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Android, Editorial, Lifestyle, Mobile, News, Podcast, Video

Tech & Tonic S02 Episode 13 – Our Google I/O 2021 Highlights!

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Google I/O happened last week and there was a lot to take in and dissect even from the two-hour long keynote to kick the Google’s 2021 developers conference off. We highlighted our favourite moments and things that we learned from Google I/O 2021. What caught our attention this year was their WearOS partnership with Samsung announcement. Android 12 is getting a huge visual revamp too this year. At the end of the show, something else caught our attention, and that was the Project Starline.

Google’s Wear OS is about to get a revamp and overhaul thanks to their new formed partnership with Samsung. This also means that Samsung will be ditching their Tizen OS development and focus on developing Wear OS with Google. Funnily enough Fitbit is not really getting involved. While they spent a very small amount of time making the announcement, there is more to Wear OS and Samsung’s involvement than Google made it out to be though. Fitbit is also not entirely out of the picture at this point.

We also saw the new Android 12 with Material You design language. The UI is cleaner, more intuitive, and even more customisable now. It is technically more YOU, more personal. You can change your theme colours to fit YOU. You can tune certain UI features to YOU. It is even more personal too with a Privacy Dashboard. You can even turn off your camera and mic completely if you want to; even your camera app will not be able to access both functions.

Project Starline was amazing. In brought to life a concept that we though will never see the light of day until way later. The whole pandemic situation has isolated us even more, and with conditions expected to take a turn for the worse in the coming year, physical connection to other human beings is sorely missed. Project Starline is as close as you can get to a physical touch and interaction to others at this point of time. To be fair, the technology is still in its early development stage and brings 3D and holographic telecommunications to life. It was encouraging and exciting to see, but we wonder how practical it would be if you want to bring that kind of technology to your homes or offices. 

Editorial, News, Podcast

[Podcast] Tech & Tonic S02 Episode 1- Xiaomi Got Banned in the US and the Samsung Galaxy S21 Launched!

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It is January 2021 and we are back for another episode of Tech & Tonic podcast, the very first one for 2021 and it came from our own houses because Malaysia is under a second lock down (Movement Control Order). The global pandemic did not stop CES 2021 from happening though. Although everything is happening online.

The year kicked off with a bang though because Xiaomi now joins HUAWEI and DJI in the United States banned entities. Xiaomi does not have an official presence in U.S. though. They only stateside link they have is the Operating System they use (Google’s Android), their processors (Qualcomm), and few other components. In that case, what will happen to Xiaomi? We discusses a little further on this topic on the podcast.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 series just launched last week too. The renders look exactly the same as the actual device except that the device looks even more impressive. The Samsung Galaxy S21 flagship series packs Samsung’s latest Exynos with 5G capabilities. The Galaxy S21 Ultra even sports S Pen compatibility and up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. All of these comes with a price though. The Samsung Galaxy S21 starts at MYR 3,699 and tops out at MYR 5,899.

It is also the first Samsung Galaxy S21 series that sells without a charger out-of-the-box too. With all the shade that was thrown to Apple’s decision to not include a charger for ‘ecological’ purpose, we start questioning the motive behind not including chargers in smartphone boxes. We also discuss a little further on the fact that the S Pen now lives on in the Samsung Galaxy S21 series, a sign of death in the family of Samsung. All this and more on Tech & Tonic Podcast.

Android, Consumer Electronics, Editorial, Mobile, Podcast

Tech & Tonic Episode 23 Feat. Jeff Sandhu – The Quietest Moment in Our Studio

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Samsung just launched their Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G device last week globally. It is coming to Malaysia soon too with the global availability. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 is probably the most anticipated and exciting devices to come out in these two years. Naturally, we are quite excited to see and review the device itself.

Before we can review the device though, we brought Jeff Sandhu in to our studio for a podcast. In this podcast we discuss all things foldable. When we say that, we mean smartphones and gadgets that are foldable, including the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2.

Jeff Sandhu was formerly from BFM. His 10 years experience in BFM includes producing his own talkshows featured on the radio channel itself. He joined BFM when the channel was only 2 years old. He recently left BFM to join a Sunway iLabs and Sunway Education Group initiative called 42 Kuala Lumpur. He is currently heading the media team in the initiative. He is an avid tech enthusiast like us though.

In this podcast we explore, with Jeff, some of the upcoming foldable devices. We discussed what we liked about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2, and what we do not like about the Samsung Galaxy Fold.

Editorial, Podcast

Tech & Tonic Episode 8 Feat. Keegan Perez Tan – MCO Day 20 and We Are All Still Sane! We can Game and Game, and Game.

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In this week’s Tech & Tonic Podcast, we have a hotshot in our guest seat. Why hotshot? He used to be in the professional eSports scene. He is Keegan Perez Tan, a former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Overwatch eSports player. He is still an active gamer though and plays titles like Escape from Tarkov, Apex Legends, and even Dota 2. He is also currently a content producer for Technave, one of Malaysia’s largest tech news platforms.

In our stream we spoke plenty about the COVID-19 situation, like we have done since the beginning of Malaysia’s government sanctioned Movement Control Order (MCO). We caught up a little bit with Keegan about his activities at home for the past 20 days of quarantine. Of course, we will end up talking about games though. We revealed what sort of games we are most looking forward to. We also touched a little bit on the eSports community and growth in Malaysia.

Unfortunately, we cannot fit everything we spoke about in our morning livestream show on the Podcast. For extended and full contents, we recommend you head down to our YouTube page for the livestream that we are doing every Monday 11.00 a.m. at least for the MCO period (until 14th April 2020 at the moment). Our podcast is available on the most popular podcasting platforms, so do check out our other episodes. Let us know if we are not, so that we can try to get ourselves on the platform.

Editorial, News, techENT Download, Video

techENT Download || The Fight Against COVID-19 is Real! Oh, and HUAWEI’s P40 series is finally in Malaysia!

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Last week, a few interesting happened in tech. While most has to do with the COVID-19 development and fight, there were a few new interesting products too. For one, the long-awaited HUAWEI P40 series makes Malaysian debut in the week. There are only two variants currently though – the standard HUAWEI P40 and the HUAWEI P40 Pro. The HUAWEI P40 Pro+ is, as touted, coming way later. Prices start from MYR 2,799 and you can already pre-order the devices on HUAWEI’s website and Lazada until the 10th April 2020. Alongside that is the HUAWEI MatePad Pro that was announced a little over a month ago. Malaysia is currently only getting one variant of it though (8GB + 256GB). You can also pre-order them now at MYR 2,399. The flagship smartphone and tablet will start shipping from the 11th of April 2020. Of course, if you pre-order, you get more HUAWEI exclusive stuff from HUAWEI too.

There were some new notebook PCs that is supposed to arrive in the market sometime later this year too. The 10th Generation Intel Core processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX SUPER equipped notebook PCs break cover. So many of them at the same time; there are some from ASUS, from Acer, from Lenovo, and from MSI. The most expensive we have seen so far is the MSI GS66 stealth at up to MYR 16,000.

Back on the topic of COVID-19, the world is focused at, not only in treating the disease, but also coping with the quarantine and helping the front liners. We have the #VentilatorChallengeUK that was answered by many private conglomerates in the region including Formula 1 teams. At the same time, plenty are taking advantage of the situation. So, we all must do our parts and be careful.

Editorial, Podcast

Tech & Tonic Episode 6 Feat. Jeremy Teo and Natasha Hashim – Stuck at Home, We Talked About Sony PS5!

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In today’s episode of the techENT Tech & Tonic, we have a returning guest; Jeremy Teo, and new one, Natasha Hashim! Natasha Hashim, or TashBunny, as more commonly known to her stream fans, is a streamer and also content creator for IGN SEA! If you cannot recognise her, you should be watching more local eSports events, because she is one of the more bubbly host in the events.

We only have three mics in the office, but we are not in the office or studio at all today. We did a livestream in the morning, because all of us was stuck at home. So we talked a little bit about that. Since we were on the topic of catching up with stuff, we spoke plenty about games, and of course, the Sony PS5 “road to PS5” press conference. We shared what we were looking forward to with the new PS5, and what we were looking forward to with the games!

P.S. because it was recorded on a live stream software (OBS), we did not have the freedom to work with multi-track recording. Therefore, we had some audio issues in the beginning and did not notice it until someone in the stream mentioned it. We fixed in the later half of the show. Please do not turn your volume all the way up first.

News, techENT Download, Video

techENT Download – We Are Stuck at Home Folding Smartphones, and There is a New PlayStation Coming!

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In this week’s techENT download, things are a little bleak with the COVID-19 situation. We had to close our office because the government has issued a Movement Control Order which limits our travels in and out of the house. That also means that we have to start working from home full time. As of yesterday’s announcement, it is going to be the situation until the 14th of April 2020.

Still, we are optimistic and will still bring you the latest in tech. In that regards, there are a couple of smartphone launches within Malaysia itself. The two most interesting ones are the foldable devices coming into the Malaysian smartphone market fold. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip and HUAWEI Mate Xs is officially available in Malaysia now. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is available in participating stores at MYR 5,888. The Huawei, on the other hand, is now available online and you can get your hands on your own unit for MYR 11,111. You can choose between a delivery or pick up at your favourite HUAWEI store; though the latter option might be handy way later.

The OPPO Find X2 Pro is finally in Malaysia for MYR 4,599. The OPPO Find X2 Pro was also one of our most anticipated smartphone to come into the market. At the same week, HMD Global (Nokia) announced what seems to be the most affordable 5G ready smartphone in the world with the Nokia 8.3. They also brought back XpressMusic with their the ‘new’ Nokia 5310.

Beyond that we also saw the Sony PlayStation 5. No, there are no product renders, or even a reveal of the device. It was just a reveal of the specifications of the PlayStation 5. It is just slightly less powerful than the Microsoft Xbox Series X. There is one thing extra on the PlayStation though, and that is called the ‘Tempest’ 3D audio engine.

Editorial, News, Podcast

Tech & Tonic Episode 5 Feat. Smashpop – OPPO’s New Flagship Impresses and Revisiting Smartphone vs Camera

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In this week’s Tech & Tonic Podcast, we have Jason Goh of @Smashpop! Jason Goh is one of the more prolific figures in the digital content creation industry. He has a vast experience in the field and is one of the guys behind Tricycle TV, a social media channel that focuses on reviewing tech in Bahasa Melayu. He is also very active in Social Media with @Smashpop across all platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. He is also on TikTok, but not very active; as he says. All good things must be shared, and that is why Jason also conducts workshops for you to better your Social Media presence and skills.

Last week saw one of the most anticipated smartphones (to us anyway) launch globally and in Malaysia. It is the OPPO Find X2 series, a flagship that is two years in waiting now. We had our hands on the OPPO Find X2 as well as Jason with the OPPO Find X2 Pro. We spoke at length about the device; what we like, what we do not like, and what we found interesting. Still, at MYR 3,999 (starting from), it is not what you would call ‘affordable’. Are the features enough to justify its price tag though?

On the subject of smartphones, we revisit the topic of smartphone cameras vs proper cameras. Fitting topic, since we have another very experienced content creator that focuses plenty of visuals. The OPPO Find X2 series also triggers the topic with its claim on topping the DX0Mark charts (OPPO Find X2 Pro). Of course, we would want to know what his opinion is on this subject. We did an editorial on this subject too.

Editorial, News, Podcast

Tech & Tonic Episode 4 feat. Adam Lobo – More COVID-19 Stuff and #BatteryGate

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In this week’s Tech & Tonic Podcast, we have Adam Lobo of Adam Lobo TV! Adam Lobo is the lead vocalist in the rap metal band Dragon Red. Adam Lobo’s gift does not just stop at his voice though. He makes great looking contents on his YouTube channel too when he is not jamming out with the band. His love and passion in tech led him to create his own YouTube channel where he reviews the latest gadgets you can buy in the Malaysian market. If you want to see devices in 4K detail, you should definitely check out his channel.

Last week we saw big events in the tech industry being cancelled. We say that they are being cancelled, most of them have moved things online (as in livestreaming) instead. Microsoft’s MVP conference, Facebook F8 Summit, Adobe Summit, Google Cloud Next, Google I/O 2020 are just the few events that has been cancelled due to COVID-19 (there is a new official name now) concerns. How is this going to affect the tech landscape? What about other industries?

We also saw the most valuable brand in the world getting into some trouble with the law. Apple has been caught up in their court battle for a while now and the court has decided that Apple should be fined and pay out almost half a billlion U.S. Dollars in compensation to the victims of their deliberate software throttling. As far as we know, this only applies to the U.S. market. There is more to this though.

Podcast

Tech & Tonic Episode 2 feat. Vernon Chan – Pre-Order, Cash, or Installment? Oh, Use Protection Everyone!

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Episode two of Tech & Tonic we have a featured guest who is none other than Vernon Chan! He will be joining us today to talk about a few key aspects of how the local tech market is, to security concerns with all the technologies that we are too dependent on. Also do listen to the end to find out why Vernon decided to delete his Facebook account!

A little more about Vernon, he hails from a creative background that spans over 20 years, and is the founder of boutique creative hotshop – scratchdisk creative. He’s an avid blogger/writer, Twitter-addict, foodie, technology and gadget enthusiast, animal lover, Steve Jobs groupie and petrolhead.

Mentioned in the title, we will be starting the podcast with what we think of pre-orders and how it is used to gauge the market dynamics of what phones or colours that could sell well. What are the pros and cons of getting a phone on pre-orders, getting it in cash and getting it on a installment plan with a telco. 

The second notable topic is data privacy. Why is data privacy important? How does it affect us and what can we do about it? Government policies should also be enforced for the data collecting and selling companies to ensure the citizens are protected. 

Most online services require the user to opt in to use the services. Mostly, it is for the convenience of using the services. How much are we willing to give up? How much is the government doing to protect us?

What can you do to protect yourself and your data online? Some tips and tricks from @vernieman himself on the measures he personally takes to protect himself even when he’s traveling around the world!