Founder of lesterchan.net, a Singapore tech and gadgets blog running since 2002. An engineering leader by day and a WordPress plugin developer since 2003, with a soft spot for gadgets, smart home, and a good deal.
The Striiv Touch merges an activity tracker and a smartwatch into one. In Singapore, Striiv is distributed exclusively by Axtro Sports, and the Touch sells for S$139, online at axtrosports.com or in stores like Axtro Sports, Perfect Watch & Electronics.
Thanks to Samsung for inviting me to the Galaxy Note 4 World Tour 2014 last Wednesday. I played with the Note 4, Note Edge, Gear S, and Gear VR. The Note 4 and Edge impressed me with superb build.
The Dell Inspiron 13 7000 Series is a 2-in-1 running Windows 8.1, with a built-in passive stylus and a 360-degree rotating hinge that switches smoothly between laptop and tablet. It starts from S$999 on dell.com.sg, alongside the larger Inspiron 14.
Thanks to Fitbit, I'm giving away two Fitbit Flex trackers, worth S$129 each, to two lucky winners, who can each pick their preferred wristband colour. You'll receive the full Fitbit Flex tracker with your chosen colour, not merely the wristband.
Announced on 30th September 2014, the next version of Microsoft's Windows is named Windows 10, not Windows 9. A Reddit rumour suggests it skipped 9 because third-party code checks whether the version starts with 'Windows 9', matching 95 or 98.
I was interviewed by Jeff Chandler and Marcus Couch of WordPress Tavern for WordPress Weekly Episode 164. In it, Marcus and I chat from Singapore about my work, where my 23 plugins in the directory have amassed 12,241,325 downloads.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 4G+ arrives in Singapore from 11th October 2014 at a recommended S$1,088, in Charcoal Black and Frost White at launch, with Blossom Pink and Bronze Gold to follow. You can register your interest with SingTel.
I joined Tech in Asia as The Tech Guy on 1st September 2014, and it's been a busy month. There are two of us developers, Li Soon and me, plus a Vietnam team on Techlist. Our September priority was scaling.
Thanks to SingTel for two years' free subscription to trial their Fibre Internet against my existing 300Mbps StarHub MaxInfinity Fibre. They provided the 300Mbps Fibre Home Bundle, normally S$59.90, including an Aztech dual-band Wireless-AC VOIP gateway and Home Digital Line.
I asked my mom to grab the Apple 60W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter from iStudio at Changi Airport, since she was flying to Hong Kong. It retails for S$108, but tax-free at the airport it's about 7% cheaper, around S$100.93.
Even before the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus officially launched, cases were already on the market, makers betting on leaked schematics over Apple's official ones. For the 6 Plus, I found three clear cases from Spigen and one from Tunewear.
The Apple iPhone 6 Plus Leather Case retails for S$68, and my brother ordered it with the iPhone 6 Plus. The case shipped first and arrived yesterday, while the phone stayed stuck on Processing Items. It comes in five colours.
SingTel's price plans for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, launching on 19th September 2014 at Marina Bay Sands, Exhibition Hall A. For Singapore's LTE networks, the iPhone 6 takes the A1586 and the iPhone 6 Plus the A1524.
During the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus pre-order on the Apple Singapore Store, I was among many who couldn't buy because clicking Select did nothing. It should redirect you to add it to your cart, so here's a direct URL.
While staying at Empire Hotel Subang for MTV World Stage 2014, courtesy of GoodStuph, I explored the Empire Shopping Gallery below. A shop called Anime Trend caught my eye, where I spotted these Dragon Ball Z LEGO-compatible minifigures.
I took my old Apple Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter to the office, so I needed another for home. I picked one up at VivoCity's Infinite for S$38, surprisingly absent from Challenger, which only stocks the VGA version.
Apple announced the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus this morning, and Singapore is again among the nine first-wave launch countries on 19th September 2014, alongside the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Australia, Hong Kong, and Japan. I'd expected China too.
The Bolse 25W 5A 3-Port USB Car Charger retails for US$14.99 on Amazon. I'd expected three USB ports, but it actually has two ports plus an attached Micro USB cable. The 'three' means you can charge three devices at once.
Thanks to Ikea Singapore for the beautifully designed limited edition XXL Ikea 2015 Catalogue. When it arrived, I genuinely mistook the box for a MacBook, and even unboxing it, the resemblance is striking. I wouldn't call it a copy.
WordPress 4.0 has been released, named 'Benny' after jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman. Led by Helen Hou-Sandi with many contributors, this release set a new record with 275 credited contributors. Highlights include a beautiful, endless media grid for managing uploads.
Western Digital refreshed its WD TV media player in May 2014, with a new interface and wider format support including .mkv, .mp4, and .avi. It adds social apps like YouTube, Hulu Plus, Pandora, and Facebook, plus Miracast for projecting.
After four years and seven months, I've left migme, formerly mig33, where I joined as a Web Engineer and rose to Senior Web Engineer. I've now taken up a new role as The Tech Guy at Tech in Asia.