3,437 posts
since 2002
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.
On 27th August 2014, Dropbox announced that Dropbox Pro now includes 1TB of storage for US$9.99 a month, or US$99 a year if paid upfront. Previously, that monthly rate bought just 100GB, with 200GB and 500GB costing considerably more.
Some may recall my earlier review of the Fitbit Flex, a wireless activity tracker for fitness metrics. Here I cover Lazada's 100th celebration, with its top 100 sellers at best prices and a voucher giveaway.
XMI, the Singapore company behind the award-winning X-mini Capsule Speaker, has unveiled its latest and largest speaker, the X-mini CLEAR, a custom 2.1 audio system. It launches in November 2014 for S$299, with a special pre-order price.
I got the Timbuk2 Custom Envelope Laptop Sleeve together with my Custom Swig Laptop Backpack, to avoid wasting the US$35 shipping on a single item. It comes in Extra Small, Small, and Medium, all US$39; misled by the size chart.
With Timbuk2 running 25% off all backpacks, including custom ones, I couldn't resist and grabbed a Custom Swig Laptop Backpack, having none. Originally US$124, it dropped to US$93 after the discount, plus US$35 shipping via UPS International Expedited.
The OPPO N1 Mini and OPPO Neo 5 officially launched on 16th August 2014. The N1 Mini retails for S$549 and the Neo 5 for S$219, both without contract. You can buy them from Singtel and M1 exclusive channels.
Juicies+ makes anodised aluminium, tangle-free woven cables with either a Lightning, MFi-certified, or Micro USB connector. I backed it on Kickstarter in September 2013, and it funded that November, raising US$275,621 against a US$40,000 goal, delivering January 2014.
The Asus RT-AC87U is the world's first AC2400-class dual-band 802.11ac wireless router with a four-by-four antenna configuration, and the first to use multi-user MIMO. It delivers 1.7334Gbit/s on 5GHz and 600Mbit/s on 2.4GHz, for a combined 2.334Gbit/s.
Parallels has launched Parallels Desktop 10 for Mac, alongside an Enterprise Edition, the industry-leading software for running Windows applications on Macs. It brings new built-in intelligence and support for Apple's latest OS X Yosemite, keeping things easy for everyone.
Here's the real future MRT/LRT map for Singapore as of 15th August 2014, featuring the newly announced Thomson-East Coast Line stations due by 2024. In case you missed it, the future map in my previous blog post was a fake.
Launched on 8th April 2014, the USB 3.0 Seagate Backup Plus Fast Portable Drive is a 4TB hard drive delivering transfer speeds up to 220MB/s. Weighing 307g, it retails for S$449, offered only in black.
The USB 3.0 Western Digital My Passport Air is the best-looking portable hard disk to complement your MacBook Air or Pro. It comes in two capacities, 500GB at S$129 and 1TB at S$219, in an anodised aluminium enclosure weighing 160g.
Launched on 8th April 2014, the USB 3.0 Seagate Backup Plus Slim Portable Drive comes in 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB, in four colours, Blue, Black, Red, and Silver, working on both PC and Mac. Prices start at S$89 for 500GB.
Three official Android Wear devices are out, two already on sale, the Samsung Galaxy Gear Live and the LG G Watch. The third and most anticipated, Motorola's Moto 360, should arrive next month. Android Wear is Google's smartwatch-focused version.
Sony's new CP-B20 is a 20,000mAh power bank with four USB ports, charging four devices at once. With a 6.9A total output, it can power three iPads or four phones. It arrives in Singapore from mid-August 2014 at S$149.
lesterchan.net is now on NewsLoop under Tech & Gadgets, joining 600 other publishers. NewsLoop, a SingTel app, gathers the best news and lifestyle content from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, the Philippines, and Thailand into one elegant app spanning 30 categories.
The Jawbone UP24 launched in Singapore on 10th April 2014 and retails for S$249, in three sizes and two colours, Onyx and Persimmon. An update to the original Jawbone UP, still sold at S$189.90, the UP24 adds wireless syncing.
Two months after the Pebble Smartwatch reached Singapore, sole distributor Leader Radio Technologies has officially launched the Pebble Steel here from 1st August 2014. It retails for S$359, and to celebrate, the first 500 units sold come with a bonus.