Category Archives: News

Android, Mobile, News

The Korean Triple Threat is Back – The Samsung Galaxy S20 Line-Up Unpacks Today!

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In the modern smartphone age today, there are a few launches that is always anticipated within the year. One of them is from Samsung early on in the year. This will be the Samsung Galaxy S line, for this year it will be the number 20, matching the year 2020.

  • Source: Samsung
  • Source: Samsung
  • Source: Samsung

Just like last year, and as the title suggests, there are three of them to complete the line-up. Unlike last year, the naming scheme is a little different. You start with a plain old Samsung Galaxy S20, then there is the Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus, and then the biggest Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. All of them packs 5G support. Of course, if you do not want to dive into 5G just yet or want to fork out that much more money, there is the regular LTE version of the devices.

Samsung Galaxy S20

Samsung’s Galaxy S20 is Samsung’s smallest 2020 Galaxy S device thus far. Barring the Samsung Galaxy S20 Lite, which might be quite inevitable, the smallest Galaxy S20 device will pack either a Samsung staple Exynos System on a Chip (SoC) for the global market or the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC for the United States market. Malaysia will no doubt get the Exynos version.

  • Source: Samsung
  • Source: Samsung

The Android 10 device will come with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for the LTE version. If you opt for the 5G version you get up to 12GB with the same internal storage option. Of course, you can expand that with a MicroSD card. Remember when Samsung did not allow the Galaxy Note5 to be MicroSD expandable? Disaster that one.

There is a square camera array arrangement going on at the back with three lenses. There is the main 12-Megapixel shooter, which is quite expected. It does not have the dual aperture that was known since the Samsung Galaxy S9 though. Paired to the main shooter is a 64-Megapixel telephoto shooter that enables the Samsung Galaxy S20 to have an optical zoom factor of 3x. Of course they will not forget the all-important 12-Megapixel ultra-wide angle sensor for that beautiful wide angle shots. Up front is a 10-Megapixel selfie shooter which should produce some stellar results.

Source: Samsung

As expected the Samsung Galaxy S20 has the beautiful Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O panel. It measures at 6.2-inch and pushes out the usual and expected 1440p Quad HD+ (1,440 x 3,200 pixels at 30Hz). Of course, Samsung being Samsung the display is an HDR10+. Oh, before we forget, it is a 120Hz (defaults to 1080p) display too so you should be getting an ultra smooth experience with the device. Thanks to 240Hz screen response rate, you should get a snappier experience too.

The OneUI 2.0 flagship will ship with a large 4,000 mAh battery under the familiar design language (very much like Note10 series) with some interesting colourways. The large battery can also be used to revers charge any wireless charging devices you may have in your accessory cabinet. There is no 3.5mm jack to be found anywhere, which is still quite sad.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus (S20+)

The bigger, bulkier Samsung Galaxy S20+ is technically a blown up version of the regular S20. Instead of the S20’s measly 6.2-inch though, you get a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O display with the same resolution and refresh rate. Bigger is better, right?

  • Source: Samsung
  • Source: Samsung

Of course bigger devices also means bigger battery and more cameras. Instead of the three cameras, it has four within the same camera array set up. There is an additional DepthVision Camera that helps with depth detection and therefore better Bokeh results.

Storage and RAM wise, if you opt for the LTE version, you are not getting anything more than what you would be getting on the regular Galaxy S20. Yes, 8GB RAM plus 128GB storage with MicroSD expandability. If you opt for the 5G version you get 12GB of RAM with up to 512GB in storage. Nice? Nice.

Source: Samsung

Of course, it comes with a bigger battery too at 4,500mAh. Obviously you get to chose from the same colour options too. Except, you do not get Cloud Pink. Hey, at least you can choose Cosmic Black.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra

This is even bigger than the Plus. Its Dynamic AMOLED 2X display measures in at 6.9-inch and pushes Quad HD+ resolution (1440p) at up to 120Hz, just like its little brothers. Big, bigger, biggest.

  • Source: Samsung
  • Source: Samsung
  • Source: Samsung
  • Source: Samsung
  • Source: Samsung
  • Source: Samsung
  • Source: Samsung
  • Source: Samsung
  • Source: Samsung
  • Source: Samsung
  • Source: Samsung
  • Source: Samsung
  • Source: Samsung
  • Source: Samsung
  • Source: Samsung

The Ultra is a different beast entirely though. You get the option of choosing between an LTE or even a 5G version too. Storage options starts from 12GB of RAM and 128GB of storage up to a mind-boggling 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. Yes? Yes.

You get a huge 5,000mAh battery too. You would want that battery, 5G can really drain the battery. The cameras too might really drain your battery life.

First of all, up front, in the O-punch hole, you get a 40-Megapixel front-facing camera. That camera is one of the most powerful selfie camera fitted in a Samsung Galaxy device. It is easily the most powerful fitted to a Samsung Galaxy S device.

Source: Samsung

Then there is the rear cameras. Its an array of four cameras too. It is not the usual 12-Megapixel plus 64-Megapixel plus 12-Megapixel arrangement that you get on the lesser models though. This top-of-the-line flagship gets an impressive 108-Megapixel main camera. You might not be surprised that the 108-Megapixel you find on the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Pro is also the same Samsung developed sensor.

The 108-Megapixel camera is paired to a 48-Megapixel telephoto camera that gives the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra the ability to zoom up to 30x optically and 100x digitally. Stalker smartphone alert? Defnitely.

Source: Samsung

There is also a 12-Megapixel ultra-wide angle lens too on the other side. There is also the DepthVision sensor you find on the S20+. If you stayed up and watch the livestream, you might notice a low-light sensor fitted in too. They did not talk about the sensor, but that should help with good looking low-light photos.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra takes camera to a whole new level not just with the physical cameras too. The new camera array comes with a slew of new software that might really change the game too.

Raising The Camera Game

8K resolution will be standard on all the Galaxy S20 variants. But it does not stop at just long form videos. 8K Video Snap is a new thing, made for more social media use, you can use it to capture moments very quickly by just launching the camera. Keep in mind that if you shoot on 8K using the Samsung Galaxy S20 and the Galaxy S20+ you are using the Telephoto lens. Bummer.

Source: Samsung

While the regular, traditional smartphone cameras take photos using one sensor at a time. The Samsung Galaxy S20 devices takes a single picture file with all the cameras they have. They call this Single Take.

If you work with the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, you get to zoom 30 times, or zoom it out to to ultra-wide photo, or just the regular wide angle photo all within a single shot. No more fiddling around and missing moments. Just make sure you get the right things in the frame and you are set.

The camera software also packs some new flashy Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) that improves on image stabilizing. It also helps with some rolling shutters when you move plenty. Oh yes, this can be your new production camera. They did use the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra to shoot the whole Unpacked 2020, you know.

More Stuff With The Galaxy S20 Series

All The Samsung Galaxy S20 devices in the series will be IP68 certified, as expected with all the modern Samsung Galaxy S devices. All of them will come with Fast Charging too via USB Type-C. If you are hoping the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra comes with 3.5mm jack, it does not too, sadly. All of the Samsung Galaxy S20 devices comes certified with Google’s Live Caption feature as part of Google’s Accessibility program.

Source: Samsung

Of course, it only makes sense if you get Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 at 10W. That wireless receiver can become transmitters for all the devices too. While all the devices come with dual SIM support, they work with eSIM too, which is always great since one of the SIM slots needs to be sacrificed if you opt for a MicroSD expansion.

There are a few colours available for the Samsung Galaxy S20 line-up. They differ slightly as you go through the range though. The Samsung Galaxy S20 comes in Cosmic Grey, or Cloud Blue, or Cloud Pink. The Samsung Galaxy S20+ comes in Cosmic Grey, or Cloud Blue, or Cosmic Black. The S20 Ultra comes in Cosmic Grey or Cosmic Black options only.

Prices start from US$ 999 (MYR 4,129*) for the Samsung Galaxy S20, US$ 1,199 (MYR 4,956*) for the Samsung Galaxy S20+, and US$ 1,399 (MYR 5,782*) for the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. Keep in mind these are the 5G variants though. Unpacked did not mention anything about the LTE versions but we are definitely getting them in Malaysia. More information on their website.

*Approximate conversion based on US$ 1 = MYR 4.13 on 12/02/2020

UPDATE: The Samsung Galaxy S20 series will start from MYR 3,599 (S20), MYR3,999 (S20+), and MYR 4,999 (S20 Ultra). For Malaysia, the Samsung Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+ will only be available in LTE variants while the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra will come in both LTE and 5G variants. Pre-orders starts from the 12th of February 2020 at 5.00 p.m. onward to the 26th February 11.59 p.m., terms and conditions apply. The devices should be out in stores on the 4th of March 2020 onward.

Android, Mobile, News

Samsung Unpacks Galaxy Z Flip for the Stylista; Priced at USD$1,380

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The smartphone is changing; it’s a fact that we can’t deny anymore. Samsung officially unfolded their revolution with the Galaxy Fold last year. This year, they’re going to make you flip for the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip. The Z Flip refines some of the features we saw with the Galaxy Fold and gives it a new form factor. Samsung touts the new flip phone as a perfectly compact, statement smartphone.

Premium Design with Cutting Edge Materials

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip comes with a new design which isn’t just eye catching, it takes the fold of the Galaxy fold and flips it. (Yes, pun very much intended!). The Z Flip unfolds to the reveal a 6.7-inch foldable display within its sleek square body. The display on the Z Flip has a Full HD+ resolution of 2636×1080 pixels with a pixel density of 425ppi. Samsung claims that, unlike its competition and the Galaxy Fold, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip comes with an ultra thin, flexible Glass Super AMOLED display. This is possibly the first product available to consumers with flexible glass. It’s also Samsung’s first 21.9:9 aspect ratio screen.

The hinge of the Galaxy Flip Z has been improved. Taking feedback and lessons from the launch of the Galaxy Fold, the Flip Z comes with a new Hideaway Hinge. This hinge literally hides away when you open the Flip Z. The hinge silently tucks itself between the two halves of the Flip. The new hinge also comes with nylon fibres in between that help keep dust and particulates out of it.

Unique User Experience, Natively Supported by Android

The User Interface (UI) of the Galaxy Z Flip has also been enhanced; it now comes with a unique feature which allows the phone to be used at different folding angles. The new Flex mode on the Flip allows the phone to be used in a similar way to that of a laptop. The smartphone will be able to be used at three different angles thanks to the three stop hinge. The 6.7-inch display is split into two smaller 4-inch displays. The bottom portion of the display becomes a dedicated interaction area while the top continues to behave as a display.

The new interaction mode is supported natively by Android 10. During the Unpacked event, it was announced that Google Duo and YouTube Premium will support Flex Mode out of the box. Google also announced that the APIs for development on other multi-mode devices are already available. So, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see more apps hit the Google Play Store soon.

The Galaxy Z Flip also come with a 1.1-inch display on the front. This display is activated when the phone is closed. The Cover Display displays notifications, the time and also acts as a screen for selfies when the phone is closed. The new Flip Z is able to use the dual camera setup on the phone to take a selfie on the cover display.

Compromised Specifications

The Flip Z comes with a dual camera setup with two 12-megapixel sensors. The main sensor is a wide angle with a 78 ° field of view and an aperture f/1.8. It supports Super Speed Dual Auto Focus, tracking autofocus, HDR10+ video recording, up to and optical image stabilisation (OIS). The secondary sensor is an ultra wide sensor with a 123 ° field of view with a f/2.2 aperture. The front camera is a 10-megapixel sensor with an 80 ° field of view with an f/2.4 aperture.

The Samsung Galaxy Flip Z comes with a Snapdragon 855+ processor which supports 4G LTE. This is paired with 256GB of internal memory and 8GB of RAM. It will have support for eSIM and a nano SIM. The smartphone will be powered by a 3,300mAh dual battery which is only capable of QuickCharge 2.0 (15W fast charging). On the connectivity side of things, the Flip supports NFC, WiFi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, Galileo,GLONASS and BeiDou. It connects via a USB Type C cable for wired charging. It also supported wireless charging.

Pricing and Availability

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip will initially be available in Mirror Purple and Mirror Black in select markets starting February 14,2020. The only two announced so far are the U.S. and South Korea. A Mirror Gold colour will be available at a later date.

The Galaxy Z Flip will be retailing for USD$1,380 (MYR 5,704.54).

Samsung is also collaborating with Thom Browne, a renoun American fashion designer for a special limited edition version of the Z Flip. Details of this special edition will be unveiled at New York Fashion week.

Official Specifications

Mobile, News

Perfect Valentine’s Gift? Why not Elizabeth Arden on Shopee?

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February is here, Chinese New Year has gone, and Chap Go Mei just passed, and we look forward to the next big thing in our calendars; the 14th of February, Valentine’s Day. We first thought to go into a little bit of the history of Valentine’s Day. We then thought that that will be boring.

We also though of going through the history of cosmetics and then Elizabeth Arden as a brand. Then we also thought otherwise. We will have no clue what they are talking about. All we think you need to know is that cosmetics have existed for more than 1,000 years in the land of Egypt. Elizabeth Arden has also existed for about 110 years now.

Source: Elizabeth Arden

If you know cosmetics, you would know that Elizabeth Arden is one of the more premium cosmetic brands in the market. If you do not know cosmetics; there is the information for you. They make a bunch of great stuff too, which we do not personally use; because none of us in the office uses cosmetics unfortunately.

Still, this makes an Elizabeth Arden product the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day. To be fair, this product is mostly made for women. You get the idea then.

The thing is, Chinese New year 2020 just passed and there are plenty of work to catch up on now. Time for shopping is very limited. So the only option for you to get a Valentine’s Day gift is via the online stores. Thank goodness for Elizabeth Arden on Shopee then.

Source: Elizabeth Arden

You may not find the most complete Elizabeth Arden experience in the online stores. You will still find a complete catalogue of Elizabeth Arden’s complete product line-up and you can easily purchase them too. Thing is, if you have no idea what you are getting yourself into, you might want to get some advise from your friends who would have more experience with these stuff.

From the online store in Shopee you can get Elizabeth Arden’s award-winning Eight Hour product range. The products supposedly improve skin conditions after eight hours of application, some fast acting stuff here. There is their new 8 Daily Defense Moisturize product as well for a healthier skin.

Of course, there are other products in the Shopee store. If Elizabeth Arden is not your cup of tea, Shopee has many more items in store for you for Valentine’s Day. No significant other to give to? Who says Valentine’s Day needs to be just about your significant other? For more information and promotion, you can head to Shopee’s online marketplace. The Shopee app is also available for free on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

UPDATE: For Valentine’s day Elizabeth will give 55% discounts on selected items at selected times too as part of Shopee’s Shocking Sale deals on the 12th of February 2020. That is tomorrow, yes. At 9 a.m. you can get a perfume, body lotion, and shower gel set at 55% off its MYR 378 price tag. At 4 p.m. you can get Elizabeth Arden’s White Tea two-piece set at MYR 116.55. At 8 p.m. you can get their perfume and body lotion set which is now priced at MYR 308.

eSports, Gaming, News

Acer’s Predator League Finals Postponed due to Coronavirus 2019-nCoV

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Acer’s Predator League is one of the biggest e-sports events in the region. The company’s annual e-sports event brings together some of the best Defense of the Ancients (DoTA) and Player Unknown Battlegrounds (PUBG) players in the region. These competitors vie for a slice of the of the USD$40,000 prize pool. This year, the competition’s finals were scheduled to take place in the Philippines from February 19 to 23.

However, in light of recent developments, Acer has opted to delay the grand finals. The company announced late yesterday that the finals will tentatively be rescheduled to June or July given the current situation with the 2019-nCoV Coronavirus.

The company’s grand event is set to draw a huge crowd with about 20,000 tickets sold to date for the tournament. Acer informs us that processes are being put in place for those who have purchased their tickets. They will be updating everyone on how they will proceed with the ticketing moving forward. Keep an eye on their official website for updates on reimbursements or reuse of purchased tickets.

Mobile, News

Touch n’ Go RFID Now Available for MYR 35 Nationwide!

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18 months ago, Touch n’ Go Sdn. Bhd. started something quite radical for the transportation industry in Malaysia. It is not what you would call unthinkable or unheard of. It has been done before, albeit outside of Malaysia. The new application within Malaysian road have been also widely know to be used in plenty of applications with unmatched reliability and accuracy; baggage sorting and handling in the airports for example.  

If you were thinking of RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification); yes we are talking about RFID. The title should have given it away anyway. Touch n’ Go Sdn. Bhd., in collaboration with Touch n’ Go Digital, launched the RFID pilot program. According to Touch n’ Go, the program gave out about million RFID tags to residents of Klang Valley. The program also extends its acceptance across Klang Valley’s 22 highways through its 18 months Pilot program. Late last year, extending into this year, the RFID acceptance extends to selected toll gates across the North-South Expressway.  

In short, the program was a successful one. That is the test covered; so what is next? A full rollout of course.  

That also means that RFID tags are now available for purchase via installation centres across the nation. You no longer have to make extensive applications through the website and wait for approval from Touch n’ Go to install the RFID tags to your cars, for a price. Not expensive though at MYR 35. Compare that to a new Smart TAG device at MYR 150 each. To use the devices you also have to get a new Touch n’ Go card for MYR 10.  

The RFID tag works with an eWallet – the Touch n’ Go eWallet. You do not need a Touch n’ Go card anymore with the RFID tags. Well, you might still want to keep one as a back up; just in case. All you have to do is to ensure you have enough credits in the Touch n’ Go eWallet, pass through an RFID lane, and you’re through. Keep a good distance with the car in front of you though, and a reasonable speed (30 km/h) and below.  

Of course RFID will not just stop at the 22 toll gates in Klang Valley. They are rolling out to even more toll gates across the nation through 2020 and beyond. Touch n’ Go is also looking to use RFID beyond the public roads. They are looking at installing it and using it for parking, paying for petrol, and more. 

RFID is more than just what you see on the surface though. Touch n’ Go Sdn. Bhd. can now do real-time traffic analysis and tracking. These data can be shared across multiple platforms or even the authorities for traffic planning and tracking. It is all a part of a smarter and more digital Malaysia. 

Touch n’ Go’s RFID tags will be available for purchase at MYR 35/tag from 15th February onward. You do have to ensure that you have the Touch n’ Go eWallet app on your smartphones first though; the RFID tags are tied  to your eWallet. From the 15th February 2020 to 15 April 2020 40 lucky winners will walk away with MYR 2,500 worth of Toll Pass credited in their eWallet.  

The Touch n’ Go eWallet app is available for free on Android and iOS via Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store respectively. For more information on the Touch n’ Go RFID program you can head over to their website. 

Mobile, News

Skip the Queue at PETRONAS, Setel on Your Smartphone!

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Any drivers knows the pain of driving. Traffic jam? No, not really. There is one very big inconvenience whenever you take out your car.  

Put it this way; your car needs energy to run. For electric cars, you need a battery pack to store energy for the car. While you can do that at home, you need to get your car plugged in still. It will take forever to charge too. 

While electric cars may not be too clever of an investment in Malaysia at this time, the traditional internal combustion engines with traditional fossil fuels are the way to go. The inconvenience is that you have to keep your tank topped up when it runs out, a 5 minute ordeal at times.  

Most of the time though its just 5 minutes that you spend in the fueling station. You tend to spend more than 15 minutes in the fueling station. At times you have to wait for a pump to free up when there is too many people at the station. Once that’s done, you have to queue up to pay for your fuel at the kiosk. To skip that, you can use your debit/credit card at the pump. If you use a debit card though, the vendor first takes MYR200 from your account before you even start doing anything.  

What if there is a better solution. Since every other person in Malaysia has been going on and on about eWallet, why not use these apps to pay for fuel, from inside the car; ‘Setel’ it there and then.  

Welcome to the world of Setel, an eWallet app that is specialised in handling all your fuelling needs. With Setel, it really is just 5 minutes in the fuelling station, not 15 minutes.  

The moment you get to the fueling station, all you need to do is to pull up to an available pump, whip out the smartphone, open Setel app, choose the pump you are at, enter the amount that you would like to fuel, and voila, your pump is ready. Of course you need to make sure you still have credits in the app wallet. For that, you can use your credit/debit card with no fuss. If you need to find a petrol station near you, the app will help you find it too. 

While the app has existed for about a year now, the app was only readily useable in the Klang Valley region and was in Beta mode. Now though, the app is fully launched as a full running app. The app will not just stop at the pumps though. They are working closely with PETRONA Malaysia to release more features within their petrol pumping stations like purchasing items in PETRONAS Mesra shops or partnering vendors, with collection at the station.  

Speaking of Mesra, you can connect you Mesra card to the app and collect points automatically as you use the app. While in Beta you could not redeem the points in your Mesra card through the app now though, you can. The Setel app is the one stop shop for all fueling needs in PETRONAS.

The Setel app is now available for free on Google’s Play Store for Android and Apple App Store of iOS devices. You can use Setel app in over 700 PETRONAS fuelling stations across the nation. For now, there is no other vendors that accepts payment via the Setel app. There is also currently an MYR 200 cap within the app. No matter though, you can now tell your friends that you are actually ‘setel-ing’ some business as your late excuse. More information on the Setel app on their website.  

Business, Computers, News

2019-nCoV (Novel Coronavirus) Has Got Nothing on Samsung

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Yes, we are riding the waves of the top news today too. If you go on Twitter, there are two quite a number of things that are trending in Malaysia. As of this writing, the top trending topic in Malaysia has nothing to do with the subject. Look further down though and there it is. is number three in Malaysia’s trending topics. Following that is #2019nCoV. Both of these refers to the subject that is also commonly known as the Wuhan virus.

Due to the virus, plenty of life in Asia has grounded to a halt. The official death toll in China has climbed over 400 and will continue to do so. Beyond that, China has also confirmed more than 20,000 cases within their borders. There are reports coming out of the country itself that China has quarantined more than 30 million people and suspects that the confirmed case numbers are closer to 10 million.

In Malaysia itself, there are already 8 reported cases. All of them are now in quarantine though. Still, is the trending topic, not only on twitter but everywhere else too. Air travels has been suspended and trips cancelled left and right. Not to mention, you might not be able to obtain anymore hand sanitisers and face mask now.

The virus though, does not hinder the progress of humanity. Wait, no that is not right. The virus will not hinder Samsung’s progress in their digital conquest. That sounds about right.

Source: Business Korea

You would expect plenty of construction work, or any sort of work in China itself to slowdown. That is not the case with Samsung’s Xi’an plant though. The plant, that is to be operational in the mid of 2020 will be Samsung’s second manufacturing plant in Xi’an and will be focusing on making memory chips.

While that construction is going smoothly and on track, Samsung has not stopped their progress as the world’s most advanced memory chip maker too. They have just announced and introduced their brand new third generation HBM2E fondly named ‘Flashbolt’. HBM stands for ‘High Bandwidth Memory’.

Source: Samsung

The new Flashbolt chip has a capacity of 16GB that is combined through stacking eight 10nm 16Gb DRAM (that is Gigabit for you) dies on top of a buffer chip. A little technical? Quite a lot actually. While half of us may not understand that process, it is important to note that the HBM2E has an average transfer speed of 3.2Gbps. In some cases, the Flashbolt can hit 4.2 Gbps in transfer speeds.

The current high performance memory module, the Aquabolt has a bandwidth of 307 GBps. With the new Flashbolt, that number goes up to 410 GBps per stack or up to 538GBps, if you might. Technically this does not mean that much to us as consumers.

Thing is, research labs all over the world needs all these stuff in their super computers. Plenty of these highly advanced labs uses Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) or Machine Learning (M.L.). Those applications eventually reach us, the users. With the advanced of a high speed and bandwidth chip like this, A.I. and M.L. algorithms and application can be more powerful than ever before. In that sense, no one will argue for a more powerful Google Assistant or Siri then.

Business, News, Social Media

YouTube is a US$ 15 Billion per Year Business! What Does That Mean for Us?

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Late yesterday Alphabet, which is what Google has become since their 2015 restructuring made their 2019 revenue reports available to the public. Of course Wall Street was the first to pick up the reports and ate their way through it to see if it matches all expectations. It did not; shareholders were not happy.

Source: Alphabet

Alphabet announced a total revenue of US$ 46 billion for 2019. That is a fair 17% increase from 2018. Sounds healthy, right? Wall street and shareholders though are expecting nearly a billion more in revenue though. Google missed the mark by about US$ 800 million.

US$ 800 million is quite small compared to the US$ 46 billion that they have made. Or, so you thought. Apparently it is quite a big deal in the market since every other competitor is reporting a huge surge in their own ad game. People like Amazon, for example reported a large jump on their ad revenue in 2019.

Still, Google also made sure that their shareholders are happy by also announcing that out of the US$ 46 billion of revenue, US$ 10.6 billion of those are profits. That number is bigger than estimated by Wall Street too. At least that is that.

They broke down where their money was made too within the Alphabet empire. Google cloud business, that is their Drive, Docs, Sheets and what not, makes up US$ 8.91 billion in total. YouTube, our beloved red play button on our smartphones makes up US$ 15.5 billion in revenue for 2019. That is just from Ads.

Source: YouTube

One of the bigger contributing factors of Alphabet disclosing YouTube’s earnings this year, as suggested via experts, is that the organisation as a whole failed to meet revenue expectations. The numbers, as per presented by Alphabet, indeed are quite staggering and mind boggling. The disparity could be due to a number of reasons; we cannot know for sure until Alphabet says something. The earnings number alone though tells us that the tech giants are still here to stay and they are still quite untouchable for now.

Still, the fact that YouTube, a platform that we all use for free makes US$ 15.5 billion is quite mind boggling. That is six times more than Twitch and one sixth of Facebook’s ad platform. Yes, we apparently still spend more time on the blue ‘f’ logo app than the social video platform. Then again, Facebook’s platform is plenty more versatile.

The ad revenues are not about to dwindle down anytime soon though. We cannot get enough of YouTube, you have to admit that. Annoying ads will not stop us from watching our favourite videos. But there is a bigger picture in play here though.

YouTube as a platform, thanks to the now disclosed US$ 15.5 billion in ad revenue, will grow even bigger. There will be more people that could potentially see more money in YouTube. While that means that there will be even more content for us to enjoy, that could also spell more ads being shoved in your faces. It is quite inevitable though; the more you consume, the more of a target you become.

Accessories, Health, Lifestyle, News

The HEALBE GoBe3 Tracks Calories, Emotions and Hydration Automatically

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Smart Bands and Smartwatches are becoming some of the most essential fitness accessories nowadays. However, they always need manual input of meals, caloric intake and hydration. That’s where the HEALBE GoBe3 sets itself apart from the competition. The new smart band from HEALBE is touting the first ever commercially available smartband which tracks caloric intake automatically.

The HEALBE GoBe3 is a smartband which comes with sensors designed to monitor nine key vitals. This is done non-invasively through the surface of the skin and, according to its manufacturer, with real time accuracy. The vitals tracked include sleep, stress, energy balance, heart rate, and steps taken. It does all this tracking through the hypo allergenic titanium sensor contacts on the back of the device.

Monitoring Calories Through Your Own Electrical Impulses

The new HEALBE GoBe3 uses the company’s proprietary HEALBE Flow technology to monitor caloric intake. It does this by monitoring the bio-electrical impedance of skin cells. This method of monitoring caloric intake is backed by an understanding of the human digestive system and nutrient absorption.

Our body digests different foods at different intervals after we consume it. When the nutrients are absorbed, cells create a differential gradient to assist. Essentially, the cell pump water out to allow nutrients in. HEALBE Flow uses this movement to detect the caloric value and nutrient breakdown of foods. In essence, it monitors the differences in bio-electric charges in skin cells to derive the caloric value of foods. The impedance is then used to calculate the caloric value of foods and their nutrient content.

This method was recently verified by researchers at the University of California Davis. Their research found that the technology that HEALBE uses in the GoBe3 is as accurate as manually tracking caloric input. This research is supported by another piece of independent research by the Red Cross Hospital in Guangzhou, China. Both pieces of research found the HEALBE Flow to have 89% accuracy in its reporting.

Taking On the competition with Cutting Edge Technology

Aside from the groundbreaking HEALBE Flow technology, the GoBe3 is equipped with an always-on MIP display. The display is touted to be glare free. The GoBe 3 is also lighter and sleeker than its predecessor. In addition, the smart band has interchangeable straps which come in many colours and designs. The new design is also touted to increase the accuracy of tracking. This paired with a new optical pulse sensor allows more accurate and more frequent data collection. The GoBe3 also has WiFi capabilities which speeds up data processing.

Pricing & Availability

There’s no official price for the GoBe3 announced just yet. However, we expect that the smart band will continue to hover around the USD$169 of the GoBe2.

Keep an eye on healbe.com for the GoBe3’s availability.

Business, News

Amazon Partners With Verizon for 5G Edge Computing with AWS Wavelength

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5G is fast becoming the norm in the tech industry as more countries see the rollout of their own 5G networks. Back at AWS re:invent, Amazon Web Services made a significant announcement, in partnership with Verizon, which made it the first company to have 5G edge computing services. AWS Wavelength is a first of its kind service which brings AWS services closer to developers and, more importantly, end users.

AWS Wavelength will see an initial rollout to 69 sites in the United States. Verizon and AWS have already been hard at work developing and fine tuning the service in Chicago. There companies such as Bethesda Softworks and the National Football League have been developing on and utilising Wavelength to deliver new, enhanced experiences to their users. This includes interactive experiences which may be the next generation of gaming and sports.

AWS Wavelength essentially brings the company’s full suite of services to the 5G Edge. The technology allows telecommunications providers and AWS to deploy remote containers fitted with all of its services. This allows developers to develop with real time experience and with single digit millisecond latency. They will then be able deploy whole new experiences to end users.

The deployment of Wavelength marks a paradigm shift which empowers edge computing like never before. It allows real time compute with large data packets which will find its applications in things like autonomous vehicles and even Smart City management. The deployment of Amazon’s full suite of web services will allow developers to deploy unique experiences for end users which take advantage of the low latency and high data volume. This in addition to the exponential increase in the number of devices each base station is able to handle will enable IoT technologies as well. The availability of machine learning interfaces at the 5G edge enables developers to develop more complex applications with further ranging implications.

Source: AWS

Developers won’t need to familiarise themselves with a new interface; Wavelength comes with the same interface developers are used to in their AWS dashboard. In fact, they will simply need to activate instances of AWS services such as EC2, ECS and more which suit their needs at a Wavelength availability zone to use the service.

AWS Wavelength is available in an initial 69 availability zones in 25 AWS Regions. The initial rollout in the United States will be done in partnership with Verizon. However, the company has committed to new availability zone in South Korea (SK Telcom), Japan (KDDI) and Europe (Vodafone) in 2020.