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since 2002
Samsung Pay launches in Singapore from 16th June 2016, supporting the Galaxy Note 5, S6 edge+, S7, and S7 edge. Singapore is the fifth country after Spain, China, the US, and South Korea, partnering Amex, MasterCard, Visa, and major banks.
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.
Sudio is a little-known Swedish earphone brand from Stockholm, with four series: TVA, KLANG, VASA, and VASA BLA. The entry TVA is S$65 with a one-button remote, while KLANG steps up to a three-button mic remote.
I backed the MOGICS Power Donut/Bagel on Kickstarter in February 2016, a project that raised US$437,738 from 9,882 backers. Both are circular travel power strips designed to save space, each packing five power sockets. This covers the Power Bagel.
During SmartThings' Spring sale and a follow-up Memorial Day promotion until 4th June 2016, most products were 20% off, on both the SmartThings store and Amazon. I bought my items from Amazon, since they qualified for free AmazonGlobal Saver shipping.
Leagoo is a little-known Chinese smartphone brand under Shenzhen OTEDA Technology. It has launched its first Singapore phone, the Leagoo Shark 1, retailing for S$399 at various mobile retailers, though not yet at telcos. This is the unboxing.
A month after Apple Pay launched for AMEX in Singapore, support for VISA and MasterCard has arrived. Not all banks are included, though: the initial rollout supports credit cards from just five, POSB, DBS, OCBC, UOB, and Standard Chartered.
The ZUS Smart Car Charger is nonda's latest, a smart hardware startup founded in December 2014 in Palo Alto. ZUS began on Indiegogo, raising US$273,165, and nonda has more coming, including the ZUS Kevlar Charging Cable and a USB-C Hub+.
The Lomography Lomo'Instant grew from a Kickstarter two years ago, raising US$1,118,333 from 8,448 backers. Several designs are available, priced from S$168 to S$258 on Lomography's store. It uses Fuji Instax Mini film, at S$13.90 for a ten-shot pack.
I backed the Flip British Plug on Kickstarter in November 2015, a project that raised £28,115 from 1,140 backers. I chose the £14 reward, paying about £19 with shipping for one Flip Quad, a thin, foldable British plug.
The Apple Magic Keyboard retails for S$148, the successor to the Apple Wireless Keyboard at S$98. It's S$50 pricier because Apple finally ditched AA batteries for a built-in rechargeable one, charged via a Lightning cable, giving it a sleeker profile.
Thanks to Lomography, I'm giving away one Lomo'Instant worth S$258 to a lucky winner. To enter, like the Lomography Singapore and lesterchan.net Facebook pages, share this post, and answer a simple question via the linked Google form.
Circles.Life is a Singapore consumer brand of Liberty Wireless, founded by three entrepreneurs with backgrounds at Temasek, McKinsey, and StarHub. As a mobile virtual network operator, it's sometimes called Singapore's fourth telco. This covers its price plans.
I bought the Anker PowerLine+ Lightning Cable (0.9m) from Amazon for US$13.99. Since it doesn't ship to Singapore directly, I forwarded it via HopShopGo. It comes in four lengths, from 0.3m at US$12.99 up to 3m at US$16.99.
I bought the TP-Link 8-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch (TL-SG108) from Challenger VivoCity for S$43, my first TP-Link product, for my new house. I'd weighed it against D-Link's metal-cased DGS-108 at S$55 but chose the cheaper TP-Link.
I bought the Apple Magic Mouse 2 for S$119 after my old Magic Mouse failed, its cursor frozen despite swapping batteries and Macs. The new model swaps AA batteries for a built-in rechargeable one.
I submitted my site to publish Facebook Instant Articles last Thursday, and it was approved today, faster than the stated 24-48 hour review. I use Automattic's official Instant Articles for WP plugin to generate the feed.
After last October's announcement, Apple Pay is finally live in Singapore, with American Express the first supported card; VISA and MasterCard follow soon. It works at stores including Din Tai Fung, FairPrice, Starbucks, Uniqlo, and Shaw Theatres.
The Klipsch Reference X6i was announced in the US in November 2015 and reached Singapore in March 2016. It's the third Reference earphone, retailing for S$329 in white or black, available at Courts, Challenger, and Tat Chuan Acoustic.
I backed the PINE A64 on Kickstarter in January 2016, a project that raised US$1,731,466 from 36,781 backers. I chose the US$29 reward, paying about US$41 with shipping for the PINE A64+ with 2GB RAM, a cheap single-board computer.
GP Batteries has expanded its Smart On-The-Go accessory and power bank range to include USB car and wall chargers, charge-and-sync cables, and power banks. The USB car chargers come in three models, from single-port 2.4A to triple-port 6.3A.
The SanDisk Ultra 200GB MicroSDXC Card was an Amazon Gold Box deal in March 2016 at US$59.99. That's a remarkable drop from its US$399.99 launch price just a year earlier, making this high-capacity card finally affordable.