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The Xiaomi 12S Ultra with Leica Co-Engineering Spearheads Xiaomi’s New Flagship Lineup

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Xiaomi took to the stage to announce their new flagship series – the Xiaomi 12S series. The series has multiple entries and has the Xiaomi 12S Ultra as its centrepiece. The new flagship is the first device in what looks to be a long-term partnership with Leica when it comes to imaging and photography.

You’re Gonna Leica this – the Leica Summicron 1:1.9-4.1 / 13-120 ASPH. camera system

The Xiaomi 12S Ultra comes with the Leica Summicron 1:1.9-4.1 / 13-120 ASPH. camera system. Yep – that’s a mouthful. The new co-engineered system marries Leica’s camera technology with Xiaomi’s smartphone prowess. It’s a Triple sensor setup with the new, 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor as the main sensor. The 50.3-megapixel sensor comes with Quad Bayer technology which promises better image capture in both low- and normal lighting and an aperture of f/1.9. It also comes with Octa-phase detection Autofocus which apparently allows it to focus faster. The main sensor is complemented by a 48-megapixel f/2.2 Sony IMX586 ultra-wide sensor and a 48-megapixel f/4.1 Sony IMX586 periscope sensor. These sensors also use Quad Bayer technology.

Xiaomi 12S Ultra Camera specs
Source: Xiaomi

The main sensor uses an 8P Aspherical Lens. This helps reduce glares and also helps with imaging performance overall. All of the sensors have Pixel binning which increases the quality of the photos taken by the camera thanks to an even larger hybrid pixel size. Binning essentially creates larger pixels by combining four pixels in the sensor. The Xiaomi 12S Ultra also comes with HyperOIS technology and boasts even better image stabilization thanks to an innovative approach of taking the time between images (7ms) to stabilize and reset the sensor.

  • Xiaomi 12S Ultra Lens
  • Xiaomi 12S Ultra Leica Photography Styles

In addition to the hardware, Xiaomi and Leica have worked together in developing the software. The result? Two shooting modes that bring Leica’s signature elements into your smartphone. The “Leica Authentic Look” hearkens back to Leica’s signature aesthetic. It brings the vibrancy of true-to-life colours and the depth and emotion of Leica’s surrealism. The resulting photos are colourful or monochrome with a sense of depth. Xiaomi and Leica’s collaboration is more apparent with the “Leica Vibrant Look”. This look brings Xiaomi’s know-how with mobile cameras to Leica’s signature aesthetic. The resulting pictures are more vibrant and work to capture the feel of the moment.

Partnering with Adobe and Dolby

Keeping photography centerstage, Xiaomi and Leica have also worked with Adobe to enable RAW capture on the Xiaomi 12S Ultra. The RAW capture on the 12S Ultra allows you to capture your images in DNG format preserving all the image data so you can edit and manipulate the image on programs like Adobe Lightroom. Adobe Lightroom will come equipped with a special profile for the 12S Ultra which will allow it to show you the actual image captured without you tinkering. Lightroom will be able to load the profile automatically from the image metadata.

Xiaomi 12S Ultra Combination
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Xiaomi 12S Ultra Black 1
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When it comes to video capture, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra is the first smartphone to come with the ability to capture Dolby Vision HDR video. This brings a wider colour depth to video than HDR10+, allowing you to impart more emotion and character to your video shots. It will also help with low light performance.

Still Powered by Cutting Edge Tech

While it may seem like the Xiaomi 12S Ultra is all about the camera, the series still comes packed with cutting-edge technology under the hood. The whole Xiaomi 12S series runs on the new Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 mobile platform which ups the performance of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 by nearly 10%. The new Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is fabricated with TSMC’s new 4nm node which allows for better energy efficiency with a 21% smaller core and 10% boost in both CPU and GPU performance.

Xiaomi 12S Ultra Specs
Source: Xiaomi

Xiaomi has also equipped the Xiaomi 12S series with a brand new cooling system which it touts as more efficient than currently available vapour cooling systems. The technology mimics the hydrostatic system of a leaf and its capillaries. This mimicry allows the system to dissipate heat more effectively and quicker than traditional vapour cooling systems. In fact, Xiaomi is touting a 100% better thermal conductivity.

The Xiaomi 12S series comes with a Samsung AMOLED display with 2K resolution. The panel comes with an E5 material which helps increase brightness. The display has a peak brightness of 1,500nits. On the 12S Ultra, the display comes with 1-120Hz AdaptiveSync Pro which allows it to hit 1Hz refresh rates when viewing text and 120Hz when gaming. The other regular 12S and the 12S Pro come with 120Hz AdaptiveSync. Across the board, the displays are calibrated with 100% coverage of the P3 colour gamut and support Dolby Vision.

Xiaomi 12S Pro Combination 3
Xiaomi 12S Pro Source: Xiaomi

The smartphones come equipped with Dual 5g connectivity with a 4×4 MIMO modem. They also support Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 with support for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon sound and aptX Adaptive.

The smartphones come with Xiaomi’s Surge G1 Battery Management chip and the Surge P1 fast-charging chips. These chips work in tandem to help preserve battery health while extending battery life and reducing charging time. The Xiaomi 12S Ultra comes with a 4,860 mAh single cell, silicon-oxygen anode battery which supports 16A output current. The Ultra supports 67W wired fast charging, 50W wireless fast charging and 10W reverse fast charging. The Pro sports a smaller 4,600mAh with support for 120W wired fast charging and 50W wireless fast charging. The regular 12S comes with an even smaller 4,500mAh battery which has support for 67W wired and 50W Wireless.

Pricing & Availability

The Xiaomi 12S Ultra will be available in Mainland China in the near future. It will be available in Classic Black and Verdant Green. It’s will be available in three variants 8GB+256GB, 12GB+256GB and 12GB+512GB. The 8GB+256GB version will be priced at CNY5999 (MYR3,951.18) while the 12GB + 256GB will retail at CNY6,499 (MYR4,280.08) and the 12GB+512GB version will be priced at CNY6,999 (MYR4,609.82).

Xiaomi 12S Combination 1
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Xiaomi 12S Green 1
Xiaomi 12S Green 2
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Xiaomi 12S White 2

The Xiaomi 12S and 12S Pro will be available in 8GB + 128GB, 8GB + 256GB, 12GB + 256GB and 12GB + 512GB variants. Pricing for the 12S starts at CNY3,999 (MYR2,633.90) for the 12S while the 12S Pro will start at CNY4,699 (MYR3,096.10).

Accessories, Computers, Gaming, Lifestyle, News

Predator Launches the X38 S Ultrawide monitor – The Ultimate Desktop Set-up

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We have always maintained that a gaming monitor is the final piece of the puzzle when you put together a gaming set-up. A good portion of your budget, when building your rig, should always go to a good gaming monitor. A good gaming monitor can make or break your gaming experience, it is that important.

For gaming, you want something immersive, and fast. You want something that looks good as well in that sense. If you have something that does colours well, you might be able to rely on it for content work too, if you are into that kind of stuff. But finding a good balance in those areas are quite difficult. Not with the Predator X38 S.

The Predator X38 S

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  • Predator X38 S 2022 Launch

Predator’s latest high-end gaming monitor followed a rather similar strategy as before. Pack the best of everything in an ultrawide form factor. For that, you get a rather vivid IPS panel that is curved to 2300R.

That IPS panel boasts UWQHD+ (3,840 by 1,600 pixels) resolution, just slightly more the regular ultra-wide QHD panels. It is also a higher resolution than before, this 37.5-inch curved panel. Still, IPS panels boasts up to 178o in viewing angles, so you would not be getting any sort of distortion anywhere you turn to anyway.

Predator has tuned the display to be as colour accurate as possible. It covers up to 98% of DCI-P3 colour gamut. It even has a Delta E<2 as well for colours so accurate you might have mistaken the images on your screen as the real thing. At DisplayHDR 600 and a maximum of 600 nits in brightness, images really come to live.

Of course, a gaming display must be a fast one. The NVIDIDA G-SYNC ULTIMATE display can be overclocked up to 175Hz refresh rate to not only ensure that images are tear free, but also silky smooth. It boasts a G-to-G response rate as low as 0.3 ms for almost instant responses between mouse clicks and action. There is even the NVIDIA G-SYNC Esports Mode that is designed to lower latency and improves details in dark scenes.

Of course, Acer’s most premium technologies to protect the eyes of its users are packed in with the Predator X38 S. LightSense and ColourSense automatically adjusts the screen’s brightness and colour temperature depending on the conditions around the display.

The Acer Nitro XZ342CUP

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If you feel like the Predator X38 S is a little too premium for your tastes, you can strain a little and go for Acer’s Nitro XZ342CUP 34-inch display. It features a QHD resolution at a regular 16:9 aspect ratio, which is still rather respectable. It is still quite a fast display at 144Hz refresh rate and 1ms VRB response time.

To ensure you get a tear-free gaming experience, the 34-incher offers AMD’s FreeSync technology. At the same time, Acer’s Flicker-less technology should keep images crisp and flicker free in any sort of conditions. There is also the Acer BluelightShield and ComfyView technologies to keep your eyes healthy.

Price and Availability

The Predator X38 S is now available for MYR 5,999. You can get your hands on one from Acer’s eStore, authorized retail partners nationwide, or official online stores on Shopee and Lazada. There are no colour options here, but at least the X38 S looks good in black.

The Nitro XZ342CUP is also now available in Malaysia. It will set you back MYR 1,799. You can find it in Acer’s eStore as well as official online stores on Shopee and Lazada. If you still prefer a physical buying experience, you can visit Acer’s authorized retailers nationwide for that. Again, there are no colour options here, just a regular black display with red coloured support pillar.

Computers, Gaming, Lifestyle, News

Predator Orion 3000 Launches in Malaysia – The Pocket Rocket is Here

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When we say Pocket Rocket, we do not mean that this desktop tower will fit in your pockets. Unless you have a pocket the size of a large shopping bag, you are not going to fit this tower in your pockets at all. What we are saying, in this case, is that the Orion 3000 that Predator just announced for Malaysia is a compact gaming PC that packs the power of a full tower with Intel’s 12th Generation Core processors.

The Predator Orion 3000

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To be fair, we would not call the Orion 3000’s chassis a Mini PC set-up. It is still a mid-tower PC with enough space within the chassis to fit even fit a water cooled AiO unit, if you really want to. Still, mid-tower is still the most popular form factor in the current desktop market.

The Predator Orion 3000 of course packs Intel’s latest 12th Generation Core i7 (up to) processor that is paired with NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3070 GPU (up to). You also get up to 16GB of DDR4 RAM. If you need more memory speed, the motherboard is also ready to take up to four DDR5 RAM sticks for up to 64GB in RAM. For storage, you get up to 1TB in the form of a PCIe NVMe SSD. If you want, you can even expand that with another M.2 SSD. There are also two additional SATA slots if you need even more storage.

Plenty of processing power also means that everything needs some sort of cooling. To keep everything in check, there are two 92mm Predator Frostblade 2.0 chassis fans to keep airflow optimized and all the hardware inside cool. You can even control the fans with PredatorSense that is built into the PC. Of course, PredatorSense also controls the RGB strips and fans.

The Acer Nitro 50

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The Predator was not the only tower than made the show floor though. Acer’s own gaming brand also made it to the show with the updated Nitro 50 gaming PC.

You still get a compact set-up that packs a lot of power. You get Intel’s 12th Generation Core processors on tap for the Acer Nitro 50. You also get NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER GPU. There is no ray tracing here, but the GPU is still powerful enough to run the latest AAA titles in good quality in Full HD resolution.

You can pair the processors with up to 8GB of RAM. Storage wise, you get up to 512GB of speedy SSD space. All of these are packed into an 18-litre chassis.

Price and Availability

The Predator Orion 3000 is now available at Acer’s eStore, and official stores on Shopee and Lazada. If you want, you can head over to any authorized retail partners nationwide to get it too. The Predator Orion 3000 will set you back MYR 6,499 onward. You can visit Predator’s website for more information on the Predator Orion 3000.

The Acer Nitro 50 will set you back from MYR 3,599. You can get your hands on one from Acer’s eStore and official stores on Shopee and Lazada. You can also get your hands on one from Acer’s authorized retail partners nationwide. More information on the Acer Nitro 50 can be found on their website.

Business, Mobile, News

3nm is Not the Future – It Is Now with Samsung 

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Before we go any further; yes, the global chip shortage phenomenon is still a thing. Yes also, things are recovering, and it is looking much better now than last year, at least. Yes, 5nm chips are also already mighty impressive, the most powerful mobile devices are powered by 5nm chips.  

The Apple M1 chips and its variant powering all kinds of things are also 5nm chips, technically the most advanced computing solution you can find today. They introduced the M2 chip, also a 5nm chip to power their next generation devices, The most powerful mobile chip today, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is built on the 5nm process too, and it is technically the most technologically impressive integrated processing chip made for smartphones today. 

This leads us to a question. What could possibly be better? How could anyone top off 5nm in the current generation? Is 4nm even possible? Turns out, it is. But Samsung did not just stop there, they went ahead and did one better with 3nm. 

Ahead of their closest rival in chip making, Samsung has kickstarted their 3nm fabrication line just today. If this goes into Samsung’s next generation Exynos, the Exynos chips will be the most advanced integrated processing chips the world has ever seen. That is also if there is no pushback from TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.).  

Samsung foundrys first 3nm chip production 4
Source: Samsung

TSMC’s foundries are responsible for more than half the world’s supply of chips. You can find TSMC produced chips in Apple devices, and more than half the Android devices in the world today with Qualcomm relying mostly on the Taiwanese foundry. They are expected to start their 3nm mass production as well later this year.  

Currently though, the only reference for 3nm chips is from Samsung. They say that 3nm chips are now 45% more efficient than 5nm chips. Samsung also says that 3nm chips are 23% more powerful comparatively.  

While this is a good step in the right direction for the technological world, it could mark a more important step in the chip industry. While the 3nm fabrication process could be more intensive and expensive than before, smaller more efficient chips could lower the strain on the entire global supply chain. Then again, it really depends on the overall demand for 7nm, 5nm, and 3nm chips in the current market.  

While Samsung has started their mass production efforts, and TSMC is looking to start their own 3nm production soon, we will not be seeing devices coming with 3nm chips anytime soon. You can expect 3nm chips to star in devices starting 2023, if we are lucky enough. Still, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 is coming soon, and we are still excited about that.  

Accessories, Computers, Consumer Electronics, Gaming, Lifestyle, News

The Predator Gaming Projector is Real! The GD711 is a 4K LED Projector Made for Gaming at up to 240hz! 

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When you want to buy a display for your gaming rig, you first look at the gaming monitors. Gaming monitors are so common these days that you can spend anywhere between a few hundred Ringgit to a few thousands and get yourself a ‘gaming monitor’ of some sorts. Of course, if you want a good one, you are going to have to splurge a little bit.  

There is a small problem though. The current biggest gaming monitor you can find on the market is no larger than 43-inches. If you want to go bigger, you are going to have to buy a TV, a 4K TV set that is not really made for PC gaming. Most of the time, these TVs are made for console gaming, which usually only tops out at 120hz refresh rate. 

What if you want to go bigger than regular TVs, since the largest TV in the current commercial market tops out at 86 inches? You buy a projector that can go up to 110 inches with little issues. There are even projectors that can do much bigger than 110-inch, but those are industrial type projectors. There is still another problem here. Projectors are never targeted for gaming.  

GD711 3
Source: Acer

Not this one though, the Predator GD711 4K gaming projector. Yes, it tops out at 4K in resolution. At that, you do not get more than 60hz of refresh rate. Understandably, it does not have HMDI 2.1 to work with. But with gaming, refresh rate and frames per second (fps) is sometimes more important than resolution. That is why the Predator GD711 is made to refresh at 240hz in Full HD resolution.  

The best thing about having a projector is that you can get a large projection almost anywhere in your home. When you have friends over, you can get the screen to go as big as 300 inches. Imagine watching a good movie at 4K with that kind of size with your friends. You can even plug your consoles in and play multiplayer games at that with no fuss with that kind of real-estate. Acer recommends a throw range of 2.7m to get a 100-inch screen though.  

Projecting all the goodness from your PC or Consoles is an LED that is rated to last up to 30,000 hours with minimal drop in luminance. It is rated at 4,000 LED lumens, which is sort of equivalent to about 1250 ANSI lumens. We would say that at that brightness, you might want to think of using the projector in a slightly dimmed room.

Unlike traditional lamp though, LED projectors do boast much better colour reproduction. The Predator GD711 offers 125% of Rec.709 colour gamut coverage. You get sharp, vivid, and highly accurate colours with highly accurate details still. Even the blacks are going to be as black as your screen can be. On top of that, while you can hook it up to your sounds system, you can also rely on the 10W speakers of the GD711 if you plan on bringing it to your friend’s house or set it up in any other rooms in your house. You can even hook it up to a Bluetooth speaker if you want.  

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    Source: Acer
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    Source: Acer
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    Source: Acer
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    Source: Acer
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    Source: Acer
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    Source: Acer
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    Source: Acer

The Predator GD711 4K gaming projector is now available at Acer’s very own online store and their official stores on Shopee and Lazada. You can also get your hands on one from Acer’s partner retailers nationwide. There are no colour options, like any other Predator products it comes in matte black. It also comes with a remote control, for you to also control its Aptoide OS built into the projector. The Predator GD711 retails at MYR 4,999, which is quite a lot of money for a projector. For a 4K projector though, and one that can refresh at up to 240hz, the price now looks more like a bargain. More information on the Predator GD711 can be found on their website.

Computers, Gaming, Lifestyle, News

Acer Launches the Nitro 5 for 2022 with Intel’s 12th Generation Core CPUs

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Acer’s Nitro 5 was always known for its strong value proposition and being the budget champion in gaming laptops. 2021 was a little bit of a turning point for the Nitro 5 though. It stopped becoming an entry-level option. You still can get the Nitro 5 with entry-level specs and a price to match, but the Nitro 5 expanded its option pool to hit the upper echelons of gaming with AMD’s Ryzen 9 and NVIDIA’s RTX 3080 bundle option. It was shocking to say the least, but a welcome.

Fast forward to 2022 though, there is a new Nitro 5 in town, and it looks good.

We start with what it packs. It is a 12th Generation Intel Core i7 (up to) that is paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti (up to). While it just stops shy from its higher-end cousin that tops out at an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, the RTX 3070 Ti is plenty powerful enough for any sort of gaming situations. You also get to pack it with up to 32GB DDR4 RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage. There is an additional SATA slot to give users the option to upgrade the notebook with another SATA storage.

The powerful insides keep games running optimally at up to 165fps on the 165Hz refresh rate QHD display (up to). You can opt for a Full HD 144Hz display if you are on a budget. The display also boasts 100% of DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage which means that it is even more colour accurate than before. At the same time, if you are looking for a laptop for both work and play, especially if you are in the creative industry, the colour accuracy is what you want.

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Underneath the 4-zone RGB, Acer’s improved cooling system for the new Nitro 5 allows Acer to increase the maximum power draw of the GPU to extract even more performance and power from the GPU. At the same time, the Killer DoubleShot Pro wireless network module and WiFi 6E ensures that the Nitro 5 is always connected to the fastest available internet source.

The Acer Nitro 5 is now available from Acer’s own eStore, and official online stores on Shoppe and Lazada. You can also find the Acer Nitro 5 in Acer’s authorized retailers nationwide. It will set you back from MYR 4,399 all the way to MYR 8,699. For more information on the Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop, you can head to their website.

Computers, Gaming, Lifestyle, News

Predator Launches the Brand-New Helios 300 – 12th Generation Gaming is here!

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Gaming laptops today are wonderful things. They are still not as powerful as their desktop counterparts, but still, they come close enough today. Because gaming laptops today packing the kind of power they do, they become some of the most popular choices even for among the hardcore gamers.

Even in 2021, before Intel introduced their most powerful CPUs ever, gaming laptops were the in thing. The Predator Helios 300 of 2021, for example, was a potent machine that could really take your gaming to the next level, anywhere and anytime. It packed Intel’s 11th Generation CPUs with the latest generation NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series cards for the best-in-class performance. It is 2022 though and the world needs something new, something a lot more powerful.

Welcome to the 2022 version of the Predator Helios 300. To be fair, this product should not be entirely new to you. It was launched globally a while back at one Next@Acer conference. It finally hits the shores in Malaysia though.

Helios 300 2022 03

To recap, the new Predator Helios 300 is expected to be the weapon of choice for any sort of gamers everywhere. Its 15.6-inch display is a rather compelling one at QHD resolutions as well. It also boasts 165Hz refresh rate with 3ms response time for fast and smooth visuals in all sorts of gaming situations. At the same time, it is one display you can also rely on when you work with colour grading tools and editing tools with 100% of DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage.

Keeping the screen happy and maxing the 165Hz refresh rate, the Helios 300 now comes with Intel’s 12th Generation Core CPU (up to Core i7). You get to pair it up with up to NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3080 and 32GB of 4800MHz DDR5 RAM memory. While that may not sound like it will amount to too much of a performance gain compared to the older Helios 300, Predator has given it a treatment like no other to make it outperform the older laptop by a significant margin.

Instead of the traditional regular thermal paste to keep the CPU die attached to the heat transfer panels, Predator now uses liquid metal. That should also translate to better thermal transfer performance which should also directly translate to a bump in CPU performance. You also get the help of Predator’s 5th generation Aeroblade 3D which is redesigned for even better airflow without compromising noise and therefore better cooling.

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The overall improvement in cooling performance also allows Predator to also increase the power draw of the GPU to increase its performance. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti now draws up to 150W of power to really give games a punch. You can also monitor the temperature of the Predator Helios 300 with the proprietary PredatorSense.

Besides up to 2TB in SSD space, the Predator Helios 300 now comes with mini-LED RGB backlit keyboard, which is an upgrade over the older Helios 300. You also get WiFi 6E connectivity with Killer DoubleShot Pro for more stable and faster internet speeds. Of course, there is always a Turbo button for you to overclock the laptop and make it even faster.

The Predator Helios 300 is now available from Acer’s official stores on Shopee and Lazada. You can also head to Acer’s authorized retail partners to get your hands on one. There will be no other colour option for it, but it is still a good-looking laptop, especially with the new light bar at the bottom of the laptop. It will set you back MYR 7,999 onward and tops out at 11,999. For more information on the Predator Helios 300, you can visit their website.

Business, News

Samsung Launches First Premium Experience Store in Malaysia

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Samsung Malaysia isn’t a stranger when it comes to launching experience stores. However, since its first Experience store launch, the company has evolved into one that offers more than just mobile experiences. In Malaysia, at least, there hasn’t been a store which showcases the full range of Samsung offerings including their smartphones, TVs and household appliances.

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Samsung Malaysia is changing that with the launch of their new Premium Experience Store. The store sees Samsung collaborating with local retail giant Senheng to showcase all of Samsung’s offerings. The new Samsung Premium Experience Store is located at ground floor of theShoppes at Four Seasons Place which is nestled in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. The store covers a humungous 5,399 sqft and not only showcases Samsung’s extensive offerings but also contains experience zones for customers to get the full experience.

Edward Han President Samsung Malaysia Electronics 1
Source: Samsung

“We are excited for this collaboration with Senheng that extends on our long-term partnership to enhance Samsung consumers’ experiences. At Samsung, people are at the centre of everything we do. Everything that we are doing today is being designed to enrich people’s lives in ways that matters the most and provide a healthier environment”

Edward Han, President of Samsung Malaysia Electronics

The store is also the first to showcase Samsung’s new BESPOKE line up. Walking in, you will be able to see Samsung’s BESPOKE refrigerators, the BESPOKE AirDresser and even the BESPOKE Jet vacuums. The store itself has six experiential zone which showcase different products and experiences including mobile, Neo QLED 8K TV, Lifestyle TVs and more.

Accessories, Lifestyle, News

Wear OS Gets A Premium Addition with the Montblanc Summit 3 Smartwatch

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Android Wear’s successor, Wear OS, has been having somewhat of an uphill battle since its launch. Not many of the older Wear OS devices were getting the big Wear OS 3.0 update. In fact, to-date, the only notable smartwatch running Wear OS 3 is Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 series. That changes with the new Montblanc Summit 3 smartwatch.

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Source: Montblanc

Montblanc’s Summit 3 is being pushed as a premium smartwatch with a premium price and also premium build materials. Staying true to the Montblanc image, the smartwatch isn’t coming with a flashy, glammed up design. Instead, Montblanc has opted to stay with a classic watch design complete with a physical crown and two pushers which act as buttons to interact with the Wear OS 3. It’s overall facade is sleek and minimal. The face of the smartwatch is a 1.28-inch, circular AMOLED display with a 416×416 resolution. The screen is protected by a layer of Sapphire Glass. The watch itself is encased in a titanium case with a stainless steel bezel. The Summit 3 comes with a hand polished finish to complete the premium 42mm smartwatch. It comes with a pin buckle strap which is available in black calf leather or rubber.

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When it comes to sensors, the Montblanc Summit 3 is equipped with a heart rate sensor, a barometer, accelerometer, gyroscope and ambient light sensor. Like other Wear OS 3 devices, the Summit 3 is able to track pulse rate, blood oxygenation, steps taken and even sleep. Considering it does come with a blue rubber strap, it looks like you might even be able to track calories and workouts on the smartwatch. NFC is also built-in to the smartwatch. You’ll be able to use GooglePay and other compatible services where they are available.

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The Montblanc Summit 3 runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 4100+ processor with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. It is capable of Bluetooth 5.0 and WiFi connectivity as well. The smartwatch also comes with Google Play Store where users are able to download apps. You will need to connect it via the Montblanc Summit app.

Pricing and Availability

The Montblanc Summit 3 is available for pre-orders worldwide at the Montblanc website. It is available in three colours at launch – Black Titanium, Grey Titanium and Bicolour Titanium. It will be retailing for USD1,290 internationally. Locally, in Malaysia, it costs MYR5,700.

Accessories, Business, Computers, Lifestyle, News

ViewSonic Launches New Projectors and Smart Interactive Display for the Boardroom and the Classroom

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ViewSonic has just opened their new showroom in Malaysia. That is besides the point though. They are also one of the most known display manufacturers in the world at this point. Considering that they come from the humble beginnings from making budget computer displays, it is a huge feat.

They have come a long way from just making PC monitors though. They now also make several display related items and solutions that can be deployed in different situations. They also make projectors, if you have not known yet. They just launched a new one, alongside a smart display that is compelling for meeting rooms and even classrooms.

ViewSonic LS500WHE and LS550WHE

Product photos
Source: ViewSonic

Toe be fair, while there are two names you see here, they are really one product made for two slightly different use cases. The LS550WHE is more like a short throw version of the LS500WHE. Both are also LED Laser projectors.

The current LED projector technology only allows it to hit 3,000 ANSI Lumens in brightness. Comparatively, ViewSonic even sells a lamp-based projector at 3,800 ANSI Lumens. On paper, the lamp-based projector should be a better choice based on the projection brightness alone. But there is more to it than that.

The new LED projectors offer 125% in Rec.709 colour space coverage. That also means that the new projectors should be displaying images with vivid colours like no lamp projectors can display. In that case as well, the lower brightness count might not even matter with more vivid and better colours than ever before.

At the same time, because LED has a much longer shelf life at 30,000-hour cycles, replacing the lamp becomes a thing of the past. LED is also a lot more power efficient than lamp, which also means that your electricity consumption is nearly halved saving you more in terms of maintenance and usage. Of course, there is the fact that LED’s clarity drop off is much less drastic than traditional lamp.

ViewSonic ViewBoard Smart Display

Country Manager of ViewSonic Malaysia Mr Chaw Foo Hong
Source: ViewSonic

Then there is the ViewBoard, a large slab of touch screen display that is a real clever solution for classrooms and boardroom. To be fair, the ViewBoard is designed mostly for the education sector. It is a powerful tool even in the boardroom though.

What makes it powerful is not really its size or touch screen features. You can get a touch screen display from any manufacturer technically and will get pretty much similar experience. What makes it special is the software solution that is built for the ViewBoard.

They call it myViewBoard and it is web based, so it is compatible with all kinds of platforms including Windows, Android, iOS, and even Mac. It is really designed as a complete collaboration and learning tool. The platform allows you to turn the ViewBoard into a rather powerful smart display that can be shared with all the participants in the classroom and boardroom. From the board itself, you can control how an entire class or meeting flows.

Price and Availability

The LS500WHE LED projector is now available for MYR 3,599. The short throw variant of it, the LS550WHE is available for MYR 3,999. For the ViewBoard, you want to contact your local ViewSonic representative. More on ViewSonic’s new products can be found on their website.