My Virgin Android Experience

Okay. I've never use an iOS or Android phone before. The only smartphone I've been using is my two years plus Nokia E7 which runs on Symbian, which I've upgraded to Symbian Belle. So last week I've got the opportunity to review not one but two Android phones for a week. One is the mid level Ninetology's U9 X1 priced at RM 1099 and the other is HTC One, priced at RM 2299.

Taken with HTC One

Taken with U9 X1

Yes. There's a huge price different between the two, how to compare? Oh, well. For an Android virgin like me it's easy. With the premium price, you'll get the aluminum body of the HTC One and a plastic one with U9 X1. Thew downside of aluminum body is weight is a bit heavier and heat transfer fast. So, it gets kind of hot when I used the HTC One for more than an hour and the heat is bearable for U9 X1.

Usability wise, both are quite the same while I found that U9 X1 seems a little bit more user friendly. I like the HTC Blink Feed though. It summarizes all my social network in one page and all updates are shown. Kind of cool too.

Phone camera nowadays is one of the function that people compares in a smartphone is the camera. X1 has a 13 megapixel camera while HTC One has a 2 micron ultra pixel camera which gives a 4 megapixel photos but with great sharpness and details. To me, HTC One's camera is slightly better but still U9 X1's camera is way better than my Nokia E7's all focus camera.

Taken with HTC One

Taken with U9 X1

Taken with U9 X1 in low light no flash

Both phones are quite responsive with HTC One had a bit of edge, maybe due the the processor speed different. I have not issue running Candy Crush or War of the Fallen. I even can send requests to friends in Candy Crush with little or not lagging at all.

One thing the X1 lack of is the built in application, it's pretty much comes with the standard Android Jellybean default apps while HTC One has quite a few of their own apps like HTC Zoe. Oh well, for RM 1099, I found it to be a pretty decent smartphone in terms of usability. It suit my needs for Facebooking, Twittering, Instagraming, Gmaling, surfing and occasional gaming. Oh, it has dual sim cards. I can put my normal size SIM card and use but not the HTC One because only micro SIM can be used. Also, Google Play would have tons of app to download so for me built-in apps design by the phone manufacturer is just a bonus.

If I am low in budget and looking for a decent Android phone, U9 X1 would be one of my choice. For the higher end phone and has the budget to splurge, well, there are a lot more choices aren't there?

Oh, you're a blogger too? Then join the Tech Kaiju to get a chance to review phones and gadgets too! More details here.

Which U9 Smartphones Is Your Choice?

Here's a simple guide for you to make your decision on a Ninetology U9 Smartphone.

Hope that will help. If not, you can always click here for more information. All 3 models are powered by Android 4.2 and a MediaTek MT6589 1.2GHz Quad-core processor. Price range from RM 1099 to RM 1299.

I went for the launch of of U9 Smartphones and got something to share.

Are you a blogger? Then here are some good news for you.



Blogger’s Review Program – “Tech Kaiju Arena”

Purpose: 

To promote transparent blogging as part of Ninetology’s yearlong ethical blogging initiative that will go hand in hand with sharing the latest gadget information, both Ninetology and other competitor brands.

Objective:

To create an archive of creative blogpost contents monthly until the end of campaign date. This is themed as ‘Combined product review blogpost’, which do not only have to be a e.g type of content - comparison blogpost; we are looking forward to more creativity from bloggers to formulate new ways showing two brands of mobile devices in a single blogpost.
We will also need the bloggers to include the Ninetology banner which works as a link to a subscription form for Ninetology’s newsletter.

Contents of the newsletter will include (not final):
• Featured blogger’s post under the “Tech Kaiju Arena”
• Ninetology’s latest product news
• E-Vouchers

Campaign Period:

“Tech Kaiju Arena” will commence on the 12th of August 2013 till the 31st of December, 2013 with different themes every thirty days.

How to join? The Process:

1. Register with Samuel Lee – email contact: samuellee@ninetology.com
Required Details:
• Name, Blog URL, Email, Contact Number and the units which you wish to loan; 1x Ninetology Device + 1x Other Latest Mobile Brand available

2. Wait for a call from Ninetology to confirm the collection venue of the loan units which will ONLY be within Klang Valley.
Note:
• Do keep in mind that you are only allowed to hold onto the loan units for a duration of a week

3. During the collection day, you are required to sign a T & C Loaning form which requires you to be liable for any lost or damage of the units.
4. On the day to return the loan units, you will also be required to submit your blogpost(s) URL to be fully eligible to participate in the contest.

To be eligible:
• A ‘Combined Product Review Blogpost’ must also have an embedded Ninetology Banner.
• A write-up of 200 – 250 words
• Min. of 3 photos and/or images

Rewards:
1. By the end of the campaign date, we will select three bloggers who drove in the most subscription via their post and will be rewarded as follows:
a. Grand Prize: A Ninetology’s Latest Device and RM3000
b. 1st Runner-Up: A Ninetology’s Latest Device and RM2000
c. 2nd Runner-UP: A Ninetology’s Latest Device and RM1000

2. Every month, within the campaign period, Ninetology will be having different themes for blogging contents for the ‘Combined Review Blogpost’, the monthly themes will be announced as a surprise every 30 days.

a. The Rewards will be in the form of a range of items which can be Ninetology’s devices, vacations, movie tickets, other mobile brand’s devices and so forth.

3. There’s more, we are even rewarding your readers! Monthly, we will be allocating from RM15,000 to RM20,000 worth of Ninetology E-Vouchers just for the 1st 100 readers who subscribes to our newsletter via the banner. The vouchers will enable them to purchase our products at a discounted price.

Let's start with Tech Kaiju Arena – Quest 1 ‘August 2013’- The Wall of Pledge

Wall of pledge info: http://on.fb.me/10UNzoG

Quest: Using the theme emphasizing on the importance of ethical blogging and the purpose of the ‘Wall of Pledge’ and ‘Responsible Blogging’; blog along with the ‘Combined Product Review’
Commencing: August 12th 2013 - 11th September 2013 or when 30 Blogposts are submitted (dateline will be prolonged in the event if 30 blogposts are not met)

Rewards:

Best Blogpost – Ninetology’s U9Z1+ worth RM1299
Top 10 Chosen Ones – SKROSS World USB Charger worth RM120
Submission: Provided google docs e-form
Requirements:
1. 200 – 250 words
2. Min. 3 Photos or Images
3. Ninetology Banner

HTC ONE Launching

OMG! It's been so long I didn't update my blog. I've been too busy losing weight kekeke. Lose Weight Now, Ask Me How. Okay, a few weeks ago I went to the launching of HTC ONE in Studio Lounge, Tropicana City Mall. I asked Emily to come for the event too as she wanted to buy HTC ONE as her first smart phone. Yes, you heard that right.First smart phone. Better late than never, right?

I won't be writing down the specs here cause you can always Google it. Here's a video of the demo by the HTC Product Specialist.

Here is the video of the design and specifications.

I won a HTC ONE phone casing for Emily and she won a HTC One X Windows phone. OMG. So lucky. She's now using HTC ONE already.

For more information, visit HTC’s webpage www.htc.com or HTC Malaysia’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/HTCMalaysia?fref=ts.

Ascend To New Heights with Huawei

Last Friday at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider Huawei is culminating its ‘Ascend to New Heights’ consumer activation campaign in Malaysia with an on-ground event at Tasik Titiwangsa from 21-23 December 2012. At the official opening of this event, it also launched three new smartphones and announced Midland Network Sdn Bhd as its latest partner to expand the distribution of Huawei smart devices in Malaysia.

Tang Siew Wai, Regional Marketing Director for Huawei Device Southern Pacific Regiond said, “The ‘Ascend to New Heights’ consumer campaign is an aggressive push towards extending awareness of the Huawei brand in Malaysia. We have organized many exciting
activities from today and over the next two days.

During the 3 days, visitors can register and then try out each game or activity to collect stamp.

The ‘Ascend to New Heights’ campaign, which is opened to the public, offers over 2,000 prizes including a Grand Prize of an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Dubai (comprising a 4D3N stay at a super 5-star luxury hotel with a helicopter tour of the city, exclusive tour of the tallest building in the world - the Burj Khalifa, Dubai Historical Tour and Desert Experience). The campaign is a significant milestone in the company’s increasing push into the direct-to-consumer space.

These are some of the prizes that could be won when completing or being the top of the activity.

Start with the Experience Zone to experience the 3 new Huawei smartphones what were launched on that day.

The 3 Huawei Ascend smartphones are:

Ascend D1 Quad – This super-fast smartphone powered by the Huawei’s K3V2 quad-
core 1.4GHz processor boasts the most compact design among 4.5-inch smartphones.
The Ascend D1 quad expands the realm of possibilities for consumers with an Android 4.0 operating system (upgradable to Jelly Bean) and Huawei’s proprietary power management system which provides up to 30% in energy savings. RRP at RM1,239.

Ascend G600 – With a sizeable of 4.5-inch LCD IPS HD screen and a 960 x 540 pixel
resolution with Corning® Gorilla® Glass, this smartphone offers visual clarity on a dual-core-powered Android 4.0 operating system without breaking the bank. A 1.2GHz dual-core CPU with industry-leading 1930mAh Li-Polymer battery ensures the Huawei Ascend G600 can be fully charged in four hours, powered on in five seconds and with Huawei’s power saving technology, more than 15 days of standby time. RRP at RM799.

Ascend G330 – This is an affordable smartphone which combines slim, sleek design
with a powerful 1.0 GHz dual-core processor that maximizes computing performance. It
also features a 10.16-cm (4-inch) WVGA TFT display, a 1.500 mAh lithium-ion battery
which delivers plenty of power for extended chat, phone and surfing sessions and a high-performance 1.0 GHz dual-core processor with 512 MB RAM/4 GB ROM and crystal-clear display resolution. RRP at RM599.

To get more updates about Huawei Device one can follow one of these links below:

Facebook - www.facebook.com/HuaweiDeviceMY (Malaysia)

Twitter - www.twitter.com/HuaweiDevice

YouTube - www.youtube.com/user/HuaweiDeviceCo

Flickr - www.flickr.com/huaweidevice

Website - www.huaweidevice.com.my

Visitor could walk away with a Huawei smartphone by joining the Racing Challenge. I tried it too but alas my lack of exercise betrayed me in the race.

So, I went for something less challenging and got myself a Huawei pen.

Visitors that are good and fast with their hands went to try the Cup Stacks. The highest stacked cup walks away with a Huawei smartphone.

For something fun and easier, just take a photo of your self jumping with a Huawei logo. You can see the photo taken in the photo booth.

The event's official radio station 988 was also there to mingle with the visitors by giving out freebies and playing games with them.

On that day DJ Anson of 988 was there to host the event. Usually, you'll hear him hosting his show on air using Cantonese but that day is a rare case that he uses Bahasa Malaysia to host. Here's a video of him speaking in Bahasa.

Of course, the most fun part is the hot air balloon ride.

Still want to try your luck to win the trip to Dubai? No worries. Until 31 December 2012, consumers can also continue to take part in the ‘Ascend to New Heights’ hot air balloon contest online at www.AscendToNewHeights.com for a chance to win attractive prizes including Huawei smartphones, devices, t-shirts, USB drives and movie tickets.

Great savings on iPhone 5 with a Celcom First Plan

The wait is over! Finally iPhone 5 is now available in Malaysia. The good news is you can get your hand on an iPhone 5 with the biggest savings up to RM 1,921 if you get it from Celcom. What's more, with Celcom plan you get the highest data volume of up to 6.2GB a month.

Get the iPhone 5 and enjoy total savings of up to RM1,921, lowest device price offer from as low as RM278 after savings and total monthly rebate up to RM1,210. Simply choose the ideal Celcom First plan to suit your needs:

	Celcom First Plan + Mobile Internet
	Prime		Premier	Elite
Bundled Usage (Mins/SMS/MMS)	267		667	1,500
FREE Celcom First WiFi	1GB
Total Data Volume	4.05GB	6.05GB	6.1GB	6.2GB
FREE Celcom First WiFi	1GB	1GB	1GB	1GB
Monthly Commitment	RM98/month	RM128/month	RM168/month	RM238/month
	Device Price After Savings (12-month contract)
iPhone 5 16GB (RRP: RM2,199)	RM1,658 (SAVE RM541)	RM1,548 (SAVE RM651)	RM1,398 (SAVE RM801)	RM1,148 (SAVE RM1,051)
iPhone 5 32GB (RRP: RM2,499)	RM1,968 (SAVE RM531)	RM1,858 (SAVE RM641)	RM1,708 (SAVE RM791)	RM1,458 (SAVE RM1,041)
iPhone 5 64GB (RRP: RM2,799)	RM2,278 (SAVE RM521)	RM2,168 (SAVE RM631)	RM2,018 (SAVE RM781)	RM1,768 (SAVE RM1,031)
Monthly Fee After Rebate for first 10 months (16GB, 32GB, 64GB)	RM75, RM76, RM77	RM104, RM105, RM106	RM139, RM140, RM141	RM194, RM195, RM196
	Device Price After Savings (24-month contract)
iPhone 5 16GB (RRP: RM2,199)	RM1,298 (SAVE RM901)	RM1,078 (SAVE RM1,121)	RM788 (SAVE RM1,411)	RM278 (SAVE RM1,921)
iPhone 5 32GB (RRP: RM2,499)	RM1,608 (SAVE RM891)	RM1,388 (SAVE RM1,111)	RM1,098 (SAVE RM1,401)	RM588 (SAVE RM1,911)
iPhone 5 64GB (RRP: RM2,799)	RM1,918 (SAVE RM881)	RM1,698 (SAVE RM1,101)	RM1,408 (SAVE RM1,391)	RM898 (SAVE RM1,901)
Monthly Fee After Rebate for first 20 months (16GB, 32GB, 64GB)	RM73, RM74, RM79	RM97, RM98, RM103	RM128, RM128, RM134	RM177, RM178, RM183

It's a great deal, right?

Why register with Celcom? Step up with Malaysia’s best network!
• Celcom has the widest network coverage anywhere in Malaysia, indoors, outdoors and on-the-move.
• Celcom offers the best network quality, be it messaging, voice calls, video calling, surfing, email, etc.
• Celcom gives you the richest web and video streaming experience with its stable connection.

Don't wait anymore, stock is going very fast. Visit your nearest Blue Cube outlet to get yours today! For more information, log on to www.celcom.com.my.

Hurry Up And Pre-Order Your iPhone 5 from Celcom!

Yes. I know, I know. You've been waiting until your neck as long as a giraffe for iPhone 5 to be launched here in Malaysia. Well, the wait is over because iPhone 5 will be officially launched here on 14th of December 2012.

Can't wait to get your hands on one of this deliciously looking iPhone 5? Plan to go and buy one from Celcom Blue Cube? I worried you might be disappointed if you go there without making a pre-order. Last I checked, the 64GB version was already out of stock. No worries, if you don't need that much space, the 16GB and 32GB iPhone 5 are still available. Updates: Only 16GB is still available for pre-ordering, 32GB is out of stock too!

By pre-ordering, you'll be sure to get an iPhone 5 , the booking fees is only RM 200. It's so easy. Just a 5-step online process.

1. Choose your Device.
2. Choose your branch. You can even choose branch that is available for midnight collection if you really can't wait.
3. Enter your registration details.
4. Enter payment details.
5. Purchase confirmation.

For more information, check out https://www.bluecube.com.my/prebooking/product/iphone5

So, what are you waiting for? Get your hands on the world’s most sought after smartphone and experience it first with the best network and the best plans! Pre-order your iPhone 5 with just RM200 deposit and you can secure your iPhone5 and get invited to the launch to be one of the first in Malaysia to own the iPhone 5.