malaysia. The new version will be retailing for MYR1,399.

The Galaxy A51 is also making its debut in the U.S.. The mid-range device has been making its way to carriers in the States for USD$399 (MYR1,720). However, the version that is being made available is powered by the Exynos 9611 with 128GB with 4GB of RAM. The LTE version of the A51 is currently available directly from Samsung (Unlocked), Sprint, Verizon, AT&T and Xfinity. The 5G version of the Galaxy A51 seems to also be making its way to the U.S. pretty soon.

News, Podcast

[Podcast] Tech & Tonic Episode 12: So Many New Smartphones Under MYR 1,500! MCO is Extended, Maybe a DJI Mavic Air 2 Makes Sense Now.

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In this episode of Tech & Tonic Podcast, we spoke about the OPPO A92. That was mostly because they launched the mid-ranger right before we recorded our podcast. In that subject though, we continued the conversation that happened last episode too, albeit in a more local context.

We discussed the value proposition that is the mid-range devices, since a lot of them are now costing less than MYR 1,500. We thought that the modern mid-rangers are the new flagships. Not in terms of specs and technology of course. The great value-proposition makes the devices more compelling than flagships these days.

Still, that does not change the fact that we are still working from home since the Movement Control Order in Malaysia has been extended to the 12th of May 2020. In that light though, DJI has launched a new consumer class compact drone. The DJI Mavic Air 2 is their new consumer class drone that is capable of videos in 4K resolution at 60 fps while flying 10km away from you.

More of those and other things on our Tech & Tonic Podcast!

News, techENT Download, Video

[Video] techENT Download || Xiaomi Redmi Note 9, realme launches, DJI Mavic Air and More!

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In this week’s techENT Download weekly round-up we had a crazy time disseminating pieces of mid-range smartphone launches. One of the most anticipated one is Xiaomi finally revealing their Redmi Note 9 series packing a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G System on a Chip (SoC).

The Xiaomi Redmi device is not yet reaching the local shores though. Meanwhile realme updates their realme 6 line-up with a variant packing 8GB RAM and 128GB in storage. Just a little while later, they revealed that the realme 6 Pro is also coming to market.

On a different segment though, DJI launched a successor to the very successful and very loved DJI Mavic Air. They launched the new DJI Mavic Air 2 which looks like a squished down version of a DJI Mavic Pro drone. Still, it comes with a bigger sensor that also records at 4K resolution at 60 fps. All this while being cleverer and with a range of 10km and longer flight time on a single charge.

More news and weekly highlights on the techENT Download!

Accessories, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

OPPO Enco W31 Launches in Malaysia – TWS Goodness for MYR 259

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Personal audio is awesome. Being able to tune out the world at your daily commute is awesome. There is a problem however, there always is. Earphones are often quite messy. That is why true wireless (TWS) earphones are all the rage these days, overtaking regular Bluetooth headphones.

Of course we can understand why. TWS earphones come with its own protection case that even charges the earphones. When you carry it around and use it, it is completely wireless, which also means that there is no risk of wasting five minutes trying to untangle the earphones. You just simply take out your earphones from the case and start playing music, awesomeness in less than five seconds.

TWS earphones are not cheap though. You cannot usually find any decent TWS type earphones that would cost less than MYR 500. OPPO is looking to change that though.

Source: OPPO

No, we are not talking about the OPPO Enco Free. The OPPO Enco Free was launched a few months ago that was priced at MYR 599. Yes, Still MYR 599. They just launched a completely new TWS earphone for the market alongside their new OPPO A92 mid-range smartphone.

They launched the OPPO Enco W31 and it is priced at MYR 259. Oh yes, it is priced below MYR 500, and we know that OPPO makes good audio devices since their OPPO Digital days. Remember they made the iconic OPPO PM-1 high-end headphones?

Source: OPPO

The new OPPO Enco W31 has some design cues that is very reminiscent of a certain other manufacturer in their newer earphone too. Still, by the looks of it, it seems a little more ergonomic than the outgoing Enco Free with a more standard earbud design.

The MYR 259 price tag does not mean that the OPPO Enco W31 is anywhere near cheap quality or cheap sounding though. At least we do not think it is. Still, you are getting quite a few features for the money.

Source: OPPO

It has noise cancellation, albeit only for phone calls. It even has the same sort of Bluetooth technology that Enco Free has. The Binaural Low-Latency Bluetooth technology on top of Bluetooth 5.0, as we have experienced in the OPPO Enco Free, is quite amazing. That technology also helps with latency differences between earphones, which means you are getting properly synchronised audio through the earphones.

It even has a Bass Mode to pump the low frequencies up. Most smaller earphones with small audio drivers have a problem of a less powerful low frequency. This should solve that issue with OPPO’s 7mm diaphragms. All this is packed in a package that can last you a total of up to 15 hours of battery life. On their own, the earbuds last you 3.5 hours. It charges fast enough though. 10 minutes of charge gives you up to 80 minutes of music playback time. All you need to do is pop the Enco W31 ear buds into the carrying case.

  • Source: OPPO
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The OPPO Enco W13 TWS earphones is now available for pre-order until the 8th of March 2020. That is the same time as the OPPO A92 smartphone. It will set you back MYR 259 still. If you pre-ordered your OPPO Enco W31 alongside the OPPO A92 though, you are only paying MYR 199 for it. It is available in two colours: Black and White.

Android, Mobile, News

OPPO A92 launches in Malaysia!

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Today is a good day. It is Monday, and some parts of Malaysia is coming back to life. After 48 days of staying indoors, we can also understand the excitement of people getting back out there to the office to living life outside home. It is great. But it is also a good day for OPPO Malaysia because they just launched a brand-new smartphone today. They have launched their budget champion, the OPPO A92 smartphone.

Source: OPPO

The new OPPO A92 is a contender priced at MYR 1,199. It is not OPPO’s lowest priced smartphone in Malaysia by far. It is OPPO’s latest offering for the entry-level mid-range smartphone market. Despite the price, what you get is no slouch.

You still get a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 System on a Chip (SoC) packing eight-cores to the punch. That powerhouse is backed by a large 8GB of RAM for smoother, and better multitasking. You also get 128GB in storage to go with that.

You would want that 128GB of storage also to work with your large 6.5-inch Neo Display displaying at Full HD+ resolution. You can load up movies, load up apps, or even enjoy Netflix and other streaming services and it will look good on the large bezel-less display. There is a small punch hole to accommodate the front-facing camera though.

Source: OPPO

The large Full HD+ display is also useful to see your photos in detail. You would want to because this OPPO A92 has a 48-Megapixel shooter flanked by three other cameras to make it a quad-camera set up effectively. The main camera can shoot in 4K resolution and you even get clever EIS to make sure your videos looks as if you have a gimbal for hands. You get an 8-Megapixel wide-angle camera with that, a 2-Megapixel macro lens, and a 2-Megapixel depth sensor with the OPPO A92. Out front is a 16-Megapixel shooter. Of course, the high-resolution cameras are the also reasons why you want 128GB of memory in the device. If not, there is room for MicroSD expansion.

To keep this Android 10 device running all day and even more, OPPO packs in 5,000mAh in battery capacity. This is in a body that is no larger than its big flagship brother that is the OPPO Find X2 series. Of course, the Android 10 is laced with OPPO’s very own ColorOS 7.1, which we quite like as mentioned in our OPPO Find X2 review. Oh, the battery is also capable of charging at 18W via the USB Type-C port beside the 3.5mm headphone port.

  • Source: OPPO
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For Malaysia, the OPPO A92 is launched in two colours: Twilight Black and Shining White. Pre-orders start today and all the way to the 8th of May 2020. If you do pre-order the device at MYR 1,199 you get an extra 18 months in your warranty coverage and OPPO’s Bluetooth speaker for free. Be the first 1,000 people who pre-ordered your device and you get a new backpack to go along with it. For more information about the OPPO A92 smartphone you can head to their website.

Android, Mobile, News

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Series Launched – Redefining Standards

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Xiaomi is a household name for anyone who has wants a budget smartphone with killer specs. The brand has been found big on value. That was true when they started globalising the brand with the Xiaomi Mi3, and it is still true today. If you want to get the best value out of your money on a smartphone, you can always be sure that Xiaomi has something in their catalogues.

The Redmi sub-brand for example has been the champions in the budget category making very competitive devices for not very much money available. The devices are no slouches though, despite the asking price. They still pack plenty of features that would impress even the toughest crowds. They still pack the latest of hardware from the modern world at least.

Source: Xiaomi

The Redmi Note 9 this year continues with that recipe with an even more powerful offering. The Redmi Note 9 is now offered in two flavours too, a regular one and a Pro version. Of course, it is easy to tell which will be carrying the torch for the Redmi name.

Last year’s Redmi Note 8 Pro came with a MediaTek processor that is admittedly faster than its Qualcomm cousin. This year’s Redmi Note carries a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G System on a Chip (SoC) which is faster than both. The 700 series in Qualcomm’s Snapdragon line-up is actually lined up very closely to the flagship 800 series in their books. That also means the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 this year packs some power. The regular Redmi Note9 comes with a brand-new MediaTek Helio G85, which is no slouch either, to be fair.

Source: Xiaomi

The Redmi Note 9 series also gets bigger displays than its predecessors from last year. The Pro version gets a bump to 6.67-inch and the regular variant get 6.53-inch. Both are DotDisplays with a punch hole for a front-facing camera in the display.

The larger display would be a benefit for the 64-Megapixel quad-camera array at the back. That 64-Megapixel is supported by an 8-Megapixel ultra-wide camera, a 5-Megapixel macro lens, and a 2-Megapixel depth sensor for Bokeh portraits. Up front is a 16-Megapixel shooter.

The regular Note 9 does not get a 64-Megapixel camera. You still get a great 48-Megapixel shooter with 8-Megapixel Ultra-Wide lens, a 2-Megapixel Macro lens, and 2-Megapixel depth sensor. The small dot up front is a 13-Megapixel shooter.

Of course, with bigger displays and bigger bodies the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 and Note 9 Pro need to have bigger batteries. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro gets a super big 5,020mAh battery that should last you well over a day of use. Its 30W fast charging capability should also keep you juiced up and ready to go even before you can get your nose hair trimmed properly. The regular variant of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 also gets a large 5,020mAh battery but fast charging is kept at 18W, still good for a quick 2-hour charge time from zip though.

Source: Xiaomi

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 and Note 9 Pro will be available in three colours each globally. The Note 9 Pro will be available in Interstellar Grey, Tropical Green, and Glacier White. The Redmi flagship will be available also in two storage variants: either a 64GB or 128GB variant, both with 6GB of RAM. The Note 9 will come in either Midnight Grey, Forest Green, or Polar White. It will also be available in two storage variants with differing RAM offerings too; one comes with 3GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, while the other will be coming with 4GB of RAM and 128GB in storage.

The official word for the local availability is to be somewhere in May 2020. That is not long after the global launch. That is also this month. The only thing we do not have is the local pricing. The global pricing for the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 though is from US$ 199 (MYR 855*) and US$ 249 (MYR 1,070*) for each respective variant. For the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro you have to fork out about US$ 269 (MYR 1,156*)and US$ 299 (MYR 1,285*) for each respective model.  For more information on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 you can head over Xiaomi’s global blog.

*Approximately based on US$ 1 = MYR 4.30 as of 1st May 2020

News

Step Aside Zoom, Google Meet Goes Free Starting Next Week

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The current pandemic has spurred the need for video conferencing platforms as more and more people look for options to meet while keeping in line with the increasing number of lockdowns around the world. Popular video conferencing platform, Zoom, was propelled into the limelight thanks to this. However, after being embattled in a privacy controversy, people are looking for alternatives.

Google is stepping up to the plate by offering their Google Meet platform for free starting next week. Google Meet isn’t something new from the tech company, in fact, many of their government, corporate and education users already use it for patient consultations, meetings and classes.

Google Meet will also not need users to download separate apps on laptops and desktops. It is able to run natively on Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox and other modern browsers. Google claims that this makes the service more secure. It is also already available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Google is promising a more secured experience when it comes to using Google Meet. The company highlights that it has created a strong set of host controls; allowing hosts to deny entry to meetings and even remove participants. In addition, participants will need to have a google account to enter or use the service and more complex meetings code help deter unknowns.

Google has put up a site for users to register their interest and to be notified immediately when the service is available in their region. \

Editorial, News, techENT Download, Video

techENT Download || Apple & Google vs Governments, Pokémon on Netflix, AMD, Motorola Edge & More

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It’s been one helluva eventful week in tech!

Apple and Google found themselves at odds with Governments when it came to how data should be handled in their Contact Tracing API.

The OnePlus 8 series found its way to Malaysia. The new Snapdragon685 touting Smartphones are up for pre-order. They are priced starting from MYR2,699.

AMD unveils a new generation of Zen 2 based Ryzen 3 processors.

Facebook had a busy week enhancing Messenger with Messenger Rooms and enabling Group Calls on WhatsApp.

vivo launched their Snapdragon 712 powered V19 in Malaysia. The Quad Camera touting flagship is retailing for MYR1,699.

Netflix scores an new Netflix Original with Pokémon Journeys and sneaks in a new feature on the Android app.

Motorola makes a comeback in the Flagship smartphone market with the new Motorola Edge! Remember to hit that like and subscribe button!

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