CableKeeps was the 4th Kickstarter project that I backed. I backed it last year on the 11th August 2011 and the project got funded on the 9th September 2011. They raised a total of USD$37,498 out of the initial goal of USD$35,000.

My pledge was USD$28 and an additional USD$10 for shipping (total USD$38) for a choice of any two units (Nibbles, Goldie, or Gulp). I chose Goldie and Gulp.

After almost 8 months in the making, I finally got my CableKeeps yesterday, 14th May 2011!

So what is CableKeeps? As you all might know, all the MacBook chargers do come with a built-in cable winder but the same feature is missing from iPod/iPad/iPhone chargers. So basically CableKeeps add this missing feature to your existing iPod/iPad/iPhone chargers.

The Gulp will fit the any iPad chargers and any iPhone chargers with international adaptor plug. The Goldie will only fit US’s iphone chargers. I have no idea why at that time I chose the Goldie instead of Nibbles since I do not have a US’s iphone charger with me (should have gotten one when I am in the US).

Do ignore the damaged boxes in the pictures below, this got to be my worst shipment I had from the USA via USPS.

CableKeeps – Gulp (Box Front)

CableKeeps – Gulp

CableKeeps – Gulp (With Cable)

CableKeeps – Goldie (Box Front)

CableKeeps – Goldie

Li Xiang got me the Mohzy’s Loop Micro USB & Apple iPhone/iPod Cable from Taiwan. I did not see it selling in Singapore. She got it for NT$390 (SGD$16.67) from Studio A which is a Apple Reseller in Taiwan.

It is essentially a Micro USB cable that have magnets on both end of the tip that attracts to each other to form a loop shape. You can wear it on your wrist or loop it around your bag’s strap. You can even place it on your computer tower or even on your fridge holding up name cards or to-do lists. I would consider the magnet within the cable to be slightly stronger than your average fridge magnets.

The package comes with a Micro USB to Apple’s 30-pin Dock Connector adapter.

Mohzy Loop Micro USB & iPhone Cable – Package Front

Mohzy Loop Micro USB & iPhone Cable – Package Contents

Mohzy Loop Micro USB & iPhone Cable – USB End

Mohzy Loop Micro USB & iPhone Cable – Micro USB End

Mohzy Loop Micro USB & iPhone Cable – Micro USB to Apple Dock Connector Adapter

Mohzy Loop Micro USB & iPhone Cable – Apple 30-pin Dock Connector End

The Innergie Magic Cable Trio – Charge & Sync 3-in-1 USB Cable and Innergie Magic Cable Duo – Charge & Sync 2-in-1 USB Cable are the most expensive USB cables from Innergie. Each retailing for SGD$29 at Challenger but there is a 10% discount for members, so it adds up to SGD$26.10 each.

I got the Innergie Magic Cable Trio instead since it has 3 tips (Mini USB, Micro USB & Apple 30-pin connector) whereas the Innergie Magic Cable Duo has only 2 tips (Micro USB & Apple 30-pin connector).

You must be wondering since they are priced the same, one has 3 tips and the other has 2 tips, why don’t we just get the 3 tips one instead. This is where the length of the cable comes in. The length of the Innergie Magic Cable Trio is freaking short (20cm) where as Innergie Magic Cable Duo is 4 times longer (79cm)!

The build of the Innergie Magic Cable Duo/Trio is even better than the build of the Innergie Magic Cable – Multi-Tip USB Cable and I would say the build is similar to the official Apple Dock Connector to USB Cable.

The Apple 30-pin connector fits perfectly to my iPhone 4S, something which Deal Extreme‘s version of any Apple 30-pin connector cable can never do!

I would say this cable is very well worth SGD$26.10 considering the official Apple Dock Connector to USB Cable already cost SGD$28.

Innergie Magic Cable Trio – Box Front

Innergie Magic Cable Trio

Innergie Magic Cable Trio – Micro USB On Nokia Lumia 800

Innergie Magic Cable Trio – Apple 30-pin Connector On Apple iPhone 4S

Valentine’s Day is around the corner or to be exact next Tuesday. If you are looking to give your girlfriend/fiance/wife flowers, I would totally recommend Far East Flora (FEF.com).

I have ordered many flowers from FEF.com and each time I am never disappointed with the quality of the flowers. I tried some other companies for flowers during Valentine’s Day and the quality is horrible, there is once they even staple the stalk of the rose to the wrapper!

Far East Flora has a mobile app called SG Florist on the App Store (universal app) that allows you to sent flowers to your love ones using your iPhone or iPad. Far East Flora has partnered with PayPal for payment on both their website and their iPhone/iPad app and hence making payment is a breeze!

Let’s walk through the whole process.

Read More (800 More Words, 15 More Images)

UOB launched their mobile iPhone app (AppStore: UOB Mobile Banking) yesterday.

Its differentiating factors from local banks’s iPhone app such as OCBC or DBS/POSB is the access to financial information (deposit/exchange rates, unit trust prices, gold/silver prices) and calculators for personal loans/home equity/financial services.

There is also an augmented reality view that allows you to see latest card promotions/privileges and nearest UOB branches/ATMs. I don’t particulary find that feature useful though.

My favourite feature of this app is the mobile cash feature. What it simply does it allows you to use your mobile phone to withdraw cash from ATM without the need of an ATM card. When I first heard about it, I was like WTF.

A neater feature built on top of it, is that it even allows you to send money to your friend and even if he is not a UOB customer, he still can withdraw the money from any UOB ATMs.

Mobile Cash

Step 1

So how does it work? Upon launching the UOB Mobile Banking app, go to Mobile Cash and select the recipient you want to send the cash to. By default, your name should already be in the list (for you to send money to yourself). Since you are not transferring the money to any bank account, no account number is needed, just the recipient name and his mobile number.

Add Recipient In iBanking

The only down side is that you can’t add the recipient using the app itself. So you have to login to the normal Internet Banking via your computer browser to add them or call the UOB Call Centre to get them to add that for you if you are outside.

Select Recipient / Withdrawal Password

On top of selecting the recipient name and specifying the amount to send, you would also need to specify a 6 digit pin that you would need to tell your recipient.

Step 2

Success / SMS

Once that is done, your recipient will receive a text message and it will contain the transaction code. Using this transaction code and the 6 digit pin that you provided, he can then proceed on to any UOB ATM.

One final verification is the OTP that will be send to your recipient mobile number after he keyed in the 6 digit pin and the transaction code at the ATM. So once he keyed in the OTP, the money you sent to him will be dispensed by the ATM.

Of course there are some security checks in place for such a useful feature and here they are:

• The sender must register a list of recipients, their relationship with the sender, and the recipients’ personal information (NRIC and mobile numbers, name) before any transfer can take place
• An instant SMS-notification and next-day follow up letter will be sent to the sender upon registration, confirming recipient details
• An SMS of the mobile cash transaction with the specific reference number is sent to the recipient. This SMS instruction is valid for 24-hours and the sender can cancel a transaction at any time prior to expiry or cash withdrawal by the recipient
• A separate withdrawal password which the sender should communicate to the recipient. This is to guard against the loss of the recipient’s mobile device
• The recipient is prompted for the One-Time Password (OTP) upon withdrawal at the UOB ATM
• The transaction is automatically voided should the ATM detect a pre-determined number of invalid password attempts
• A maximum cumulative transfer amount of S$500 per day per sender
• A recipient can receive only one transaction a day

I find it pretty neat! I hope all the banks will adopt this!

An Android app is on the way followed by Blackberry and mobile web version next year. A native iPad App is also in the works.

Download AppStore: UOB Mobile Banking