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since 2002
A good Business Week article profiles Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia, on how he's trying to lead the company past its 'epic fail' amid dwindling market share, a cratering stock, and persistent takeover talk. Much wasn't news to his audience.
At Computex in Taipei on 2nd June 2011, Microsoft gave hardware partners a technical preview of the next Windows, internally code-named Windows 8, to help them build devices that take advantage of its new user experience.
The Samsung Galaxy S2 (16GB) is available in Singapore from 24th June 2011 for S$998 without contract. It runs a dual-core 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A9 with a Mali-400MP GPU on the Orion chipset, paired with 1GB of RAM and HSPA+ connectivity.
The Nokia X7 isn't an upgrade to any model, but, like the Nokia E6, it feels solid. It has a 4-inch AMOLED touchscreen in a stainless steel body, with a non-removable battery, and is the second phone on Symbian Anna.
I was invited to a blogger event previewing the Nokia E6 and X7. The E6 launches in June 2011 with a recommended price of S$570, in Black and Silver at first, with White following later.
Microsoft has previewed its Windows Phone 'Mango' update, with the Windows Phone 7.1 SDK now out. Mango and new Windows Phones are due this autumn, the first Nokia Windows Phones will run Mango, and Communications gains Threads and Groups.
Singapore Food Expo 2011 takes place at Singapore Expo Hall 5 from 27th to 31st May, open 11am to 10pm daily. One of the largest food events in Singapore, this year's edition features more than 100 exhibitors.
I was searching for a case to protect the back of my iPad 2 that also works with Apple's Smart Cover. A MacRumors thread, 'Smart Cover Compatible Cases List', proved handy, and I settled on the SwitchEasy CoverBuddy.
SingTel mentions 'Tag Lite' nowhere on its website, so the only way to learn about it is to visit a SingTel Hello store. I first heard of it on a Hardware Zone forum thread about using MultiSIM on the iPad.
SingTel begins selling the iPad 2 on Saturday, 14th May 2011, with subsidised units offered under two services: Mobile Broadband and Mobile Multi-SIM. The Mobile Broadband option pairs a 7.2Mbps plan with the 16GB 3G iPad 2 at S$40.
The Bluelounge CableBox was the first Bluelounge product I bought, in Hong Kong in April 2011 for HK$288, about S$45.67, at city'super, where only white was available. In Singapore, both black and white sell at Challenger and EpiCentre for S$49.90.
As a huge Bluelounge fan, the Refresh was the first I came across, at EpiCentre in ION Orchard. Only pink was available then, so I got the Konnext SynCharger instead. Five months on, the black returned to EpiCentre.
I got the Bluelounge Nest for S$19.90, or S$17.91 with member's price, from Challenger. It seems Challenger, or the agent, only brought in the black and white variants, as I couldn't find the other colours there, though EpiCentre had them.
The Apple 85W MagSafe Power Adapter is for the 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro. I got mine in Hong Kong for HK$588, about S$93, against S$128 in Singapore. My work adapter is wired in awkwardly, so I bought a spare.
Apple has refreshed its iMac, bumping the processor up to Sandy Bridge while keeping the same unibody design. The last refresh, in October 2010, moved to Core i3, i5, and i7. New are quad-core Sandy Bridge i5 and i7 chips.
Helping a friend spread the word: Trigon, a Taiwanese carbon-specialist bicycle brand with over twenty years in the field, has secured Singapore distribution. They build high-performance frames, parts and components for many top international names.
Picked up the yellow LEGO LED Key Light from Hong Kong's city'super for HK$80 (around S$12.60), plus a blue one and the Police Officer for friends. Wondering whether anyone sells these little lights in Singapore.
Asus launched the Eee Pad Transformer (TF101) at Zirca, Clarke Quay, the same Friday the iPad 2 went on sale here. Singapore is the first South East Asian city to get this dockable next-generation tablet.
A follow-up to my earlier post: SingTel has upgraded the SMS system for activating Bridge Data Roaming. You can now activate the cheaper DataRoam Unlimited plan by SMS, handy when you're only roaming in a single country.
Got my 32GB iPad 2 WiFi + 3G thanks to a friend who queued at VivoCity's Infinite store from 6am. Stocks were extremely limited, white especially; one person could buy only two units, just like the first launch.
Bought Crumpler's Artisanal Loaf pouch from the VivoCity store for S$40, dropping to S$36 with the CitiBank card discount. Grabbed it before flying to Hong Kong to hold all my chargers and cables, with room to spare.
After nearly a year of delay, the white iPhone 4 arrives tomorrow via Apple's Online Store. Pricing stays unchanged at S$888 for 16GB and S$1,048 for 32GB, finally giving Singapore buyers the lighter colour option.