Full hands-on reviews of gear I bought or was sent, with the pros, cons, and whether it is worth your money.
The Huawei Mate 9 ships in a square brown box printed with soy ink, made in Shenzhen, China. The contents are standard: the phone, a cover, earphones, a USB-C charging cable, a SuperCharge charger, and a Micro-USB adapter.
Igloohome is a Singapore smart-home startup that raised US$1.25 million in seed funding, led by Wavemaker Partners with Singtel Innov8 and DreamIt Ventures. Its first product is the Igloohome Smart Lock, which I review here.
After two weeks with the tado Smart AC Control, it has taken over air conditioner duty from my Ambi Climate. I doubt I'll switch back to Ambi Climate unless it gains third-party integrations like IFTTT.
After almost two weeks using the Moto 360 (Second Generation) instead of my Apple Watch, I miss the Apple Watch only a little, mainly its ability to act on notifications. On iOS, Android Wear's notification handling is more limited.
The Synology Router RT1900ac is Synology's first router, aimed at the mid-range market at roughly S$234. It went on sale in Singapore on 6th October 2015. For the unaware, this brings Synology's polished software experience to home networking.
The ASUS RT-AC88U launched at SITEX 2015, Singapore's last major IT event of the year, held at Singapore Expo from 26th to 29th November. The much-awaited router retails for S$429, packing eight Gigabit LAN ports and strong wireless performance.
The ZTE Axon Elite launched in Singapore on 3rd October 2015, exclusively for M1 customers, then off-contract from mid-October at Challenger, Gain City, and others for S$699. It's ZTE's first high-end smartphone launched outside China.
The Linksys EA8500 Max-Stream AC2600 MU-MIMO Gigabit Router launched on 4th August 2015, exclusively at Challenger before reaching most electronics stores, at S$399. Despite the lower model number, it isn't really a step down from the EA9200.
Ambi Climate is a small, sleek IoT device that makes your existing infrared remote-controlled air conditioner smart. Using predictive climate control, it monitors temperatures inside and out to run your aircon more efficiently and lower your energy bill.
The Jabra Sport Coach retails in Singapore for S$248 in Blue, Red, and Yellow. The younger sibling of the Jabra Sport Pulse I reviewed in May 2015, it's S$50 cheaper, omitting the in-ear heart rate monitor of the pricier Pulse.
The D-Link DIR-890L AC3200 Wireless Tri-Band Gigabit Cloud Router launched in Singapore in February 2015 at S$399, matching the Linksys EA9200 AC3200. I do wonder about router names these days, as each maker seems to cram in ever more keywords.
The Jabra Sport Pulse retails in Singapore for S$298. These Bluetooth 4.0 in-ear earphones include a built-in heart rate monitor that, per the specs, is 99.2% accurate against a medical ECG, though I can't verify that without another monitor.
At S$110 in Singapore, the Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter is easily mistaken for Microsoft's take on Google's Chromecast, but the two are quite different. I'm puzzled why Microsoft prices it at US$59.95 when the cheaper Chromecast undercuts it so heavily.
Many know the YotaPhone 2 as the phone with two screens, the world's third after the YotaPhone 1 and NEC Medias W, neither of which reached Singapore. The YotaPhone 2 retails here for S$1,048 and can be bought online.
The Linksys EA9200 Wireless AC3200 Tri-Band Smart Wi-Fi Router launched in Singapore on 6th February 2015 at a recommended S$399, available only at Challenger for now. It's the new flagship after the Linksys E8350 AC2400, and its true successor.
The Dell UltraSharp U3415W 34-inch Curved Monitor has been available in Singapore since mid-December 2014 for S$1,499. I find that fairly reasonable, since Dell's high-end monitors typically sit around that range, and the U3415W is the cheapest of them.
Did you know Acronis was founded in Singapore in 2002, moving its HQ back here last year? Started by Serguei Beloussov, Ilya Zubarev, and Max Tsyplyaev as a unit within SWsoft, it was spun off in 2003.
The Creative Sound Blaster Jam headphones, announced on 22nd January 2015, are a Creative Online Store exclusive at S$69. This lightweight 83g Bluetooth 4.1 wireless headset streams music, movies, and games from your smartphone, and includes built-in NFC.
The LG G Watch R has been available in Singapore since 15th November 2014 for S$398. It runs a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 with a 1.3-inch P-OLED display, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage, and a 410mAh battery, on Android Wear.
The Linksys E8350 AC2400 Dual-Band Gigabit Wi-Fi Router launched on 7th November 2014 at a recommended S$399, exclusive to Challenger and online. It's the second Linksys router priced at S$399 after the WRT1900AC, and I think that's too high.
The Western Digital My Passport Wireless, WD's first wireless storage drive, launched in Singapore on 29th October 2014. It comes in 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB, though only the 1TB and 2TB are sold here, at S$299 and S$399 respectively.
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.