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.
After 15 episodes of Season 1, Joanne-Marie Sim returns for TGIS Season 2. TGIS, short for Thank Goodness It's SingTel, explores what Singaporeans are passionate about, helping viewers make sense of gadgets and social media. Episodes air on SingTel's YouTube.
Few realise, myself included, that Panasonic acquired Sanyo about three years ago. On 21st December 2009, Panasonic completed a ¥400 billion, US$4.5 billion, purchase of a 50.2% stake in Sanyo, making it a subsidiary, then bought the remaining shares.
Just a reminder: I'm giving away the Logitech G600 MMO Gaming Mouse, worth S$99, thanks to Logitech. The giveaway ends at 11:59pm on Wednesday, 29th August 2012, Singapore time. To enter, follow @gamerz and tweet why you want the G600.
The Buffalo AirStation HighPower WCR-HP-G300 is a budget router retailing for just S$59. Aimed at lower-end consumers, its specs are entry-level, supporting 10/100Mbps LAN/WAN and 2.4GHz Wireless-N speeds up to 300Mbps. It's also remarkably light.
The Epson LabelWorks LW-400 is one of three label printers from Epson, alongside the LW-300 and LW-900P. The LW-400 is the mid-range model at S$89, with the entry-level LW-300 at S$69 and the top-of-the-line LW-900P at S$299.
I bought the Western Digital My Passport Carrying Case from Changi City Point's Challenger for S$9.90, or S$8.90 with member's price. I use the My Passport Essential (2011) and Li Xiang the 2012 model, and the case fits both drives.
I've been waiting for this. Right now, the NFC on my Galaxy Nexus is useless, only reading EZ-Link cards. But soon we'll be able to take public transport and pay with our phones, thanks to a Gemalto-led consortium going live.
Windows 8 has reached RTM status and will be available on Friday, 26th October 2012, with a final build number of 9200. Buy a Windows 7 PC from today and you can upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for S$17.99.
Announcing the winner of the EA4500 Router giveaway I held on 17th July 2012. Congratulations to @davejunialum, whose winning tweet quipped that you don't need a man when you can buy a hub of my home. You've won it.
I'm not an MMO gamer, so the Logitech G600 is my first ever MMO gaming mouse. It's Logitech's answer to the Razer Naga, announced in June 2012 and retailing for S$99 since mid-July. It comes with a three-year warranty.
The Sanyo Eneloop Black Charger Set BC-MQR06 is the latest eneloop product. Each set pairs four AA eneloop XX rechargeable batteries with a Black Charger in a sleek black-and-silver design. It retails for S$65.90 at Best Denki, Meidi-Ya, Selffix D.I.Y.
The Flucard Pro is made by Singapore's Trek 2000 International, the very company that invented and patented the Thumbdrive. The 8GB model retails for S$79 at all Challenger stores, with a 16GB version also available. It's an SD card.
Apple released OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) to the Mac App Store yesterday, 25th July 2012, priced at S$25.98. New features include better iCloud integration, the Reminders, Notes, and Messages apps, Notification Center, Power Nap, Dictation, and expanded sharing.
I saw on @lupcheong's tweet that In-N-Out Burger might be coming to Singapore. The advertised event could be a tasting session or a trial of local response, and I'm hoping they make it. I had my first In-N-Out in California.
Cisco launched the Linksys EA4500 router in June 2012, retailing for S$299. It introduces Cisco Connect Cloud, letting you connect, control, and interact with your router and its devices from anywhere, as long as you're online.
The LunaTik Touch Pen was the 6th project I backed on Kickstarter, pledging on 14th December 2011. It funded on 10th February 2012, raising US$309,183 against a US$75,000 goal. After some delays, I finally received it on 10th July.
On 10th July 2012, SanDisk announced four new USB flash drives for 2012. Among them, the USB 3.0 SanDisk Extreme transfers, stores, and shares large files up to ten times faster, reaching speeds of up to 190MB/s.
Just a heads up: starting August 2012, I'll be giving away a Logitech gaming product via a monthly Twitter contest over the next three months, totalling S$620. The contests are open to my Singapore-based readers only.
Epson launched the Moverio BT-100 last Friday at ION Sky, its answer to Google Glass. It retails from Monday, 23rd July 2012, at selected Best Denki outlets for S$999. Pre-order before 22nd July and you'll get a 16GB MicroSD card.
Li Xiang got the Western Digital My Passport (1TB) from Challenger for S$189, or S$159 with member's price. In this new 2012 edition, WD has dropped the 'Essential SE' name, so it's simply My Passport, with USB 3.0 now standard.
I bought the Vantec NexStar SATA/IDE to USB 3.0 Adapter from Challenger for S$59.90, or S$53.91 with member's price. As the name suggests, it converts an internal SATA or PATA drive to USB 3.0 for plug-and-play access.
Last week, Dell announced the XPS 14 Ultrabook, a new member of the XPS Ultrabook family. It's already available in Singapore, starting at S$1,399. The XPS 14 is built from machined aluminium in silver, with a silicone base.