Category Archives: News

The Most Powerful Apple iPhone is Everything You Want in an iPhone – the Apple iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max Has Launched

September 8, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

The regular iPhone 14 is more than just a hardware update, that much we know. Some of the new hardware fitted into the new iPhone 14 makes the device one of the best life companions you can ask for. It packs the previous generation A15 Bionic, which is still regarded, as per Apple, one of the most powerful System on a Chip (SoC) you can find in the current smartphone market.

But the Pro variant of the iPhone 14 deserves something better, something even more powerful. It is, after all, Apple’s most powerful flagship to hit the market. It is supposed to be the most technologically advanced and innovative smartphone in Apple’s range of smartphones.

Welcome to the Apple iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, the two most innovative smartphones in the world by Apple’s standards.

Maximum Speed, Maximum Power

First up is the brand new A16 Bionic that is even more powerful than the already potent A15 Bionic chip you can find in the current iPhone 14 and the older iPhone 13 Pro series. According to Apple, the new chip is 40% faster than the A15 Bionic, which technically makes it the fastest smartphone processing chip you can find in the world today. Again, this is all according to Apple. For the first time ever in a smartphone as well, the A16 Bionic employs the 4nm build process to make it even more efficient than before. The A16 Bionic also packs an even more powerful dedicated imaging engine that allows the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max to fully take advantage of its 48-Megapixel quad-pixel main camera.

Brighter than Ever Retina

The display on the iPhone 14 Pro models are the most advanced you can find on any iPhone so far. You get either a 6.1-inch or 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion that allows the device to turn its refresh rate all the way down to 1Hz to prolong battery life. The displays now can push up to 2000 nits of peak brightness too, twice that off the iPhone 13 Pro. The new Super Retina XDR display also features Always-On display for the first time on an iPhone. Just to keep everything safe and protected, the displays are protected by Apple’s new Ceramic Shield front cover like the regular vanilla iPhone 14. Of course, the rest of the device is also water and dust resistant to ensure that it gets through life with no fuss.

Dynamic Island

Source: Apple
Source: Apple

Keen eyed readers might find that the notch on the new iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max is a little different now. It is a sort of elongated punch hole instead of a forehead notch. The punch hole houses a TrueDepth camera and other sensors for Face ID to work. The proximity sensor and light sensor is situated behind the display unit instead of the island now.

While this type of solution is nothing new in the smartphone industry, the genius is in how iOS 16 ‘hides’ the island hole. They call it the Dynamic Island, and it is a rather clever way of integrating the island hole into the iOS experience.

The Dynamic Island functions as the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max’s notification and quick access panel for ongoing background apps. You can keep things like timer in view via the Dynamic Island as well, turn-by-turn navigation can also be kept on the Dynamic Island even when you are on other apps. It even displays Live Scores of live matches in the most sensible way.

48-Megapixel!? On an iPhone!?

Source: Apple
Source: Apple

Out the back is also the most advanced camera system that you can find on an Apple smartphone ever. You now get a 48-megapixel sensor instead of the usual 12-Megapixel sensor on the main shooter. Alongside the main shooter are 12-Megapixel Ultra-Wide and Telephoto cameras. Thanks to the more powerful A16 Bionic chip, the Pro model’s cameras performs at least twice better in low-light conditions.

The 48-Megapixel sensor on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max is the biggest ever found on an iPhone and that also helps with low-light photography. To ensure that photos are not hoarding your storage bandwidth, the 48-Megapixel photos are shrunk to 12-Megapixel sizes while maintaining the depth and detail of a 48-Megapixel photo. Thanks to the 48-Megapixel sensor as well, 4K videos and photos can be captured with in full resolution without digital zoom even when you put the camera to 2x zoom. Of course, more pixel count also means even more detailed photos in ProRAW formats.

Crash Detection & Emergency SOS via Satellite

The Apple iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max also includes Crash Detection technology and Emergency SOS via satellite feature just like its more accessible cousins, the vanilla iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. Unfortunately, again, Emergency SOS function is only available for the U.S. and Canada markets for now.

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Price and Availabilty

The Apple iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be available will be available in select regions on the 16^th of September 2022 onward. Malaysia will get both variants of the device not too long after that though from the 23^rd of September 2022 onward. The iPhone 14 Pro Max is available in four storage variants – 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. You can choose between four colour options for the most advanced Apple iPhone ever – Deep Purple, Gold, Silver, and Space Black. The iPhone 14 Pro starts from 5,299, while the iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at MYR 5,799. For more information on the Apple iPhone 14 Pro, you can check out their website.

iOS, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

The Apple iPhone 14 is Here, and it is Simply Mesmerizing

September 8, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

The Apple iPhone 13 was something of a wonder. It was, according to Apple, amongst the most powerful smartphones in the world. Of course, Apple would also like to think that they make the best smartphone in the world. Confidence is key, they say.

With the iPhone 13, Apple pulled all the stops to make the smartphone experience better than before. Instead of focusing on fitting new hardware to push technological boundaries, it was more about making the Apple iPhone a better companion to its users. They followed that same recipe in the new Apple iPhone 14, alongside some very welcome additions.

First up, there is no iPhone 14 Mini here. You have the Apple iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus instead. You get the standard 6.1-inch display with the regular iPhone 14, and then you get a larger 6.7-inch display on the Plus variant. They are selling this as a separate thing to the Pro variants of the iPhone too, understandably.

New Bigger Display

Apple iPhone 14 iPhone 14 Plus hero 220907 — Source: Apple

You still get the recognizable notch on the top part of the display that now houses a TrueDepth camera. According to Apple, the front camera will now take better pictures than ever with newly added features like autofocus. On both variants also, you get a beautiful Retina XDR OLED display with peak brightness of 1200 nits making HDR contents as immersive as they come on an iPhone The Retina XDR display also boasts 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio and Dolby Vision for an even better Netflix experience, especially if you go for the larger iPhone 14 Plus. The displays are also now covered in what Apple calls a Ceramic Shield front cover, a built-in screen protector to protect it from drops and other bumps it might meet in its lifetime. It is also water and dust resistant, to ensure that it can handle anything you can throw at it accidentally, obviously.

Power From the Pros

Beneath the new expansive display is Apple’s proven A15 Bionic System on a Chip (SoC). It is the same one found on the Apple iPhone 13 Pro models. It packs two powerful performance cores for all sorts of heavy lifting, and four efficiency cores within to keep the device going for long periods of time. It also packs a 16-core neural engine for Siri to leverage on and for iOS to keep things snappy and snazzy. For even better photos, the A15 Bionic also houses a new integrate image processor. The Apple iPhone 14 Plus also now features the longest all-day battery life of any available iPhone.

Even Better Photos and Videos

Apple iPhone 14 iPhone 14 Plus Action mode 220907 — Source: Apple

Out the back is a glass housing that adorns new colours for the iPhone. You still have the standard black (Midnight), and white (Starlight) variants of the Apple iPhone. The Product RED is also still an option for the iPhone. Additionally, you get to get your iPhone 14 in blue or purple.

The backs of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus house two cameras. The main camera is a 12-Megapixel shooter like before. Accompanying the 12-Megapixel main shooter is an equally impressive 12-Megapixel ultra-wide camera. Thanks to the dedicated Photonic Engine found on the A15 Bionic, the camera performance is much improved especially in low-light conditions. The Deep Fusion computational prowess also allows the camera to capture photos with breathtaking details and textures, true to life colours, and full of information.

There are a few new features on the camera too; it has a new action mode that cleverly stabilizes videos even when they are shot in the middle of the action. The LED flash has also been re-worked and is now 10% brighter than before and is supposedly more uniform and consistent. There is also the Cinematic mode available for videos shot in 4K 30fps and 24fps. Of course, you get to shoot your videos in brilliant Dolby Vision HDR colours.

Emergency SOS via Satellite and Crash Detection

Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple

What is impressive with the iPhone 14 is not all the things listed above. It is not the latest iOS 16 for the iPhone. Nor is it the fact that Apple Fitness+ is coming to all iPhone users. What we find most impressive regarding the Apple iPhone 14 is that it now packs satellite technology and a high-impact accelerometer.

Having satellite technology might not seem like a big deal. Satellite based mobile phones have existed for a while now and it is used in various situations where cellular signals are choppy or when cell towers cannot be installed. It is a rather old school technology that is only good in very specific situations. On the iPhone, it is good for emergencies. They call it Emergency SOS, which is rather fitting. Because satellite signals can be very specific in terms of direction, the iPhone Emergency SOS interface guides you to get the best connection to an available satellite. In emergency situations, the feature allows you to quickly send SOS messages to available emergency services via satellite. Since the low-bandwidth nature of satellite communication means it might take a few seconds to minutes for messages to get through to the right people, Apple’s Emergency SOS interface presents a quick questionnaire to assess your situation before sending a distress signal to an Apple relay station and then to the right services. The satellite technology can also be used in the Find My app, for services to easily and accurately locate you in non-cellular or WiFi situations.

The high-impact accelerometer that is newly found on the iPhone 14 is like no other accelerometer on regular smartphones. It can withstand and measure G-Force up to 256Gs. Combined with a new high dynamic range gyroscope, the new iPhone 14 packs the first ever smartphone-based Crash Detection technology. Where the Apple Watch detects fall impacts and inform your emergency contacts, the iPhone detects when you get into a severe car crash and automatically dials emergency services if the user is unable to reach their iPhones for whatever reason. The feature is also made possible by combining several existing technologies like barometer, GPS signals, and microphones which have been trained to recognize a car crash by motion and sounds.

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Price and Availability

The Apple iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus will be available in five colour options mentioned above. Storage options starts at 128GB and tops out at 512GB. Pre-orders for the Apple iPhone 14 series in the United States will begin 9^th of September 2022 onward. The Apple iPhone 14 will start shipping on the 16^th of September onward while its bigger brother, the iPhone 14 Plus starts shipping on the 7^th of October 0nward. Malaysia will get its first taste of the new iPhone from the 23^rd of September 2022 onward. Emergency SOS via satellite will not be available in regions outside of the U.S. and Canada for now. If you are in the available regions, the service is included for free for two years if you purchase an iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Plus. The Apple iPhone 14 will be available for MYR 4,199 onward and the iPhone 14 Plus will be available from MYR 4,699 onward.

News

NFTs Are Coming to Your LG TVs Soon!

September 6, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFT in short, has been all the rage these days. Technically, it is no more than a digital asset with a unique digital signature attached to it. That also means that each NFT can be created as unique products of their own thanks to the wonders of a technology we call blockchain. It is the same technology that birthed cryptocurrencies that we know today.

While NFTs in grander schemes of things may not seem like a significant thing, it is a digital artists paradise. The ability to attach unique digital signatures to their creations means that they can create a digital artwork that can only be used by people who own the digital signature. Anyone who has the artwork in their smartphones without the digital signatures are technically thieves or using duplicates. It is kind of like viewing the Mona Lisa in its final resting place in the Louvre Museum in Paris, and a replica of it in Malaysia’s National Museum; they are different things.

NFT artwork is regarded as the modern art market today. The best part about NFT art is that because they are non-tangible, you can view them and display them anywhere you want them. You can set them to your smartphone’s wallpaper, if you like. Samsung and LG think that you might want them on your TVs.

Samsung announced a few months ago that their TVs will be one way of proudly displaying the NFT that you might have purchased. We think that the Samsung The Frame TV line-up will be the perfect place to properly display your beautifully and uniquely made NFT for times to come. LG also agrees with that and announced that their upcoming and existing TVs with WebOS 5.0 will be an NFT gateway for its users.

When you update your compatible TVs with WebOS 5.0, you get a new app on the TV interface. The app is called LG Art Lab and it is LGs one stop shop for all things NFT for your TV. You can buy and even sell NFTs on the marketplace. Your bought NFTs can be displayed on your TV as a wallpaper or screen saver. The portal also has a countdown function for new NFTs that are being released or scheduled to be released. The first of which is dropping on the 22^nd of September 2022.

Unlike other NFTs though, the LG Art Lab does not operate on top of Ethereum or other popular blockchain technology. In fact, Art lab does not on top of blockchain at all. Instead, the platform is based on Hedera, a hashgraph network. LG claims that the Hedera network is much more efficient than blockchain based networks.

To purchase your NFTs on the Art Lab, you do have to have a an existing Wallypto app. You simply scan a QR code provided by Art Lab for a particular NFT to purchase it with the Wallypto app. You also need to own some USD Coin, a sort of stablecoin that is supposedly pegged to US Dollar.

The LG Art Lab is still rather new, which means that there may not be too much happening within the marketplace currently. LG says that they are going to be adding NFTs from artists on a monthly basis too. If you are a budding NFT artist, you might be able to sell some of your work on the marketplace too.

There is a caveat though. The LG Art Lab is currently only accessible to U.S. customers. In that case, if you are trying to find the NFT trading platform on your LG TVs in Malaysia, you might not be able to find Art Lab even after you have updated to WebOS 5.0.

Gaming, News

Legendary Pokémon Deoxys Appears in Digi Stores Across Malaysia

September 2, 2022 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

Malaysian Pokémon Trainers! Listen up! Reports have emerged of the Legendary Pokémon, Deoxys, appearing at 237 locations across the nation. It is believed that these locations are stores belonging to the Telco named Digi. If the reports are accurate, you will be able to raid Deoxys at these locations throughout the weekend starting on 3rd September 2022.

Yep – you read that right. One of the largest Malaysian telcos is partnering up with Niantic to bring a special collaboration specifically for Pokémon Trainers. The partnership will turn 237 Digi stores nationwide into Gyms in Pokémon GO. To kick off the partnership, the Legendary Pokémon, Deoxys, will be obtainable at these gyms on both the 3rd and 4th of September. Deoxys will appear during scheduled raid battles throughout the day.

The partnership isn’t just meant for Digi subscribers either, Pokémon GO players can redeem a free code for an exclusive in-game bundle. The bundle, worth MYR10, includes premium raid passes which you will need to battle and catch Deoxys during the weekend. All you have to do is spend a minimum of MYR5 at the Digi Self-service kiosks located in the Digi store. These kiosks don’t only provide contact points for Digi-related services but also enable users to pay for other services like Astro and Utilities. In addition, the first 50 players who walk into 5 selected Digi stores on 3rd September 2022 will receive an in-game bundle worth MYR30 each.

Of course, since it’s a Digi partnership, the telco is bringing even more benefits to their Postpaid and Prepaid Trainers. Trainers subscribed to Digi can get a leg up on their competition with unlimited data by purchasing a special Unlimited Pokémon GO Pass. With the pass, Trainers will be entitled to 7 days of unlimited access while they Catch ’em all on the app. In addition, prepaid users who renew or purchase their plans during the campaign period will receive an MYR5 credit to purchase the Unlimited Pokémon GO Pass.

Digi will also be having a “Guess The Pokémon” contest on their Facebook page. Anyone who is following Digi’s Facebook Page can take part and be in the running to win a Pokémon Funko Pop worth up to MYR60 each. The campaign runs from 3rd September until 15 October 2022. If you’re interested to find out where to be and getting more information on the giveaways, you can visit the Digi website.

Computers, Gaming, Lifestyle, News

AMD Announced the Zen 4 Architecture in the Form of the Ryzen 7000 Series

August 30, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

The AMD Ryzen 5000 series, at its launch, was the fastest CPUs for PCs in the world at the time. At launch, Intel did not even have a proper answer to AMD’s best offerings even with their 11^th generation CPUs. Their 12^th generation Core CPUS’s are something special though and claimed the throne as the best CPUs for Windows 11 and gaming at its time.

The AMD Ryzen line upheld up a few key advantages still over Intel’s best offerings. One of those advantage is that AMD’s offerings was still compatible with chipsets that were a few years old. It supported the first wave of PCIe Gen 4.0 devices before Intel could even hop on the bandwagon. Of course, Intel’s 12^th generation CPUs works almost exclusively with DDR5, so there is that.

Now, there is this, the Ryzen 7000 series that just launched. No, they did learn how to count. The Ryzen 6000 series of CPUs are laptop CPUs.

Screenshot 2022 08 30 173253 — Source: AMD

The new Ryzen then, the fastest gaming chips in the world, they say. The recipe has not changed all that much with the newer CPUs. There is the fact that it is technically the most advanced chip made for the PC in the modern world. It is built with 5nm process now, which means there are more transistor count on the chips compared to what you get from the Ryzen 5000 chips.

The core count has not changed all that much though. At launch, the Ryzen 5 7600X packs six cores while the top end Ryzen 9 7950X packs 16 cores. We are guessing that the most popular option out of the four Ryzen 7000 models launched would be the Ryzen 7 7700X with eight cores and 16 threads.

The new generation Ryzen processors with Zen 4 are quite a bit more power hungry this time round too. The more budget conscious option, the Ryzen 5 7600X’s rated TDP is at 105W, the same TDP rated for the Ryzen 9 5950X at launch. While you might attribute the higher power draw to the increased transistor count thanks to 5nm process, it could also be the higher clock speeds of the new Zen 4 CPUs. The Ryzen 9 7950X, for example, clocks at 4.5GHz while the Ryzen 9 5950X clocks at 3.4GHz.

Instead of Zen 3+, AMD went straight for Zen 4 with the new Ryzen 7000, rightfully so. Thanks to smaller transistors as well, the newer generation processors will generate less heat, which would explain the higher clock speeds too. At the same time, Zen 4 will be all about DDR5 instead of support for DDR4, as well as PCIe 5.0.

With the new chip as well, they are finally retiring the AM4 socket and embracing a new generation of socket for the next few years at least until 2025. They call it the AM5 and the roadmap is pretty straightforward. The new AM5 platform will be exclusively DDR5 platforms with a planned update to PCIe 5.0 eventually.

On paper, the AMD Ryzen 7000 seems like a leap in performance over the older chip. The top-of-the-line AMD Ryzen 7970X delivers 15% more performances across popular games over the older Ryzen 5 5950X in 1080p resolution. The biggest performance leap is across content creation capabilities though, at 40% average improvements over the older generation CPU. The higher performances can also be contributed to the much faster than before.

AMD’s new line-up of Ryzen 7000 processors will be available 27^th of September 2022 onward. That is not necessarily when Malaysia will see the first chips hitting the market. Still, prices start at US$ 299 (MYR*) and tops out at US$ 699 (MYR*) which is about the price of the previous generation Ryzen CPUs. For more information on the next generation AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs, you can visit their website.

Android, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

OPPO Launches the Reno8 Z 5G at MYR 1,799

August 26, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Earlier this year, OPPO launched their Reno7. They also launched the Reno7 Z not too long after that. A few months down the road, the OPPO Reno8 came about. Inevitably, the even more budget friendly version the OPPO Reno8 launches not too long after the Reno8 debuted. Welcome to the Reno8 Z 5G.

Naturally, the question that will be asked about the OPPO Reno8 Z 5G is if it is at all necessary. It is, after all, OPPO’s second Reno series of the year 2022. It is as though they are trying to make up for lost time.

Still, the OPPO Reno8 Z 5G is not without its unique characteristics. It packs a 64-Megapixel camera out the back. It is supported by a 2-Megapixel depth sensor, and 2-Megapixel Monochrome camera. The combination of all three cameras creates a photo with high levels of details and beautifully natural bokeh. Out the front is a rather clever 16-Megapixel camera with pixel binning technology. Since the Reno series is meant to be the photography champion in OPPO’s stables, it packs all OPPO’s best photography features in its camera app. It features Selfie HDR, AI Palettes, AI Colour Portrait, and Ultra-Clear 108MP Image modes.

Within its rather slim body is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G System on a Chip (SoC) paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The powerful SoC and RAM combination runs ColorOS based on Android 12. At the same time, ColorOS can borrow up to 5GB of storage space to turn it into temporary RAM space for even better multitasking experience.

Keeping everything running an entire day is a 4,500mAh battery. Thanks to 33W SUPERVOOC charging technology, the OPPO Reno8 Z can be up and ready in within 63 minutes of charging. Yes, it comes with a charger.

All this goodness can be seen through the expansive 6.4-inch display up front. The AMOLED panel boasts Full HD+ in resolution and pushes 60Hz in refresh rate to deliver smooth snappy graphics. It is also a Netflix HD and Amazon Prime Video HD certified for the best experience on the two streaming platforms.

In terms of design, it is not too much of a difference, to be fair. You might mistake it for an OPPO Reno7 Z. It retains the Dual Orbit Lights that the Reno7 Z featured. It also retains a flush back body with two camera bumps, like the Reno7 Z. It feels a little sharper on the edges though, but that could just be us.

The OPPO Reno8 Z 5G will be available from the 26^thof August 2022 in two colour options. You can choose between Dawnlight Gold and Starlight Black colour options. The device will set you back MYR 1,799. IF you do get your device on its launch date, OPPO will also throw in a free TWS Earbuds worth MYR 109 and My OPPO members’ Privileges worth up to MYR 888. You can get your hands on one from OPPO’s authorized retailers, OPPO’s very own online store, telco partners, and their official online retail partners like Shopee and Lazada. For more information on the OPPO Reno8 Z 5G, you can visit their website.

News

Digi Makes Travelling More Affordable with Expanded Roaming Passes from MYR25

August 25, 2022 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

Digi Telecommunications, one of Malaysia’s largest telcos is making it easier for their subscribers to travel – and more affordable. In light of relaxing pandemic travel restrictions worldwide, subscribers will also be able to get back to their travel plans without the shock of a roaming bill. Digi is expanding its roaming passes to help subscribers have added peace of mind while travelling.

Both Digi Postpaid and Digi Prepaid subscribers can now take advantage of expanded roaming passes from just MYR25. There are now options for 3 days and a week. The Asia Pass is available for MYR25 for 3 days in 20 countries. This pass entitles subscribers to 2GB of data and 30 minutes of voice calls from Asian countries like Indonesia, Thailand and Brunei. Digi is also offering an added 2GB data quota to travellers heading to Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. This gives you a total of 4GB of data to use during your 3-day trip.

If you have a longer trip planned, you can also opt for Digi’s 7-day Roaming Pass for MYR50. The pass gives you the same quota but this time for over 46 countries including Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Digi says it plans to expand the countries included in this plan in the future. It’s worth noting that these roaming passes are for use in a single country when activated. So, you may want to put off activating it until you reach your final destination.

Digi Postpaid customers will be able to Roam Like Home with the Roam Like Home Freedom add-on. This add-on is available with Digi Postpaid 90 and above for free while others can activate it with a payment. Prices for this add-on start at MYR15 monthly. The Roam Like Home add-on has been enhanced to offer 10GB of data, 60 minutes of calls and 60 minutes of IDD voice call. It will be refreshed every month.

Digi’s Roam like Home Freedom add-on, the Asia Roaming Pass and World Traveller Roaming Pass are available on the MyDigi App.

News

Maxis Family Plan Expanded with Faster Fibre for Larger Families

August 24, 2022 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

Maxis is one of the largest connectivity providers in Malaysia. The one mobile-centric company has expanded to include fibre and business solutions over the past few years. Back in 2021, the company introduced a new package for their services which bundled mobile and fibre connectivity for families. The offering brought 30Mbps fibre and mobile connectivity for up to four mobile lines for only MYR299. It was also the most affordable option for connectivity at launch.

The Maxis Family Plan just got a little bit more affordable thanks to two new plans which were silently introduced. The new plans complement their MYR299 plan with faster connectivity and more lines. The new Maxis Family Plan for 6 comes with 6 lines with unlimited data and with a 100Mbps fibre connection for MYR399. Still need more? The new Maxis Family Plan for 8 comes with 8 lines with unlimited data and 300Mbps fibre connection for MYR499. All plans comes with a zero downtime guarantee as Maxis uses its own 4G network as a fallback.

The New Maxis Family Plans (Source: Maxis Malaysia)

The website updates come as Maxis launches their new fibre campaign featuring a new, adorable green dinosaur mascot. Their new mascot unlocks the possibilities that come with connectivity at home. The green dino makes its adorable debut in a campaign video you can find on Maxis’s official YouTube Channel.

Sweet Home, Magical Joy | Maxis Home Fibre

Aside from the new plans, Maxis offers fibre connectivity independently via its Maxis Fibre Broadband service. Plans for Maxis Broadband start at MYR89 for 30Mbps and caps out at 800Mbps for MYR499. Subscribers can also take advantage of Zerolution packages for new devices including Samsung OLED TVs and even a PlayStation 5 form as low as MYR1 a month.

Business, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

Malaysia Gets to Try WhatsApp Communities First

August 24, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

A few months back WhatsApp announced that they were launching a new major feature that could make the platform a powerful one for organisations and communities It is also fittingly called Communities. WhatsApp made the announcement back in April 2022 and teased it as a “coming soon” feature. Months later, Communities might finally be a reality. As with any other major features platform providers want to release, they have to go through their testing phase first, WhatsApp included.

While it may seem odd, WhatsApp is one of the most popular, if not the most popular, communication platform in Malaysia. While other countries still rely on the regular messaging app, WhatsApp is a mainstay in Malaysia and is the preferred communication tool of the nation. It is not just personal communication that relies on WhatsApp in Malaysia, companies and organisations rely on WhatsApp Groups to get messages across, essential team communications, and even announcements going.

The reliance and usage patterns for the platform in Malaysia makes it the perfect test bench and sample pool for WhatsApp communities.

Press Note Malaysia gets early access to WhatsApp Communities 2 — Source: WhatsApp

As per the announcement back in April, Communities will be a powerful tool for administrators looking to run multiple groups in their organisations. It allows an admin to include and exclude groups in a single Community group. At that, it also allows admins to start smaller and more controlled conversation groups within the community itself with select members. Communities allows admins to send a community wide announcement if the need arises. At the same time, only the admin has the power to invite members into the community and its groups, also to remove members when they deem necessary.

There are other features that are being added as well with WhatsApp Communities. To be fair, these are improvements done for WhatsApp Groups. Some of the improvements have been introduced before Communities in preparation for the arrival of the new feature too. Reaction, for example, was introduced so users can quickly react to messages via emoji without flooding group chats with new messages and drown the messages out. Group admins can also remove messages from chats for everyone in the group, if they deem it to be problematic. File sharing limit has been pushed to 2GB for more versatile collaboration efforts. Voice calls can now include up to 32 users while you can now mute other people in the call just to ensure that discussions and presentations can go on without distractions. WhatsApp Groups has also increased its member limit from 256 members to up to 512 members. If you wish to leave groups, you can now do it silently, only notifying group admins.

Currently, WhastApp’s Communities is being tested by Gabungan Anak-Anak Palsi Serebum (GAPS) community and Entrepreneurs and Startups in Malaysia communities. It is rolling out to select users in Malaysia currently. It will eventually be available for all WhatsApp users in Malaysia. For the latest updates on WhatsApp and its features you can visit their blog.

Accessories, Business, Computers, Lifestyle, News

LG’s DualUp Monitor Ergo is not Here, But Not for Games

August 24, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Whenever manufacturers shout about their new monitor products recently, it is always about gaming and their new monitors are made for them. Products made for the creative professionals and productivity are not hard to find. They just rarely get attention these days. Manufacturers tend to quietly add new monitors to their line-up because of that.

LG’s new monitor deserves attention though. Not it is not some breakthrough thoroughbred with some exclusive display tuning that makes it the brightest most clear display on the market. Technically, there is nothing new about the monitor. The display panel is the same type as most displays out in the market currently. There is something different about this monitor though; it is shaped rather differently from other monitors you can find in the market.

No, it is not a round display, nor is it a pentagonal shaped monitor. There are still four sides to make it a rectangle, just not the regular display rectangle. It boasts an aspect ratio of 16:18, which also means that it is a tall display, and it is almost square-ish in shape.

If you think about it, the display size is really a combination of two 16:9 displays stacked on top of each other. This form factor also eliminates the bottom bezel of the top display when you stack it up. The design is not without its reasons though.

The expansive LG DualUp Monitor Ergo display comes with LG’s Nano IPS panel that should offer vibrant colours and excellent contrast ratio. Important when you are going to be using it most of the day for work. The panel boasts dual QHD resolution (2,560 x 2,880) for good measure too. In that sense, movies should look excellent on it, save for the two very large black bars you will get when you watch movies on the display the size of two 21.5-inch displays stacked on top of one another.

The design of the DualUp Monitor Ergo is such to save as much desk real estate as possible. It is also the most ergonomic way of working with two displays, since you do not really have to turn your neck or body around to read through your documents or scroll through emails. At the same time, you get more real estate for your documents, which is always nice. On top of that, to reduce the strain on your neck even more, the LG DualUp Monitor Ergo comes with LG’s Ergo Stand that mounts and clamps directly on the table for not just more desk real estate. It also allows you to swivel and position your display in any configuration you prefer or can think of.

The LG DualUp Monitor Ergo comes with HDMI and DisplayPort inputs. It also packs USB Type-C thunderbolt and display port for an added versatility for the modern thin-and-light laptops. There is also USB 3.0 ports for you to work with. You can even rely on its two 7W built-in speakers with WavesMaxxAudio to enjoy music.

To protect your eyes, the LG DualUp Monitor Ergo comes with built-in ambient LightSensor to automatically adjust the display’s brightness accordingly. Live Color Low Blue Light also ensures that blue light emissions are reduced. To allow for a more flexible working environment, the monitor also packs a Picture-by-Picture mode to divide your area of work on the display real estate.

Source: LG
Source: LG
Source: LG
Source: LG

The LG DualUp Monitor Ergo is now available via LG’ authorized retailers nationwide or their online stores on Shopee and Lazada. It will set you back MYR 2,948, which is still considered rather premium. You are getting LG’s Ergo Stand though, and you are investing in an ergonomic set up for long term use case. For more information on the LG DualUp Monitor Ergo display, you can check out LG’s website.

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