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since 2002
The Nokia Lumia 610 arrives in Singapore from Saturday, 5th May 2012, retailing for S$379 including taxes and without contract, at all three operators, SingTel, M1, and StarHub. White, black, and magenta launch with cyan following from 12th May.
I attended the Lenovo IdeaCentre A720 launch at BoConcept in Paragon Shopping Centre. Two products debuted: the headline IdeaCentre A720 at S$2,699 and the IdeaPad Y480 at S$1,499. Lenovo bills the A720 as the industry's slimmest 27-inch all-in-one.
SingTel has launched its own cloud syncing and storage service, SingTel Store & Share, essentially its take on Google Drive, SkyDrive, or Dropbox. For now it supports PC, iOS, and Android, but not Mac yet. SingNet fibre customers get 10GB.
I was invited to a blogger event for the launch of ESET Endpoint Solutions at Screening Room. It's essentially a rebrand of ESET NOD32 Business Edition. Long focused on consumers, ESET is now moving into enterprise.
Google Drive is finally here after years of waiting, just in time to join the cloud storage rush, with Microsoft's new SkyDrive landing two days ago. Dropbox now faces competition. I've been a paying Dropbox Pro user for two years.
I attended the Adobe Creative Suite 6 launch at The Luxe Art Museum. Adobe has streamlined to just four suites, down from five in CS5 and six in CS4, spanning 14 products. My favourite feature is the Mercury Engine.
My mom passed me the Sony S-Frame DPF-HD700, which she got free with her American Express Platinum Card; otherwise it retails for S$179. It has a 7-inch WVGA Clear Photo LCD, 2GB of internal memory holding up to 4,000 pictures.
The Sensu Artist Brush & Stylus was the 5th project I backed on Kickstarter. I backed it because the capacitive brush stylus intrigued me. It has two tips: a brush and a rubber tip at opposite ends.
The Infinite Loop Tablet and Smartphone Stand was the 3rd project I backed on Kickstarter, and so far the only one I'm disappointed with, its build and quality just horrible. As the name suggests, it's a coil-like stand you twist.
I first got my Cocoon Grid-It last July from Amazon, before ESA Distribution brought it to Singapore. Now it's easy locally, at Kinokuniya, NBC Stationery, Takashimaya, and Cumulus. This time I picked up the 7.25 x 9.25 for S$19.95.
I got the Apple USB Ethernet Adapter for S$35.51, down from S$38, at iStudio in Changi Airport Terminal 3 on my way to Malaysia for my birthday. Since the MacBook Air has no Ethernet port for the sake of slimness.
Thanks to Dell Singapore, I got to spend two weeks with the Dell UltraSharp U3011 30-inch Monitor, which retails for S$1,509. Like upgrading a computer, once you move to a bigger screen you never look back.
I first spotted the Innergie Magic Cable, a 3-in-1 retractable USB cable, at Challenger in VivoCity last year, but it was out of stock, so I settled for a Deal Extreme equivalent. On holiday in Thailand, I finally found it.
I struggled to find an MHL cable in Singapore for my Galaxy Nexus. MHL, or Mobile High-Definition Link, is a proposed industry standard for a mobile audio/video interface that connects phones and other portable devices directly to high-definition televisions.
I was sent the Chef Sleeve for iPad to review, all the way from the US. It's essentially a transparent plastic bag you slip your iPad into while cooking or baking, keeping it free of grease and flour.
Before the summary, here are some videos filmed during Mobile World Congress 2012 by Nokia Connects, featuring a skateboarder, a free runner, and a BMX rider using the social features of the Nokia Lumia 900, all shot around Barcelona.
Here are some sample photos taken with the Nokia 808 PureView, the standout camera phone of Mobile World Congress 2012. None of them have been edited; they're straight from the 808 PureView and uploaded to Flickr.
The Nokia Lumia 900 was announced at CES 2012 with LTE, exclusive to AT&T. At Mobile World Congress 2012, Nokia revealed a HSDPA+ Dual Carrier variant for high-speed data, up to 42Mbps download, in countries without LTE, like Singapore.
The Nokia Lumia 610 was the only new Lumia announced at MWC 2012, the 900 having debuted at CES. It arrives alongside Microsoft's strategy of lowering Windows Phone's minimum hardware requirements, and thus cost, by supporting cheaper chips.
The first three phones announced at Mobile World Congress 2012 were the Nokia Asha 202, 203, and 302. The Asha family is affordable and aimed at emerging markets, first introduced at Nokia World 2011. All run Nokia's Series 40 OS.
I'd won the Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-221, while my friend Trent won the Nokia Purity HD Stereo Headset. Since his came in Fuchsia pink, which he disliked, we swapped, and I gave the Purity HD to my wife.
At the Nokia press conference during MWC 2012, every attendee received the Nokia Purity In-Ear Headset, though not in retail boxes, to discourage reselling. In Nokia stores it comes in four colours, Black, White, Cyan, and Fuchsia, at S$148.